The family car

The first car that we bought was a dark blue Kia Sephia. The year was 2000 and DD was not in the picture yet. The car was a fuel guzzler and despite the relatively low fuel price then, we were already feeling the pinch to our pocket because of the long distance from home to our work places.

The car met its first road accident in 2002. I hit a stationary car which was parked on the roadside while trying to find a parking spot. I was not familiar with the place and I was actually on attending a job interview there.

The driver was still in the car so he gave me a chase for about 100m until I could find the space to park my car. He said to me with a sense of wonderment that it was the second time that his car was hit by a young Malay lady, all within a space of two weeks. His Proton Wira didn't suffer as much as my Kia though. A couple of days after the accident, I received a bill for RM500 from a Proton Service Centre. My own car's repair cost was about 6 times as much. I didn't get the job.

The car's second road accident was much worse. It was January 2003 and I was 6 months pregnant. We were on our way home from our last holiday as a childless couple in Guoman, PD. The road was wet and at a bend near the USJ toll, the car spun out of control and hit a road divider. The tow truck came less than 1 minute later.

We were fine. And fortunately for us, the repair bill of about RM20K was footed by the insurance company. But the car was never the same again. On one occasion, we were stranded on the Lebuhraya Timur-Barat (East-West Highway?) for about 2 hours. On a second day of Hari Raya. With an 8 months old baby.

The repair bills and escalating fuel prices called for a major decision. We finally traded the car in for a Honda City in July 2005. Thus far, it proves to be a wise decision. The City is reliable and it's much more fuel-efficient than the Kia.

We have set a trend of sort in the family. Since then, a few other family members have become proud owners of a City: my younger brother, DH's SIL, DH's sister and the latest, DH's younger brother.

I used to hate the looks of the car's exterior. I often told DH that it looked like a retard (I'm not particularly good at using appropriate words). He consoled me by saying that at least we couldn't see it when we were inside the car.

Nowadays, I see past the looks and am happy for the fuel savings. This car is value for money indeed.