I haven’t had the best luck with cars in Cayman.
I first bought an old Jeep, which was completely impractical, it collected water on it's roof
and if you drove over a rock it flew into the sky.
Then I ordered a car from Japan, which arrived with a broken transmission.
About a year ago I bought a car from an old colleague.
It was old and cheap but it was reliable, finally I had gotten it right.
Recently though, it started making some strange noises and doing some strange things so I
had to make a decision.
Do I start spending money on mechanics to keep this thing going, knowing that every
cent is money burnt or do I go car shopping again?
Everywhere I looked the cars were either too expensive or just as old as mine, in which
case I may as well keep my current car and face any issues that it throws at me.
Then my bank had a special on new car loans.
Now if you’re financially savvy you know that cars are not investments.
They’re expenses.
Just like buying food, or paying for electricity and water.
When you buy a new car it immediately starts losing value, nobody's going to pay you full
price for a second hand car, even if you just drove it off the lot.
Because they could go get a brand new car for the same price.
So while your car has already lost a ton of value, your loan has already started building
interest and you now owe more than what you paid for it.
But the longer you keep a car, the less value it loses each year, while you still continue
enjoying the benefits that it's always given you.
You’re spreading out that big upfront cost and all the interest associated with it over
a longer period, and the longer you spread it the better for your bank account.
So the real question is, am I going to live here long enough to make it worth buying a
new car, or am I willing to pay for the privilege of not having car problems while I am here.
I think you already know the answer.
Now I’m still an accountant, and even though I consider this a calculated splurge, I wasn’t
gonna go buy a four by four to climb over the speed bumps as I drive the two miles to
the store and back.
I found one of the cheapest new cars on the island, and will be paying back the loan as
quickly as possible to ensure my interest is at a minimum.
That proviso firmly in place, I was obviously excited to buy my first new car.
I am here at G.T.
Automotive with Kia Motors and my man Radcliffe over here.
And we are picking up my new car.
I've been driving an old thing that... the radio didn't even work so this is like
amazing technology right now.
Getting a new car in Cayman is pretty admin intensive.
This is boring.
You have to find the car you like, get a quote from the dealer, get a quote with that quote
from the insurance company, take it to your bank along with proof of employment, proof
of salary, and ID, fill in a bunch of forms telling them how much you spend on toilet
paper each month, and then wait…
One eternity later
After the bank has done whatever wizardry they do to decide if you are worthy.
They bestow you the honour of lending you some money while charging you for it and then...
you have to fill in more forms, pay the government duties on the loan, pay the insurance, take
proof that you paid the insurance back to the bank who fills in more forms because you
haven’t killed enough trees already, and then they finally give you a cheque which
you have to take back to the dealer who grins as he get’s his commission, licences your
car and hands over the keys - but not before showing you how to use your fancy new cup
holders.
Ooooo
Hopefully I'll get to stay in Cayman for a long time and get the maximum use out of
this little rocket.
Sometimes you have to take a step of faith and expect the future to be good instead of
being too scared to make a move in case something goes wrong.
Either way, there’ll be a video about it.