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Hi, I'm seeking advise on a situation and if anyone have faced before. I had done the purchase of a 2nd hand car on last Saturday. A GLB premium model as advertised. It is my 2nd time purchasing a pre-owned car since 9 years ago thus not clear on the process. I was short listing a few options and ultimately decided based on the color and flexibility of the dealer. Given the benefits of doubt, I had expected the premium model comes with default premium features. Little did I know that I had to look into the data card, playing with the car system before knowing further into it. After getting the car for the 3rd day, much findings online and researching, I had realized that most of the premium features are missing (probably cost 10-15k to retrofit them) when it is advertised as premium model. The only thing I sees are the outlooks etc that probably shows the vehicle as premium model. If I were to refers to the default premium specs from PI Mercedes brochure vs the advertised premium model. There's more than 5 feature missing. For my case, transfer of ownership has done, downpayment, loan has just crossed. Advertised vs Reality has a xtreme gap. With that said, during my short listing, I thou I would have done it with premium feature enough but instead now, I feels that i had short change and went below 1 level downgrade instead. If I had think right at that moment of time and topup another 8k, I would had been able to get another top premium model with everything in place. Am I still be able to raise my case for refund via consumer rights on cooling period? When all documents are in place consider 2nd working day? Advice needed. Thanks in advance

Want to buy a car. Found a good deal, but the dealership is 2 far from me. I can transfer a car to my area, but not ready to visit the dealership several times, have no time. They sent me a vehicle history report, pretty good grades. Tons of car photos and one short video. Also my brother in law bought there a 2010 Tacoma, didn't complain (but they moved so he can't help). Now a dealership offers me to test drive a car online via some app called LVS. I want to try because driving 200 miles for a test drive - no thanks. I think I can get necessary info from an online test drive, at least I could hear how engine works and stuff. Has anyone had such an experience? Is it safe and modern or I've lost my mind? Thanks in advance!

Guys, any feedback if I were to say plunge into the market for a 2nd hand Volkswagen which is coming to its end warranty? Suicidal right? Any bros done the same thing?

I am now full of mixed feelings but one thing for sure among these mixed feelings is that of anguish in my heart. What I am about to relate is not aim particularly at an authorised car Distributor but to point out that one black sheep is all it takes to soil it's reputation. I fully understand that no one organisation is able to fully keep track of all the nitty gritty little details of how their sales staff conducts every trade and transaction. My (ex) car was nearing its ten year last December and due to family commitment, I needed a replacement. Reading many horror stories about unscrupulous second car dealer, I decided on getting a new car as I do not want to go through the ordeals those second had car buyers did. I did some research in November, narrowed down two brands/models and contacted them respectively. I expressed my concern on the limited COEs while wishing to replace my old car. The first distributor’s sale staff told me chance is fifty-fifty in securing a COE. The second one, which will be abovementioned Distributor’s sales staff hinted there are ways to secure a COE for me confidently as they are a big, reputable new car distributor. This claim (unfortunately, in words only) also ended up being refuted later by that same person who claimed I had misunderstood his statement. I had signed for a showroom car as the sale staff claim they are no more stock for the colour I wanted. The price I signed for is the exact same price as a new car price but I will be given a $1000 price rebate (again, verbally) on the total car price if I accepted the showroom car. This amount was also later denied to me after signing of contract for reason that I am not entitled to it as I took minimum loan! At that time, I had also made arrangement to trade in/scrap my old car with them. During the signing of contract, the old car money arrangements were made as such: Old car PARF value to offset new car price : $10497 Deposit to car distributor : $10000 (A second hand car dealer company’s name came into the picture as this point in time. This second had car company was supposed to handle my old car trade in and I didn’t think much about it since the PARF of my old car will be used to offset the new car price anyway. ) When paying my deposit, the sales staff said I only need to pay $9000 instead of the $10000 as the other $1000 will be borne by the Second Hand Dealer to ascertain their commitment in the deal. Sounds logical. So, I paid deposit of $9000. COE bidding started (2nd round, Nov 2013). By the 3rd time my COE bidding failed, the dateline for my old car is up. The sales staff told me that the 2nd hand car dealer will pay me $9479 to collect my old car as they had borne the $1000 out of the $10000 deposit. OK, I thought. Mathematically correct. PARF value in cheque by second hand car dealer to me : $9479 I was asked to top up $5000 during COE bidding which I rejected. There was once the sales staff asked if I wanted to remove some accessories from the new car in exchange for topping bidding amount. The sales staff then made a mistake by saying I could used the $1000 showroom car rebate to top up COE bidding to which I responded that I was not getting it because I took minimum loan. He then quickly changed subject but I already smelt a rat. My sixth COE (Feb, first round) attempt failed. I had no wish to extend my COE bidding any more and asked for a refund of my deposit. The sales staff made arrangement and I was told to wait 2 – 3 weeks for it. Deposit refund : $9000 as that was the amount I paid for the deposit. The other $1000 borne by the 2nd car dealer. Yesterday, while looking at my bank statement, I realized I had been careless and almost lose a $1000. Quickly called up the sales staff and demanded that he return it to me. He apologised saying its an honest mistake and made arrangements for the second had car dealer to bank ATM transfer $1000 to me last evening (14th Feb). Thinking it through, I was full of anguish and disappointment that such a thing could happened and if I have not seen the mistake, I would have loss $1000 and never knew about it. Can you guys spot where the lapses are? I am still waiting for my refund of deposit $9000 via cheque through mail. Please do not flame me for writing such a long story or that I am too naïve, etc. I am a rather trusting person and believes in the good of people if I treat them good with respect. But this episode may just change my view. What do you guys think?

