GPS and Map King with Chevy Baby

Just so excited that my GPS works after Patrick configured it.

I was driving to section 17 but set the destination to another section of the town (pre-set destination), not expecting the GPS to work. Suddenly the GPS started talking to me! It asked me to slow down, keep right lane, keep left lane and exit in 1 km, slow down and go straight at the roundabout etc.

Oh, I need to emphasize on this one - I am truly amazed at one of the "auto reset" features..... While travelling, I suddenly decided to defy the instructions given by the GPS and detour to another road (not the one suggested by GPS) to head towards section 17. The GPS didn't panic nor shout at me for not following instructions. Instead, it just beeped, and then proceed to reset the starting position from my current position and directs me to my earlier pre-set destination from my current position.... Amazing!! Sure beats any human navigator who, more often than not, double up as a back-seat driver.

It's such a great toy.... Ah, I just love my PDA phone with GPS... It compliments my Chevy Baby... (*All smiles*)

Happy Endings

Something terrifying happened to me last Saturday … someone scratch my car!!!! Yeah my beautiful Chevy Baby was scarred!!! A very obvious scar on his right arm!!! (At the driver’s door near the handle.) What a heartbreaking scene.

You see, my sexy machine was parked right in front of my house as we needed to wash the porch. He was parked there around 8:30am, slightly earlier than usual but it was my front yard, so it should be safe to park there, right? (Ed: Gosh, what kind of neighbourhood do I live in!!) You cannot imagine my terror when I went out to get my car at around 1:30pm. I was so totally shocked when I saw the 6-inch scratch mark, that I didn’t realize my finger was in the gate’s way when I closed it. I also didn’t feel the pain even after my ring finger got caught in it. I just pulled my finger out and quickly ran to my car while shouting “Oh my Gawd!!!”. As I stroke the scratch mark on Chevy Baby, Little Bee couldn’t understand my fuss and proceeded to read his Spiderman book at the passenger seat, on and off showing off his Christmas present to other cars which passed by.

Anyway, after a few minutes, I recomposed myself and got over the panic. I thought I couldn’t do anything about it and proceeded to lunch with Little Bee and Mom. Only during lunch when I reiterated the incident to Mom that I realized my finger was swollen with a red blister due to the incident at the gate. Ah well, I thought, my finger could heal but my car door would now… Boo Hoo Hoo… Yeah, I was actually more worried about my car door than my own finger…

Well, all’s well ends well. When Big B saw the scratch mark on Sunday, he took Chevy Baby for a bath and subsequently polished it and viola, the scratch mark is gone!!!! Yahhhoooooo!!! Didn’t know Chevy Baby was like Wolverine, who possessed magical healing powers ahahahhah… Luckily the scratch wasn’t too deep and can be removed. I guess one layer of paint have gone off with the polish but hey, who would mine if it could get rid of an ugly obvious scar. Would you rather have a scar than lose a layer of skin to look like your original self again? I guess most girls would opt for the latter option - we being slaves to beauty. Hahhahaa…

So Happy New Year to all…. Hope that the new year brings plenty of pleasant surprises and happy endings for you too … :P

My cheeky colleagues uses my table to compare girls... look at their new and improved table.. hahahaha

Forgot to mention that my colleagues had a side bet when I started my quest for my new car.



Without telling me, they said that I'd choose from either of the 3 options below:

1) Waja
2) Myvi
3) Don't change car

Well, now that I have changed my car, I can say loudly, Tak Nak to Proton! hehehehehe

Sentra Vs Optra

On the day the chevy went to see the doctor (1000Km service), I drove the Sentra, I could really feel the difference…

Here's a summary of my Personal Comparison

Comfort level:
1) Sentras fabric seats were hot and uncomfortable compared to Optras cool and comfy leather seats. In fact, the carpet texture of the seats felt pokey compared to the smooth leather seats

2) Air cond of the sentra is too cold… I have to manually turn it on and off as the blower is not auto climate control like the Optra… The optra gives an very comfortable overall cool feeling when driving

3) Leg room, Sentra has a very low seat, making me feel very cramp. Optra’s seat is higher, making it a more pleasant and comfortable drive as the seating is more ergonomic to my legs.

Sound system:
1) Sentra has good 2 Din 4 speakers surround sound system but there’s no disc changer. And there are no remote controls at the steering wheel. I had to reach out to the player to select/change songs.

