costa rica hostels for sale
If you are planning to take your time to travel the vast country of Australia and be free to go where you want when you want, then buying a suitable vehicle is a must. I traveled up the east coast from Sydney to Cairns last summer in the blue beauty! For those who don’t know her, she was a classic 1993 Ford Falcon Wagon. It was the size of a bus and drove like one too. Having said this, it was the perfect vehicle to suit my needs. I learned a lot when it came to choosing the right car and what things to take into account, so hopefully this checklist will come in handy:
1. What type of vehicle? Australia has some of the best highways in the world so unless you are planning some serious off-roading a 4WD is an unnecessary expense. You can always rent a 4WD for some of the more tricky terrains such as exploring the Daintree Rainforest or Fraser Island.
2. What state is it registered? This is really important, as it is easier to sell a car in the state where it is registered. For me I was lucky as I bought a NSW registered car and sold it in Queensland to a backpacker doing the reverse as me – i.e. Cairns to Sydney.
3. How much Registration is left? – Try and buy a car with as much registration time left as possible. Anything less than 3 months is just not worth it unless the seller is willing to knock-off the cost for registration renewal.
4. Where to buy? – The Kings Cross car market in Sydney is a great place to go and check out backpacker cars and meet other travelers. Otherwise you can always see loads of cars on offer on hostel notice boards.
5. Licensed Dealers – If you buy from a dealer make sure they are licensed!!
6. Mechanical Check – An absolute must because the car you will be buying will have a lot of miles on the clock. Make sure you use a qualified mechanic, as there are lots of dodgy dealers around!
7. Money saving tip – If you have space in the car, post a few adverts around hostels to get other travellers to share the driving and petrol costs.
8. Quick Sale – If you are in a rush to sell then be realistic with price and post adverts in as many hostels as possible.
A final thought…
I have just 2 words to say…’Head Gasket’. Make sure your mechanic gives the green light on this because if something goes wrong a new one will set you back about $1500 AUD. I met a few travelers who were stung with this because they did not have a full mechanical check done at the start.
Let us know if you have any more advice or even funny stories when it comes to car buying and selling around OZ. Also, I would love to hear how the blue beauty is doing so if anyone knows of her whereabouts please get in touch!!
Drive Safe.
Lazy Shark is a backpacker web tool aiming to provide a useful and enjoyable travel community for its users and members. Lazy Shark specialises in the Australian and New Zealand markets offering a number of useful resources for the modern backpacker including on line travel journals, picture albums, member messaging and a Travel Safety log. Lazy Shark also allows users to book, commission free, accommodation and trips and tours worldwide.
TROPIC REAL ESTATE costa rica- Hotel for Sale