Visit to Jenolan Caves

So we had an almost impromptu trip to the Jenolan Caves today. The last few days there were some reports of snow fall in Blue Mountains which is not a usual occasion. While we were contemplating on the idea for the last few days, didn't really plan it - so to speak. This morning we woke up (quite late actually) and decided to leave for the mountains in search of SNOW. The first stop was at Katoomba about an hour's drive from our place - which is the commercial head of the Blue Mountain range. Roamed around the town for a little while to find that patch of snow that we could play with.

Apparently yesterday would've been a great day for snow play since there was not much available in Katoomba today. Hence we decided to go further up the hill in search of the white powder. There were some patches along the way where some families were playing around. I kept going further convincing kids that the snow would be better as we go higher and higher. Lo and behold - the route started going downhill into the valley of Lithgow. I had to face a battery of insults for why I did not stop much earlier where there was at least some snow available.

That's when I made a call to move towards Jenolan caves. Until that point there was no plan to go so far. Fortunately for me we were able to stop in a spot where we could make a few snow balls and throw at each other. In the last 5+ years I've been in Sydney never had a chance to visit the Jenolan caves. For some reason I was not heavily thrilled to look for stalactites and stalagmites

as I have seen a few in USA, plus kids were a bit young then. Thought this would be a great time even though I wasn't sure how Nandha would take it. It turned out to be a pretty cool experience.

We reached there around 3.30 PM, had "lunch" which consisted of a few slices of banana bread and muffins. Thanks to the surprise weather, the cafe there was understaffed and didn't have much of anything to eat. After re-energizing ourselves set out to go on the cave tour. Apparently there are different grades available depending on how fit you are physically. We took the only tour available at that time called the Chifley Cave tour which takes about an hour to complete. Our tour guide has been working there since the last 18 years and was also involved in building some part of the cave as well. Obviously she was quite knowledgeable and explained how these mountains should've been under the sea at some point in time and other stories. A lot of the cave formations were named after the explorers wives. ;-)

The caves are still "alive" as the water keeps dripping through the rocks and we could see fresh calcite formations developing. The formations were very strategically lit up to provide a surreal effect. Was pleasantly surprised that kids made through the trek without having to lift them during any part of the trip. 

So long folks. Until next time...

C

For more photos feel free to visit - Jenolan Caves 2015

The Art of Buying & Selling A Car (In Australia) - Part II

Now that I bought a car, I had to sell my good old Camry, a 2008 model which had just exceeded the 100k mark. That truly was a dramatic experience. I came across a variety of people or should I say amusing "characters". Each to their own agenda I guess. I myself had to transform what can you my stand a few times as the conditions changed from aggressive "take it or leave it" to "what can you really offer". Eventually made the "deal" yesterday without compromising too much on the car's value. Camry being my first car in Australia I had not known or should I say I did not bother to do certain things that will impact the value of the car when it comes to selling it off. 

One huge lesson for me is to maintain "log books" aka service history. I didn't find this as so critical in the US market, but here that seems to be the bible. If the service history is not maintained that brings down the value of the car - regardless of the current running condition. While I did get the car serviced regularly I was not perfect in keeping records. A good time to sell is when you still have a few months left in your car registration and preferably before you have to pay your next insurance payment.

As in most markets, the 2 ways of selling a car was to sell it to a private party or to a dealer. In Sydney I found a 3rd category of car "buyers" who apparently give a "fair" value for your car. I read somewhere on the web that when I was buying a new car not to discuss a trade-in as that will dilute the negotiation / bargaining possibilities on the purchase. Hence I kept that out of the equation during the buying process. The so called commercial buyers tend to bring the value down by almost 60% of what you could get from a private deal. I found it easier to be in a position not to be under pressure of time to sell the car off. Less pressure - more power I guess (and vice versa).

Now that I concluded on selling it off privately, I had to advertise the car's availability. I first started with my immediate group of friends using social media - Facebook and Whatsapp. I posted an ad via my friendly cab driver who shared the photos over their network.  There was some traction through these channels but not much. Then there are paid and free public channels. I didn't go for the paid channels - maybe I would have if I was not lucky by now. I chose the Gumtree site which did attract attention and sometimes in ways more than what I would have wanted. 

Initially I tried posting an "asking price" which was really what I was expecting (maybe slightly more), but human psychology meant that one should always start with a few thousands less. Eventually I started advertising with a much jacked up price (withing reasonable limits of course) and then went low once they started negotiating. My car was not in the best possible shape especially with respect to external features. There were some scratches around and the seat upholstery was a bit soiled (family car eh!!) etc. While I couldn't do much about the paint work, I did get the interiors cleaned to make it more presentable.

One key lesson to remember was to ensure the seriousness of a buyer regardless of who it is. There was this prospect who was a friend of my friend. He was quite keen on buying it, price point agreed upon etc. etc. All I had to do was  send my bank details for him to transfer. Being an acquaintance I did not bother to get any token advance which would sort of "seal the deal". Because this guy "agreed" to buy it I took the car off the market and told other people who were interested that the car was sold. After a few hours the guy got cold feet and wanted an "assessment" made for the car. Long story short...he ended up not wanting to buy.

