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AusGAF 11 - Twice the price, a year late but still moving forward

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MoonGred

Member
i'll give you a good reason not to
unless you've driven a lot of rear drive cars, those things can have some amazingly intense oversteer. that's going by a mid 90's model I had. They're obviously better now, but still.

that and bogan tradies.

that said, as an investment, they'll probably appreciate in value well about 10 years after they stop making them. that's what happened when Holden stopped making utes for a while.

The only rear wheel drive cars I've driven were a whole bunch of bmw 3 series covering all ages. Without sounding too much like a cock I'm actually a pretty good driver so the oversteer won't bother me that much.

I'm in the market for a new car and its a toss up between a recent v6 ute or toyota 86. The latter is the sensible choise obviously.
I've got an office job so the ute has no work benefits either, but some some reason I can't help but to want one.
Prices on the v8 version have somewhat plummeted for obvious reasons, so far I've been sensible enough not to look into them too closely.
My missus also brought up the investment aspect of it which I still don't fully understand. Has Holden actually announced that they won't be making any Utes anymore? Would be a massive shame seeing as to me it's the Australian iconic car.

But yea I'd be classified as a bogan unfortunately.
 
Let me know if you see one, I've been toying with the idea as well.

Also I've become true and blue and now want a v8 Holden Ute.

Utes are lethal in the wet. I had a hilux for a bit and going around roundabouts was always fun.

Though if I could justify how thirsty they are on petrol I'd buy one.
 
I'm in a similar situation. It's been about two and a half months for me, I've had a few leads, and nearly had an offer in Adelaide that fell through because they had to promote someone within their network. I had one face to face interview last week that I'm still waiting to hear from, and another email today from one I applied for in June saying they're still making a decision.

All I want is a new job in my field so I can move on from the circus that was the start of the year. It's not helping when my brain is making me literally dream about being in a new job.

Honestly, I wish we could all just do a take two of 2015.
I hear you. In my case, it's a job in my field that lets me see my family more than once a fortnight. Do FIFO while you're single and/or childless, kids.

I'll be on a training course next week (paid for out of my own pocket) that I'm hoping puts me over the top for the next position I apply for. It's work I already have extensive experience in, but I never had the piece of paper that says I'm competent and work was perpetually too cheap to send me on it. On two separate occasions, I've had prospective employers ask me if I had it and both times I had to say no.

Of course now that I'm going on the course, I can see it never coming up ever again.
 

MoonGred

Member
Utes are lethal in the wet. I had a hilux for a bit and going around roundabouts was always fun.

Though if I could justify how thirsty they are on petrol I'd buy one.

Haha we've had a bit of a rain spell for the last week and the first thing I though was "this roundabout would be mighty fine if I had a rwd car".
Petrol is the main thing that's putting me off. Anyone have an idea of what the actual usage of a modern v6 ute would be?
 
Haha we've had a bit of a rain spell for the last week and the first thing I though was "this roundabout would be mighty fine if I had a rwd car".
Petrol is the main thing that's putting me off. Anyone have an idea of what the actual usage of a modern v6 ute would be?

Especially in a ute as there's no weight over the rear. As for the petrol usage, all depends how rev happy you are.
 
Even low-entry, low skill work, usually union free stuff like meat works, industrial cleaners and fruit pickings are usually, though, certainly not exclusively earmarked for migrant workers and foreign students as I was often told (so many dead ends there)
Yeah the meat works here is unfortunately a well oiled machine in how they fly people out here, set them up with a house and then pay them $5 an hour after taking out "expenses". Really sucks when you hear about a big chunk of locals being laid off so they can expand the migrant program when it's all just a big rout for the company :(

I hear you. In my case, it's a job in my field that lets me see my family more than once a fortnight. Do FIFO while you're single and/or childless, kids.

I'll be on a training course next week (paid for out of my own pocket) that I'm hoping puts me over the top for the next position I apply for. It's work I already have extensive experience in, but I never had the piece of paper that says I'm competent and work was perpetually too cheap to send me on it. On two separate occasions, I've had prospective employers ask me if I had it and both times I had to say no.

Of course now that I'm going on the course, I can see it never coming up ever again.

Good man. I'm lucky that my work are putting me through a Diploma right now.
 
rear drive cars with large capacity engines with a lot of torque down low in the rev band are going to be trickier in the wet.

