Day +2854: My first car?

I am fine today.

I saw on the road a car bear the number 7410 which is exactly the same as the registration number of my first car. As this thing not always happen, I followed the car and took a photo of it :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +2771 : Getting a total of 6.5% rebate for petrol purchase

I am fine today.

Currently, I got a total of 6.5% rebate for petrol purchase at Petron, of which 1.5% percent rebate is from the Esso Mobil Smiles Driver Rewards and another 5% rebate from a Citibank cash back credit card. I have to spend at least RM90 to fill up the petrol tank of my Innova, and this translated to RM5.84 saving each time :-)

I accumulated 6000 Smiles Driver Rewards point earlier and this allowed me to redeem for RM90 worth of petrol, which is equivalent to a full tank of petrol for free :-) The rebate from the credit card is credited into the statement automatically.

If you any other means that bring higher rebate, do let me know :-)

Redeem slip - 9000 points for RM60 worth of petrol

Smiles Driver Rewards

Credit card rebates

See you next post :-)

Day +2428 : Who signed on my car?

I am fine today.

There are more cars than the parking place in the residential area that I stay. Therefore, the residents have to compete for parking places. The roadside near my house is always fully occupied and who occupied which part of the roadside is purely based on first come first serve basis.

I parked my Proton Wira at the small road leading to my house, and someone "signed" on it. I believe the one who did that must be angry at me for parking the car there :-( Anyway, the "signature" didn't deter me at all from parking the car there as I really don't care much about the cuts and scratches. When the cuts and scratches built up too much, I can just get the car sprayed and it will be as good as a new one :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +2274 : Consequence of breaking the law

I am fine today.

I fetched Aaron to kindergarten on Monday morning. We experienced heavy traffic jam when we were approaching the small link that connects Bandar Puchong Jaya to Wawasan Puchong. It didn't took me very long to find out that a big lorry went off the road and blocked half of the road :-(

Lorry is strictly prohibited to use the link as it brings danger to other drivers. Hopefully, the lorry driver will learn a lesson from this incident.

See you next post :-)

Day +2272 : What a nice place to do homework!

I am fine today.

The left windows of my Innova was having problem two weeks ago. I sent the vehicle to the service centre in Puchong and found out that the glass was detached from its frame, and the whole frame had to be replaced. It is fortunate that the vehicle is still with valid warranty. But the service could not be carried out immediately as the service centre had to order parts. So I made an appointment to do the repair this morning.

It took the centre almost three hours to complete the repair, but I was very happy waiting there. It is all because the environment in the waiting lounge was very nice and furthermore, drinks and biscuits were provided for free :-)

If you need some place to finish your work, I suggest you go to the service centre :-)

I started using this table

Unlimited supply of drinks and biscuits

Forgot to charge my notebook last night and the battery was running low. I found some empty office tables with plenty of power sockets, and moved to the table to continue my work :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +2130 : A celebration for a "new car"

I am fine today.

Kah Kiong and I skipped lunch in the seminary and had lunch at Wan Loy Restaurant yesterday. We ordered Wat Tan Ho for two persons and Lo Mee for one person. We are great eaters, and we always worry that the portion served would be too small for us. This ordering pattern worked most of the time, and this was the first restaurant that proved that it didn't work - the portion was too big! By the time we finished the Lo Mee which was for one person only, we were almost full. And we sat there after that, wondering how are we going to finish the giant Wat Tan Ho.

The Lo Mee was very delicious, especially when eating it with black vinegar. Wat Tan Ho was not good bad :-) The cost of a single portion is RM6, but if you order the same dish for two persons, it costs RM10 only, and RM12 for three persons. Therefore, remember to always order the same type of noodles to reduce the cost when you visit there in group. Economic of scale works here!

We always feel guilty of not having lunch in the seminary because we already paid for it. Therefore, whenever we eat outside, we need to find a reason to eradicate the guilt. And we do have a great reason this time - a celebration for a new car! We picked up the Toyota Innova right after the lunch :-)

Lo Mee - I would like to come back for this again!

See you next post :-)

Day +2129 : As new as a new one

I am fine today.

After docked in the Toyota service centre for more than 6 weeks due to an accident, I got my Toyota Innova back today. In fact, I should get it back earlier, but due the fact that there were two occasions where some parts which initially not identified to be replaced had to be changed, the service duration was extended. In such a situation, the service has to apply for the change, and adjuster has to be called in to evaluate the case.

