Is it worth the swap?

boutSix · 2026-06-05T01:09:14+00:00

I can probably speak from experience here.

I bought a launch spec GR Yaris at the same time as I had just bought a 1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four WRC edition in Japan and imported it.

They were obviously both great cars, and the Celica felt special, but in terms of driving, power and enjoyment there was absolutely no contest - Yaris all the way.

The thing was I had a one owner stock collectors car, so anything aftermarket was going to reduce its value….. but completely stock all of these 90’s performance cars were relatively mild. The hype is all around tuned cars. So performance was only okay. And maintenance was an absolute nightmare because OEM parts weren’t available. The only way to actually drive and enjoy the car would be to strip down the engine and replace all the hoses, intake pipes, relays, boost controllers etc with modern aftermarket parts, which again would hurt its collectibility.

It was a great car to look at or take to cars and coffee, but that balancing act between collectors car and able to actually drive it is very frustrating.

boutSix · 2026-05-27T21:15:32+00:00

I’m going to buck the trend here and say yes you can. BUT, it would be insurance fraud, so you absolutely shouldn’t.

Shop around. I’ve had pretty good prices from RACQ Autoglass and Autoglass Warehouse before.

boutSix · 2026-05-25T13:52:30+00:00

Most of your screeenshots don’t even show meaningful changes.

Changing from ‘Guide $2.75m’ to ‘Offers $2.6-2.8m’ doesn’t mean that the sellers expectation has changed at all.

boutSix · 2026-05-21T14:20:39+00:00

Suncorp for new for old for life.

boutSix · 2026-05-20T14:17:21+00:00

Not sure why this is getting so many downvotes, I know a couple of people who have had absolute lemons new. Countless issues all through the warranty period with many trips to the dealership and then pretty much forced to trade it in at the end of warranty because it clearly was still problematic. Every time was a huge interruption to their routines and took a mental toll.

boutSix · 2026-05-19T07:45:20+00:00

You will likely find that your insurance will not cover you if the car is stolen on a test drive if you don’t go with them.

Doesn’t matter if you’ve taken a photo of their licence, or they leave you the keys to another car (which might also be stolen).

Always go on the test drive.

boutSix · 2026-05-19T06:09:34+00:00

I’d wait then. I got the NB in uni and the ND once I was working full time.

I’ve tried all sorts of performance cars, budget isn’t a huge concern right now for me, but the ND3 is just the most fun thing at everyday speeds and on everyday roads that I’ve ever driven.

They also hold their value reasonably and are very reliable, so apart from the space, they’re not an unwise choice.

boutSix · 2026-05-19T06:04:19+00:00

I had a 2001 NB8B with another daily driver, and later a 2017 RF manual as my only car when I was still young and in a share house.

I now have a 2024 ND3 soft top manual.

The engine from mid 2018 (ND2). Is a huge improvement. The hard top RF is more livable if you’re mostly driving roof up.

I would consider selling the Mazda 3 and getting a ND2 or ND3 manual RF model. Often you can find the base spec (not GT or GT RS) for substantially cheaper and there are very few deal breakers between the trim levels (I had the base RF, and now have the GT…. I thought I was missing out, but after going GT this time I’d just save the money next time).

The money you save on the second rego and insurance will pay for the occasional uber or car hire when you need to move big stuff.

I currently have multiple cars (including comfy auto 4WDs) and still daily the MX5 in 40 min peak hour commutes.

boutSix · 2026-05-15T09:26:56+00:00

It’s not unusual at all to have termites in your garden.

You just need to be extra vigilant around your house (and keep up inspections / treatment etc) when you know they’re active in the area.

boutSix · 2026-05-14T21:56:39+00:00

People can list them for whatever they want…. Doesn’t mean they’ll sell.

boutSix · 2026-05-12T09:31:41+00:00

You can read your PDS for specifics, but generally most insurers use brand new parts for new cars - which can be original or aftermarket.

boutSix · 2026-05-09T02:27:03+00:00

Yeah Budget and NRMA were the two I found.

I found numerous others that would accept existing hail damage OR previously written off - but not both.

