I also think cars are a waste of money. On January 20 I bought a new Hyundai i20 three door auto hatch, only cost 15,000 dollars. That's good enough for just zipping around Brisbane, if I want to go to the GC or Sunny Coast I just use the 10 year old Hilux utilty to put fishing gear and surfboards in.

Well I will agree here, unless you live somewhere like Taiwan with an excellent and functional transit system where you do not really need one, in some places they are a necessity, take Aus as an example, if you live in somewhere very rural with not even regular public bus services a car/truck is essential for purchasing supplies and so on. But yes something reliable and safe is ok, I would like to visit the gold coast one day, I read it is a sunny 29 degrees C there now, perfect for banishing those chinese winter blues!