"Fuck!"

The next morning.

As soon as Luke opened his eyes, he couldn't help but curse.

He had gone to the bar party last night to celebrate his promotion to Detective Chief.

According to Reid, the police force had gained a rising new star.

But the moment he stepped out of the bar, he fell from grace.

Luke had been waiting for a call, hoping the patrol officers would find his motorcycle quickly, but there was no response.

Luke originally planned to go shopping today to buy some things that were missing at home, but now, without his motorcycle, even leaving the house was inconvenient.

He had no choice but to change his plans and buy a new vehicle first.

Luke had never bought a car in Los Angeles and needed to find someone knowledgeable for advice.

His colleagues were all at work, while he had taken a few days off to rest.

It wouldn't be good to bother a colleague to go look at cars with him.

A while later, Luke picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hi."

A voice of an elderly man came through the phone, "Did you dial the wrong number, boy?"

"Grandpa, I meant to call you."

"Pleased you still remember my phone number."

"Of course, I've always remembered it."

"What's up?"

"Do you have time today? I need a favor."

"Let's hear it."

"I'm looking to buy a car but don't have much experience. I need an advisor."

"Being an advisor is no problem, lending money is a different story."

"I have money."

"Good, see you in a bit."

...

Half an hour later, an Audi Q5 drove into the Reid community.

Luke was standing at his doorstep, waving. The car stopped in front of his home, and the front passenger window rolled down.

An elderly white man poked his head out and said, "This neighborhood has a nice environment."

Luke got into the passenger seat and looked around, "The car's not bad either."

"Yeah, I am a rich old man."

Luke shrugged, "No wonder Uncle Val is so content without ambition; it turns out he has such a strong backup."

"Don't even think about it. I'd rather leave my inheritance to you than to him."

"I hope you live to be a hundred years old."

"Hypocritical kid," the old man retorted while starting the car, then asked, "What kind of car do you want to buy?"

"Haven't thought about it yet."

"What's your budget?"

"Around eighty thousand, I guess."

"Young man wanting a nice car, I understand that. I was the same when I was young, but you have to live within your means.

Linda told me you haven't finished paying off the loan for that Harley; don't put too much pressure on yourself.

Wait until you're successful like me, then it won't be too late to buy a luxury car."

Initially, Luke wasn't very moved by this lecture since he was not someone who spent beyond his means or squandered money.

But hearing the word "Harley" reminded him of his recent misfortune.

"Grandpa, I completely agree with you, consumption should be within one's means.

Recently, I solved a major case and received a reward of over a hundred thousand US dollars."

"You're kidding me?"

"I'm telling the truth."

"Bullshit, I can't believe solving a case would reward that much money, otherwise, I would have become a cop long ago."

Luke asked calmly, "Have you heard of Schelder Hasen?"

"Of course, the Impressionist master Schelder Hasen, a remarkable oil painter. What does he have to do with you?"

"I solved an art theft case involving his paintings, valued at ten million US dollars; do you still think several hundred thousand US dollars is a lot?"

"Wow, you're one lucky kid."

Luke smiled, "It takes more than luck to solve a case."

"Better than your uncle, at least. You can afford to rent a place," the old man lamented. "God, what did I do in my past life to deserve this, having to support a son at my age."

...

In America, there are car 4S stores, but you rarely hear about them swindling customers like those in China.

Americans don't scam others?

Of course not.

40 years ago, American 4S stores were just as prone to swindling people, even more so than in China.

In those days, cars were widespread in America, but the cost of repairs was high, consumer rights were not well protected, and one female car owner changed all that through advocacy.

Her Passat had a minor issue, so she took it to a 4S store for repairs. The store promised it would be a quick fix, and the owner didn't give it much thought and left the car there.

A few days later, when she came to collect the car, the store said it would take a few more days, and the owner agreed, but a few days turned into three months.

The owner became anxious; if you don't have time to fix it, let someone else do it.

But when the owner demanded her car back, she was refused on the grounds that she had signed a repair contract.

At that time, the female car owner was furious. Couldn't she make decisions about her own car?

She started down the path of defending her rights.

This journey was not an easy one, and she faced quite a few threats, but the hostess persevered. With the support of many car owners, she gained the attention of the relevant authorities.

She helped fill the legal loopholes. Since then, both car quality and consumer rights had been guaranteed,

Based on Luke's budget and requirements, Grandpa Robert helped him select a few brands.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Lexus, and others.

