I named my car Kuro. It just means “black” in Japanese, and I thought it sounded cool when I bought my Mazda 3 four years ago. Back then, I felt proud, independent, and a little successful. 

Today, I feel trapped. 

I owe about RM80,000 on a car dealers say is worth around RM70,000.

Buying The Car

In 2021, I was 24 and ready to upgrade. I had been driving my parents’ old Myvi for two years and had just been promoted to senior executive in sales. I wanted something more comfortable, something that didn’t make me feel like I was still borrowing my parents’ life. The Mazda 3 Hatchback felt like the right step up.

The on-the-road price was RM150,440, with RM145,000 for the car plus insurance, road tax, registration, and fees. I put down RM15,000, RM10,000 from my savings and RM5,000 from my parents, and took a 9-year loan for RM135,440 at 3.5% interest. My monthly instalment was RM1,450.

At the time, my take-home pay was RM3,200. I thought it would work:

• RM1,450 for the loan
  
• RM150 for parking
  
• RM250 for fuel
  
• RM100 for tolls
  
• RM200 set aside for insurance
  

That left me with RM1,050 for rent, food, and everything else. It felt tight but doable. Five years of free maintenance also made me feel responsible.

Income And Expenses Over Time

I got an 8% increment in 2022, bringing my take-home pay to RM3,456. That extra RM256 made me feel like I had made the right choice.

But increments slowed after that, 5% in 2023, 5% in 2024, and 5% again in 2025. Today, my take-home pay is about RM4,000, or RM5,000 before EPF and SOCSO.

Meanwhile, rent increased from RM800 to RM1,100, parking at the office rose from RM150 to RM300, and daily expenses like groceries went up. Life became more expensive.

The Accident That Made Everything Worse

Last year, I was rear-ended at a traffic light in Damansara. The impact pushed my car into the vehicle in front of me, causing damage to both the rear and front. It was not my fault. Insurance covered most repairs, but I lost my no-claims discount (NCD) because my policy didn’t include NCD protection at the time (this was before Bank Negara Malaysia’s 2025 OD-KFK update).

Then, three weeks ago, the air-conditioning stopped working completely. The mechanic said the compressor had likely been damaged during the accident and had finally failed.

The Mazda service centre quoted:

• Air-conditioning compressor: RM2,000
  
• Lower control arm bushes: RM800
  
• Insurance renewal without NCD: RM2,600

The total came to RM5,400. At the time, I had RM1,400 in my bank account and RM600 available on my credit card.

Asking For Help And Facing Reality

I called my parents. Six years of being financially independent, and here I was asking to borrow RM3,000. I hesitated before dialing, dreading a lecture or an “I told you so,” but my dad agreed and transferred the money the next day. He did not make a fuss.

With that, I paid for the repairs and renewed the insurance. Kuro was running again, but I now owed my parents RM3,000 on top of the RM80,000 I still owed the bank. It was a relief to have the car fixed but also a sharp reminder of how stuck I really was.

Seeing Where It Went Wrong

The mistakes were small and spread out. I underestimated parking by RM250 a month. Over four years, that alone adds up to RM12,000. I assumed my salary would keep growing at 8% a year, but it did not. I treated five years of free maintenance as a sign the car would be cheap to own instead of a delay before the real costs showed up.

The accident also reduced the resale value. A clean 2021 Mazda 3 might sell for around RM78,000. Mine attracts offers closer to RM70,000.

Where Things Stand

Even after all these years, I still enjoy driving Kuro. The handling is great, and part of me is glad I got the car.

But the financial reality is harsh. Between the RM1,450 loan, RM400 for parking, RM250 for fuel, RM100 in tolls, RM220 for insurance, and about RM400 a month for maintenance, the car costs roughly RM2,820 every month. On a take-home salary of RM4,000, that is nearly 71% of my income. After rent, there is very little left for food, bills, or savings. Any unexpected expense immediately becomes a problem, and rebuilding an emergency fund feels almost impossible.

For now, the only realistic option is to keep paying it down and avoid repeating the same mistakes. 

If you are thinking about buying a car based only on whether you can afford the instalment, I was there too. I just wish I had looked further ahead.

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