When we were buying Luukas' first car I asked the seller if we could tell a small white lie on the tax/transfer form so we wouldn't have to pay as much tax. We paid $3600 for the car. Couldn't I just put $2500 on the form and pay less tax? I was paying cash. Who would know, and really, what's the big deal? The less money the government gets the happier I am. The seller, Sarb, kindly said no. Sarb told me he preferred to be honest. He told me: "If your son writes off the car it's important to have proof of how much you paid for it."
We got exactly $3556 and change for the wrecked car. Thank you Sarb. I had to call him and thank him personally for acting with such integrity. Sarb was happy to hear from us. He had recently bought another civic. The car had white shelby stripes, was lowered, new rims and a nice stereo. He thought this new civic would be perfect for Luukas. He told me he had often thought about making Luukas a new deal and exchange the white (read: boring) civic for the much cooler and sportier car.
Sarb had put some work into the new Honda Civic and was ready to sell it. The milage was good, he had all the service records and was kind enough to drive out from Burnaby so my mechanic could give it the thumbs up. We bought the 'cool civic' for a wee bit less than the other car. We didn't have to go through the hassle of calling and looking all over hells half acre for another reliable car. Yay.
Luukas loves his new car and yes, his insurance rates goes up (%55) in May 2010. However as far as lessons learned it didn't cost an arm and a leg figurativley and literally. Luukas may learn to slow down and me, I was reminded again how important it is to act with integrity. Always.
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