It Is Time

Everything must come to an end and my time with my Toyota Altezza is no exception. After a little over a month, it felt like it was time to move on to a new experience. The Altezza was never my target and was just a stepping stone to sell my previous Nissan Fairlady Z. Having said this, I am grateful for the short experience with the Altezza. Since my time with a Toyota Celica, I had wanted to try an Altezza and now I could check that off my list. It did live up to my expectations in most area but I did have difficulty with the throttle design and the weight. As usual, I posted my car on my favorite online marketplaces but coming with a proper price was difficult. There was the problem of market value and also the fact that I swapped for the Altezza. The price of the Fairlady Z has to be factored in and in the end, I posted a price of RM 49,000. One of the Altezza owners said I will have a tough time selling at a high price. I received several low offers and felt it was difficult to sell. There was even a guy who came to view the car just for 10 minutes and was never heard from again. So, I gradually reduced the price until RM 45,000 before 2 people came to view the car.

The first was an Indian, who used to be a mechanic that had worked on several Altezzas. He grew to love Altezzas and that spread to his son. He hopes to buy one for both of them. He has always been looking for one online and finally came across my unit. Knowing he was a mechanic, I told him about the car and its issues which was no problem for him to get it fixed. The next day, a young, Chinese engineer came to view. I told him the same thing as I did to the mechanic and he understood the issues. Both prospects love what they saw but pricing was the issue. Both offered me a low price and I told them RM 40,000 was the lowest I could go. It was an exciting moment as the two were negotiating with me simultaneously. It felt like a race with both slowly increasing their offer but in the end, the mechanic accepted my offer first. It was arranged for us to meet at the government office two days later. On that day, after the paperwork, I was inside the Altezza for one last time to count my cash. I said my goodbye and watched as the new owner drove it away.

The Toyota Altezza was my shortest car ownership and in total, only lasted for 2 months. It was fun while it lasted but I was not too sad about it. It led me to a new experience and met new friends in the Altezza club. I hope that the new owner would treat it well. I started the Altezza's journey to recovery and I am sure the mechanic can finish the job. I hope to see you again on the road. As for me, it is time for me to chase my dream and get the car that I have been aiming for a long time.