Choosing a New Car (2)

On my previous post, I wrote about how my wife and I came to choose Suzuki All New Swift GX M/T for our new car. This is a sequel to that post as we still needed to decide whether we're going to buy it here in Balikpapan or Jakarta/Bandung, and new or used.

New VS Used

The advantages of buying a new car is pretty obvious (e.g. free service, warranty) but it's not without disadvantages where higher price is the main downside. A new car will also undergo a high depreciation especially in the 1^st year. In 2 years of ownership, it may lose up to around 30% of its initial value. If we're going to sell a car in just a few years, buying a quality used car is more economical than buying a new car.

A properly maintained 2 year old car, on the other hand, doesn't differ much from a new car; while if we buy a new car, we pay the extra 30% which is a significant amount just for the smell of a brand new car. So based on these considerations, we were open to purchase a used car which is 2 years old max to avoid the problems that older cars may have. Of course, buying a used car is also not without any downside. It's not going to be as flawless as a new car, and more importantly, it might not always be easy to identify, for instance, if a used car was involved in an accident, went through a flood, etc.

When we paid a visit to the Suzuki dealer, we were informed that 2 units from last year's stock (in silver and grey) were available with 8 mio cashback offer. We immediately think that this is attractive since we'll get the advantages of a new car but with a lower price point. If we're selling the car say after 5 years, the resale value difference with the 2014 units should be lower than or at least not significantly higher than 8 mio anyway.


Jakarta VS Balikpapan

We live in Balikpapan, and lots of people purchase their car from Jakarta/Bandung (or other major cities in Java), have it shipped here, and still consider it more cost-effective compared to buying here with the higher price tag. Suzuki officially listed the All New Swift GX M/T with a 182.5 mio price (on the road). The shipping fee from Jakarta to Balikpapan for this type of car is around 4 mio including insurance. The extra cost of administration and legal paperwork is around 3 mio. This equals to a total cost of 189.5 mio. Compared to Balikpapan price which is 193.7 mio, there is a 4.2 mio difference!

Being 4.2 mio cheaper, buying from Jakarta is again not without its disadvantages which are at least:

1. We'll have to wait longer due to shipment before it arrives in Balikpapan for us to start using.
2. There's always a risk during shipment, be it as simple as the car getting scratched to more scary stories of parts stolen and replaced with lower grade aftermarket products. Even if we have it insured, it certainly won't be part of the happy story of a new car purchase.
3. We even still have to go through the hassle of paperwork and administration once the car arrives to meet legal requirements.

Moreover, we're interested in the 2013 stock units available in colors we prefer with the 8 mio cashback which equals to price reduction down to 185.7 mio. This is already cheaper than the total cost of buying in Jakarta plus shipping to Balikpapan alone! Sure if we could manage to find 2013 stock unit(s) in Jakarta, the price will be under 185.7 mio, it should even be under 182.5 mio which is the brand new price, but were we going to succeed in finding one? My brother in law asked a Suzuki dealer nearby his office in Bandung and got a 184 mio quotation for the new 2014 unit with no cashback promo. He was also told that there's no 2013 stock unit left. Another risk is that even if we manage to find one, will the available color suit our taste? No one can tell. Considering further the convenience of purchasing the car in Balikpapan, we agreed that this is our preferred option.

Negotiation and Conclusion

In order to maximize our benefit, we scheduled for a test drive and intended to negotiate for the price. Two separate sessions of negotiation resulted in increased cashback up to 12 mio with floor mat and vent visors as included accessories. So we got the price down to 181.7 mio plus around 0.7 mio worth bonus. I guess it's not bad after all!

In my previous post, we learnt that once we have set our priorities straight and clearly defined requirements, the one fulfilling all or most of our criteria might not be the most expensive. In fact, it might even be the least expensive if economical price is one of the criteria!

Secondly, we were probably just lucky to have the 2013 stock units available in the colors we like. But this proves that fair deals can also be found in Balikpapan, especially if you're willing to work it out and maybe pay just a little extra for the convenience and your own peace of mind.

Choosing a New Car

Our trusted Hyundai Getz is getting old. My wife needed to pull over to the side of the road due to engine overheating, call a mechanic, and wait long enough while he examined the problem, go buy required replacement parts, return and install them. This happened twice in a month! Not forgetting to mention that it requires quite a lot of major parts replacement lately and how it disturbs our monthly budget, we think it's time for us to let it go and plan to purchase a new car.

