It seems that I’m clocking my car’s odometer a little bit sooner than I should. With the amount of traveling that I’m doing everyday, I would have to service my car at least once every 2 months instead of 3 months. There is one way to avoid this, move nearer to my office which is located about 40km from my house in KL.

Anyway, last weekend I went to Kepong where I used to go and service my car. I had noticed one of Fasfik’s service workshop in Sri Serdang had been closed for quite some time. I would have never thought Fasfik Kepong would have gone to the same process.

Fasfik Kepong Closed (August 2008)

It’s a pity that such a nice location and a nice facility needed to be closed down. I suspect Fasfik is having a scaling issues whereby they tried to go big very quickly but find out that they are incapable of supplying enough resources. In businesses, there is always risk to be taken therefore I guess Fasfik would really have to make a decision whether to move forward and overcome their obstacles or just sell off their business like what Projet (Now being bought over by Shell) did.

I am quite sad to see them closed down however, my car needs to be serviced one way or the other. A few meters away from where Fasfik is located, is another service workshop. They’re currently having a promotion but it is only for old cars. Their normal package for my car starts at RM98 but I ended up paying RM178 because of other parts of my car that is slowly deteriorating. I should have brought my laptop because there’s free Wi-Fi while waiting in the customer’s waiting lounge.

AutoCare & Tyre (ACT) with Free Wi-Fi Available

This ACT Workshop is Very Clean

The service was quite fast. In less than an hour, my car was serviced and running smoothly again. Now isn’t that money well spent? So much of me being so thrifty.

My car was overdue for its scheduled service. I was supposed to send it for a pit stop every 5,000km but since I just got myself a new mileage meter replacing the broken one, I think I’ve clocked almost 10,000km already. Anyway, being a loyal customer to a particular service shop, I sent my car for a service job at my usual car service workshop, Fasfik Kepong branch.

Unlike my previous two visits to the same branch before, there was only one guy attending me for my car’s service job. Then I saw this:

Taking a closer look at the screen:

Ashrufzz Reality Adventure Snapshot at Fasfik Kepong Branch

It’s my picture featured on the main computer inside the workshop. I was overjoyed, at least my blog name is visible. One of the Fasfik owners commented on one of my Fasfik review recently. I guess I must have made a good impression to them..hehe..

My Car Third Service Pit Stop @ Fasfik Kepong

I had a chat with the one and only mechanic at that time, he revealed some surprising and appalling information. All the other Fasfik crew of Kepong branch had left. He himself was from another neighbor Fasfik branch being assigned there to bring the service shop branch back to life. From a management point of view, I can understand why they only give basic salary to the crew. I can also understand how a life of mechanic is since I was a car mechanic trainee during my years of studying automotive engineering. I guess you need to love your job in order to stay long in your career. Even I myself has job hopped so many times before landing to something I really love doing.

During my last visit, the branch ran out of Fasfik engine oil so I had to resort to the expensive Shell Helix engine oil. This time, I guess there was an oversupply of Fasfik engine oil. Basically, it’s just a basic engine oil being labeled.

Fasfik Engine Oil Product

I don’t know why, but I just love packaged product. It makes me feel as I’m buying a bargain deal rather than the expensive customized service.

Fasfik Line of Packaged Products

This visit cost me RM50 for an engine oil change job along with a free engine oil filter and regular check of my car.

It has been a crazy week for me. Blame it on this morning’s presentation and my latest obsession of playing Mayor in Simcity 4 game. I’ve overworked my poor old Acer Aspire 3683’s Intel Celeron M processor to the max. Hopefully my CPU processor wouldn’t give up on me yet.

Last week, I sent my car to the workshop. I have this thing whenever I’ve chosen a workshop, I’ll stick to it. Since Fasfik doesn’t cover air-cond and accessories repair, I went to my regular workshop located at Batu 4, Jalan Ipoh, KL. It has been over a month my car’s air conditioner couldn’t provide cool air especially when driving through the city traffic of KL. Car air-conditioning has been a regular issue I’ve been facing since I got my first car 8 years ago. My current Proton Iswara just got it air-conditioning back working after more than a year being without air-conditioning. Upon arriving at the workshop and popping the hood, the mechanic immediately pin-pointed the main problem my car is having. The cooling fan doesn’t work.

This had happened to me on my previous Daihatsu Charade car where I bypass the electrical wiring to save money on repairs. I don’t encourage you to do so because it will affect your car’s morning start. Anyway, back to my story, the mechanic then remove the fan and replace the motor with a new one. Apart from that, I’ve also replaced my broken odometer ever since it got changed after my car’s seat theft 2 years ago. Enjoy the picture below:

My Air-Conditioning and Accessories Repair Shop

My broken Air-Conditioning Fan Cooler

The repair workfloor

My dashboard being removed

My Broken Odometer

My total bill came in at RM305 altogether. RM185 for the new odometer, while RM110 for the motor fan repair. Hopefully this time, my car’s air-conditioner will last long.

My lack of blog posting is the result of having too much stuff with loads of excuses. Simply saying, I haven’t been spending quality time with my blog. I have a few lined up drafts on my blog but haven’t been published yet. So much information that can be shared is now stucked in my brain…Mmm..

This morning, on my way to my workplace, there was a massive traffic jam at Jalan Kuching heading towards Jalan Duta ramp. KL traffic is unpredictable and one of the main cause is always traffic accidents. Check this one out which I took a snapshot this morning:

Overturned Toyota Vios at Jln Duta Ramp

I have no idea how on earth this car could have overturned in a traffic jam crawl. Well, stranger accidents have happened when you are on the road.