Looking forward to buy your first car, but clueless where to start from? Car auctions market is a good place to start to hunt your first and affordable car. Here’s a guide from experienced car auctioneer.

Many might opt to look for car dealers, advertisements, catalogs or even eBay for affordable car. If you have time searching for a suitable car for your own benefit, why not try bidding in one of car auctions at Brisbane. You’ll be surprise that you pay way lesser than what you pay from car dealers.

Where is Brisbane’s Car Auction?

There are a few places that you can go and the Auction runs weekly so if u missed out a car, don’t worry, you’ll get it sooner or later. There’s always a car for you to bid weekly.

Auction Bidding Number

What do I need before bidding?

All you need is your driver’s license and if you don’t have an Australian driver’s license, you may need to use your passport as identification upon registration. It’s plain and simple, they get your personal details then supply you with a bidding number and you’re ready for the bidding war.

What should I do?

Come a day before for car inspection. Normally these Auction place are open for public a day before the Auction day or come early during the Auction day to avoid disappointments. This is because there are plenty of cars to look at and last minute inspection won’t do you any good.

Why is it important to go for public inspection?

It is important that you know the conditions of the car. This is due to the fact that these cars are not all certified road worthy. To avoid disappointment, come and inspect it especially the major stuff such as the car’s engine, clutch or even gearbox. These may be costly when you send it to the mechanics for repairs. Thus, bring a friend or a mechanic that knows car inside out.

When do I bid?

When you feel comfortable with what you see, don’t forget to refer that specific car model from http://www.redbook.com.au/. This site is useful because it provides the current market price for that specific car in the market sold by car dealers. Especially useful in prevention in over bidding. From my personal experience, it is advisable to bid way lower from the current market price.

What do I do if I win the bid?

Don’t run! Be proud of your winning. A representative will come to you after they identify your bidding registration number. From there, they will guide you through it. You can claim your car at the check out after payments being made.

What do I do with the car now?

Some auction places such as Pickels Auction provide services on the spot such as car registration and road worthy. But it’s up to you. If you have hiccups on the car, bring to your mechanic and get it fix first. Once this is done, you are ready to cruise around with your new car!

Is it worth it?

This is what car dealers go through to get every penny from you. If they can do it, so can you. You can save thousands from this and you might never know some day you may make money out of it too!

Tips and pointers for auction

1. Set your budget before bidding. Do not bid too close to the current market price.
2. Minor problems are ok but avoid major ones. This is to avoid more expenditure upon the car after winning the bid.
3. Do not bid too high for cars that have too many problems. They normally come cheap because of the conditions.
4. Don’t let other bidders get into your nerves, if you lose that bid, there’s plenty more cars to bid. Don’t stick to one car!
5. Stay calm, don’t over react and just wait for the right moment to bid.
6. Enjoy the environment; you might end up making friends and get to get good deal out of it.

Resources: Car Auction Sites

Pickles Auction – http://www.pickles.com.au/cars/

Manheim Fowles – http://www.manheimfowles.com.au/

City Motor Auction – http://www.cityauction.com.au/

This is a guest post by Valerian James. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.You can find him at his twitter and blog.

Things You Need to Know Before Purchasing Your First Car From Car Auctions is a post from: http://www.brisbanestudentguide.com

In Australia, petrol price fluctuates everyday. I do not know what caused the fluctuations of the price, all I know is – there is a certain day of the week where petrol are cheaper than average.

For years, ”cheap petrol day” has been the best day for price-savvy motorists to fill their tanks. Eventually this has become a practice to everyone around me. They only fill up tanks on THAT particular day.

From my experience:

Save coupon for this particular day
For every $30 purchase in single receipt you purchase at Coles or Woolworths, you are given a fuel coupon. Coles coupon are valid only at Shell; Woolworths valid at Caltex.

One coupon only valid for one transaction. You can save $2 for every $50 petrol filled. Not a big amount, but it’s free.

If you fill tank every week, you can purchase one McDonald Chicken Deluxe meal each month. Not bad right?

Survey which petrol station offers the best price
On that cheap petrol day, all petrol stations offers cheaper price, but there are certain ones that offers lower price than any other competitors. These two are my favourites, and always provides very competitive price.

