The first clue that it was going to be different was that there are no large expanses of land filled with new and used cars. New car “dealerships” here are not much more than storefronts with one model of each car (sometimes not even that); all cars are ordered. Here's a photo (taken from across the highway) of the local Audi dealership...with an ad for BMW above it:
Salesmen (I never saw any women!) at these dealerships politely hand out glossy brochures with all the product features, but there are no offers of test drives or encouragement to sit in the cars.
Used car dealerships are located underground in parking garages. There are no big gorillas on the tops of buildings or flittering flags to draw you in (I really do wonder who the audience is for those gorillas!); you have to go out of your way to find them.
The used car market is a thriving one in Hong Kong – not just the dealerships, but on the local version of Craigslist. With so many people coming and going, there is constant turnover – often with people just wanting to quickly rid themselves of their vehicles. Plus, new cars are outrageously expensive – not just because of the list price, but because of the taxes. Taxes generally run about 50% of the price of a new car – even more for cars with larger engines; the cost to transfer a title on a used car is just $125 US and there is no sales tax, tag fees, etc. Insurance was simple to get and inexpensive.
We were definitely in the used car market. My criteria for a car were quite simple – it must be small (a Mini Cooper has never looked so good), have back up sensors (you should see the parking spaces!), and it couldn’t be a weird color (I can’t always be practical).
After driving several cars we settled upon a used Volvo that is in nearly new condition with about 25,000 miles on it. The owner was moving back to Malaysia in two weeks and need to unload it. We didn’t even bother with negotiating a lower price. I think it’s one of the only relatively “cheap” things we’ve bought in HK. (To put in in perspective, we sold our similarly aged Honda Accord - with many, many more miles on it - for 3 times as much as we bought the Volvo!)
It all seemed so easy that I was sure something would go wrong during the title transfer, which requires both the seller and the buyer to meet at the HK government's equivalent to the division of motor vehicles in the central business district. Dave was also a bit nervous as he’d be in China and unable to assist with the transaction. So he carefully made checklists, printed the required documents, emailed the owner a list of manuals we needed, items that we needed to review before transferring ownership, etc. (to which the owner responded something to the effect of “you are really thorough”). I was grateful for Dave’s attention to detail – it meant all I had to do was show up.
I met the seller who appeared quite nervous. He made me nervous. He was very serious as he walked me to the car. When got there he paused, pulled out the car keys and said, “This is the car key. If you push this button, the door unlocks; if you push that one it locks. Like this. (Demonstration.) You try.” It came very apparent to me that all of Dave’s advance preparation must have given the buyer the impression that I am absolutely helpless. I couldn’t help but laugh, which made the poor guy even more nervous. He then proceeded to review every detail of the car in that fashion – even after I assured him I would be fine. He was absolutely stricken at the thought of me driving the car home saying (multiple times) “are you SURE you know the way?”
Not long after that, I was on my own – ready to hit the roads of Hong Kong. Though I’m sure my six attempts to get the car out of the tiny parking space would have given the poor seller a panic attack, I made it home without a hitch. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a car since I got my learner's permit!
No comments:
Post a Comment