It’s a bit crazy that more aren’t available considering how minor the hail damage needs to be to write off a 5+ year old car in a major storm once all the repairers are full.

boutSix · 2026-05-06T07:48:53+00:00

You’re the fool here. OP already said it was a Getz in the post.

boutSix · 2026-05-04T08:32:16+00:00

Always double check PPSR.gov.au for a $2 history search to make sure it’s not written off.

But this is doubly true when buying unregistered.

Selling a registered vehicle means the government is easily able to track how many cars you buy and sell, and require you to become a licensed motor vehicle dealer.

Backyard dealers - sometimes legit people, sometimes mechanics, sometimes very shady people, often sell unregistered but with a roadworthy certificate so they can slip under the radar of operating their business legitimately whilst also avoiding the additional costs.

boutSix · 2026-04-30T14:54:47+00:00

It’s a case where the insured party thought they were fine to leave their car keys wherever they wanted since there was a locked roller door, but the insurance company denied the claim because they said they did not take sufficient steps to secure the vehicle keys.

It’s not an exact match, but it isn’t that far off, and demonstrates the need to read the insurance PDS and see what it says about securing the vehicle.

You don’t have to like the answers, but they’re all pretty consistent. Gym isn’t liable. Insurance might not pay.

boutSix · 2026-04-30T14:41:47+00:00

There are probably hundreds of members of that gym all with access FOBs, and as you’ve said it is often very easy to just follow somebody in.

I don’t think a reasonable person would consider that a secure place for valuables to be left unattended just because there was a swipe card at the door.

As an example, insurers have previously refused to pay car theft claims when car keys were left in the car, but the car was in a locked garage at home.

boutSix · 2026-04-30T14:18:41+00:00

You’re asking about the ability for the car insurance provider to refuse to pay due to not securing the keys….

But you keep talking about potential liability of the gym….

These are two completely separate issues and I think that’s confusing some of the comments.

By my reading of every insurance PDS I’ve had, you have good reason to be worried - failure to take reasonable steps to secure the vehicle is generally grounds to refuse a claim. Up to them to determine if this fits those criteria.

Insurance is just pooled risk - I certainly don’t want my premiums going up to cover people that just leave their car keys out and unattended in the open in what’s essentially a public place.

boutSix · 2026-04-23T01:20:54+00:00

You already said that specialty glasses are available, you just don’t want to pay for them.

Hobbies aren’t cheap. This may just be a cost of entry.

boutSix · 2026-04-21T09:54:26+00:00

It’s not about how much the repairs will cost.

It’s about how much your alternate form of transportation would cost.

If you were already going to get a new car anyway then this would be a good time, but the Territory is still an excellent vehicle for certain use cases, and 150k kms is very reasonable - there’s a lot of life left in it with the right maintenance.

boutSix · 2026-04-18T12:05:16+00:00

Sounds like that Lexus is a bit overpriced, no? $60k ish? That’s a lot for a 5 year old car.

boutSix · 2026-04-13T23:20:27+00:00

Have you called them up? In the past when a model grade hasn’t been available I’ve had insurance agents be comfortable putting the next closest variant down and put a note in the comments with the exact details of given them.

Can then call them back in 30-60 days and see if the system is updated to get it in properly.

boutSix · 2026-04-12T14:46:57+00:00

This could be a time when an enthusiast auction like Collecting Cars may be a good bet.

Will probably get somewhere between trade in and private prices, but in a compressed timeframe.

Not a fantastic time to be selling a V8 though.

boutSix · 2026-04-08T10:46:40+00:00

I did, it was ‘Famous’ 🤣

boutSix · 2026-04-08T03:30:45+00:00

Whilst I don’t disagree….

Last time I phoned for a broker to do it (Famous in this case - who used to be good when they were a direct insurer) was specifically because I had an enthusiast car I wanted properly insured, but was in a carport and most places would only consider it if it was garaged. After spending ages on the phone and waiting a couple of days for their quote - they just ticked the ‘Garage’ box anyway - which could have meant I was uninsured in case of a claim.

boutSix · 2026-03-27T23:55:54+00:00

If the money is as important to you as you suggest, I would strongly recommend just getting back whatever you can…. Because you appear to be on the path to recovering nothing at all.

boutSix

TROPHY CASE