Our new (to us) ride

Before we came to Indo, we thought we didn't need a car or driver. We were quite mistaken. After many frustrating taxi rides where the driver didn't speak English or know where we wanted to go, we decided we should rethink our transportation situation and buy a car. From cruising around on the internet, I knew that the Toyota Kijang was the most popular choice for expats with families. A new one was not in the cards since getting a loan here is not so easy for "bules" (foreigners). We also know we'll only be here a couple years, and then we'll have to sell it. We didn't want to take the depreciation hit, we started our search for a Kijang in good condition that we could pay cash for.

In the beginning, the Kijang started as a humble, straight panelled truck and people mover. Over years, it has been redesigned and improved to offer more features and a smoother ride. We didn't want one of the primitive, old ones, but quickly realized that Kijangs hold their value extremely well (much better than in the US). We wanted to get one from the most recent generation, but even a 2004 model was over the budget.

Luckily, some friends from church told us they were moving to India and had a Kijang for sale. It was a 2001 model with about 80,000 miles on it (and untold hours idling in traffic). He purchased the car from an older, Indonesian gentleman, and knew the car had been well maintained and never in a serious accident. And the price was right. Just one problem: Although it has seats for 7 (or more if you are Indo), it only had 4 seat belts. Since there are six of us, including a driver, we almost thought to continue looking elsewhere. Apparently the sellers were motivated as they offered to add more seatbelts before delivering the car. Perfect.

What sealed the deal is that he also had an experience driver, Hartoyo, that we could hire. He is an older Indo man that is a careful driver and also watches out for the kids he he's not driving. After some negotiations about the driver's compensation and transferring funds to the our new friend, we had a car and driver.

So far, so good. The only issue with the car is that the radio doesn't function, but that is not essential and can be fixed down the road.