Today, December 23, I took my Hyundai Getz, Gina, to Hyundai Global City for her 40,000 kilometer tuneup. My service advisor for today was a fellow named Donn, and he was immensely helpful and polite in the absence of the usual SAs, Jay, Romeo, and Boying. After registering my Hyundai Getz in, I checked her in for the full tuneup. According to Donn, the 40,000 kilometer is the second major tuneup for any car in its lifetime. A lot of parts are replaced, usually including brake pads, aircon filter, and a slew of other stuff. (I’ll type it in later; I left the entire list in the Getz.)

Anyway, the point is, the car feels terrific now. The greatest improvement by far is the air-conditioner. It’s strong and cool again; #1 lang, malakas na. Can’t wait to see how my Hyundai Getz will perform at high noon; my gut says it’ll be better than before. I spent more money than I usually do – the price range is normally somewhere between Php9,000 and Php16,000, depending on the parts to be replaced – but it’s totally worth it.

Before going home, I had a conversation with a new friend who also has a Getz. (Shout-out to Randy, woot!) He has his car tuned-up at a different mechanic, which is certainly his right and call. Me, I prefer having mine done at the original casa. I just feel it’s better in the long-term, when people see that no one else’s hands touched the car expect those authorized by Hyundai, and our service passport shows we faithfully had tuneups done at Hyundai, it may be better for the resale value. Randy said, correctly, though, that’s so much more expensive. So pros and cons all around.

Kayo? For tuneups, do you go “original” or “casa/mekaniko/talyer?”

My Hyundai Getz Gina turned two years old in May 2009. Considering that I live so far from work, the fact that I’ve only reached 40,000km now is a bit of a pleasant surprise. I’ll be bringing her in for her 40,000km checkup next week (most likely Wednesday). As usual, please expect an update of how much it’ll cost to have your Hyundai Getz 40,000km checkup, complete with cost breakdown and what things are usually done to your Getz.

Have a great holiday!

My Hyundai Getz’s right headlight finally gave out after more than two years. I called up Hyundai Global City to ask how much it would cost to buy new bulbs and have them install them. They quoted me Php590 for the bulbs and pHP410 for the labor. I found this a little expensive so I decided to cost out on my own.

I went to Ace Hardware and found a pair of Bosch H-4 All-Weather 12V 100/90W headlight bulbs for Php759.75. While that is more expensive than the PHP590 I was charged, it isn’t the stock bulb which offers only 60/55W light. (That’s ridiculous, but then again, can we expect any better from a car company that offers us a donut for a spare tire? Pweh!)

Our company driver, Buboi – thanks, pare! – helped me install the bulbs into Gina’s eye sockets, and before I knew it, my Hyundai Getz was prepped up and ready to go with spanking new headlights that promise almost twice the strength and clarity. Plus, since it’s an all-weather bulb, I shouldn’t experience too much visibility problems even in the strongest of rainstorms. (For those of us whose cars survived the wrath of Typhoon Ondoy, I’m sure y’all know what I’m talking about, right, boys?)

A side note: deciding to replace your headlight bulbs on your own will most likely invalidate your warranties for certain parts of the car, including the electric connections there. I did it without much fear, though, because I’d already invalidated those warranties when I had Gina’s eyes smoked. If you ever decide to save yourself time and money, know what you’re getting into from a warranty perspective.

Sorry, guys, I fell sick Monday and was unable to take the car into the shop on Thursday. Will do so next week, I promise.

My Hyundai Getz Gina is ready to go back into the casa for her 35,000km checkup. I’ve scheduled her for next week at Hyundai AutoHub Global City – the only place I really trust to do my checkups nowadays – and the initial estimate is somewhere near Php3,300 for the whole thing. That’s pretty good! (As usual, you can expect me to place the checklist of things they did to the car.)

No real problems with my Hyundai Getz right now, save for – and only because I’m particular – a possible windshield wiper replacement. The right wiper seems to be curling up, and no folding seems to be helping. That’ll set me back somewhere near a thousand bucks, PHP1,500 at most, because it’s a special wiper that isn’t available over the counter at Blade. (Or is it?? I should check!)

I’m scheduled to meet up with my friend Hazel Gonzales, a Philippine makeup artist who owns a Philippine photography studio in Quezon City. I want her to be impressed by the quality of my two-year-old Hyundai Getz, so I hope everything’ll be perfect before I meet up with her. She and I will collaborate on some projects together – these may be out-of-town, so you can bet I’ll be taking pictures with my Hyundai Getz!

Yesterday, Michelle of Hyundai Global City Hub visited me at my office at the Fort to give me my Philippine car insurance policy. That’s the first time anyone’s ever gone out of their way to help me out since I purchased my car and Jason Chung delivered a temporary permit to me so I could keep my Hyundai Getz on the road without a license plate.

I was so impressed with her professionalism. When I told her I couldn’t come over, she said she’d come to me. And lo and behold, she came over with the policy a few minutes after. I filled out three checks – because you can pay your insurance in three gives with Hyundai Fort Bonifacio! – and we were done in five minutes. The fastest, most convenient car insurance provider I’ve ever had the pleasure to deal with. If you’re looking for a good car insurance provider, I’d recommend ‘em.

It’s been a while since my last post, primarily because my Hyundai Getz is waiting for spare parts. My Hyundai Getz is insured with Standard Insurance, the policy of which I bought through Hyundai Global City. I processed everything and completed all requirements by the third week of October, and it’s been more than a month since.

I wonder what is taking so long. I can’t understand, with modern-day technology and deliveries and all that, why my car is still waiting to be repaired. It’s ridiculous. I don’t think it’s any shortcoming at HGC; I’m thinking there’s a hold-up somewhere at HARI (Hyundai Asia Resources Inc.), and God knows how long it takes for those guys to move. (Remember what happened when I tried to contact HARI them before? Yeah, nothing!)

One of my friends remarked, if I had paid for the repairs myself, Gina would be okay by now. Parts miraculously appear when it’s not insurance that covers it. I laughed, but did a double take. What if it’s true?