The cost of the repair is RM19,635, which is about 20% of the cost of a new one :-( Think about it positively, the value of my vehicle appreciated 20% now :-)

I have been riding on Kah Kiong's car to the seminary for the past one and half months. I will start to drive next week.

  

See you next post :-)

Day +2093 : Feel like sitting on the road

I am fine today.

I mentioned in my blog entry "Day +2090 : Back to square one" that I am now using my first car - Proton Wira 1.3 - that I purchased about 18 years ago. It acts as a temporary replacement for my Toyota Innova that met with an accident, and had to be docked in Toyota service centre for about two months.

The seats of Proton Wira 1.3 are really low. I always feel like sitting on the road whenever I sit on the driver seat :-( The maximum seating capacity of the car is 5 persons. However, I still manage to squeeze the whole family - 8 people - into it :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +2090 : Back to square one

I am fine today.

You might wonder how am I going to move around as my Innova has to be docked in the Toyota Service Centre for the next two months. No problem. I found a car - my first car purchased about 18 years ago :-)

I transported the car here from Miri in 1997, used it for several years, then passed it to my nephew, Soon Hui, to use, and a few years later, the car was passed to Soon Hui's brother, Ming Hui. Ming Hui went back to work in Kuching a few months ago leaving the car lying idle there, waiting for me to use perhaps :-)

When my car was met with an accident, my wife proposed me to use this car even before I started to worry about my transport for the next two months :-)

I sent the car for a general service last Friday. It cost me RM640. The high cost is due to the fact that the front absorbers had to be replaced :-(

The  car

Quite heavily dented but I don't mind as long as it serves the purpose

See you next post :-)

Day +2085 : Oh my Innova!

I am fine today.

Someone borrowed my Innova in the seminary yesterday evening. For some unknown reasons, the car lose control in a corner and ran onto a divider on the roadside, sitting on it. A tow truck came and pulled out the car without permission, badly damaged the bottom of the car and tyres. Why the tow guy did this? The more damage he inflicted on the car, the more money the workshop is going to earn later :-(

The car was towed to a workshop in Rawang. Though the workshop is one of the panels of my insurance, I sent the car to Toyota service center as I could not trust the workshop at all. The way they towed the car sent me a very clear signal that the workshop would do anything to earn money. I was told that Toyota service center will take a longer time to repair the car, but I am willing to wait.

I have to thank God that no one was injured in this incident.

See you next post :-)

Day +1611 : Another kiss that cost RM950

I am fine today.

We will be going back to Sarawak for two weeks holiday on the coming Monday. We are thinking of buying some goodies for the children over there.

As I am not feeling very well, my wife went to shop in Tesco Puchong alone. She hit a car accidentally on the way, causing scratches on the side and the bumper of the car. My wife said she was so nervous that she didn't know who should be responsible for the accident.

In the end, the car owner sent the car to workshop and the bill was RM950. I transferred the amount to his bank account and the case is considered settled.

This is the second costly kiss that we experienced this year in which the first one was done my me and was recorded in the post - Day +1408 : A kiss that cost RM500 :-( I think I should budget for this item next year :-)

The kiss was very costly but thank God that it was not deadly :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +1419 : Four reverse sensors for a small car :-)

I am fine today.

The Perodua Viva that my wife is driving is without reverse sensors. She has to rely on her eyes and sense of distance while reversing the car, and this put her under heavy pressure.

I went to Brother's Car Accessories Puchong to fix the reverse sensor this afternoon. There were two choices; one with two sensors and the other one with four sensors. I was told that four sensors unit give a better coverage whereby it can detect objects besides the car.

In order to give my wife better protection, I opted for the the four sensors unit even though it is more expensive. But when I reached home and noticed that my Innova, which is bigger than Viva, had two reverse sensors only, I felt that I was overdoing.

It cost me a total of RM280 to fix the censors. The cost includes a voltage regulator and labour charges.

The four reverse sensors
A reverse sensor
Indicator in the car
Something on the right which is approximatly 0.5m away
Something at the back
Innova - 2 sensors only and without indicator in the car
See you next post :-)

Day +1408 : A kiss that cost RM500 :-(

I am fine today.

