Buying a car can be one of the biggest decisions faced by young people – and if they don’t get it right it could be a very costly lesson.

A group of senior students at Ashfield Boys High will now be much better prepared to face the traps and pitfalls of buying a car following a visit this week by NSW Fair Trading Minister, Diane Beamer and the Member for Strathfield, Virginia Judge.

Ms Beamer and Ms Judge joined a Fair Trading team presenting a ‘Revved Up’ session to Year 12 Business students at Ashfield.

“Buying a car is a major step for young people but unless they do their homework, they can end up losing a lot of money.  The Revved Up program provides the practical advice and information that can prevent some very costly mistakes,” Ms Beamer said.

Revved Up gives students hands-on experience at checking the mechanical condition and registration details of used cars as well as advice on the various methods of purchasing and financing a car.
Virginia Judge said she found the seminar extremely informative and very well received by the students.

“More and more of our students are buying their first car not long after leaving school or even in some cases, before they finish high school. But the message from Revved Up was very clear – don’t let your heart rule your head when it comes to selecting a car,” Ms Judge said.

“Students are informed of the benefits and problems associated with buying used cars from licensed dealers, at auction, or through private sales.”
Students don’t leave empty-handed receiving a Car Buyers’ Handbook, relevant fact sheets and brochures.

Ms Beamer said Fair Trading resolved or mediated thousands of disputes involving motor vehicle purchases, handling 1.5 million car-related inquiries each year.

“It is essential that anyone thinking about buying a car privately runs a REVS check first because REVS currently holds details of more than 2.6 million financial encumbrances over vehicles and boats,” Ms Beamer said.