“Anyone who doesn’t have a car dreams of buying one. Those who have cars dream of selling them.” If my memory serves me right, these were the words from the Armenian movie “Big Win”, where the main character wins a “Zaporozhets” car by playing in a sport lottery and the main character was played by Mher Mkrtchyan. I don’t really agree with the first part of that sentence. We Armenians like to show off (in a good way) and for us, a car is simply a means of transportation. As boys enter adulthood, they start feeling the desire to drive a car, preferably their own cars. For Armenian boys, there is a desire to drive especially when it comes time for high school graduation (“Last Bell”). The second part of the abovementioned phrase also has a meaning (it doesn’t refer to those selling cars). Car owners wish to sell their cars or buy a better one, or a cheap one (if the person needs money), or they simply decide that they don’t need the car and that they can spend their money on more important things. It has been proven that the car owners of this last group regret selling quickly. They regret as fast as they spend the money received from the sale. Since it’s hard to find any Armenian who can deny the fact that he loves cars, from now on “168 Hours” will talk about the phenomenon of the “Armenian’s car” in the Tuesday editions, starting from the moment the Armenian buys a car.
Armenians usually use expressions when it comes time to buy a car, including “we’re tired of paying for taxis” or “we’re tired of waiting for the buses”. No matter how they say it-“tired”, “sick and tired” are the main expressions. Those expressions show that the person really wants to buy a car. However, this mainly refers to the people whose relatives and family members aren’t that enthusiastic about buying a car. But if they manage to agree with buying a car, then comes the time to choose which car to buy. Then comes the most important thing-how much money the potential buyer has. Based on how much money he has, he decides what kind of car he can purchase. It is worth mentioning that now car buyers have more opportunities than before. The crediting system of banks for car purchase has improved and you can buy a car 2-3 times more than the money that you have. It’s kind of hard to purchase used cars. First of all, not all banks give credits for buying used cars. Besides that, the prepaid amount is higher and the deadline for redeeming the credit is shorter. In any case, the buyer overcomes this stage-he consults with the family and they decide how much they can spend on a car. Then he decides the brand. If the buyer doesn’t have any preferences, that’s not something to make the other jealous. For example, his friend who likes “BMW”s will try his best to say bad things about “Mercedes” cars. If his friend is convinced and purchases a “BMW”, then his friend who likes the “Mercedes” will never forgive him; there can even be debates between friends based on car brands. In a word, the more you ask for advice from close friends, the more things will get complicated. It’s better to decide why you want to purchase the given car-for speed, stability, or the expenses you have to make after buying the car. The latter not only refers to fuel expense, but also taking the car to the mechanic. After that, you can consult with a “neutral” expert (if you can find one) and then make a final decision. In any case, you have to take into consideration how much money you have and the situation with roads in Armenia.
So, we passed this stage too. The money is ready and the brand is decided. Based on the brand, you already have a pretty good idea of what year the car was produced. Now comes the hardest part-where and from whom to buy the car. There are a couple of options. The easiest is to buy a car from a car store. The good thing about this is that it’s faster, more pleasurable and besides that, the car is new without any problems. The bad side is that it’s expensive and may not correspond to the amount that the buyer has. Armenians who wish to buy “average” cars visit the Erebuni “car market” if not to purchase, then to at least get acquainted with the prices. Usually the process of choosing the car takes days, sometimes even weeks. This frustrates the buyer, but he calms himself by saying “after all, we’re not buying sunflower seeds”. Armenians evade buying cars from the market because they’re expensive. The thing is that the car sellers are mainly the ones at the market and it’s obvious that they have to earn some money. But choosing the right car goes through a couple of “stages”. The potential buyer turns into the fan of the “car shows” on television. He watches the shows and takes notes. Parallel to this, the potential buyer buys all the newspapers and magazines where he can find the car brands and prices. Recently, parallel to the development of advanced technology, the Internet has started playing a major role. There are already a couple of Armenian websites, where Armenians can purchase cars.
Let’s not forget to mention that potential buyers can use the websites to purchase cars from abroad (mainly Germany, France and Belgium). The good thing about this is that there is a wider selection and prices are low. But the main problem is that the buyer has to know somebody living in the given country who can go, see the car, evaluate it, buy it and send it to you. The people who don’t have friends abroad should refrain from doing this if, of course, they don’t want to go there and buy it themselves. This can really take a long time, but we can’t go further into detail. If you have already decided to become a car owner, then go through the stages with patience-choose, make an agreement, take it to the mechanic, pay the amount right on the spot or per month and make the reforms that you want. Then one day you’ll see yourself sitting with your friends celebrating the purchase of your new car. It seems as though it’s the end to the suffering and that there are no more problems, but it’s just the beginning…
To be continued