Poltak Hotradero once commented on Steny Agustaf's tweet regarding car purchase basically saying that cars within around Rp200 million price range is the rational choice. I'd have to say I could not agree more with his train of thoughts I even created a chirpstory of his tweets on this matter. New cars that fit this criteria includes: Suzuki Ertiga, Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris, Mazda2 and Ford Fiesta (the lowest variant). For our personal list, we added Hyundai Grand Avega, since we think that based on our own experience Hyundai is also a decent brand especially looking at how developed and improved they are now, and we really like the design of the Grand Avega. Furthermore, we know a quite knowledgeable and reliable mechanic specializing in Korean cars who can conveniently be called, and do maintenance and repair services at home as well as on the road for emergencies like the above, with a fee significantly lower than the authorized service center!

So now we'll have to screen these available choices and pick the winner. Let's see...

Brand
The strongest brands in Indonesia automobile market are clearly Japanese brands. I found a Facebook note saying that Japanese brands are favorable due to their relatively easy maintenance, good resale value, as well as powerful and durable engines. By this point alone, Hyundai and Ford are out! From the safety aspect, Hyundai Grand Avega is also the worst without features like airbag, ABS/EBD, let alone side impact beams. Considering that if I can only upgrade one aspect of my current ride it would be safety, this is a clear indication that Hyundai Grand Avega won't make any further in this process. We're waiting for further improvements, Hyundai!

That Facebook note further elaborates on the image of each brand. And it states that Mazda is generally considered not so good in terms of fuel economy, but they are characterized as fast and unique (sophisticated & feature-rich). This is also confirmed by my not-so-rigorous qualitative research that Mazda2, although not far behind the others, has worse if not the same fuel economy compared to Suzuki Ertiga, Honda Jazz, and Toyota Yaris. Because good fuel economy is also one of my main considerations, Mazda is out!

So we have Suzuki Ertiga, Honda Jazz, and Toyota Yaris left.

Fuel Economy and Requirement
Browsing around gave me various results in terms of fuel economy. But generally, Suzuki Ertiga is as economic as both Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris if not better.

Suzuki Ertiga also has the lowest compression ratio of 10:1 among the three, which means that it's the one that should tolerate Premium better, although not recommended, than its 2 contenders who more strictly demand higher octane fuel. Suzuki Ertiga is the winner here!

Price
Not much to say, Suzuki Ertiga is also the cheapest among all.

Seems like we're done, no? Well, not so fast. You might notice that of all the initial choices, Suzuki Ertiga is the only MPV, the others are hatchbacks. In terms of taste, the wife and I prefer hatchbacks over MPVs despite MPV's larger capacity. Then we realized that we overlooked Suzuki Swift! Knowing that Ertiga is basically Swift with 3 rows, and that Swift has similar price and technical specification with Ertiga plus some more (for the GX variant, e.g. disc brake for both front and rear wheels, keyless push start system, keyless entry system, and larger 16" wheels), now we have a winner! Our vote goes to the Suzuki All New Swift GX M/T.

Note: This post is admittedly an over-simplistic approach of choosing a new car, even my actual process was not this simple. However, I think that the above is the easiest and most straight-forward way to convey the message I'm trying to pass.

Car Price Negotiation Tips

I shared a nice article as far as car price negotiation tips is concerned on my Google+ page. However, during my web research on the topic, I found several other good articles as well. Here is the compilation of the good tips I consider as practical guidelines, especially the ones I think is applicable in Indonesia:

