Does your Hyundai Getz have a DVD player? What does it look like? Send links to the photos!

I’ve been thinking about it for the past few weeks. Some of the better brands are available and have demo advertisements in the malls and in car accessory shops, including Blade. If you’re not so much into brands - or can’t quite live with the price - you can invest in some China-made brands that start somewhere near PHP12,000. Sulit.com.ph has some vendors selling these online.

Sometimes, the China-made DVD players have distinct advantages over the bigger brands. One particular DVD player I’ve got my eye on has a 4.3 inch touch screen, Bluetooth, USB slot, iPod connection facilities, and can play a host of discs, including DVD, DVD-R, DIVX, VCD, MP3, and MP4. At PHP12,000, you don’t need to take out a cash advance to afford it.

Not bad, no?

This past week, getting into my Hyundai Getz Philippines has been harder than usual because of the intense heat of the sun. It’s ridiculous. My next project? Finding quality heat resistant tint that won’t break the bank. Wish me luck.

My Philippine Hyundai Getz, Gina, has become more feminine, and I couldn’t be happier.

I recently purchased Asquith & Somerset Mango & Lime Room Fragrance Spray for my Hyundai Getz, Gina. Cathy and I bought an Asquith & Somerset Mango & Lime gift pack from Beauty Bar which featured a soap, a shower gel, a body lotion, and a loofah. She liked the scent of the product; I found it relatively pleasant, a refreshing fruity aroma that just tingles with freshness.

That’s when I thought of buying the Asquith & Somerset Mango & Lime room fragrance spray for our Hyundai Getz.

Prior to this, the car scent of choice inside my Getz was Glade’s Cool Water, which is nice enough. However, it was a generic scent that didn’t speak of how special our Philippine Getz actually was. Gina smelled like every other car on the market that has a Glade Cool Water scent. Since we ride in our Hyundai Getz everyday, I felt it was important to choose a fragrance that would speak of how special our car was - and, by extension, how special we view ourselves.

Why shouldn’t our Hyundai Getz smell like we want it to? Some people use their personal scents (Lacoste, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger among them); why can’t we apply a homey feel to our car as well?

A lot of my Hyundai Getz pimping has been primarily for me. With the Asquith & Somerset Mango & Lime room fragrance spray, my wife can now share in the happiness and thankfulness we have for our Hyundai Getz.

My Philippine Hyundai Getz, Gina, is currently at Hyundai Fort Bonifacio for her 10,000KM checkup. According to the form given me, these are the actions they are going to perform:

Replace:

• Engine oil
• Filter
• Drain plug
• Spark plugs

Inspect

• Air cleaner
• Inspect engine coolants
• Drive belt (for water pump and alternator)
• Ignition wiring and high-tension cords
• Battery cables and engine wire hardness and connectors
• Fuel system leaks (tank cap, gas lines and connections)
• Vacuum crankcase ventilation hoses and connections
• Wiper Washer and Blades
• Interior/Exterior lights, (done, signal, headlight, etc.)
• Power window Door lock
• A/C Cooling condition
• Front brake pads, calliper, disc (wear and damage)
• Brake fluid
• Brake pedal (travel and height)
• Manual transaxle (MTV)
• Clutch pedal (travel and height)
• Tires (abnormal wear and pressure)
• Exhaust system and mountings (leakage and damage and tightness)
• Steering joint rack box oil leaks
• Suspension joint seal and shock absorber
• Drive shaft boot (damage peak)
• Seat belts mountings
• Lubricate door hinges
• Tighten to specified torque under-chassis bolts and nuts)

Estimated cost is PHP3,600.00.

My Philippine Hyundai Getz, Gina, is getting on in years… or kilometers, anyway.

Gina will be checking into Hyundai Fort Bonifacio (that’s Hyundai Global City, to you technicality freaks) this Thursday for her 10,00KM checkup. Will update the blog then.

