View Full Version : My New Ride - Black Toyota Wish X - Mar 2006
Finally, after months of discussion and days/nights of calculations, I finally made the decision to purchase a pre-owned Toyota Wish. Its the most logical choice. My target is a 2005 or 2006 Toyota Wish.
Called Darren, who owns a Toyota Wish and he advised me to look for a Wish that is manufactured in 2006 and above as there was a recall on some cars that were manufactured in 2005 due to a faulty steering column or something. Whoa, lucky he reminded me, else that would completely slip my mind.
Called Gerald to start the lookout and the hunt is officially on.
First up, saw a Sep-2006 Grey Toyota Wish XE - whoa, fully loaded with DVD, Rear Camera, GPS etc. but car very dirty and only half leather seats. Furthermore, wife complained that seats got stain. No very good. However, my elder boy was very excited about it. Coz got DVD mah.
Second, saw a Mar-2006 Black Toyota Wish X - swee swee, full leather and dealer made an effort to clear the car, polish the car and even clear-up the engine compartment. Very good. Wife liked it a lot, in terms of the appearance. Everything looked good. But I noticed that tyres was not very good liao. Need to change soon. Engine wise, never test drive, so cannot tell yet.
Third, saw a Jun-2006 Maroon Toyota Wish X with sunroof - this one with sunroof leh. Dealer is still in the process of clearing up the car - but this one, I didn't like. The color was good and wife said that it suited by 8 elements better than the black one - but this one, the car somehow gave me the impression that the previous owner was very rough with the car. It gave me the feeling that the previous owner did not take care of it. Didn't like it.
Ok, family decision was made - its the Mar-2006 Black Toyota Wish X that we want. Call Alan (the car dealer) went down again to test drive and then negotiate and pay a $2K deposit. All this done on 3rd May 2008, Saturday. Price agreed on, did the paperwork and paid $2K deposit. Test drive of the car was ok - noticed that the tire noise was a little loud and the car was "bouncy" ... probably because of over-inflated tires.
Phew, I am now the officially owner of a Mar-2006 Black Toyota Wish X ...... and I am in bigger debts! <sigh>
Monday, 5th May 2008 - Morning - Called Alan - asked him to install windows visors - tell him to install the "nice" ones. He agreed.
Monday, 5th May 2008 - Afternoon - Alan called. Tomorrow after 12pm can collect the Mar-2006 Black Toyota Wish X liao.
Tuesday, 6th May 2008 - Afternoon. Collected the Mar-2006 Black Toyota Wish X - whoa, new toy leh. Drove up to the car park and slowly meddle with the stuff and familiar myself with the car. Nice window visors. Nice work by Alan. I drove the car back, a little careful, waiting to find out more about the way the car handled etc. Overall, the car is fine. Probably need a little work etc. But its ok. Hoping that it turns out to be a good buy.
Wednesday, 7th May 2008, brought the Mar-2006 Black Toyota Wish X down to AutoSaver at ShunLi Industrial Estate for servicing. First time that I was there. Told Ah-Boon that I wanted to do a 40K servicing but the car is only 35K - Ah-Boon says can and told him to check all the necessary since this is a pre-owned car. Said good-bye to the car and left it there.
3 hours later - Ah-Boon called to say that my car ready liao. Went back and he said that everything is fine except that my rear tires are in terrible condition - better change soon. Whoa, so I am right, need to change tires liao. Paid Ah-Boon $320 for the servicing, because I changed to Mobile oil so need $20 etc.
Wednesday, 7th May 2008 - Afternoon. After taking the car from AutoSaver, I proceed to Audio Concepts at Defu Lane 10 to install the rear fan. S$55 for 1 rear with switch, extra $5 because I change the switch. The original switch that comes with the $50 package is so filmsy - sure break in a few days. $5, let people earn lor. I also know that the switch probably cost $0.80 - $0.90 at Sim Lim Tower but sometimes, these kind of things must let people earn. No choice.
In any case, the fan turned out very well. It was nicely done by the Audio Concepts team. They ran wiring from the front of the car to the rear, installing a lighter adaptor at the cup holder slot in the 3rd row. They also made a custom-holder for it and it fits the cup holder nicely. Installed a fan and then hook up the switch to the front of the car and that was it. Done in about 1.5 hours.
My elder boy, R1 was so happy with the fan when he saw it. Its his own personal fan leh. The 3rd row seats are declared as his and this fan is his property. He is so happy with the fan. Also gave him a Osram LED-IT stick - so that if its dark, he can turn it on and have his own lights in the 3rd row. He's happy ... and as a father, what more can someone ask for when your own kid is happy ........
