Goodbye SGE and Welcome SKX

Today, I say goodbye to my 10-year old car with the licence plate SGE. That was almost 10 years ago car. It is sad to part with it since it has served me well for the past 10 years. It has not broken down once. I think it is due to the regular car servicing and maintenance with C&C. The only thing that I have replaced is the timing belt and one time tyre change. Amazing that I have clocked 180,000 km with this car and yet when my colleagues sat in my car, they always said that it is a waste to scrap it.

Yes, there are some problems though as it ages:

1. The horn is spoilt. Actually, the connectors are worn out and will connect automatically when the car is parked under the hot sun. I had to remove the fuse to conserve battery.
2. The leather at the driver's seat has cracked at the side but no issue.
3. The radiator is leaking. I have to top up the water to the reserve tank every 2 to 3 days.
4. The engine brackets are corroded and the engine is supported by the mounting. No issue but it may vibrate a bit.
5. The suspension on the front tyre has issue and will vibrate and create some noises when the road is uneven.

I think the wear and tear is not too bad as compared to other cars. I must say that I was thinking of renewing my COE for another 5 years while waiting for the COE and car prices to drop further. However, I think I will lose my scrap value and need to replace the 5 items should I choose to renew my COE. After much consideration, I decided to purchase a new car.

I made my decision quite timely when LTA said that the COE quota for Nov to Jan will reduce because fewer cars were being scrapped. I chanced upon this and quickly made a purchase and locked in the COE. After two rounds of COE biddings, the prices of cars started to increase by $2K. Luckily I managed to save this $2K.