Car Repair @ Rebond Motor USJ Part 2

Part 1 here: http://gabrielchoy.blogspot.com/2014/08/car-repair-rebond-motor-sdn-bhd-in-usj-1.html



Anyway they called me a few days ago that my car was fixed and ready. The next day (Aug 28) I went to the police station to grab my full set of the investigation result, sketch plan and third party's police report (cost me RM14), and went to Rebond to pass the docs and collect my car. Upon reaching Rebond, i couldn't locate my car anywhere in and around the workup. The staffs weren't very helpful so i went straight to the office upstairs.

I talked to the clerk and she passed me a form to sign (to show I've received the car and everything was fine). Also told me to call into the third party's insurance agency to follow up with the Loss of Car Use claim  after 6 months (RM80x10).

After that i went down to inspect my car and check if everything was okay. As usualy the staffs did not bother with me and so i approached of them and asked for  the location of my car.  He asked to go to the back of the workshop (some foreign worker). So i went behind thinking perhaps my car was parked at the back but didn't see my car. Then i saw the guy who was supposed to fix my car (whom i believe could be asupervisor-'Panjang' his name) told me it's just infront but didnt exactly tell me where. So i went out, and took some time to look for my car. It was parked quite a distance away from the workshop outside. Quite poor customer service and treatment from them.

I inspected the damage and was fixed but there were some things i requested them to fix for me which they didnt do. I looked for that 'Panjang' fella and told me they had agree to fix those for me. He complied and it took about 15-20 minutes to fix. Another thing i noticed was the a rubber seal that was attached to my back door (near the area of the accident) was missing. I asked them but they told me it was already missing when they got it back. Umm yea right :P I guess I should have taken a photo of my car before passing it to them since I had no proof i did not complain further.


I thought everything was ok so i drove back home. Then upon reaching my home, i thought 'Hey i should check the back headlamp they replaced'. I did that and noticed that one of the bulbs didnt work!! I had to drive back there and have that fixed.

That itself took another 30minutes to fix and the staff (Panjang) didnt look happy and just fixed it. He told me it was due to wiring issue and tried not to admit it was their fault. While fixing my car, another old Chinese guy came over and he just remembered that he forgot to his staff to fix the damages i requested them to fix. Oh well. But he was quite a nice chap, unlike Mr PanJang.

Overall quite poor service but they did return the car to me quite fast (about 10 days). Quite satisfied with Etiqa as well as they SMS-ed me one day after i sent in my car to the workshop and anothe rsms the follwing day that my repair request was approved. For Rebond workshop I rate it about 6/10 mainly for the poor customer service and had me return a 2nd time to fix the headlamp issue.  Will i come back here again next time? Probably. it isnt that bad but just a few minor annoyances.

Here are few things I have have done :-

a) Before I sign anything, inspect the car first
b) I should have taken photos of my car before handing it over to the workshop. To show them if there was anything missing atleast i got something to show and back it up
c)  Ask what got fixed and repaired and inspect. Then check those areas and see if there were defects. If they changed a part (eg headlamp) make sure to check it out and everything was functioning properly.
d) Do periodical checking (once a week atleast) and check out the condition and progress of the repair of my car

Car Repair @ Rebond Motor Sdn Bhd in USJ 1

Since I had decided to skip Proton SC for my car repair, Ii browsed the Etiqa website for their list of panel workshops. I found two, one is in USJ7 and the other in USJ1. USJ7 is closer to my place so did some online check. It seems there was a complaint made by a customer in 2010 about this USJ7 Etiqa car repair workshop. He complained that they drove his mother's car around without his permission to do runner's job.

"Days passed by and no calls from the boss so I decided to pay CMS a surprise visit to see the progress and this was on the 25th of Dec 2010 (Saturday) late morning. As I was approaching the workshop - to my surprise I saw my mom's car on the road coming from Taipan! I was shocked so I decided to tail my mom's car & it went back to the workshop.

NO work had been done on my mom's car (0% progress). I quickly stepped out from my car & straight look for the boss but could only find his 2nd man & he took the case lightly saying oh this is a small matter only & after some checking he said his man took the car to find some spare parts NOT related to my car.

Furious with this I called the boss for an explanation & he said the same and told me the car will be ready in 2 days with work starting this very moment. Already pissed I called my mom to discuss about it & we agreed to take the car back after this incident since they're using my mom's car as a runner car and 0% work has been done so far. I don't even want to see what will happen to the car if they started working on it and rush to finish it. Might look like crap if u ask me.

Imagine if they used the car for a robbery or they knocked someone down & ran away. Who would the police find first? My mom! CMS Cars Express have NO respect for the customer's car. Using it for the last 6 days for their OWN PURPOSES."

Source: http://hc3msia.b1.jcink.com/index.php?showtopic=521



My other option: Rebond Motor Sdn Bhd. https://www.motorworkshop.com.my/workshop/rebond/

As usual i did some research of this company via google search and didn't find anything wrong with it. Well no news is actually good news :)

So i went there and asked about the procedures after my police station visit. The workshop is actually quite deep inside but not too hard to find. The workshop looks big and is owned by Chinese. They have a Malay clerk who wasn't too sure of the procedures and she asked a Chinese lady from one of the rooms to come out and answer some of my questions. Anyway they told me I should have gotten the third party police report earlier since they need it  for third party claim. Anyway I will get that next week together with all the other documents required for third party claim (result, sketch plan,etc). At first I asked if they could help me get all these docs on my behalf but they told me its better I do it myself as cost is very expensive if they hire runner (actually illegal to do so). Oh well never mind. At the very least they will do the JPJ part for me (unlike Proton COE).