1. Know what a car is worth. Articles I read suggest to find out about the invoice price of a car which is basically what the dealer paid for the vehicle. I still don't know where or how to find this kind of information. But in general, I think AutoCarPrices.com is a fairly good reference for car price info.
2. Ask the salesperson for his price. Speaking first in any negotiation is a bad idea, because your number might be higher than the other party's best offer.
3. Negotiate up from the invoice price. Never negotiate your actual transaction price down from the sticker price. Otherwise, the salesperson will focus on undercutting that higher figure by a token amount instead of working off the lower figure. Never raise your bid until the salesperson has counter-offered on the first bid you make. 3% - 5% above the invoice price is a fair profit offer.
4. Wrap up quickly. Try to complete the negotiation in 30 minutes. Much longer than that and it isn't worth the salesperson time to give you the best deal since they will end up with so little commission.
5. Be nice. You will want to come across as friendly and confident, well-informed but not argumentative. Be nice and respectful to everyone you deal with. Sales people will try and build a good relationship with you on the principle that you’re more likely to buy from them if you like them. It works both ways – get them on side and you’ll have a better chance of getting the discount you want.
6. Don't fall for the dealership's ploy. A car salesperson does this for a living and is an expert. During negotiations, they'll pull every trick in the book, it's just part of negotiating.
• The salesperson will probably begin the discussion about price by focusing on your monthly payment. Insist on negotiating one thing at a time. Your first priority is to settle on the lowest price you can get on the new vehicle. It's important not to negotiate based on a car's monthly payment but on the purchase price instead. The reason for this is that it can be hard to figure out the purchase price if you're negotiating based on payment. This gives him/her too much latitude to give you a tempting price in one area while more than making up for it in another. And that means you might end up overspending for the car if you negotiate based on payment alone.
• As you lobby for a lower price, better financing, or even free floor mats, you will be met not just by a counter-offer, but an emotional response as well. The salesperson would appear upset by your gall, seemingly perturbed by your “unfair” demands. In this case, it’s more likely that he/she is exaggerating, hoping you’d retreat. Negotiators will inflate their emotions hoping the other party will seek closure.
• While you are in the office the salesman talks to another "customer" interested in the same exact car. Of course, the same is there is no other customer. They will tell you that they have no reason to lower their price because everyone wants that car right now. They will tell you you're stealing all their profits. They keep switching salespeople to work on you and wear you down. You’ll be told to wait an hour because someone is “on the phone with Japan” and so many other tricks. Just don't fall for their ploy.
7. Don't fall in love. Go into the dealership ready to walk out without a car. You really can't negotiate effectively if you're emotionally attached to the car already. You can always buy tomorrow or a week from now. Take your time because good things come to those car buyers who wait!
8. Follow-up on weekends. The opportunity to do one more deal before the end of the day might compel them to work with you if the week hasn't met expectations.
9. Follow-up on the last day of the month. Consumers have an incentive to buy at the end of the month, because dealers receive monthly incentives from manufacturers. The manufacturer will give the dealer a bonus if it can sell a certain number of cars by the end of the month. A deal that didn't make sense on the 25^th might make sense on the 31^st.
10. Don't sweat the small stuff. Sure, you want to bargain for a good price, but don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If you offered a 3% profit you can come up to 5%. It may be infuriating, but don't walk away from a good deal over a small amount. Before you chase the last penny of savings, consider your own convenience. Provided you’re satisfied that the slightly more expensive deal is still a fair one, there’s no harm in paying a little extra if it buys you peace of mind.

References:

• How to negotiate a new car price effectively - Consumer Reports
• What Are Some Good Tactics To Use To Lower The Price Of A Car While Negotiating With A Car Sales Person? - Forbes
• Negotiate Like A Car Salesman: 5 Tactics To Help You Win Every Time | Fast Company | Business + Innovation
• The Five Critical Rules For Negotiating Your Next Vehicle Purchase
• Negotiating Tips and Dealer Tricks
• How to Bargain for a New Car - US News
• Buying a New Car: Tips for Negotiating a Good Price - AutoTrader.com
• How to negotiate a car price: Top tips | Carbuyer

My Freediving Glossary

Probably I have a thing with glossaries. :) I posted one for Android, and here's my go for Freediving. Well, guess it just has something to do with my term understanding obsession. These are compiled from various sources, sorry for not being a good netizen, I'm too lazy to list them all. :( This is by no means exhaustive and may not constitute of what a good glossary should, but I think it will help nonetheless.

blackout

the sudden loss of consciousness caused by oxygen (O₂) starvation during a dive on breath-hold

• Shallow water blackout happens towards the end of a breath-hold dive in water typically shallower than 5 metres. The primary mechanism for shallow water blackout is hypocapnia (too little carbon dioxide in the blood stream) brought about by hyperventilation (rapid and/or deep breathing) prior to the dive.

