Buying a Secondhand Car
One of my friends has a Rover Mini. He wanted that car for a long time and finally got it this year. He didn’t care for anything but the looks of the car when he bought it, but now he regrets the purchase a bit: it often goes out of order! He bought it secondhand, so he knew it would need some repairing in the future, but he didn’t expect that he would have to take it to the automobile factory so often. As far as I remember, he took it there more than five times since he bought it.
Buying a car secondhand, of course, has merits: it costs less than buying a brand-new car, and we can get a car which is no longer produced. With these merits, the secondhand car market prospers. I don’t think there are so many secondhand cars which need fixing like my friend’s, but I’m planning to buy a brand-new one for my first car.
Comments
Now I’m collecting the car magazines and visiting car shops. I haven’t decided what to buy yet, but it’ll be a ‘compact car’, but not kei car.
I don’t know very much about cars, but as far as I know, the taxes for kei cars are much cheaper than those for regular cars. Kei cars are generally less expensive to buy, but some of them cost as much as regular cars. (It’s more precise to say that some regular cars are as cheap as kei cars.)
I don’t know well about car insurance, but I like kei cars. Actually I always drive my mother’s kei car, and I fear to drive regular cars.
The reason why I like kei cars is that they are easy to handle for me, because it lets me easily to get the width and height of the car body, and easily turn a corner. Also, I can easily go back and park in the parking space. But, if I unfortunately have an accident with a bigger car, the kei car is easily crushed down. So I think kei car driver should be more careful.
Ahhh yes, my kei van! As mentioned above, the car taxes are quite cheap - as little as 4000 yen for the most basic kei trucks. As an extra bonus, insurance is also cheaper. Of course, as Masami mentions, you don’t want to have an accident in a kei car. I feel as if my van is just an empty beer can on wheels sometimes! But I do like my car; I even gave it a name! If you have lots of free time to waste you can see a few photos I took of it here.
Finally, when I bought my kei van, I noticed something interesting. New kei vans are cheaper than regular cars/vans; however, if you buy a used car which is about 7-9 years old, the kei vans are often more expensive than the regular cars/vans. Used kei vans seem to be very popular! (But, sadly, I don’t think mine is very cool…)
Nonsense — Kaho-chan is way cool. She’s got plenty of character, she’s a beauty, and that C-for-Catalonia sticker looks really good on her.
It’s always a moving sight when a guy meets a car that was obviously meant for him, and it’s even more moving to watch them form a deep, lasting, meaningful relationship.
I like the comments just below the photos. It is like you’re taking your girlfriend’s photos.
Yukiko (and Rudy),
When my family saw my “Kaho” page, they responded by telling me it was time to get married and have children. Hmmmm… I think I’ll just stick with “Kaho” for a while longer!
Commenting on this entry is closed.
So what’s your fist car going to be? Do you have any plans yet?
Dylan bought a second-hand van a short while ago, now he’s driving up and down the country with his surfing gear. I don’t know if he’s had to have it repaired yet, but last time I saw him, he looked like a very proud car owner.
It’s one of those kei car things, the ones that are narrower than regular cars and have yellow license plates. I never grasped the idea of kei cars, though: they’re probably less expensive to buy and get insurance for?
Can anyone educate me on kei cars?