June 14 2022

Adiós Ole Smokey…Hello Plata Annie

chenry 2022 Year 9, June

BRONCO BILLY

Maybe the title should be adventures with cars in Ecuador. Buckle your seat belt because here we go with our adventure. We never thought we would need a car in little Cotacachi, Ecuador since we walked to town that was less than 2 miles. What great exercise and if we needed a taxi to go elsewhere we had our trusted taxi driver Freddy! Bill got the itch for a car and received his Ecuadorian driver’s license in Quito. Turns out we ended up buying a used Ford Bronco from Canadians here. Funny how our paths crossed again later but that is a story for another time. Anyway, the Bronco was made in Venezuela in 1996 the last year it was made. One of the first things we noticed was that you did not need a key to start the vehicle. Humm, I wonder how many folks in Cotacachi knew you could start the Bronco without a key? One of my friends that traveled to California ended up getting us a new ignition for a key but the Ford Dealer said this car did not exist. Well, as the years went by the Bronco needed more repair parts but the Ecuadorians simply made what was needed. It was nice having a sturdy 4-wheel driving in the mountains. The downside was it was rough riding and a challenge to step up the high steps to climb aboard! As we got older it became more of a challenge getting in and out of the Bronco. Lifting the back tailgate was nearly impossible it was so darn heavy. To this day the guys that loaded our groceries at Supermaxi still talk about that Bronco. So it was time to change to a more suitable vehicle for us as we got older.

We bought the above plate back on a trip from Texas! It was quite a conversation piece.

Blanco Billy

So enter the Crete which we bought brand new from a new car dealer friend. The only problem was we could not get an automatic and Bill never was happy with this car simply because it was not automatic. Plus it had no get up and go just poco poco. He claimed I would not be able to drive it but I guess he forgot in Texas I drove a Turbo VW Beetle stick shift for 5 years and never had a problem!

OLE SMOKEY

We had the Crete for about a year and Bill just started to look around casually for an automatic. We found our dream car which was a stunning black Haval. It had all the bells and whistles that we were used to in Texas. Automatic, heated seats, DVD, and every feature we could imagine. It was a 2019 used car and had been owned by a doctor on the coast. Before we bought the car we were encouraged to take the car home and then to the Haval service manager to check it out. Now enter the nightmare hence the name OLE SMOKEY. It smoked so badly with a billow of dark black smoke over our wall that neighbors thought our house was on fire! Big puffs of black smoke from the exhaust and burning oil like crazy. The service manager tried to convince us it was condensation. Duh but no way. So they agreed to fix the problem which took over 3 months. They gave us a variety of different loaner cars while they worked on the issue. Finally, the problem was supposed to be resolved and we were happy to have the car back but as we pulled out of the car lot more billows of black exhaust surrounded the car. At last, we had enough and decided we need to get another car that was dependable. So we began the process of trading the car and let the dealer continue to resolve the problem. In fairness, the customer service helping us is beyond reproach! I doubt that we would have received this type of customer service in Texas. I think they really tried to fix the problem and in the end, felt bad for us!

CHERY TIGGO

We learned the hard way that buying a used car in Ecuador or maybe anywhere can just be inheriting someone else’s problems. So we decided only on a new car for us. So we bought a 2022 Chery yes it is an automatic and hits most of the important points for us but just no heated seats. The nice feature is that since it is a new car the engine has a lifetime warranty. We learned that once a car is traded the warranty no longer exists.

Bill wanted to select the color however the only automatic available in Quito was silver. Yes, we could order one in a different color but no telling how long that would take. Bill gave in and reluctantly agreed on the silver. So I have decided this is now my car and I have named her Plata (silver in Spanish) Annie. She has a sports feature that Bill enjoys since you shift into the sports and you can really move with Ecuadorians driving here is not for the faint of heart. The drivers here are so dangerous and pass when I would not dare. But it is great to be driving again on my own with my newly acquired Ecuadorian driver’s license. Bill does very well because he drives like an Ecuadorian!