importing cars from interstate, Outlander PHEV

[empowerrepower]

Hi,

I'm continuing my research on some cars to replace our Mitsubishi Grandis early next year, and am considering an Outlander PHEV and a Camry Hybrid, with low mileage.  I've noticed that often the lowest prices seem to be for cars from WA, SA or Tas.  I live on the Sunshine Coast.  Has anyone got experience of buying from interstate?  How do you check out the car without actually seeing it, and how expensive is it likely to be to ship a car from the other side of the country?  The cars seem to mostly be dealer supplied, not private sales.  I was looking at a Prius V as well, but all the second hand ones seem to have high mileage and high resale, probably because so many are used as taxis.

[stewartm]

Hi Liz, I bought our leaf from Liverpool nissan in Sydney. It was $16000 under local pricing. Cost was $300 delivered on a truck with insurance. We had an issue with scratches from the handling that was fixed under insurance. A better option.
The PHEV is a better option economically when I did the math. We still have the Ford Explorer as our caravan is over the outlander tow weight.
Stew

[4wardthinking]

You can get interstate delivery. I bought my LEAF on the QLD/NSW border(almost), and had it trucked to south Sydney quite easily. I put a post on here with a good trucking guy. He was very helpful when it came to getting the leaf to our home too. The wife was at the house, he had no way to get his truck close, so the wife escorted him from the stop a few kms away. He drove it for her, said farewell, and that was that.
Prius are getting sought after now, as they are very economical, and reliable. I have had four of them now, and have one still as the long-leg eco vehicle.
I ran the figures too, and anything local the LEAF was by far the best value, then the Prius was the cheapest.. we ran it to QLD & return in 24hrs, it was a very eco & cost effective option. Nothing could match it. I find that the PHEV option in AU is very expensive after it empties its battery, in fact the weight was its biggest enemy.
100-120k via LEAF, anything beyond, the Prius is easily the most value.
Prius are extremely reliable, very cheap to run @ 27000km between service(always know it is very light on the engine oil wear. The rip-offs in AU say 9000k!, but entirely a waste of resource & money).
The Prius V is becoming available on the used market now. Hard to obtain.. reliability & cost to run 1000kms is very low. I will help you if you like on this one. A few things to look for, but the adverse propaganda about the battery is very exaggerated I highlight. Very easy to fix, and very cost effective too. No francise required to fix, and often mis-diagnosed as the fault. I would have no other vehicle as LEAF backup. 9 years with these now, and no PHEV would replace them in my opinion. I find a PHEV is contradictory to the ethos of electric cars. A LEAF(EV), & Hybrid are a great mix for eco, distance & resource reduction. A very frugal car. 4.0l/100km... for 1100km every time. No stops needed apart from a servo. They impress everyone with their longevity too. Most can hit 700,000kms. That's why Taxi firms want them. They work to the liter/dollar against distance to stops. Sadly AU won't allow Plug in Prius, but I'm not sure they fit the bill here. However, @ 3.1l/100km was the norm for our 2012 Prius, with deceptively spacious interior too. I have not owned the V, but I have associates that claim close to this.

[4wardthinking]

A note to consider.
Beware unscrupulous franchises. They can make the Prius experience uncomfortable.
A prime example is our remaining Prius. Condemned some nine years ago... it now has close to 250,000 kms on the clock, and has not missed a beat!.
Solved the "problem" for $35US.
I do note the Prius at Auctions lately have increased in price now the public are beginning to see through the artificial fog & propaganda.
There are very few things that wear on them, and a few pointers I can provide. Buying an unknown is always to be concerned about, but one can get written assurance, which is nice. The people I help. I hook the dealer diagnostics into the car, and know what to look for!.

As Stewart says, the lump outlander is good, but resale is low on them comparatively. They are an option, but I have no need for one, and the terrible overly large cc engine let them down badly. If EV is your best option, a good, well proven Hybrid is the next option. Prius has been proven now since 1997, and continues to be reliable outside our gold-fish bowl. Range anxiety doesn't exist for them.
Practicality. I wouldn't even check ours if I suddenly had to drive the 1800km to QLD border right now, I would have to consider driver rest though!.

[empowerrepower]

Dec 4, 2016 6:28:08 GMT 11 4wardthinking said:

A note to consider.
Beware unscrupulous franchises. They can make the Prius experience uncomfortable.
A prime example is our remaining Prius. Condemned some nine years ago... it now has close to 250,000 kms on the clock, and has not missed a beat!.
Solved the "problem" for $35US.
I do note the Prius at Auctions lately have increased in price now the public are beginning to see through the artificial fog & propaganda.
There are very few things that wear on them, and a few pointers I can provide. Buying an unknown is always to be concerned about, but one can get written assurance, which is nice. The people I help. I hook the dealer diagnostics into the car, and know what to look for!.

As Stewart says, the lump outlander is good, but resale is low on them comparatively. They are an option, but I have no need for one, and the terrible overly large cc engine let them down badly. If EV is your best option, a good, well proven Hybrid is the next option. Prius has been proven now since 1997, and continues to be reliable outside our gold-fish bowl. Range anxiety doesn't exist for them.
Practicality. I wouldn't even check ours if I suddenly had to drive the 1800km to QLD border right now, I would have to consider driver rest though!.

Thanks, you certainly love the Prius and the fact that it is popular as a taxi suggests reliability and low running costs.  We liked it in the test drive, but did find the engine a bit noisy out of electric.  Driving the Leaf has made me more sensitive to engine noise.  I'll keep my eyes open, but I'm just not seeing much in the way of Prius V with low mileage.  My husband is leaning more towards the Outlander PHEV, as he likes the idea of having some electric only range that will cover his 16km round work trip easily each day.  Anyways, have a few months to look around first.