Proton Wira upgrade - progress update June 2016

I had made several plans but as they say, the best of plans of mice and men often go awry.

First of all, there was an issue with my hand brake. It was getting loose and so I went to my nearby Proton service centre, Senaxis Sdn Bhd and got it fixed. They changed a few things including the brake pump (RM79.50) and brake fluid (RM10.60)as well - I was not sure why they needed to do that. They also replaced a faulty brake lights (RM21.20). All together it cost me RM111.30 including GST.

Anyway, I later discovered that the brake was still not working and decided to go to my favourite mechanic - Paul who owns Pusat Perkhidmatan Kereta Pelangi  at Sunway Damansara Technology Park. He fixed the brake in a couple of minutes and I also changed the radiator cap.

While I was there, I talked to Paul about the terrible vibrations when ever the car as at the traffic lights or idling anywhere. According to him I needed to change the engine mounting. So I decided to leave the car and get it done.

When I picked it up two days later, the car was so quiet it felt just like a new car. The damage was RM461. This includes RM285 for the mounting set and RM150 for  labour. Bloody GST was RM26.10.

I then got the power window fixed as well - one issue that has plagued Proton cars for a long time.

Also realised that the two rear tyres were nearly bald and replaced them at a nearby tyre shop - Wah Hoe Tyre services. 2 Continental tyres + balancing and alignment cost me a total of RM339.20. Was a bit annoyed as they changed me more because I used my credit card. Apparently if you  pay cash, I can get it about 10% cheaper. I wish they had told me earlier.

In total I have spent a total of around RM1000 on my car alone, so all the upgrades I had planned have to be pushed forward to the next month,

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Mill Garages for Volvo cars

I recently wrote about the exciting new Volvo V40 R-Design and how the new breed of models are slowly changing the perception of this brand. Anyway, I just found out that besides the great looks and specifications, I found out that this hatchback is quite economical to run. It gives you 83.1MPG and you do not have to pay the DVLA car tax. You can now have the car for only £299 per month with a £299 deposit.

If you live in the North East of England, check out the V40 R-Design and other offers on the Mill Garages website (http://www.millnortheast.co.uk/).   One of the biggest car dealers in the region, I discovered that they have a long and fascinating history. The first Mill Garage was established in Sunderland in 1947 by a guy called George Rollings. They have had a number of ownership changes and the current owners have been running the company since 2008. They now have 4 dealerships at Sunderland, Stockton, St James Retail Park and Newcastle.

They website is really clean and easy to navigate with clear links. I really liked the videos as well. I was going through the testimonials and noticed that many of them referred to the staff by their name which says a lot about the service quality of this company. 

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Review of TMS Coventry

Recently had my old Volvo S40 serviced and MOTd at TMS Coventry, the authorised dealer for Volvo in Coventry. Had been thinking of writing a review about their service for while but had kept putting it off.

TMS Coventry is a family owned and run business. I had avoided it because of preconceived notions that as an "authorised dealer and service provider" they would be costlier than the friendly neighbourhood garages. However, I was forced to go to them when I once had a problem with the security system/ central locking and a few garages I visited was not able to fix the problem. I drove down to their garage with my emergency lights blinking all the way from Radford. I was genuinely shocked when the final cost came out to be much less than what I had expected.

However, the next time I visited because of a misfiring engine really put me off. I was happy with the replacement of the ignition coil and fixing the problem. What I was not OK with was the fact that they charged me £19.80 for changing 3 bulbs and included and extra £34.40 labour charge. And they had not even thought of calling me up to check with me.

In contrast my favourite garage in Stoney Stanton, had once changed one of my bulbs and had only charged me £3.

Anyway, I had to go back to them again when I had electrical problems with the car. Ultimately found out that the fault had been caused by some coins (my son's handiwork) in the car radio/ CD player which had caused a short-circuit. However, this time I was quite impressed by their professional service. They sent me an SMS to confirm my booking and also called me up after the work was done.

The total cost for the service and MOT came to £200.83  including £50 for the MOT. This was reasonable considering that I had to pay £185 last year at my local garage. They had to replace a few things including bulbs to rear indicator light. However, this time there were no labour charges for replacing the bulbs.

Here is their address and contact info:

TMS Coventry
510 London Road
Coventry
West Midlands
CV3 4EU

Phone: 08446 626226
Fax: 02476 639362

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Buying from a used car dealer

A few friends are looking to upgrade their cars and having read my review of Station Garage in Balsall Common, were asking my opinion on various options available.

