Decision time yet again: to buy or not

I wrote a post before about why we don't have a car yet back in Manila. It was just not cost-effective. My husband is an expat and we (the baby and I) go with him wherever his next job brings him. Having a car back in Manila would have been useless and expensive. We only visit Manila every six months and only for a couple of weeks. So aside from having to pay the parking fee, the car would have been just collecting dust and maybe rust.

We lived in Maldives for almost three years and there was no need to have a car. Male (the capital of Maldives) is such a small place we can even go around it in 45 minutes by walking alone. Though my husband's office was in another island he didn't need a car too. He only had to take a dhoni (local boat) to get there.

But since we've moved here in KL, we have been entertaining the thought of buying one of the used cars available here. And why a used car? Honestly, we cannot afford a new car. Cars here in Malaysia are more expensive than in Manila. And besides we are only staying here in KL for two years. Used car is just perfect for us.

What brought this on?

We want to maximize our stay here in Malaysia. We want to visit places like Penang and Cameron Highland. These places are easily reached by buses but we think it would be much more comfortable if we have our own car. Having a baby in tow makes it a little difficult to commute.

Now if only we can find the best used car for us.