Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Confused but Contented...
I sold off my beloved ride for something more practical and somehow even being surrounded by cars my entire adult life I an enable to make up my mind on what is more practical and what should be the next set of wheels. So I am hoping by typing my thoughts out it might narrow down my choice. I have always loved BMW`s but somehow I must say that I think change is......To be continued
Sunday, September 30, 2012
A Love Hate Relationship
Found Myself in a very tricky situation some time back, Its was something which was so unexpected and odd.I guess honesty will be the best policy here and I am not going to be choosing sides, or be unfair in my review of something so NORMAL. I have always been a BMW enthusiast from the time I knew how to put my own underpants on but recently I have found out that looks alone cannot bring you happiness (all the time) and sometimes something less flashy and simple gets the job done so much better. I recently sold My BMW E46 320CI Convertible and I was car-less because I was careless with the timings, and did not look for a replacement before I let her go. Okay another note to self, dating and cars are the same if you have a replacement before you upgrade.... the heartache is less.Okay now back to my story.
I have driven my faithful BMW a couple of times outstation and to be more precise I will review it based on My trip to Kuantan. How many of you guys have actually driven on the Karak Highway? for me you never drive on the Karak Highway.... It drives You !, Talk about a Road with massive corners , roller-coaster like lifts and drops and poor lighting or no lighting at all. If you like driving or being driven by your car here is the place to be. The BMW being rear wheel drive and a close to 50-50% weight distribution was a dream to be with on the ever famous Karak, She soaked up the corners like a sponge soaking water and her suspension was made to thrill and entice every single inch of your body. Other then that massive feeling, nothing practical was available to me to relax and enjoy the rest of my journey. Everyone likes to drive an F-1 car but can you drive it to work everyday?My 2003 BMW did not even have cup holders !!!! .
Okay now to the car which I really want to talk about.... What brand will come to your head when to hear the word reliability? or maybe practicality ?....... TOYOTA....To be honest how often do you notice a Toyota breaking down or a Toyota owner complaining of his bad experience maintaining a Toyota. Matter of fact Toyota`s are simple no nonsense runners. I must admit that the model which I had to use for my trip this time as my BMW was long gone was designed by a guy who thought the design of the bread toaster and the fridge was simply fantastic and not to mention he also had a creative imagination of a cat and styling thoughts of Prince Charles. The year 2003 Toyota Camry model code XV30 . Quick Quiz .... What do you call a big box sitting on small wheels???? Wait for it...... The Toyota Camry!!!. God I really hated the way this car looks, But my Hate soon Became Love.
Maybe the design wont turn heads.... Maybe the you wont be meeting a hot girl who just wants a ride in your car... but I tell you what you will get... Peace of mind, A relaxing atmosphere and A Wife who loves you more because you made the right choice by getting a car which takes the family around safely and makes you a logical man.Woman want logical men... girls don't... So if your single... Stick to your BMW !!...lol.
My journey started at around noon and the traffic was so bad heading toward the Karak Via the LDP. First thing I noticed it that my stress level was much lower compared to driving my BMW reason being I was sitting comfortably in well positioned higher seat which made it possible to have a good view all around the car, I also did have to worry about hitting any pot holes as the Camry is fitted with huge 65 series profile tires which can take on any pothole without damaging the rims or suspension. The drive was quite refined and comfortable not to mention the built quality was not to bad compared to our Koreans. So to cut this story short I have come to the conclusion that its an easy to live with car and it wont burn a hole in your pocket on maintenance either. Will love to tell you guys more about this car but unfortunately I have sold this beautiful Camry and a hate talking about the past.