As the area surrounding my office is getting busier each day, finding a parking lot becomes a daunting task especially in the afternoon when I come back to office after lunch.

I faced difficulty to find a parking lot again yesterday afternoon. After a round of searching, I noticed an empty parking lot at the side of the busy street. A hasty reverse parking leading to an very expensive kiss - the head of my Innova ramped into the front bumper of a stationary Estima.

Who stood the kiss? You guess.

The front left side of the Estima bumper was detached while my Innova experienced a little scratch only.

So the Innova won, but with a heavy price - a RM500 compensation.

The bumper handle was broken, so it couldn't be fixed. The only acceptable option is to replace it.

The Estima is belonged to a fruit shop owner near my office. He is quite nice; didn't blame me much, most probably because he didn't park the car properly.

I asked him to give me some time to get quotation from a few workshops and at the same time, he also consulted a relative who is running a workshop. His price was about RM700 and the cheapest that I got was RM800. Some workshop even quoted something more than RM1000 :-(

I talked to the owner every time I passed by the fruit shop. Updating him on my progress.

"You pay me RM500 and I bear part of the cost," he offered this afternoon when I talked to him again.

That is a great offer! I will hand over RM500 cash to him and the case is considered settle :-)

Got to be extra careful next time. No more rushing is allowed.

The damage

See you next post :-)

Day +1397 : Innova Petrol Consumption

I am fine today.

I did a little bit of study of the petrol consumption of the Innova that I purchased December last year.

I found out that a litre of petrol can travel an average distance of 6.69km and with the current petrol price of RM1.80 per litre, I need to spend an average of RM0.28 for every km traveled.

I feel that this expenses is quite high but fortunately I don't have to travel much.

The analysis table

See you next post :-)

Day +1315 : First Toyota Innova Service – the service centre disappeared

I am fine today.

It was time to send my Toyota Innova for the first service as its mileage was approaching 1000km last week. I searched the Toyota Service Manual for the nearest Toyota service centre and found one at No.4, Jalan Rajawali 1A, Bandar Puchong Jaya. It is located somewhere near Naza KIA shop not far away from IOI mall.

The location as indicated in the service manual (a direct scan)

Last Friday, I called the service centre and made an appointment at 2:00pm yesterday. But when I reached the address, there was no Toyota Service Centre there :-( What happened to the service centre? I remembered I was there to fetch my brother, Richard, who sent his Toyota Advanza for service quite sometimes ago. So I shouldn’t be going to the wrong place.

I called Richard and I was told that he received a notice that the service centre had shifted to somewhere else. After some investigation, he informed me that it was shifted to somewhere two km behind the TESCO, Puchong.

By the time I was told the new location, I had already spent about 30 minutes on the road, making two trips to the old service centre.

Toyota should update the service manual. If they can’t even handle a small issue such as this, what else can we expect of the quality of the Toyota vehicle that we spent so much to purchase?

When I brought this issue to the service centre, the staff said that that was the Toyota head quarter problem. And another staff said that the Toyota salesman should inform me the change of address.

But I don’t really care which individual is at fault. What I really matter is that Toyota is at fault!

See you next post :-)

Day +1306 : Touch ‘n No Go :-(

I am fine today.

My Tuouch ‘n Go card was running out of balance. I went to Maybank Puchong Jaya Branch yesterday to reload it with an amount of RM500 through the cash-in machine. The machine accepted my money but the balance of the card was not updated.

I filed a report to Maybank this morning and faxed it the transaction-slip that bored a remark “transaction rejected”. The bank officer told me that she had to escalate the problem to head quarter and the refund would take months. Many customers who experienced the same and filed a report long time ago still haven’t get their refund back until now :-(

It is very difficult to comprehend how the reload facility can be so unreliable. The customer is required to touch the card on the machine and the correct information is captured automatically. With this, the transaction should not fail.

My friend asked me why I have to top up so much given that I am not a regular traveler. The answer is simple - to avoid hassle caused by unreliable system such as what I have just experienced.

See you next post :-)

Day +1285 : The car’s leather seat

I am fine today.

A reader of this blog wondered how the new Innova car seats would look like. So I am posting of few photos of the new seats today.

