More and more people nowadays are opting for a sports utility vehicle than getting a sedan or a station wagon. Read more…

image credits: tradeshow.com.ph

I’ve always been fascinated with cars ever since I was a kid. I guess it has to do with the fact that Read more…

That’s how our car looks like before it got drowned in flood waters of Typhoon Ketsana. After the said incident we spent too much time and money trying to fix the car. And since we were short on cash and some other things had to be prioritized, after we had it repainted to candy tone red, it was sitting in the garage for a year. So this time around we decided to finally have it fixed. Currently, the mechanic was able to work on the compressor, the electrical, the transmission. Next set of things to be worked on would be the shifting rod. We decided to finally get her a new look as well, so we’re changing up the headlights. Since HID kits are a lot more affordable these days, it’ll be much better to get that. And since I’m such a cheapskate, my husband had to sell me the idea before I agreed to allocating budget for the said item.

Here are some features that I liked about HID headlights:

• Concentrated direct beam of light – the light pattern is less scattered and the reach is much farther, and yes, that’s why it’s brighter. And since we’re both working in the BPO industry which translates to night shift working hours, it’s so much the better for us for safety reasons.
• Better over all look of the car – angel eyes projector headlights just makes our car look more edgy! Alright, when I learned of the discounted price and how our car would look like after the transformation, I was already sold. But the safety features sure did earn it even more points for me.

Our car is on its way to full recovery.  For 2 years, it has been useless since it was submerged in the flood.  But after going from garage to garage, we finally saw someone who can fix everything efficiently.

It was hard to a one-stop-shop garage.  I mean our car is a normal four door sedan.  What about the buses, well they may have their own mechanics.  But what about the RVs?  How do you find a shop that can do all the rv repair that you need.  That is exactly what you need, a place you trust and will always be there when you need it.

Since irresistible car deals are all over the place, one of the things that you should be very keen on, is the insurance that goes with it. For us, who were devastated by typhoon Ketsana more than a year ago, next time we consider getting an insurance for our car, we will definitely make sure that Natural calamities (I refuse to call it Acts of God), are included. Well in case you’re buying a car now, then here are the top picks in car insurance providers:

1.) Malayan – I know Honda Marikina normally has a tie up with this company. Those who bought Honda cars prior to the typhoon Ketsana had their units replaced.

2.) BDO Car insurance – yes as in BDO as in the bank. They also cover natural calamities.

3.) UCPB Car insurance – yes, also the bank. It makes it convenient for you if you’re going to get your car loan from them. Save you the hassle of dealing with different companies.

For roadside assistance, you may want to sign up with AAP and Wheelers. Don’t just readily sign up for cheap auto insurance, make sure you know what you’re covered for.

Yes, I’m an absolute cheapskate! And yes, we did check out the Carens and Sorento of Kia a few days ago, but thinking about it more and more, it seems like going for a Suzuki Alto and resurrecting our old Mazda Familia 323 is the best option right now. I’m actually more drawn into the affordable down payment and payment scheme of the Alto. A down payment of less than 35k is absolutely a sweet deal and a monthly terms of 10k is also not bad. The said down payment already includes 3 yrs of LTO registration and car insurance, which makes it even more irresistible.

I still have time to think it over…. hmmm….

There are so many good car deals out there in the market today. Yesterday, the hubby and I couldn’t resist going inside a KIA showroom. We were looking at a Sorento and a Carens.

image taken from justgoodcars.com

The husband, naturally, by instinct, gravitates towards the hunky and bad-ass Sorento, but I on the other hand, being more practical (both financially and in terms of space), am drawn to the Carens. When we found out that the Sorento display in the showroom then is the 5seater model, we were bothered at how huge the 7-seater will be. So off we went to check out the Carens. Hubby wasn’t really impressed with the way it looks from the outside. But he was in for a surprise! When he checked out the inside and sat at the driver’s seat, he was surprised at just how spacious it was. It also helped that the sales supervisor, was hyping on the features of the Carens (well, he ought to anyway), so the husband was won over. We left the showroom convinced that KIA Carens is a great car for us.

Now, we just have to really sit down and fix our budget.

image taken from ohgizmo.com

Lately I’ve been thinking of buying a house, but the main predicament that we have, aside from of course the money for the down payment, is the location. We already wanted to move after the experienced the flooding incident due to typhoon Ketsana, locally named Ondoy. On the other hand, we feel that with our budget, we can only move down south or way up East or north. Something that we are unable to consider considering our places of work.

I wish we have local RV manufacturers or at least importers. It would have been more easier for us to own an RV. But then again even if there are importers here, that would be expensive. Also I’m thinking it’ll really be a headache to look for a mechanic that specializes in rv repairs, considering how rare it would be.

Well, perhaps someday I could live out that dream of getting live in an RV for a few days.

Last night after my shift, which ended at roughly past 2am, I went out to look for a cab. At that time, most cabs parked around our office have drivers that are taking a nap at the time I got out. I went around the building, near the bus station terminal thinking that there’d be more cab drivers who are still taking in passengers at that time of the night. A cab driver inquired where I’m headed and offered to drive me home. My first instinct told me not to, and then to stall time I decided to make a phone call. While on the call, I saw an E&E cab pull up, which I so wanted to hail if not for the other cabbie who offered to drive me home, and who I later on found out was eavesdropping in my phone conversation. After the phone conversation, I was about to hail the E&E cab, when I saw its driver went out and swayed as he walked so I gathered he was tipsy or well if not, perhaps very sleepy. So I went ahead and ditched whatever my gut feel is telling about not taking the other cab. It turns out his cab was inside the pay parking area.

When we were already out the parking area, when I noticed that the meter was not on. I was completely mortified when the cabbie said that I can just pay him PhP200.00! I told him that my usual cab fare is not even PhP100.00 and that I normally add PhP20.00 as a tip. But then again, I asked to go down right then and there. The cabbie did not stop and said he’ll just accept the PhP120.00, and he kept breathing a sigh of remorse and was saying he had to pay PhP50.00 for the parking fee.

It was extremely difficult for me to keep myself from giving him a lecture. It was 2am and I had to really restrain myself from b*tching around. At least I got home in one piece. If you happen to be in the Araneta Cubao area, and in need of a cab at odd hours in the morning, please do not board the cab with NIMFA as name. I will be updating this post with the plate number and the operator’s phone number sometime next week. In the mean time, please take my word and remember not to ride this cab.

Since the fourth quarter of the year is just around the corner, car dealers are starting to hype up their sales promotions since it is expected that more people are going to be able to afford to buy new car units. This is because of the government mandated 13th month pay for employees, at least here in the Philippines. I’m sure first world countries have more incentive during the holiday for the people that make up their working class.

Too bad I have too many things to pay for, too many debts to settle, as such I wont be able to purchase a car for myself this coming end of the year. Hopefully, by next year I can. But most of all, I hope by next Christmas I’ll be driving a car in a snow-covered road. In the mean time, I’ll just have to be content with reading about rave and rants of new car models, gps reviews on the new and better gps brands. It’ll be nice to also check out car promos with good freebies, usually new car releases nowadays already comes with mags, tv monitors and gps systems. It is highly essential that a new car comes with a gps tracking system, now that carnapping is still very rampant and that was carnappers are also becoming more sophisticated and cunning in their ways.

Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to have the old car repaired so I can learn how to drive real soon before our immigrant application gets approved.