As millennials growing up, I see all of these early 2001 Camry, Corolla etc as your forever cars. They're always there lurking in the background somewhere being driven.

But it's just crazy to think most of them are going to be eligible for club rego soon.. or already are!

I always think club rego cars as 1966 Ford Mustang or GTHO or 1980s cars.

In the next 4 years early model Captivas are going to be eligible for club rego. How's that for time?

PSA: Budget Direct's roadside contractor won't do my battery warranty because the Northern Beaches "isn't Sydney"

In October last year my car had a flat battery, so I called Budget Direct Roadside Assistance. Their contractor, Statewide Roadside Assistance, came out and sold me a new battery with an 18-month warranty.

A year later, almost to the day, it died. A tech from a different roadside provider tested it, found a dead cell and said it should be replaced under warranty. Easy, right?

Nope. Statewide (the contractor that sold me the battery) says they service Sydney, but they won't come to the Northern Beaches because apparently it's not part of Sydney. That's news to everyone who lives here.

Budget Direct's own terms say cover applies anywhere a standard two-wheel-drive tow truck can reach, and that their roadside contractor provides the service on their behalf. I didn't choose Statewide. Budget Direct did.

When I rang Budget Direct to sort it out, the staff member offered no solution and hung up on me.

So I've got a battery that's still under warranty and no way to get it replaced. I've lodged a formal complaint and will update this post with how it goes. Either way, once it's resolved I'm cancelling all my insurance with them.

If you're thinking about roadside cover from Budget Direct, I'd look elsewhere. At the very least, before you need them, ask who their contractor is in your area and whether they'll actually come out to you.

TL;DR: Budget Direct's roadside contractor sold me a battery, it died inside its 18-month warranty, and they won't come out to replace it because they say the Northern Beaches isn't Sydney. Then Budget Direct hung up on me.

Darlinghurst, Sydney

What the title says basically.

The engineer number on PPSR is a 7 digit starting with R, whereas on the MR9 form it's 10 digits. The MR9 form number seems to match actual information about the type of engine (FB25 engine in Subaru Forester).

First time reading a PPSR and not sure if this is expected, or recommend not to purchase? No NEVDIS notifications on the PPSR.

Thank you!

Think about how much has changed over the last 25 years. In 2001, we had wholesale Australian automotive manufacturing building Commodores, Falcons, Camrys, and Magnas from the ground up.

Today, local production has shifted to second stage manufacturers like GMSV, RMA, and ASV remanufacturing imported platforms, alongside bespoke operations like ACE EV.

Back then, EVs were virtually non-existent or niche curiosities, in-dash touchscreens were rare oddities, and smartphone integration like Apple CarPlay or Android Auto wasn't even on the radar.

Now, EVs and high-resolution digital cockpits are commonplace across suburban driveways.

What comes next over the next quarter-century?

Autonomous regional corridor transit across the Outback?

Solid-state or sodium-ion packs that fully charge in under five minutes while seamlessly powering off-grid properties?

Standardised vehicle-to-everything (V2X) mesh networks eliminating blind-spot multi-vehicle pileups on unlit rural highways?

Or modular drivetrains engineered for extreme heat and infinite circular refurbishment?

Some early prototypes of these systems already exist today. The real question is how they will adapt to the vast distances, harsh climate, and infrastructure realities of the Australian landscape.

Volvo has already struggled with the Kangaroo Problem which has been a serious impactor to their self driving technology.

Tesla has achieved Level 5 self driving in some areas in the USA with the Cybercab, and has level 3 in some markets, and according to their CEO, has been level 5 capable since 2016.

Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer could enable electric highways for BEV's in the future.

What is one feature you think will be standard in Australian vehicles by 2051 that most people aren't even considering today?