The total cost of replacing the original seat cover with half-leather was RM2500. I decided to have this replacement not because I wish the seats to be classy but to prevent water from infiltrating the seat. With a group of little children in the car, there is a big possibility of spilling water onto the seat of the car.

Someone told me that the seats look classy now but I really can’t appreciate this. To me, they look no different from the original one.

See you next post :-)

Day +1277 : The Innova came last Thursday :-)

I am fine today.

The Toyota sales agent, who is also a church member, sent the new Innova to me last Thursday. Even though I told him that I was not in a hurry to have it, he insisted that I should have it for Christmas which fell on Friday :-)

The one who was most excited to have the vehicle was Aaron. We told him earlier that the new car would arrive on Thursday, he was so looking forward to have it.

“Is today Thursday?” he would ask many times in a day, looking at the clock, since then.

He told many people that his father is going to purchase a Innova after we told him about that. And he never missed to point to a Innova on the road while we were traveling and saying that this was the vehicle that we would have.

Aaron was addicted to car. He recognized more car model than me. When we were traveling, he would point to a vehicle and tell us what car was that.

No other toys apart from cars would attract his attention. He collected so many toys, of course at our expenses:-(

I changed the seat cover to leather. The contractor came to dismantle the seat on this Tuesday and fixed it back on Thursday. They managed to take out all seats and the door covers in 15 minutes only :-)

All of us are happy that we won't need to squeeze like a sardines in a tin anymore with the new car :-)

The old Proton Perdana that I was driving was returned to the company.

The car



Control panel - a simple one as I purchase the economic version which is 2.0E. This saved me RM8000 :-)
The contractor is dismantling the seats





15 minutes later...
See you next post :-)

Day +1261 : My first MPV, Toyota Innova

I am fine today.

I ordered a Toyota Innova 2.0E(A) today costing RM101,800.00 on the road. The cheaper 7-seater MPV such as Toyota Avanza and Proton Exora do not satisfy our requirement because we have 8 members in the family including my mother-in-law and the maid. So the 8-seater Innova is the cheapest MPV that fulfills our requirement.

Year end is not the best time to purchase a new vehicle as it will affect its second-hand value. However, after considering that I will not be changing the vehicle in the near future, so the impact of the year difference should be minimal.

The car dealer is giving out either one of the 3 promotional packages below:

1. E-Services Coupon worth RM2,300.00
2. Free Body Kit worth RM2,200.00
3. Low Down Payment RM1,500

But I am offered two of the packages because I purchased the vehicle in the “worst” time :-) I chose low down payment and E-Service coupon in the end.

I paid about RM15,000 and borrowed RM85,000 from the bank for a duration of 3 years. The standard interest is 3.25% but I requested to have 3.00% interest instead. The sales agent helped me to negotiate with the bank successfully and this gives a saving of over RM600 in 3 years:-)

The car is ex-stock and I should be able to get it by next week.

Currently, we managed to squeeze the whole 8-member family into the Proton Perdana but it was congested beyond your imagination. With the new Innova, we should be more comfortable in travelling.

The colour that I choose - Grey Mica Metallic
See you next post :-)

Day +1221 : Negligence saves money :-)

I am fine today.

Last Wednesday, I noticed that the date on the road tax sticker on the company car that I am using was 16 January 2009. This means it was expired for almost 10 months. Fortunately, I was not caught; else the penalty could be heavy.

I called an insurance agent to buy third-party insurance but I was told that very few insurance companies are willing to offer third-party insurance alone. Most of them mandated the car owner to purchase PA insurance together with third-party insurance. I had not much choice but to accept this arrangement, paying RM115 for third-party insurance and RM136 for PA insurance.

After purchasing the insurance, I renewed the road tax through MyEG Services and the amount that I paid was RM765.75 :-( It was so expensive because the car was registered under the company. The road tax will be a lot cheaper for personal car. I should request the company to transfer the ownership of the car to me; else I have to pay this amount again next year.

The total amount I paid for both insurance and road tax was RM1015.75 :-(

Initially, I was a bit reluctant to pay this amount but when I think of the amount that I save due to the negligence, I am happy again :-)

Then how much do I save? 10 months of insurance and road tax, which is roughly equal to RM800(RM1015.75x10/12) :-)

Negligence saves money but don’t ever try this. Luck might not be on your side :-)

See you next post :-)