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,

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.