Dated 3rd August 2010
Waaah… Apparently, due to the recession, the car shop
servicing our car closed down. The company folded up three months ago. Suddenly,
I am faced with the daunting task of looking for a good mechanic in this city, by myself, on my own. I went
through the traditional process of getting recommendations from friends for a
good mechanic, instead of just walking into any mechanic shop I see. First I asked
our Malaysian friends. A friend living near us referred me to a mechanic which
is just near our neighbourhood. I thought, ok, that’s good. I really don’t want
to go too far. The only thing is, the guy couldn’t figure out what was the
error code coming up on my car screen. He just mumbled some explanations on
what he did but later he asked me, “When did the engine icon start coming up?”
And he also asked whether it was on all the time or whether it came on and off,
etc. Then I realized this guy doesn’t know what’s wrong with my car. He said
they just erased my car’s memory and if the icon comes up again I should bring
the car back to him. If the error code coming up is the same he will fix it
again and won’t charge me extra. But if the error coming up is different he
will, of course, charge again. The next day the icon came up again. So, I
thought, if I bring it back to him, he still won’t know what to do with it and
he might just end up charging me more and I still don’t get the problem fixed. It
would just be a waste of time and money.
servicing our car closed down. The company folded up three months ago. Suddenly,
I am faced with the daunting task of looking for a good mechanic in this city, by myself, on my own. I went
through the traditional process of getting recommendations from friends for a
good mechanic, instead of just walking into any mechanic shop I see. First I asked
our Malaysian friends. A friend living near us referred me to a mechanic which
is just near our neighbourhood. I thought, ok, that’s good. I really don’t want
to go too far. The only thing is, the guy couldn’t figure out what was the
error code coming up on my car screen. He just mumbled some explanations on
what he did but later he asked me, “When did the engine icon start coming up?”
And he also asked whether it was on all the time or whether it came on and off,
etc. Then I realized this guy doesn’t know what’s wrong with my car. He said
they just erased my car’s memory and if the icon comes up again I should bring
the car back to him. If the error code coming up is the same he will fix it
again and won’t charge me extra. But if the error coming up is different he
will, of course, charge again. The next day the icon came up again. So, I
thought, if I bring it back to him, he still won’t know what to do with it and
he might just end up charging me more and I still don’t get the problem fixed. It
would just be a waste of time and money.
Later, I talked with our property manager and asked if by
any chance she knows of a good mechanic in our neighbourhood and all she could
come up with was this same guy in our area. She also said there is actually no
mechanic in the commercial area near my house. And then she gave me a number of
a “mobile mechanic” but when I called the guy he said he’s too busy and too far
away to look at my car.
any chance she knows of a good mechanic in our neighbourhood and all she could
come up with was this same guy in our area. She also said there is actually no
mechanic in the commercial area near my house. And then she gave me a number of
a “mobile mechanic” but when I called the guy he said he’s too busy and too far
away to look at my car.
So, I thought, ok, on to the next set of friends – my Filipino
friends! I only have one Filipino friend in our area and she referred me to a
guy who was once a mechanic, who, 25 years ago was managing the same shop I
last went to! He’s no longer in that business so he referred me to a mechanic
in K. He said the guy’s the best this side of town. Haha… When the guy saw
me at his shop he was talking with two other guys and he said, “Give me a
couple of minutes,” which became maybe 10-15 min. Then when he talked to me
again he told me to park my car in the same place where a car was coming out
from, so, I said, “Ok.” And after I parked, he was gone and I waited for
another 10-15 min with nobody talking to me…. I asked one assistant of his and
he said the guy’s just upstairs and will be back soon…, etc. I waited again and
just when I felt like leaving he came down and told that same assistant to
finally test my car. The guy did an electronic test on my car and he said that
the result says nothing is wrong with my car and he removed the icon (which
means he erased the memory of my car again) and told me the same thing… come
back if the icon comes up again. And he charged me for that testing as well!
friends! I only have one Filipino friend in our area and she referred me to a
guy who was once a mechanic, who, 25 years ago was managing the same shop I
last went to! He’s no longer in that business so he referred me to a mechanic
in K. He said the guy’s the best this side of town. Haha… When the guy saw
me at his shop he was talking with two other guys and he said, “Give me a
couple of minutes,” which became maybe 10-15 min. Then when he talked to me
again he told me to park my car in the same place where a car was coming out
from, so, I said, “Ok.” And after I parked, he was gone and I waited for
another 10-15 min with nobody talking to me…. I asked one assistant of his and
he said the guy’s just upstairs and will be back soon…, etc. I waited again and
just when I felt like leaving he came down and told that same assistant to
finally test my car. The guy did an electronic test on my car and he said that
the result says nothing is wrong with my car and he removed the icon (which
means he erased the memory of my car again) and told me the same thing… come
back if the icon comes up again. And he charged me for that testing as well!
Of course, the icon came up again even before I reached
home but I couldn’t go back because it was time to pick up my kids from school.
I knew I was conned and that second mechanic doesn’t know my car’s problem
either. So I thought, forget about feeling sick over being conned, I've got to get this thing done. Now it’s time to ask friends from Joche’s school.
So, apparently this Samoan guy teaching there knows of a good mechanic just
around that area. He referred me to a shop just down the same road as my
daughter’s school and the guy loaned me his car and attended to my problem at
once! Now that is what I call service! And he diagnosed and fixed the problem
as well, no sweat - piece of cake.
home but I couldn’t go back because it was time to pick up my kids from school.
I knew I was conned and that second mechanic doesn’t know my car’s problem
either. So I thought, forget about feeling sick over being conned, I've got to get this thing done. Now it’s time to ask friends from Joche’s school.
So, apparently this Samoan guy teaching there knows of a good mechanic just
around that area. He referred me to a shop just down the same road as my
daughter’s school and the guy loaned me his car and attended to my problem at
once! Now that is what I call service! And he diagnosed and fixed the problem
as well, no sweat - piece of cake.
So, between a Malaysian, Filipino and Samoan referral, the
winner is… Samoan!!! Bwahahaaa!!! Really, I’m just glad that that car headache
is solved now, after more than a week hovering over my head. Phew!! That also means I
have found a reliable guy who can fix my car problems and do my WOF as well. God
is good and I feel so blessed today!!! :-)
winner is… Samoan!!! Bwahahaaa!!! Really, I’m just glad that that car headache
is solved now, after more than a week hovering over my head. Phew!! That also means I
have found a reliable guy who can fix my car problems and do my WOF as well. God
is good and I feel so blessed today!!! :-)
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