Farewell, my old friend

It's about time for me to say farewell to my old travelling companion. We have been together since November 2005 and I had so depended greatly on it on my commute to work, while I was still attached to JobStreet.com, and taking my family and I on holiday drives to Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Trengganu and Kelantan.

Nine years is a long time, and nine years it has been for me and my Avanza. During this time, the car had been very dependable, breaking down on me only twice.

The first time was when something went amiss with the automatic transmission and the Toyota service centre changed a completely new gear box for me as it was still within the warranty period (within the first 30,000 kilometres, I think). I was taken aback when I saw the bill for the new gear box which, if I remember correctly, came up to RM14,000 or it could be even more. It was a good thing that I wasn't paying for it! And the second time was that occasion when the car's ignition problem failed on me at a most critical time.

But it is now time for me to let the car go for various reasons, which i won't elaborate here. Nevertheless, I am truly sad to have to let it go because this was the first car that I had ever bought first-hand. There is a lot of attachment to it but unfortunately, the Avanza has served its purpose. So farewell, my old friend and trusted travelling companion. I shall miss you.