So recently my car has been giving me not major issues, but the Service Centre has been giving me stupid issues since ownership of my car in 2016. I have had the car for 3 years and 4 months, and while I love the Golf Gti, the service here has left me with my car being in the workshop for stupid issues that has taken about 3 months out of my ownership from my car.
Of those 3 years, This year, I was only given courtesy car by force from Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia. If it was not for external help, I would not have received a courtesy car at all. I didnt have to shout, beg and plea for it like a slave (Sorry, begging is not in my religion). I have had the car for 18 days. Driven it 1,500 kms and that too not using it whenever I had drinks. That too while Im still paying for my loan installment.
Simple maths told me that
1. 33 days loan financing - RM 2750.00
2. 90kms a Day for Grab x RM 1 per KM x 33 days = RM 2,970
3. Toll for Grab - RM 8 x 15 days (some days use Federal Highway) = RM 120
4. Road Tax + Insurance 33 days = RM 254.00
Thats RM 6,094.00.
Thats 2.4 % of the value of my car, or 3.4% of the value of my total loan.
We all know, getting a courtesy car with fake promises exists with car brands, even luxury ones which in this country may include VW as well. Although its an ordinary people mover in every other country, in Malaysia, spending 240k on a GTi isnt what you call cheap either. Its luxurious.
That doesnt apply just to VW with fake promises, its the same shitty thing with the other Germans too - BMW, Audi, Mercedes.
Perhaps, VW thinks that owning a RM 238k car OTR w/o Road Tax is "cheap" to lowyatt standards. But I finally came to a hard realization and told myself,
" Im looking at a second hand car. Fucking tired of this new car shit with fake promises and shitty services. Ill be free of any loans, whatever I choose will be my own fault and responsibility. Assuming that I bought even a Passat 2.0 Highline at RM 198k, my car will cost
RM 45k to buy car with Fees for JPJ / Puspakom / Change of Number Plate included
RM 15k to do up (5k Paint Job, 7k for Major Service, 3k for Tyres for major service)
RM 12k for a decent plate
RM 6k for Road Tax and Insurance
Thats a total of RM 78k.
Even if I spend ANOTHER RM 73k on the car in 5 years, THATS STILL 150K in total !?
And I have saved
a)RM 48k on the difference of buying a new car such as a VW Passat 2.0 Highline
b) saved RM 150k on installments in 5 years and who knows how much more of Grab money in value I would have to pay whenever it has any faults...... WTF ? "
This is where I found myself looking at my old Crush
This is my old Crush...
Hello, Gorgeous. How are you, once again =)
Its a Mercedes. And its Gorgeous. And looks better by miles pulling up next to a Golf Gti driven by lowyatters with fucking Akrapovic exhausts, carbon fibre rear diffusers, spoilers mirror covers, skirtings, lips, and some stupid downpipe with a Stage 3+ remap, blacked out BBS 20inch rims wrapped around some expensive 20inch tyres only to land in a pot hole....lets not forget being wrapped as well in bird shit yellow or laughing stock purple.
Neither will a GTi ever look better than the CLS, not even the MK8 when it finally comes out.
One day, if I wanted to get rid of the car, I can. Even if its for a song. And can you believe it, I really dont want to think that because I do love this car and how it looks. If there are any Mercs that stands out amongst all the usual A, B. E, C, S, GLA, CLS, GLC, CLA, GLE, SLK, its got to be this CLS 350 first Generation. I make an exception though for a w210 E class and SL of the late 80's and early 90s.
The rest can be driven by people from Puchong, Kepong, Balakong and Cheras for all I care.
The market over here for second hand dealers, well they are all conmen. 99 % have tempered meters. And just like most China made products, look tempting on the outside, but are shit on the inside.
You need a Mechanic to evaluate the car better and to tell you if you should walk away or how much is needed. Believe me, I had to walk away from one vehicle that had NO engine oil inside. Mechanic says
"Condem Engine"
Read up on your Insurance towing as well and what packages are offered and what is covered in the towing mileage. RHB for instance offers the first RM 300 towing service free in distance, but who knows what they charge RM 300 for ? For what distance ?
Allianz has for instance a 450km round trip free, and RM 1.50 per km there after. Theres also an upgraded version of this whereby there is unlimited towing mileage. Read up on your Insurance packages, they will help. I cant be stuck in Singapore or Thailand one day with a car like this.
I thought about it and realized, well, my parents Mercs are both 9 and 23 years old respectively, and never once did the engine stall on them, leave them stranded at the side of the road or in a bad situation. If anything, it was a battery issue. While there are concerns with age and quality for things like sensors, buttons and plastic bits, well you will learn to live with them, or if you want, take the effort to refurbish them or buy new ones.
For RM 45k, this would mean I could easily purchase this car in CASH. 45k being the average for a 2007 year made car. It looks good, the V6 burble is awesome and the torque and horsepower are really strong. They are more comfortable than the Golf GTI, and for long distance travel, would just woft you along rather than being firmly in place in your hard polyurethane seats. You can chose to woft in comfort, or cruise at speed (if you can wake up at 5 : 30 AM and be on the road to Singapore by 6: 30 without traffic)
They were about half a million when launched, which is about the cost of my property to demolish and rebuild today. And this was back 13 year ago in 2007 ish.
Gorgeous
The dilemma here comes with my wife as well. Its not as small at the rear such as a C class, but its still a little narrow. Really. Your feet are tucked under the front passengers seat unless you are 5' in height and below, you're going to be a little uncomfortable at first. But once you are in its fine. Knee space is fine. But trust me, it has better space than a C Class. You really feel cocooned inside. Its magical. You dont sit upright on a flat seat, its really at an angle and bolsters you. The most unique rear seat ever.
Now if I was going to spend good money again on a car, I would rather be
1) Encumbrance Free (no hutang la)
2) Wait for a proper functional car (ie Mazda CX 8 - which has space, fuel economy, practicality, good build quality, has a TON of space, looks good, and other technological advances that come with the vehicle)
How did Mercedes screw it up with the front end. The rear end is gorgeous, but what is up with those shitty lights and bumper ?
from this...
