Sales ramp up at car show

Sleek new ride: Teh with Tracy standing next to a similar model car he will be getting soon. — ZAZALI MUSA/The Star

JOHOR BARU: Car buyers have expressed relief over the much shorter waiting period for their new vehicles.

Nutritionist Thomas Teh is taking advantage to book a Subaru Forester GT Edition with a RM197,000 OTR (on the road) price tag.

“I’m an avid reader of The Star CarSifu column and have been eyeing this model for quite some time now,” Teh said.

He was among the visitors to the Subaru booth at the CarSifu Auto Show 2022 taking place at the Mall, Mid Valley Southkey here until Sunday.

The 40-year-old, who has been working at a private specialist hospital in Singapore for 10 years, brought along his five-year-old daughter Tracy to the event.

Teh, who paid RM500 as the booking fee instead of RM1,000 under the company’s promotion, will test-drive the car today.

“The sales adviser informed me that the model I’ve booked is readily available,” said Teh, who has chosen white for his car’s colour.

He is giving himself about a month to get his car loan approved and the vehicle registered with the Road Transport Department.

Apart from the safety features, the price is affordable compared with continental cars, he added.

“I’m looking forward to driving the new car to celebrate Chinese New Year in my hometown in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

Ben Tan, a Malaysian living and working in Singapore, is also considering buying a Subaru SUV.

“My wife and I happened to be at the mall to do some shopping and we came across the car show,” said the 40-year-old.

The Penangite, who is married to a Singaporean and working as a shipping technical support officer, returns home to Johor Baru every week, during which they need a car to get around.

“My choice is the XV GT Edition at RM146,000 OTR. Subaru is a good car as I used to own one for six years,” he said.

Tan said a similar model sold in Singapore was priced at about S$150,000 (RM501,722) plus Certificate of Entitlement, adding that his brother just bought the car a month ago in Singapore.

“I’m hoping to get the new car just in time to go back to Penang for Chinese New Year as we have not returned to celebrate the festival for more than two years,” he said.

The five-day event, organised by Star Media Group, sees five car companies comprising Volvo, Toyota, Subaru, Proton and Honda displaying their latest models.