Doesn't really matter what country, what market
Be patient. The seller wants your money more than you NEED that particular car. There's plenty to choose from.
Do your homework.
Test drive a few cars.
Kick some tyres.
Crawl under the car, look for scratches, gouges, dents etc in the frame from offroad work.
Don't buy the first one you look at.
Buy the car in the best condition, best maintained AND lowest mileage you can afford with your budget.
Lowest mileage doesn't equal best condition. You're buying a 30 year old car.
Take photos inside, outside, underneath, in the engine bay etc and post up in this thread for opinions.
There 100% WILL be stuff that needs maintenanc, repairs etc.
Although, if you buy carefully, you should be able to drive across the Nullabor the next day
The lower the buy price, the more you should allow to do repairs after purchase, or in the first couple of years of ownership. I'd say if you can't afford to spend $2-3k plus on repairs at any point, you probably can't afford a 30 year old cruiser.
If you're paying someone to do repairs, this is even more relevant.
Aussie specific . . .
With that budget, forget a diesel version. Anything diesel in that price range will have half a million kilometres on it, or be a total piece of shìt.
Avoid LPG converted vehicles.
Avoid automatic trans IMO. You'll get slightly less hideous fuel consumption with a manual
