Archive for February, 2014
Buying a Used Car – 7 Things to Consider
Buying a used car is something most of us do at least once in our life. It’s a right of passage for many people – buying a new car is a great feeling, and especially good you find an excellent deal and are able to enjoy trouble free motoring.
If you’re looking at buying a used car that’s maybe 1-2 years old, Private Fleet can help. We get access to a large amount of trade in vehicles – you’re always able to access the very best of what’s out there.
If you buy a used car from Private Fleet, you can be sure that the vehicles is in an almost good as new condition. We’re proud of our ability to source the very best cars out there, but even if you’re not buying through us, here are 5 things to consider when buying a used car.
Check the history
When buying a used car, you need to make sure you know at least a little bit about its history. The history can tell you a lot not just about the car but the type of person who has owned it in the past. Check for service intervals, and when the all-important cambelt or timing belt was changed. The more you know about the service history of a car, the more you’ll be able to mitigate future, costly repairs.
Does it have any leaks?
Check all the hoses, tubes and pipes in the engine, and if possible, the underside of the car. Leaks can often be hidden, and provide slow burning problems that worsen over time. Piped not doing their job can also affect a lot of components – stay aware from vehicles that obviously display these kind of issues.
Check for corrosion
Hidden corrosion can be the arch nemesis of your car and its health. Inspect the wheel arches, the wings and as much of the sills as you can – poking suspect areas. If you finger goes through the rust, steer well clear
How does it turn at slow speeds?
Drive the car slowly and make a series of 90-degree turns left and right. Observe how the car steers and the feedback from the road – are there any knocking noises? If there are, it could signify wishbone or anti-roll issues. It’s repairable, but be wary, and make sure you factor this in to the amount you’re willing to spend on the car.
Have the tyres worn evenly?
Tracking and balance issues caused by problems to the suspension and the anti-roll system can make the tyres wear unevenly. Even if there’s no outward sign of issues with the internal structure of the car, uneven tyre wear can potentially give the game away.
Check the condition of the fluids
As well as making sure you’re checking the levels of the fluid in the car, check the quality of it too. If the oil is brown, black or grimey, it could be an indication that it hasn’t been changed in a long time. Sludge build ups also indicates this, alongside the possibility of overheating problems. Additionally, check the quality of the coolant – dirty or off-colour water needs to be changed.
Test drive the car
Of course this goes without saying, but you would be surprised how many people buy a car without scrutinising it or understanding the specifics of how it drives. If you do buy the car, you will of course discover idiosyncrasies you’ll have to deal with – but most major issues can be discovered by taking it on a drive at all speeds and making sure it goes through the gears.
If you’re looking to we have here at Private Fleet a vast wealth of knowledge about the car industry in Australia and how to get the best deal possible. We have access to a huge amount of vehicles that have been traded in – contact us for more information.
And Then There Were None……
The earlier than expected news that Toyota Australia will also cease manufacturing came as no surprise apart from the timing of the announcement. Widely expected to be in March, it nonetheless completes the trifecta with Ford and Holden announcing their cessation of manufacturing last year.
Workers are said to be devastated at the news, whilst Toyota said: “Together with one of the most open and fragmented automotive markets in the world and increased competitiveness due to current and future Free Trade Agreements, it is not viable to continue building cars in Australia.” There’s another 2500 jobs to go with the Altona engine manufacturing plant but it reaches further than that. As one person on Twitter said: “One day I’ll be telling my kids we built cars in Australia”. That’s a fair point because now gone are the days where one might aspire to work in the car industry. It’s history that will write the future of manufacturing full stop, but now the longer term situation needs to be examined, with component suppliers, transport groups and more all to be affected by the decisions made by the last three companies. 
Naturally, there’s fingers being pointed at the current Australian government, with the not unexpected slamming of them by Australian Manufacturing Workers Union secretary Dave Smith, saying: “I think disastrous is the best way to describe it. In the space of the few months the Federal Government has come to power they have just destroyed the car industry and they make no apology destroying it. Fifty-thousand jobs will go because of an ideologically driven position that we don’t support inefficient industry. We’re the only country in the world that thinks that.” As has also been pointed out, so many other businesses that don’t get assistance are still in operation so it again begs the question, what processes were being undertaken internally for so long that allowed this to happen? Free trade agreements haven’t helped, nor have successive governments with a lack of subsidies to keep encouraging companies to continue.
Regardless, it’s a sad, sad day for the automotive industry and the associated businesses.
Driving Barefoot; Driving in Thongs; Driving in High Heels
“You can’t wear those when pay for homework you’re driving,” my father said, pointing to the high-heeled shoes I was wearing at the tender age of sixteen when I was getting one of my first driving lessons. “There’s no way that you can operate the pedals properly in those.” So I ended up taking that lesson driving barefoot.