To this ? Seriously Mercedes ?
GETTING ADVISE
I talk with my Dad about older cars too, as well as a friend of mine. I sit down with my cousin in law and talk older cars over 5 Gin and Tonics. We all agree money needs to be spent to get any second hand car that you love to a particular functioning state first. This is something true. From changing all tires, a full major service which includes changing ALL fluids from the gear box to the engine coolant and to a paint job will probably cost RM 15k extra.
But its a fresh start. And these bullet proof engines will then thank you for putting them back in proper condition again after neglect from Puchong, Kepong, Balakong and Cheras shitty owners who couldnt do a half decent job of keeping them in good condition.
Look, for older cars, Im not looking to be a vintage car player who rebuilds classic cars and paint them forest green or maroon with white walled tires and drive all the way to Melaka to the Portuguese settlement just to have some debal curry with sleeved tattooed dudes talking about flame artwork on the car and chrome shinny bits on the intake manifold or air filter cover. No thanks.
What I am looking for is something comfortable, has some exclusivity to it, is somewhat bullet proof and has spare parts for the engine that is able to to find its way easily to me when required. Its a 350 engine that was used in the CLS 350, S350, 350SL and E350. So thats a big tick in the box. Some interior parts such as the dashboard gauges and buttons come from the W211 E Class so parts will be relatively easy.
The front and rear lights look a little 996ish. These odd looking lights to me, though unconventional, are actually nice to me.
See a bit of a 996 now ?
how about now, but lights being upside down. Im sure if the 996 was stretched into a 4 seater / made into a Panamera, the CLS would look very much the same as the 996
Can you imagine ? After even dangling a carrot genuinely to say I was interested in the VW Arteon, the service centers still treat MY vehicle like shit, what more for a soon to be launched 300k car ? Good enough reason to look at something second hand instead ?
Lets begin.
Experience 1
Head over to Bukit Jalil, the car dealer has not 1, not 2,.....but 4 CLS 350s for sale. 2 of them are CGI engines.
One is being offered for sale that has shitty rims from a person who thought they looked better than the rims that originally came with the car. So he upgrades them to 19inch rims in black fake Brabus rims. On top of that, the car is already black. Mileage is at about 110k. Which could or could not be honest. The dealer says it was used by the wife. But you know, when people buy cars, they dont buy it in their name only to be used by the wife. Which means the owner used it as a daily driver and probably clocked above 180k in mileage.
I ask about the other CGI engine and the guy says owner doesnt want to sell it. However its advertised on Mudah ???? Fishy bastards looking to compare 2 apples, and the one on sale is a bruised one while the other is more appealing for comparison for serious buyers. However after some persuasion the guy says
"if you really want, let me ask the owner if he wants to sell".
Fuck me, waste of time, do you want to deal or not ?
The other 2 cars are ignored as it doesnt have a CGI Engine so screw them. Plus, one looks like its had a paint job at some point as a cheap touch up with overspray. Looks like someone did a shit job in a back alley for a CLS.
I dont even test drive any of these cars. Im already turned off.
Experience 2
I head to Cheras, my favorite place in the world, and I see one in Cubanite Silver. Was advertised by a broker for 39k, and now its 48k. And gets advertised again for 45k. Fuck these dealers. Anyway I visit the place, and Im prepared for all sorts of bullshit advise from dealers.
"This one Datuk owner, ask his driver to drive him in the car"
.....
Who the fuck has a CLS driven by a driver ? YOU drive that car. Dad and I had a good laugh.
Load of Bullshit. However, the interior is not bad, seats are still plush and firm, has genuine 120k mileage, the paint is in original decent shape. So I test drive it and man its awesome. 0-100 in 6.7 seconds were the statistics on this car in 2007, thats almost Golf GTi figures today of 0-100 in 6.5 seconds.
Keep in mind, this is a 2007 car.
No one is gonna care about the missing 0.2 seconds let alone feel it. So the 0.2 seconds slower isnt even going to be a dick measuring game to me with some BMW 330e at all. Because, well, you dont have a CLS =).
It has the right bells and whistles. Some cosmetic work is going to be needed. Though Cubanite Silver isnt my most favorable colour.
Experience 3
This CGI is being sold for 35k in cash. I decide to take a look and have a view. This is in Sunway. Not that promising. However I call my Mechanic who services our parents cars. We meet the next day, we start the car, it has a noise like a knocking noise. The mechanic takes a look at the body and says this one is
"not accident car".
So whats wrong with it ?
He looks and hears the engines noise again. He then looks at the dip stick, its fucking empty inside and says
"This one condem already".
The dealer then comes, thinking that just because I have an enthusiastic interest, he says quietly to me and whispers in my ear
"Boss actually this one people booking already, but bank loan"
To which I say
"Then you sell lah, I dont want"
A cheap hustle for a cheap sale ? No thanks. I walk around the car more with the Mechanic and he says
"Singh, this one dont want lah"
We shake hands with the dealer and we walk away. Good luck Fucker.
Experience 4
I head over to Setapak where there a White CLS this time,..... with 20inch rims. I cant even put my finger on the wheel mudguard inside. Its a CGI Engine though. Advertised for 51k but asking 48k in cash. I start the engine, slight knocking sound, and then rotate the steering wheels either side to look for any bulges in the internal tire. You can see if theres any problems like bulging, thread issues from the inner wheels by just rotating the tyres extreme right and extreme left.
There is a bulge on one of the tyres. So thats a 1.5k fix right there per tyre, and those damn tyres would have costed 6k just to change if I wanted to use them. I must say, I admired the taste a little, no boy racer shitty blacked out zoom zoom feel, but it still wasnt my taste. On top of that there was a spoiler at the rear. Why do Malaysians Bastardise something that is a masterpiece to look at.
Im sure many Chears, Puchong, Balakong and Kepong people will now be going "mmMMMmm, nice, go up Genting and Ulu Yam drive sure kaw wan"
MECHANIC CHECKS
12th August
We head over to Setapak, and we look at the CLS in White with 20 inch rims. He looks at it for about 20 minutes, he then revs the car to check for white smoke. I take some tissue papers from my car, and we take a swab of the engine oil to see what condition its in. It has oil, but not that fantastic, a little on the blackish side. We dont even test drive the car. He says
"This one we keep on hold"
In other words, it could be the best of the worst one from the lot.
