car issues

Sometimes, I wonder if 5 years is too long a period to stick to a single car.

Look around. Singaporeans seem to change cars every 3 years! Are cars really THAT cheap here? Or that Singaporeans are blardee rich?

"These cars aren't expensive... Merely affordable," So they say.

Compare the prices of our cars as compared to that in other countries. We can get ourselves a luxury car elsewhere, with the price that we pay for our Honda here! The COE alone can easily get us another small car or allow us to upgrade to a higher-end car elsewhere, too. Need I mention the road tax?

Reason for my gripe...?

My car's starting to act up. It's the norm. Wear and tear. HEllo?! 5 years already, ok?

Others I know, sold their car off before these problems even start to arise. It's no wonder that the turnover rate for license plate numbers is pretty high.

You know, maybe my car was being grateful for our loyalty. Berjasa la katakan...

Last Saturday, from morning to afternoon, I've been driving around JB without a problem, even enduring both the morning AND afternoon jams at the checkpoint. Only when I drove out of Woodlands Checkpoint into the expressway, did I sense a change.

I manage to drive us home despite feeling some jerks; where the needle on the tachometer can go from 2000rpm to 3000rpm suddenly and drop immediately after. The radio intermittently switched off.

It didn't cross my mind that it's the battery. Had it been at night, the lights would have dimmed when this problem arose. I did notice that the signal light seemed weak and the needles keep vibrating, though.

A check with my uncle confirmed it so that night my dad and I went down to try again. The alarm seemed fine, the radio still played but the lights were horribly dim. I drove it around the carpark and the jerks were getting worse. I parked it.

My uncle came down an hour later. The car can't even start. Battery dead, liao.

Even jump-starting it can't help much. It's been past the 2-year mark already and the previous workshop that I last sent it to didn't even check to see if my battery needs to be changed. Ass!

"Go change to a new car, la! COE is so cheap now!" my uncle remarked.

I widened my eyes at him.

"But do it after the wedding. You wouldn't want to spend now." Luckily he add that in.. Hmph!

The car's still sitting at the carpark now, dead. Will get it sent to the workshop when my bro's free.

He simply asked for it to be towed away. I berated him, telling him that the $50 to tow the car to a nearby workshop is SO not worth it. Best if we purchase the battery ourselves, get the car started and drive it over to the workshop for further servicing.

Time to replace the timing belt & delmo. Check the suspensions, refill the engine oil... Maybe top up the air-con gas etc....

I can see all the $$$ with wings flying out of our pockets....

Now about the new car... It's just soo tempting, isn't it?

Purchasing it after the wedding won't do much for me. Despite my bro's pleas, I am SO not bringing the car over to my future place. The teeny-tiny carpark there won't be able to house another car. Even the big carpark at my current home gets filled up pretty fast, much less that constrained space over at Pasir Ris.

It's just too frustrating. Not worth it, I say.

My bro wasn't too happy about it. He claimed to be too busy and the poor car will just remain park for the longest time.

I know that the issue for him will be the side expenditures. Fuel, cashcard top-ups, servicing charges, coupons etc. It's gonna be a burden for him.

I remind him that the purpose of the car is for the convenience of my parents getting around. He should try ferrying my parents around whenever he can. I've done my (big) part for the past 5 years.

I know I'm gonna miss driving around. Maybe I'll drop by and drive my parents around once in a while. Old habits die hard. Need to wean off it slowly, I guess.

My parents were already sighing away the last Hari Raya, remarking that it won't be so easy getting around without their 'driver' (that's me). Then there's the constant wedding invites that they will have to attend on weekends.

Or deciding to eat out on a whim. Or shopping in faraway shopping centres like Jurong Point, VivoCity, Compass Point or even Causeway Point. Not to mention J.B.

I'm not getting myself a car after I'm married. Not going to consider it until a certain SOMEONE gets his driving license. Sheesh!

bmw gina

BMW's new design study

Droolsome.....!

This is GINA, BMW's Light Visionary Model design study.

The car is encased shrouded with taut fabric, can you believe it...?

Just. Fabric.

Man, can anybody assure me that it will be tear-proof..?

What is some a**hole decide to slash the car surface..?

