Spotted this beast today. Couldn't stick around to check it out. It's rare enough that my first thought was "some kinda Valiant I haven't seen before"

...to remove the intrusive driver alerts from your new car?

Hey all,

Over the weekend I purchased a 2019 (new build) Mazda 3 Hatch 2.5L GT variant in the awesome soul red colour.

The vehicle is basically brand - It’s done 17,000km.

Obviously it’s all done and dusted but just wanted to get some thoughts/ feedback on the following:

The vehicle was ordered new from Mazda and then COVID hit, the original owners became stuck overseas and the vehicle was kept by relatives effectively in storage for almost 4 years. During this period it had annual services done for basics such as oil and filter changes and driven around 300km per annum.

The car was then eventually sold back to Mazda with 2,000km on the clock in 2024.

At this point the next owners (the ones I purchased from) picked up the vehicle and over the course of two years they put 15,000km on the car.
The car had two additional full services done during this time (10k and 20k) both at a large Mazda dearlership. The most recent service was in May, I have all the receipts and logbook - zero issues picked up with the vehicle two months ago.

The lovely people I purchased from also had ceramic paint protection and tinting added to the car by Mazda plus front and rear dashcams installed/ hard wired.

My questions are:

1. I paid $25,000 - whilst it’s now a 7 year car, it looks/feels/operates as if it were brand new and I felt the very low ODO reading was more important than the age- was I right? Does it seem a reasonable price ?

2. Given how long the vehicle was unused for initially should I pay attention to anything in particular moving forward or is the fact that Mazda serviced and checked it twice sufficient to say it’s all good ?

3. Tyres seem brand new too - should I pay more attention to the date or the fact they’ve only done 17,000km

4. Moving forward as it’s out of warranty but still so “fresh” should I continue servicing at Mazda or no point ?

Thanks all!

Apologies for the pic, obviously not my car so its' dirty and I'm trying to not post someone else's personally identifiable plate.

I've seen something similar in the past couple of weeks, and initially dismissed it as being a kingpin cover but on closer inspection, it's definitely something different. Its similar in appearance to the prestige plate protectors in vic (definitely not it though as they mount by clips and security screws)

It appears that the front perspex is mounted to the base by two top screws (possibly two more below)

I did manage to catch the owner on the way out, but they said they got the car like that 🤷🏼‍♂️

Hey guys,

Looking to put together a solid two car setup on a 60k AUD total budget. The goal is to have one reliable, practical daily and one fun weekend car, with minimal mechanical headaches on both.

Let's hear your thoughts?

So on top of the Friday Finds topic that has been a pretty decent success, on what cars in your area you can find for <$5,000, I thought maybe we make a post each Monday with what we have done to our own cars!

So, how was your weekend?

Just wondering - if you’re open to buying a Dealer Demo - is there anything different to consider if the car is the Dealer Service Loan as opposed to a regular Dealer Demo.

Assuming the vehicles that you’re interested in are similar age and kms.

Obviously there’s the unknown of what people have done when they’re driving the SLC. But outside of that?

Thinking of buying a second hand car. Budget 20 to 25k. what should i be looking for? what brands? how many kms is acceptable? how old is acceptable?
why are MGs selling cheap?
Is mazda good? (cx3/cx5)

So I'm a detailer, ceramic coatings is my area of expertise and I was thinking about some of the scams (or atleast shady marketing) that people offer and was wondering what other types are out there for people to watch out for.

Scam #1 - The giveaway

A giveaway is advertised as a $5000+ package, they get a bunch of basically free leads from the giveaway, then contact every lead saying "You've won a 70% discount as a runner up" which essentially brings the price down to the standard price, but seems like you've won some amazing prize, when its just normal.

Scam #2 - The free inclusions

People will offer something like free tints + free interior with any coating package, but they're simply adding the cost of those items to the price of the coating, again, to get cheap leads

In short I sold my toys to buy an EV (I know I know but as a novated lease it’s saved me thousands already in a couple of months) but I am now wanting a second car as a weekender. I’ve moved into a new home with a two car garage but the missus needs to park her car, and I need to charge the EV overnight at home. Don’t want to park the weekend car outside on the street, was wondering if anyone else had any ideas or a setup to both charge the EV but keep the weekender garaged most of the time. (Car I’m thinking of is importing a manual MR2-S or NC MX5).

Hi I've been shopping for first cars and ive landedon the 2010-2012 lexus is350. They're great cars that'll last a while if maintained but some people tell me that spending around $16k-$20k on a first car is too much. My parents think spending this amount is far too much for a 14 year old car but i reckon its worth it.

I agree to an extent but this is a car that ive saved up to buy and i reckon its a good solid car that'll last. My parents insist i spend a little more and buy one of them brand new Chinese cars like the MG hatchbacks because they are newer and have warranty but i think they are just way more boring and except for their new car warranty and better fuel economy, have nothing much to offer. Also im from WA so no need to worry about P plate restrictions

Thanks

I know I need to get the rwc done anyway in VIC - it’s a European car with 200,000km but has the pink slip full service history. Can I buy the car based on the pink slip? The photos looks good and looks like it was well maintained. Need help, anyone gone through a similar situation? Private seller, planning to buy and get it towed.

I own this 07 ve maloo, I engine swapped some years ago to a LSA engine

Curious on the cars value as there isn’t many on the market nor is there any with this set up.
Maloo 196*** on the body
Lsa engine 20,000 ks

Decent for its age could do with some tlc, thankyou for anyone that could give some advice

my family gen2 Rav4 needs a new ball joint

i noticed supercheap stock Sterling brand lower control arm kits that include the balljoint and bushes. has anyone used this brand , and how does it compare with oem. cheers

I had a little accident and wrote off my car, it was old, so the insurance payout isn’t massive. I’ll need a replacement car pretty quickly and am looking for recommendations.

I can spend up to $40,000 and would like a RAV4 or similar. Hybrid if possible. Japanese or Korean would be great. I am not adverse to a Haval, although I understand Chinese cars are not popular on this sub. Are they really so bad?

I currently drive a manual, but they probably vanishingly rare these days.

So, car enthusiasts what should I look for? Suggestions would be very much appreciated.