Toowong's roads, hills and trains
Three ways into the city
Coronation Drive follows the river 3.1 km into the CBD and carried an average of 75,560 vehicles a day in the second half of 2014. Milton Road is the other surface route. Underneath, Legacy Way, a 4.6 km tolled tunnel opened on 25 June 2015, links the Western Freeway at Toowong to the Inner City Bypass.
Hardly a flat street
Mount Coot-tha rises to around 300 m just west of the suburb, and the streets between it and the river climb and drop the whole way. Hill starts are where a manual clutch wears: RAC WA says slipping it to hold the car on a hill gets it to the end of its life much earlier.
A car that waits
Toowong station sits under Toowong Village on the Ipswich and Springfield lines, and the Regatta CityCat stop is on the river. When the train does the commute, the car can sit for days. RACQ says driving once or twice a week means the battery isn't really being used.
A young suburb
With the University of Queensland close by, 36.1% of Toowong's residents were aged 20 to 29 at the 2011 census. If you're buying a used car privately, the seller has to hand over a current safety certificate, but Queensland's transport department says it is not a full mechanical inspection.
The jobs that come up in Toowong
A battery that dies after a week of sitting is the classic. RACV lists short trips under 20 minutes and long periods parked among the usual causes, and suggests at least 20 minutes of driving each week. If it clicks or cranks slowly, a battery test in Brisbane shows whether it's the battery or the charging system.
A manual that slips, smells hot on a hill or bites high on the pedal needs a look at the clutch. And a diesel that only ever does the run down to Coronation Drive and back may struggle to clear its particulate filter; exhaust and DPF repairs in Brisbane explains the warning light.
In an apartment block, check with the building manager or body corporate before choosing "Come to me". A mobile mechanic needs somewhere off the street to work.
If it were our car
If the car mostly waits while you take the train, we'd ask for a battery test at each service and take it for a proper drive every weekend. Buying one privately, we'd get a pre-purchase inspection done before any money moves.