Chen Yixin, 23, Just Got Her First Car — This Herbie-Inspired Volkswagen Beetle
The star, who is the daughter of Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen, says buying the car “definitely took a huge sum” of her savings, but it’s been empowering and freeing to finally own her dream ride.
No part of this story can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.
Now this is one sweet ride that we’re going gaga over.
On Aug 21, local actress Chen Yixin, 23, revealed in an IG Story that she just bought her first car — a gorgeous white Volkswagen Beetle.
While Yixin declined to share how much the car cost, she gamely admits to 8days.sg that it “definitely took a huge sum” of her savings.
“But I guess this is where my priorities lie, at this time in my life,” she says. Yixin also adds: “It’s been very empowering and just very freeing to know that I can just go to places at my own time and at my own target, and bring a lot of things around. It’s been so, so, so, convenient, especially in my line of work.”
Catch Yixin in Titoudao: Dawn of a New Stage on meWATCH here. The first episode is embedded below.
The star, who just got her license a month ago, reveals that her mum, Xiang Yun, had encouraged her to get her license as soon as possible.
“I procrastinated for quite a while, [but] recently I just bit the bullet and got my license, and with that, I immediately went to get my dream car,” she says.
This Herbie comes fully loaded with wheels.
So why the Volkswagen Beetle?
Yixin says she first fell in love with this model after watching the 2005 film Herbie: Fully Loaded on Disney Channel as a child.
The film starred Lindsay Lohan and a sentient Volkswagen Beetle named Herbie. Basically a live-action Lightning McQueen, if you get what we mean.
Apart from having a sunroof (something that Yixin’s always wanted as well), the car also has wheels that are modelled after Herbie’s in the movie. So yes, you can say it's a perfect fit for Yixin.
“My family and boyfriend [local singer-actor Gavin Teo] were very, very involved in the buying process. My dad [former actor Edmund Chen] especially, he accompanied me to so many dealers to test drive it with me, and he was very assured to know that I chose this car,” Yixin shares.
Family knows best.
She goes on to reveal some driving advice her family gave her, particularly when it comes to dealing with other drivers.
“They advised me to be always be very slow and steady, [and to not] care if any cars are honking at me or being mean towards me,” says Yixin, who has to display the ‘triangle plate’ or the probation plate on her car for the next 12 months as a new driver.
“[They told me:] ‘You have the privilege of having the triangle plate, so make good use of it. Be slow, be steady and focused. There are going to be rude and impatient people on the road, but know your rules and your rights, stay in your lane,’ and that’s about it,” Yixin says.
So has she experienced any aggressive or rude drivers on the road yet? The answer, unfortunately, is yes.
“I have met a few aggressive drivers, where they already know that I’m a triangle plate, but they drive really close to me, even though I’m on the last lane. Or when I’m already indicating that I want to filter out, they still purposefully speed up to not let me change lanes, I think that’s sooo frustrating,” she tells us.
But well, we guess that’s part and parcel of driving in Singapore.
Photos: Chen Yixin, Chen Yixin/Instagram