Buyer Guide

We have loved our old Holden Commodore V6 executive wagon. It was old (around 2004) but very dependable. It's finally time for a new (used) car. We absolutely love the size of the boot (for camping gear for the whole family) but would like something with a higher ground clearance. We've been looking at the Subaru Outback (2013/14 models) but are feeling a bit daunted by the servicing costs. The all-wheel-drive is appealing for gravel roads. Any advice would be appreciated!

The weather may be cooling but deals on new cars certainly aren't slowing down with dealers showing a willingness to bargain in the lead up to the end of the financial year.

This buying guide aims to make your new car search easier.

We are planning to buy Kia Sorento GT line 2020 model. We wanted something more spacious and with good technology under 60k. Is this a good buy? Or should we look at other SUVs?

I'm looking at buying a 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer SX hatchback, it has been driven by an older lady and she has owned it since new. It has 199,000 kms on the clock, most of which are highway miles. The transmission is manual, and the car looks in good condition for the price of $4000, although the windscreen needs replacing and the rego runs out in August. What are some common problems I should look out for and do you think it is a reasonable deal for the high mileage and price?

Cars for $5000 can be a bargain for motorists on a budget, but there are some things to definitely keep an eye out for when shopping in this price bracket.

Despite what's happening outside, there are still great deals going on in car dealerships around the country and, as a ute-loving nation, it would be remiss of us to ignore the offers available today.

Social distancing is here for a long, long time. Even after COVID-19 has been controlled and – hopefully – beaten, many of us will still be leery about gathering in large groups, or even in small groups, in any sort of confined space. Welcome to the new normal.

Buying a car that's subject to finance, however, rings more alarm bells than someone attempting to dance cheek to cheek around the Louvre with the Mona Lisa. It is, of course, just as viable to buy a car subject to finance as it is a house, as long as everything is above board.So the possibility of a private sale turning into a financing tangle shouldn't put you off; more than four million used cars change hands annually in Australia, and the benefits of buying privately are obvious.All you really need to do, as with any major purchase, is do your homework beforehand when it comes to finance, just as you would when looking at a car's maintenance issues, service record and so on.You need to be absolutely sure about a car's financial state, of course, because the onus is on you to do the checking, and if you don't you could be driving into a world of hurt.As we said in our article on selling financed cars, it all comes down to how car loans work. Because car finance uses the car as security, the loan is applied to the car, not its owner. The owner is still obliged to repay the loan, and until they do any unpaid amount on the loan is held against the car, not the borrower.This is where it can get a little murky for prospective second-hand buyers. While dealers and auction houses are obliged to provide proof of a clear title – and face stiff penalties for breaching their obligations – private sellers aren't subject to the same regulations.The big risk of buying a car that has finance attached is that you lose the carThis means that any number of problems can lurk beneath an ostensibly good deal, including hidden interests in the car. If you unwittingly buy a vehicle with money owing against it, you'll get slugged with the debt or lose your car completely when the finance company repossesses it to recoup its losses, as Justine Davies from loan-rating service CANSTAR explains."The big risk of buying a car that has finance attached is that you lose the car," she says."If that car has been used as security against the loan then the financial institution has ownership rights."It really is that serious. Australian law dictates that the buyer is responsible for checking the vehicle has a free title; if it all falls apart, you don't have a leg to stand on, but you'll need two to walk everywhere.You'll either have to pay out the balance of the loan, or the car will be repossessed and sold, leaving you with little more than empty pockets and a lot of time to regret your decisions as you wait for the bus.As long as any finance arrangement is out in the open, there's really no problem with buying a car that's still subject to a loan; it's only when a seller hides the fact that there is still money to be paid that everything goes pear-shaped.If the seller hasn't advised you that they still owe money on the car, it's a fair indication one of two things is going on. The seller is either purposefully defrauding you or, in a hugely unlikely scenario, simply doesn't know about the car's encumbrance. In either case, it's time to walk away.Check the Personal Property Securities RegisterWhile this all sounds daunting, there's a simple and cheap way to avoid coming to grief – check the Personal Property Securities Register, or PPSR.The PPSR is the new name for the old-school REVS (Register of Encumbered Vehicles) check, which was outmoded in 2012 (the government version at least, privately run sites like revs.com.au still exist).The PPSR is a vast, nation-wide register that keeps track of the loans held on Australian cars, motorbikes, boats and anything else of value, even artwork. The older REVS system was a state-by-state concern that only handled vehicles."You can visit http://www.ppsr.gov.au to conduct a check using the car's Vehicle Identification Number," Davies explains.Do your first check at the point that you're considering buying the car"If your potential car is under finance, the certificate that you receive from doing a Personal Property Securities Register search will detail the type of loan and who holds the loan."Running a check through the PPSR costs just $2 and gives you concrete proof of the absence or presence of a loan. It's so cheap, in fact, it's worth doing twice."Ideally, do your first check at the point that you're considering buying the car," says Davies."Do another check on the day of purchase, before you hand over the bank cheque or do the online transfer, just in case the seller has taken out a quick loan in between."If you do your due diligence beforehand and deal with an honest seller, there's no reason why buying a car that's still under finance should be any more difficult than buying one with a clear title. It's important, however, to make sure that when you sign your name to the bill of sale, there's no money left owing against the car."If you are going to buy a financed car – perhaps, for example, the seller can't pay off their car loan until they have the cash from the sale – then conduct the sale transaction in the office of the financial institution that holds the loan over the car," says Davies."That way you can pay for the car, the seller can pay off the loan and you can take unencumbered ownership of the car all at the same time."It's a lot like attending a real estate agent or a bank to sign the documents for buying a house, only the figures on the papers you're signing are slightly less likely to give you heart palpitations.

I would like a small 5 door hatch which has blind spot monitoring and the good safety features. I'm struggling to search cars by features. The Mazda 2 seems to have good safety features as standard. Which other cars would you
recommend under $30,000?