Property & Cars
Property
Property
Property Investing
Property investing considerations
| PROS | CONST |
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Property ownership
| Pros | Cons |
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Renting
| Pros | Cons |
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Property
Moving addresses
Chang address for
- Banks
- Gov services (drivers license, ato, medicare, electoral comission)
- library card
- Services (gas, electricity, water, internet, mobile phone)
- Car insurance
- Accountant
- Toll
- Super
- Utilities (Internet, water, gas, electricity)
Property
Buying & Selling
Buying a property
General Steps
- Hit up a mortgage BROKEr
- Building inspection (Pest, mould, foundation)
- Use conveyencer to look over sales contract
- Find place and put offer in
Check before getting interested
- Is the property in a flood zone
Check before deposit
- Drain in laundry
- mould, pest, rot building checks
- Age of building
- What keys are available for locks including garage, storage, laundry
Selling a property
General steps
- Hit up sales agency and let them know you want to sell
- Hit up conveyancer to write up a sales contract
- Wait
My Checklist
- Internal Laundry
- Good size car spot
- Solid walls (check laundry and behind things for rot)
- Drain in laundry
- Aircon
- Bright lights / natural light
- Low strata & council rates
- Smoke alarm last check date
- Paint work
- Floor quality
- Kitchen cupboards
- Stove fan
Cars
Cars
Buying tips
Car Buying Tips (Australia)
A beginner-friendly checklist for inspecting and test-driving a car before you buy. Print it or open it on your phone and tick things off as you go.
Before You Inspect the Car
These steps protect you from buying a stolen, written-off, or finance-encumbered car.
- Run a PPSR check (Personal Property Securities Register) — costs about $2 at ppsr.gov.au. You need the VIN. It tells you if there's money owing on the car, if it's been written off, or reported stolen. Do this before you hand over any money.
- Check the rego status for the state the car is registered in (free on each state's roads/transport website). Confirms the car is currently registered and matches the seller.
- Match the VIN on the car (usually visible at the base of the windscreen and on the driver's door frame) to the rego papers. If they don't match, walk away.
- Ask for the service history / logbook. A car with stamped servicing is worth more and is less risky.
- Look up the ANCAP safety rating at ancap.com.au. Aim for 4 or 5 stars if it's your daily driver.
- Get an insurance quote before you buy. Some cars are surprisingly expensive to insure, especially for newer drivers.
Things to Check on the Car
Tech & Connectivity
- Apple CarPlay / Android Auto — actually pair your phone in the car. Test wired and wireless if it claims wireless.
- USB ports — count them, note where they are, and check whether they're USB-A or USB-C. Test the front and rear ones.
- Cruise control — does it work? Is it adaptive (follows the car in front) or standard?
- Bluetooth — pair your phone, make a test call, play music.
- Reversing camera and parking sensors — clear picture, sensors beep at the right distance.
Convertibles / Soft-tops
- How to put the roof up and down — get the seller to show you, then do it yourself. Listen for grinding or hesitation. Convertible roof mechanisms are expensive to fix.
- Check the roof seals for leaks or wear.
Storage & Practicality
- Glove box — opens, closes, latches properly. Check inside it (some hide service records or fuses).
- Centre console / cup holders / door pockets — fit your phone, water bottle, and whatever you actually carry.
- Boot space — does your usual gear fit? Pram, golf clubs, surfboard, weekly shop?
- Spare tyre — open the boot floor and check what's there. Many new cars come with:
- A full-size spare (best),
- A space-saver (temporary, limited speed/distance),
- A tyre repair kit (just goo and a pump — useless for sidewall damage),
- Nothing at all. Confirm this matches what you expected.
- Cargo cover / parcel shelf — present and not damaged.
Tyres & Wheels
- Tread depth — the legal minimum in Australia is 1.5mm. Use a 20-cent coin: if the platypus's bill is fully visible, the tread is getting low.
- Date code on the sidewall — a 4-digit number (e.g. "2823" = week 28 of 2023). Tyres older than ~6 years should be replaced even if they look fine.
- Even wear across all four tyres. Uneven wear suggests alignment, suspension, or balance problems.
- No bulges, cracks, or cuts.
- Wheel locks — if fitted, make sure the locking key nut is included.
Lights & Wipers
- Headlights (low and high beam), indicators front and rear, brake lights, reverse lights, fog lights, number plate light, interior lights.
- Wipers front and rear, washer fluid sprays properly.
Under the Bonnet
- Oil level and colour (pull the dipstick, wipe, dip again). Should be amber-to-light brown, not black sludge.
- Coolant level in the overflow tank — between min and max, not rusty looking.
