Cars cost more in Australia...or do they?

[rice_classic]

So in another thread I was noticing how the FRS/BRZ cost more (as they do in many countries) vs the USA.

However I wanted to invite the Aussies in to ask them what they pay for other things to find out if owning that car is truly more expensive. Folks in other countries might think our cars are cheap but wait until you visit a hospital. My sister broke her ankle, had 2 pins put in and has been paying that for the last 15 years. When was the last time you got a 15 year loan on a car!?

So:
1: Exchange rate is damn near equal. $1 USD buys $.9445 AD
2: What is the typical sales tax, property tax, income tax?
3: Healthcare costs? I'm single and union and still pay $3600/year for Insurance and when I go to the doctor or hospital it still costs me a bunch of money. If you have a family it might be as much as $12k/year for insurance. How does healthcare costs play out in AUS?
4: Average home price: Reasonable middle class neighborhood, suburb, 2000 sq feet.
5: Typical wage for school teacher, postal worker, garbage man.
6: Cost of College education at University (not community or tech school). Here it can be $30k-130k and also in the USA you cannot wipe out your school loans by declaring bankruptcy.

I know I can Google all this but I like personal accounts. I think the biggest factors will be College and Healthcare? Maybe taxes...

[speed3]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

So in another thread I was noticing how the FRS/BRZ cost more (as they do in many countries) vs the USA.

However I wanted to invite the Aussies in to ask them what they pay for other things to find out if owning that car is truly more expensive. Folks in other countries might think our cars are cheap but wait until you visit a hospital. My sister broke her ankle, had 2 pins put in and has been paying that for the last 15 years. When was the last time you got a 15 year loan on a car!?

So:
1: Exchange rate is damn near equal. $1 USD buys $.9445 AD

2: What is the typical sales tax, property tax, income tax? all goods & services (basically everything) get a 10% tax,
income varies greatly
Taxable income
Tax on this income
0 - $18,200 Nil
$18,201 - $37,000
19c for each $1 over $18,200
$37,001 - $80,000
$3,572 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $37,000
$80,001 - $180,000
$17,547 plus 37c for each $1 over $80,000
$180,001 and over
$54,547 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000

3: Healthcare costs? I'm single and union and still pay $3600/year for Insurance and when I go to the doctor or hospital it still costs me a bunch of money. If you have a family it might be as much as $12k/year for insurance. How does healthcare costs play out in AUS? we have medicare a free public system but if you earn over 50k per annum you have to pay for it on a sliding scale, private health for me and my mrs is about 1500 per year on top of that. If you don't have private health you get charged a fee on your tax return for extra medicare expenses so it works out about the same. ~3k for average health cover for a couple per year

4: Average home price: Reasonable middle class neighborhood, suburb, 2000 sq feet. average house prices in australia vary by state but are near 500K

5: Typical wage for school teacher, postal worker, garbage man. national average wage is around 70k, though the mining industry has a massive effect on this
Average Australian Wage By Industry
(Full Time Ordinary Earnings)

Industry Sector Average Annual Wage
Mining $113,636
Manufacturing $61,989
Electricity, Gas and Water Supply $78,432
Construction $71,110
Wholesale Trade $69,638
Retail Trade $50,898
Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants $49,785
Transport and Storage $67,018
Communication Services $80,257
Finance and Insurance $80,480
Property and Business Services $63,294
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services $82,212
Administrative and Support Services $59,904
Government Administration and Safety $72,940
Education $73,154
Health and Community Services $65,983
Cultural and Recreational Services $62,509
Other Services $54,636


6: Cost of College education at University (not community or tech school). Here it can be $30k-130k and also in the USA you cannot wipe out your school loans by declaring bankruptcy. typical degree is around the 20k mark, but there are government loan systems with next to no interest that let you repay you student debt over time

I know I can Google all this but I like personal accounts. I think the biggest factors will be College and Healthcare? Maybe taxes...

Tax & income stuff from government websites. Average income earner pays around 30% tax.

The biggest difference is actually the general cost of living. Fuel prices are nearly double. Food & groceries the same.

To go to your average local bar/pub with your partner and have a main meal each @ $25-35 (say a steak with chips & salad) and 2 beers @~$10 each would be close to $100



As for cars there is a massive markup.
The BRZ/86 was priced very well here at just under 40K for the GTS spec with all the added extras.

For comparison though
a MX5 is around 50K
a 370Z is nearly 70K
a base model 300 chrysler is around 45K
a commodore SS (pontiac GXP in US) is 50K even though it's made here.

[BRAWL]

Go to IKEA website and look up a few big items and compare your price to ours. That is the tip of the price gouge we cop relative to the UK and USA. They charge it cos we pay it

[rice_classic]

Wow, just wow. Thanks Speed3.

It actually looks like it isn't that much more expensive just spread differently but your wages for the average workers look pretty good comparatively. Basically kick of $30k on any of those and that's about the average salary in the states. Also our health care system is a joke so the cost of insurance is only the tip of the iceberg.

Interesting way of taxing income. It looks like a person making $79k actually makes almost 20k more than the person with a salary of $81k due to taxes. "No boss, I don't need a raise this year!"

500k for a 2000 sq/ft house? Yikes! That's a small house and a half a million dollars... Damn thing better be near water! Either that you didn't have a housing bubble burst like we did.

[Dimman]

Because island.

Weird animals.

Weird economy.


?

[Suffa]

We spend a lot money to protect our houses from all the deadly animals, especially dropbears.

[atledreier]

Norway, and I pay about a year's salary for the gt86.

A suburban house cost six to ten salaries.

Tax pressure is about 40% on income, and VAT is 25%. Luxury items like cars and petrol have additional heavy taxes.

[Propaganda]

A friend of mine moved to Australia, posted a picture on facebook of a case of Guiness on sale. A 20 pack of 440mL was normally $72.98, on sale for $40

Originally Posted by rice_classic

500k for a 2000 sq/ft house? Yikes! That's a small house and a half a million dollars... Damn thing better be near water! Either that you didn't have a housing bubble burst like we did.

That's about the size and value of my parent's house. It just depends on area.. It's right in the center of town, a short walk to a grocery store, bank, shopping center, police and fire dept, library, recreation fields and the elementary school where I went, lol. Not the biggest house (by a long shot) and not the smallest house, but it's a good location.

[rice_classic]

True enough.. Location is very important. A 2000 sq/ft house in Seattle would be about that much, San Francisco even more. Just as a 800 sq/ft apt in NYC would be a small fortune.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

True enough.. Location is very important. A 2000 sq/ft house in Seattle would be about that much, San Francisco even more. Just as a 800 sq/ft apt in NYC would be a small fortune.

Yup, on the Peninsula, South Bay, or North Bay (SF Bay Area), as long as you're not talking about a crime ridden area, try like, 1 million dollars for a 2000 sqft house. Especially nice areas, maybe 2, 3 times that, maybe even more!

[Hix]

Wow 500k for 2000sqft. My parents house is 6 acres and the house is over 6000sqft and the guest house is over 3500 plus they have a barn and it was 300k, oh custom built with really nice stone and stuff like that

[nujee86]

just look at this:

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor...415-1dgy7.html

Its friggin stupid!!

A little more specific to US vs AUS

http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and...than_in_the_us

[giraffee]

Originally Posted by Suffa

We spend a lot money to protect our houses from all the deadly animals, especially dropbears.

Yeah and snakes. We do have 11 out of 15 of the most dangerous snakes in the world after all

I think those average wages are a bit inflated though (as speed3 said due to mining etc). From my experience I don't see many people on 73k in eduation.. or 80k in finance.. or maybe I just know underpaid people.