Nov6 Written by:Kayle
11/6/2009 11:37 PM
Mat and I have been debating whether to keep repairing our Honda CRV or to get another vehicle. The Honda CRV is a Japanese vehicle that we imported when we first came. It is a 1996 with about 60,000 miles. But on these Jap imports, you either get a great vehicle and can get lots of wear out of it, lasting you several years, or you get a dud. It is really a craps shoot as you just pick one online and import it without seeing it or testing it out. It seemed like the CRV was a dud…always needing constant repairs. (However, I must say since the roads here are quite potholed, any car will need things like alignments, bearings replaced, shocks replaced, etc. because the wear on the vehicles is more than with smooth roads.) The latest thing to go on the CRV was the head gasket which means that the vehicle will overheat on long trips. We’ve been quoted that this job will cost about $1000 to fix. So Mat and I debated on whether to fix it or to get another vehicle. We decided it was time to go for another vehicle. Since our family is expanding we decided we might as well go for a larger vehicle with more seats and space to accommodate our needs. Also we knew that we needed another vehicle that is up off the ground for the rough bumps that can cause smaller vehicles to bottom out. So for months we looked around for cars here in Zimbabwe, since the import duty on vehicles brought across the border is over 100%! We thought we found a good SUV in Bulawayo, but the price was way too high. So one weekend we had to go up to Harare (5 hours away) for a church conference and spent a few hours looking around at the cars there. We came across a 2000 Mitsubishi Pajero with 30,000 miles that was a Japanese import. It had originally been imported for an NGO (non-governmental organization) who wanted vehicles with low mileage, but then the NGO changed their mind and went for brand new vehicles. So the seller was left with these vehicles. We immediately recognized that this was the best vehicle we had seen for the best price.
We decided to purchase it. We were told once the money was received, the paperwork would take a week to process and then we would have the vehicle. Well, one week turned into 2 months!!! Our bank transfer took 2 weeks to receive since the bank in the US held it for security purposes without telling us. Then the customs clearance form took 10 days…then the registration book and license plates took a month since the country had run out of registration books! Each day we would call the seller to ask what was going on and how much longer and each day he was certain it would be “tomorrow.” So 3 times we had organized with various friends who were going to Harare to see if they could drive the vehicle back for us to Bulawayo. And each time our plans fell through because “tomorrow” never came. We, of course, began to wonder if we were being “taken for a ride.” Finally, everything came through to our utter amazement! Mat rode up to Harare with a friend who was going up on business and drove the vehicle back. We are thrilled to have this new vehicle that we can drive without worrying about overheating! It will hopefully last us the next few years without too many problems.
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