Noise Level and "Pick-Up" Power:
1) Sound isolation - Sentra does seem to have more pick up power with each depression of the fuel pedal but it could be because of the noise from the engine and gear that I am hearing each time I rev the car. With the optra, I don’t hear much of the engine and outside sound. Accoridng to my colleague LWee, japanese cars are designed with lower torque power. Also the sound isolation is bad compared to the euro class automobiles. He even mentioned that the sound isolation of the Civic 1.8 is pitiful as it's made from lighter materials. (However, lighter materials equals to less petrol consumption and better acceleration).

2) Engine "pick-up" - Sentra is a lighter car, and have better pick up power. Optra doesn’t feel like it has that much pick up despite higher capacity (1.8 compared to 1.6). However, this could be the quiet surrounding of an Optra which makes the feel of going 80km/h different from going 80km/h with a Sentra (very noisy and windy sound).

Scarred beauty and scared beauty

Something happened to my dear Chevy last Saturday... was driving along the North- South highway from Mines back to KL on a quiet Saturday morning around 10:30am and all of a sudden, a big rock the size of my fist came out of nowhere and flew onto my windscreen. I didn't see any construction along that stretch.

Before the rock hit, there was a silver waja trailing very near my back which forced me to switch from the rightmost lane to the middle lane. After moving to the middle lane, I noticed a strange old grey vannette, driven by a man with the window open, on my left. The reason I found it strange was because it was driving halfway between the middle lane and the leftmost slow lane. It seems to be trying get onto the middle lane but keep going halfway between the slowest lane and middle lane even though I drove at a constant speed behind the vannette to let it cut into the middle land. I drove on, minding my own business and suddenly the white rock hit in front of me. I was shocked... but I kept driving. I thought my windscreen have cracked but I didn't stop and just kept driving and didn't think much about the van nor the waja.

When I finally reach home, I checked my car for any damage and luckily the windscreen survived with only a scratch on the surface. The car bonnet, however, suffered a scar.... a scratch about 1.5cm long and 1 mm wide. Yeah, no doubt I was heartbroken (oh, how do you fix the scar?) but after hearing my colleagues told me later, I felt really really scared.

She told me that there are some syndicates out there who purposely create accidents like breaking your windscreen and then later rob and rape the car owners. Additionally, if the rock had fell or flew from somewhere, my windscreen would have been smashed due to the mere impact as I was travelling around 80km on the highway. However, if it came from the vanette, the impact is less since the rock was travelling around the same speed of my car. So the possibility of the rock coming from the vanette is very high.

I am really thankful that the chevy's windscreen didn't break... and that I have kept on driving.... I wasn't alert about the 2 cars then until now when I think back about the whole incident. I still feel very very scared now.

To all drivers out there, please be very very alert and careful when driving along lonely and quiet highways, and try not to stop at deserted areas.

Alarm system is A-OK... :)

At first, I noticed that my car alarm doesn't sound at all if I forgot to close the door/boot and pressed the lock button on my remote control key. So I was a little worried that there was a fault with my alarm system.

Then today, I tested my alarms and found that it's working ... hurray...

Here are the findings:
1) The normal function of the alarm is, when you shut tight all the doors, and then press the lock on your remote control, there will be a single high pitched beep sound coming out from your car alarm. And then the red light next to the lock knob on the driver's side will start to blink to indicate the alarm is armed.

2) If you forgot to close your doors tightly before pressing the remote control to lock the car, the alarm will not trigger a sound. You wont even hear the single high beep sound. When you dont hear a sound, this indicates that one of your doors are not shut tightly. (Slightly different from the normal alarm system which will wake the whole neighbourhood with false alarm if you only forgot to close one door. I guess they want to minimise false alarms so that when you really hear teh alarm sound, it means that you REALLY have to be alert and that someone has really tried to open the door)

3) Even if you forgot close your boot, the alarm will not sound. But again, the single high pitch beep will not sound, indicating you havent locked all doors completely.

4) If you unlock the doors with your remote key and don't open any doors within 1 minute, the door will automaticly relock by itself and the alarm system will be armed again.

5) If any of the doors are open after the alarm is armed, then it will trigger the alarm (high pitch continuous bee-boo).

I did the following test-
a) Wind down a window,
b) Subsequently shut all the doors tight.
c) Lock the door with the remote control.
d) Unlock and open the door via the wound down window.

