Month: March 2026

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…and stopped by Cyclone Narelle!
After our stopover in south-western Western Australia and another visit to the BackpackerCars workshop in Perth, we set off for Darwin for the second time. Our Toyota had to go back to the garage again because the ball joints in the steering had significant play. Although you could drive around Australia like that, the car’s straight-line stability was anything but reliable. And, as is often the case, the car was in the garage for one technical problem, which was sorted out, but it ended up with two new problems. No idea what went wrong during that repair. Perhaps it has something to do with the age of the Toyota; as soon as you tinker with something, the next problem crops up. Read More

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…and back in a holding pattern
After having our car serviced at Backpacker Cars in Perth, we set off northwards with renewed vigour. Although the list of faults on our Toyota was a bit longer again, we trusted the mechanic’s assurance that everything would be fine for the next 10,000 km and that the minor issues were of little consequence. We checked the weather forecasts and hoped it wouldn’t get as hot as the two-week forecast suggested. Read More

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…from Albany to Perth
The repairs in Albany took a little longer than we had planned, and in the end we were somewhat disappointed with the garage. Or was it more our “mechanic warranty”, which we had purchased for a lot of money from our car supplier in Sydney? I still don’t fully understand the warranty system, which excludes pretty much everything. Oil seals and electrical connections are excluded, and we soon wondered whether this insurance was just window dressing for the customer. Read More