cars to avoid australia Page 9

Looking for cars to avoid in Australia? Skip the roulette and use a few hard rules instead.

• Avoid neglected imports or ex-fleet cars with patchy or missing service history; shiny paint won’t fix an ignored timing belt.
• Be wary of older dry-clutch dual‑clutch automatics from the early 2010s; jerky shifts and pricey mechatronics aren’t a personality trait.
• City-driven turbo diesels with DPFs can be headaches if they never see highway temps—blocked filters love your wallet.
• Walk from flood or hail repairable write-offs, Frankenstein crash repairs, and cars with electrical gremlins that light up the dash like a pokies machine.

Get a pre‑purchase inspection, check the PPSR, and verify recalls; your future self (and bank account) will thank you.