Author Archive: Get That Car Loan

Ford Everest Trend RWD Road Test Visually, the rear-wheel drive (RWD) Ford Everest Trend is almost impossible to pick from 4WD versions. Same with the drive experience contributed to by the 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel, the packaging and the towing abilities. So, other than a $5000 price saving over the $60,990 (plus ORCs) 4WD Trend, what’s the point? We find out… Same but different Apart from a small, essentially useless, receptacle in the centre console, there’s precious little that visually separates Ford’s rear-wheel drive Everest Trend from its four-wheel drive equivalent.
For a saving of $5000 over the 4WD version, buyers of the rear-drive Everest Trend get a high-riding, high-spec’ed seven-seater that, to all intents and purposes, does most of the things expected by most people who buy large SUVs today.
No, the RWD Everest won’t take you very far off-road, but it will, if you insist, take you a little further than some [...]

Combining style and practicality with impressive value, the petrol-powered Nissan Qashqai Ti is a formidable challenger to the compact SUV establishment. In the highly competitive compact SUV world, style, practicality and value are some of the biggest draw cards. The Nissan Qashqai is aiming to score the hat-trick.
Launched locally in July priced from $25,850, the Nissan Qashqai (I’ve just had to double-check the spelling again) replaces the far less confusingly named Dualis.
Now employing the badge of its European equivalent – a model sold overseas since 2007 – the all-new second-generation Qashqai differs from its predecessor in being exclusively available with five seats (the Dualis +2’s seven-seat role left to the all-new, third-generation X-Trail).
Looking sharper and more modern than the wide-eyed and smiley Dualis, the UK-built Qashqai takes more than a few styling cues from its larger, Japanese-built mid-sized stablemate. These include sleek LED daytime running light-infused headlights, a revised [...]

The sixth-generation Ford Mustang is a smash hit by any measure, quickly becoming Australia’s most popular sports car in 2016. Striking muscle car proportions, reasonable pricing and a ripper 5.0-litre V8 won it many friends. But some argued it lacked drama, especially the turbo-four powered versions. Enter local Ford fettler Tickford; the Melbourne outfit having a red hot go at reigniting the Pony Car’s passion with its new $7000 upgrade kits. But do they make an entertaining car even more fun? Ice cream is delicious. It’s a classic treat with a creamy texture and a lasting, soothing after-taste. In some ways it’s just like driving a Ford Mustang. But add some crushed almonds and chocolate topping and you’ve got a dessert that’ll take your tastebuds to the next level…
Tickford, a Melbourne-based candy store for car enthusiasts, has followed up its sugar-coated Ranger make-over with some teeth-rotting power tweaks for the Mustang. In other [...]

Many deals sound too good to be true – generally because they are. Most zero percent car finance offers certainly fall into that category. They are definitely a good marketing strategy – because they increase inquiry rates at dealerships – but they are seldom a good deal for customers.
Zero percent finance is actually a form of ‘sub-vented finance’ – where the interest is actually paid indirectly to the financier. In practise, how this works is the dealer pays the interest to the financier from the profit out of the sale of the new car. This is why, when a purchase is completed using a zero percent offer, there is little room, if any, to negotiate on the price of the vehicle.
When choosing finance it is essential to look at the overall deal rather than do what the marketers want – which is to see you focus exclusively on the zero.
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