There were a few interesting conversations where one wanted to know which part of India I was from maybe so he can change his bargaining position accordingly. I made some mistakes too being overly aggressive initially. I had to bring myself down to reality and have realistic expectations of what I could get.

One of the best experiences was from a scammer. It first started with an SMS with the address as "Gumtree" which made it look so legitimate. Then on the conversations happened over email. Someone was trying to buy a car from New Zealand for his son in Australia. The conversations went back and forth and eventually became too good to be true. Thankfully I did a little bit of research and found that to be a scam. Apparently such scams are common when one posts an advertisement in those websites like Gumtree (equivalent of Craigslist).

Facebook has some interesting characters as well. I did get a few interested parties. The best was when someone "Liked" my Ad and asked me what Camry meant when I reached out to him post his "Like".

Eventually one Punjabi guy contacted me after viewing the Ad on Gumtree. 2 guys came over, had a quick look, a short test drive and we agreed upon the amount. This time I took a token of  $50 to seal the deal. Thankfully they turned up next day as promised with cash and took the car. Long Live Gumtree!!

So long folks. Until next time.

C

The Art of Buying & Selling A Car (In Australia) - Part 1

So I bought a car and sold one in the last few weeks. 

It would be an understatement if I call it a daunting exercise. Would I go through this all over again? Probably not. There's a bit of learning which I don't hope to forget. If anything I will come back to this post for a refresher - just in case. Looks like I will have to write this in parts as there's plenty to talk about.

The Art of Buying

It all begins with being clear of what you are after and what you can afford. Easier said than done of course. Thankfully the variables were not many for me. I was clearly after a comfortable 7 seater, preferably a SUV where the 3rd row was not comfortable enough for adults to travel. The budget of course was determined by the banks and you know how much you want to spend in a month. Thanks to all those automobile experts on websites such as www.caradvice.com.au , www.drive.com.au it made it easier to arrive at your choice of brand, make and model. I had almost finalized on Kluger but still wanted to try out a few other models. The first few visits to the car dealer were interesting experiences as well. It was as if I was prey with a label "Eat me - am all yours" when you walk in to a dealer "unprepared". 

The Finances

The first thing to be "prepared" is to get your finances in order. Unless of course you had enough cash reserves you are going to need a financial institution to help. In Australia there are a few options:

a) Direct Auto Loan from a bank

b) Auto Loan from a bank via a broker

c) Auto Loan from the dealer

d) Novated Leases

I very much remember the very first car I bought here and none of the above would suit me due to the visa situation I was in. Now that I am a citizen all options were open and was up to me to decide which one was suitable. Each entity tries to sell the benefits and try to down play the others. At some point I was almost convinced that Novated Leasing was the option for me to gain some pre-tax spending. However that is something like mutual funds - there's a lot of "unknown" costs you will end up with. The best thing that happened to me was me to find a broker who got a pretty good rate compared to the market and banks directly. The brokers do charge a "service fee", but in the long run it evens out with the reduced interest rate that they can get . Sometimes the auto dealer may get a good interest rate depending on the model you were buying. Once you have finalized the model of the car, get your financing option sorted out or decided and THEN go to the car dealer. It was a whole new experience when you walk in to a dealership when you know which model you are after and you have a pre-approved finance in your pocket. You pull the strings....boy that makes a huge difference in your negotiation potential. 

The Buying Process

Once I decided on the brand, make and model, I visited a few Toyota showrooms around where I live usually without any pre fixed appointment. The treatment when I went was typically cold. Unless they know that you have the money in your pocket (or your finances arranged) they wont even come to the table for any negotiation. After a few such visits, did some research online and found a dealer who seemed to be giving a slightly less than market price. Went to a dealer early in the morning (on a rainy day - as someone on the net had suggested) with a pre-fixed appointment. The dealer sales guy has this routine that he has to follow. It almost felt like playing a "Deal or No Deal" game when every time you turn down his offer he goes back to his manager to negotiate further. I had set myself a target of close to 10% discount to the published on road price and tried hard to get close to that. Depending on the model they may be more willing to bring down the price, but for hot selling cars like Kluger the bargaining capacity is rather restricted. Had to use some phrases like "you meet this number and I will put the down deposit right away...". This tells them that you are serious in buying the car and not just wasting their time. Eventually brought down the cost close to my expectation. 

The Closure

HOWEVER, it doesn't end there. We shake hands....agree upon the cost including a few extra accessories etc... and then comes the sucker deal. We get to meet a "Delivery Coordinator" a smartly presented lady has got nothing to do with delivering the car. She convinced us on some "extra protection" for the leather seating and paints. I wish I could've done a little more research on that before I left or asked for more time to decide. They literally tend to ride on the emotional high you are on when you are about to purchase a brand new car which does blind you a bit on some rational decision making. The result being we ended up increasing the spend by 2K. On hindsight when I researched later on about the "protection" options we purchased we got to know that such things could be done at 50% of the cost outside of the dealer. Oh well...yet another lesson. Eventually we came away signing a deal. All Happy!!

So long for just some experiences on buying a car. More to come on the selling experience. A few interesting anecdotes to share for sure.

Until then...

C