[Sunnybank Shell Station]

[Coorparoo Shell Station]

Most of my friends are based on these area, I visit both these suburb more than others. There could be cheaper ones. Please leave comment below if you know similar shell station.

“Cheap petrol day” changes in every few months
You have to read newspaper to keep yourself update. Government will make announcement, you have to keep an eye on that.

But it’s not guaranteed.

Best bet is to stay alert. You probably notice the fluctuations every time you pass by any petrol stations.

Any tips for cheap petrol?

Brisbane Cheap Petrol is a post from: http://www.brisbanestudentguide.com

Image Source Flickr

Having your own car undoubtedly bring a lot of convenience and joy. But, have you thought about the additional costs that comes aside the original cost of the car? If you are thinking about buying a car here in Brisbane. This is your guide.

I have published the advantages and disadvantages of having your own car. As well as criteria to consider before buying your car.

I have listed down all the potential hidden charges and fees for owning a car.

Registration fees

These are the fees you need to pay in order to transfer the rightful owner of the car. This process usually takes place at Government’s transport office. e.g. Queensland Transport. Need to pay a small amount of money, I am not sure about the amount.

Insurance

My friends who own car strongly recommend AAMI, it is cheaper than RACQ, thus lower the quality of customer service, but its okay because money comes first (and we don’t use their service much either). Plus, you have the option to purchase online.

Petrol costs per week

Every car has mileage/gallon ratio. It is a good practice to get to know how much to spend on petrol each week. That way, you can keep an eye on your petrol usage. If you drive too much, consider car pooling with friends and share the petrol fees.

My friend owns a Jazz 1.5. He usually pays $40 fill to full tank – drives approximate 500km. That gives you a rough idea how much you need to pay for an light and fuel efficient car. Costs more if you drive a bigger and powerful car.

Maintenance costs

Car needs to do regular maintenance to keep in good condition. Maintenance fees depends on respective service centers. Go for a reputable service centres. Remember to fill in the log books as well, it’s the only proof of a well maintained car.

Price ranges from $90-$150 for each maintenance.

Repairs

My friend’s air condition system broke down during summer. The repair fee is $700, yikes! Expect the unexpected fees, these costs always happen when you least expect it ;)

Car park

The car parks are not free. Parking fees cost a lot, especially in congested area, such as city and universities. I’ve written a guide for car parks – 6 Car Parks Recommendations at Brisbane CBD.

Depreciation fee

Expect your car to devalue after first purchase. Especially if you buy new cars. Car value drops significantly if you do no have keep log books (not being serviced regularly).

Lower depreciation occur if you buy second hand cars. If you bought the car at $3,000, you can probably sell it a similar value since the base price is almost the same. On the other hand, if you bought new car for $20,000, you probably can sell for around $10k-15k, depending on the market.

Related links

• Please see RACQ’s Car buyer’s guide, particularly the hidden costs section in relation to buying used cars
• The car price guide provides an estimate car valuation
• Buying a motor vehicle, and Planning your finances

Any hidden costs I have not listed? Please share.

7 Potential Hidden Costs For Owning A Car is a post from: http://www.brisbanestudentguide.com

Are you buying a car? Can’t wait to drive your dream car? Feeling excited? Going to buy that dream car of yours when you see the price is unbeatable?

Hold on, cowboy!

Have you ever thought about other factors as well? Below are four main factors you need to consider before purchasing a car.

Price

Personally, price matters to me the most. And price determines what sort of car you can get. Wider the price range you can afford, more cars to choose from.

Usually, typical student budget is around A$5,000 to A$15,000. Some even reach A$30,000 to A$50,000. But that’s not usually the case (well, not in my circle of friends).

Set a budget. Then only start searching for cars under your budget price range. Another thing, a car that sale for A$15,000, usually you will end up spending more due to the extra charges (documentation, ownership bla-bla-bla). So, it is wiser to look for cars around A$13,000 if your budget is A$15,000.

Reliability

It is important to know the reliability of the car. You can look for these information easily from internet.

Go to car forums, read the reviews and comments, and possibly approach owners who owns same car and ask for their honest opinion.

Besides that, it is also valuable to know what are the potential set backs and limitation of the car. Is the engine prone to overheat? The wiper won’t work when the car is too hot? The manufacture default parts are problematic? etc.