We then head over to Cheras to look at Cubanite Silver in all orginal condition. The dealer arrives about 15 minutes late because his staff that was supposed to arrive didnt show up. How wonderful. He has a very distracting presence by talking too much. I tell him dont start the car and he almost did, he hands me the keys, I say to hand it to my mechanic. My mechanic starts to hold out his hand, the dealer doesnt acknowledge at first but suddenly realizes his hand is out, he then shakes the mechanics hand and then hands over the keys to the mechanic.
My mechanic starts the engine, and on first start,..... my mechanics eyes grew.
I have never seen our family mechanic smile. My mechanic has a serious face, a serious voice. And now he is excited. He looks at the engine and says
"Like this la Singh we want".
My mechanic looks at all the interior, sees some issues, but minor. He then checks thoroughly everything from the radio, all bulbs, sensors front and rear, he ends up spending 45 minutes checking everything right to the paint.
I then leave my mechanic and my wife who is inside the car to check and view things. Yes I brought my wife because unlike some kids who know how to buy cars only to post bad sad stories that are depressing, at least Im trying to show you guys the way with my own off the beaten track advise.
So I chat with the dealer a little because at this time, I didnt want the dealer to have any distraction with my mechanic. I then see my mechanic satisfied, however my wife gives away a few smiles and laughs when I tell her to be serious. My wife is hilarious. In a poker game, you know if you have won or not =). Her keen eyes and ears are something else all in all though.
Seeing my mechanic satisfied, I ask for a test drive. This is now about 50 minutes later after the Mechanic has had an absolute thorough look. All 4 of us sit inside the car, and we have a test drive. We take the car up to 120kmh along Jalan Cheras. The car pulls, we hear the seatbelt sign go off while all our seat belts are buckled in. We realise the headliner is also messed up and has falled. A few faults are pointed to the dealer. Nevertheless the dealer now begins to turn kind and is now sucking my nuts.
At some point, the dealer also says he was with 4 friends last night, and had 12 bottle of wine among his friends..... Dude. You drink more than I do. The best part is, I dont think I can do 3 bottles myself, and yet if this is the day I have to do business with you, please dont reveal that sort of shit to me. I had 10 beers the night before myself but man, 3 bottles of wine ? Fuck me. Even the Mechanic says
"You young guys dont know how to drink, wine is like medicine, you wish to whack something make it a cheaper bottle around 70 - 100 ringgit or have beer"
I couldnt believe what I was hearing. This was fun.
Reckon that this is what the dealer was ACTUALLY having with contractor conmen instead of wine
We then realise there is a sound in the rear, a slight creek. I then finally, at the last stretch, take the car and ask my mechanic to sit in the rear and hear what sounds are there, he recognizes that its a bearing or a ball joint. Either one of them.
We head back to the dealership. I give my Dad a call and ask him for any last advise to which he says
"Well, if it makes you feel comfortable, why not"
I hand over the phone to my Mechanic who has a word with my Dad. My Dad and this Mechanic are 2 peas in a pod. All is good.
Now I move into saying to the dealer alright, consider it done. I would like to buy the car. I will communicate with you either tonight or tomorrow. As the poor dude had already had 3 bottles swirling in him, I decide not to do any sort of transaction or funds today. Nice day, just not right moment.
That evening, my wife and I head to watch Lion King, Damn its is so good. Followed by dinner at Sids in Damansara Heights. Man a CLS would look lovely in Cubanite Silver in Damansara Heights. Really in place. I say to her
"From now on, whenever we are going to make decisions, have someone who is at least qualified by us all the time. We will also need to have things documented always in proper fashion"
We discuss more on the car a little and then head back home for another 2 beers followed by rest. See what a Mechanic can teach you ? Just like finding a contractor, you need paper work done correctly, and you need to be in good hands.
ARRANGING A BOOKING
NOTE : YOU CAN SKIP THIS WHOLE PART IF YOU WISH TILL YOU FIND THE ' *************** ' SIGN IF THIS IS ALL TOO MUCH
13 August.
I decide that fuck it, make it correct. Have a Purchase Order drafted. As last nights thought that everything must be documented, everything discussed written down, will now be a common norm for my wife and I. No bullshit. So here is what I got ready for the car dealer. I decided to issue a Purchase Order. After all, working like a company, this way there is no bullshit. Whats written and paid for must be signed.
I mean, do you see this anywhere online ?
Look, if you are the real deal and not some bullshit half past 6 person, and if what you and I discussed is not going to be written down, tomorrow you or I can say "you promised this and that and you never delivered !" Very typical of many people. The word 'promise'.
So its bullshit as far as I am concerned if a simple booking fee says what I bought and what we are asking for is not written. Tomorrow, more and more and more fake promises and accusations can be thrown otherwise.
So theres a 2k processing fee, as my cousin says its 1k in Klang, 2k in Selangor and 3k+ bullshit in KL.
I message the dealer, he doesnt reply. I call him at 2 30pm, 4 hours later and he says "bro, bro, I call you back, in meeting now"
He finally calls back at 5pm, he says "actually just now also got someone almost 1 hour looking at the car also...."
....to which I cut him off and say "then best you sell the car to him. I dont want to hear this. Dont waste YOUR time, but if you want to sell then you let me know, Im waiting to deal. Do you want my money ?"
To which he replies
"of course la boss I want to deal with you"
and I say "No problem, let me know if you want to sell, I will buy, but dont tell me about other people now. Im not going to pay a booking fee of 1 or 2k, lets be serious. 10k"
Dealers always love pushing their luck. I email the Purchase Order to the dude around 6 : 30pm, he doesnt reply till about 6 50PM. I tell him
"the PO has been emailed, please check, let me know if you have any questions, please use the same words in the Pro Forma Invoice to me and I will bank in the money, no problem"
He says he has to buy josticks etc, so we leave it for the day. I tell him "Dont worry, Im confident moving with you".
