This afternoon we were given the bad news the one work car is out of action yet again which leads me to think that we need to replace it. Over the last 6 months I have replaced the clutch and battery and it looks clutch related again which possibly means a replacement gearbox.
What I am thinking right now is our staff/drivers are not great at looking after things and should have mentioned they were having mechanical issues before it broke down. When you drive you just know as you can feel something is not right long before it becomes a problem. I pay for the repairs and now kind of reluctant to dig into my piggy bank and have something that is already knackered fixed. The throwing good money at something bad can be a short term fix that is never going to be long term and is always temporary.
The above is a picture of a Suzuki Eco panel van and knowing they have teamed up with Toyota kind of gives me a more relaxed feeling about this brand. Definitely not a looker, but it suits my needs for now and more importantly suits the budget. A 1.2L engine means we should get no speeding fines which is another plus.
I have found a few of these models for a budget friendly $10K each and at least that will give me some breathing space not having to worry about breakdowns every few months. Not sure how great a work horse this will be and why we will start with one and see.
This will also help my packaging business with regard to deliveries for the smaller clients as I cannot see this taking a full pallet weighing 1 ton. The fuel economy of 5L per 100km is ideal and there are very few things for my staff to break. No radio with just the basics inside which includes air conditioning.
The packaging business is about to kick into the next gear and next week more business cards need to be printed which has held me back this week. There is just so much going on looking for replacement vehicles was not on the list and is now a priority. I have been delaying the idea of buying a truck due to knowing the standard of our drivers and that thought has not changed. We will continue to hire a truck with a driver as and when required for now as their is an app we can join that will cut our delivery costs in half. The owning a truck route terrifies me as I have a heavy duty license allowing me to drive this and I for some reason know I will probably end up driving it due to not trusting our drivers.
I have been telling myself I would not buy another vehicle in SA due to moving abroad and it seems like we will still be here for a couple more years and the need to have a vehicle is now obvious. Up till this point I have been getting by through borrowing my sons car and as much as I have appreciated his generosity his car is not fit for purpose and need a bakkie/truck for my needs. The last car I owned was ruined by the demands of the packaging business as it was not designed to carry such items.
As a male I have no problem visiting car places as it is something I do enjoy, but knowing you are visiting to spend money is not really that fun.
