BUYING A NEW CAR

I guess I am just an ordinary man who lead and enjoy the simplicities of life. I do not indulge in, carve for or splurge on luxurious things. The car I am driving now is a case in point. It is 10 years old going on 11 come May. Other than minor mechanical hiccups once in a while, it has not given me much problem. I have no complaints about it and am quite happy driving it around. I do no have to worry about the minor knocks and dents driving in the KL traffic. It is safe to be parked anywhere. Nobody wants to steal it. In fact, I was secretly hoping that someone would steal it. The car has very low resale value. It will be easier claiming insurance money than trying to sell it. I once joked with Angela about leaving the key in the unlocked car with a note “please take it”.

My car may be just a mechanical piece of junk but I have somehow grown attached to it. My daughter grew up in it. It has faithfully taken me many places both far and near all these years. It has become part of the family. I am not a mechanically minded person or brand conscious. As long as a car can take me from Point A to Point B without breaking down, it is good enough for me. That was what wise and pragmatic old Deng Xiaoping said too. It does not matter whether the cat is black or white as along as it catches the mice.

Unfortunately the wife disagrees. She thinks the car being 10+ years old is no longer safe. She complains all the time that the air conditioning is not functioning properly. She insists that I use her car when driving to Staffield to play golf every Sunday. To appease her, I started looking around for a new car last week.

The sales person and their panel of used car dealers I met offered me ridiculously low trade-in prices. It was an insult to my trusted old friend. So I told them I will advertise and sell the car myself. I was waiting for the weekend to take a photo and pose it on E-bay. I think there are many more useful years left in the old car if given a decent home. However, yesterday the sales manager called back and said he will accept the trade in price I wanted for my car. So this morning, with a heavy heart, I went in and signed on the dotted line. I have another 1-2 weeks with my beloved old car….before the new car is delivered.

simon - 21 January 2010