Afterward, the two began the journey of selecting a car, where all of these brands had good cars, just a matter of seeing which one was more appropriate.

They first went to the BMW dealership, where Luke test-drove a BMW 740. The car felt quite nice, although the field of vision might be a bit worse compared to an SUV.

Luke then test-drove a BMW X6, a coupé-style SUV, with good car model, interior design, operation, and power. The only downside was its sloping back design, which resulted in somewhat small rear space.

Being one hundred eighty-five centimeters tall, Luke felt a bit cramped in the back seat.

Then, Robert suggested that Luke try the X5.

In Luke's mind, he always thought that since the X6 was more expensive than the X5, it must be better.

But according to Robert, the X6 was just differently positioned, not necessarily better than the X5.

Moreover, in terms of retention value, the X5 had an edge over the X6.

In his view, the positioning of the X6 was problematic, a sports-oriented SUV, which was inherently neither here nor there.

The overall performance of the BMW was good, and after test-driving it, Luke already had a general standard in mind.

The next cars to test drive should not be worse than this brand's.

Next, they test-drove a Lexus.

Lexus had good sales in the United States,

Japan, being America's little pony, priced its cars lower than American ones of the same level. The enterprises themselves were controlled by the United States, and a significant portion of the car companies' profits went back into the pocket of the United States.

Luke was no angry youth, but he still wasn't fond of the Japanese.

If his situation was average, he might consider a Japanese car for its fuel efficiency.

No way around it, one who has to count fuel costs doesn't have the luxury to choose.

But now was different; he had money, so naturally, he wanted to pick something pleasing to his heart.

He merely test-drove a Lexus briefly before leaving.

The next destination was the Porsche 4S shop.

From the outside, the streamlined car body looked quite pretty.

As he opened the door ready to test drive, he found the interior quite average, not even as good as BMW's.

He learned upon asking that this was the basic configuration and that typically one needs to select optional extras for a Porsche.

In the words of the salesperson, this reflected the uniqueness of Porsche cars.

Spending more money was one aspect; the key was that you had to wait three to six months to get the car.

Luke urgently needed a car now, by which time, the proverbial day lilies would be cold.

He felt this car company was a bit too pretentious.

Finally, Luke went to the Mercedes-Benz 4S shop.

Upon entering, he saw a black Mercedes-Benz G500.

Unlike the current streamlined cars, the Mercedes G-Class had a boxy contour, a very simple design profile that held an indescribable beauty, rugged, imposing, dominating, and stylish.

Two round headlights looked like two adorable big eyes, making the exterior also seem much smoother.

Luke was instantly attracted to it.

Entering the car for a test drive, the leather seats were very comfortable, the space was incredibly spacious, the vehicle height and field of vision were good, achieving a sense of freedom in the interior space.

Starting the car, the power was very strong, with high accomplishment in performance and operation.

The 2022 Mercedes-Benz G500 added quite a bit of tech feel, with a continuous large screen paired with a multifunctional sports steering wheel, a 360° camera smart parking system, remote start, a car interior negative ion generator...

With its retro-trendy styling and the 'gun-loading' door-closing sound, this car was many men's 'dream car.'

Of course, this car was not without faults.

The only downside was the price, which was quite expensive at $120,000 for the car alone.

In the United States, purchasing a car involves paying a sales tax: generally ranging between 6%-8%, differing from state to state.

In Los Angeles, a car on the road would cost almost $130,000.

This had exceeded Luke's budget.

Luke's total assets were $212,000.

Of which $167,000 was in cash, with a system reserve fund of $45,000.

He could afford to pay in full if he decided to buy.

But he felt it was a bit too expensive.

Yet, giving up and buying another car left him somewhat reluctant.

It wasn't that the other cars were bad, BMW X5 and X6 were both quite good, but some things just suffer by comparison.

If he hadn't seen the Mercedes-Benz G500, he might have let it be.

But having seen it, he truly liked it.

Luke was torn, indecisive, so he simply went to have lunch first.

He went to a Chinese restaurant, ordered a few dishes, and drank a little wine.

Robert looked at his grandson with somewhat changed eyes.

He didn't offer further advice; Luke's financial capability had exceeded his expectations.

He also lacked experience in this area; he'd never bought such an expensive car before!

After the meal, Luke made up his mind; if he had the ability, he'd buy what he liked.

Money could be earned again.

That afternoon, with a fierce heart and clenched teeth, he purchased the Mercedes-Benz G500.

After all, a man should be tough on himself.