He has a laugh, and so do I, and he messages me that he has deleted advertisements on the car. I have yet to pay this guy, and NOW, there is some show of confidence on his part. Im serious, but Im not playing games now to move on. Im sure there will be something else he would bite me back at, but if you play beat around the bush with me, Ill play a straight game of hard ball with you in black and white. What will you chose ? Go against the rules ? Or play fair and square ? See the power of a Purchase Order ?
See how tides turn ? You now push the dealer to do his job and stop fucking around. In the beginning, the Dealer tries to feed you bullshit with words, lies, this one one owner secret datuk car bla bla bla, but when it comes to paper work, now how ? I want to move on but eh, suddenly you are slow ? Excuse me ? What happened to dealing fast and stories of
"Customer saw audi, he drive, he like, next day straight put deposit",
Well now tides have turned. And that Audi customer must have been pretty lowyatt filthy rich not to care to do things right ? Maybe 50k isnt anything to people who buy Audis second hand and make payment straight the next day, sorry with Me, we write shit down and then we move on quickly. All agreed ?
OWNER KEEPS THE OLD NUMBER. WHAT TO DO ?
So what happens if the owner wants to keep the number ? Well in my case, the owner will either throw it on a new Vehicle such as a motorcycle or a new car. I will first have to look for a number that is suitable for me, register it in the Old Owners name, THEN it gets sold back to me as a part of the transfer of ownership process.
On the other hand, if the Old Owner has already sold the car WITH the old number plate and you would like a new number plate, you buy a new vehicle such as a motorcycle - transfer the shitty number on to it - the new number goes on the Old Car you just bought.
Tadaaaaa. In this case, the Owners number is 44, which doesnt have any significance to me, so Im going to throw in a new number thats favorable to me.
August 14th
I message him in the morning, he replies in the afternoon. This guy really is a Chearas-wine cellar in basement dude. Fast and hard life and enjoys the finer things for quick money. I tell him I wont be free at 5 : 30 pm till 9 pm today, best send the Pro Forma Invoice so I can make a payment.
The guy calls me at 5 : 30ish, Im in the thick of some problem, I make myself free. He says
"I never receive a PO before, never make PFI also before. I am worried. My English is not so good. Please know that this car my margin is very little, I am just trying to help Datuk sell his car"
To which I said
"No problem, we can always negotiate. The point here is that whatever is written is simply in black and white. Tomorrow if there is a BIG scratch on the car, then how ? We have nothing to document correct ? The terms are written so I protect you, my notes are to protect both of us. Let me try and simplify it for you and I will come back to you"
He then asks "Actually who are you, what do your family do ? Do you do something for royal family ?" I am amused now and say "Dont worry, I know, Its because my documents were drafted by a lawyer, thats why it looks scary. I hate these things also, but to let you know, NO we have our own business, nothing to do with the royal family, dont worry"
My brother says this is very Statesman. My cousin in law says its a few levels up. See what a 45k car can do to a GTi thats moving nowhere at Volkswagen ? I rather live with this at my own mistake, than an insult of judgment with words like "Warranty" and "Courtesy Car". Crock of shit rubbish new cars advertise themselves for having great after sales service but wont be able to do shit by living up to your expectations.The moment you put things down on paper for a car dealer, thats where things run slow. No ease of business. Why ? What happened to your big story of how quick your Audi got sold like it was a bag of peanuts ? MY NUTS !!!!! Thats why lowyatt folks will always think they are the bomb with their words, but come real time to do real proper documentation on pen and paper, dont know how to do business the right way. Then later when there is a problem, what happens ? The bitching on forums of course.
I give him a simpler template, hear nothing from him after that. Its now 7 : 45ish in the evening. I message him and say "Why dont you just chop sign and I will make the payment, no need for PFI"
Later, during beers, at about 9PM I message him again, and say to him "Brother, tell you what, you just issue me your receipt but with MY terms and notes, I will make a payment for you, ok ?"
To which he says "Deal".
I tell the guy lets move on tomorrow, wasted time already.
See, I am not being hard or unrealistic, DEALERS are being hard and unrealistic. When you rent a car overseas, or put your car in for servicing, they simply do a checkpoint on everything. So that way what is being GIVEN to you and RETURNED back is in the same condition. Apa susah ? Whats so hard ?
15th August
Its 1 : 25 in the afternoon, the dealer has still not given me his receipt. All that bullshit talk about how "Others people actually see the car already" is all bullshit. Otherwise he would have sold the car by now. Getting a very Cheras lazy vibe. Maybe he had an Italian meal last night with some Hermitage wine. the finer things in life after playing badminton. Who knows ?
5 : 15 PM, still nothing, and at 5 : 30, he sends me a Pro Forma Invoice. Wow ! Finally, a dealer with some honesty. Now theres no bullshitting here.
Since he has added a new point into his Pro Forma Invoice, I called him and told him I agree to his additional point that there is no warranty on the vehicle. Im impressed by this guy now that he doing what can only be described as not wrong, not right, but CORRECT.
At least now no one can bullshit each other. When it comes to talk, its big and easy. When it comes to paper and honesty, takes 2 hours. If only Used Car Dealers are this honest. Yes, a proudly made in Malaysia company from Cheras. My favorite place in the whole wide world.
I make a payment in the morning of 10k for a Deposit. Why waste time with 1k when you are dead serious about playing with cars that are going to cost 4.54k for Roadtax a year anyway ?
I issue him my Purchase Order again and email it to him when I get to the office.
I write him a cheque for 12.6k in the evening. Thought why waste time, get it to 50%.
And I end up banking it in the wrong account =).
He tells me its ok, bank in on Monday and its fine as well.
Feeling embarrassed, didnt want to make things hard on this guy, so I decided that before Monday comes, a little show of faith, will be good about how serious I am.
18th August
I bank in to the right account, its Sunday. Was a pleasant day. I then head to see my friend, and have drinks till 9 : 30pm.
*******************************************************
19th August
I start looking at car number plates online and Message Rainbow Car Plate, I let him know Im going for PPD as the alphabet. I ask him if PPD is open for bidding ? He says not yet. looks like it will be September when the time comes I guess or late August. However, a number is given for what I want. I could do the whole self tender process, but whats the point. I need to work. Im going to give it to this company to handle my stuff.
