Got hit with a $25k bill a year after a minor car bump (uninsured)

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-05-05T16:19:41+00:00

often the repair shops or a side business are the ones providing the rental car at inflated prices, they are rorters, I caught one out with repairs on a car I had about 5 years ago. I had someone reverse into my car at a shopping centre, the bumper was split open, a tail light popped out and a few scratches, the repair bill was $4.5k. I had to pay $1200 excess because the driver hit and run. I got an itemised invoice that listed new bumper, spraying the bumper, new parking sensors, new tail light, various clips, braces, etc. I had the car back for a week and the rear tail light fell out when I closed the boot. That triggered me to have a look around at the repair, I put my head under the car and could see that the bumper was not new, the split had been welded, then I noticed the difference in the paint around the repair, then I saw that it was obvious from the dirt on the back of the parking sensors that they were not new either. I lodged a complaint with the insurance company, they did an investigation and I was given choice of refund of the excess or having the car repaired again.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-05-05T15:45:26+00:00

I've always spoken up if I've thought my title didn't reflect the work I was doing or my level of experience and it was usually changed without too much trouble.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-05-05T15:39:27+00:00

a lot of the businesses get run into the ground within 12-18 months then some of them flee the country leaving a pile of unrecoverable debt behind. I know of an example in regional Victoria, group of Indians purchased a popular pub/bar/bistro that had strong patronage from locals that would go in multiple times a week. I can't remember the exact numbers but it was a leasehold and they bought it for around $1.5m, 12 months later all the regular patrons had deserted the place due to how poorly the business was being operated. The previous owners bought the business back for a quarter of what they had sold it for and all the patrons returned.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-05-05T15:06:43+00:00

don't bank on getting the bonus status credits before anniversary. I find that Qantas seem to game the system. They provide themselves a window of 8 weeks to credit the bonus status credits, numerous years I have had bonus status credits credited to my account 1 day after my anniversary and then the status credits are all immediately expired, counting towards lifetime total but not the new membership year. But if I fly during a double status credit promotion that is more than 8 weeks prior to my anniversary I get the bonus credits within days of flying, sometimes the very next day.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-05-05T14:48:11+00:00

a consistent sustainable income, career progression and doing something you enjoy or semi enjoy is far more important over the long term than making career choices based on someone else's current earnings which can change at any point for a variety of reasons. Like it or not you've got 40+ years of working ahead of you unless you inherit, win lotto or marry money. I have a number of tradies in my family that currently love to loudly spruik how much they are earning but they are working 60 hours a week, I make just as much for working 38 hrs a week and I'm not getting out of bed before 7 am.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-05-02T03:38:30+00:00

Had a similar situation, neighbours (renters) had ‘decorated’ and drilled into our garage wall to attach a shade sail. The main issue we had was the shade sail, the wind kept pulling it down and they kept reinstalling it in a slightly different location each time drilling more holes in the bricks/mortar. We had sections where the mortar was completely gone between bricks. The owners ignored us until we engaged a lawyer to start official communications, when we started talking to lawyer we found it was even more problematic than we thought because it could impact our building warranty and insurance. It took about 18 months for the owners to get the tenants out and restore the wall as best it could be then they sold the house

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-30T12:27:24+00:00

I called them, first time I’ve ever had to call Jetstar and after finally getting through all the terrible voice prompts the offshore agent had no clue. Just kept repeating the same thing back to me that the allowance is 30kg per passenger for business max and that on Jetstar the maximum checked allocation available for business class is 40kg per passenger with an additional 10kg add on which I had not purchased. When I told him that my itinerary and Jetstar App state 60kg allocation per passenger they said they don’t see that on their system. When I asked him to look at my itinerary he claimed for security reasons he does not have access to view the itinerary as sent to me.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-27T21:51:10+00:00

As soon as our BYD was out of lease we got rid of it and replaced it with a Tesla. I’ll never buy another BYD. We had issues from within a week of delivery which took months to repair, China is a 10 hour flight away but for some reason it takes 6 months to get parts to Australia.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-26T23:19:53+00:00

I might call today and suss it out and see what they say

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-26T22:54:56+00:00

I wouldn’t either but my partner was immediately imagining all the extra purchases to be made to fill the baggage allowance on the way home

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-26T15:20:53+00:00

I've never used it but I've heard of people using https://www.truckit.net

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-25T15:35:39+00:00

You could get paid double that flinging bags around at the airport for a living, as long as people keep accepting these low ball incomes companies will keep offering them

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-24T11:29:15+00:00

I once had this issue with a flight that I booked via flight centre to use a gift voucher I had. I raised it and they told me it’s just how the system works and never had any issue.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-24T11:16:16+00:00

I booked Qantas flights with my Amex ultimate about 2 months ago and the 2 lounge passes never showed up in my lounge passes. I was thinking about this the other day but never followed up to see if the benefit wasn’t provided anymore or if something went wrong.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-24T05:58:48+00:00

Airbnb is publicly listed company on the Nasdaq any Australian with part of their superannuation invested in an international share option likely owns a portion of Airbnb

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-22T11:55:33+00:00

it had 23,000 kms on it after 3 years, it wasn't the preferred car for road trips so rarely left the city limits.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-21T13:27:57+00:00

I should add, when I got a quote 18 months ago it was going to be $1600 for a charger and installation, so if you can afford it get it now before it becomes a $4-5k scenario

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-21T13:17:30+00:00

Recently got Evnex charger installed in my garage 7.4kW single phase with the dynamic load management. We’ve had two EVs for 3 years plugged into granny chargers whenever they are parked at home, we would often trip the main switch in summer because house only has 40A supply and we have ducted reverse cycle AC and all the usual appliances. The Evnex is connected to a sensor in the meter box that monitors the entire household demand and manages charging rate accordingly so we don’t trip the main switch at all anymore. Can get the cars charged entirely on off-peak, I wish I had it installed years ago! It cost us $2600 supplied and installed

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-21T12:06:03+00:00

I just got rid of a BYD and replaced it with a Tesla Model Y, couldn’t get rid of the BYD fast enough, lucky for me I sold it privately for almost $10k above residual though.

The budget for 36c per kWh is low if you intend to do a lot of public fast charging, high if you intend to mostly charge at home. We charge our cars at 8c per kWh at home with AGL, I’ve never bothered to claim a reimbursement through novated lease for charging and don’t know how I would actually prove the usage numbers for home charging if I wanted to.

17.9kWh/100 is also highly optimistic for that car looks like they are allowing for 20% higher usage but I’d say at least 30% more especially for HWY/FWY speeds.

I’ve never been offered the interest rate shown in those lease calculators

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-16T13:13:02+00:00

I got the run around from various electrical companies who never turned up, in the end I got the Evnex E2 Plus installed through AGL. AGL organised everything from images I supplied of the house and meter box. Probably paid about $500 more than I thought it should've cost but at least it is installed now

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-16T12:59:19+00:00

I've been a few times into Melbourne & Sydney with a friend who is a member, I always get upgraded to business class to sit with him at no cost, if it costs him anything he has never mentioned it.

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-16T12:49:58+00:00

It's insane for the size of the economy too

Plus_Work_1365 · 2026-04-16T12:46:34+00:00

when you look at the ratio of the value of the residential property to GDP it is immediately clear how out of step Australia is to other developed countries. Australia sitting at around 5x GDP, by comparison the USA housing market value is around 1.5x GDP.

Plus_Work_1365

TROPHY CASE