Previous Newsletter Articles

Our Previous Car Whisperer Articles

We have compiled most of our 'Car Whisperer' articles in this section just in case you missed any in the past editions.

We hope you enjoy reading and listening to them as much as we did preparing them.

There are Vehicle Reviews, Car Tips, Inspiring Stories, Women's Articles, Industry Information and a whole lot more to come.

 

Consumer Advice

Small Business Funding Challenge

Small businesses are desperately under-serviced with many operators forced to fall back on credit cards, family and friends. It’s clearly not good enough, and we expect the royal commission into banking to shine a light on many of the issues.

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Consumer Advice

An Accountants View 2

The second part of our guest accountants article on Salary Packaging.

Simon Dorevitch of A&A Tax Legal Accounting wrote this article for us about salary packaging.

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Industry News

Vehicle Sales Results 2018

We have now completed the first quarter of the year and the new vehicle sales results are out. Here some of the more noticeable changes in the industry, though some you will have expected.

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Buyers Advice

Getting the Right Price

Decisions of which vehicle to buy are often made on affordability. It can often mean the difference between the vehicle you want and the vehicle you end up getting. But are we working it out correctly and how does a professional organization like a rental car company decide which car to buy?

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Buyers Advice

Buying a new car before EOFY

The end of the 2017-18 financial year is just around the corner again, so should we be considering the purchase of a vehicle now and how do we prepare to claim on the vehicles we have?

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Accounting

An Accountants View Part 1

We hear a lot of things about Salary Packaging but how does a professional accountant see it?

Simon Dorevitch of A&A Tax Legal Accounting wrote this article for us about salary packaging.

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Buyers Advice

Fringe Benefits Tax and the Car

Fringe Benefits Tax or FBT, is a term you hear quite often when talking about vehicles for business use or novated leasing but what does it mean and how does it affect employer and employee?

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Vehicle Review

2018 Hyundai i30 N

Hyundai’s new giant-killing entry into the hot hatch market. The i30 N has made an immediate impact with its combination of performance, practicality, and value.

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Feature Article

'Drive Happy' - New NZ Toyota

It’s the new NZ slogan for Toyota, ‘Drive Happy’. The statement from TNZ Chief Executive Alistair Davis is “This could be one of the biggest changes in distributor auto retailing in this country – maybe in the world.”

So what does all this mean and is there something sinister just under the surface of this change, and what actually is the change?

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Driver Safety

Being a Better Driver

Every day on our roads, as either a driver or a passenger, we are either victims or sometimes culprits, of bad driving practices. Bad driving practices can simply be annoying, but at the worst end of the scale can result in serious road accidents or even violent road rage.

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Feature Article

Tesla Starman

When I first saw the ‘Tesla Starman’ I thought it was some type of marketing stunt with a Telsa Car photoshop-ed onto an Earth orbit background.

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Female First Finance

Our Diverse Australia

Diversity is not merely the ticking of a box, but the ability to bring about the sense of inclusiveness that will allow individuals to not only be a part of the plan but also to contribute to the bottom line.

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Buyers Advice

Using your Home Loan?

Buying a car is a significant investment, but according to industry experts, more and more Australians are making the commitment and relying on car finance to do so. Some are using their home loan for the finance but is that really a good idea?

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Car Review

The NEW Hyundai Ioniq

Hyundai is about to launch in Australia, four new hybrid electrified models to join their existing range of petrol and diesel vehicles in direct competition with the Toyota Prius and Hybrid Camry.

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Car Review

2018 Mercedes Benz A-Class

After 15 years of A-Class, the third development of the series has hit the nail on the head and produced a lower, sleeker, more aerodynamically finished hatch that will be a definite and strong competitor to the Audi A3 and the BMW 1-Series.

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Inspiring People

Diana Ryall

Diana Ryall AM, is an extraordinary person who has succeeded in both business and family and now educates both men and women, as well as some of Australia's biggest companies, how to deal with inclusion.

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Vehicle Safety

L2P Program

This is our first article in a NEW section around road safety. When you hear road safety mentioned you often think ‘oh no I am going to hear something I do not want to hear’, but there are good news stories around road safety apart from the carnage we all know about.

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Buyers Advice

MY17 and MY18 and what does it all mean?

You have all heard the term ‘model runout sale’ and some of you may have heard the term ‘End of year plate sale’ but what does it all really mean and what is an MY17 etc.?

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Car Review

Isuzu Celebrates Growth

Working for businesses over the last five years that have been serving the building industry for their vehicles, I have come across many different opinions about ‘the best ute’ but there has been one that has stood out in the consistency of positive feedback.

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Feature Article

Delivery Vans of the Future

If you are wondering what tomorrow will bring to the courier delivery industry you must see this concept film by Mercedes Benz....really quite awesome.

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Vehicle Industry Report

2017 Vehicle Sales Results

Well, the results are in and…. Australians are the winners! Why did you ask? Well vehicle sales in 2017 grew again by .923% 0n 2016 to 1,189,116 units.

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Feature Article

Buying Cars in the Future

Last newsletter we gave our view on driverless cars which if you did not read it was that they would not grow as fast in Australia as speculated by some.

So if we are still buying drive it yourself cars (or even if they are driverless), how will it be done in ten years time?

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Vehicle Industry Report

Lenders Ordered to Reimburse

ASIC in their crackdowns on shonky lending practices has ordered some lenders to refund clients.

Read this to see if it applies to you and take note of why it has happened so it does not happen to you when you are applying for vehicle finance.

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Buyers Advice

Work Vehicles and Leasing

There are basically two types of working vehicles, those owned or driven by business (small and large business) and those driven by employees for a business. The latter often do not get a full and proper claim on their vehicle expense.