September seems to have a lot of activity. Home Construction, New Car. Wonder what else.
Today my Mums car went in as well to our Mechanic, Mr. Thamby. Some oil leak. Turns out it was an Engine Oil leak back into the turbo hose. I had this issue before with my Golf TSI MK6, took them 4 over days to get it done.
How long does Thamby take ? Well he PICKS the car up from our factory at 1 pm, returns it by 6 : 45 PM
And....
Services the car. All in pretty much 6 hours. Do I give a fuck about warranties and after sales service anymore ? Fuck no. I know this is a better path to take.
20th August
My Dads car now goes in. Thamby takes it at 1pm again, Services the car and returns it at 6pm this time. How wonderful ?
I also discover that he the delaer had posted an add about a week earlier, from his colleague, and asking for 60k for the car. Fucking dealers. I message him and say kindly remove this advertisement. To which his response was
"Ooops"
Word of the day "Oooops"
and then he deletes it.
Genuine mistake ? Or dishonest truth ? You decide. I think he was fishing. But he can go fuck himself because if it gets advertised again, all bets are off and the money comes back to me. If you are not willing to lose, then you will never know what it feels like to have your dream materialize. Something lowyatt folks constantly win at.
21st August
I message the car dealer and ask if he has received my balance payment. He says yes. I then tell him either this week or by Tuesday next week to please send the IC of the previous owner. I let the dealer know that I will be tendering my number. So please standby with my request. He tells me he will get the puspakom inspection done first for the car. So Ill leave it to him. We have time now on our hands. No rush, whats set in motion is in motion. Its a waiting game now.
I decide that the car will also be in Silver by stripping the paint down to metal and primer, and shooting fresh PPG Paint in 757 Silver, thats the true colour of a Mercedes if you ask me. Germans were always for Silver, thats the true racing heritage of Mercedes and Audi anyway. Followed by Red for the Italians, Racing Green for the Brits, White for the Japanese. Didnt you know ?
30th August
I received yesterday this so called "Datuks IC". And today I decided to do a name check and guess what. Looks like the car dealer had been talking BS this whole time.
How do you check ?
www.istiadat.gov.my › component
Web results
semakan penerima - Bahagian Istiadat dan Urusetia Persidangan Antarabangsa
Try the link above if someone says he is somebody next time. No wonder this dealer freaked out with all his BS talk.
11th September
I make a payment of another 9k for the car dealer while waiting for PPD to arrive. Fair game, am I not ? I start referring to the so called previous owner by his natural name. No Datuk etc. What a joke.
19th September
The last days of Virgo. I have been waiting patiently for PPD to arrive and out of the blue, I view online that PPD is out
FINALLY !
PPD is finally out. Funny how from PPB to PPC just just over 1 month, but PPC to PPD has taken the better part of 7 weeks.
I make a payment to the runner, and now the ball is in motion.
I inform the car dealer who is going to get ready a bike to throw the previous owners number on. Now we wait patiently for the 24th of September for results.
We put in our bid on JPJebid and we wait till Monday to see till the very last minute if anyone else makes a bid for it.
23rd September
Its 6 : 30 in the evening. I tell the runner to make an increment on the bid. But we both agree, lets keep things till the last second.
11 : 45 PM, I have a shower, and I then message the runner. He doesnt reply. I let him know on how much I would want to bid. He doesnt reply..... till after 12PM when the bid is closed.
Night Drama, couldnt sleep. Been waiting for almost 6 weeks for this, and all the current running numbers really suck. I really didnt want to settle on anything but PPD
He says that the "system" went down at the last minutes. However, he had entered a strong bid. I go to sleep still messaging him at 1 : 15 AM. Days of waiting now boil down to waking up the next day and awaiting for the next set of news.
24th September
I head over to Puspakom as I am getting ready to get my other car prepared for the sale. I decided to head to JPJ Padang Jawa and ask them if they could let me know if PPD's results are viewable, to which they say I will have to call Penang and ask them instead.
I head to the office, and start calling JPJ Penang, called them 5 times, the lines engaged.
I head in to the office late, 12 : 16 pm. I hear a message in the phone in my pocket, I decide to leave it and first do a small prayer. I then read the message. Its the runner. He send me a message.
We Got It
I make a payment to the runner and a little bonus as well for such fantastic news.
I then call our car dealer and say I would like to pick up the car this Friday, the 27th.
Now the car dealer says "I did not know" but actually he did, because I had mentioned to him to standby for Tuesday for the results. To which now, he will need to sort out stuff within the next days, but Im not sure Mr. ' I sold Audi to customer who paid me by the next day money' story is someone I can totally trust. Lets see
29th September
I head over in the Morning and pick up the car. What an awesome day. I receive the car with all its imperfections. They didnt even do anything to the number plate holder. Cheap bastards at heart. Nevertheless, I know I will take care of things better. No way can a CLS ever have such shitty fittings done with taste to a Cherasville house owner who has a wine cellar in his ' Haus ' basement.
Even the bubbling rear window that had bubbles in its tint, sunken roof liner and even missing Mercedes Silver Arrow Emblem for the Gear Knob. Everything. I would never trust certain hands, and certain people.
Ever felt that you know you can do a better job than some Cheap Charlie ? Yes, I have.
Im glad I know what Im getting myself into, unlike others who have no taste and have treated this thing of beauty with cheap standards.
Look, even the rear plates look like shit, no money spent on it at all to look right. I will fix this up. After all, we are not Cherasville people are we ?
"Is that how all CLS are ? pretty quick and plenty of torque ?"
And as it turns out,.........
THE CAR WAS INSTALLED WITH ONE ALREADY !!!!!!!!!
LOL !!!!!!!!!
Sprint Booster. What fun. I almost bought this online before the cars arrival !
TRANSFORMATION
30th September
By now I had received 3 quotes for painting
5k in Klang, 6k in Ara Damansara, 7k in Shah Alam. The guy in Kota Damansara says it will take 1 month. I say fuck it. They are not interested in my money. 2 weeks is good enough. I would have gladly given this guy the job if he had said 2 weeks.
