Your Questions Answered: How long should tyres last?

I’m looking for a runabout that doesn’t cost much to keep and I have heard about the 30-year rule. You can register a 30-plus-year-old car for next to nothing. It seems like a good way to run an old cool car for very little. What’s the catch? - Merrick

Answer: Hey Merrick, yes registration and often insurance costs drop significantly compared to full registration under such concessional schemes.

The premise of historic rego schemes in Australia is to allow enthusiasts to own a classic car and use it for a restricted amount of days over the year without paying for the full use of a year’s registration.

It’s a great affordable way to reduce the cost of a classic, and acknowledges that these classics are driven only occasionally, to car shows, car club meetings or Sunday drives. It’s not a way of getting cheaper running costs for a car you use every day.

It also makes it more difficult if you decided to sell the car. Historic rego is not transferrable to a new owner, unlike full rego.

Firstly, the scheme is run by state or territory governments, and naturally, they like to add their very own local touch. So what applies to where you live might look a bit different than in another state.

For all jurisdictions, the car has to have been made at least 30 years ago (except South Australia, which has a rolling 25-year rule).

Most require that the car be as close as possible to original; there are other concessional rego schemes for modified classics and hot rods.

In all jurisdictions, you have to be a financial member of an accredited car club. Which involves a membership fee and in some cases a waiting period before you can access the historic registration scheme with the club.

An initial safety inspection might need to be done to make sure the car is roadworthy. NSW is the strictest, needing a blue slip inspection or the first year and a pink slip every year after.

The scheme limits use of the vehicle within the 12-month period. You can’t use the vehicle for a full 12 months every day, but you have schemes allowing from 45 days to 104 days of use, depending on the state or territory. There is no distance cap, just a number of blocks of 24-hour periods where you can be legally road-registered.

Check your state or territory’s latest requirements, and also check out what car clubs say about joining and accessing the scheme through them.

Police do random checks out on the road of concessional rego logbooks; forget to fill it in and you’re actually driving unregistered… a big problem if you have a police officer catch you out.

Also be aware that old cars can need a lot of maintenance. For those who love working on cars, it’s part of the fun, forget the cost; but if you think that it’s going to be a free ride and your mechanic is going to find 1986 RB Gemini parts on the shelf… well you might be in for a shock.

I’m getting a new pair of front tyres again for my 2011 Kia Rondo. I seem to wear the front tyres out at 20,000km or less, but the back tyres have lasted a long time. Is that normal? - Karen

Answer: Hi Karen, it’s hard to generalise on tyre wear when there might be something specific going on in your usage case.

If you like driving quickly and you were commuting on the twisty Lyell Highway between Strahan and Queenstown on Tassie’s West Coast every day, I’d say your usage case might explain the otherwise abnormally high tyre wear.

If you’re not using your Rondo in such exceptional circumstances, then there are several possible explanations. Firstly, the Kia Rondo is front-wheel-drive, so the front tyres do wear more than the rears in this case, but not to the degree you’re experiencing for this reason alone.

Your tyre pressures may be too high or low (either excessive tyre centre wear or both shoulders wearing would be a clue), your wheel alignment might be out of whack (scrubbing wear across the tread or the outer or inner shoulder) or there could be some front suspension issues. Best to get the tyres inspected by a trusted tyre shop to find the exact cause.

I’d also suggest getting the wheels rotated between front and rear axles regularly, something you can get done at a service or when getting a wheel alignment. This will help even wear between the front and rear tyres.

You don’t mention what tyres you’re running, but some brands/models of tyres (often more expensive high-performance units) have a softer compound – these usually give superior grip but also increases tyre wear.

I am interested in the Ora 5. It seems a bit bigger than the last one so better suits my needs. What is it like? - Jacinta

Answer: Hi Jacinta, the GWM Ora 5 is a compact battery-electric SUV replacing the similar looking but smaller GWM Ora.

The specs look very competitive: 435km claimed range, 10-80 per cent fast charging in 30 minutes; V2L capacity; a starting price of $33,990 drive-away and a seven-year warranty. The features list is quite long too.

We haven’t actually driven it just yet, but the national media launch is next week, so keep an eye on our review section for a full write-up in the coming weeks.

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