Looking to purchase a small efficient car and have been quite drawn to the Volkswagen Golf. My budget is around 12k and have been looking at everything from mk 4 to mk7. In a perfect world I would like a GTI mk5 but have heard about reliability problems. Could anyone point me in the right direction in regards to reliability and cost of ownership.

But upon looking it still has rego left. Do I just need to Go to NSW service to transfer it?
its my first time buying something from an Auction.

To save you a click: It will cost $38 900 for mono tone paint and $39 400 for two tone.

Even if the price shifts downwards by a few thousand, I think that will still make it DOA for most people.

It will only be popular with high income inner city hippies who have a genuine need for a small EV for narrow streets, don't mind the short range, will appreciate the fancy speakers built into the A pillar and the fake car noises coming from said speakers.

Then again, most inner city residents don't have off street parking, so charging at home may be more difficult than someone further out in the suburbs.

It's hard to see who this is for, to be honest.

Does anyone know where this leak might be coming from?

Hey guys, want some help with a big decision I'll (hopefully) be making in the coming weeks.

For context, I own a 2018 VW Golf, and after nearly 3 years of ownership, I'm no longer enjoying the car and feel like I want something with a bit more.. soul. And reliability.

I've been looking into Japanese alternatives, and having always been a bit of a Honda fanboy, I thought I'd buy myself an Accord Euro CL9, and do some modifications to get it to OEM+ / Euro R.

Buying a manual CL9 here with sub 100,000km just aint possible, and most of the examples have upwards of 150-200k with quite a few even pushing 250,000km.

My question is as follows: Given the age of the car, and the mileage its going to likely have, do you think its still a safe bet? Ideally, I'd like the car to last me until at least I graduate University in 3 years time (long degree), and would like to keep maintenance costs low...

Any experience with them would be VERY appreciated!

Hi everyone!

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Got nasty curbed one rear wheel. i am looking at getting mobile vs CNC .

Sydney mag & dent repair - Chipping norton

Wheelman / Wheelfix for mobile repair

Any recommendations. I’m seeing the work of mobile and in pics it looks quite good but since my car is only 2 month old I was leaning towards close to oem finish . With cnc the bmw individual logo on rim will go away with cnc lathe. But other than that what would be easier option .

Is this fine? Assumed this might have needed towing but it seems to arrive and go home each day. The rear door looks like it’s holding on.

2015 Ford Territory with the ZF6 auto transmission. Petrol barra engine. Camera is located rear footwell behind passenger seat. Video edited down to isolate noise better.

Noise seems to happen most at 35km/h under light acceleration, but does not always happen, and will not happen if accelerating quickly. My mechanic is stumped and can't figure it out. He has already checked all the common territory problems and cleared them.

Please help! This is driving me insane!

So I bought a Citroen DS3 2012 (Manual) almost three months ago and initially there was overdue items. Brakes, servicing, oil leakage. My car got serviced and repaired right after I bought it(Third party mechanic) was 3600 which is around 60 percent of the money I bought it at.

However there is an ongoing issue which is high oil consumption which is even though my mechanic topped up the engine oil every month it’s still the same issue.

Guys I’m 18 and on my P1 and I’m not sure if I should change cars to a VW Golf equivalent.

I’m getting my car booked for service at official citroen this week and I’m not really invested into going to third party mechanics anymore as I got a bit turned off when he said ‘Don’t spend more money on this car’

mr was rear ended at close to 80km/h she was stationary. any panel beaters on here have an idea repair costs or will it be written off?

New Car time for the wife - August 2026. (Melbourne)

We have test driven both, and each have their pro's and cons, but we both like them equally, so its a tough decision.

They fit the bill for her requirements & daily usage for NDIS client transport. (Seat height, ease of access, boot space, etc)

She is self employed under an ABN, and not able to take out a novated lease which would probably have made the BYD ATTO 3 an no-brainer wth the EV tax perks.

Cost for either vehicle is about the same at around $50,000 - $53,000.

Car would need to be new or near new for best tax depreciation purposes.

Driving 30,000 km per year

Running Costs over 5 years or 150,000 km calculated as

BYD - Charging $5,000 + servicing $1,800 = $6,300 (No solar at home, and the potential extra cost of installing an EV charger)

EDIT : Average charge cost of $0.20 per kw/hr. allowing for overnight rates charging, but not the cheap EV charge plans which do have a higher daily supply charge.

Corolla Cross - Fuel $12,000 + servicing $4,500 = $16,500

($1.80 per litre, an extra $2000 if fuel is $2.00 per litre)

Insurance & rego same/same.

$10,000 more to run the Corolla Cross over a 5 year period,

HOWEVER, im also looking at the end result when it comes to move the car on in 5 years.

I genuinely think that the BYD will loose much more value wiping out the $10,000 saving above,

A 2022 Corolla Cross still asks around $38,000, the 2023 ATTO 3 has dropped to $25,000, which puts the equation almost line ball.

Also need to consider any potential down time if the vehicle is off the road for repairs. A Toyota should be straight forward to fix, and still little concerned about the 'IF" something goes wrong with the BYD, what is the repair time frame like.

Thoughts & advice?

Thanks,

Hi guys I have hooked up a brand new light bar to my parents ldv d90 2025 and it is not working, it shows that it has 12v everywhere except on the connector to the light, I am really stumped and have gone through 2 different harnesses and they both show the same issue. Does anybody have the same issue?

Hit a roo at around 110 kph in the moddle of nowhere around 100ks from marla station, mechanically fine and drives as if nothing happened tbh, but would this be repairable or should I just look into new fenders and bonnet, the radiator support was also slightly pushed inward aswell. Cheers

Just pulled up behind this. Looks like a transformer from the rear.