This will trigger the loud high pitched continous bee-boo... [:D]

1000 km Service - 5 June 2007 Tuesday

Due to my exams, I forgot to write about my Chevy's first 1000 km service. Yes, time flies and my chevy has reached it's first date with the doctor.. :) 1000Km.

Brandon brought the car to PJ Volcar Service Centre at Jalan 225. Was recommended by Steven to this SC as it seems they service mainly Chevies.

Well, there was not much complains about the car, except the hand brakes were too high, and the brake padel was not effective (i.e. have to press on it very low before the brakes are activated). Thus we were adviced to do the normal 1000 km service and they will have a look at the brakes to fine tune it. Oh I nearly forgot, we did complain about the jerky feeling whenever we change the gears from N to D after stopping at a traffic light.

The mechanic changed the engine oil and oil filter. Brandon said that he did check and refill the battery water but they didnt invoice us for that...

Engine Oil (normal - not fully synthetic) 92.00

Oil Filter 25.50

Workmanship 30.00

Service Tax 1.50

Total Service came up RM149.

Not too bad. The jerky feeling seems much smoother as opposed to the earlier knocking feeling (also felt by colleagues who sat in my car before and after service). The brakes have been adjusted to the correct level. Will have to check later if the petrol consumption have been improved after this service.

Oh, I have asked around and kind forumers have told me that the jerky feeling is due to the old technology used by ZF gearbox (German) which are a little slow in engaging gears. I have tried delaying the time that I changed the gear from N to D and the time I step on the fuel pedal and there was no jerk.

A colleague of mine who drives an Opel (under the same GM umbrella) told me that his Opel has the same jerky feeling and his mechanic has upgraded the software that controls his gearbox and it worked fine for a while. However, he mentioned that the Opel is a smart car and learns the driving pattern of the driver and will update the software accordingly. As such, over time, the gear will have the same jerky problem again. His problem occurs even when the car is in motion, i.e. he can feel the jerking and knocking when his car auto switches between 2nd and 3rd gears.

Well, I am not sure if my ZF gearbox is a smart one, but I haven't have that problem ever since I delay the time between changing gears and stepping on the fuel pedal.

I also noticed that after service, my fuel consumption has become 25 sen per km only. :) Prior to the 1000km service, my thristy hippo was consuming around 29sen/km. Today I just pumped petrol until it clicked... My readings are as follows:

RM96.36 for 380.2 km travelled.

This sums up to only 25sen/km.

Very happy with the results. Will need to monitor and take a few more readings before I can confirm whether it`s really 25sen/km on an average basis.

Other trivia about Optra that we learnt from the SC:

1) Was told that Optras' headlamps are really strong and sturdy as they couldn't break the headlamps for one of the Optras that was brought to the SC to be totalled.

2) The timing belt is the most expensive element during service.. (which have to be replaced only after 60,000km) costs RM2,000 (original whole set inclusive of workmanship).

I am really excited about all the new things I learn about this Chevy... I learn a new thing everyday.. :).. .

Will talk about my alarms in the next installment...

Wrong method in calculating FC?

I just realised that I used the wrong method to calculate my fuel consumption. No wonder I got the wrong readings.

I have always used the pump till full tank, and then used until the red line and estimate from there. It's not very accurate and takes a long time to estimate as you need to finish the whole tank.

The other method recommended by a fellow chevy driver:
1) Pump the petrol till full tank until the pump automatically stops
2) Initialise the mileage meter.
2) Use it as per normal until the next time you stop by at the petrol station
3) Pump petrol till full tank again until the pump automatically stops.
4) Note the mileage and the amount of fuel pumped or the cost of petrol pumped.
5) Divide the cost of petrol pumped by the mileage and you'd get the cost/km.

Havent had the chance to try the new method but will let you know the readings soonest, as I have been busy with my exams and haven't really got the time to fiddle with the car. So far, my chevy has been a pretty good and smooth ride.

More pictures for you.. :)

Side profile of my chevy


Sexy corner look


Look at my wheels.... 15inch of true alloy beauty.. :)


My Butt Shot



No time to organise the pictures... tired... need to zzz....

Tint Tint Tei....

Tinted my Chevy on Saturday (26/5/2007).

Brand: Nviro - UV series.

Never heard of it before, eh? Well it's a new brand from US... and the principal shop is in USJ. (the rest of the shops selling Nviro are dealers... like Tint shop, etc.)

