At the moment I'm thinking about getting a new car straight away; less CO2 emissions, less consumption and the thing I like most of it all ... not having to deal with the 2nd hand car dealers. Most of my friends think that I should not go for a new car and I do agree with most of their points - you still don't have the 'real' experience of the road and the other drivers, you still have to get used to the size of your car, etc. But then I think of my brothers who started with a new car (because my mum never let them get a 2nd hand one, but I managed to make her realise that not all used cars are $hit :D) and realise that I should focus less on the denting and more on the reliability, warrenty, peace of mind, etc.
So we've been going round to some showrooms to get some quotes, get to see the cars, etc. and in a couple of days I managed to get material about 14 models. And there lies the problem ... which one shall I choose?!!!
I've made myself a nice little list ... comparing the price, CO2 emissions, consumption, etc. Here's a copy of what I've compiled so far:
Anyway, so far it seems that the C1 is the best buy (I still have to check about the features though as the sales rep was nowhere in sight when I went over to have a look at the car), and so you might say "so what's the problem? Go ahead and buy it!".
Well the problem is that for the past couple of years I've been obsessing about the Fiat 500, and now I can't shake off the influence this has left on me. I like it because it's got a retro design, it has a history and when it comes to styling it's amazing ... and when you see it upclose and actually touch it, it's breath taking! I've been always wondering why car manufacturers do not put any emphasis on designing a car whose interior is also beautiful instead of throwing a bunch of cheap plastics together with the hope that the customer will overlook it (especially the dashboard). And then Fiat came up with the New 500 which is stylish both on the outside and in the inside and it stole my wee little heart.
And even though everything shows that it's not worth it, I still want to keep it short listed.
I've been driving around in a Peugeot 107 (which is basically the same thing as the Citroen C1 and the Toyota Aygo, except for the body) for the past year or so and even though it seems to be a nice sturdy car, I don't really like it, especially it's interior. The plastics, the design, yuuhhkk! But that's not the main reason why I'm still hung up on the 500. After giving it much thought I realised that it's not just the influence of loving something with all my might for the past years, but it also had to do with the image it portrays. It's a case of keeping up appearances something very instrinsic with the Maltese character ... the idea of being better off than your neighbour.
Mind you, I wasn't brought up like this, and I'm not the kind of person which gives a lot of weight to image but I've realised that in this case deep down I do.
In the past few days someone (can't remember who) asked me to imagine myself in the car - first in the most reasonable one and then in the one I really want and that should help me in my decision. Today I was thinking about that advice and I've discovered this 'dark' characteristic.
I imagined myself meeting or even seeing all those persons who made my life hell, and those girls who back in school thought that they were too cool (back in school I wasn't popular for various reasons, mainly because I'd rather stick with a stinky nerd than with a bad-mouther). I would imagine myself walking past with a grin and thinking "while you were busy polishing the tonsils of every guy in sight and getting knocked up at 16, I got a degree, got myself a good job, landed a promotion and now I have enough money to get a nice swanky car" *even wider grin*
Once the "you rock girl" moment passed, this thought shocked me. I'm not a person who seeks validation from anyone (except for a couple of persons) and I surely don't give a rat's a$$ what these persons think. So why the heck was I factoring that in?!!! ... or maybe it's just another way to cling to the idea of still getting the car of my dreams?
*sigh* I don't know. There are still things that I have to take into consideration like features, warranty, insurance, etc. I just hope that whatever decision I take, I will not feel bitter afterwards.
PS: sorry for the very long post!
buying a car has a lot to do with image and the way you feel you are going to be perceived by others....It's just like buying a dress...only you get to keep wearing the same one day-in-day-out for about 5 years (or more)....so it's natural (actually it's important) that you feel comfortable in the car of your choice.
ReplyDeleteHowever, sometimes i think that people's realtionships with their cars tend to grow and mature (yes i do believe people have realtionships with their cars!!)...With time, after learning about all it's quirks, defects and appreciating all it's curves and details and after hand-washing it once a week for a year, you will find that a bond has grown between you and your car, and that you feel that even though this might not be the car of your choice, it still has grown on/with you to the extent that it is now the car which represents you best!
At the end of the day, however, it's still a hunk of metal and you'll fall in love with the next car you buy too ;)