During the major service last year, I was told that the rear brake pads of my Audi were 80% worn out while the Discs were OK and no complaints on the front brakes. So I sent it to Kwit-fit (KF) in Woking last Saturday to get them changed. I left the car with KF, and they said they would check all brakes and tell me what jobs need to be done even though I told them it were only the rear pads. I thought no harm with the extra checks, since they were free anyway.
I got a call an hour later and was told that all four discs and pads need changing! What the H*… (Blimey! for Brit). They said the rear discs were heavily corroded while the front were under legal limit. They wanted to charge me £480 all together with £240 for each side. I was in total disbelief and told them to put everything back together without changing anything.
Couple days later, I got a local car service contact from Johnny, the guy I met in the church. Booked the chap for Saturday (yesterday) to work on the brakes. He came around yesterday, did the job in the parking lot. In the end, he only changed the rear pads as all others are OK. Total of the job was only £65!

I must say I enjoyed every minute of it. The interior is lovely and obviously the exterior is much aggressive due to the oversize grill compared to the model that I am having. The handling was excellent especially the power steering which is light but not uncontrollable. The ride was little bumpy compared to mine as it has low profile tyres. I have to say I love the diesel engine, it is so much easier to handle compared to petrol. The Low rev engine didn’t even go pass 4000rpm as I was hammering along my way to work. Better still the fuel indicator didn’t even bother to move after my harsh cruising!! That’s what I call economy without sacrificing speed and driving style. The extra little noise from the engine didn’t bother me. I think I will most likely get a diesel for my next car. -eng

He-hey…. I finally received my new toy MIO 268+ today after all the hassle dealing with Parceline deliveries.

Also it was my first time buying stuffs over Ebay in UK which is quite cool actually with all the bidding fun; except that I missed both delivery attempts and had to pay extra to deliver on Saturday, bummer!

Anyway it’s a nice looking piece of toy, made in China (where else!). Satnav (or Satellite Navigator) has become increasingly common in UK. It is very common to see one of these gadgets sticks on the windscreen in moving cars on the street. It is so convenient whereby you will feel like you are travelling with a buddy who knows everywhere you want to go.

Since I arrived in the UK, I have been using www.theaa.com and maps.google.com to provide printed maps and directions for me. They are very reliable, accurate, but the main problem is that it is increasingly dangerous trying to read the instructions, reading road names, while at the same time looking out for driving hazards. Also if I miss a junction or turn, which I always do, I will have to work my way back to the same point and continue again. Adding to the pain is when driving in the city traffic especially in London city where you have bus lanes, congestion charge zones and one way streets. That’s why I usually decide to take the train or go for park and ride option.

Now, with this Mio 268+, if it is doing what it says on the review, it should solve all these problems. With the GPS capability, it will be in constant contact with satellites to get the current coordinates and produce all the directions I want to go. It will display instructions and speak out the direction as well so I can concentrate on driving and at the same time it will re-route to any new directions if I miss any turning/juctions. To be honest if I still miss turning/junctions even with the help of this gadget then I should book myself for a doctor’s appointment.

Do you know UK has a very well defined postcode system? Meaning a unique postcode is assigned to a very small area of addresses. Example is the flat where I am living has a postcode, while the opposite hospital (only 200 yards) has a different one. This allows satnavs to do a very precise destination search. Market leader Tom Tom provides full UK postcode search while this Mio 268+ only supports part of it. But I think it should be alright. Btw, I am going to test run this satnav tomorrow to Manchester and then to Preston hehe… Will kick it back to the seller if it turns out to be a lemon.

Also… it is my birthday present from my pregnant wife
Man don’t always get upset with age during birthdays if there are good toys to play with.

I sent my car to an Audi Specialist Fontain.co.uk for cam belt service yesterday and cost me a whopping £500 !

I could have had a £300 service from a local garage but it seems to be fully booked all the time. Out of no choice I resorted to Fontain as they were the only one who would book me in this Saturday. It’s really an arm and leg experience but I hope and pray that will not happen too often. Well, if I were to plan my Preston trip much earlier, I wouldn’t be in this desperate situation calling garages to book me in. An expensive lesson learnt.