I decided to hand it over to the guy in Klang cause although he is cheap, based on specs, we agreed to using PPG paint and although he may not be as skilled, I will be there to monitor daily.
Getting dropped off for a paint job
1st & 2nd September
Parts are removed, and filler work is done
Moving Swiftly along
5th October
The car has now been sprayed with Primer. All things look smooth, feel good, very good workmanship on getting the vehicle ready for the last step.
Almost there
7th October
I arrive back at the Spray shop,..... and the car looks like,
SHIT
The guy also says that thanks to the Monsoon winds, some dust landed on the car. Fuck me. The car also looked strangely, Blue-ish. In addition, the car looked like it was sprayed thick, like when you paint a thick coat of chin chai cheap charlie cheras style paint job on steel. Kinda like the new stupid greyish silver cheap paint job that goes on metal work only to see rust 2 months later.
Now Im getting pissed. I asked for PPG's paint tin with the code 775 (and for Mercedes - thats Iridium Silver). I ask the guy to show me the tins he used.
To which, it was not PPG.
Does this even LOOK like a Mercedes Silver to you ? LOL ! My old rims look more silver even when they were dirty. Does Mercedes have such a Silver ? Must be called Puchong Silverite
" If I ask for beer, why are you giving me water, I paid for Beer. I asked for PPG, I didnt negotiate 1 cent with you, and you even wrote down PPG clearly. I could have sprayed this for 6k where people who drive Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis spray their cars, but I came to you. Now Im not accepting this. People who drive these sort of cars dont play around"
to which he apologises for his mishap, and I say to him
"We dont do wrong, we dont do right, just do it the CORRECT way. We sand it down again, start fresh with 3 more coats"
Fucking hell, we have 5 more cars waiting in line for this guy, and starting on the wrong foot isnt good. Never has this sort of shit happened to me before,....well,....wait,......if there is anything I can take from experience from the Home Im trying to build, is douse out any anger, be patient, do whats CORRECT, no matter how long it takes.
I mean fucking hell, the boss actually sprayed my car, how can he not know if he was trying to con me or not. Bullshit caught with his pants down.
Conmen everywhere. That night, I took a good walk, just to vent to wifey. We ask each other how is our day almost everyday. Today WASNT my favorite day. Yup, no drinks on weekdays till Thursday now for me.
8th October
I head over about 12pm ish, and I see that the car has been sanded down.
Bye Bye Puchong Silver, Back to Primer
I call the boss, I tell him
"look, theres another vehicle that we need to use the same colour in, it needs touching up too. So when are you respraying my vehicle ?"
He says tomorrow. I mean, the guy made a mistake I suppose, just trying to put a win-win situation to things, after all we have another 3 more cars that need doing up before Diwali, so why not.
October 10th
Finally, the CORRECT paint arrives, and I get to see it in the flesh. This is the correct Brand, correct code, and now Im a little more convinced.
Finally, the correct stuff paid for. PPG is now called Nexa thats owned by ICI. This is the Clear Coat, forgot to take the Paint tin itself
Well,.... you be the judge
Oooooh
La Laaaaa
At one glance I tell the boss,
" Yeeeeeees, This is a correct Mercedes Silver ! This is what we want ! "
How about a before and after for laughter sake ?
What a difference, Before and After. Night and Day ! I know which one Chearas folks would pick though as their cheap charlie choice for Silver.
12th October
The car is finally picked from the paint shop, and I head over immediately to 2 places as quickly as possible.
First to get that shitty looking number plate done Elegantly because I would not have that stupid looking Mercedes Benz number plate holder in a rectangular form as a badge or symbol to say "I have made it in life by having a Mercedes Benz number plate holder" like some people do.
Mr. " My - customer - bought -Audi - next - day - pay - cash " didnt even spend 10 bucks on a correct looking Number Plate. So here is how it should look like
First to get that shitty looking number plate done Elegantly because I would not have that stupid looking Mercedes Benz number plate holder in a rectangular form as a badge or symbol to say "I have made it in life by having a Mercedes Benz number plate holder" like some people do.
What a fucking tasteless looking number plate holder
Mr. " My - customer - bought -Audi - next - day - pay - cash " didnt even spend 10 bucks on a correct looking Number Plate. So here is how it should look like
Time to save this vehicle again
Which would you pick ? We already know what the Cheras taste is like.
Make every detail as clean, smooth and elegant as you can. Especially when you have double digits for a number plate. No Cherasville rectangular plates here.
Number plates done, it really looks clean now. Even Dad sees a difference. He is impressed. Thoroughly. So I head off to now the Tyre shop. Now working in Klang, there are a few shops that you could try out on Jalan Kapar.
You may hear different reviews and negative comments online, but for me, Ill just be neutral about this. Stick to either Hin Leong or H20. In this case, I gave H20 a try this time.
295/35/19 at the Rear, 265/40/19 at the front. Some lovely width for the rear rubbers. 295mm is just 5mm short of 300mm or 1 ft. in width.
Hin Leong seems to be the king of Jalan Kapar. However, if you are willing to wait 2.5 hours, and for my tyres that were not necessarily cheap being quoted by them, I gave H20 a try for a change. Plus they gave water, staff are more attentive being not as busy as Hin Leong, and theres more places to sit around without having to worry about if some car is going to knock you down. H20 also has a small mechanic by the side, which came in very handy in my case.
Tyres costed me 2.6k, but well worth it. No Michelin PS4+ here, just simple Dunlops. Why ? Because who cares. I dont work or live in a place that has NO pot holes, and driving around with those sort of tyres in Malaysia,... dont forget where you live. Just get something simple will do.
Even Damansara Heights has shitty roads too. Michelin's are great, however investing 5k for them, they will not see their survival beyond 1.5 years for me. So I cant be arsed about "track day" tyres and shit Cheras people talk about online.
At this point my battery dies
I arrive at the shop and thank God my old battery dies here ! It paid off not to use the old Battery first for the paint job before looking at a major service to the car inclusive of changing its battery. RM 800.00 saved by using the old Battery first. Anyway, jump start, and Im off again.