- Brake fluid — between min and max.
- No oil leaks, corrosion, or rodent damage.
- Battery terminals clean, not corroded.
Body & Paint
- Panel gaps should be even all the way around. Mismatched gaps suggest accident repair.
- Paint consistency — different shades on different panels = repaint.
- Rust, especially around wheel arches, sills, and the boot floor.
- Windscreen — chips, cracks, or pitting. A crack in the driver's view will fail a roadworthy.
Interior
- Sit in every seat. Check for stains, tears, sagging, wear on the driver's bolster.
- Smell test — mould, smoke, or "something to cover up smoke" (heavy air freshener) is a red flag.
- All windows, all door locks, central locking, child locks.
- Seatbelts retract properly in every seat.
- ISOFIX child seat anchor points if you need them.
The Test Drive
Drive for at least 20 minutes if you can. Mix suburban, highway, and stop-start.
Driving Performance
- Cold start — try to test before the seller has warmed it up. Listen for rattles, smoke from the exhaust, or hesitation.
- Fast acceleration — smooth, no hesitation, no jerky gear changes (auto) or slipping clutch (manual).
- Fast braking — find a safe empty stretch. The car should stop straight, no pulling left or right, no juddering through the pedal.
- Steering — centred when going straight, no pulling to one side, no vibration in the wheel at highway speed.
- Suspension — drive over a speed bump or rough patch. Listen for clunks, rattles, or knocks.
- Transmission — auto should shift smoothly without flaring or jerking. Manual gears should engage cleanly without crunching.
Climate & Comfort
- Air conditioning — blows genuinely cold within a couple of minutes. Critical in Australia. Re-gassing isn't always cheap, especially on newer refrigerants.
- Heater — blows actual hot air. Easy to forget if you're test-driving in summer.
- Cruise control — engage it, set a speed, accelerate past, decelerate, cancel it.
- Heated/cooled seats if fitted.
Things to Locate (don't laugh — easy to forget)
- How to open the petrol cap — push-button, lever, or just pull on the flap? Which side is it on?
- How to open the bonnet — find the release lever (usually under the dash) and the secondary catch under the bonnet itself.
- How to open the boot — button on the key, button inside the cabin, button on the boot itself.
- Where the jack and wheel brace live (often under the boot floor with the spare).
- Where the OBD2 port is (usually under the steering column) — useful if you ever want to plug in a scanner.
Warning Lights
After the test drive, with the engine running, scan the dashboard. Any orange or red warning lights = ask why, and don't accept "it just does that".
Paperwork at Handover
- Roadworthy / safety certificate (varies by state):
- VIC — Roadworthy Certificate (RWC), required for sale.
- NSW — eSafety check ("pink slip") for vehicles over 5 years old at rego renewal; "blue slip" if unregistered.
- QLD — Safety Certificate, required for sale.
- SA — No mandatory pre-sale inspection between private buyers, but strongly recommended.
- WA — No mandatory pre-sale inspection, but recommended.
- TAS / ACT / NT — rules vary; check your state's transport authority.
- Service logbook with stamps.
- Owner's manual.
- Both sets of keys (replacing a missing smart key can cost hundreds).
- Signed receipt with the seller's full name, address, licence number, the car's VIN, the price, and the date.
- Transfer of registration — submit it within your state's required timeframe (often 14 days) or you can be fined.
- Budget for stamp duty on the transfer — it's a percentage of the purchase price and varies by state.
Strongly Recommended for First-Time Buyers
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Get a pre-purchase inspection from a mechanic before you commit. Your state's auto club does these:
- NSW/ACT — NRMA
- VIC — RACV
- QLD — RACQ
- SA — RAA
- WA — RAC
- TAS — RACT
- NT — AANT
It costs $200–$400 depending on the inspection, and it's the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy. A mechanic will spot things you can't.
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Don't pay cash on the spot. Use a bank transfer you can verify, and ideally meet at the seller's home (with a verifiable address) — not in a car park.
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Don't be rushed. "Another buyer is coming this afternoon" is the oldest trick. A good car will still be a good car tomorrow.
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Test drive at least 2–3 cars before you commit, even if the first one feels great. You learn a lot by comparison.
Quick Red Flags (walk away)
- Seller won't let you take it for a proper test drive.
- Seller won't let you get an independent inspection.
- VIN doesn't match the paperwork.
- "I lost the logbook / spare key / owner's manual."
- Price seems much lower than similar cars on Carsales or Facebook Marketplace.
- Car is being sold by someone whose name isn't on the rego papers (without a clear explanation).
- PPSR check shows finance owing or a write-off history.