We're attracted by it's organic tint (like Huper-Optic's which never fades or oxidise like metal tint V-kool and Ecotint) and the life-time warranty that they are giving.

It's been raining cats and dogs these 2 days since we installed the tint.... so I can hardly comment on its effectiveness.

Shots...

My Chevy Baby. The first few shots...








I am sleepy.. continue tomorrow...zzzz

Resale value? How much......?????

My uncle and aunt scares me about this car being of no value.... i.e. of no resale value. I think they have an old school of thought.

I use the same comparison as the previous one.... Honda Civic 1.8.

Price of Honda Civic 1.8 = RM113,800 (OTR)
Price after 5 years = RM68,000 (estimated depreciation at around ONLY 40%)
Deficit = RM45,800

Price of Chevy Optra 1.8 = RM64,500 (OTR)
Price after 5 years = RM20,000 (estimated depreciation at around 70%)
Deficit = RM44,500

Price of knowing that you have made the right choice = PRICELESS!!!!

High Fuel Consumption? Better than an overpriced car luuuu.....

Some people tries to pour cold water onto me by telling me about the high fuel consumption as a major drawback of buying my car, well here’s some calculations to counter those jealous and sore losers (ahahah kidding,... I know that they are just well meaning by letting me know what to expect)..... Anyway, I am still quiet convinced that my Chevy is an extremely good buy.....

My mileage now clocks around 6.7 km per liter or 300km per RM85.88. So that comes up to about a whooping RM0.29 per km. Very high indeed (but car haven’t break in and it’s not the average fuel consumption as I have only pumped petrol once since I got my car, so I just give an estimate).

So, some people claims that Honda Civic 1.8 can clock RM0.18 per kilometer. (Sure or not?? :P)

This means that I pay extra RM0.11 per km.

So let’s say, in 5 years or more, I drive 100,000 km. That mean, I used extra RM0.11 * 100,000 = RM11,000

Price of a Honda Civic 1.8 = RM113,800 (OTR)

Price of a Chevrolet Optra 1.8 Sedan = RM64,500 + RM11,000 petrol money = RM75,500 only. (Savings of RM38,300)

Price of the satisfaction feeling after buying a “Value-for-Money Car” = PRICELESS!!!!! :)

Ah... New Car Smell... Lemon smell? Not.....

Havent posted these few days as I was busy testing out the car...

Yes, I got my car finally last Thursday. 17 May 2007. Yes... A remarkable day... The day I upgraded from manual to automatic. From 1.3 to 1.8. From Local to Foreign. From matte color to metalic. From noisy engine to quiet engine. Yes, it was a good upgrade. A worthy upgrade I must say, short of being Upgrade of the Year for me!!! (will post pictures later).

Something embarrassing albeit funny happened the day I collected my car….

We checked everything and then we were about to drive away. The engine was very quiet(so quiet that I looked around to see if there was another car outside the compound as the engine sounded quiet thus creating the feeling that it was distant!) when Brandon reversed it out from the shop compound, and then he stopped the car and gave me the keys while he went back to his car. He asked me to tail his car. I put in the key, started the engine. A lot of lights came on the panel…. The "Check Engine" indicator, the oil indicator, the battery indicator, the Brake indicator all came on…. I press on the oil paddle, the car doesn’t move… What the heck…

Called Brandon and told him the car doesn’t move. He was agitated as he thought we’ve been had… He drove his car back beside mine and walked over to check. He looked at my car speedometer panel and said,......

“Aiyoh, your car not started yet lar… See all the lights, the oil lamp indicator means your engine not started!!!“

AGAGAGAGAGAG…..

Actually I am not used to seeing so many indicator lights on the front panel, so a bit "kan cheong" (excited and confused).

Besides that silly incident, yeah, my car still has that leathery smell… My mom went into my car and said, “Yuks, so strong the smell..!!!”

Brandon laughs and says, “Yeah, smells like a lemon” hahahaha…

Stays another day

Dear Iswara stays with me for another day.

Chevy is ready for collection today. However, due to my Japanese class, I cant go collect it tonight. So Iswara gets to stay with me for one last day.. :)

Getting a new car tomorrow... Wow....

Getting a new car tomorrow!!! I can't believe it. I am getting a new car tomorrow!!!!! Whoopppeeee.....

May 15: Last Days

Took some pictures of my old faithful today. I guess these will be the last taken of it....














