Too broke to drive?

After having received a phone call which alerted me to two potential cars that could be mine, I was prompted to get my arse to a broker and find out about insurance. I am beginning to wish I hadn't......

The system here is that everyone starts on the same basic insurance level; it doesn't matter how old you are, insurance is only calculated on how long you have been driving. Hence I am already at a disadvantage. The good thing is that the basic insurance (which is mandatory for every driver) does not change depending on the model of car you drive, or the year it is. Only the optional extras change in price. However, since the basic insurance is already $1171............ my plan to spend less than $2000 on a car looks to be kind of pointless, as if my insurance is going to be that much I might as well get a decent car. But then this means that I have to plan for more than a year here, or sell the car again. It's all too stressful! Plus here you have to buy your license plates and take them with you, since records are linked to drivers and not cars ($18), get the car Air Cared so that there are no smog emissions ($23), pay a license fee ($50) and register the ownership papers ($28). All in all, a large chunk of my budget........

So, I'm not so sure that buying a car is the most intelligent thing I could be doing now; but then again who wants to be intelligent?

The good thing was that there were more Cadburys people downtown giving out free chocolate - so two bubbly Dairy Milks and a Caramac for me then.