Friday, 9th May 2008 - Decided that safety is important and have to change tires. So promptly went to the Hankook shop and the following is the review that I wrote for one of the car forums.
hi there,
just wanted to share my experience.
managed to change to the hankook k415 tyres this morning. was the first customer at the hankook shop at pasir panjang. arrived at the place promptly at 0905 hrs. was served by ah ho - and he did a good job for my ride.
i went there with the intention of taking a look at the V8. my current tyres are bridgestone b390 195/65/15 ... i looked at the V8 and found that they were a tad too small, V8 only had something like 195/55/15 which look kind weird on my ride - way too short. ah ho helped me with the tyre choices, bringing out most of those that are possible combinations for my ride. lol - me and my indecisiveness, took quite a bit of time to select, asking him alot of stupid questions, like which one less noisy, which one got more grip, wet weather ok or not, this one how much, that one how much etc. in the end, i felt so pai-seh that i asked so many questions :P ah ho was cool about all the questions and he even gave me time to think about it and surf internet on his computer to find the reviews on the forum :P
in the end, i went with his recommendation - K415 205/60/15 as he felt that my ride would be able to take the slight increase in width. we agreed on a price for all 4 pieces and he promptly did his job. what was interesting was the fact that he noticed that my rims were a little damaged, he removed the old tyres and then proceeded to file the rims and use autosol to shine them - whoa, this kind of treatment ... my rims sure liked it alot. see the attached pics for the tyres that i changed and rims after the treatment.
having used the K415 for the entire day - covered 90+KM today on it - its quieter than my old bridgestone b390 - good grip and good comfort. let's see how it does in the next few hundred kms.
overall, my experience with ah ho was good. those interested can contact him as follows:
148 Pasir Panjang
Look for Ah Ho
H/P:90276341
Mon-Sat 0900hrs to 1800hrs
ps - i have no relation with this guy and this service provider - i just feel that good service and good attitude deserves recongition. i think we all need to highlight both the good and the bad providers so that others can learn from our experiences. this post is not an enticement for people to follow suit. i just want to express my own honest view about this service provider. your experience and view point may differ from mine and i accept that. hope this post helps someone as i have learnt alot from this forum ... my turn to give back
ps - sorry about the quality of photos - my handphone not so good lah :P
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Finally finished my 1st tank of fuel. Calculated FC and it was around 11.5km/l - not all that impressive. In any case, I decided to reset the ECU in the car. I guess it still has the previous owner's style of driving and a good hard reset would probably be best so that it can then start "learning" my own style an hopefully be able to give me better FCs in the future.
Getting to my car, I removed the -VE side of the battery and left it dangling for about 5 minutes. Thereafter, I did exactly the following which I extracted from one of the forums.
> Well, you will have to reset the ECU and all the power windows... Sounds
> diffucult right, well not as difficult as you think... Follow these
> instructions step by step and it's a piece of cake. After you connect
> the battery terminals, get in the car, start it without using the
> throttle, if it died, restart without the throttle again until it idles.
> Let it idel without givving throttle. It's normal that your engine will
> run like shit from the beginning. Now lets do the windows. Reach over to
> the front left door, you will see the light on the window switch
> blinking. Press and hold the switch until the windows comes all the way
> down, then the same thing until all the way up. Do it two times and the
> light should stop blinking and stay on. That window is ready for the
> automatic mode. Do the same thing on the left rear door, then right
> rear, then finally the driver door. Do the same thing to all the buttons
> on the driver door, and you're done. By this time your car's ECU will
> have reset itseft and adjusted to normal operating conditions. You're
> done.
Ok - everything seemed well. Went to top-up a new tank of petrol and here we go. The ECU is rumored to be able to "learn" the new style and adjust itself within the next 300KM.
Quick update - after about 80KM since the reset of the ECU, I'm getting 14.5KM/L as according to the onboard meter. Let's see how my own calculations at the end of the tank.
Not too good - FC reading for the last tank of petrol was 11.21KM/L .... mmm .... not sure what I can do to improve this. Have been trying to keep my right foot away from the accelerator as much as I can. Perhaps its time to ask the guys at the TOYOTA WISH FORUM? http://www.twcsg.org
Finally ... the day arrive for my car to be pampered a little. Every since I got the car, I have been wanting to send it in for polishing and a little pampering. Been putting it off and finally nearing CNY, I decided to go for it. Got it done on 2009-01-16 via the guys which were quite highly recommended by the others in the Wish Forum.