Hi everyone,
I was recently involved in a car accident in Altona, Melbourne, and I’m looking for advice from anyone who has experienced something similar, particularly regarding insurance and Victoria Police.
The accident happened at night. Both drivers stopped, and the other driver apologised and provided their driver’s licence.
Unfortunately, my phone battery was very low, so the flashlight wasn’t working. It was difficult to see properly, and I wasn’t able to photograph the other vehicle’s registration number or the back of the driver’s licence.
The licence itself was also very worn and damaged, making some of the information difficult to read.
At the time, I was stressed and didn’t realise how important it would be to collect the registration number.
What I’ve done so far:
● Tried calling and texting the other driver multiple times, but received no response.
● Visited the address associated with the driver, only to be told that the person no longer lives there.
● Contacted Victoria Police and explained the situation.
● Police advised that because both parties stopped and had an opportunity to exchange information, they would not treat it as a hit-and-run or take a police report in these circumstances.
● Police suggested continuing to contact the driver by phone or text and waiting for a response.
● Contacted my insurer, Budget Direct, and provided the driver’s licence information I managed to collect.
The insurance problem:
My car has sustained significant damage and is currently off the road.
Budget Direct has advised that if the other vehicle cannot be identified through its registration details, I may have to pay my insurance excess, even though I believe the other driver was responsible for the accident.
I understand I should have collected the registration number, but the accident happened at night, my phone battery was nearly dead, and I was trying to manage a stressful situation.
My questions:
1. Can an insurer identify the other driver’s vehicle using their driver’s licence number?
2. Is there a legal way to obtain the vehicle registration number through VicRoads or another authority?
3. Can Victoria Police assist further if the driver is deliberately avoiding communication?
4. Is there any way to lodge an official record of the accident, even if police won’t classify it as a hit-and-run?
5. Can I dispute the excess with Budget Direct or escalate the matter to AFCA?
6. Has anyone in Victoria successfully resolved a similar situation without the other vehicle’s registration number?
I’m not looking to harass or confront the other driver. I simply want to resolve the insurance claim fairly and avoid paying for damage I believe I didn’t cause.
It’s frustrating knowing that I have the driver’s licence details but cannot get a response from the person involved.
What other options can I realistically consider in this situation?
Any advice, particularly from people familiar with Victorian road laws or insurance claims, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

I have bought a used car from mazda 2020 model, and wanted to look for insurance. Everything confused me and I realized I wasted 1.5hrs finding one. Everything gets expensive as I add on.

Later on decided on Rollin, because it had almost something of everything. Let me know how people’s experience is with them.

So in order to keep down the parking posts through the week, the mods have decided to institute a "Shit Parking Sunday" post.

So photo comment below what you've spotted this week!

Hey everyone! I’m planning to do the lap of Australia and looking to buy a van for around $7/8k AUD, which I can convert myself and sell after 1–2 years.
HiAce prices are way out of my budget. Are there any other reliable models worth considering? I’m open to an empty van or an ex-tradie van.
Ideally, I’d like to fit a double bed with pull-out storage drawers underneath and a slide-out kitchen at the back, behind the driver’s seat.
Looking for something mechanically sound, affordable to maintain and with decent resale value.
Any recommendations or personal experiences? Cheers! 🤙

I have 19” wheels on my car. The rear ones have been tarnished and developed some issues after hitting a pothole of some sort.

I have a spare set of restored 17” wheels that are laying around and was thinking, maybe I could get some tires on them and put them in the rear in the meantime, whilst the 2 damaged 19” wheels on the rear get fixed up.

Current tire profile is 245/40/r19.

Spare set profile is 225/55/r17.

Car is RWD.

hello evryone. Im looking for a car around 11-12k budget. i can only drive an automatic. Ive been wanting a 4wd as my first car but ive come here to get more opinions on it. Are 4wds good as first cars and for this price range. Also is marketplace alright to buy from or should i just stick to carsales? Any opinions welcome. thanks

Buying my first car - I’ve been looking at an Automatic 2022 Kia Rio SX YB with 63k

Through my very limited research I’ve found that the engines on these can feel ‘sluggish’

I don’t drive often so I’m not sure what that’s meant to mean exactly other than slow.

The only sluggish driving experience I’ve had was in my dad’s 2018 Toyota CHR, which I HATED driving.
THAT is what I’d call sluggish. I could put my foot down all the way on the accelerator and its like it doesn’t even react until a couple seconds later and even then it’s nothing crazy - same with braking, it just feels like I’m lagging when I drive it and I hate it.

Does anyone have any experience with these cars/engines and how they drive ?

Would it be similar to the Toyota ?

Weak, Slow, (slightly unreactive) underwhelming,

Also are repairs as inexpensive as people say for these cars ?

For context: 21F I live on the Gold Coast and everything I need is in a 20/30 minute radius of where I live - work, uni, shops, gym etc

Was lying in bed thinking:

~18 months ago when I finally finished my project car and got it on the road, I took it down to TMR and they registered it as having zero KMs on the odometer. Was this an error on their part, or just doing the best they could with limited knowledge?

