Buying a Car Overseas

This past week, my wife and I contributed some funds to help some of her family members purchase a 2007 Hyundai Tucson SUV in the Philippines. It is a nice looking, clean, low mileage unit, just like we could buy here, although, I'm guessing that there are some differences especially in emission controls. What surprised me was that the price was roughly what I would pay to purchase the same vehicle in the U.S. What is a modestly priced used vehicle to Americans, is a massive investment in a place where the price of that car exceeds many peoples yearly incomes.

It also made me ponder what a world of 100 million or so Filipinos driving SUVs would look like, not to mention a few billion Indians and Chinese. Of course, unless Filipinos are able to make much better incomes, only a fraction will ever be able to afford an SUV.  The world won't bear all of that "western style" living.

Such a nice evening for a walk. The smell of blooming is everywhere.