I talked to the repairmen afterwards and showed them my car. I had some minor requests and they told me no problem. It could take up to 2 weeks to get approval (from insurance company) and about another week for the repair to be complete. Since my cars is below 5 years, they should be able to get original parts. They promised they will replace my bumper, lamp light, knock back the mudguard and do repaint.

Anyway after i left, I remember that I did not get any form of receipt/proof that I placed my car at their place. I emailed them at rebondmotor@yahoo.com but yet to receive a reply (probably wont get). Anyway I will update here again and see how it goes.


Part 2 here: http://gabrielchoy.blogspot.com/2014/08/car-repair-rebond-motor-usj-part-2.html

Changing Tyres

Here's a nice article on changing car tyre :) Special thanks to my good buddy Clarence for sharing!

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Changing tyres - A damsel in distress speaks out.
07-Nov-2007 | Text and photos by Gen Lim | Category: Car Maintenance Advice
URL:http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/writeup.php?AID=76

When a friend approached me to write this article, I fearlessly accepted without hesitation. The challenge was simple, attempt to change one of his car tyres and live to tell the tale. The only problem? I have never changed a tyre in my entire life! Besides having to deal with the urban legend that women are bad drivers, now I was faced with the task of proving that a woman (me) is capable of skillfully maneuvering a car as well as fixing it up when the tyre goes flat.

My next reaction was one that belonged in the bimbotic realm, I shrieked, “My manicure!” Yes, the typical damsel in distress route. “I just got my nails done and I do not want to ruin them, neither do I want to get down and dirty to change a car tyre!” However, I had already accepted the challenge and I was determined to get through with it with as little complaints as possible. I am going to prove that I am tough as nails (pardon the pun), manicure or not!



To my surprise, changing a car tyre was not half as difficult as I expected it to be. First of all, one would not have to worry about not having the right tools because every car is equipped with the necessary a set of tools. You can find the tools comfortably nesting in the boot of your car along with your spare tyre. After going through the steps with aforementioned friend, I realized that changing a car tyre is really as simple as ABC. If you are a big fan of DIY furniture from Ikea, it is basically the same logic, just follow instructions.

However, if you are the kind of girl who will sooner hike up her skirt to get some male assistance when your vehicle malfunctions, here is my step-up-step guide on how to change your own car tyres. Trust me; it will come in very useful the day you are stranded on the highway. Also, you will be earning brownie points on behalf of women drivers everywhere!

#1 DO NOT PANIC
You are cruising down the highway, singing along to the music in the radio and suddenly you realize something’s not right with the car. It feels imbalanced; it feels like it is breaking down, you thought you heard a loud splutter. Is it the engine? No, your tyre just went flat. What do you do? Simple. DO NOT PANIC. And move on to step #2.





#2 GET YOUR TOOLS & SPARE TYRE OUT
Upon realizing you have a flat, simply dig deep into your boot for that spare tyre nesting there along with the tools that is going to make the whole process simpler. Kicking and cursing at the flat tyre is not going to work. Trust me. Be sure that among the tools you have gathered you have the a) Car Jack b) Cross Wrench and c) Turning Tool. Now this is when the action begins.






#3 START UN-SCREWING
Whip out the cross-wrench and start unscrewing the four bolts that are holding the flat tyre in place. This is the part where it may prove to be a little challenging. The bolts on the tyre are usually screwed on really tight and sheer strength would probably be able to help you out here. If you can’t count on your own strength, this is how you do it. Attach the cross-wrench to a bolt and make sure that it fits snugly, proceed to step on the cross wrench and use your entire body weight to loosen the attached bolt. You are probably required to do this at the initial part of unscrewing the bolt. Once you feel the bolt loosen, you can step off the cross-wrench. Repeat for the remaining 3 bolts.



#4 JACK THE CAR UP
Take a moment to breathe and look at the big picture, the four wheels are firmly on the ground bearing the weight of the car and there is no way you are going to be able to lift the car based on your own strength. Position the jack under a flat beam near the flat tyre. Attach the turning tool to the jack and start turning, the arm movement required to get the jack going closely resembles that when you are pedaling a bicycle. Stop once you have managed to get the entire flat tyre off the ground. Now proceed to remove the loosened bolts.




#5 REPLACE THE FLAT
Once all bolts have been removed, you can carefully remove the tyre from the axel and reattach the spare tyre in its place. Simply screw on the 4 bolts and you have successfully changed your own flat tyre! Now before you hop back into the car and be on your way, remember to lower the jack of the car till the newly replaced wheel is back on the ground, tighten the bolts with the cross wrench using your bodyweight and you are good to go! But remember, the spare tyre is only good to get you to the nearest tyre shop. You must get your flat tyre repaired or replaced soonest possible!

So there you have it, 5 simple steps on how to change your tyre. You would probably be left sweating buckets and having to deal with dirt on your hands and legs, but nothing beats having the opportunity to be able to brag about it to your peers. Besides, which guy does not like a girl who is able to get down and dirty when the opportunity calls for it? So girls, master these 5 steps and show the