It’s that time of month again, where I am suppose to service my car. My baby has been with me for almost 2 years, and she has been behaving really well so far. No major break downs and well, there ain’t anything to complaint about.
Today, or rather, yesterday was just one of the many routine check-ups I needed to keep her fit and in shape. She has done over 30,000km in Kuching, Damai, Serian and Bau… and she has been moving along nicely, without any problems.
But since she is going for a check up, I decided to just address some issues which seem to have come up with her health lately, like the ‘shrieking sound’ she makes when she starts moving, the ‘dub’ sound coming from her absorbers, and also the issue with lowering and moving up the power windows. These issues aren’t really major, and I could just ignore them… but since I am bringing her for a check-up, why not investigate what’s going on?
So, off I went to a trusted Proton Service Center I’ve been frequenting since my horrible experience with one of the major Platinum Proton Centers in town. I drove into the center, and explained to the boss about what’s happening with my car and how she has some hick-ups like the ‘dub’ sound, and the shrieking break..and the faulty power windows.
The boss took note, and I waited in the waiting room.
On a normal day, my car would be done within an hour, but I mean, that’s with standard checking and change of motor oil only. But this time, it took over 3 hours. Yes, three long hours… I was restless, and I walked around inspecting what they were doing to my baby, while taking shots of stuff I found around the workshop.
To my ‘buta kereta’ @ ‘car-blind’ eye, they seemed to be busy doing something to the rear breaking system of the car, and I figured that that must have something to do with the shrieking’ sound I get when moving. In addition to that, it took two to three of their mechanics to actually do my car, while I waited patiently. To be frank, I was kind of nervous of the final cost of the whole repair, because with so much manpower placed into my car, and also the amount of work they are doing, and not mentioning the total of hours it seems to be taking these 3 mechanics. Yeah, I was expecting the cost to be high.
At about 4pm, my car was ready. I was mentally ready to pay over RM400 for the repairs which seemed so complicated… but the total was only RM210! RM210?? I thought they mistyped the receipt, and so I asked “Is this all?” and guess what.. IT WAS!!
That was dirt cheap. The motor oil itself cost RM180, and their labor was only RM20. I personally felt it was kind of unfair to the mechanics, but then again, I ain’t complaining for getting their services cheap! About 5pm, I drove out of the service center with my baby moving as she was when I first got her, and now I know, I have more reason to come back to that service center because they are wayyyyy better than the platinum center which I said above, which takes up to 3 hours or more just to change motor oil, and do general servicing of the car.
If they fix the problem, it’s definitely worth the wait. Hehe.
[Cyril]
Yea.. The problem got fixed =D
my gentut is up for servicing as well but i dislike sending him to the main proton servicing ctr here in kk. like the platinum centre, it always take minimum 2 hours of waiting. i prefer to wait when i get back to keningau, where waiting time is less and the technician there has familiarized himself with my car to know if there’s any faulty or not.
[Cyril]
Seems like we have the same option. But I’m surprised that KK’s Platinum also slow.. Maybe Platinum memang like that.
Uih? sik u kenak ban org ambik gambar? Hahaha
[Cyril]
Sikda pun.. kena ban ka? Got such thing?
well, RM210 for servicing and minor repairs are cheap 🙂
[Cyril]
It is, isn’t it =)
yerp! it is damn cheap for servicing…
[Cyril]
Soo truee!!
and where is this service centre 🙂 huhuuh .. huhu my savvy always make problem 🙁
[Cyril]
It’s the only service centre along the same road which has Maybank(the branch near Twin Tower Kuching/Chicago7 Junction).
tq 🙂 huhuh
[Cyril]
No prob bro. I’m sure u know the place.. right?
Cyril, actually you dont need to fork out RM180 for the engine oil. It is a fully synthetic oil you are using and i dont think it would be feasible to use it in the long run. Only cars 2000cc and above use fully synthetic oils. Yours is a 1.3L and only need the normal oil at around RM65. Im talking about cost saving here. IF u have higher budget, u can get the semi-synthetic at around RM85. Yes, the first service bill is dirt cheap but not after all 3 free service charge is exhausted. Bear in mind, the older the car, the higher the maintenance so dont be too excited about it 🙂
Dont have to send to those big service centres like the Platinum centre, just go to your friendly neighbourhood Proton Service Dealers will do. THey are much faster and less hassle too. 😉 Just my 2 cents. Btw, I own a Persona.
[Cyril]
Owh my. Thank you for the information!!! Now I know what I should do the next time I service my car!! Frankly speaking, I know nuts about cars.. so I could easily be cheated if I went to the mechanic. Advice from experts like you are very much welcomed. Thank you bro!! 😀
I am not agree with andy. Your car will consume more petrol if you use normal oil which cost RM65. You save RM110 for engine oil but you will waste around RM50 of petrol per month which you will waste at least RM200 of petrol until the next service. Plus, your engine will have more tear and wear using normal oil, that means your engine life will be shorter.
Oh,… god point there bro. This means I need to change back to better oil 🙂
Well, at least use semi-synthetic at around RM85 or Fully synthetic will be the best because it is so slippery that wear and tear in your engine will be reduced to the minimum. My own car is already 19 years old and the piston ring still fit. I am now using semi-synthetic (Castrol Magnatec 10W40)but sometimes I use 76 synthetic blend 10W30 if Castrol no stock. I service my car every 5 months.
Hmm,
andy’s quite right on that. however, there’s a supplier for this kind of engine oil – syntethic type, you can get a supplier price around RM90++..get them near 100% padungan there. The company supply lubricant oil for big machine but also got oil for normal car
Guys : whoever from kuching can we Meet up one and have chit and chat discussion about Proton Car 😀 couldn’t be bother weather is new or Old hehe
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