Buying a used car is always a gamble. There are usually three reasons a person sells of a car:
1. Upgrading to a new car
2. Financial problems &
3. Some problems with the car.

More often than not, it is usually the third reason. So be very careful when buying a used car. Used car dealers are usually costlier than private sellers. However, most usually offer some kind of warranty or the other. Take Station Garage for example. Their main selling point is the fact that they offer 12 months warranty on their cars and 12 months MOT as well. However, I have to be honest.

I am not really happy with the garage. I specifically requested them to change one of the back tyres and to top up the engine oil as I found out that it was quite low. They did change the tyre and topped up the oil as well. You will notice that I say "topped up" and not "change". That's because they simply topped up the engine oil with some used oil. Some of my other friends confirmed this as well.

I am not sure why they did this but it really lowered my evaluation of the garage. I stopped recommending them after I found out about the oil. Going to have to go for a full service soon because I am not really sure what they meant by "car serviced" and what they did with the car now. That's what happens when customer don't trust a company any more.

Satisfied customers will usually recommend the company and help bring in new customers. On the other hand, unsatisfied customers will spread the bad news even more, more so when they happen to be bloggers.

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Washing the engine

I plan to sell off my old Ford Escort. Decided to give it a nice wash before putting it up on the market. Took it to the car wash nearby, just behind "The Pilot" pub on Burnaby road. The rates were not bad - £5 for external wash and £10 for steam washing the engine.



The guy did a great job and my car looks like new (well almost).



However, the story does not end there. Yesterday, I was driving to Ikea with my wife, the car suddenly started backfiring and jerking. Quickly drove over to KNS Autoparts Ltd at Foleshill. Found out that a pipe was loose and leaking air (I am not sure from where) and also that water had got into my engine (where the spark plugs are located). So they took my car in for a while and cleaned the engine up. The damage was not that bad - only £10/ The car was perfectly OK after that but what a scare.

My "Auto Story in Pictures Wednesday" post.

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Reviews of garages / workshops in Coventry

Hollis Road garage - MOT

KNS Autoparts Ltd, Foleshill - Car Repair/Ford Specialist

National Tyres and Autocare, Gosford Street - Tyres

Station Garage Coventry, Ballsal Common - Used Car and Servicing

Taxi & car repairs, Stoney Stanton - Car Repair and Servicing

TPS Autos Ltd, Foleshill - Car Repair/ MOT

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Review of KNS Autoparts - Ford specialists in Coventry

After I bought the Volvo from Station Garage, I was wondering what to do with our old Ford Escort. Read my post "Ryanair to La Rochelle" in case you are wondering what happened to the car.



I had made up my mind to sell it as scrap as almost everyone I had talked to had convinced me that it was not worth trying to fix - "The cost would be more than it was worth".

Looked up the local newspaper and called up some scrap dealers, enquiring how much they could give me for the car. The maximum offer I got was £100. That was ridiculous considering the fact that the new Barum tyres I had fitted recently cost me £45.

I then checked with my favourite garage - Taxi & car repairs. Unfortunately Mr. Isfaq told me that he doesn't do engine repairs. There's one guy whom most Malaysians living in Coventry send their Mercedes Benz cars for repairs. He told me that it would cost me a minium of £500 to fix the head gasket. That was the same amount that he had charged my friend Ihsan for a similar problem with his car as well. Considering the fact that Ihsan's car was a Mercedes and mine, a Ford Escort, I certainly expected him to charge me less.

By that stage, I really didn't know what to do and had made up my mind to sell off the parts bit by bit on eBay when one of my friends told me to try KNS Autoparts Ltd in Lockhurst Lane. They are specialised in Ford cars.

I didn't really have any high hopes but I called them up anyway. Chris picked up the phone and I described my car and the problem. I couldn't believe it when he told me that he could fix the car and that it would cost me only £300 plus VAT. Of course I readily agreed. They were even willing to tow the car to their garage Free-of-charge.

So I gave them my car keys, told them where it was parked and went off on my holiday to France.

Called them up yesterday morning. Chris replied saying that the car was fixed and I could pick it up anytime. I was actually expecting him to tell me that the car needed more work and that it would mean more money. A lot of dishonest garages do that.

Altogether it cost me £352.50 (inclusive of VAT). It may be my imagination but the ride feels much smoother than before. Of course, it's been just one day but I am impressed with the work the guys at KNS Autoparts have done. Chris told me that I could bring back the car if it has any problems.