• Deep water blackout happens on ascending from a deep freedive or breath-hold dive, typically of 10 metres or more. Consciousness depends on a minimum partial pressure of O₂ (ppO₂) in the lungs not on the absolute quantity of the gas in the system, and the immediate cause of deep water blackout is the rapid drop in ppO₂ on ascent. During descent, the lung volume decreases due to chest compression under increasing water pressure, resulting in increased ppO₂. The brain and tissues use O₂ during descent, but ppO₂ levels remain over the critical limit as the water pressure keeps increasing. The problem is in the ascent: the re-expanding lungs increase in volume and this results in a rapid decrease of ppO₂ in the lungs to critical levels. The last 10 meters during ascent are the most dangerous, as it is where the greatest relative lung expansion occurs, from 50% to 100% of their volume.

Bohr effect

The Bohr effect is a physiological phenomenon first described in 1904 by the Danish physiologist Christian Bohr, stating that hemoglobin's oxygen (O₂) binding affinity is inversely related both to acidity and to the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Hyperventilation (deep and/or rapid breathing) will induce a decrease of CO₂ levels in arterial blood. A decrease in CO₂ provokes an increase in acidity (lowering pH), which results in hemoglobin picking up more O₂. Therefore, with low pH, O₂ tends to remain strongly bound to hemoglobin. So freedivers hyperventilate hoping to prolong their breath-hold but in the end, hyperventilation is preventing the release of O₂ to the tissues, which therefore actually shortens the breath-holding ability.

breathe up

a specific pre-dive breathing and relaxation technique

buoyancy

The term buoyancy is used to describe not only an object's ability to float in the water, but its tendency to sink or to do neither. Positive and negative buoyancy means that the object or person floats upwards or sinks downwards in the water, respectively. Neutral buoyancy means that the object or person neither sinks downwards nor floats upwards, but remains suspended in the water at a single depth.

equalization

ear clearing, any of various maneuvers to equalize the pressure in the middle ear with the outside pressure.

hyperventilation

In freediving, hyperventilation generally refers to the action of breathing larger amounts of air than normal, either by taking bigger breaths or by breathing more rapidly, or both. When you breathe, you breathe in oxygen (O₂) and breathe out carbon dioxide (CO₂). CO₂ builds up in the bloodstream when O₂ is metabolized and it needs to be expelled as a waste product. Excessive breathing causes the concentration of CO₂ in the blood stream to fall and produces a state known as hypocapnia (too little CO₂ in the blood stream), while the increase of the blood saturation on O₂ is insignificant, because:

• Deeper or quicker breaths as in hyperventilation exchange more of the gases in the lungs with ambient air and have the net effect of expelling more CO₂ from the body, since the CO₂ concentration in normal air is very low. 
• Under normal circumstances the breathing rate dictated by the body alone already leads to 96%-99% O₂ saturation of the blood, hyperventilation can only increase this saturation weakly, and the effect is minor.

The primary urge to breathe is triggered by rising CO₂ levels in the bloodstream--low O₂ stimulus is weak and easily overridden--and the body relies on this to control breathing. On the other hand, blackouts (loss of consciousness) are caused by hypoxia (reduced supply of O₂) instead of rising CO₂ levels. Put together, hyperventilation leads to hypocapnia which suppresses the urge to breathe, allowing divers to extend their dive by closing down the body's natural breathing mechanism, and leaves the diver susceptible to loss of consciousness from hypoxia (i.e. the O₂ level drops into the diver's blackout zone before the CO₂ can rise enough to force the diver to resurface to breathe).

hypocapnia

a state of reduced carbon dioxide in the blood. Hypocapnia usually results from hyperventilation (deep and/or rapid breathing). Hyperventilation and the subsequent hypocapnia are a cause of shallow water blackout. Excessive hypocapnia is readily identifiable as it causes dizziness and tingling of the fingers.

hypoxia

In freediving, generally refers to cerebral hypoxia, a form of hypoxia (reduced supply of oxygen) specifically involving the brain. Cerebral hypoxia is the cause of blackouts.

purge

forceful exhale

samba

Loss of Motion Control (LMC), you shake (minor to heavily) like an epileptic stroke when your oxygen level is too low. That's why it's called a samba; you look like dancing a samba.

tidal breathing

normal inhalation and exhalation when extra effort is not applied