Sigh, 10 years... that's a long relationship.... Iswara has been really faithful. Never failed me before... not even once... Hmmm Maybe he throw some tantrums once in a while, like refusing to start, because I forgot to add battery water after driving for almost 1.5 years. (Thank you Eng Hai and Yeap Gay for helping me push and jump start the car at Jalan Alor while on my way to work in 1999!)

Iswara has faithfully taken me to all the places that I ever wanted to go, but the furthest I have taken him is to Seremban to visit my friend's new bungalow and her baby boy at Seremban 2. So you see, his milleage is pretty low. I take good care of him, and he takes better care of me.. That's our relationship.. :)

Yeah, I don't bathe him as often as I should but hey, that's probably why his red coat is still so shiny and new. You know how Protons get those "bullet" marks, and blister-like spots after some time, but my baby's skin is still as smooth as a baby! Well, scratches are inevitable wear and tear as I didn't have indoor car park until 5 years ago.

Well, it's almost time for the final goodbye. Iswara, I hope you will be treated well, if not better, by your new owner.

Will I ever see you again ... ????

May 14: Dust almost settled

May 14, 2007

The dust is almost settled. Called Bungaraya just now and they say they have brought the car for inspection at Puspakom and should be registered by tomorrow. I won't bank on that though....

Anyway, Brandon will be busy with his exhibition this whole week. Wonder how I am to get the car by myself... scary...

May 11: Auspicious and Prosperous Number?

May 11, 2007

Was very sick today. However, Mr. Yap says we could bring my Old Faithful for viewing and finalisation of trade in price. He also ask for a bank draft for downpayment. He didnt want personal cheques... bummer....

It was a hot day. I drove my car to USJ to see the doctor first, double parking. I came out with remedies for my sickness, and a RM80 summon. Had to detour to the MPSJ to pay the fine first before going to Edaran Otomobil Bungaraya to see Mr.Yap. They could only reduce to RM40 even though I pay immediately. Paid it anyway.

Brandon arranged to meet me at Bungaraya. The estimator says my car is good, but have scratches and needed repaint and wanted RM400 for the paint job. I forgot to mention that my rims and tyres were brand new. (Changed in March 07).



Anyway, Brandon negotiated it to RM200. So that's settled. My car is sold. They took all my registration cards, loan release letters etc....

Sayonara to my dear old Iswara 1.3 manual. He's turning 10 Years old this September.

Well, so much for the sentiments. We had much to do. We need to get a registration number. If we pay a runner to do it, it'll cost us RM350. Figuring we could choose a nice number ourselves for a cheaper price, off we went to the JPJ in Wangsa Maju Setapak. Being a Friday, they dont open till 2.45pm. We reached at around 2:30pm after a sumptious Wan Tan Mee lunch at Soo Kee.

The running numbers for the day starts with 5. Bummer. Nothing was nice once you add a 5 in front. 168, becomes 5168. 113, becomes 5113. It was silly because we still need to pay RM210 for 5168 or 5113 if we were to take them....

Then there were some numbers selling for RM410, RM460, RM550.

It's funny that 5353 and 5533 selling at RM460 while numbers such as 883, 8822, and 8878 was selling at RM410. A lot of numbers were flashing on the LCD screen and a lot of "runners" are busy writing down the numbers and calling their clients to check whether they want this number or that.

We wrote down the auspicious numbers and when we proceeded to pay, alas! we realised we were short of cash. They didnt accept credit cards and there were no ATM machines in the building. Double bummer. So Brandon had to drive out to get the cash. It was with God's grace that we still manage to get our "Fatt" (prosperous) number after all the hassle.

So we got the number... and it's already 3:30pm. Next stop, Public Bank to sign the loan papers. Quite uneventful except the fact that the person in charge is on MC and the guards almost didnt want to let us in after 4pm and there were tonnes and tonnes of paperwork to sign. These signatures signify that I have read and understood all the terms and conditions of takign the loan. Hmmm... all these forms were blank and they required me to sign on every sheet...

Wonder if I had signed my life away.. :(

May 10, 07: Loan approved... Now what?

May 10, 2007.

Yamunah was efficient. She called me in the morning to inform me that the loan was approved.

Called Brandon and he immediately went to look for Mr. Yap. I dont know what he did, but Mr. Yap found him a car. It was suppose to be a happy ending but,.... yes, there's always a "but"....

There were some conditions.

