31 January 2010 Sunday | 16:11 | The speed demon
After the post event supper at Katong last night, I headed back to the office to finish up some production work. I had about 1/4 petrol left, so I thought I should top up the tank because I have to travel to Tuas (from the north east) for a wedding dinner on Sunday evening.
The drama began after I paid for my fuel at Shell, Lornie Road (right outside MediaCorp). The car wouldn’t start. I’m a total noob at this. I only know how to speed travel from one point to another, and do reverse parking. Ok, I can do parallel parking if there are two lots. Hahahah.
Jan, who was working the next day, was on her way home. Irvin, who was about 3km away from my office, answered my call and said he was already in bed. I told Don, “Come save me! I don’t know what’s wrong. Is it the battery? You don’t be so loh soh! Come quick!” No Ps and Qs there. Haha.
He jumpstarted my car and revved hard to charge the battery. His advice was to head home immediately, in case the car stalled again. No, I couldn’t go back. I had urgent work to do. And true enough, the car died when I tried to restart the car after parking it safely in MediaCorp premises. LIke I said, I’m a goondu cos I’ve never encountered such problems in my 4 years plus of driving.
Had plenty of time while I waited in despair. Just so you know, the first thing I did in an emergency was to make phone calls, and not ask for help via social media.
Upon Kar Huat’s advice, I called Mazda’s 24 hour hotline (as printed on the servicing booklet). No one picked up the call.
(Note: Eisen and Wee Teck are from Straits Times and The New Paper respectively.)
I tried Automobile Association next. Because I saw on their website that they only provided assistance to members, I called to check the fees. $175 for two years? All right, I’m a spendthrift, but I couldn’t justify the need to sign up.
I logged on to Mazda’s website next and found a different number to call. Quick suggestion here: If you want to change your helpline number, it would be much appreciated if you could have an automated message informing your customers of the new number. Especially so if your unhappy customer spreads the message to a lot of other people. Try it and tell me if it’s fun to listen to a dialing tone and curse and swear in the wee hours of the morning.
There was a $58 surcharge for instant replacement. I thought it was reasonable for a service at that hour. “Ok, come please!”
The next call was to MediaCorp Security Control Centre explaining my situation and to have them allow the Mazda guys in. We usually require names, NRIC numbers and vehicle numbers for clearance. I’m glad they didn’t press me for those details, or I’d have freaked out. Thanks hor.
Twenty minutes later, a van from the Automobile Association drove in. What the…
So, Mazda outsourced the service to AA?
The guy confirmed I had a weak battery, and proceeded to ask if I would like to become a member. Yes, that $175 for two years shit. Of course not! Hello, if your association does provide assistance to non-members, I would be very grateful if you could have that on your official website and not try to con me by saying:
“You will need to join AA to receive complimentary roadside assistance services. An express fee of $32.10 applies. In addition to AA membership one-time entrance and subscription fees if you are signing up on-the-spot or if your membership has expired. Don’t leave it to chance; sign up for or renew your AA membership now!”
And if it is a partnership with the car manufacturer, you should not take the chance to sell your membership scheme. I feel.
Two hundred bucks later, the drama ended. Well, it could have been worse if the car died while I was on the roads, or if I had parked at somewhere ulu. Heng ah.
haha.dramaaaaa.I hope I dont meet probs like this.i m a noob with the mechanics of a car too!they shld teach in driving lessons!
buy another battery??? kwn of ppl who sells them.. =) nt AA/AAA… car batt…
cruz, aiyah you never go mazda club singapore ah….Wasted, maybe you v busy. I provide mobile car battery replacement service. Amaron is the brand. Leading brand in singapore. 90475437 is the number to call, one stop solution and confirm better price. Japan car korean car, continental car, call me no problem, even is i cant do it, i got another friend doing, so confirm u will be saved! Let your mediacorp friends know ok…And you will be sure of my gd price n service
LOL!!!!maybe you buy another battery?
I once parked my car at East Coast, forgot to turn off my signal lights, batt flat. It was 12mn, waved franctically, nobody helped. Heng, one nice guy finally helped to jumpstart my car. Trick is just drive home str la, best dont on the air con, ‘eats’ up ur batt power.
on sunday, when my family and i were on pur way back from malaysia. we stopped at the gas station to pump air into tyre.. after pumping tyre, the car couldn’t start! and we look for the staff to help us see and realise that batt flat / spoilt.. luckily another singaporean car stopped by to help jumpstart the car, if not we will b stranded in malaysia. and also glad that the car stalled at gas station and not at the roadside.. if not 叫天不应， 叫地不灵。。。
battery once drained of its power, will have difficulty to start car. So minimum you need to drive for 30mins to so call charge the battery. The alternator will charge it and provide the power to all electronics in the car. Battery is just like a reservoir, to store the power, store the charge from the alternator so that every morning you have enough power to start your car. Battery need to be replaced when u have problem cranking the car. Maybe usually one crank is needed to start the engine, but then recently need to crank 2 or 3 times then the engine starts, this is a sign that the battery is going weak. To play safe, change every 2 years – 2.5years.
i encounter the same problem before so i u/stand how you feel at that moment. i like to share this contact with you which i hv found thru internet on that unforgettable 3am morning.
i found this company on internet “SOS Battery Recovery Specialist” which provide 24 hrs battery replacement service. Mr CK came to my rescue with full equipment. He drove a silve clr van & i got a shocked when he open up the back door of his van. you know what happen! His van is fully loaded with different sizes of batteries . At that time i knew that i hv found the right company. if he cannot help me then i believe no one can. Before changing my battery, he did a complete check with his equipment for my starter & alternator & even stabilize my engine programe. I bet even AA is not using any of these equipment. He change a new battery for my car only after cfmg that the fault lies on the battery , my starter & alternator are working well. he can even guarantee me that it was 101% just the battery’s fault. He can be contacted @93856995. Hope this info will be able to help all the drivers on the road.
Yes this CK is my friend also. Sometimes if i dont have the battery size, i will refer customer to him, so the end user will always be saved. Well if you are the budget type, you can call both of us and ask for a quote for your car, end of the day confirm you will be safe, forget abt tow truck and other stuff.
Fm my convesation with CK, i was told that his knowledge don’t stop only on battery. he has more then 20 yrs experiences in the automotive industries. Many of his customers asked him for advise pertaining to tyres, sport rims, paint sparying even car grooming.etc… His customer also ask him to recomment good & reliable workshop I believe all drivers knew that going back to car agent for repair are much more expensive & it can cost a bomb. The week b4 CNY i hv handed my car to him for polishing & grooming & he really done a perfect job, my car looks stunning at a reaonable price! I m glad that i hv found this CK who is so professional!