What if I scraped the surface against any car, for instance? *gah!*

But the thing about the rear lights beaming through the 'skin' and that peek-a-boo headlights...?

A definite winner!

ferrari and porsche

eh, like same liddat...


Is it just me or do you feel the same?

Ferrari 612 Scaglietti

Porsche Cayman S

the tow truck

i get to ride in a tow truck!

coolness!

But then again, getting to ride in it means 2 things.

Either I befriend a tow truck driver or that my car broke down.

Apparently, it's the latter. And where were we when it happened?

In J.B.

With a full load. Passengers max out at 5 persons and grocery shopping maxed it out even further.

Grrrreat...!

Maybe things happen for a reason. The seamstress screwed up on one of my dresses so we came back to Komtar before going back to S'pore.

I can't imagine this happening when I was already at the customs.

And that's when I realised that my windscreen fogged up badly. From THE INSIDE. Which means the front of my car was hot. VERY hot. So much so that it almost sizzled when the rain drops fell on it.

I looked at the temperature meter. It suddenly cross my mind to look at it. It was wayyy above 'H'. Hot damn (pun intended)!

I parked my car at one of the VIP lots. The security came over to tell me to go but I told her in an urgent tone, "Can you let me stay here awhile? Something's wrong with my car."

As luck would have it, there was a group of contractors finishing up on their work nearby (the building was under renovation).

I popped my hood but I was so panicked I fumbled, while trying to pull it open. The smoke was already wafting out the sides.

Maybe that was what caught one of the guys' attention. That or the fact that there's a girl in distress. Heh.

As he came over, all streotyped thoughts of "cheeky M'sian guys" went out the window and I told him my problem.

He opened my hood and remarked, "Wah, you car is seriously overheated. We need to pour water into the radiator. But not now. It's too hot. Let's keep the hood open and let it cool off."

Thank goodness it was drizzling then. That'll make the cooling process faster.

Somehow, I remembered that just this morning, we had forgotten to temporarily place our car-products in my aunt's place and they kinda take up space in the boot.

THANK GOODNESS they're still there cos' I frantically rummaged through the groceries and manage to dig out this huge bottle of coolant. PHEW!

I used to think that the bottle seemed a little "extra-sized" for a coolant but I guess it does come in handy after all.

That guy came over with a handful of newspapers. He was already wearing a thick glove then. And he attempted to open the radiator cap. His friends warned him of the hot water that may sprout out.

Thankfully that didn't happen. He asked for water. We gave him the big bottle that we kept in the boot for cleaning purposes. Then I asked if he want coolant. He nodded so I passed him the bottle.

He balked at the size of the bottle and remarked, "Wah, macam tahu aje..?" (Wah, it seems that you know this might happen?)

His frens soon finished with their work and came over. There must be like 6-7 guys standing around the hood, helping to fill in the water and coolant.

Meanwhile, I was on the line, frantically describing the whole situation to my father and my panicky mother was quick to put the blame on me because I had driven into a sandbag that morning.

That sandbag had looked so innoucuous!

Then we also called my aunt, whose house we came back from, to send her hubby over to maybe send us back to S'pore. Next, I called the insurance company, asking for a tow truck. Then I called the tow truck company.

Then the guys looked under the engine one of them remarked that there was water dripping. One of them said that there might be a leak. I stopped my conversation with my dad.

My mum was already raising her voice at me. "See I told you it's because you hit that sandbag. Maybe it wasn't 'just sand' in there. That's why it caused that leak."

She almost drive me crazy with the blaming game. She's good at doing that. Really!

Then one of the guys said that he had poured water over the radiator to cool it down. Maybe that's where the water dripped from. The one of them wisely said that if the dripping water had coolant in it, then MAYBE there's a leak.

Made sense, there. So they looked. After 5 mins, they agreed that it wasn't a leak after all. Then... "Eh wait, there's coolant ah!" Shit!

So my mum was right. I hit that sandbag which eventually caused a leak.....

"Eh, no la, the coolant overflowed! No leak!"

Phew!

One of them asked for the car keys and then he asked me to start the car cos' his hands were all blackened. The temperature meter was back at the normal level.

Then he revved the engine. Still ok. So he said, "I think it should be ok, now."