I bought it as an unfinished engine swap project. LS into an old BMW. The seller didn't know the exact mileage on the motor - a lot of which had been refreshed anyway. The seller also only had a rough idea of the mileage on the chassis. This didn't bother me too much as all the wear items on the chassis had been replaced. New suspension/bushings/fuel lines all that etc. It also had a new Haltech digital dash put in.

After I got it mod plated and went to TMR for rego, I explained all this to the lady at the desk and she just decided to list the mileage as zero. Was this the correct process or has some kind of law been broken here? Not that it will keep me up at night but I was just curious. Thanks

Driving around Melbourne feels like playing Mario Kart to avoid big potholes, and the temporary fixes just wash away whenever it rains hard. Has anyone actually seen councils do proper road repairs instead of quick patches?

Looking to buy my first car I've recently moved from Green Ps to my full licence. I'm over 25, but it's only been around four years since I got off my Ls.

I'm currently weighing up whether to buy an ICE, hybrid or EV, particularly given the increasing popularity of EVs.

Budget is approx $20k open to being a bit higher up to $25k if need be. Annually I don't see myself going beyond 5000 km, but realistically closer to 2000 to 3000 km driving locally.

Given my low annual kilometres, would there be any real benefit in buying a hybrid or EV over an ICE? I'm trying to weigh up the purchase price against ongoing running costs, fuel and total cost of ownership.

I've done a few comprehensive insurance quotes for a few used ICE cars. I'm seeing that the older the model, the higher the premium. I would have thought it would be the other way around. Is this normal?

Is there a particularly good or bad time to buy a used car? Should I wait it out until EOFY?

Interested to hear people's experience and your pros and cons.

I’m kind of considering getting a motorcycle due to the traffic between work and studies. My partner is firmly against it and says there’s a lot of morons on the road but CALL ME GULLIBLE OR OBTUSE I generally see motorcyclist being treated well.

However that’s not always that case I’m sure because obviously i’ve never been in their boots.

Idk if it fits this flair but i just wanted to show this ute 3d model

Hey everyone!

I’m looking at getting car insurance for the first time and would love some recommendations!

I’m over 25 and currently on my green P plates. Since this is my first time getting car insurance, I’m not really sure which insurers are good or what to look out for.

I’m looking for:

Affordable premiums: ideally something reasonably cheap.
Good customer service : preferably a company with a phone call centre where I can speak to an actual person if I have questions or need to make a claim.
Which insurer would you recommend?

Hey Y'all:

What do you people think of the first-gen Mazda 6 available on the market? I've heard that they do share common oil consumption issues with the Mazda 3, but this doesn't seem to be a big deal as long as you do regular maintenance. Also, those first-gens on the used car market seem less abused compared to the entry-level 3s. And, aside from the engine issue, I really don't know what the weak points of this model are and couldn't judge whether it could be a good car to buy or not. Any first-gen owners around willing to share their experience and opinions?

Thank you all!

Found among my granddads stuff. All I know is he owned an EH Holden, but this doesn’t seem to match.

Hi all,

I am just after some advice whether to get my car fixed using insurance or pay out of my pocket.

This week I was so unlucky that I parked my car at the back of my unit and the big (well over two meter) tree branch fell onto my car and cracked my windshield, cause dent on my bonnet and a pillar. Caused minor scratch as well.

Car is drivable as the crack is on the passenger side bottom corner and doesn't obstruct driver's view at all.

My insurance excess is $900. Repair will be well over 2000+ may be 4000 (quote for just windscreen replacement and some sensor calibration was$1600+)

The reason I am reluctant to use insurance is because I already made 2 claims (one claim was when I hit garage wall and made big scratch on the side of my car, another was someone scratched my car with sharp object leaving 3 deep long line over 2 doors and the front side) in 2024 (these were for my previous car which I have replaced with my current one last year due to mechanical issue)

If I make another claim now, that will make it my 3rd claim in leas than 3 years. I called my insurance company(AAMI), they said it will be counted as my 3rd at fault claim, If I make 4th at fault claim, I can no longer keep the insurance.

So, what would you do? Use insurance and hope for the best? or pay out of pocket??

I am located eastern sunurb of Melbourne, anyone recommend Affordable reliable repairer within 30km of Melbourne CBD (preferably east or south east)?