Brand X

I've been investing in a lot of "Brand X" gadgets lately.

(1) We decided we needed a brand new hybrid DV cam for stills and video; because our Video 8 Handycam was, well, old and obsolete. Instead of buying the 20,000 peso Sony or JVC DV cameras, we decided to invest on a Pocket DV T300 from Aiptek worth around 6,000 pesos.

(2) PLU was badly in need of a decent car stereo. Instead of buying the 10,000 peso Pioneer head unit, I settled for a 3,000 peso Maxsound headunit - with CD/SD/MP3 capabilities similar to this one.

(3) PLU's rear shock absorbers were busted and instead of buying brand new shocks, i went to Cruven to have one repaired; and the other "unrepairable" one replaced with a Monroe second-hand surplus shock absorber - both for just 2,000 pesos parts and labor.

(4) I needed headphones for my laptop and instead of buying expensive Sennheiser headphones, guess what? Yes, i bought 100-peso generic earphone units from CD-R King.

There's definitely a case for me being a cheapskate. But so far, all these things I bought are working as expected. I've also read some good reviews of these gadgets and services from the internet. I'm telling you, some research will save you a lot of money.

But what about this: are you willing to buy a Brand X Car?

I have certainly thought about it. Chery Cars have a nice lineup of a sedan (Easter), a small car (the QQ is getting popular by the minute), and an SUV - the Tiggo. These cars are cheap - around half the price of a Toyota or a Kia. But are you willing to invest on a cheaper alternative (Brand X) on this large a scale?

Certainly there are a number of things that you need to look out for - like availability of parts, service, and overall quality of the car itself. As well as how many mechanics and people out there are really familiar with Chery Car technology.

It certainly is worth a look, however investing 700,000 hard-earned pesos on an SUV, could make a person go for the safer choice and buy a Toyota or a Honda or Mitsubishi, etc..

As for me, because of the scale of the investment when it comes to buying a new car, i'd rather wait one or two years to see how this Chery Car company turns out before buying a new one. We wouldn't want to have a Proton Wira just like in the 90s and then have my car brand bust in the local market, right?

The Proton Wira from the 90s