How to judge the work done? See the pictures that I have attached. Honestly, I think they did a good job on the exterior. Very well done. I am very pleased with the work. As for the interior, I guess they could have done better. Vacuuming was a little shabbily done. Otherwise, they were well worth the $$$. Well definitely call them back again for round 2.
These guys need all the referrals that they can get, so here's a copy of what they do and how they do it.
PS - I paid S$90.00 because of the CNY Peak :P
Firstly Welcome to KIKILATLAT Your Friendly 24hrs Mobile Car Wax & Polishing Services Right @ Yr Doorsteps Whenever U Want It Wherever U R We Be Ther!!!
We r a 6-man team usually divided into 2 different locations & places in order to make every customer happy n beaming with joy after e job is done without ever needin to turn even 1 job down even if e schedule is full. Cuz we believe every job is a new different learning experience for us n to us customer service is very important that is why we do our best to fulfill e customer needs anytime during e duration of e polishing process. We make an effort to further inform our valued customer regarding his ride eg. How to take care of e leather seats, bird droppings, water marks & e Do’s & Don’t’s for his beloved ride. For us e Extra Effort behind it is because of e PASSION we have for cars. Looking at e car in DETAILED such as Polishing for e SHINY & GLOSSY Finished look, adding on Accessories, Modifications on e engine, Sound Systems blasting & rocking e ride we all share & have e same thinking. We wan our car to be e BEST!!!
Exclusively for all WISH Members WILL ONLY BE CHARGED @ $80/- NETT INCLUSIVE OF EVERYTHING MENTIONED. Thank U all for taking yr time to read this up.
--FOR FURTHER ENQUIRIES PLS CALL US @ 9 880 0103 (JOHANN) / 9 850 0963 (YUL)-- KIKILATLAT YOUR 24HRS MOBILE CAR WAX & POLISHING SERVICES RIGHT @ YOUR DOORSTEPS. DEFINITELY SURE KILAT KILAT ONE!!!
KIKILATLAT RULES OF POLISHING!!!
. Cleaning Procedure
- Insert 20cents /cashcard for dispensing of water.
- Washing e car with Autoglym Shampoo & Conditioner.
- Rinsing it clean followed by Claybar Treatment* on affected areas to soothe e rough surfaces ( water marks, bird dropping marks, swirl marks, blue dots caused by sandblasting & etc…)
- Finally drying it with a super chamois cloth.
. Interior Grooming Procedure
- Carpet vacuuming & cleaning with Anti-Bacteria Solutions.
- Leather/Upholstery seats to be treated, conditioned & furnished to a shining look.
- Dashboard, side panels, gear box, steering wheel to be blacken & furnished to a glossy look with UV protection
- Rubber lining & vinyls to be treated with UV Protection Layering to avoid e trapping of dust.
- Windows to be cleaned thoroughly & followed by RainX application for e front and rear windscreen.
- Tyres & rims to cleaned of dirt particles to a shine & glossy look.
. Exterior Grooming Procedure (Done MANUALLY)
- Car is treated with Autoglym Super Resin Polish to cure e paint 1st.
- Followed by Compounding* e affected areas after e Claybar Treatment.
- Using e Scratch/Swirl Remover* to be followed up.
- Using another coating of Autoglym Super Resin Polish to wax e car.
- Let it rest n take in e wax & then polishing it to a shine.
- Next step is to use e Autoglym Extra Protection Sealant to seal e coating of cured & finished polished paint.
- E final results will be Astonished & Glossier than ever!!!
- Polishing that had been done usually last up to 2-3 months due to e climate in Asia.
*Application Applied If Necessary
- For Info in any case ride need to be washed please kindly do a wash shampoo rather than jus water to make it last longer.
- Car Wash can be done by us @ $15/- inclusive of wash with Autoglym Shampoo & Conditioner with vacuuming & tyre shine. Touch-up will be done if deemed necessary without any additional charges eg. minor scratches, bird dropping marks, water marks after e polishing service was done till e next polishing date.
Teck Hong
05-02-2009, 14:35
Wow, congrats on your new car! Very shiny !! :)
Wow, congrats on your new car! Very shiny !! :)
Thanks bro. Not bad - lasted the entire CNY. Still looks pretty good. Money well-spent! :)
My ride is now in my hands for more than a year. Its been a tough year for the car. Driven at speeds, rushing and squeezing through traffic, it has remained dependable all this while. Good ride and no regrets!
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