You may feel you need to buy a car in order to go to the shops, explore the countryside and in most cases commute to work. Perth is a big city and the distances between places that you need to get to can be huge. Buying a car in Australia is a fairly simple experience. As long as you have a payslip and proof of address you will be able to borrow money from the banks to a buy a car.
Money for a Car
Visit your bank to find out how much money they are willing to lend you and work out how much you are willing to pay every month. Try to ensure that you have a big deposit on a car before you leave for Australia. You can use the money from the sale of your current car. If you are lucky this may be enough to buy a new vehicle in cash. This will depend on the type of car you had, type of car you require and the value of your previous currency.
New Car
On a worldwide scale cars in Australia are fairly cheap. The second hand car market is not as big as it is in some countries and cars tend to keep their value for longer periods of time.
If you are planning to buy a new car, you will find a number of car showrooms in Perth. Put aside a day or two to go and test drive a short list of vehicles that you like. The dealership will help you with all the paperwork needed to purchase the car.
Used Car
If you are going the second hand route you will find a number of online car sales sites such as:
Search through the sites and pick out cars that you would like to look at.
Car dealers are legally required to provide a warranty. The length of the warranty will depend on the age and mileage of the car that you are intending to purchase. This makes buying through a dealership a much safer bet on the second hand market.
If you buy through a private seller the RAC provides a full vehicle check for a fee. This is highly recommended to ensure that you a buying a car that is still in good condition.
Good to know
There are a few processes involved in the purchase of a car in Perth. You will need to keep the following in mind while looking for a car:
Cars need to be licenced every year. A new car will need a licence at the time of purchase. If you are buying a second hand vehicle find out how long you have until the licence expires. There is $200 fine if your licence has expired. Licence fees are calculated on the weight of the vehicle.
You will need to fill in a MR9 form. This is a transfer of ownership form and will need to be taken along with the required fee to the Driver and Vehicle service centre in order for the car to be registered in your name. The fee is currently 2.75% of the purchase price of the car.
There is a compulsory third party insurance that needs to be purchased every year at a fee of $280 for a car. Full insurance can be purchased and is generally cheaper in Australia.
Happy car hunting.
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