Second hand value

If you plan to return to home country when you complete your studies, second hand value plays an important factor in what car to buy. Usually Toyota, Honda and Mazda has highest resell value.

Many factors contributes to the value of second hand car, which I will not discuss in this topic. If you are interested in knowing more, consider joining local car forums.

Personally, I believe brand of the car plays the largest role. The best bet is to stick to Toyota and Honda. Do not trust Protons, they are made up of Milo tins.

Size

Do you prefer to drive a two seaters or five seaters? From my experience, usually three doors cars are more troublesome if you hang out with friends. Five seaters are much easier for friends to disembark from your car.

Smaller cars are easier for find car parks, though. And usually fuel efficient. Such as Honda Jazz. Larger cars includes Honda Euro and Honda Civics. These cars tend to consume more fuel but they gives better power, comfortable at longer journeys (e.g. Gold Coast) and easier to exit at highway.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, it depends on what purpose you need a car for. Value the factors above and decide which is most important to you. Based on your own valuation, you might find a car that fits in your category (though is not a car you really like. but it serves the purpose). Everyone has different factors to consider, choose types of cars which suits your requirement.

Good luck in purchasing your new car :)

Criteria To Consider Before Purchasing A Car is a post from: http://www.brisbanestudentguide.com

Source: Tim Boehm

Owning a car definitely gives you a lot of convenience, especially when public transport are limited. Not everyone has the same reason to buy car.

Here are advantages of owning a car for you to ponder, if buying a car is part of your plan.

Convenient

Having your own car is undoubtedly the most convenient thing. Especially when buying groceries. You will have no trouble looking for food. Chances of having activities with friends will increase.

Groceries

No more carrying heavy bags of foods. Imagine carrying a 10kg back of rice. I’ve done that before. It’s not fun. Beers are heavy too.

Get food easily

Able to reach farther suburbs to explore “hidden” restaurants. Some good restaurants are hard to reach by public transport. Especially late evening.

Travel

It is unlikely to go travel by public transport, unless you purposely wanted to do so (travel across Australia with train). For example, if you plan to go fishing at Sunshine Coast, how do you bring your fishing equipments? Rent car can be an option, but it’s not a long term solution.

Sight seeing

Many best sight seeing spots at Brisbane are not reachable by public transport. I like to drive around suburbs and get lost. Take the moment to enjoy the scenery, buildings architecture and surroundings. Absorb the culture and achieve zen.

Explore

You won’t know that place exist unless you personally explore it.

Friend circle widen

You get more chances to meet with new friends and have longer time to communicate with them. You don’t need to rush for public transport.

Move house

Having a car definitely helps moving house a lot simpler. Put everything into boxes and load into car. Unless you have big items such as mattress or cupboard. That can be troublesome.

Saves time

Taking public transport potentially wastes a lot of time. Especially when the frequent of the public transport is low. Further suburbs tend to have lower frequencies, example, one bus per hour. You can save many hours in traveling if you own a car.

Live further = cheaper rent

Closer to city; higher the cost of rent. Further suburbs tends of be cheaper in rent. The offset will be the lack of frequent public transport. If you have a car, chances are you can stay further from city and save the cost of rental.

Strangers become your best friend when they need you

I am not sure is this a advantage or disadvantage. Random old friends from you contact list will suddenly approach you. Then they’ll need your car and you gladly provided help. Example, move out or travel. When you have done your job, they disappear from your contact list again. You will get a free meal if you are lucky. Which is not so bad I guess.

Part time job

One contributor of Brisbane Student Guide – Queenie, had this excellent idea airport service. She is picking up and sending students to airport during summer break.

Dominos, Pizzahut and Eagleboys pizza are always hiring for drivers. If you can’t find any job – go send pizza.

Having a car can let you do many private services easier. Example, give private tuitions or door-step hair cut service. Unlimited money making potential.

Advantages Of Owning A Car is a post from: http://www.brisbanestudentguide.com

Owning a car definitely gives you a lot of convenience, especially when public transport are limited. Not everyone has the same reason to buy car.

Here are disadvantages of owning a car for you to ponder, if buying a car is part of your plan.

Car park fee

As long as you own a car, the chances for paying for car park fees are unavoidable. You rather pay a few dollars to park your car in secure car park with bright lights, or free car park with insecure environment?

