Jacky Yong

This is my first experience here as a Toyota owner, servicing my Altis. I was prepared for a huge bill. For one thing, I do not have a complete service record for this car, so all other details of the record remain vague. I have called 2 weeks earlier to book an appointment and the receptionist did mention that 80,000 km is a major service for Altis. She did mention a range of RM700 ++.

I bought some very good lubricants before I went there, the Caltex GTX. Cost me RM50 plus. And the original Toyota oil filter. Could save me some buck, I thought.

Went there today, 9 am. It’s just by the road side of the Balakong highway, so you can’t miss it. But I did, simply because there was a bend and there was a side road before you can enter here. Made a couple of u-turns before I finally reached there.

My first impression I was there was how professional everything looks. I wish I had my camera with me. The “garage” does not look like a garage at all. The reception area was air-conditioned, and it looks more like a bank than a sleazy car mechanic place that I used to know. The work area where all the Toyota’s a being serviced is partitioned with a glass wall so you can sit down and look at the buzz of activities on the service floor. There was plenty of space to sit around, two floors of them, to watch TV, even write a blog, as what I am doing now! Free wifi seem to be the “in” thing nowadays everywhere.

The person in charge of my Altis was Edward. Edward is nice guy, smartly dressed in the Toyota shirt of red and white. We conversed in English, and I almost forgot that I am taking my car for a service. He showed me the packages available, the things that needs to be serviced and stuffs. He also showed me the previous service record, which was more than 4 years ago! I have to give in to his argument, you never know how and when the previous owner services the car. It’s better to start from a clean state, and change everything. And that means EVERY DAMN THING! The aircond system will have to be serviced as well, along with other checks. That amounts to a whopping 4 digit bill! All my entire life, the only time when I need to cough out over RM1000 in car service was when I changed my car suspension of my Iswara, and when my Iswara kena accident. BTW, the lubricants that I bought earlier? I can’t use it here. The Maxcheck comes as a package, so even if you were to bring your own parts, they will not use it.

This is just a really major service, and they really mean MAJOR! I have looked at their schedule, where they have the list of services necessary, and the recommended mileage to do it. 80K is always at the end of the table! That really tells you something huh?

Oh well, at least that gives me peace of mind. This service will last me at least another 40K of worry free driving.

Well, got to go. I have got tonnes of work waiting for me to do before the start of UAT testing this Monday. Ciao.