1) He only had a 2005 car.
2) It's Silver in colour.
3) He can only reduce RM1,500 for it, although the car promised is different by 1 whole year.
4) He will trade in my car for RM6,000 only.

I have no choice, or do I?

Brandon checked the car for engine, tires, batteries and interior. He noticed the exterior is a bit different from the normal Chevy you see on the road. Especially the front grill. Mr Yap says it's the 2006 model but launched in 2005, so the AP is 2005.



Note: The old model's grill looks like this.


What do you think?

Will see it tomorrow if everything goes well....

May 9, 2007: The Bank Call

May 9, 2007.

The conjunctivitis and severe throat infection has taken my mind off the car for a couple of days.

Got back to work and the Public bank officer, Yamuna, finally called me regarding my loan. She gave me pretty bad rates. 2.65% for a tenure of 5 years. My friend's relative got 2.57% for 5 years too. Anyway, I tried to request for a lower rate, i.e. 2.5% but they insisted I took a higher loan instead. I agreed with that term since the interest is low. I remember my MBA finance lecturer told me that it's the perfect time to in debt now since loan interest is low. Yamuna told me that she will need HQ's approval before she can confirm on the 2.5% rate.

Have to wait another day.....

May 3: No Sign of the car yet

May 3, 2007

Yes .... I am still waiting for the 1.8 Chevy Optra Sedan after the 2 day holidays, Labour day and Wesak Day.

But not sure if can get the car even though they are very very promising… I just heard from a lot of ppl (including Forums) that USF-Hicom has taken all the cars so that they can sell at higher price. I ordered mine from DRB-HICOM… so they say they are sure to have cars from Yap Brothers.. (who the hell is Yap brothers, anyway?)… but they are submitting my loan now. They say we can get the car within 3 days after my loan is approved, but I am sceptical about that.

Car is RM66K for 2006 car. Engine from Holden. GM bought over Daewoo and Holden and putting the Holden engines for Chevy for the Thailand batch. Yes, the car is CBU from Thailand.

There’re lots of 1.6 left, but the 1.8 is scarce, because it's only a few thousand difference.

I didn’t take the aveo nor the 1.6 model as they dont meet my basic requirements of 2 airbags and ABS.

So I have to take the 1.8 which has higher Fuel Consumption, at 22 sens per km and higher roadtax (3 times more expesive RM274 compared to RM90).

Brandon likes higher cc cars anyway. Guys ego qua…

Anyway, it’s the only car which we can both agree on together… so I really hope we can get this car.

April 31: The quest ends and the wait begins

April 31, 2007.

Monday. Told my colleagues that I put downpayment for the lemon. Their response were quite positive. 2 relatives of one of my colleague have just got the 1.6 Optra Sedan already and have no complains about it. They bought it mostly because of the attractive discount. Another colleague's brother in law also put downpayment for a 1.8 Optra Sedan 2 weeks ago and is awaiting the car. He also mentioned that his high school teacher relative was enticed by the discount and bought the Chevy over Waja. Hmmm, cant be too bad if so many people want it.

Brandon's friend is also looking for the Chevy. He wants the Chevy 1.8 Hatchback. Same specs with the Sedan except for the leather seats. Only RM61K compared to RM66K my 2006 1.8 Optra Sedan.

Heard that all the 1.8 cars are sold out. Called the agent, Hudson, and his dealer, Mr Yap and they confirm that there's a car for me, not to worry. I was given a choice of colour so I chose Royal Gray. Dark cars are nice and classy, but not sure if it will go down well with the older folks, i.e. my mother may have some "Pantang Larangan".

April 30, 2007: Another Sunday, The quest goes on...

April 30, 2007.

This week we strated by trying to cover the rest of the cars which we haven't covered.

The circled the whole of USJ, and found that we have visited all the showrooms already. The mitsubishi showroom has closed, so we decided to to go PJ to visit the showrooms there. On the way, we stop by Top Mark to check out the second hand Toyota cars, but Brandon finds them not really worth buying as there werent much choices.

We passed by USF-Hicom. They are selling Chevrelot cars. Heard from a friend they are having a massive discount for 2005/2006 cars. Since we haven't covered this car, we decided to give it a try.

Hmmm, ends up, we spent the whole Sunday test driving this car, accessing the specs, haggling for the price, calling friends to check if it's worth buying... and in the end, we put downpayment of RM500 for this car. The RM30,000 discount was really too good to miss.