Yesterday, my Philippine Hyundai Getz, Gina, got her most drastic pimping to date: a smoking of her headlights that completely blew me away. From the Hyundai Getz’s standard look, which was by no means unattractive but rather antiseptic in its flavor and demeanor, suddenly, Gina has developed a personality and character that makes her uniquely different from every other Getz in the Philippines to date!

I LOVE IT!

The provider of this service is a mysterious fellow by the online and professional name of Hanzander, a Philippine car detailer who specializes in smoked headlights and amber. I got in touch with him after seeing his work on several forums, especially this Hyundai Getz Philippines forum, Getz  Club Philippines. While he lives in Tagaytay, he will travel to pretty much to anywhere in Metro Manila, which included yesterday’s trek to my home in Quezon City on the fringes of Caloocan.

Hanzander and his assistant completed a smoke-and-amber operation on my Gina in approximately three-and-a-half hours. The standard chrome areas were given a ‘flat black’ look to send across the impression of plastic or vinyl, and then the reflectors on the side were painted a brilliant amber color. In a stroke of genius and uniqueness, the Philippine auto detailing expert I hired left alone the two chrome slots on the amber reflectors of my Hyundai Getz; the end result was two flaps of chrome that actually look like eyelashes! My Gina has eyelashes!

To top it all off, Hanzander and his team were remarkably friendly, unbelievably candid, and extremely professional. Their service for smoked headlights and amber cost me a mere PHP1,400, with an additional fee to cover the gasoline traveled from Tagaytay to Caloocan. Getting your Hyundai Getz’s headlights smoked effective voids your warranty on your headlights, but Hanzander’s service comes guaranteed against moisture, and I haven’t experienced any moisture just yet. I would hire these Philippine auto detailers again in a heartbeat.

I cannot stop gushing about how totally magnificent my Hyundai Getz Philippines looks now with her smoked headlights. She looks so different, so fierce, and - as is the point - so wonderfully unique! I’m sooooooo happy!

(By the way, honestly, truth be told, the pictures do not do justice to the headlights. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge photo.)

I am in love with the concept of smoked headlights! Gina, my Philippine Hyundai Getz, will look… wait for it… LEGENDARY!

This thread on the Hyundai Getz Philippines forum - the Getz Club - features the work of a Tagaytay-based Philippine car detailer who goes by the name Hanzander. He’s popped several threads in several local car forums, including www.kotse.com and tsikot.com, and, judging by both the number of jobs he’s had and the photos he’s placed online, he’s one of the best.

I contacted Hanzander yesterday to inquire about his services. He was easy to talk to and his rates are very reasonable (Php1,200 for both headlights). A sample of his work on a Hyundai Getz is reproduced to the right; it’s a shame that the outside lighting reflected too strongly on the headlights, and obscured our opportunity to view the quality of Hanzander’s work.

The only kink in the arrangement is that this Philippine car detailer lives in Tagaytay, which is a three-hour drive from where I live. Hardly the most convenient of arrangements. If I were to ask him to meet me up in North EDSA, where I live, I imagine I’d have to shoulder his gasoline, which could be an additional cost of anywhere up to Php1,000.

I played around with Photoshop to see how Gina would look with smoked headlights. I’m terrible at this kind of thing, though, so Gina comes across looking a bit like an insect more than anything else. But then again, three factors come into play: 1) the color of the paint for smoking (black is a sleek color, but is it appropriate with a golden beige Hyundai Getz?); 2) is it still fair to call my Hyundai Getz Gina when the smoking of the headlights make my Getz look more like a boy than a girl; and 3) the idiocy of Ganns as a Photoshop dweeb.

At any rate, I think I’ll think about this a wee bit more before I launch into any further dreams. I actually am toying with replacing the steering wheel with a Type R steering wheel, and possibly installing foglights. In the midst of all these pipe dreams, though, the immediacy of my two kids’ tuition fees loom imminent, and I look precisely like a middle-aged man trying to recapture his youth by pimping his Hyundai Getz.

(Any startup Philippine car detailers out there wanna do business with me? Send an email to ganns at gannsdeen dot com and let’s see if we can come up with a handsome ex-deal that’ll have us both end up winners.)