My current car has somehow reached its seventh year.
I booked a regular inspection for my car.
I bought my current car used, and I've been driving it for seven years now.
It's a kei car from many generations ago, but it's a rare manual transmission model with a turbocharger. From Yamagata in the north to Shizuoka in the south, it has worked hard as my means of transportation for commuting and travel.
Along the way, I've had the engine replaced once and overhauled once. I also had to replace the windshield and hood after hail damage. Honestly, it's more mentally draining to have your car damaged by a natural disaster than by mechanical failure. Every time I drive it, the roof, which is still dented from the hail, looks so painful.
I could fix it if I really wanted to, but the dents aren't limited to the roof, and the paint is dull, so my regular mechanic said,
"We don't do bodywork here, but if you were to ask a body shop through us, they would likely provide an estimate that includes repainting."
Given the number of dents, it's obvious that it would cost a significant amount of money. I keep thinking that if I had that kind of money, I could use it as a down payment for a new car, so I've left it untouched. Also, when I go to the company parking lot, there are several other cars that suffered hail damage like mine, and many people are still driving them without getting them fixed. It's been over a year since then. Right after it happened, we were told there was a one-year wait for repairs (that's how widespread the damage was), but seeing so many dented cars around town, I wonder if many people are hesitant because of the cost. In that sense, I've resigned myself to the idea that 'as long as it runs, it's fine.' That's my current mindset, but honestly, I really want to fix it...
However, if I'm going to spend money on that, I'd rather use it for something else. It inevitably ends up being a low priority. Even with this inspection, there's probably a part they'll tell me, 'It's about time to replace this.'
It's the tires. I replaced them once since I got this car, but those are finally wearing out too. Although the slip signs haven't appeared yet, it's dangerous to go through winter in this condition (even though I have snow socks). So, it makes sense to replace them at this timing.
In that case, the expenses will increase due to the regular inspection plus the tire replacement, but I can't drive my car with peace of mind if I don't do it. It's not something I should be stingy about.
Because it's the end of the year and things are busy, I ended up leaving the car at the shop for about a week, but I don't have any outings planned, so that's no problem at all. I'd be grateful if they could take care of it.
That said, I do feel like I should have asked them to do it a bit earlier to avoid the busy season. But then again, there's the timing for oil changes and such, so these things are difficult.
If this goes smoothly, I'll finally be entering my eighth year with it. I bought this car with 118,000 kilometers on the meter, and before I knew it, it reached 180,000 kilometers.
Can it make it to 200,000 kilometers?