Did you know that, on average, Tasmanians have the oldest cars? Or that Northern Territory residents have the youngest?
Is five years a long time to be with your car insurer or is it average for an Australian?
If you have two cars parked in your garage, do you have more or fewer cars than the majority of Australian households?
We were curious about who Australia's drivers are, what their cars look like and how much they are costing them, so we dived head-first into all the car data we could find and dug out the most interesting bits for you.
Make sure you come back to this page; we will be updating it regularly.
Did you know there are 17,158,195 cars in Australia? That's equivalent to 92.5% of households that have a car, or 1.8 cars per household. An additional 915,658 brand new passenger vehicles and sports utility vehicles were bought last year (2017).
The average age of an Australian car is 9.9 years old.
92% of Australians drive.
We stay with our insurer for an average of 4.7 years.
How old are our cars?
Tasmanians and South Australians are holding onto their cars the longest, while residents in Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales are more inclined to replace their old cars sooner.
State
Average age of cars
NT
9.1
ACT
9.3
NSW
9.4
QLD
9.5
VIC
9.9
WA
10.4
SA
11.3
TAS
12.6
How much do our cars cost us each year?
Thinking about getting a swish new luxury car? Then you'd better be prepared to fork out more cash each year.
Average cost of a Toyota Yaris: $3,160 Fuel = $2,261 Registration (plus CTP) = $900
Average cost of an Audi A3: $3,710 Fuel = $2,792 Registration (plus CTP) = $918
Comprehensive car insurance: $1,620
Which state has the most fatalities?
Northern Territory has the most fatalities per person, more than doubling the next highest state, Western Australia. The safest is the Australian Capital Territory, followed by Victoria.
State
Rate of fatalities per 100,000 people in 2010-17
NT
120
ACT
9.3
NSW
32
QLD
36
VIC
29
WA
47
SA
40
TAS
44
source: finder.com.au consumer surveys, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Statistics are for passenger vehicles, sports utility vehicles, utility vehicles and light panel vans
Looking for a new car? Check out our car reviews section. If you already know the exact make, model and trim you want, try comparing car loans as well as car insurance quotes to see how much you could save.
Alexandra Koster is Finder's publisher for car, home and pet insurance. She has a Tier 1 certification in General Insurance, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Cultural Studies from the University of Sydney. Her hobbies include reading Product Disclosure Statements and deciphering complicated insurance lingo to help people save on their insurance so that they can spend their money on better things – like dogs.
Thinking about buying a car to get to uni? Find out everything you need to know about buying a car as a student, including where to look for one and how to get finance.
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