Yes, I am buying the lemon.

Lemon? Since 2000, I have 2 person who have stayed in the US making this remark. Don't buy a Chevy, people in the U.S. calls it a lemon. It's beautiful on the outside, but when you bite into it, it's SOUR....

Hmmm....Already put RM500, not sure if I want to take my deposit back.

Summary of shortlisted cars - based on my criterias - Below 100K

This list is the "Below RM100,000 Budget" list.

Summary of shortlisted cars - based on my criterias - Above 100K

Here's a summary of all the cars which I have shortlisted based on my criterias, i.e. Price, Safety Features and Fuel Consumption.

This list is the "Above RM100,000 Budget" list.

Next Stop: The Foreign Connections

Sunday, 22 April 2007

Today we made some progress, huge progress. We went to the following showrooms to check out all my options:

1) Hyundai (Korea)
2) Kia - Naza (Korea)
3) Suzuki (Japan)
4) Honda (Japan)
5) Alfa Romeo (Italian)
6) Toyota (Japan)
7) Nissan (Japan)

We're kind of tired now, after spending the whole day sizing the cars, talking to salesmen after salesmen, test driving, and comparing specs, prices, discounts and freebies. I will compartmentalise all the various cars to make a summary for better viewing and comparison.

First Stop: Proton and Perodua

Sunday, 15 April:

All these while, we've been arguing about NOT buying a Proton car due to its bad reputation for reliability and quality. Come this Sunday, Brandon suddenly decided to look for some local cars (due to my budget and main "value-for-money" criteria), and boy, I think the local cars really ticked him off. We were all in a happy mood albeit the scorching heat when leaving the house. He just recovered from a very bad flu, so it was amazing that he would even take me to a Proton showroom. All was fine during our Bak Kut Teh lunch… However, his mood suddenly turned sour after setting his eyes on the black “top spec” Waja displayed right in front of the Proton showroom at the Shah Alam Industrial park. I was fine with the leather seats, and tinted glass of the RM62,888 model – the most value for money in its class, but Brandon thinks otherwise. Then he says, maybe I should try out a sportier car as the black bulky doesn’t really suit my personality. So we walked towards the metallic brownish red NEO. He exclaims, “Now, this is what I call a car. NEO is so sporty. Why don’t you try this car instead?”

I hated 2 door cars. Memories of my form 5 year flashed before my eyes. The mere thought of how I twisted my knee while getting into my friend’s mini and caused me to miss 2 weeks of my Gymnastics training and also miss my usual PE netball games, hurts even now.

Kelly:(telling Brandon politely) No, I don’t like 2 door cars. I don’t want to hurt others and especially my mom, who is the most frequent (or only?) adult passenger in my car.
Brandon: Aww, c’mon. Get into the driver’s seat and see.
Kelly: Ok, why don’t you sit at the back and see for yourself how much space there is at the back.
Brandon: Ouch. (He squats down, holding his forehead as he knocked his head on the car ceiling when he tried to enter the car).
Kelly: See, told you there’ll be casualties.. hahahaha
Brandon: Aiyak. (Hurts his waist as he tries to twist and turn and maneuver himself into the back of the car)

Kelly and saleman trying hard to hold back laughters...

Brandon: Ok what..... C’mon. Pull the chair back and drive me.
Kelly: Aiyah, see lar, each time wanna go in and out, have to adjust the seat for people at the back. I have to open the door for people. So mah fan.
Brandon: Never mind lar, do some work. Besides, you’d only drive me. What’s wrong with opening car doors and adjusting seats for me eh?
Kelly: Nah, I don’t like the feel. It’s too tight. I am going over there to check out the Gen-2.

With that, Kelly got out of the car, and followed Bryan (who was running around and opening the doors of the various show room cars) towards the Gen-2 model.

Brandon: Hey Hey Hey.. wait.. let me out of here first. Hey, Hoi.. … (as Kelly walked away, smirking and leaving the car salesman to help Brandon out)….


Next stop: Perodua showroom beside the Proton showroom.

