August 27, 2008 @ 7:23 PM 5 Comments

After my Hyundai Atos fiasco a few weeks ago, I knew I had a decision to make. Will I keep my current car and risk that it won’t go through the annual check-up or buy a new (and probably safer) car before winter.

Even though it hurts to part with my first car; a 1995 red Fiat Panda I have decided to go for a new(er) car. Since the internet is a great place to find occasion cars I started my search there. But of course, what car did I want? Is it a Hyundai Atos, or something the same size but completely different? Needles to say that the budget I had in mind played  part in the decision too, and not long after my search started my eye fell on the cute appearance of the Daewoo / Chevrolet Matiz.

There are enough of those for sale, so sifting through them all there were some more decisions; will I buy it at a registered dealer, or one that’s not registered, or from a private seller. Weighing off the options, advantages and disadvantages of them all I opted for buying it at a registered dealer. Which will give me confirmation on the actual amount of KM that has driven ( so it hasn’t been tampered with) as well as a 6 month guarantee.

On Monday I went to check a car in a nearby town; a blue Daewoo Matiz from 1999. It is not much younger than my current one but has done only 66.000 KM. There are a few scratches here and there (and it looks like someone slightly hit a pole but it’s not dented nor has major damages). And today I took it for a test drive. Some might think I’m crazy for even testing a car that has scratches but let’s face it; it’s nearly 10 years old so you can only expect scratches of use etc.

I have to admit it steered a lot easier than my Panda (which isn’t difficult to steer at all) due to power steering. It has electric windows in the front, as well as air bags (safety..) and power door locks (aka central locking). And even though it’s not scratch-less I decided to go for it; I BOUGHT THE CAR!

It will (or should) be ready for pick up on Saturday and while I write this I have mixed feelings. I’m really really happy and excited about the new car, but I also feel sad to part with the Panda as it’s still drivable (although unsellable), but it’s starting to rust. Safety on the road means a lot to me as I have to drive quite a bit every day and with winter coming I just have to have a safe and good car. So even though it hurts a little, it’s time to part ways with “Panda”. It has given me 4 great years (more than expected) and as it was my first car; it will always be special for me. But (as much as I hate to say it) it will have to move over for the (still nameless) Daewoo Matiz..

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