So there you have it. The actual buying of a car is simple, but apart from what I have outlined previously, please also consider the following points:

• If you are going to be in the country for only a short span of time, buying a new car would probably not be such a good idea as a new car sheds value nowadays like a stallion with three legs. As soon as you have driven it out the showroom, you may find yourself in a slightly bent-over kind of position as DEPRECIATION immediately takes over. So my advice is unless you are loaded, either with money or otherwise..buy a second hand car and let the first owner suffer the brunt of the depreciation.

• Decide on your budget and on what type of car you want first, be it SUV, sports or compact whatever..whatever, and then do the research and hunting. If you are the sort that knows exactly what make and model you want..great! If not, good luck! A great place to look is of course the Motortrader, the Star classifieds and of course the used car lots. If you still insist on buying a new car, bear in mind that sometimes better deals and discounts can be found at dealers and not the principals.

• Always view the car in the cold light of day, this way no blemishes are kept in the dark, so to speak.

• Test drive the car for at least 10 minutes, in varying road and traffic conditions if possible.

• Bring along a friend who knows about cars, or at least looks like he/she knows about cars.

• Do a Road Transport Department/Police check on the car’s registration number, your runner will do this for a small fee. This check will show if the car is black listed or has been reported stolen, unpaid summonses etc.etc*

• Take it to a trusted mechanic and/or the Automobile Association of Malaysia to give it a thorough once over, if the seller has nothing to hide, he should agree.*