Buying A Car in Perth, Western Australia

The Harding Letter

25th November 2023

Relocating to new locations can be difficult.

Finding work, finding accommodation, setting up your dream life (to name a few tasks).

This can all take time and money.

One of the biggest mistakes I made with my relocation back to Perth, WA was not getting a car sooner.

How this became a problem

When you are not able to travel independently to any location in your new destination, this leaves you very limited.

Here's some forms of transport that caused this:

• Paying for taxis/Ubers, trains and buses - limited routes

• Renting out electric bikes - Only last so long due to battery dying or becoming tired physically.

After buying a car here in Perth, WA I saw my opportunities and independence soar to new heights.

This was the solution to my problem!

Here's the PROS & CONS:

Pros

• The freedom & independence

• Travelling to and from work conveniently

• You don’t have to rely on other peoples schedules - bus/train timetables. So more free to structure your day as your wish

• More accessibility to other areas - regional, coastal etc

• Able to pickup multiple friends and carpool

• Travel adventures - camping trips, bbq nights

   

Cons

• Maintenance of the vehicle - Rego (registration), roadworthy (inspection)

• Fuel & oil that go into the car to make it functional

Before I found my awesome little car though, I had many questions I needed to answer. Below are all of them with answers.

“What type of car do you want?”

Here's how my reply would go:

“I want it to be super economical, super cheap on fuel & super reliable”

With one of my last cars, (my Mitsubishi Challenger) it had a lot of problems with it. I had to spend at least $1000 to make fully functional for future use.

I made it a key certainty that I wouldn’t go through that again.

That leads me on to my next question:

“What sort of mileage/kms would you deem acceptable to buy it at?”

Living in Australia for over 3 years and across 4 states, I can emphasise to you that this country is MASSIVE.

All of second hand cars I was looking at online, offline they all had high KMS!

However, you have to take into consideration a few more factors:

• The age of the vehicle - mine is an 05 model

• The make of the car - Toyota are renown for being reliable cars

When you start looking for a car, it’s really helpful to ask if it has any service history!

For example:

• Is there a log book for the vehicle?

• Has it been maintained properly through each service?

If it's been looked after well over that time period, then it's more likely to be reliable for you, as a car, as an asset in your life and as a vessel to take you to all these cool places you desire to go.

The next BIG question:

“What sort of budget do you have?”

I had been saving massively to buy a Toyota Hilux, however I really needed to get a car ASAP.

So if I could find a small “a to b car” that was super cheap to run. I’d happily invest my time and money into sorting that.

My budget was between $3.500 - $6000 AUD (give or take).

I wasn't going to rush this though. I was determined to find something good.

So next up was:

“Where do I find a reliable car?”

Here’s the platforms I tried:

• Backpacker groups/Perth car for sale under X amount on Facebook

• Marketplace on Facebook

• Gumtree

• Car sales (Online)

The duration and process:

• I messaged up to 10 people each time

• Learning about the cars (Rego, type of engine, oil change etc)

• What does the car come with?

• When did you last service it?

Types of sellers:

• Private

• Dealerships

Pro tip: Generally speaking if you find a car from a dealership, they normally would have done some maintenance for the vehicle. Part the reason to why the vehicles can be higher from a dealership.

Before going to meet the seller, it’s a great idea to have some questions prepared so you can find as much info on the vehicle as possible.

Here's some suggestions:

“How much service history do you have for the car?”

• Normally cars have some kind of logbook to document the KMS

• See how the cars been handled, see what’s been purchased for it

“How long have you had it for?”

• With this time period you can gage what they used it for - travel backpacker car, city driver etc.

“Why are you selling it?”

• Do they want to upgrade to new car

• Do they have a daily driver so just don’t need it anymore

• Is it broken and they can’t be asked to fix it

“Does it have any problems with it?”

• Hopefully the seller will be honest - check the sales ad to see if this had been mentioned

“Does it have registration?” 

• If its registered then its easier for you to continue the registration than apply for a new one

• If it doesn’t have rego, you have to put it through a service known as a roadworthy. (This will cost you time and money)

With this try and collect as much data as you can. Note this info down on paper, on your phone, whatever is best for you.

How I bought my car:

1. I found a Toyota Echo car on Facebook marketplace - I messaged/rang them straight away

2. They told me that was still available

3. I organised a viewing with them at their car sales yard in Victoria Park, WA.

4. I met Johan the sales agent and took it for 2 test drives.

5. Tested out all the main key functions - steering, breaks, engine, electrics, tyres etc.

6. Checked the engine

7. Had a conversation in the office and started negotiation

8. After we both agreed the amount, I transferred it.

9. After 24 hours the money had cleared, so I went down next morning to pick it up

Massive shoutout to Johan and all the staff at Capital Motors WA for selling me a car that is really awesome!

Since then I’ve travelled out to Alkimos which is a beautiful coastal suburb in WA.

I’ve travelled down to Hillary’s for a few beach visits and I’m loving every second of having my independence back!

What's next?

Next up is sorting out my career - moving forward in management!

Then we will be applying permanent residency in Western Australia.

One thing at a time though!

Massive thanks for reading.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this one.

Vast love & see you in the next letter!

- Benjamin Harding