I recently received my annual car insurance renewal notice, and my current premium is $161 per month. They proposed raising it by $44, bringing it to $205. As I do every year, I called them to discuss the increase, especially considering Iāve been with this insurer for over five years. They offered me a $13 discount, lowering my premium to $148.
However, I had already found a new insurer offering a rate of $128 per month ā thatās $33 less than what Iām currently paying, $77 less than their proposed increase, and $20 cheaper than the discounted rate they gave me to stay.
How can my current insurer justify a $44 increase while still offering a $13 discount? Meanwhile, my new insurerās rate is significantly lower. It feels like such a scam.
That said, Iām glad to be saving more in this climate!
They may have a higher risk profile for your particular vehicle than others or they didnāt think you would get quotes from others. I remember getting a quote and I put in the wrong year for my vehicle and my quote was more for 2021 vs 2022 model of my car which made no sense given you would pay more for a 2022 model vs 2021 and thus the premium should be higher.
Itās called greed.
I donāt know but I have 2017 Hyundai i30 SR and a Rating 1 driver. Only have claimed once and that was five years ago which wasnāt my fault.
Tļ»æechnology-savvy thieves in Victoria are targeting some of the most popular makes of cars and fuelling a surge in vehicle crime, police warn.
Car thefts using third-party electronic devices have been occurring in other countries such as the US and Britain for several years and are now becoming more common in Australia, police say.
The trend has coincided with third-party electronic devices, capable of programming or mimicking keys, becoming increasingly available for purchase.
Once inside a vehicle, this device can be plugged into its diagnostic port on the dashboard to override the security system and start the engine.
Some of the most popular makes and models of car are being targeted with this technology by thieves in Victoria, police say.
I think the Federal Government should consider banning import and sale of these third-party electronic devices in order to prevent car theft.
The government is rolling back the fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in just a few weeks. The exemption was introduced in 2022 to encourage more people to hop on the EV bandwagon.
Some are concerned that its removal on April 1 will reverse the EV marketās meteoric rise in sales over the last few years.
What a nonsense claim; hybrids are still fossil-fueled and we shouldnāt be subsidising them.
A PHEV isnāt an EV, itās a petrol car with extra steps.
Thereās more than enough good pure EVs on the market to not encourage PHEVs.
Pure EVs just donāt have the range or fast enough charging times to be viable beyond metro areas in this country. I canāt really do a road trip in an EV.
2nd Gen batteries that give 1,000 km range are in the works and thatās when theyāll interest me, and also when my apartment building gets around to installing enough EV chargers in our car park!
It depends where you are going. For a relatively short trip ie from Sydney to Dubbo itās fine as itās about a 6 hour drive or so and you would need to charge at least once along the way which takes about 30 minutes in my Tesla Model 3. If you were going to stop anyway for a meal itās not any longer and even charging at a Tesla Supercharger itās still a lot cheaper than petrol. If you were driving from Sydney to Brisbane that is a different story.
Last year I drove Sydney to Forbes I charged at Bathurst and a top up at Orange only because at the time Forbes didnāt have any chargers and wanted to make sure I had enough to get to Parkes which does have one. Forbes does have one now so if I was to do the trip again it would only require one charge.
Federal Government has committed $1.1 billion to upgrade Western Freeway in Melbourneās outer west (paywall article)
Press release from Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King
I just recently picked up my new Kona EV (loving it BTW) and will be heading to Dubbo next month at this stage. Was considering Lightning Ridge as well (been there once but wanted to take my son this time) but that may be a challenge with the NRMA charger at Walgett out of action indefinitely due to repeated vandalism, and I havenāt found a definitive answer whether the Tesla Destination charger at the LR Bowling Club would work on my car 
Edit - I have found the Motel across the road (owned by the Bowling Club I think) has some chargers that are apparently open to the public (if not in use by guests) 
As someone used to the condition of the Melbourne to Geelong section of the Princes Fwy, it was shocking just how bad the Western Freeway is last time I was on it, especially that you are very close to Melbourne when you get freeway entrances that arenāt controlled access - at Troups Rd in Rockbank - seemingly only in the last 10 years they bothered blocking off access to the inbound lanes.
I think they need to be careful about a widening, because the relatively poor state of the public transport to that region up to Melton means people will hop back in their cars if the conditions improve - immediately reaching gridlock again.
Thatās why the Victorian Government is removing three level crossings in Melton to improve V/Line services on the Melton line.
I think the state government however should also consider widening the Melton Highway between Melton and Taylors Lakes, so if there is gridlock on Western Freeway, people have a safe, alternative route to travel to Melbourne.
Apart from Troups Road in Rockbank, there are a few uncontrolled access on that stretch of Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs, such as the entrance to the long-running Sundowner Caravan Park at Rockbank. Any widening of the freeway will need to ensure there is a service road on both sides to separate local traffic from freeway traffic.
The U-Go Petrol Stations are being rolled out across the country by AMPOL, one of Australiaās biggest fuel retailers, and mean you can drive straight in, tap you card, and fill up your tank before getting back on the road.
As several AMPOL sites go full self-serve, kiosks are being boarded up, with seven self-serve sites in NSW, five in Queensland, four in South Australia, and three in Victoria.