Ordering Car (Toyota Vios): MM2H

This is a fairly short and simplistic post as I found the whole process, at least up to now, very simplistic also. As you can see from earlier posts I decided to opt for a Toyota Vios rather than something big and thirsty like the Honda CRV or Accord, cars I was seriously considering. Why? Usage. In Penang my needs will be very limited, runs to the malls, hawkers, Georgetown and maybe the odd beach trip. Rest of the time, sat on a car park. So I opted to spend less on the car, less on road tax, less on insurance and less on fuel when I use it. Another reason I opted for Toyota over Honda is the 10,000 km versus 5,000 km service intervals. YMMV.

I dealt primarily with Toyota in Penang, out at Sungai Penang (8 Jalan Jelutong, 11600 Georgetown), and their very helpful Mr Chin Soon Fatt (HP: 012 400 2288). The Toytoa showroom there is big and combines what looks like a very large service and repair centre. When I visited I was able to test drive any car I wished and the test drive of the Vios confirmed that it would do the job. Is it a big comfy limo? No. Does it do what I want? Yep.

The ordering process was a real piece of cake. Toyota Malaysia gave me Mr Chin's details when I contacted them saying that he was their MM2H specialist. It certainly seems to help to have a dealer that knows what they are doing with this from what I can gather as it makes the process somewhat easier. Basically Toyota will handle everything.

Mr Chin called at my home (I previously e-mailed him a PDF copy of my passport and my MM2H Conditional Letter of Acceptance (CLA)), I paid him an RM 500 deposit and that was it. Toyota also knocked a further RM 1,000 of the price as that was the 'deal' being offered in September. He said that if the 'deal' at the time of delivery was more, they would apply the extra. Total saving around RM 24,000. As soon as I collect the visa next week (been a bit busy and have had the flu) I will send him a PDF scan of the passport MM2H visa page and then they apply for the Stage 1 letter from Ministry (of Finance I believe) and the car gets called over. Anticipated delivery around 4-6 weeks.

For me a fairly painless process, at least so far. All I plan to do when the car is delivered to Toyota is get window tinting arranged (40% high quality tint) and also get a 'Smart TAG' (proximity) fitted to it (for the various mainland toll booths). The tint will cost around RM 2,000 and the tag maybe RM 150-200. I can thoroughly recommend this Toyota dealer based on my experience and also Mr Chin who was very friendly, helpful and professional.