Mate,
Sounds like you're flush with cash, but let someone else pay for the depreciation on a new car.
Buy two second hand vehicles.
One shopping trolley/family car.
One Van.

That's what I do and it works it treat.

Yeah a Caddy is too small to fit a 2.5 meter board in the back. I think its cargo area is around 1.9 meters long.

I am probably have contridictory aims, wanting a new car but also not wanting depreciation. I believe we can get a vehicle and do a novated lease on it.

Probably Knot Board's advice is best. Have some old ****box van and then have another car. We really like our Magna, plenty of power, quiet, comfortable so we might keep it and I might spend a couple of grand on a van.

Personally I come from the school of value for money when it comes to cars. Thats why I like the Magna, cheap as chips and a good car.

Our local VW dealer is having a sale on this weekend. Free rego and stuff on their cars. We get a discount on VWs due to my wife's employment so we will go and see what they have. However I hate the idea of laying out $900 a month for a stupid car.

Dont forget that under the novated lease you will have to do the appropriate kms. You will also have to keep a logbook unless it is 100% private use lease.

Less than 15,000 km - 26% FBT
15,000 to 24,999 km - 20% FBT
25,000 to 40,000 km - 11% FBT
More than 40,000 km - 7% FBT


I dont think this benefit will be available for much longer. Essentially the Feds are rewarding you for driving your car more. This conflicts with policies driving manufacturers to build more efficient vehicles and other green initiatives. We will probably see a flat FBT rate soon.

JB

lao shi

Old school teacher or old windsurfing teacher??????

I don't know the rear measurements exactly, but my 110 Ltr JP X-Cite Ride and 460 masts fit in without moving the front seats forward.
All the seats are easy to remove. The back ones split fold to the side like in a Pajero 7 seater. The front (back) two swivel 360 deg. so they can be turned around and pushed right up behind the front seats.
2 bolts per back seat to remove.
4 bolts per the others.
My wife and I sail and we can fit a bucket load of kit in ours without the seats in. Others leave seats on one side and use the other for kit. Good if there is only one sailor.

Hey there, I've got a caddy great van but can't fit all my kit in the car with the wife in the passenger seat. All the sails masts booms, 2yr old boy and luggage for a weekend away no worries but the boards have to go on the roof.

westozwind said...

For windsurfing, family and a little soft road work, the Mitsubushi Delica is hard to go past (OK, I'm a convert). But you can fit heaps of gear/kids in and have a capable sandy track/beach 4x4 as well.

I have looked at the Delica previously. I like the ugly style of it but a few questions. Whats it like for spare parts and getting them worked on? Are they full time 4wd or do you have engage the 4wd and which is prefereable, the diesel or the petrol? The diesel looks better with the scoop in the bonnet.

If the front seat drops, you'll get boards in no probs. i got a renault kangoo, similar shape and can fit 3 -4 boards with all my rigs by droping the front seat. But then they'll be no room for the wife....unless you get racks.....(for the boards, yeah!)

have heard a few horror storys about spares on the caddy - mainly $cost$ and availability - e.g 4 week wait for a fly wheel to be sent from deutchland.? It doesn't get much better for French cars either....

Trying to talk the missus into trading her astra for a delica...love em.

I had a look on Drive and Carsales.

There are a fair few Delicias for sale.

Prices seems to start around $13K and go up to around $25K.

For the price there seems to be a fair bit of vehicle. I like Mitsubishis as I currently own a 99 Magna which has 170K on the clock and I previously had a Mirage which I owned from new and did 220K in it before selling it. Both vehicles have given me absolutely no trouble at all. Are Delicia's similarily reliable?

My wife and I had a look at some for sale in Sydney. They look quite nice inside so it would be a shame to ruin them with sand and salt water. I like the idea of dual sunroofs and those fancy seats with the arm rests. Having 4wd would be great too.

Have been reading this thread with interest so went and had a look at the Delicaclub website.

There is an interesting announcement there about the diesel motor.

Seems if we sign the Kyoto agreement we (australia) will no longer be able to import vehicles with diesel engines from pre 2004 (why? I have no idea)

might influence your decision though, coz the 2005+ models seem to be around $40,000

grumplestiltskin said...

Have been reading this thread with interest so went and had a look at the Delicaclub website.

There is an interesting announcement there about the diesel motor.

Seems if we sign the Kyoto agreement we (australia) will no longer be able to import vehicles with diesel engines from pre 2004 (why? I have no idea)

might influence your decision though, coz the 2005+ models seem to be around $40,000

I guess that will cut off the supply of older diesels. You could look at that in two ways if you own one or are thinking of getting one: desirable as now the supply has been cut off, making your diesel Delica more exclusive. Otherwise you would consider the banning to be undesirable you now own or are thinking of owning an orphaned vehicle.

My main concern with the Delica is that it was never officially imported into Australia. Why Mitsubishi did not I don't really understand as the Delica looks like its a cut above the boring passenger vans on offer from Toyota and Honda. However if its mechanics are basically the same as a Pajero then it should be okay.

Buying a 10 year old car is a bit of a worry as this is around the time things start breaking or perishing. Most cars are really only designed and built for a life of 10 or so years. Its expensive being the last owner of a car. The second last owner of a car gets the best value for money.

We decided not to spend so much on a vehicle.

Yesterday we had a look at a Mitsubishi Delica. 96 Series One, seven seater, diesel 2.8 with Exceed trim, sunroof and that crystalite roof, climate control airconditioning, captain chairs that move around, reflective tint on the back windows, eleven and a half month's rego.

The bloke selling it is a mechanical sort of guy, fridge mechanic. He was selling it as he now has a work car, which was in the driveway. The body is in excellent condition. The interior is fine except a bit dirty. The motor seemed fine, no smoke out the back. Looked underneath and no signs of rust. The owner said he saw a couple of rust spots underneath at the back and he painted them with rust converter. He advised the back end springs are a bit saggy and need replacement. The car comes with new rear shocks not fitted yet.

We took it for a test drive. These Delicas are quite fun to drive as you are so high up. Sunroof and all the electrics seem to work fine. The 4wd selector worked well and the sound system is good too. The back seats are wider and actually more comfortable than the front seats.

No real apparent problems with it besides being a bit dirty. So we agreed to buy it for $9800. We will pick it up next week. The seller is throwing in a set of roof racks. The passenger section is about 2.6 meters long so it should be fine chucking the gear in the back and still have room for a couple of passengers too.

We look forward to doing some trips and camping in it as it seems like it will be an ideal recreational vehicle which has the added advantage of not being incredibly expensive to own or run.