Shiro slams brakes on my dream for new car

My mind has been working overtime over the last few days because of one single problem — my car. I need to replace my car as soon as possible, but my financials are not looking too good.

I have had my current car for more than six years and I have grown very attached it since I fondly call it the beast. Of late, the car has been giving me major issues and it seems that it spends more time at the garage than on the road. I was talking to a colleague about my situation and he told me,” why don’t you just get a new car? New cars do not cause trouble?”

My colleague, of course, can give that kind of advice — he changes cars every two years. We all know that he changes cars so easily because his wife works at a bank and so he can access easy credit.

However, I decided to give him the benefit and listen to his arguments. Most of them made a lot of sense — but all of them cost money.

I decided to seek Shiro’s opinion on the matter. I told her about my car woes reminding her of the times I have had to use Uber and when I have had to ask her to pick me up at the last minute. She seemed to be attentive to my issues and then she said, “let me get out the spreadsheet.” I said, “what spreadsheet?” she said, “babe, don’t you remember the spreadsheet we got from our financial adviser which is supposed to guide how we spend our money.” To be honest, I had forgotten about the spreadsheet, but clearly, Shiro had not.

Shiro then proceeded to open the spreadsheet and input some numbers. At the end of her session, she said, “well, if we want to buy our house by next year, then I suggest you forfeit this idea of a new car.” I told her, “no way! Let me see those figures.” When I looked at the figures, I realised that she had a point, we cannot afford a new car, especially the kind I was thinking off. I told Shiro, “the numbers might say one thing, but I really must replace my car, it is not good for my working life”. She proceeded to lecture me for a while telling me that if we need to achieve anything in life then we must be willing to make sacrifices.

The next day as I drove to the offices, my car acted up once again and I had to call the mechanic to ferry it to the garage. When I got to the office, I decided to crunch my own numbers — not our joint numbers with Shiro. From the look of things, it seems that if I sell a certain plot that I own and take a sacco loan, I just might manage to get a second-hand car.

I was feeling good about myself when I remembered that I have a former college mate of mine who works in Japan. I decided to send him a message on WhatsApp and get his view on cars.

I was very pleased with how quickly he responded telling me that, “you can get an affordable car, all you need to do is ensure you do not pay too much in taxes and shipping costs, and that I can help you with”. He promised to revert to me in two days.

So, over the last few days, I have been hard at work trying to get a broker to sell my plot and trying to get the loan. I have been very shocked at the reluctance of some of my colleagues to act as my guarantor — do they think I am not creditworthy. I am determined to overcome these minor challenges and once the car arrives, I am sure I can win her over.