13th October
New Rubbers on, heres a pic
Sweeeet
Lets see another comparison of a before and after
On the Left ; Cherasville, OR On the Right ; a Damansara Heights / PJ environment. As you can see, I have taken things from one end, and done some justice from what it WAS.....and yes the owner before was from Puchong, sold to a Cherasville dealer, bought by a PJ boy, did his work in Klang, and now its fitting enough to have some Koay Teow on a Sunday at Decanter in Damansara Heights with a few beers as well. VS a Cherasville or Puchong beer garden Sunday at Movida or something.
You don't buy such a car and not do it justice with 20 inch wheels, slammed down, blacked out everything and use led light strips on such a vehicle. Not even a Sticker. Not even a stupid Door light emblem that shines Mercedes to let you know what you drive when you open the door.
You take it out of its misery, telling yourself I can do better, and it deserves SOOOO much more, and do something that others just dont care or have the right taste for it. Because others here, dont know how to look after things better than you do, and have the right way of presenting things correctly as how it always should have been.
You take it out of its misery, telling yourself I can do better, and it deserves SOOOO much more, and do something that others just dont care or have the right taste for it. Because others here, dont know how to look after things better than you do, and have the right way of presenting things correctly as how it always should have been.
The images above, describe things better for me. Looking at a side by side, before and after. Everything about it deserves better from Cherasville and Puchong standards, to become a real stellar looking car. After all, thats what it is. Always has been. Always will be.
It may not be to your taste, perhaps putting 22inch spinners and Slamming it would be your taste. However, a clean, simple and elegant look is what I like. To mess up, it is easy. Keeping it simple is harder. I hope that the Home Im building, will reflect the same way too.....wait,....of course it will =)
14th - 18th October
Major Servicing
Car heads in to our mechanic in Klang. Its called Pusat Servis Merzdis. He's a little short on staff, but he does his best. All oils and fluids are changed. The battery is changed. The headlamps are given a thorough clean. But thats all that could be done so far till next week, as the car is going in for a tint job in Singapore.
So far, the works include
Flushing Engine Oil
Flushing Coolant
Flushing Brake Oil
Flushing Gear Box Oil
Flushing Air Conditioning System
Flushing Auto Transmission Oil
Change of Battery
Pollen Filter (Air Cond Filters)
Air Filters
Rear Wheel Bearing Replacement
Silicone Greasing all Windows
Silicone Greasing all Doors
Changing of fauty Front Headlamp Bulb
Replacement of Faulty Rear Sensor
Cleaning of Front Head Lamps
Engine Belt replacement
Engine Bonet Struts Replacement
New Steering Wheel Fluid
and
New Windscreen Wiper.
This should allow me to get to Singapore now
So far, the works include
Flushing Engine Oil
Flushing Coolant
Flushing Brake Oil
Flushing Gear Box Oil
Flushing Air Conditioning System
Flushing Auto Transmission Oil
Change of Battery
Pollen Filter (Air Cond Filters)
Air Filters
Rear Wheel Bearing Replacement
Silicone Greasing all Windows
Silicone Greasing all Doors
Changing of fauty Front Headlamp Bulb
Replacement of Faulty Rear Sensor
Cleaning of Front Head Lamps
Engine Belt replacement
Engine Bonet Struts Replacement
New Steering Wheel Fluid
and
New Windscreen Wiper.
This should allow me to get to Singapore now
19th October
Car Tinting
Singapore is where I decided to tint the car. I can always trust Singaporean hands. Sorry, no Cherasville people anymore. Delicate and thoughtful hands are best.
Zen Car Services has done 4 vehicles from us so far. Located on Tannery Road, very close to Aljunied.
Unlike other films, these are genuinely made in in the US. Costed 300 SGD inclusive of removing the old shitty Cheras tint.
Its the 4th vehicle I have tinted here, and during my Puspakom inspection for a B5 & B7 test, they came in at exactly 51, 52 and 53 % VLT all around on my previous car sold. Not darker. Trust Malaysian hands and Tint ads on facebook ? I always say misleading or a scam =)
3AM, Tiong Bahru, Singapore. Graceful
21st October
Interior Repair Works
Head on over to Glenmarie, to Preffered Wheels, because Kepong folks are not as recognized due to lowyatters. These guys did good job on the interior. Interesting cars go here too from the new and much older.
Got Daniel to respray some old rubberised parts that were ruined by possibly, hands of some Puchong or Kepong car accessory shop. Didnt look close to the original.
Cleaned the interior to get a matte finish on the leather, got the roof liner sorted out, even found the Mercedes emblem for the gear knob and fixed that too. I saved 100 bucks from looking at some Sunway Accessory shop selling some Cheap Charlie China Cherasville looking emblem that was in Gold.
FOUND !!! This really bothered me when I didnt have it.
Phew. It had No 3D Silver Star, just some light gold 1 dimension Silver Star (which looked Gold to me)!!!!!!! Gave me much pleasure getting back that Emblem. Missing piece mishandled literally by either a Puchong or Cherasville hand. Real rough hands I tell you.
From one shop to another
22nd October
The front sensors have issues. Probably due to the previous owner or the dealer not looking after the vehicle well enough. However, the Spray shop tries its best the second time to clear the sensors and repair them but it just is not salvageable. Looks like its up to Mr. Thamby to help with another sensor I guess.
23rd October
Mr. Thamby fixes some SRS issue. Clears some codes. Gets the foot brake sensor sorted. We have an issue which has been there since our test drive and that's the seat belt sign remains on and beeps whenever I drive. Mr. Thamby tells me its the seat belt itself. Needs some persuasion to fit it in. Looks like I will have to use some rough Cherasville or Puchong hands to clip it in for the meantime.
We parts ways that evening and decide to resume on all the smaller issues a week after Deepavali.
It will be soon before the fat bill arrives as well.
