Buying a car

Yesterday my sister and I bought my father a car–an AUV to be exact. It’s not like we dropped by the shop and felt like buying him one. We’ve been in constant communication and research for a month on which to buy– economizing what we need, what we want, and what we have. Because we witnessed how our father rise and fall from his businesses, suffered a lot and remain strong for us, we decided to give back the lurv.

The toughest part was deciding between Toyota Innova and Isuzu Crosswind. Many of my sister’s friends said Innova is the way to go in terms of looks, engine, and fuel efficiency. My friends said we should go for Crosswind. Because. Even our uncles are divided on this: one voted for Innova because we can get a huge discount from his contact, the other said our family needs a Crosswind. Our hired driver yesterday, Kuya Roger,  commented that Innova is the best buy because it saves a lot of fuel and Toyota engines will not fail you, while Isuzu can have some smoke belchin problem for some time, but change oil can fix this according to him. Many forums also say that Crosswind’s mileage and turbo power engine is better. Anyway, since the car is meant to be a gift for the father, he gets to decide. He likes Crosswind.

Now the next problem is: which Crosswind to buy? My sister and I were forced to learn about this stuff, but I was having the most problems understanding because me don’t understand this:

Max. Output: 85/ 3,900 Ps/rpm ; Max. Torque: 18.9/ 2,000 N-m/rpm ; Fuel Tank Capacity: 55 Liters

DIMENSIONS Length: 4,480 mm Width: 1,680 mm Height: 1,765 mm

TIRES 205/ 65 Rim Size: 15” – Silver Alloy Finish

CHASSIS Suspension: Front: Independent Double Wishbone with Torsion Bar Springs and Stabilizer Bar; Rear: Flex Ride MOVE Suspension, Semi Elliptical Leaf Springs with Telescopic Shock Absorber; Recirculating Ball & Nut w/ Power Assist Steering; 14” Ventilated Disc Front Brakes & 14” Rear Drum Brakes

EXTERIOR Front Bumper: Upper: Body Color Finish, Lower: New Design, Plastic Material Black Finish; Full Embossed Isuzu 6-Hole Radiator Grille Body Color Finish; Halogen Projector Type Headlamps; INTERIOR Audio System: Single In-Dash CD/ WMA/ MP3/ Tuner with Front Aux-In, w/ 4 Speakers Seats: 1st Row: Bucket Seats, Sliding and Reclining/ Bench Type; Reclining 2nd Row: Bench Type / Folding 3rd Row: Side Facing and Folding Seat Material: Beige Color Sport Jersey – Vinyl Combination

COMFORT & CONVENIENCE Power: Steering, Door Locks (Keyless Entry), Windows

SAFETY & SECURITY 1st Row – 3pt. ELR Seatbelt both Driver & Passenger, 2pt. NR Seatbelt Lap Type for Center Passenger; 2nd Row – 2pt. NR Seatbelt Lap Type x 3; Side Door Impact Beams, Child Proof Door Lock, High Mount Stop Lamp

COLOR Glacial White, Midnight Blue, and Titanium Silver [/box]

Well, I did get the color part, so I suggested we get Titanium Silver, and everybody agrees.

The most expensive Crosswind is Sportivo, then XUV, both more than a million pesos. The cheapest is XL (Php794,000), so we initially picked that but when my brother and my father were looking at the Crosswind images, they said XT is just a hundred thousand pesos higher but with more features like keyless entry and those top load bars, etc. We, girls, considered this for some time, because a hundred thousand pesos is obviously not a small amount (plus we are going to starve for the next few months haha). But, we agreed anyway after painfully planning our finances.

The next problem was contacting the best Isuzu dealer. One of my highschool classmates (Abee) is with Isuzu’s corporate-ish department and I asked her to recommend a dealer–she contacted one bright dealer from Isuzu Alabang. My sister got in touch with another dealer from the same branch. We compared the freebies and discounts (Php10,000-25,000), until heaven-sent Ging (Micon’s friend) recommended Isuzu Inteco (Quezon Ave) because of their Valentine promo (Php30,000 discount) and because its CEO (Mr Ryan J.) is Ging’s friend.

Mcon had email exchanges with Ryan who gave us a special treatment yesterday from the moment we arrived till we drove the Crosswind back home. I was quite surprised that Ryan is younger than me, but I loved his professionalism and down-to-earth attitude (plus, his American accent is cute). He gave Marcus some coloring books, crayons, chocolate bars and drink while we (together with Papa) looked at the Crosswind and had its tint fixed. Manager’s cheque given, insurance paid, AUV tested, papers signed, we rolled and Papa’s so darn happy. Looks like he’s back in the game.