Our Multicab

This is our family car. I was able to get my Mini Cooper sold in the US and traded it in for a Mini Multicab in the Philippines. These little vans are all throughout the Philippines. It is a Japanese car, Suzuki, and are considered junk cars in Japan. They are used in Japan in their factories and driven to death. Then the Japanese government breaks them down into small pieces and sells them in bulk to the Philippines. They are boated over and reassumbled and refurbished here in the the Philippines.

The kids loved the Multicab, especially Cyrus. Freedom! was the best word to describe this car purchase. We were finally able to go places when we wanted to without having to play the taxi car roulette. With the new family addition, it was manditory that we have our own car. The children loved it even though every time they exited the van they were dripping with sweat. There was only air condition in the front.


I installed these two benches in the back for the little kids to sit on. Note that there are no seat belts. Cyrus and Jonah loved their benches in the back.



In finding the right multicab I did a lot of research and test driving. I chose this one because it had the lowest miles on the car, only 80,000 - the rest had around 110,000. The sales men kept asking me, "What color do you want." I kept explaining to them that I was looking at the mileage to make the best decision of the many Multicabs on the car lot. They would explain to me that all the cars have been refurbished, but my reasoning told me that even if the engine was redone, the other parts in the car would be better on the cars with the least amount of miles.

The Multicab cost me about $3,000 and then I added the window tinting and benches in the back for another $100. I did learn many lessons through the entire car experience:

1- Never leave any gas in your car when you take it to the mechanic. When you pick up the car, you won't have any gas left, even if you had half a tank. (It was stolen)

2- In the Philippines you can drive using your US license for 4 months. After 4 months you need to get a license. The driving instructor gave me two options to get my license: Take the driving test and written test that will take all day to complete or pay $50. I told him that I would pay the $50. He responded, "Congratulations you passed" and then he gave me my license.

3- The concept of "Right of way" is a bit twisted here. If you are the biggest car on the road you have right of way and control of the road. Next are the expensive cars like the BMW's and SUV's - the rich people. I found myself at the bottom of the barrel as a Multicab is considered a service car.

4- The horn is used to warn and give direction. I found myself using the horn to let my fellow Filipino drivers on the road know how well I appreciated them cutting me off or driving crazy. I don't think they got the message.

5- After two weeks I realized why the salesman really only focused on what color I wanted in a Multicab. I found the lowest mileage car but didn't realize that the odometer was broken. Who knows how many miles were on that car. Nevertheless, the kids really liked the color blue.

The Multicab was a blessing for the Ottley family. When we sold it before we returned home, Jonah and Cyrus both kept asking where the blue car was. They loved that car and the family outtings that we made in it.