I'd go with the 86.
 

Grassy

Member
Haha we've had a bit of a rain spell for the last week and the first thing I though was "this roundabout would be mighty fine if I had a rwd car".
Petrol is the main thing that's putting me off. Anyone have an idea of what the actual usage of a modern v6 ute would be?

I had a 3.5 V6 Rodeo as my company car/work ute for a year and a half. Although it was a while ago, so I think a 2008 model, just before the Colorado came out to replace them. I had to fill it up every day as it would be under half a tank driving home after doing 150-180km.
It just use to chew petrol like nothing else, it had some balls though. I wasn't paying for petrol though so it didn't bother me :)

I have an XR6 turbo now and that gets decent mileage for the amount of power it has. I can imagine the non-turbo XR6 would be a bit better. Highway is around 10 litres/100km, around town is about 13 litres/100km although it depends how hard it gets driven.
I never fuck with it in the wet though, I did once and...well, never again...
 

Danoss

Member
Haha we've had a bit of a rain spell for the last week and the first thing I though was "this roundabout would be mighty fine if I had a rwd car".
Petrol is the main thing that's putting me off. Anyone have an idea of what the actual usage of a modern v6 ute would be?

Mate of mine had a Holden VY v6 ute for work a number of years back. After no longer needing it for work, he sold it and bought a then-new v8 Caprice. I recall how staggering the difference in fuel usage was—the Caprice left the ute for dead. Unfortunately I don't recall the exact numbers, but it was sizeable.

Diesels are rad though. If I needed to tote stuff around, I wouldn't go past one. Hired a diesel van a while back to pick up my current motorcycle from Taree, which was a 600+km round trip. Wish I still had the receipt with the refill cost on it, I couldn't believe how cheap it was (~$70 if memory serves). Petrol would've had my wallet crying.
 

Vormund

Member
The only rear wheel drive cars I've driven were a whole bunch of bmw 3 series covering all ages. Without sounding too much like a cock I'm actually a pretty good driver so the oversteer won't bother me that much.

I'm in the market for a new car and its a toss up between a recent v6 ute or toyota 86. The latter is the sensible choise obviously.
I've got an office job so the ute has no work benefits either, but some some reason I can't help but to want one.
Prices on the v8 version have somewhat plummeted for obvious reasons, so far I've been sensible enough not to look into them too closely.
My missus also brought up the investment aspect of it which I still don't fully understand. Has Holden actually announced that they won't be making any Utes anymore? Would be a massive shame seeing as to me it's the Australian iconic car.

But yea I'd be classified as a bogan unfortunately.

Well they are closing the factory down in 2017....so yeah. I think your only choice from that point on is the Colorado.

Like you I wanted a Ute many years ago...never happened, but I do have an 86 now as a weekend car fwiw.
 

Fredescu

Member

I got about halfway through this yesterday, thanks to your link on Twitter.

Diesels are rad though. If I needed to tote stuff around, I wouldn't go past one. Hired a diesel van a while back to pick up my current motorcycle from Taree, which was a 600+km round trip. Wish I still had the receipt with the refill cost on it, I couldn't believe how cheap it was (~$70 if memory serves). Petrol would've had my wallet crying.

My last three main cars have been diesels. The main caveat with them is that the modern ones have particulate filters that need to go through a regeneration process once in a while. The car needs to get up to a certain operating temperature for a certain period of time for this process to work properly. If you use your car for short trips most of the time, you may not allow your car to run hot enough for long enough and clog your filter. Giving it a decent highway run every few weeks is probably enough, but if it's only ever a short trip commuter, I'd get a petrol.

That said, I love the torque of diesels. They're slower from a standing start, but I love the way they can effortlessly accelerate once they're going. You need to rev the shit out of a petrol engine to get the same acceleration from an equivalent car. It probably goes without saying, but they're great at towing too.

Also I've become true and blue and now want a v8 Holden Ute.

As for a ute for a non load carrying car, aren't the rear suspensions of utes generally tuned to assume that they're carrying a load? Meaning they can be pretty uncomfortable with no load. I have no idea if the Commodore ute has the same issue. I know the Amarok gives you a choice between two suspensions, so you can choose a "comfort" suspension if you're not going to be carrying loads. Why not just get a VF SV6 though? Although personally I think you need an Octavia RS.
 
