An Honest John in Oz ?

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Sat 12 Jan 2008 05:45
An Honest John in Oz ? - Jollybox
I am migrating to Oz very soon. Is there a contemporary of Honest John down under?

Edited by Pugugly {P} on 12/01/2008 at 09:08

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Sat 12 Jan 2008 12:42
An Honest John in Oz ? - bathtub tom
Why bother looking? The interweb thingy's world wide, and there's numerous people from foreign climes contribute here.
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Sat 12 Jan 2008 21:55
An Honest John in Oz ? - Stargazer {P}
Why bother, I found this site when living in Oz back in 2000/1.

StarGazer
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Sun 13 Jan 2008 22:11
An Honest John in Oz ? - Pete M
I visit here regularly as it is the best motoring forum around. Friendly, well-informed contributors, and interesting topics. I'm in New Zealand, but lived in UK for several years around the turn of the century.
The Dog_and_Lemon site, if it's anything like their annual, is rather pessimistic in my opinion. They pronounce dire warnings about several cars that I've liked and had no major troubles with. What they say about my Jaguar Series 3 XJ12 would put off the keenest enthusiast. Still, I suppose it balances out the over enthusiasm in other quarters.
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Sun 13 Jan 2008 22:54
An Honest John in Oz ? - Round The Bend
Honest Shane perhaps?
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Mon 14 Jan 2008 00:36
An Honest John in Oz ? - avondale
No there is no equivalent site in Aus. I find HJ UK meets all my motoring questions although sometimes you have to dig a bit to find out what the car model in Aus is called in UK/Europe.

The newspaper motoring columns here or not a patch on the UK ones; I log on to the Times and Daily telegraph as a matter of routine. Even Top Gear is shown on the lowest rating/least popular TV channel SBS. The Special Broadcasting Service is designed for ethnic minorities and special interest groups.

In short there is no car culture here comparable to that of the UK with most public interest being aroused by the latest variant of either Ford's Falcon or GMH's Commodore.

Anyway welcome to Australia where you will find lots of open road to enjoy as long as you keep a weather eye out for the law. One good thing is that fixed 24 hr speed cameras are signed well in advance so you have to be an idiot to get photographed by them.
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Mon 14 Jan 2008 12:01
An Honest John in Oz ? - expat
Motoring is indeed better out here in Australia. Petrol is cheaper, parking much easier, new cars a bit cheaper. On the down side used cars are dearer than in the UK. You will see a lot more LPG fueled vehicles helped by a generous govt subsidy for conversions and a lot more service stations selling the stuff. Speed camera policy varies according to the state. Here in WA they certainly don't sign them in advance. Speed limits seem to be better observed here than they are in the UK where we were amazed to see so many cars passing us on the motorways well over the speed limit.

One little foible that you don't see in the UK is the almost religious following some people have for either Ford or Holden. They swear by their chosen make and would never consider the other. Mostly this is young guys. For myself I am a swinging voter on that subject having had a Holden for 25 years and am now running two Fords.
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Mon 14 Jan 2008 12:26
An Honest John in Oz ? - Waino
Expat, while I was on hols in Tasmania a couple of years ago, I was informed by a friend that MoT style vehicle tests are not required because 'it would be too harsh on poor people'. Is this true for all states? I suppose, with its low population density, this could be tolerated in Tasmania - which is IMHO, a wonderful place to drive, live etc!
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Tue 15 Jan 2008 00:31
An Honest John in Oz ? - avondale
MoT style vehicle tests are not required

In NSW annual test are mandatory. In Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory they are not. Can't say for the other states. I live in NSW just over the border with Queensland and the condition of the "old bangers" from Qld is horrifying. Lots of people who move into NSW from Qld fail to transfer their vehicles registration to NSW because there is no MOT test. Of course you will have some explaining to do to Mr Plod if you are found with a NSW domestic address and Qld driving license and registration.
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Tue 15 Jan 2008 20:27
An Honest John in Oz ? - Pete M
In New Zealand, there is an annual inspection for cars up to three years old. After that they are six-monthly. So far there are no emissions tests done, just visible smoke. Testers log the test and its result on an official website, so that you can't go shopping around. Results are then accessed when registration (road tax) is paid, to ensure you have a valid test cert. So far there is no compulsory 3rd party insurance here, but noises have been made about it. Radar detectors are still legal, but legislation banning them is due shortly.
Thevast majority of cars here are used imports from Japan. A few of us still have British cars, but only enthusiasts, not the average driver.
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