Scribbles

In an attempt to save a few euros, I decided to buy a used car instead of the popular option of leasing a new one. This option will cost me about 1000 euros at the end of the year when I resell it, as opposed to spending 4000 in luxury. The drawbacks of course, would be driving an old car and dealing with associated paperwork and registration. Fair enough, considering I’m already over-extending my finances for this entire MBA program.

It turned out to be slightly more of an adventure that I bargained for. I bought a ten year old Citroen ZX Reflex from a student who graduated in June through the student message board, without even seeing the car or ever meeting the guy. Acting on good faith, I wired the money over in July, and when I arrived, I arranged to meet one of his friends on campus to pickup the vehicle. The car itself was ok; dents here and there, dirty interior, and the driver side door wouldn’t lock because the guy broke off half his key in it last winter. I exchanged a few emails with him about this, and he claims he could still use the half key for locking purposes, but I had no luck at all with it – just gonna get it fixed in the shop. Another kicker was that the gas tank was empty. And I’m not the only person with this problem, I found another student to bitch about this. It’s not so much about the money as it is about the sheer inconsideration for your buyer. So word of advice, if you sell a car, have the decency of leaving a quarter tank so the new owner can at least drive around a bit before scrambling for a gas station.

Next was the paper work. The INSEAD student welcome guide documents rather comprehensively the necessary paper work and process for getting a used car. I was handed the complete set of documents, so no worries there. However, when I went to the local sous-prefecture (the French administrative bureau), I couldn’t complete the ownership transfer because my landlord didn’t give me the proof of residency yet. I learned later on the importance of this little piece of paper, as other vital registrations (ie carte de sejour, getting a mobile phone) require this. So I had drive all the way back to the chateau to hassle the landlord about it. On the way, I also bought insurance. In France, it’s supposedly quite difficult for foreigners to get insurance, but INSEAD worked out some deal with AXA for us students and I was lucky to get an 11 month deal from the local AXA office in Fontainebleau.

Ah, but that’s not all. I also had to get plates! In France, you visit a local keyshop (we went to Carrefour, the French equivalent of Walmart) and have them make the plates. The standard front and back plates ran for 19 euros, and another 4 euros for mounting them. The guy made my plates in 5 minutes and we set out for the parking lot, only to discover the plate number was the same. Apparently the rules have changed, and if the car stays in the same region, the plates no longer get changed. The guy gave me back my 4 euros and now I’m the proud owner of a backup set of plates. At least they’ll make for a good souvenir.

The interesting things students go through to save some dough,