In Malaysia, we have plenty of garages to choose from. A lot of them are willing to go the extra mile for you, fix bit and bobs for free, price is negotiable and it is cheap. Then again you will need to carefully choose which one you would go to as not all mechanics are capable of handling the advance electronic system in newer cars.
In UK, things are slightly different. Standard garages will need approximately 3 days in advance to book your car in while you may find some top garages won’t be able to book you in unless you call 1 or 2 weeks in advance. Also, I realise famous garages don’t open on Saturdays which annoys me.
Labour service is charged by hour. Different garages have different rates. Some dealership garages charge £80 to £100 per hour, while some standard garages charge £40 to £60 per hour. Say if you are sending your car for a major service which requires 3 hours in a standard garage of £50/h. Total labour would be £150 excluding parts and VAT. At the end of the service you would not be surprise to receive a bill of £200-300. Luckily, most of them know what they are doing even with newer electronics gadgets packed cars so I basically have plenty of choices but need heck lot of time for planning.
Another thing worth mentioning is that, under the new European’s fair trade ruling, new cars under manufacturing warranty are allowed to be serviced by non-dealership garages without voiding the warranty requirements as long as the service schedule and itinerary are well kept. Unlike in Malaysia, where we have to stick to manufacturer’s service centre within the warranty period which is expensive compare to other garages out there.

Next thing in my list is the major service, which I am very much looking forward to (not financially) while the vehicle is still under warranty from the insurance I’ve bought.

BTW, a piece of plastic cover at the back of driver’s seat has fallen off when I first got the car. I think I am quite close to claiming a new one from Car giant. It costs £100 including labour to fix it. No kidding! I don’t mind sticking it with a double sided tape if I were to fork out that much myself for a pitiful cover! -eng

**did you realise that i have created a new category ‘Car Talk’? As though I am going to write a lot about cars which I doubt. Mel reckons everything will ‘cool’ down in 2 months time, like the old saying ‘Chicken sh*t’. Let’s see…

Ya, I bought myself an Audi A4! I had been dreaming about buying an A4 since I arrived in the UK and finally it is all becoming real!

It’s a 2.0L Petrol engine which comes with Manual gear and capable to deliver 120bph with 0-100km in 9.6 sec (it’s a heavy car anyway). I must say, Germans know what they are doing and the car didn’t fail to keep the promise of delivering high standard of comfort and quality.

It is however quite thirsty on fuel and I reckon it’s about twice the consumption compared with my previous Mazda. Talking about cost, I am going to send it for a timing belt change along with other important engine components. Did a price check with Audi dealer and was told that it would cost a jaw dropping £500! (Excluding service). Good things come with a price, don’t they.

We have just returned from our 250miles test drive from Birmingham, an overnight in Aunt Violet’s place. The journey has once again reaffirmed our right choice of car.

A 2-days car hunt has finally come to an end. I found the next car I am going to own from the Car Giant in White City and they were willing to part-ex the Mazda. Although it has been a mere 1 yr and 5 months, the Mazda has brought me through all sorts of unpredictable weather in UK. Strong gales on M40, Snow storm in Birmingham, 36C ovenly hot day with malfunctioned Aircon, heavy sprays on motorways, hail storms in Richmond and hazy rainy nights. It was 42K miles on the clock when it was in a garage in Liverpool, and now it is 69K miles, an impressive achievement of 27k miles mainly due to business trips. Most of the business trips were to and from Preston, Oxford, Hemel Hempstead, Feltham, Liverpool.

I would say, the most memorable experience with the car was the Snow storm in Birmingham when it was also my first experience driving back to the hotel from Dudley office where most of the road was covered with black ice. It was pitch dark, slippery and of course freezing. Exciting! Others were my Parent’s visits to Peak District, Windsor, Bath and Oxford, and also TienHow’s family’s (my x-classmate) trip to Windsor. My idea of changing the car grew stronger and stronger since a month ago and quite coincidentally, I had a cracked wind screen on my way to Preston last month.

Knew that I was going to change the car, I didn’t bother fixing it. Then what pissed me off last Friday Morning was on my way to Hemel, a lorry refused to let me into his lane and subsequently scratched and dented my rear. What a bummer! It was a Marks and Spencer’s truck ! I didn’t pursue any legal action nor tried to stop the truck. I was a coward because I knew I was partly at fault for going into his lane via the Malaysian way. Well, I wasn’t in a top mood the whole day and Mel very much supported me that it was time to get it sorted for good that weekend…. We spent the whole Saturday afternoon looking at a VW Bora and Nissan Primera. Came home thinking that I was going to pick 1 of them. But the night itself we changed our mind and decided to check out Car Giant – The biggest car supermarket in the Europe in White City London! It was totally unplanned, both of us spotted a car that we knew we would be feeling heart broken if we were to leave the place empty handed. The rest of the story was like a dream where we couldn’t recollect how many ppl we’ve spoken to sort out the sales transaction. At the end of it, I got what I wanted, a car that I have been thinking of owning and just couldn’t stop grinning. And obviously Mel didn’t miss her opportunity to earn her smile by requesting for her favourite Mui Choy Kao Yok in Bayswater. As I am writing this… I am waiting to leave for Mel’s doc appointment and to pickup my Insurance cover note for the car.

Then… my four rings experience will begin tonight… - eng