Are you a slave to your cars?
By cheongyc
@cheongyc (5072)
Malaysia
February 1, 2007 10:41am CST
No offence, just want to know how everybody think. How often you clean & wash your car? (if you own a car) I have been seeing people wash their car in the rain, and they spent about 3 to 4 hours, 2 to 3 days a week to carry out the routine. For me, i would rather drive to the car wash shop, and pay a little sum of money to let them do the job. It will just save my time to do the shopping nearby. I understand some people worry that the car is mis-handled by the car wash staff, but do you think we will slowly become slave to our cars? Beside, they are tons of people are buying cars at a price beyond their financial strength. It's just way too expensive, especially for those employed with fixed income. They usually will get a loan and pay it to the bank for years. By end of the loan, they might have already been paid several thousands of interest. Some unfortunate people just couldn't pay back all the loan and ended up forced selling the cars through auction (by the bank). I have friends who have to carry on with extra thrifty life just to allocate money for the car loan. Besides, it's really not worth to own an expensive or luxurious car, coz cars value depreciate exponentially yearly. So, don't you think we are slave to our cars in this way?
4 responses
@operationcwal (188)
• Malaysia
23 Apr 07
Well,I do not know,I do not have a car right now.If i own a car,most probably i will spend $1.9 for car-wash every month.
1 person likes this
@cheongyc (5072)
• Malaysia
12 May 07
Great! You could harldy qualify as a slave to your own car :) (base on your current thought, who knows when you really own a car, you still be a slave to it) Remember, it's just a mean of transportation and do not over spent on it. Unless, you want to use it to show off your social status.
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
26 Jun 08
Hello dear cheongyc. Right now I don't have a car of my own. I used to have the thought of getting one of my own for my wife, but as the petrol price is getting higher and higher, I don't see any point of getting one on my side for personal use. So I don't think that I will be a slave to my "car".
@cheongyc (5072)
• Malaysia
27 Jun 08
That's good. Actually since the public transport system in your country is good, then there is not necessary to own a car there. This help reduce pollution too. But our culture is different here, owning a car is like a must over here. But with the petrol price going higher, the traffic here is getting lesser. It's good for environment, but the inflation is getting worse due to petrol price hike. I am not sure if this is a good thing. Glad that you are not burden by a car loan. I am not as well, because the debt had been cleared long time ago. Thanks for your response williamjisir!
@cheongyc (5072)
• Malaysia
1 Sep 08
That's right. The debt was cleared just 2 years the car is bought. Great thanks to my parents who helped me clearing it :) If according to the financial calculation, the value of our own consumable property is decreasing 10% annually. Now, my car, after 10 years of usage, is now considered a 0% liability. But in fact, it can still be sold at the price of RM10,000. So, it's the free asset for me now 
.
.@williamjisir (22819)
• China
31 Aug 08
"the debt had been cleared long time ago". It is nice to know that. So it is good that you are not burdened with the debt any more so far as the car is concerned. Good for you.
1 person likes this
@lkbooi (16070)
• Malaysia
11 Feb 07
Yeah, I totally agree with your points. I did wash and polish my first new car everyday. Gradually I did it once a week, then twice a week, then... I found that this wasted a lot of my precious time. So now I seldom wash my car. I used to drive it out in the rain whenever it's rainning. Rain will wash away the dust. How lazy I am. But I rather be a lazy one thaan a slave of my car. LOL!:) Also I'm luckly coz I live in a town with heaviest rainfall in my country.
@cheongyc (5072)
• Malaysia
11 Feb 07
I rarely wash my car. Usually i will drive to the car wash and let them take care of it. I think they are much better than me when come to cleaning the car :) They are the expert, coz they had get used to it as a daily routine. I value time much and i would rather spend my time on other stuff than washing my car. Besides, because of the depriciation of the car value is too high, so i think it's just not worthy to buy expensive cars. Besides, cars with smaller cylinder capacity save more petrol. We could save more money on gasoline and it's more environmental friendly. To me, car is just a vehicle and not a representation of social status. So i am more than satified with my 660cc car :)
Thanks for responding.
1 person likes this
@seamonkey (1976)
• Ireland
27 Feb 07
I used to run my old car through the automatic washer about once every 2 weeks. I haven't owned a car in 7 years and only miss it if it is lashing rain. When I had a car I thought I could never do without one, but now I hate being in them. My husband has a car and is a great little errand runner- I'm sure he thinks he couldn't do without it!
@cheongyc (5072)
• Malaysia
27 Feb 07
Seems like you are cleaning your car in a smart way (auto car wash) and save much time & effort. It's true, after owning a car, you will feel uncomfortable without one. Now, it had become one of my most important necessities. I am scared of getting a loan (coz i don't want to be tied up financially), so i would rather continue using my existing compact car, until i have the money to buy a new one :)
