Our First "Long" Drive

My driving "boundary" in the last decade is Paranaque. My Dad did not want me to learn how to drive. I was stubborn though and enrolled myself at the A1 driving school when I was 21 years old. My Mom encouraged me to learn and my skills were further honed by our drivers, haha. Eventually my Mom would get me to do some tasks that required driving and I became an expert at ducking away from crazy tricycle drivers. My Dad gave up and eventually let me drive around, but only around Paranaque.

Anyway, I had the chance to test my driving skills last Sunday. We were scheduled to have lunch with my in-laws and I wanted to show them Minnie, so off we went to McKinley Hill after hearing mass and the blessing. I chose the route that I was most comfortable with.

My nerves were frazzled. I even had to ask the boys to be quiet so I can concentrate on driving. After awhile though I got comfortable and started chatting with them. I think hubby though was tense all the way to and from McKinley Hill. Haha! Minnie is easy to drive. I love how the it turns easily at the slightest touch of the steering wheel and its easy to make siksik in traffic too because it's small.

I drove a total of 25 kilometers on that day (no traffic! Whew!) and barely made a dent on the gas. Compared to my past driving experiences driving a Hyundai Getz is a walk in the park (provided there's no heavy traffic, buses and jeepneys!).

Minnie's Blessing

In our country one's new car (whether it be brand new or second hand) it is a must to have it blessed. All you need to do is ask your parish church where you should park the car so that the priest can bless it after mass. He'd usually bless several cars at the same time and would bless its drivers.

I got Minnie on a Wednesday so when Sunday came we went to church 15 minutes early so we could park it at the spot where the priest usually holds car blessings. I had a bit of a fright during mass because we saw three men peering inside Minnie. Good thing one of my friends (he was outside for a parish activity) approached the men and they immediately left. Whew!

I ran after Fr. Luis after mass to request him to bless Minnie. After doing some chikka with other parishioners he was soon in front of Minnie. Hubby opened all the doors, engine hood and trunk so Fr. Luis can also bless the interior of the car.

After blessing the car, Fr. Luis blessed us and also said a prayer that we may be safe and for others to be safe too.

Happy Christening Minnie! May we and others always be safe!

My First Drive on Minnie (Hyundai Getz)

When Minnie, my Hyundai Getz, was delivered Gio, the hand-over specialist asked me to do a test drive. So I got behind the wheel and started the car. My legs started quivering because I belatedly realized that it's been a year since I've done any driving! My hubby has spoiled me and has been doing all the driving (I also don't want to drive his automatic car).

I've gotten used to driving an old car. A car with heavy steering wheel. I've been driving it for more than a decade now and have gotten used to its quirks. Minnie was a totally different driving experience. I easily adjusted to its pedals and my drive was smooth sailing after a hundred or so feet. We had a stopover at my parents' home since my Mom was outside tending to her garden. After a short chat I drove back to my house, so my first drive was over in less than ten minutes.

I did another round when my son arrived. We just went around some streets in our village. I was driving a bit slow since I was still getting used to Minnie, the little mice on my chest were soon leaving and I can say that I had fun driving around. Changing gears was easy and didn't require any effort compared to the old jalopy I used to drive (but I still love that car mind you!). I didn't even break a sweat turning the steering wheel. Minnie was also so quiet, so unlike what I've gotten used to - no clanging, hissing sounds at all. It was like driving in stealth mode! Haha.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm going to go a long way with Minnie and I hope to be be able to journal everything here.

Minnie's Birthday, my Hyundai Getz Day 1

I was giddy with excitement when Chris, my Hyundai Sales Agent, said that they will be able to deliver the car by Wednesday. It was a Thursday then, February 10, when I made my downpayment. I paid by using a check because I thought that would be more safe (lugging around a huge amount of money is like biting a knife). Anyway, so we had to wait for the check to clear and for my tint choice to be available. I then worked on completing all the document requirements.

I was afraid that the delivery date was going to be pushed because I was so busy with work. Good thing Chris, being good-natured and a great sales agent, was flexible and allowed me to just submit some of my documents via email. I just signed them in person when he dropped by to get some documents signed by my hubby. By mid-Wednesday morning the documents were complete, check cleared and an hour before sunset Minnie, my Hyundai Getz was delivered.

My Mom dropped by my home to check on me -- well actually not really me, but the car! Haha. She was just about to leave when Minnie arrived. I ran inside the house to get my camera and when I got out my Mom was already in the driver's seat! She was really excited too since she said that she was my age when she got her red Opel.

After signing some additional documents, Chris explained to me about the 1K, 5K etc. check ups and the 5-year warranty. Turned over the extra key and pointed out that the keychain had Hyundai Sucat's number on it. After that Gio, the Hyundai hand-over specialist, did a short demo for me. He showed me how work the trunk in case I need a bigger space for my stuff.

He then showed me how the windows and locks worked.

And the engine. He also mentioned that I should break-in the car soon because that's going to determine the health of the car. Subic, he said, would be perfect. He also explained about the water and cautioned me against getting water refills from gas stations and encouraged me to use distilled water. Also to break in the car slowly by not pushing the RPM to 100 (have to research more about that).

Anyway, so Minnie, my Hyundai Getz was turned over smoothly. Thank you to Chris and Gio for the great experience!

Up next, my first drive.

Getting a Hyundai Getz

Deciding on getting a Hyundai Getz was fairly easy. Deciding to finally invest on a car took four years to do since I kept procrastinating and convincing myself that commuting was fairly easy anyway. I started saving up for a car in 2007 and just tucked away the money. The clincher happened last holiday season when I missed getting to two meetings because I couldn't get a cab. I also had the misfortune of riding cabs with sinister drivers. So I gave up and decided to finally invest in a car.

By 2011 I'm going to graduate myself from commuting.

That was my target so I started doing some research online to compare several car brands. I just wanted a small, easy to drive, inexpensive, but safe car. My Mom warned me against buying a tiny car because it would be dangerous to drive out on the highway. "Baka matangay ka ng hangin at malalaking truck," she said. So I made sure I'd find a car which wasn't tiny and had an engine that would last. I'm not that techie when it comes with cars, so I also got the advise of some friends.

I chose to get a manual Hyundai Getz  (upgraded) because it fit my needs. It's small, but surprisingly spacious inside. The price wasn't so bad and I read quite a number of testimonials about it being reliable and safe. The car dealer where I got it also maintains a car service station and is just 15 minutes away from home. So by late December 2010 I shimmied over to Hyundai Sucat to check out the Getz. I admit that I found the i10 much more cute, but I had to stick to my "requirements".

I was really bent on getting a car so after checking it out and doing some last minute comparisons I filled out an application form and waited. Applying for a loan in late December isn't a good time to do it, so we ended up working on it early in January. Several banks called me up and I was eventually informed by my agent, Chris Lee, that my loan was approved.

It was only in the week of February 7th that I managed to work on my documents and finally make a downpayment for my car, but in less than a week my shiny new Hyundai Getz was delivered!

Hyundai Sucat (map) - it's near the Skyway ramp
No. 8406 Dr. A. Santos Avenue, Brgy. BF
Sucat, Parañaque City
hyundaisucat@ymail.com
Telephone: (02) 829-6290 to 92
Fax: (02) 826-8160
Sales: (02) 829-6290 to 92
Parts & Service: (02) 829-0434 / (02) 829-0572
CRD: (02) 826-8130