I thought I would do a post on car reverse sensors as I had much difficulty in finding a reputable one despite Googling and searching on Aussie forums.
Our second hand car did not come with reverse sensors which comes as a surprise to us as it is pretty common in Singapore. When I asked my apartment Concierge Manager for recommendations for car installers, he laughed and said who needs the reverse sensors (my husband or me?)...haha.
For a couple of days we counted the cars on the roads that had reverse sensors installed and realised that around 50% did not have sensors installed.
We only installed the reverse sensors after 3 weeks of using the car and Mr Taro discovered that he doesn't really need them. However, for me, I definitely need the reverse sensors given my (lack of) driving skills. In fact, I wanted the front sensors and camera as well...but was rejected by Mr Taro.
I was deciding between Carbon Car Systems and Thecarkitcompany which has mixed reviews.
Carbon Car Systems is located at Blacktown which is slightly far for us but we could not find another installer that has good reviews close by. They do not do off site installations.
I emailed Daniel who replied with a quote of
1) Kinetic rear parking sensors x 4 AUD 59. If you refer to their online shop http://carboncarsystems.com.au/product-category/reversing-parking-aids/, the sensors on sale are Steelmate. According to Daniel, the Kinetic brand sensor is made in Europe and comes with 3 years warranty on product and painting.
2) Labour charge for installation AUD 180. You could probably save much if you install yourself but we are obviously clueless about this.
3) Colour coding for sensors AUD 55
Total amount that we spent is AUD 294, with 10% deposit required. 2 days prior booking is required to get the sensors painted with the car's paint code.
The installation took around 3 hours and we walked to the nearby Westpoint Shopping Centre (10 minutes walk) to wait.
Overall the experience was good. It was fuss free and the sensors are still working fine to date. They offer window car tinting as well but we did not take up in the end due to budget constraints..
Carbon Car Systems
Unit 21/ 47 Third Avenue, Blacktown NSW 2148
Tel: 02 9831 3288
daniel@carboncarsystems.com.au
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Brewtown Newtown and Mad Spuds Cafe
I have heard so much about Newtown, a popular suburb close to Sydney CBD from my BFF, Googlesearch. I suggested to visit Newtown as part of our weekend fun and came across the much hyped Brewtown Newtown cafe.
We reached around 10.30am on a drizzling day and were lucky to get a seat within 15 minutes as there was a sudden influx of customers subsequently. Service was good, staff were attentive but expect to share tables if it's 2-3 people.
Our large skim Mocha. I'm no coffee expert, but it tastes great to me!
Of course we had to try the famous Cronuts. They have a wide range of flavors for the Cronuts to suit your taste buds. Our 2 cronuts, Cinnamon and Chocolate flavors were served quickly (no photos sorry!). It tasted like donuts and we enjoyed it very much!
We ordered the poached eggs on toast with house relish $10 which tasted okay and elvis burger- ground beef, savory brewnut, canadian bacon, gruyere and mayo served with chips and relish $16.50 which was tasty and filling.
Well, I would probably go back for the coffee and cronuts again. If you have a sweet tooth, give the cronuts a try! The menu can be found at: http://www.brewtownnewtown.com/pages/brewtown.
Brewtown Newtown, Sydney
+ 6-8 O'Connell St Newtown, NSW 2042
+ 8.00am - 4.00pm daily
Surry Hills, just located at the outskirts of Sydney CBD is very popular for its many brunch places. We were spoilt for choice but decided to try Mad Spuds Cafe because Mr Taro is a big fan of potatoes!
A cafe focusing on making their spuds well, and it seems like they have done it right. The Irish Breakfast $18 - pork sausage, black and white pudding, crispy bacon, baked beans, hash browns, soda bread and potato bread and eggs was very tasty especially the black and white pudding and hash browns. It is something different from the usual cafe breakfast offerings. The portion is large and even Mr Taro could not finish his main.
Mad Pan Brekkie $16- boston beans, 2 spiced pork sausages, hash browns, poached egg and roast sweet onion was yummy as well. The cappuccino was nothing to rave about in our opinion.
Service was good, and cafe was not crowded. It is a great place to have a leisure brunch or lunch and explore Surry Hills thereafter.
Mad Spuds Cafe, Sydney
+ 479 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
+ http://madspuds.com.au/menu.html
We reached around 10.30am on a drizzling day and were lucky to get a seat within 15 minutes as there was a sudden influx of customers subsequently. Service was good, staff were attentive but expect to share tables if it's 2-3 people.
Our large skim Mocha. I'm no coffee expert, but it tastes great to me!
Of course we had to try the famous Cronuts. They have a wide range of flavors for the Cronuts to suit your taste buds. Our 2 cronuts, Cinnamon and Chocolate flavors were served quickly (no photos sorry!). It tasted like donuts and we enjoyed it very much!
We ordered the poached eggs on toast with house relish $10 which tasted okay and elvis burger- ground beef, savory brewnut, canadian bacon, gruyere and mayo served with chips and relish $16.50 which was tasty and filling.
Well, I would probably go back for the coffee and cronuts again. If you have a sweet tooth, give the cronuts a try! The menu can be found at: http://www.brewtownnewtown.com/pages/brewtown.
Brewtown Newtown, Sydney
+ 6-8 O'Connell St Newtown, NSW 2042
+ 8.00am - 4.00pm daily
Surry Hills, just located at the outskirts of Sydney CBD is very popular for its many brunch places. We were spoilt for choice but decided to try Mad Spuds Cafe because Mr Taro is a big fan of potatoes!