Maintenance fee

The car has to sent to workshop after a certain period of time, or certain distance of journey to maintain the car. Main purpose is to “retain” the value of the car, and have a solid history of the rego in order to prove to future buying that you’re taking reasonable steps to maintain the condition of the car. It is vital procedure to get a good price.

Besides that, anything minor accidents occur from time to time. Example, scratches, dent, brake not working and tire replacement. All these are included in maintenance fees.

Petrol

The petrol fees has been fluctuating since I came. The petrol was only $0.66 per liter (petrol) during 2005 and it has been sky rocketing since then, reaching $1.41 during 2009. More than 100% price increase! By the time I write this, the price is around $1.20-ish. Full tank for 1.5L car (Honda Jazz) is approximately $40.00, which drives up to 500km. I have to emphasize Honda Jazz is very petrol economical car.. petrol usage might varies among cars and drivers.

Wash car

Car is your asset. You need to maintain and keep it in best condition as possible. Therefor you will clean it time to time. Good thing about washing car in Australia – the water is free. You probably need 30 minutes or more to clean up your car every week. I love my car, and I spend at least two hours to clean it during weekend.

Selling off when leaving?

You need to go through a lot of procedures and documentation to sell off your car. You will find it troublesome, especially this is your first trade. You are unlucky if you meet up with good negotiator. Haha.

Responsibility

Owning a car is like having your own child. You have a responsibility towards your car. If you are not looking after the car, no one will. Besides that, having your own car means you will need to fetch and send friends around. This might be fun during first few months, but you’ll get sick and tired some day.

Remember rego (Car Registration)

Pay extra attention to the details of your rego, especially the expiry date. I was fined $500++ for driving with an expired rego – the rego was only expired for 1 day. Another friend of mine even had to attend court because his rego was expired for a month.

Cannot drink and drive

Your chances of drinking with friends are definitely lower if you own a car. You cannot drink and drive at Australia (yes, you can at Malaysia!). If caught, penalties are severe. Get a designated driver to take charge of the wheel if you plan to drink. Or catch a cab.

Speeding fees and charges

You will never know where is the hidden speed camera. Even if you’re familiar with that area, police traffic in Australia are one of the most hardworking group of people I met so far. They are always pointing the speed camera at the least surprising corners. To make it worse, they always catch you while you were least off guard, e.g. holding a phone. One of my friend were fined $150 for driving 75km/h in 60km area.

Traffic jam

I hate traffic jams, especially if I am driving manual. To make it worse – I HATE it when nature calls while I am stuck in middle of traffic jams. Good practise is to avoid peak time, e.g. 7-8am, 4-5pm. 5-7pm during weekends. Plan ahead.

Sudden surge of friends

Not everyone had this problem, I’ll list this down, as this could be part potential disadvantages (or advantages).

You will notice some old friends from your contact list “reappear”, suddenly befriend with you. You probably guess it right – they need you. They invite you to gatherings in order to exchange for free rides home. Thus the sudden surge of new friend(s). Well this can be advantages if you judge this from another point of view.

Join the discussion!

Feel free to add more disadvantages of owning a car in the comments.

Disadvantages Of Owning A Car is a post from: http://www.brisbanestudentguide.com

Parking at Brisbane CBD can be tricky, especially if you don’t know the price for car parks. It is a good practice to check out the prices before you drive to CBD. Here are some price list for you to refer.

City

$3.20 per hour – maximum 2 hours.
Free during weekend
Free after 7pm
No parking during peak hours at certain street

Myer Center

$10 per hour
After 1pm, student price $7 per entry
After 5pm, $14 per entry no student price

Casino

$15 per hour
Free, if following conditions fulfilled
Gamble 300 points; approximately $150
Gamble for one hour on table
Have meal more than $50
Club Conrad, Gold and Platinum card holder

QUT

Minimum $3 for two hours, maximum parking 4 hours only
No free during weekend

Convention Center

$15 per entry.

Illegal

$150 tow truck – I think? But it’s definitely one option.

Recommendation for students

Short term
Rent a car park roughly $70 per week (approximate) from residential building
QUT Permit parking here

Long term
Casino – gamble until you get Gold Card. Good luck.

Resources

More information about Parking here

6 Car Park Recommendations For Brisbane CBD is a post from: http://www.brisbanestudentguide.com