I have driven my faithful BMW a couple of times outstation and to be more precise I will review it based on My trip to Kuantan. How many of you guys have actually driven on the Karak Highway? for me you never drive on the Karak Highway.... It drives You !, Talk about a Road with massive corners , roller-coaster like lifts and drops and poor lighting or no lighting at all. If you like driving or being driven by your car here is the place to be. The BMW being rear wheel drive and a close to 50-50% weight distribution was a dream to be with on the ever famous Karak, She soaked up the corners like a sponge soaking water and her suspension was made to thrill and entice every single inch of your body. Other then that massive feeling, nothing practical was available to me to relax and enjoy the rest of my journey. Everyone likes to drive an F-1 car but can you drive it to work everyday?My 2003 BMW did not even have cup holders !!!! .
Okay now to the car which I really want to talk about.... What brand will come to your head when to hear the word reliability? or maybe practicality ?....... TOYOTA....To be honest how often do you notice a Toyota breaking down or a Toyota owner complaining of his bad experience maintaining a Toyota. Matter of fact Toyota`s are simple no nonsense runners. I must admit that the model which I had to use for my trip this time as my BMW was long gone was designed by a guy who thought the design of the bread toaster and the fridge was simply fantastic and not to mention he also had a creative imagination of a cat and styling thoughts of Prince Charles. The year 2003 Toyota Camry model code XV30 . Quick Quiz .... What do you call a big box sitting on small wheels???? Wait for it...... The Toyota Camry!!!. God I really hated the way this car looks, But my Hate soon Became Love.
Maybe the design wont turn heads.... Maybe the you wont be meeting a hot girl who just wants a ride in your car... but I tell you what you will get... Peace of mind, A relaxing atmosphere and A Wife who loves you more because you made the right choice by getting a car which takes the family around safely and makes you a logical man.Woman want logical men... girls don't... So if your single... Stick to your BMW !!...lol.
My journey started at around noon and the traffic was so bad heading toward the Karak Via the LDP. First thing I noticed it that my stress level was much lower compared to driving my BMW reason being I was sitting comfortably in well positioned higher seat which made it possible to have a good view all around the car, I also did have to worry about hitting any pot holes as the Camry is fitted with huge 65 series profile tires which can take on any pothole without damaging the rims or suspension. The drive was quite refined and comfortable not to mention the built quality was not to bad compared to our Koreans. So to cut this story short I have come to the conclusion that its an easy to live with car and it wont burn a hole in your pocket on maintenance either. Will love to tell you guys more about this car but unfortunately I have sold this beautiful Camry and a hate talking about the past.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The SP Roadtrip ...... W123 Collection....
Its funny how I only find time to write when I`m really stressed out but cant really fall sleep. So this time it has been 7 months from my last posting. Now back to my story....
The last couple of months have been filled with me buying and selling standard normal daily driving cars that I kind of forgot the wonderful feeling of driving a classic or even buying a classic. Lets just say that I got so carried away with making money that I forgot the main reason why I choose this line of business which was BUYING , RESTORING and SELLING CLASSIC cars.
My uncle asked me about a month back to help him find a classic W123 Mercedes Benz as he was kind of bitten by the classic car bug. His requirements were simple and the car he wanted had to be an automatic and it had to have the ever popular and ever reliable Mercedes Benz Black engine which runs on a timing chain. The W123 230E was selected as the best option compared to the 200E as the older model cars needed a higher cc to to do justice for the automatic gearbox. Budget given was RM10000.00 for a good running example.
I was quite excited because the last classic Mercedes Benz I bought was well over a year ago and I was kind of getting bored working on old BMW`s. I knew finding a W123 would be a easy task as there were plentiful in the market but finding the right car at the right price was gonna be a challenge. The price for a w123 would start from as low as RM4k to as high as RM25k for a pristine mint example.The cheapest Automatic would start at RM6.8k (BTW this is the car we bought).
So while I was still surfing the internet looking for good bargains I noticed an advert for a W123 Mercedes Benz 230E Automatic. The asking price was RM6.8k and the cheapest comparison to that was RM10.5k but the location(Sungai Petani) of the vehicle was too far away for us to make a quick trip over and check out the deal. So most arrangements were made over the phone and a small deposit was given even without ever seeing the car.
