When I got my first job in 1968, buying a new car was unthinkable. My first car (bought in 1974) was a used Fiat-600 (1967 model). I had to pay much more than its actual price, but I had no experience at the time and the previous owner was a distant relative. It set me back a couple of thousand rupees in repairs, since it had a rear engine, it would get heated after running for ten or twelve miles.
My second car was a Fiat-124 which I bought from a class fellow in NED (Leslie Soares) in 1976. That was one car which almost made me bankrupt. I had paid Rs. 26,000 for it but two years later, after spending ten thousand on repairs, I got only Rs. 9,000.
The next fifteen years I bought reconditioned cars imported from Japan. One was a Mazda 1300 cc, the other a Corolla (also 1300 cc). These two cars didn't give much trouble. After selling the Corolla, I bought a used Mitsubishi Lancer. All these cars were in good condition and I didn't have to spend so much on repairs.
Then I graduated to new cars (around 1992). The first was a Suzuki Margalla, for which I got a good price after using it for many years. After that it was a Honda City, which again gave good service until 2009, when I bought my first brand new Corolla. In 2017 I bought another brand-new Corolla (I still have this one). I also purchased a small car (800 cc Suzuki Mehran) but I had to sell it because it was too small and I and my wife had trouble getting in and out of it.
Two years ago I bought a used 2012 Corolla for use by our driver. The seller was Toyota Sure, a company that buys used cars and sells them at a huge profit. This car has given much trouble and I've already spent a good two lakhs in two years to keep it running. I'm wondering if I should sell it but I doubt if I'll get a good price for it.
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