Ok next question which is almost contrary to the last question, but if you were going to buy a car would it be cheaper in Canberra, Sydney, or somewhere else near by?
I think in Sydney's west there's good car deals especially on 'Auto Alley'.
People who know something about cars though go to car auctions.
If you're going to buy a car in NSW it's good to refer to
REVS first especially if you're not buying a new car. REVS has a database that you can check to see if there's money owing on the car - because if you buy a car where the owner hadn't payed off the debt, you get the debt!
The NSW Department of Fair Trading has some points of caution on their
site
I don't think we have the 'lemon laws' that you have in the USA
Where we live if you go over the stateline a couple hours you can save a few thousand dollars for the same car because of the various dealers competing for business.
In Sydney, if you're buying new, a lot of people got to "
Auto Alley", which is Church Street, Parramatta because a lot of car dealers are in the one area. Just to confuse you google maps call this part of Church Street the Great Western Highway.
You can check cars out online, too
here
If you really want to go into detail there's
ANCAP a safety rating site that will give you a guide on how safe the car model is
In NSW as well as a 'pink slip' (that certifies the car is roadworthy), there's a compulsory
'green slip' that you must have - it's compulsory third party insurance. Different insurers have different charges for green slips
A good group to get information from is the National Roads and Motorists' Association which is commonly just referred to as the
NRMA. Everyone knows what the NRMA is here. They have advice on car buying and if you're a member they offer road-side assistance should you need it, as well as maps for tourism and other services, and they have a reciprical (spelling? ) arrangement with other state's motoring organisations (auto clubs - see below) so if you break-down in another state, you can still get assistance.
The NRMA also offers a swathe of car and other insurance products. Though it's best to shop around. Other big name car insurers are
GIO, AAMI and
Allianz
Also, don't forget, we drive on the left-hand side
Other Auto Clubs:
Royal Automobile Association (South Australia)
Royal Automobile Club of Queensland
Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania
Royal Automobile Club of Victoria
Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia
We broke down once in Queensland and the RACQ came out and fixed the car because we're members of the NRMA