Then, one of the guys standing at the hood said, "Eh wait! Something's not right. Press the gas again!"

He did. The same guy said out, "The radiator fan's not moving!" Aww... Shucks!

One guy put his finger where the fan is. "Maybe it's stuck, it's definitely not spinning just now."

Then their company van arrived. "I'm sorry, ladyl. But I think it's best that you dun drive it. It's too dangerous. Later your engine might fail." He gave me the number of a nearby mechanic but the mechanics have already left when I called.

The whole bunch of us can't thank them enough. My mum offered to give them some cash but they won't accept it.

Meanwhile, I was back on the line with the tow-truck company. They were hesitant to pick my car up from across the causeway so the lady on the line discussed with the mechanic, who told her that I can slowly attempt to drive across and call them once I'm already in S'pore.

It's not practical to call them over and it's gonna be very expensive.

We decide to wait for my uncle to come by since we've already called him over. Maybe we can get a 2nd opinion as to what I can do. He was a tad late, though.

When he finally arrived and accessed the situation, he had sincerely offered to send us across, but I don't want to leave my car behind and it's too much of a hassle for him.

He said it had happened to him before and he kept on driving. The issue is, I need to watch the temperature meter. The engine mustn't get too hot or else I have to stop the car and let it cool down before moving on again. That might be possible had I have to travel down the highway with nary a traffic.

The problem is, I'm (><) close to the customs. My uncle had said that there ain't a jam. Cos' if there is, the traffic build up would have reached where we were then. I will have a HUGE problem if there's a jam.

As I drive off, the temperature remained at the normal level. As we approached the customs, it rose a weeny bit. Upon approaching the customs, we saw what was ahead. A jam was starting. And reacting similarly, was the temperature meter. It started going up too....

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Okay, that's was a pretty loong entry and I'm still not done yet. Felt like I was writing a short story.

Didn't mean to bore you but I just want to let it out of my system and I want a record of the first time my car broke down. And I have to be THE ONE going through it. Across the causeway, no less.

So what happened after the temperature went up...?

Tell you tomorrow. Ok, nites!

Singapore Motorshow

singapore motorshow 2006
17112006 - suntec city

My brother 'bubbled' on me. Only when I realised that he can't accompany me that he finally admitted that he dun really fancy cars. What a bummer!

Then again, I realised that I DO have a car-lover in my midst. And THANK goodness he agreed. I can't imagine missing out on the biennale motorshow this time (I won't go alone! No fun!) . Thanks, Bas (my buddy o' pal) for the company. And for those cool shots. That's the good thing about having a photographer for a friend. I dun trust my shaky hands, you see. Heh.

When I caught sight of the Ferraris I was like, "What the...? So soon...?" It's true right, that when you already viewed the nicest of things, all the others look pretty... well... sub-standard??

When Bas was like, "Let's go there!" I was apprehensive cos' I thought of 'saving the best for last' (yeeah rite!). Well, that's until my sight fell on the Lamborghinis.

"Oh my goodness! My babies! They're here!! Let's go!" (note the exclamation marks. maximum.adrenalin.rush. Period).

About the other cars losing their novelty after drooling over those gorgeous beings?? Well, that's SOO true. But the both of us has this belief that we actually paid 10 buckeroos just to see the Ferraris & Lambos. The others are just a bonus. Heh.

Anyway, while Bas tot my camera around, I can't resist taking some shots of my own. Fished out my 2mp Nokia. Heck the picture quality. At least the cars look good in the phone.

When I upload the pics, I realised that we have taken over 100++ pics.

We must have been SOO excited. *Sweet dreams are made of this....*

Lamborghini Murcielago

MUCH more pics located

h . e . r . e

car taboo

car taboo..???

Do you believe in taboos? Or better still, taboos involving cars-namely, 'Car Taboos'. Seriously. There's this one that goes, "Never Let The Car Know That You Wanna Sell It Off". Sounds crazy, huh? Especially since a car doesn't have any ear or even any 'hearing' mechanism to LISTEN to what we say.

