I blogged T.O.D.A.Y @ 22:38

cars

After taking public transport for so many years, i think it's about time to upgrade myself and get my own car. after all, it's so much convenient and more freedom entails to where u want to go, how long u want to stay out, when u want to leave without the hassle of waiting for buses, waiting for cabs or waiting for the telephone operators to attend to my calling of cabs. and i dun have to walk all the way into the camps like maju and seletar- which can be quite a long walk if u have ever been there before.

of course there are much considerations too. in fact it's a damn heavy burden (financially) that i will have to bear in years to come. i did some maths and taking all into account (taxes, petrol, parking, maintenance, insurance, installments), i will have to fork out about 800 to 900 bucks per month! that's like 2 to 3 times of the transport fees that i am paying for right now.

well i think ultimately all of us will get a car, and it is only a matter of time (whether before or after ns, or after u become a reg!), so perhaps now is the time for me, esp when i am free of loans to pay for now, and have some time to do some research what i am looking for..

Went to view some cars recently, but i din test-drive though (for obvious reasons...). and based on my budget of around 50k - 55k and some basic inclusion criteria (auto gear, asthetically acceptable, reliable, not more than 1.6cc, 5 seater, wun consume too much petrol), these are some of what i have in mind:

1) Toyota Vios


+: affordable, reliable, not too many people ard me have it
-: need to pay more if u want leather uphostlery, digital speedometer (cos the manual speedometer doesn't look too nice..), got some cheapo parts like velcro for the mirror, comparable to Altis if all these furnishings are up, so might as well get an Altis

2) Toyota Altis



+: reliable, leather seats, spacious
-: very common, higher end of my budget

3) Mitsubishi Colt


+: Hatchback, cool external design, not too common, foldable backseats to increase boot space
-: the gear is on the steering wheel- may not get used to it, need more budget if i want to include the spoilers, skirts and bodykits

4) Mitusbishi Lancer


+: very affordable
-: common

5) Toyota Yaris

+: used to be my number one choice cos it's hatchback, looks cool and relatively new in the market
-: but upon looking at the real thing, dun really like the interior design..

Also look at other cars like the new Hyundai Avante (but quite expensive). So with all these in mind, i am still thinking which one i should get.. any opinions?