RT-men Saturday Mission: Get a car!!!

Our mission to get Dave's first car in United States bring us at less 15 miles away from home to DON HERRING, MITSUBISHI dealer at Plano. Dave have been looking around for a year 2000 Honda Civic for several occassion and have rejected many deals along the way. This time with cash on his hands, determination and a slight desperation, Dave together with the RT-men; Leng Chuan, Hwa Chuan and Riccardo decided to make it a "DO IT or DIE" car-buying mission today. The RT-men is present to give our 2 cents worth of advise and moral support (Leng Chuan), our Eagle eye inspection and quality assurance of the Honda Civic (Hwa Chuan) and the bargaining skills (Riccardo).

THE CAR.

This is the 2000 Honda Civic EX equipped with a 1.6L VTEC Engine to give it the roar at high engine rpm. Its a rare (or maybe non-existent) car in Singapore because it comes in a coupe configuration a.k.a 2 door "Ah Beng" car. Whats make our target today even more "Beng" was its total Blackness.



THE QUALITY ASSURANCE.

The body work was in good condition, all the lights were working except for a discoloration of the rear-left signal light... instead of red, it was orange. The engine was very responsive when I twist the throttle valve on the engines. It rev nicely and smoothly to approx 7000rpm which is more than normally needed for everyday traffic. Knowing that our good friend Dave drove a WRX back in Singapore, we do ensure that there is not gear slippage when launching the vehicle from stand still. This black horse got an excellent acceleration for a 1.6L car and good braking feel. It may not be a Subaru WRX but its good enough for the price of US$6955. Also to mention that it have a clean history courtesy from CAR-FAX, No accident, no tickets and no drive by shooting (joke).

However the passenger side powered window does not wind down as when we press the window button on both the driver side and passenger side door. This become the main focus in the bargaining process and of course a major obstacle to our mission.



THE BARGAINING.

Leng Chuan working hard to Psycho Juan for a good bargain

Dave and his carrot...

Meet Juan, the only Hispanic sales man working at Don Herrings Mitsubishi, Plano. Our mission now is to barter or bargain for a discount for the car. Commission is very important to this salesman so driving a bargain with them is like driving against the wall, either our hammer is harder or his concrete is stronger. This car gonna set us back by 6955 + T.T.L (Tax, Title registration and Licensing fees) of 300 total, and due to the powered window issue we are pushing for a price of US$6500. "I'm gonna consult the boss" he said and took down our bargaining details before calling the big boss. Big Boss decision was a firm NO NO for the bargaining but we were relentless. Requested a KBB (Kelly Blue Book) quotation for the market value 2000 Honda Civic EX and price came out to be US$9330 for a excellent condition car.

Juan score the first goal by telling us that the price of the car, was way mark down in to compensate for the condition. The engine was excellent, handling is good, clean record...

The RT-men team equalize with the power windows issue and broken dash board compartment handles. We are sure that when Don Herring brought the car from the previous owner, they should have already brought it at a "Erected Windows, Broken Handle" values. We are not ready to let them double strike with their pricing on us.

Juan passes the ball to Big Boss, who appear to look like the "American Bald Eagle"" and Big Boss score a convinient second goal by saying the price is the best we could get and no where else will we be getting such good condition Honda Civic at such good price. Man...all sales man say that.

RT-men decided to take a longer look at the car during Half-Time.

The second hand start with a inital salvo from the RT-men, equalizing again within the first minute. We told Juan we are keen to buy the car but the power window was a very very big Hesitation Point in the purchase. Juan went off the discuss with Mr "American Bald Eagle". Looks like our chance of winning is coming.

Before the players from Don Herrings could even react, we step in again and treaten their defense with fact that we are not asking for a price lowering for the broken dashboard compartment handle. Finally, Mr "American Bald Eagle" score an own goal during Injury time by giving us a 100 dollar discount for the price of the car. This also effectively lower the tax by a few dollars.

THE AFTERMATH and FRUIT OF LABOR.

The battle was won!!! But we almost spend the next 2 hours to clear the paper work and purchase GEICO insurance online. Good thing about the system in United States is that you can purchase your insurance online, that means no more taking Q number and Q-ing and than Killing your time away.

Don Herring MITSUBISHI is awarded by MITSUBISHI to be the BEST dealership for its brand in Texas, Dallas and they sure deserve this title just by the sheer number of Evolution IX on display right in front of the air-condition show room...



For just US$ 28,000, you can drive alway with any one of this sports car. This is why we question what kind of crap or trash the Singapore government is giving Singaporean when they the amount they spend on a Toyota Corrolla couldget them an MITSUBISHI EVO IX right here in the United States. And the irony is both countries have to import this cars from Japan. So much for Democracy and Human rights or equal rights when we are deprived of such beauty.

Lastly, something that may not come to Singapore at all, the 06 Mistsubishi Eclipse.