If you are in Coventry and have a problem with your old Ford Escort, you know where to go now.

The garage is located at 187, Lockhurst Lane, Foleshill, CV6 5NQ, Coventry.
Tel: 024 7658 1798

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Buying a used car - my experience with Station Garage

Continued from "Buying a used car - my experience 1."


Note: Company not recommended. Have had numerous complaints about this company from various readers. Moreover the company website has been down for quite sometime. Calls to the owner were unanswered and I assume the company has closed down. However, I am still using the Volvo I bought from them and is still running fine.

After my disastrous day in Solihul and Birmingham, I was back on the Auto Trader site. I found a few Ford Mondeos I liked and within my budget. Unfortunately found out that the first two I had listed down had been sold. There was a private seller but he was still servicing the car and asked me to call up later.

While going through the various cars, I noticed one Mondeo with really low mileage and if I was able to knock down a couple of prices, it would be well below my budget. The used car dealer - Station Garage Coventry was in Balsall Common, about 7.3 miles from my house. As I couldn't wait, I just took a cab and set off for the place directly without calling. What really attracted me was their claim that their cars:

"come with 12 months parts and labour warranty. For your peace of mind, they are all HPI checked."

It is a good idea to go to a car dealer without calling so that you can look around at leisure. Even if you do call them up, don't tell them what car you are interested in as I learnt from some friends that they would "prepare" it for you before you turn up and you might miss a few things.

Anyway, I reached the place and Jonathan, the guy running the place showed me the Mondeo I was interested in. Around that time, my friend Ihsan turned up as well. Had a look at the engine which was tip top by the way, and took it for a test drive. It was OK but not that smooth. The clutch was stiff and the hand brakes were not working.

While looking around, I suddenly laid my eyes on this Volvo S40. The price was slightly higher than my budget but I was sure that I could knock it down a bit. It had only done 65K miles and took it for a test drive. That was it - I decided to buy the car. The car ticked all my requirements - including the extras, sports rims, air conditioning and CD player. Now was time for haggling.

As much as I tried, Jonathan wouldn't budge on the price. I gave up on the Volvo and tried to reduce the price of the Mondeo but it was "No!" again. As I was about to leave , he was willing to reduce the price on the Mondeo by about £99 pounds but I decided to look for another Volvo elsewhere.

When I came back home I had a discussion with my wife. We looked at other Volvo S40s available and found a few within the same price range. Some were cheaper but with a higher mileage. However, none offered a 12 months parts and labour warranty. Plus it came with 12 months MOT.

That was it. I called the garage up and informed Jonathan that I wanted to buy the car and would be back at the garage the next day. He told me that there was someone coming to look at the car as well. I doubted it as the car was no where listed on their stock list nor on the auto trader.

Later at night we decided to check out the car's history on the RAC site.That's when I started to have doubts. The report said "Details currently held on the National Mileage Register (NMR) indicates that there may be a mileage discrepancy on this vehicle". That set off a lot of alarm bells even though the estimated market value was higher at that mileage.

So called up the garage in the morning the next day and informed Jonathan about my concerns. However he assured me that it might be human error and had the service records to prove it.

To cut a long story short (it's already long) I went back and finally bought the car. The garage had the car serviced and replaced one of the tyres as well. After I had paid the money (via debit) and as I was about to drive away, suddenly realised that the car had no floor mats. And I wasn't getting any. A small thing but left me somewhat dissatisfied.

Anyway, that's was my experience with Station Garage Coventry based in Ballsal Common and here's my new ride:


Here's their address:
Station Garage
Station Road
Ballsal Common
Coventy
CV7 7EF

Tel: 01676 534055

Related Link: Find used cars

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Hollis Road garage

On the recommendation of several of my Malaysian friends, I recently had my car's MOT test done at the Hollis Road Garage on Hollis Road. It reportedly charges the lowest for the MOT test in the whole of Coventry - only £24/



So I drove down there Tuesday evening having made an appointment for 4:30 pm. was relieved when it passed the exhaust test. Unfortunately the car failed the test because both my front direction indicator lights were of incorrect colour and the "nearside front lower suspension arm bush bonding deteriorated resulting in excessive movement."

Took it back to the garage the next day to have the parts replaced. Took them around an hour. Went back home with the MOT pass certificate.

Here's the address:

Hollis Road Garage
139 Hollis Rd, Coventry, West Midlands, CV3 1AG
Tel: 024 76456657

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