What driving in Endeavour Hills is like
Built into the hills
The estate opened in 1974, and many of its houses sit on steep blocks with long views over the surrounding suburbs. Pulling out of a steep driveway every morning works a manual's clutch, and parking on one leans on the handbrake every night.
No station, no industry
There's no train station in the suburb; Hallam on the Pakenham line is closest, and plenty of people head to Dandenong's station instead. There's no industry here either, so getting to work means leaving the suburb, and for most people that means the car.
The Monash on the boundary
The Monash Freeway and Dandenong Creek mark the western edge. It's one of Australia's busiest freeways, so a commute on it swings between open-road speed and crawling queues.
The shopping centre car park
Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre, on Heatherton Road and Matthew Flinders Avenue, has a multi-level car park with over 1800 spaces. Ramps and tight turns on full lock are where a worn CV joint, part of the driveshaft, starts to click.
Roadworthy certificates in Endeavour Hills
Selling a registered car or re-registering one in Victoria takes a roadworthy certificate. Only a licensed vehicle tester can issue it, and a seller's certificate must be under 30 days old.
Choose "Roadworthy or safety check" in the card with 3802, and it goes to a nearby business that tests. On a car that climbs these streets every day, the brakes, tyres and handbrake deserve a look before the test rather than after. Roadworthy certificates in Melbourne.
What we'd do
At every service on a car that lives on a slope, we'd ask the mechanic to check the brakes and test the handbrake, not just change the oil. If the car creeps with the handbrake on, or a manual's clutch slips on a hill start, mention it when you send the job.