It took us a long time to decide whether to buy a new car or not. I love cars. But I think between my husband and I, he is better informed. So in this post he will be sharing with you some of the factors we took into consideration when we bought our new car.
Is it time to get a new car?
I can still clearly remember a few months back my wife and I would always go into this in depth discussion of getting a new car. We always talked about the pros and cons, the ifs and buts. At times we would end up frustrated and argue about the whole idea. Contrary to what our relatives back home believe we do not have an abundant cash reserve so we can’t afford to get a car in cash. Our only option was to have it on an installment plan which is downright scary for us since we do not have security of tenure here in Thailand.
The discussions we would be having revolves around living with the old car which we have already paid for against having a new one which we will be paying big every month for years. I explained to my wife the benefits of having a new car and how it weighs against sticking to the old car.
1. Modern cars are safer – Well it may not be true to all new generation cars but since the standards of modern cars have been raised quite a few notch above the old tech cars, it is safe to assume that they are safer than the older ones. (Choose your car brands and car models wisely.) Nowadays there are certain safety features that come in standard even for low end vehicles. A long time ago seatbelts, power steering, electronic brake assist were special features, now these features have beocme standards. ABS and SRS airbags have also become safety standards for new generation cars. You can pay extra and go for the cars with Vehicle Stability Control, parking sensors, backing cameras and whatnot’s.
Contrary to a lot of beliefs that the older cars with thicker metal sheets wrapped around it are stronger and safer than the new age cars that have flimsy metal body that dents the moment someone leans on it … ugh… it is very difficult to explain so watch the link to know what i mean. (http://youtu.be/emtLLvXrrFs ).
2. Fuel Economy – is the thing that me and my wife agreed with congruence. Our choice for the new car was greatly influenced with this criterion. It should be the most fuel efficient in its category.
The plus factor that we got with the new car was the “Fuel Flexibility”. This came as a very big surprise to us since we knew nothing of it until one of the gas pump boys told us about it. Well sort of . We did a research when we got back home. With the old car we used two types of fuel only. Benzene the standard gasoline and the Gasohol a nature hugging fuel. We normally go for the Gasohol because of that. ^_^ No not really… we go for gasohol because it is a lot cheaper than the standard gasoline. With the new car the pump boys at the station told us that we could use the E-20. It is the cheapest fuel that can be used on the car. It is even cheaper than the tree hugging gasohol fuel.
So aside from the savings we got from the new car’s frugality we also saved up a bit with the new option for fuel. something we would have not experienced with the old car.
3. Ride with confidence – Being in a new car surely gives you that certain confidence that you don’t get in an old car. You just simply drive knowing you are road worthy. In an old car you would always be thinking of it breaking down. That is a very stressful thought especially if you are on a road trip.
4. Blending in- Finally, with the new car we won’t stand out from the crowd. LOL! Most especially in the parking areas of malls and other establishments. It is quite the opposite of where i grew up where people who have new cars really stand out from the lot. Here when you have an aging car it would be quite noticeable. ^_^
* Side note: Don’t get me wrong. Not all people in Thailand are rich people but even the middle class and the financially challenged families are given the opportunity to own a brand new vehicles. Thailand has this government program that grants any Thai family, from all walks of life, a loan to buy a brand new vehicle of their choice. So do not be surprised, if you happen to be in Thailand especially in the south, to see brand new pickup trucks used to carry rubber, logs, or converted into songthaews (jeepney in the philippines). For those who are in doubt the link below is an English advertising of the said program ^_^. cheers!
Well i could have said more in this article but my wife says it already too long. ^_^
Please leave your comments and creative responses below ^-^
You might also like
Do you have alot of pictures but were never in any of them?