I have to confess that I like driving barefoot. People talk about enjoying the feeling of the steering wheel and the more hands-on method of driving provided by manual gearboxes or paddle-flapper semiautomatic gear shifting. But not much has been mentioned about the sensory pleasure and subtlety of what you do with your feet. If anything, the trend seems to be to use your feet as little as possible, given the trend towards auto-braking on top of automatic transmissions and cruise control. A naked foot applies brake and accelerator (OK, I drive an automatic) with minute shades of control. A little pressure here, a slight bit of easing off here, a brief flicker of the brake there. Simply shoving one’s hoof down for maximum acceleration followed by jamming on the brakes seems, well, crude. Like scribbling with a vivid marker, whereas driving barefoot is more like delicate pencil sketching.
Cars tend to like that sort of driving, too, as it doesn’t create as much wear and tear. So does your wallet, for the same reason.
However, the problem with driving barefoot comes at the end of the journey, as where you’re parked is less likely to be pleasant to walk on without something between you and the elements. Quite often in the warmer months, that something is a pair of thong sandals (aka flip-flops or jandals or whatever else you want to call them – you know the things I mean!). All the same, I don’t drive in them.
Contrary to popular myth, it is legal to drive barefoot (how could it not be?) and it is also legal to drive in thongs, except, apparently, in Victoria. However, it isn’t safe to drive in thongs, even though a lot of people do it, especially in our warm climate. There have been road safety studies in various parts of the world, and it seems that thongs might slip off and interfere with the operation of the brake and the accelerator because they can jam underneath the pedals. Describing and visualising how this happens can be tricky – the best bet would be to go out to your car in a pair of thongs and, with the engine off, fidget your feet around a lot and see what happens.
It’s also a dumb idea to kick your thongs off and leave them floating around by your feet, as they can still get stuck and/or in the way. Chuck them into the passenger seat or stick them in the glove box (who keeps driving gloves in the glove box these days, anyway?).
You do get some stories about people not braking properly when driving barefoot because a sharp stone is sitting on the brake pedal and they jerk their foot back automatically. But how often does this sort of thing happen really? I usually go through a little ritual of sliding my feet up and down the brake pedal before I start the ignition (partly because I’m readjusting the seat after my husband’s been driving), which gets rid of any stones.
And as for high heels… well, obviously, not many of you guys wear them. They do put your feet at an awkward angle for applying the pedal (into the passenger seat with them and drive barefoot again). They also have next to no grip and slide off pedals at the wrong moment into the bargain. However, this wasn’t the case for one car I’ve driven. This was a late 80s Alfa Romeo of my grandmother’s, and the accelerator pedal was at an awkward angle that meant that you had to either raise your heel from the floor to operate it or floor the thing. How Italian is that? Either high heels or furious driving. The more recent Alfas have, thankfully, corrected this fault. However, in my grandmother’s car, I struggled along for most of the trip getting a very sore ankle and calf as I drove along with one heel in the air. Then the sneakers came off and I ended up using my bare toes to operate the accelerator. It still hurt and I was glad when that trip was over, but it was a lot better than the high heels.
Classic Cars: Aston Martin DB5.
For everyone, there is something they consider important in their life; it even gets to the point where they meet up with like minded people. For some, a car is nothing more than a method of getting from A to B, like a fridge is for keeping things cold, a TV is for watching a reality program (shudder) but for many a car is a symbol of desire, of majesty, of perfection. In the first of an ongoing series (and because I grew up, like so many, with Sean Connery as Bond, James Bond) I’ve selected the Aston Martin DB5 to kick it off.
DB stands for David Brown, the head of Aston Martin from 1947 to 1972. The DB series commenced in 1950 with the DB2. 
The DB5 was launched in 1963, an evolution of the DB4. The alloy engine was increased from 3.7 litres to 4.0 litres with 210 kW available, a new five speed manual transmission (after the initial four speed manual was dropped) was standard and a weight of just 1500 kilos provided a top speed of 230 kmh and a 0-100kmh time of just over seven seconds. A buyer of a DB5 got electric windows, wool pile carpet, leather trim, disc brakes and a damned good looking car, thanks to the Italian company Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. There was 123 convertibles made (one most famously driven by Prince William after his wedding) with 37 made from October 1965.
Most people would know of the DB5 from the James Bond movie, Goldfinger. Somewhat scarily now, it was the prototype DB5 car used in the film, with another car providing the stunts. Complete with machine guns, ejector seat, Roman era style rotating
blades from the centre of the wheels and oil slick making gadgets, the DB5 quickly became, at the time, the most famous car in the world. Priced, when new, at 4175 pounds sterling for the hardtop and 4490 pounds sterling for the soft top, it was expensive for the time but when you consider one sold at auction in 2010 for 2.3 million pounds (one used the films Goldfinger and Thunderbird admittedly…) it’s a bargain now.
Still regarded as one of the most beautiful cars ever produced (alongside fellow Britisher the Jaguar E-Type), the coupe style fastback was a stunner. Laid back headlights, air vent in the bonnet, the now traditional and famous grille design with seven vertical bars, the low sweeping design leading into the three bulb tail lights conspired to delight and beguile the eyeballs.
A timeless design with curves Jennifer Hawkins would envy, a powerplant that provided some startling numbers for the ’60s and showing up in a couple of the most loved films of the James Bond pantheon have continued to excite and enthrall lovers of automotive beauty. The Aston Martin DB5, a classic car.
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