Dear march (part 2)

This was an unfortunate incident that hurt me where it matters most, in the wallet.

*wince

But on hindsight it demonstrated my ingenuity as a person and my independent ability to think on my feet fast.

A month ago, my dad enacted a law allowing me to use the car on Friday :) This unfortunate incident sad to say, happened on a Thursday 2 weeks ago. My parents under extraordinary circumstances agreed to let me drive to school on a Thursday. Kent Vale was already closed to the parking crowd by end February so i decided to park at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music MSCP because the carpark is closer to my lesson venue and the parking fee is capped at $2.48

It was a shame that i failed to exercise due diligence and reversed into a pillar. The damage assessment was as follows.

The left rear lamp lens was fractured with 4 crack lines splintering to the far reaches of the lens. However the bulb elements were still functioning perfectly upon testing. There was an awful lot of dust on the bumper and a dot scrape.

Also damaged was my confidence and ego. I was traumatised because in my 4 years of driving, i have never gotten into any accident. I decided to report the incident to my dad albeit with a heavy heart. He told me to leave the matter aside and he will take care of it. I felt bad because i have caused unnecessary trouble.

Thus i immediately set upon seeking a logical course of action. Going back to Borneo Motors was out of the question because it is common knowledge that it is pricey. I decided to try my luck asking the stockists which basically brings in parts and sell them to anyone including workshops and auto parts resellers. I posted a thread asking for contacts in mycarforum and the bros there were very helpful (thanks bros!) and i got 3 contacts altogether. I called these 3 stockists and in the end i decided on Fong Tat which quoted me the lowest at 120 before GST.

Again i called up my dad and he sounded sceptical but eventually he relented to me buying from Fong Tat but on condition that the installation will be done by a workshop which he will source for. This is when Google came in. I searched extensively and discovered that the entire lamp assembly could actually be removed wholesale since it was secured by only 3 pairs of nuts and bolts. Something inside told me that i had to DIY. So i decided to drive straightaway to Fong Tat which was located at Perumal Road opposite City Square Mall. I withdrew 128 (with GST) and paid COD.

I didn’t waste time going elsewhere and i simply fixed my lamp on the spot :D The uncle told me that if not for the high performance LEDs used in the rear lamp, the lamp would otherwise cost only $40. %&*^*&^ but whatever la haha. i also had to swap out the H4 bulb since the lamp assembly came without the bulb.

I estimated that if i had gone to a workshop to provide labour and the parts plus service charge, i think most probably the damage will be around 200 at least. So in view of this, i saved nearly 75 bucks. And best of all, i rectifed the issue within 2 hours.