A brilliant and interesting series of videos.

It is worth taking in mind that he has had some reflections on engagement after a conversation with Zoe Quinn and Lindsay Ellis.

http://innuendostudios.tumblr.com/post/124664414232/talking-to-jack-it-turns-out-is-complicated.

Storify of conversation here.

Yeah it's linked in the OP, looking forward to his final wrap up video once he gets through the last few bits of material.

I appreciate someone coming at Gamergate as if it's a bunch of stupid people rather than a bunch of monsters. Monsters don't just disappear in the real world. We can't game Gamergate. We have to inform and educate the majority of Gamergate, it's a societal problem more than anything.
 

Stackboy

Member
Let me know if you see one, I've been toying with the idea as well.

My wife is studying a course with someone who is a professional career counselor. Skyping with her soon so i'll let you know how it goes. I'm in a well paying job, I like most of the people I work with, but I find more often than not I go home at the end of the day frustrated. Mostly because of management.


Will check out the first video later.

Brisbane people, the Night Noodle Markets started yesterday at South Bank and will be on for the next 10 days, hopefully going after work today.

Here's the menu with all the delights :D

http://www.goodfoodmonth.com/menu

Oh cool, didn't realise it went for 10 days, thought it was only for a night or 2, might make for a good date night. Thanks!
 
My wife is studying a course with someone who is a professional career counselor. Skyping with her soon so i'll let you know how it goes. I'm in a well paying job, I like most of the people I work with, but I find more often than not I go home at the end of the day frustrated. Mostly because of management.

Might not help for me to say but I expect it's like that at most jobs, until you ARE the management of course. Counselor might be able to talk you through it though. I've come to terms with most of my gripes with my current company, mainly just acceptance over time. It's been an issue for me my whole employed life.
 
I got about halfway through this yesterday, thanks to your link on Twitter.



My last three main cars have been diesels. The main caveat with them is that the modern ones have particulate filters that need to go through a regeneration process once in a while. The car needs to get up to a certain operating temperature for a certain period of time for this process to work properly. If you use your car for short trips most of the time, you may not allow your car to run hot enough for long enough and clog your filter. Giving it a decent highway run every few weeks is probably enough, but if it's only ever a short trip commuter, I'd get a petrol.

That said, I love the torque of diesels. They're slower from a standing start, but I love the way they can effortlessly accelerate once they're going. You need to rev the shit out of a petrol engine to get the same acceleration from an equivalent car. It probably goes without saying, but they're great at towing too.



As for a ute for a non load carrying car, aren't the rear suspensions of utes generally tuned to assume that they're carrying a load? Meaning they can be pretty uncomfortable with no load. I have no idea if the Commodore ute has the same issue. I know the Amarok gives you a choice between two suspensions, so you can choose a "comfort" suspension if you're not going to be carrying loads. Why not just get a VF SV6 though? Although personally I think you need an Octavia RS.

Commodore utes have always had coil springs and for the last decade or so in the ute range, an independent rear suspension, so they will ride and handle better than the live axle (non independent) leaf springs that most utes have. I don't know if falcons ever got away from the leaf springs. Leaf springs like Cobb & Co.
 
The Falcon has had IRS for ages. It was fairly late in coming though.

tumblr_nkzblgMIN31qk2jmoo1_540.jpg


giphy.gif
 

Stackboy

Member
Might not help for me to say but I expect it's like that at most jobs, until you ARE the management of course. Counselor might be able to talk you through it though. I've come to terms with most of my gripes with my current company, mainly just acceptance over time. It's been an issue for me my whole employed life.

For sure, in my experience management are the cause of a lot of grief in previous jobs. I like what I do, but the people that manage me at much higher levels always seem to cause me issues.

But, I have been in this role for nearly 7 years now, got a promotion but still doing the same thing. It's time for a change but for the life of me I can't think about what I want to do next. I just want to be able to come to work, work hard and go home at the end of the day and not think about work until the next day. I guess that's what most people want though.

But that's why I want guidance on my career.
 
But, I have been in this role for nearly 7 years now, got a promotion but still doing the same thing. It's time for a change but for the life of me I can't think about what I want to do next. I just want to be able to come to work, work hard and go home at the end of the day and not think about work until the next day. I guess that's what most people want though.