Broadly speaking, there are cars that appeal to our hearts and cars that appeal to our heads. Cars that appeal to hearts tug at our heartstrings and incite a lust/infatuation that borders on the irrational. The classic example of such cars have to be Alfa Romeos. For generations, Alfa has churned out cars that sent grown men (and women) falling head over heels. Despite the occasional tantrum, owners (or ex owners) still think the world of their Alfas. On the other hand, we have cars that we know check all the right boxes when it comes to practicality. They almost never break down. They are fuss free to maintain, reasonably priced (well relative to Singapore standards), have a big boot, sip fuel ... Well, you get the idea. These are cars designed to tug at our brains or heads. They are the logical choice. For a long while, Toyotas dominated this class though we see the Korean car manufacturers chipping away at its dominance today. And this brings me to the conundrum plaguing me today - what is a young (relatively, speaking) driving enthusiast on a young man's budget who just sold off his ride and is in the market for his next ride to do? Heart or head? Or is there a way to get a little bit of both? Part of me really wishes to splash out the cash on the car I fell in love with (yes, it is an Alfa). But my saner side questions if I can put up with any niggles. Reliability may have been improved in recent years, but it is likely to be a slight distance away from the Japanese marques I have been used to. And let's not even talk about the horror stories that friends have been passing along about their parents' Alfas. They are like a bucket of ice cold water extinguishing my passion for all things associated with the Serpent crest. Not to mention, it does require a rather hefty financial outlay for someone at my stage in life. And then there is the contender to the Alfa. Another equally attractive car (to me) that speaks to the Beng in me. Prices are a lot less steep but I am sure the worries are no fewer. I speak of the almost legendary EG and EK Honda Civics. The same old cautions are administered in large doses. Reliability, worries over accident history, the inevitable problems with driving cars that are more than 10 years old. The list is long. Once again, my saner side is screaming and telling me NO. On the other side, these two cars face a myriad of competitors. I have test driven bread and butter cars from all major Japanese and Korean marques. Yes, they are within budget and yes, reliability is not such an issue. But if I bought any one of them, I would always have the niggling thought that I was settling. They would never be my first choice. And as each COE bidding passes, I am still unable to make up my mind and I remain currently car-less and hopeful for that one car that could be the perfect compromise of both heart and head. Any suggestions?