I ALMOST talked about trading our current family car for another newer, upgraded model when my bro shushed me, "Don't say it now! Not while IN the car!" Huh? So sensitive one, ah? Days later, I was singing along while driving and didn't hear my dad exclaiming that he wanna sell off this car and get a newer and much bigger model since it's pretty affordable now that the COE prices are pretty low.

Ooops. TOO LATE. It's been said. And I guess the car heard it. Cos' less than a week later, budak tu dah start meragam (acted up). Radio buat problem dah satu hal. My mum complicate matters by washing my bro's pants WITHOUT checking the pockets (as always) and actually washed the CAR KEY in the washing machine. The key isn't the issue, actually. It's the alarm REMOTE that comes attached to it. All soaked. And DEAD. Geez, now I have to travel all the way to Leng Kee or Pandan Garden for a bloody replacement (not mentioning forking out the $$).

Last Friday, when my bro fetched me, I heard some weird whirring sound that comes from some mechanism within the confines of the car. It's very loud AND scary-sounding. A definite sign that something is faulty. But WHAT?

Told my dad about it the next day and he asked his bro, what he thought could be the problem. A quick check showed that the automatic locking mechanism for the back door is down. Meaning that the hind door had remained UNLOCKED for the past TWO days without us realising it. Sheesh! What's the problem, u ask? Well, my car's a HATCHBACK, meaning anyone can access the WHOLE car thru' that back door (if small enuff').

That discovery sent my parents on a flurry- searching for a mechanic on that late Saturday afternoon. Of course most of the shops are closing and ALL of them had no spare-parts. My mum was so worried about the unlocked door, that she packed all the coupons and cards to be brought home, only to realise that the door CAN be locked - albeit manually. Guess we shall have to lock and unlock it that way, till' next week when we finally got a slot in the distributor's main workshop. Geez!

Anyway, to atone for his mistake (to the car), my dad willingly offered to MANUALLY wash it- since the rainy weather has stopped and he's pretty free. So who to help him but yours truly? Never had I felt so drained after cleaning the car which had remained unwashed for what...? A WHOLE 2 months? Especially after all that rain... The grime... Ugh!

We had wanted to polish the car (manually) but was so shagged especially since I had put in a considerable amount of energy polishing the interior (including the bloody leather seats). And do you know how tiring polishing a car can be? We tried it once and it was hell! No wonder ppl can make big bucks charging a hefty amount for polishing service. And they got 4 ppl to polish one car! Polishing a car is a good protective measure for the car, though. Especially from this rain. Gotta get to it pretty soon.

Well after all, we gotta pamper that baby- especially since we hurt its fellings with all that NASTY words we said. Rite... rite?? Sell you off, baby? NO WAY! *cross fingers* :P

Souped-Up Haven

Automobile Haven
24062005-25062005

My bro & myself watched Initial-D last Saturday morning. We could have been the only non-Chinese watching that midnight show at PS at that time. Should see the looks we got from other movie-goers... Heh.

Why Initial-D? Isn't it a Chinese movie???

Well.... We loooove cars. In fact, while looking for a parking lot that night, I almost cried while at the wheel. Nooo, I'm not desperate because the show's starting and there're no lots. Those tears are of PURE joy. Joy at seeing rows upon rows of GORGEOUS, MARVELLOUS, MAGNIFICENT & FANTABULOUS souped-up cars. I was jumping up and down on my seat and my bro had to hold the steering for fear that I may accidentaly swerve into one of these babies. *snickers*

Another reason is that like love Jay Chou. Yes, been a closet fan of his... *blush* So what does MY liking Jay has anything to do with my bro? Cos' it was ME who PAID for the tix, that's why. If he wanna waste a FREE movie, so be it.

Oh and that brat cutie Edison Chen. He looked soooo boyish that I tot' he appeared a tad too underaged to be smoking so much on screen.

Overall, the movie's great. A balanced proportion of action, drama & comedy. Jay's acting has much to be improved but the role suited him well. So duhhh. Anyway, it's his very first movie role... Excusable.


*d-r-o-o-l-f-e-s-t*

These are just what's left in the carpark after my bro took a leak after the movie. My bro drove towards a car, stop, I got out, snap some pics and got back in. This goes on till' I've amassed a collection of them pics in my phone. The sound they make when they went down the ramp... Soooo orgasmic.
*vroom!*