Tim - Dowling's Automotive Buyers Advocacy Services DABAS

MY19 KIA Cerato hatch – safety acronyms under $21k

The new Kia MY19 Cerato Hatchback – DABAS blog post late February 2019; Hello readers, KIA’s small cars have grown – both in popularity and physical size – over the years so they are now a popular choice for young families as well as singles and couples. Whist last month we were enduring Melbourne’s record scorching summer heat, captivated by tennis players at the Australian open tennis, including the bookies’ less-favoured contender Naomi Osakas and her fantastic win in the championship round over the bookies’ favourite Petra Kvitova, KIA – the Australian Open Tennis major sponsor – quietly, finally launched the much-anticipated […]

The MY19 Isuzu MU-X: Tow 3000kg for below $43K!

Dabas Blog early February 2019 – The Isuzu MUX a towing vehicle “for under $43k!” Hello readers, Yes, the Xmas holidays are over for the summer of 2018-2019: The kids are back at school? and this new year has hit the ground running for us all! Before DABAS focuses in upcoming blog posts about some of 2019’s brand-new car launches and drive-away deals, as well as model/vehicle MY19 updates of many popular vehicle brands, let’s step back, considering that last month’s blogs on “non-ute” tow vehicles created a lot of interest amongst readers. Many people wanted to know more about the *sharply […]

5 heavy-load towing vehicles “without a tray!”

DABAS blog post: Mid-January 2019 FYI – Five heavy-load towing vehicles “without a tray” Hello readers: So, you would like to tow something heavy? like a horse float or large caravan? but you need more seats? (and don’t want a dual-cab ute, or the enormous Dodge Ram). Well, the last decade’s rise in popularity of the SUV is well documented, and it’s due in no small part to how adept modern 4WDs are at fitting a growing family, or grey nomads’ luggage in whilst towing boats, camper trailers, caravans or horse floats. But if you are buying a large SUV, […]

FYI: Towing safely – some things to be aware of

DABAS blog post: Early January 2019: Towing safely – some things to be aware of, Hello readers, “Happy New Year 2019”. At DABAS we hope your Xmas day and New Year’s Eve celebrations all went well. With Xmas lunch and New Year’s celebrations now over, a lot of us look at heading away on a road-trip, often towing caravans or camping-cargo-laden trailers to our favourite holiday destinations. Gone are the days of the summer of 1969, when people thought the family’s Holden Kingswood 308 V8 or the VC VIP Valiant with the 318 V8 could tow anything safely that we […]

Feature: Xmas road-trip safety tips.

Dabas blog mid-December 2018; Xmas road-trip safety tips. Hello readers, DABAS hopes the Xmas 2018 festive dinner and new year’s holiday preparations are going well: religious associations aside, the Xmas holiday season sends a lot of people out on the roads, out of town for a decent break from the normal working week’s toil, having some well-deserved rest and recuperation – at times with family and friends. Unfortunately, the Victorian Xmas work and school break can be one of the worst times on our roads for accidents, demerit point penalties, licence losses, road-rage incidents and for peak-time holiday-destination traffic gridlock. The […]

Five small used cars – under $14k – as a first car?

DABAS blog post: early December 2018 Hello readers, this year has flown by, summer 2018-19 is officially here; festive season preparations may be well underway? At DABAS we hope it is all off to a great start. This is also the time of year many young first-car buyers are finishing the year’s studies and now have the time to start looking for a car to buy; often at DABAS we have previous brand-new car clients contacting us, enquiring what used small car to buy – from a quality LMCT car-yard – when helping a family member buy their first […]

A brand-new SUV for under $25k – The MY19 Mitsubishi ASX ES.

Dabas blog post: late November 2018. Hello readers, as previously mentioned in DABAS blog posts, the rise of the SUV over the last decade has changed the face of the Australian family-car market as we knew it, with the SUVs’ popularity continuing to rise in all market demographics. At DABAS we are often asked by customers – needing easy access into their vehicle, due to knee, hip and mobility issues etc. – what entry level SUV they can purchase for approximately $25,000, the price they were intending to spend on a medium to small mid-specification brand-new hatchback, prior to the […]

FYI: Looking after your cars tyre’s and some tyre safety-tips.

DABAS blog post: mid-November 2018, Caring for your car’s tyres: Hello readers, DABAS hopes you backed a winner in this year’s Melbourne Cup, thus having a successful spring carnival’s punting . . . It’s common knowledge that most horses punted on are well cared for and very well trained and “wear special shoes”, thus hopefully a safe bet during the recent Melbourne Flemington spring carnival. Just like horses wear special “well maintained, inspected and changed shoes” to be a safe bet, any type of car – your car – needs its special shoes – “its tyres” – well cared for, […]

DABAS blog post: early November 2018. Hello readers, DABAS hopes your November is off to a good start; in this blog post let’s have a look at five popular used SUVs starting under $15,000. You do not need to run a farm in the Wimmera wheat-belt region of Victoria to appreciate a good 4WD or SUV; their ever-increasing popularity over recent years, some say, has seen the large demise in sales (or extinction) of last century’s traditional Australian family sedan and station wagon – like the Australian Ford Falcon range that was produced in Australia for over 50 years, […]

Focus on: The 2018 – upgraded – Mazda 3 Range.

DABAS Blog post: Late October 2018, Focus on: The 2018 upgraded Mazda 3 range; Hello readers, at DABAS, we often have enquiries from clients wanting to buy a small- to medium-sized brand-new passenger car for their A-to-B daily commute around Melbourne, with an entry-level RRP starting price of under $25,000 – so, in this DABAS blog post let’s have a “very brief generalised-in-nature look” at a car that fits these criteria: the recently upgraded 2018 Mazda3 range, available now at a local Melbourne Mazda dealership near you. We hope you find it an interesting read whilst shining some light on […]

DOWLING'S AUTOMOTIVE BUYERS ADVOCACY SERVICES: DABAS

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Author Archives: Tim