But that's why I want guidance on my career.
Good point, hope the counselling goes well. Are you due for long service leave at 7 years or later? A long holiday might reset you enough to get a feel for what kind of job you want moving forward. I've found it really hard to mentally grasp what else is out there for me while stuck in the full time work grind.
 

Danoss

Member
My last three main cars have been diesels. The main caveat with them is that the modern ones have particulate filters that need to go through a regeneration process once in a while. The car needs to get up to a certain operating temperature for a certain period of time for this process to work properly. If you use your car for short trips most of the time, you may not allow your car to run hot enough for long enough and clog your filter. Giving it a decent highway run every few weeks is probably enough, but if it's only ever a short trip commuter, I'd get a petrol.

That said, I love the torque of diesels. They're slower from a standing start, but I love the way they can effortlessly accelerate once they're going. You need to rev the shit out of a petrol engine to get the same acceleration from an equivalent car. It probably goes without saying, but they're great at towing too.

I don't know a lot about the particulate filters and their regeneration, but they are interesting in the alternate solutions available for the daily driver that's unlikely to hit the right temperature for long enough to clean it out. I'm intrigued as to which manufacturers employ the different methods (or not, if they don't care about seriously irritating their customers).

Diesels are indeed torque monsters and that's why I love them too. As you said, they're effortlessly mobile once they get up to speed and they're not terribly slow off the mark unless it's a heavy vehicle. It's funny when a petrol vehicle under load hits a hill and the engine is screaming "what do I do? WHAT DO I DO?" as the diesel cruises past.

It cracks me up every time I hear the reason/excuse for someone having a high performance/notorious hoon vehicle is because they need to tow things around. Either they're incredibly stupid, just pretending to be, or they've combined a little of the two. At least the diesel only upsets your wallet in one area—on the odd occasion the fuel pump throws in the towel.

As for a ute for a non load carrying car, aren't the rear suspensions of utes generally tuned to assume that they're carrying a load? Meaning they can be pretty uncomfortable with no load. I have no idea if the Commodore ute has the same issue.

I can only speak from driving around in my mates VY ute. They're not uncomfortable to drive around with no load. The rear window, and therefore the rear-view mirror, are just about useless. If it were a cab/chassis style, these things would likely be inverted.

I will say that in the single cab, properly driven, quality 6" splits sound beautiful. For fun, we built a custom sub box to fit underneath the tray and ported the sound in through the back of the cab. It was ridiculous! Not something you'd want there permanently, but it was a fun project to see what could be done.
 

Fredescu

Member
I don't know a lot about the particulate filters and their regeneration, but they are interesting in the alternate solutions available for the daily driver that's unlikely to hit the right temperature for long enough to clean it out. I'm intrigued as to which manufacturers employ the different methods (or not, if they don't care about seriously irritating their customers).

They're a solution to meet Euro emissions standards, so typically any diesel car from Europe or intended to be sold in Europe has one. For example, the European Ford Mondeo has one, but the Australian Ford Territory does not. Manufacturers are pretty cagey to admit that their DPF fitted cars aren't suitable exclusively for short runs. Subaru probably has the clearest explanation out of all of them: http://www.subaru.com.au/car-advice/benefits-of-a-diesel-engine . Possibly because they sell a low percentage of diesels. Also the user manuals will tell you not to park above dry grass. If you do during or after a DPF regen, you might start a fire due to the high exhaust temperatures.

The other solution is Ad Blue. I don't know much about it, other than you need an extra tank of fluid in your car that helps clean the emissions. As far as I know, only the luxury brands have it in Australia so far. Some petrol stations here have Ad Blue at the bowser in case you run low, but I thought I read that typically it will last the whole service interval and they will just change the fluid each service.
 

Fredescu

Member
Maybe it's because I drive in Sydney most of the time, but I can't imagine not always running your aircon on recirc for that reason. If the cunt in front of you has a DPF, you probably wouldn't notice the smell though.
 
some of the cars I have driven have the AC default to outside air when you switch on and you have to manually switch to re-circ, so its easy to get caught out. other than that I have no objections to diesel vehicles.
 