Salesgirl: Wanna test drive our Myvi.
Brandon: You go ahead. (not exactly in the mood)
Salesgirl: Can I have your driver’s licence?
Brandon: She left hers in the car. Use mine. But Kelly would drive. It’s ok, she’s fine. (trying to convince the salesgirl who was frowning as she doubted my driving skills).
Salesgirl: (as she registers Brandon’s driver’s licence). This is the special edition of the Myvi, with skirting, leather seats, 1.3 Auto is RM51,895 for solid colour and RM52,402 for metallic black. We also have Premium edition without the leather seats at RM3,000 less. If you take our standard version which comes in 7 colours, it’s RM6,000 less.
Kelly: (Wow, that’s a mouthful.) First thing that comes to my mind when I sit inside the showroom car is that it’s spacious. Very comfortable. But the front plastic panel, is a bit, well, Plastic.
Salesgirl: Come, this way please. Let’s test drive the car.

Kelly drove the car out of the showroom.
Brandon: Turn Left. And keep your lane!
Kelly: (To sales girl) What’s the fuel consumption like?
Salesgirl: Depending on how you drive. Around 13 cents/km.
Kelly: (Thinking to self) Hmmm the Proton salesman must be lying since he also says 13 cents/km.
Brandon: Go over the bumps and see.
Kelly: So how’s the feel when going over the humps.
Brandon: Hmmpffh… ok lar..
Salesgirl: So Mrs, what do you think?
Kelly: Ok lar.
Brandon: (slightly panicky) Ok lar means what? Buying now?
Kelly: Ok means I like its spaciousness. Quite comfortable.

As we safely bring the car back into it’s parking bay in front of the showroom, Brandon quickly led Bryan back into his Sentra while I got the Brochures and contacts and the loan schedule from the salesgirl. She mentioned that for Citibank card holders, there’s a 3.88% loan and RM500 rebate. Well, not sure if I am going for that as probably ING gives a similar or lower rate. Gotta check it out and see.

Reasons and Criterias

As I said earlier, I have somehow started this quest for a replacement car since sometime September last year. Thus, I have a slight idea on what I wanted ... a value for money, good fuel consumption, easy to drive, city car. Budget, well, if something worthy and safe to drive is found at less than RM50,000 would be ideal. However, for safety sake, I am willing to fork out anything below RM100,000.

Motive:
Actually, my motive to change the car, is basically, very basic. It's time for change. My car is already 10 years old. Although, it has low mileage, 89,000 km since September 1997, as I seldom drive the car, the car as per any other Proton cars, has a very very loud rattling sound whenever I start the car. Colleagues tells me that I am driving a jet rather than a car as the engine sure sounds louder than a jet engine. I told them that a lot of youngster pay good money to purposely make their new car sounds similiar to mine.... hahaha. Well, since I can afford it, I thought I should replace it for my own safety. I mean, Iswara has no airbags, no abs, in fact, no safety feature, period. I am a safe driver and thank God for keeping me safe all these years (accident free car). However, as the number of "Kopi-O" licence drivers increase on the road, it's a rather logical to take measures to protect oneself with a safer armour/car.

Criteria:
I am no prima donna when it comes to choosing a car. I don't have much criteria. A car to me is basically a mode of transportation. So asking me to list down my criterias are a bit tricky but here's how my ad will go:

Looking for a replacement car. The candidate:

1) Must be a 4-door car. (Why? Will tell you later.)
2) ABS brake system is an added advantage.
3) Dual airbags is an added advantage but single airbags are encourage to apply.
4) Ideally, asking price should be below RM100,000.
5) Any type or models may apply if fuel consumption is reasonable.

To Change or Not Change, That's the question

These pass 2 weeks, Brandon finally took my thought of changing a car seriously. What started out as a 2 year plan last year, has suddenly become a must-buy-now plan.

Let's see, how did all these car talk came about? Some time September last year, there were some colleagues who started the "change of cars" talk. People get excited with new changes, especially in the mundane office environment, people get excited over the slightest things. I jumped in the band wagon to check out what are the good buys, only to find out that different people have different taste, budgets, criterias, preferences, motives for buying, etc...

And from there, I realise I must ask myself those fundamental questions first, before I embark myself on the 2nd most expensive investment in my life. Actually it qualifies to be the most expensive investment since I havent bought a house for myself yet.

This blog serves to document my experience in getting a new car... in replace of my rattling old faithful... my dear old red hot Proton Iswara 97 Manual Hatchback. Yes, my jalopy is 10 year old this year. News have been going around that prices might drop further if I dont replace it. The sentimental side of the heart is heavy but the pracitcal part of me tells me that it's the right thing to do.

So wish me luck on my embarkment of finding a replacement.... :) The sail has been smooth so far.. but oh so many decisions....