The mistake of a buying Malaysian car

Hmmm...after using my faithful Peugeot 405 SRI since 1996, and after thousands of Ringgits spent on repairs, and countless encounters with friends and acquaintances giving me the cynical "kereta masuk workshop lagi" remarks, I had decided to change my car. A very sad decision indeed as that car had sentimental values.

But what car to get? I had visited a few showrooms...namely Toyota, Honda...and last but not least, Proton Edar. Hmmm...that last one was originally just to pass the time...but wait, what's that? A scrap program for Malaysian made cars? How much? RM5000? Interesting.

I came up with a plan...trade in my Peugeot and scrap my Datsun C20 which I had used for my previous 'projects'. Sounds good. After meeting up with 3 dealers, with 3 different versions of 'scrap' programs explanations, I told myself that the dealer that comes back to call me would be the one I would sign up with.

At last, the nice gentleman name Sam did just that, and he took the trouble of actually doing most transactions at my house, which was on the opposite side of town from where he was. He told me that the 'scrapping' process would take between 1-1.5 months for the voucher to come out. Only after that would the process of buying a car can start.

At first I was eyeing the new Exora, but I cant wait that long (at that time, Sam told me waiting list was 3 months...and that is not including the 'scrapping' process). So the next best thing was the Persona...430 litres is ample boot space for dive bags, medical bag, rescue kit etc etc. I went for the Persona SE simply because it has everything (the safety aspect)...plus for just an additional RM3k, I get GPS, leather seats, body kit, sporty gauges etc etc.

I had initially told Sam that I wanted the car latest before 24th July, coz it was CaTz's birthday. Since it was end of May, it shouldn't be a problem, says Sam. Officially, its been 2 months (3rd June 2009) since Sam had submitted all the 'scrapping documents' to Proton Edar HQ, and its sad to say that the voucher has yet to materialised. After much hassling the poor guy, I found out that my documents went 'missing' at Proton Edar HQ, plus there is only 1 dude doing the documentation for the whole country. Downsizing? Rightsizing? Duhhh

To be honest, I have LOST that eagerness for my new car. Its gone...nothing, zero, zilch. No enthusiasm at all. Proton Edar has deprived me of that 'new car' feeling. If it wasn't for my french car already in the process of 'scrapping', I would have cancelled my booking and buy a Japanese car instead. I know my contribution is not much, maybe that's why Proton Edar doesn't give a hoots about 'little people' like me. So much for government's call to buy Malaysian products, but only a Malaysian company would treat a Malaysian buyer like this...the 'tak apa' attitude. Look at the export models...better quality, better safety. Why the double standards? Does the life of a Malaysian cost less than a 'Mat Salleh'?

Btw, its meant to be 'scrapped'. The initial inspection all done by Puspakom PRIOR to 3rd June. What could possibly be so meticulous 'processing' that it takes them months just to issue out a voucher? RM59k maybe small to Proton Edar, but for a 'normal' dude with a 'normal' income like myself, that car meant less diving, less saving, less partying, less money for my kid's education etc etc. Its high time that big corporations like this have some degree of respect for the normal 'rakyat'. What say you?