6 November
A few discoveries made in between the 23rd of October till now. Looks like the Kepong and Cheras previous low quality owners had left me with some concerns
1. Engine Idling between 500 - 600 revs on cold start (Fixable)
2. Front Sensors still dont work (have got myself a small scratch now some how)
3. Seatbelt Sensors dont work, will need to get the seatbelt replaced
4. 2 nuts from my wheels flew off
5. Brakes make noise. Looks like Brake discs or pads need replacement at the next service
6 November
A few discoveries made in between the 23rd of October till now. Looks like the Kepong and Cheras previous low quality owners had left me with some concerns
1. Engine Idling between 500 - 600 revs on cold start (Fixable)
2. Front Sensors still dont work (have got myself a small scratch now some how)
3. Seatbelt Sensors dont work, will need to get the seatbelt replaced
4. 2 nuts from my wheels flew off
5. Brakes make noise. Looks like Brake discs or pads need replacement at the next service
All said and done, lets see how things begin to look after this week ends.
I also ordered myself some sports pedals from Lazada
A dash of some trim aint going to hurt. Plus, wouldnt want anymore Cheras or Kepong feet past on the current pedals. The brake pedal was rubbed down anyway. I get it shipped with Express
Old Vehicle Purchase for 3 years usage
29th November
What a sleeper. Could stare for hours at this. Gorgeous lines. You know cool people drive this car when they didnt think about the practicality of it when buying it. Just form - over - functionality. And preserving it to look simple is a task not fit for Cheras, Jinjang, Kepong and Puchong folks. This needs to be preserved with clean lines only.
I finally get the bill from Mr. Thamby. With all changes that have taken place, the car is STILL not perfect but it has come to RM 9,588.00 for his bill. A lot has been done. Even changing coil packs as well. However, theres still some misfiring. Anyway, I negotiate the bill down to 9,108.00 considering he cause a scratch in my interior as well thats going to cost RM 200 to fix.
Anyway, all things done, the car misfires slightly, and some small issues to resolve, should take another day of time. Brakes too will need to be changed during the next service. I cant be too upset about the bills either. I know what I am trying to take care of and preserve rather than think about how Im going to sell my car and finance the next vehicle for my CNY 2023 wish.
13th December
I pay Mr. Thamby a cheque of RM 9,108.00. Well, no more new issues, just minor ones like a noisy passenger window when it gets winded down, musky boot smell possibly due to some water somewhere, and some slight noise from the rear with a little misfiring. All in all, I love driving this car, oh yeah and brake squeel. Will wait for the ABS sign to come one or change them by the next service.
Now lets calculate how much I have spent and what I would have spent if otherwise
Money talks, and Bullshit here, really walks. Just watch
Old Vehicle Purchase for 3 years usage
1. Vehicle - 45,200.00 (with JPJ Name change, Puspakom Inspection)
2. Number Plate - 12,000.00
3. Service - 9,108.00
4. Tyres - 2,460.00
5. Roadtax Insurance 3 years for a 3.5 V6 Engine - 17,300.00
6. Paint Job - 5,000.00
7. Consequent Maintenance & Service (2020 & 2021) - 5,000.00
8. Grab money IF required (1 month worth for 2 years, at Rm 2,500 per km)
What does this total up to in 3 years ? RM 98,568.00
Thats my 3 years installment for my GTi
VS 3 years Ownership of New Vehicle (Assuming RM 250k - 300k vehicle such as a VW Arteon with 7 year loan but 3 year ownership)
1. Downpayment 20% for RM 250k Vehicle - 50,000.00
2. Number Plate - 12,000.00 (Average 2 digit plate)
3. Road Tax (R/Tax 1k)& Insurance for 3 years (4.5k,4k,3.5k year 3) - 12,000.00 +/-,
4. 3 months Grab money - 7,500.00 (each month 2,500kms average @ rm 1 per KM) Because service centers never will give a courtesy car unless you know someone high up.
5. Maintenance and Service with 2 tyre change - Round Up to 8,000.00
6. Profit by Banks at approximately (8% for 3 years) - 20,000.00
7. 36 installments x RM 3,000 = 108,000.00
Ready for the math ?
RM 226,500.00 in 3 years of Ownership. Just to piss off your neighbour, enemy, flaunt your wealth, or show how small a penis you have because you just couldn't keep your damn ego low enough or hide it away from those you want to piss off. That stupid inner voice of yours saying "I must have it". And these are the same people pretending to be humble on Sundays wearing Crocs or maybe Red Wing Loafers, RM 185 short sleeve chequered shirts, Ralph Lauren short pants, a weekend watch such as a Panerai, eating a Koay Teow at RM 33 at some 5 star pretentious hotel, pretending that your Sunday lunch makes you remember your roots and recharge your inner humbleness.....
Pfffff, please, your portray is just as good as some Petronas advertisement seen nowdays. Greedy pigs. Swines.
Pfffff, please, your portray is just as good as some Petronas advertisement seen nowdays. Greedy pigs. Swines.
You pay 226,500.00 for 3 years of ownership, only NOT to be allowed in some private residential area where the guards tell you
"IC...Register..."
Where else my 99k car for 3 years has opened gates TWICE without questions =) Ok, Maybe 3 times.
Wait,........possibly 4 times now.
Huat Ah !!! 2020 Tikus Mali !
Heres an add for you - This Chinese New Year in the year of the Rat, Drive home a Brand new Mercedes / Audi / BMW at and Interest rate 0.88% ..... (Bullocks, read the fine print)........
Now yours at only 0.88% interest. Terms and Conditions apply
Even if my Ratty street maths are wrong, by 20%, thats still 181,200.00 spent on ownership in 3 years for a 250k Car. (sorry for the pun with year of the Rat, my wife is born in the year of the Rat)
And to think I was willing to spend on an Arteon or a new Mercedes around 300k ? No more new cars for me till its necessary. Someone, or Something, put the right brakes in my mind at the right time. Thank you Jupiter !
However. will be looking forward to a wonderful Chinese New Year in 2020 as its just around the corner. While I'll be roasting some BBQ pork belly and having a beer, Ill be having fun and looking at who has some brand new wheels and just thinking to myself when a new Porche Macan, or some new BMW X5, Volvo XC 90, GLC, GLE, or Bentley (MUST BE MADE IN 2020 WAN ! OR ELSE CANNOT !) passes by, just polished and ceramic coated..............
" Took you more effort than me ".