A cafe focusing on making their spuds well, and it seems like they have done it right. The Irish Breakfast $18 - pork sausage, black and white pudding, crispy bacon, baked beans, hash browns, soda bread and potato bread and eggs was very tasty especially the black and white pudding and hash browns. It is something different from the usual cafe breakfast offerings. The portion is large and even Mr Taro could not finish his main.
Mad Pan Brekkie $16- boston beans, 2 spiced pork sausages, hash browns, poached egg and roast sweet onion was yummy as well. The cappuccino was nothing to rave about in our opinion.
Mad Spuds Cafe, Sydney
+ 479 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
+ http://madspuds.com.au/menu.html
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Sydney Relocation: Buying a Second Hand Car Part I
After settling into our rented apartment, we started our research on getting a car!
I prefer a new car but due to various reasons, we decided on a second hand car ultimately.
There are lots of websites selling brand new and second hand cars but we mainly focus on the popular websites including:
http://www.carsales.com.au/
http://www.carsguide.com.au/
http://www.carpoint.com.au/
http://www.drive.com.au/
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-automotive/sydney/c9299l3003435r20 is another option for second hand cars sold by private sellers.
After a few hours of hard work as the main 'researcher', I got really bored because cars bore me unlike shopping. I delegated the car research to Mr Taro after informing him that I have given up on brand new cars as it's over our budget AND we should focus on Japanese or Korean cars as European make cars are much more costly to maintain here.
Mr Taro ultimately decided that we would focus on either Toyota or Hyundai cars because we both dislike Nissan haha. It's just a personal preference!
*I have to say that after being in Sydney for a couple of months and being a first time owner of a car, a solid, reliable and low maintenance car is more important than the perceived branding of the car. I'm glad we didn't let our 'wants' of our dream car override the practical budget constraint that we have. (:
We were considering second hand cars including ex-demo or government auction cars. Cars can be bought from private sellers, official car dealers, car dealers which can be found at Five Dock, Parramatta Road and Blacktown in Sydney just to name a few.
Suttons City Rosebery was our final choice.
+ It is an official authorised car dealer. Though we are paying a higher price but this is probably the safest option. If you are a car expert, it probably won't matter!
+ It is the nearest to our apartment in Sydney. Otherwise, the usual steps would be to shortlist potential cars online, make an appointment with the dealer, and train/bus down.
I would be doing up a review of Suttons City car dealer in a separate post.
We purchased a second hand Hyundai Elantra Active model. These are the list of things that affect our decision:
+ Based on the available second hand cars on sale for Toyota and Hyundai, we considered the price, mileage, location and reputation of dealer.
+ Doing research on Whirlpool forum, Google and Productreview.com.au, features such as cruise control which is important for road trips, fuel efficiency, servicing of the car model, reliability of the engine and functions of the car make, the popularity of the car model which means it will be easier for us to sell it off, etc.
+ Understanding if the second hand car has reverse car sensors or cameras, tinting for windows, or any paint protection performed previously. We neglected these areas and only learnt about it after we purchased our car.
I prefer a new car but due to various reasons, we decided on a second hand car ultimately.
There are lots of websites selling brand new and second hand cars but we mainly focus on the popular websites including:
http://www.carsales.com.au/
http://www.carsguide.com.au/
http://www.carpoint.com.au/
http://www.drive.com.au/
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-automotive/sydney/c9299l3003435r20 is another option for second hand cars sold by private sellers.
After a few hours of hard work as the main 'researcher', I got really bored because cars bore me unlike shopping. I delegated the car research to Mr Taro after informing him that I have given up on brand new cars as it's over our budget AND we should focus on Japanese or Korean cars as European make cars are much more costly to maintain here.
Mr Taro ultimately decided that we would focus on either Toyota or Hyundai cars because we both dislike Nissan haha. It's just a personal preference!
*I have to say that after being in Sydney for a couple of months and being a first time owner of a car, a solid, reliable and low maintenance car is more important than the perceived branding of the car. I'm glad we didn't let our 'wants' of our dream car override the practical budget constraint that we have. (:
We were considering second hand cars including ex-demo or government auction cars. Cars can be bought from private sellers, official car dealers, car dealers which can be found at Five Dock, Parramatta Road and Blacktown in Sydney just to name a few.
Suttons City Rosebery was our final choice.
+ It is an official authorised car dealer. Though we are paying a higher price but this is probably the safest option. If you are a car expert, it probably won't matter!
+ It is the nearest to our apartment in Sydney. Otherwise, the usual steps would be to shortlist potential cars online, make an appointment with the dealer, and train/bus down.
I would be doing up a review of Suttons City car dealer in a separate post.
We purchased a second hand Hyundai Elantra Active model. These are the list of things that affect our decision:
+ Based on the available second hand cars on sale for Toyota and Hyundai, we considered the price, mileage, location and reputation of dealer.
+ Doing research on Whirlpool forum, Google and Productreview.com.au, features such as cruise control which is important for road trips, fuel efficiency, servicing of the car model, reliability of the engine and functions of the car make, the popularity of the car model which means it will be easier for us to sell it off, etc.
+ Understanding if the second hand car has reverse car sensors or cameras, tinting for windows, or any paint protection performed previously. We neglected these areas and only learnt about it after we purchased our car.
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