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Consumer Advice

Young Car Buyers

So you are going to buy your first car or you know someone buying their first car! How should the young buyer approach buying their first vehicle?

Here are some opinions and advice from our car buying and financing experts.

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Cuisine

A Special Xmas Punch

Next year as a regular feature we will be presenting some guest chefs and their recipes just for The Car Whisperer Newsletter. So we thought we would end this year with a very special and easy to make Christmas Punch...try it and you and your Xmas guests will love it!

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Vehicle Industry Report

Car Ownership Facts

As we head for the holiday season in Australia and we are out there on our roads with everyone else, the thought will probably cross your mind questioning just how many cars do we have in Australia?

So to answer that thought and also provide you with some interesting trivia you may be able to entertain friends and family with, here are some facts about the cars on our roads in Australia.

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Vehicle Industry Report

Where do we build cars?

It is a common question but not known by too many people in or out of the industry. What country do most of the vehicles sold in Australia come from?

Well here are some statistics from last months Australian vehicle sales and the YTD.

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Vehicle Industry Report

Interesting Facts - Oct 17

This month's October industry report contained some facts we thought you might find interesting.

Our first section gives you some insight into vehicle sales comparisons between retail and commercial. In the second section we look at sales by fuel type (especially interested in electric) and the third are the leaders in each vehicle range (and what the industry sees those ranges as.)

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Female First Finance

The Professional Woman

Professional women face a gamut of challenges every day and one challenge should not be contending with car sales and finance people who do not understand your needs.

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Female First Finance

The Family Car

In our special Female First Finance section, we have the first article on choosing family vehicles. Safety, of course, is the primary concern but there is so much more even fitting the family budget and the right way for a family to finance.

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Vehicle Reviews

The 2018 Ford Ranger

We decided this newsletter to do a commercial vehicle for our car review and we decided to pick the one we are asked about most.

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Vehicle Reviews

The NEW 2018 Hyundai Sonata

Stylish, re-powered and ready to tackle the difficult passenger vehicle market with zest is the new 2018 Sonata.

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Car Tips

The Power of the Many

A new trend in the marketplace is using the power of numbers to get a better deal than the individual buyer. This article explains how and how you may already qualify for a better price or deal.

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Car Tips

Buying and Selling Private

Our blog this week is about buying or selling your car privately and what you should know but may not. If you are about to buy or sell privately you must read this article so you are armed and ready.

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Feature Article

Driverless Cars? Myth or...

If you believe everything you read then the driving instructor is one profession doomed to extinction.

We have prepared an article with some of our thoughts as an industry expert!

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Feature Article

Trumped up Car Prices

Will the Trump administration changes to the USA auto industry affect car prices and if so will it be good or bad and is it possible the affects may spread to Australia?

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Vehicle Reviews

The 2018 KIA Sorento

There's a lot to like about the 2018 Kia Sorento.

The previous model was a good and its new-generation successor improved on the formula when it launched in 2015.

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Car Tips

Fuel Tax Credits

Fuel tax credits provide businesses with a credit for the fuel tax included in the price of fuel used in. If you are not sure whether it applies to your business or if you want to learn more this is the article to read.

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Feature Article

Horses or Cars?

Going to the races during Melbourne's Spring Carnival you will always see allot of nice cars but cars also have a history of participating, especially manufacturers, BMW and Chrysler to name just two.

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Inspiring Stories

Megumi Miki

We have decided this newsletter to digress slightly to not only an inspiring story but also how you can find the inspiring person in yourself. Megumi Miki is not only an inspiring individual she has a business that can help you to develop your inner strength....quietly!

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Inspiring Stories

Raymond Chen

Raymond Chen who is Chinese born, started his Australian dream with one small sushi shop (Japanese cuisine) and now he and his partners have 43 shops.

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Female First Finance

It's A First

Not only is the car industry a male-dominated workplace it most of the time overlooks the needs of women as being different to those of men. Women are often forgotten by sales people when it comes to the use of the vehicle and for women in business, it can be even worse.

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Inspiring Stories

Lee Ho

She should be known as the garbage queen of Sydney as Lee has built her successful business on waste disposal. A very inspiring story and just a real pleasure to listen to this interview complements of DAWN.

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Female First Finance

Womanly Empowerment

Being new generation women, we often need to carry out many different roles in a time-poor world. However, most women enjoy SHOPPING! Buying a new car should be enjoyable.

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Vehicle Industry Reports

Vehicle Reliability Report

Consumer Reports' director of automotive research, Jake Fisher, presented the latest results of the publication's annual quality survey to the Automotive Press Association in Detroit (United States) on 19 October.

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Vehicle Industry Reports

VFacts September 2017

September saw the new car sales market decline again overall for the second month straight. Year To Date now the market is down 5.4% on 2016.

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Car Tips

Car Buying Secrets Pt 1

When you set out to buy your next car it will be more than likely a while since you did it last. Here is an article by our resident blogger that may help you through the process.

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Vehicle Reviews

The KIA Stinger

Korean car manufacturer KIA is expecting big things from the launch of 'The Stinger' and they could be right.

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Car Tips

Buying a DEMO

Some facts and tips on buying demos and what they actually are written by our vehicle buying expert.

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Feature Article

The Grand Tour

It was the much loved Top Gear by the BBC and now its The Grand Tour by Amazon. The mischievous trio Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are headed to Wednesday nights on Seven. Watch the preview.

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Feature Article

The Future for HSV

There is no question whether we will still be buying Holden's in Australia, we will, but what will happen to our much loved HSV?

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