Stackboy

Member
Good point, hope the counselling goes well. Are you due for long service leave at 7 years or later? A long holiday might reset you enough to get a feel for what kind of job you want moving forward. I've found it really hard to mentally grasp what else is out there for me while stuck in the full time work grind.

Well that's another thing for consideration. Me and wife have been talking about our plans for the next few years. They include travelling and then eventually children. Both those things require a decent paying job and the ability to take time off. My current job provides both those things, along with great job security which seems hard to come by these days.
 
some of the cars I have driven have the AC default to outside air when you switch on and you have to manually switch to re-circ, so its easy to get caught out. other than that I have no objections to diesel vehicles.

Our car auto turns on the aircon when you switch to windscreen vent mode on the fans which is really irritating. Let me make my own fucking choice! I might not need it demisted! Maybe my wife doesn't want wind blowing in her face!

Fucking cars. Awful things. Worse than computers.
 

Darren870

Member
Well that's another thing for consideration. Me and wife have been talking about our plans for the next few years. They include travelling and then eventually children. Both those things require a decent paying job and the ability to take time off. My current job provides both those things, along with great job security which seems hard to come by these days.

I wish I could change careers. My life has been pretty smooth sailing but I jumped right into work the day I turned 13. Sure it was a gas station job making $5.25 (USD) an hr but I always had this work work work mentality.

I'm so tired of sitting behind a computer now though. I just want to be a tad bit irresponsible and try my own thing or do something new. I've taken plenty of risks in my career but I guess I am just bored in the end.

Idk, told myself in 5 years I am walking away from IT. At least if I'm not working for myself. It's doing my head in. Most people would kill to be in my shoes, I'm just bored of it all now. (_8^(I)
 

senahorse

Member
Darren I feel exactly how you do at the moment. I have started looking into various options of working from home, I am sick of working in the enterprise environment and I think I need a complete lifestyle change in my work life. Park ranger, that sounds fun, very hard to get into though, so for now I am going with possible work from home options.
 

Darren870

Member
Park Ranger would be AMAZING. Haha sounds like a great job!

I think here is Aus its actually easier to pick what you want to do and just do it. Mostly because a lot of jobs provide a livable wage. You may or may not need to get some extra education, but you can get a job if you are willing to move around and have some sort of starting base.

I mean $20+ an hr to pick fruit? Where else in the world can you find that? I'd love to do that for a few months. Sure it would be long hours, and I bet some pain would be involved, but its better then sitting behind a computer all day, least to me.
 

senahorse

Member
You're not wrong Darren, it certainly is (to borrow a phrase from your birth country) the land of opportunity in that regard. The cost of living is pretty high but I believe we have some of the highest wages in the world, and then of course there is the fantastic public health system.
 

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
I mean $20+ an hr to pick fruit? Where else in the world can you find that? I'd love to do that for a few months. Sure it would be long hours, and I bet some pain would be involved, but its better then sitting behind a computer all day, least to me.

My thoughts exactly.
 

legend166

Member
I can see myself getting out of IT at some stage and doing a career change. Or more likely, all the IT jobs get sent overseas and I'm forced to have a career change. I'm hoping network security is a little more immune to that, but it'll happen eventually I think.

I think I'd become a history teacher. I don't think an IT degree would mean much so I'd probably have to do another 4 year degree. Not sure how'd I'd do that while supporting a family though. Especially since my wife and I are going to try and get by on one income once we have kids. Stupid Sydney. Everything goes back to stupid house prices.
 

Darren870

Member
I actually don't think the cost of living is that high here, at least relative to the wage. Maybe because I've lived in some expensive ass cities before (NYC & London), but Melbourne is pretty cheap compared to other cities. Plus you get good quality for your money.

Though, I suppose it is really the other things that cost money. Eg phones, pcs & parts, tvs, cars, games etc that cost a lot. I don't really have any of the latest and greatest though so I don't see those costs. I'm sure the prices must have come down though, especially with sites like Kogan and more competition in the market. Also, I don't have kids. So that probably helps.

Beer is f'n expensive though. Though, I brewed 6 slabs at a local brewery for $180. So that's a nice save!

I don't think network security will get outsourced anytime soon legend166. Been doing it for almost 10 years now and while the low level ops stuff might get outsourced its usually local outsourcing. If your in ops get out and go towards engineering or design. Good opportunities in Syd, always seeing good contracts out there.
 
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