The collection of the car was delayed a couple times due to our busy schedules and unforeseen circumstances but the big day finally came after about a week of placing the initial deposit. We left KL at around 11am and headed to Sungai Petani which should be a 3 and a half hour drive but thanks to the festive period and numerous speed traps on the road it was soon to become a 5 hour journey. Our first stop was at Tapah rest stop to get some lunch and the food was simply fantastic as the Nasi Ayam we ordered looked more like Nasi Burung and to make things worst it looked like an old crappy Burung. But to be honest the soup was good and I think the crappy Nasi Ayam made everything taste better even the Red bull I was drinking tasted out of this world.
Since this was not a journey to find the best food places in Malaysia we continued our mission to reach Sungai Petani before the JPJ office closes. We arrived in Sungai Petani around 3.40pm and was taken thru an old Kampung to get the the place where the car was stored. After passing many cows and people who rode their bikes like cows we finally reached our destination.I soon realized that the pictures of the car posted in the advert looked so much better then the car in actual life. So since we did drive so many hours and was forced to eat Nasi Burung we decided to take it out for a test drive anyway as sometime looks can be deceiving ..........
To be continued.
The last couple of months have been filled with me buying and selling standard normal daily driving cars that I kind of forgot the wonderful feeling of driving a classic or even buying a classic. Lets just say that I got so carried away with making money that I forgot the main reason why I choose this line of business which was BUYING , RESTORING and SELLING CLASSIC cars.
My uncle asked me about a month back to help him find a classic W123 Mercedes Benz as he was kind of bitten by the classic car bug. His requirements were simple and the car he wanted had to be an automatic and it had to have the ever popular and ever reliable Mercedes Benz Black engine which runs on a timing chain. The W123 230E was selected as the best option compared to the 200E as the older model cars needed a higher cc to to do justice for the automatic gearbox. Budget given was RM10000.00 for a good running example.
I was quite excited because the last classic Mercedes Benz I bought was well over a year ago and I was kind of getting bored working on old BMW`s. I knew finding a W123 would be a easy task as there were plentiful in the market but finding the right car at the right price was gonna be a challenge. The price for a w123 would start from as low as RM4k to as high as RM25k for a pristine mint example.The cheapest Automatic would start at RM6.8k (BTW this is the car we bought).
So while I was still surfing the internet looking for good bargains I noticed an advert for a W123 Mercedes Benz 230E Automatic. The asking price was RM6.8k and the cheapest comparison to that was RM10.5k but the location(Sungai Petani) of the vehicle was too far away for us to make a quick trip over and check out the deal. So most arrangements were made over the phone and a small deposit was given even without ever seeing the car.
The collection of the car was delayed a couple times due to our busy schedules and unforeseen circumstances but the big day finally came after about a week of placing the initial deposit. We left KL at around 11am and headed to Sungai Petani which should be a 3 and a half hour drive but thanks to the festive period and numerous speed traps on the road it was soon to become a 5 hour journey. Our first stop was at Tapah rest stop to get some lunch and the food was simply fantastic as the Nasi Ayam we ordered looked more like Nasi Burung and to make things worst it looked like an old crappy Burung. But to be honest the soup was good and I think the crappy Nasi Ayam made everything taste better even the Red bull I was drinking tasted out of this world.
Since this was not a journey to find the best food places in Malaysia we continued our mission to reach Sungai Petani before the JPJ office closes. We arrived in Sungai Petani around 3.40pm and was taken thru an old Kampung to get the the place where the car was stored. After passing many cows and people who rode their bikes like cows we finally reached our destination.I soon realized that the pictures of the car posted in the advert looked so much better then the car in actual life. So since we did drive so many hours and was forced to eat Nasi Burung we decided to take it out for a test drive anyway as sometime looks can be deceiving ..........
To be continued.
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