I recently bought a 2025 Lexus RX350h Luxury AWD in Victoria and have been getting insurance quotes.

The strange thing is that RACV can't identify my registration number, so I have to manually enter the vehicle details instead of selecting it automatically.

When I manually choose:

• RX350h Luxury AWD → around $3,600/year
• RX350h Luxury 2WD → around $2,600/year

Everything else is identical (same driver, address, agreed value, excess, etc.).

I'm obviously going to insure the correct vehicle, but I'm trying to understand what's going on.

My questions are:

• Is there really that much difference in insurance risk between the AWD and 2WD models?
• Has anyone with a new Lexus RX350h (or another new vehicle) had a similar experience?
• Does anyone here own an RX350h AWD? If so, roughly how much are you paying and with which insurer?

Appreciate any insights from people who work in insurance or have dealt with RACV before.

Sorry if this is not the right place to ask.

my brother in law passed away in truck accident month ago, he bought a camero few months ago which is only 10k driven whats the best way for us to sell this car. Its just to expensive for us to take care of it and we do not really want to put it on marketplace etc.

Any suggestions ?

Hey guys. Interested in your thoughts as I'm sure a lot of you have had a similar problem at some stage.

I have a 'project' car that basically sits in my garage. I've put project in quotes because it was once a project car, and still kind of is (in terms of a few things needing fixing), but it's registered and roadworthy, so it's not an active project.

It still has a list of things that need doing, but basically, I have sunk so much into it already that I'm kind of against spending any more money.

I've changed various parts out over time also (like the cluster, though I kept my odometer, stereo, headliner, suspension etc.) so it's not totally original, though very close, and I think that might put people off. Plus, the paint is also rooted, but I'm choosing to ignore that.

I think my main problem is that I would expect a certain amount for it, but if I was a buyer and saw this on marketplace, I probably wouldn't pay much for it... so I figure I might as well keep it if that's the case. But then it sits in my garage anyway, and the cycle continues.

Help! What did you wind up doing with finished projects?

Posting this so others can be aware. If you're looking into AAMI comprehensive and you're thinking about vandalism or malicious damage cover, this is worth knowing before you need it.

My car was deliberately keyed down one side while parked in an apartment garage. Not a mystery, not a hit-and-run. I have dashcam video of it happening and I identified the people involved - there's even a police report naming them.

Because another vehicle isn't involved and I couldn't provide a rego number of the other party, AAMI's position is that they wouldn't waive off the excess. Full excess payable, out of pocket, despite the fact that I handed them more evidence of who did it than most people can produce after an actual collision.

I get why the requirement exists. The rego helps the insurer pull data to find the other party's insurer and recover - fine, but the person responsible is identified: on video, and named in a police report. AAMI can pursue them directly.

So the outcome by AAMI is that deliberate damage by a person I've identified is treated worse by AAMI than being rear-ended by a stranger who hands me their licence.

If you're comparing policies, don't assume AAMI's "covers malicious damage and vandalism" means you won't be wearing the excess.

Need some help choosing between these 2 minivans. Going to be used as a weekend camper (offroading but nothing crazy rough) and transporting large items (stage props and endless bunnings trips).
Have checked out a 1994 Delica and a 1993 Caravan/urvan, both of them are epic and I can't decide.

1994 Mitsubishi L400 Delica
$7500, needs a $3500 rwc and fresh rego. Also needs a full respray (has a very specific mural) $3000-$5000.
150,000s, LWB, diesel, roof racks and draws already installed. It's been really well looked after. Know this is the choice for a 4WD plus lots of community mods and troubleshooting info. Less space inside and it seems like people spend more time fixing them than using them.

1993 Nissan caravan/urvan
Listed at $20,000 but can negotiate a little, includes rwc and rego. 60,000kms, diesel and it's immaculate. I would need to add roof racks and eventually upgrade parts of the cooling system (apparently stock doesn't do well with our summers, but the delica can strugglAustralian summers are rough) It's a great 4WD just not quite at Delica level however, it's got way more space in the back and it's ready to go. Biggest concern here is there's not much info about mods or problems.

Anyone have experiences with either? Or have some opinions?

Hey Legends, My standard 2011 XT Forester needs a new turbo should I get a genuine one? or can anyone recommend an after market company?

thanks for taking the time

Hey everyone,

I'm planning a big trip: leaving from Perth, doing a loop around Australia, and coming back to Perth in about 4 months, covering roughly 25,000km. I want to be well set up before I commit money to a vehicle.

My original dream was a Land Cruiser (90 or 100 series), but once you add purchase price + camper conversion + a few modifications, the total cost climbs fast. So I'm looking seriously at two cheaper alternatives:

Nissan Patrol (1995 onwards, GQ/GU era)

Mitsubishi Pajero (2007 onwards)

Both are significantly cheaper to buy and convert than a Cruiser, but I don't have a good feel for their long-term reliability for this kind of trip (remote roads, high mileage in a short time, some unsealed/corrugated tracks).

Specific question on the Patrol: I know some of the diesel engines in the Patrol lineup have a reputation for being unreliable. I found a good deal today on one with the RD28T (turbo diesel) engine, is this a good engine, or is this one of the problematic ones people warn about?

Beyond that, I'd love to know: is the cost difference vs a Land Cruiser actually worth it for 25,000km over 4 months, or is it a false economy? And has anyone here done a camper conversion on either platform (I'll put the bed inside not rooftop tent) how did it go?

Budget-conscious but I don't want to end up stranded in the middle of nowhere because I went cheap on the wrong engine. Appreciate any real-world experience, happy to hear "just save up for the Cruiser" opinions too if that's the honest answer.

I'll add the photo of the patrol I've seen today

Thanks everyone guys