My Hyundai Getz was checked in yesterday into Hyundai Global City – that’s the Hyundai service center at the Fort, my favorite place to get it checked-up – for her 45,000km checkup. I’ll post the checkup list later today, but just to give you a ballpark figure of how much I spent, I spent roughly Php3,300.

As predicted by my visitor Robbie, my Hyundai Getz’s Bosch headlights conked out. :p I decided to therefore go with Hyundai Fort Bonifacio to take care of it, even if it costs so much more than the bulbs available at Ace or Blade. It’s Php590 per piece. OUCH, right? Plus, Php400 for labor to install it. But I did the math, the bulbs I bought for a little less than Php800 lasted five months because I wasn’t ready for it. In theory, the Php1,500 I spent will last me at least two years. Worth it, because it’s all Hyundai original. Haaay.

This morning, I swung by the Shell gasoline station along Bonifacio Global City’s 32nd St. I saw a flyer for its e10 fuel and my interest was piqued. For the information of Life With Gina readers, our Getzes’ engines are compatible with e10 gasoline, so I just thought this information would be useful. I’ve used Shell’s e10 gasoline for quite some time because it’s better for the environment. It hasn’t shown itself in my experience to more less fuel efficient than Shell’s regular fuel, so that’s why I use it. (And no, this isn’t a paid ad for Shell. I have no relationship with Shell or anyone who works for Shell.)

The flyer said the following of Shell’s e10:

• Shell e10 gasoline will not damage car engines and neither is it corrosive.
• Shell e10 gasoline contain a corrosion inhibitor additive, which provides added protection to engine component parts such as carburetors, fuel pumps, and fuel injectors.
• Shell e10 gasoline fully conforms to the Philippine National Standard (PNS) for ethanol-blended (E10) gasoline.
• Shell e10 gasoline does not contain water or any impurities that could damage engine component parts.
• Shell has developed and put in place stringent quality assurance procedures for storage and handling of ethanol and E10 gasoline to ensure that e10 gasoline is not in any way contaminated with water or any impurities along the supply chain from source to the vehicle’s gas tank.

So, there. If you wanna give e10 a shot, why not try Shell’s e10?

Yesterday, I took my Hyundai Getz and went to the Land Transportation Office branch along Sto. Domingo in Quezon City to renew my license. (It was my birthday. Happy birthday to me, wheee.)

I clocked in roughly 12:40pm. I left at approximately 3:45pm. That’s supposed to be faster? Please! *roll eyes*

Many of my friends said I should’ve gotten it done at the mall. Now that I think about it, I should have. It’s just frustrating that we can’t get the same level of service at all LTO branches. Plus, quite frankly, while the whole biometrics thing was cool, I dislike peeing with the door open. (Apparently a new policy.) The angle ensured the lady manning the computer might actually be able to see me peeing, and while my wedding ring is an effective deterrent to the exhibitionist in me, I really am not fond of using public toilets to do my business.

So there. I have three years to be bitter with the wasted three hours of my birthday life as well as this goshawful picture that makes me look so fat. Plus when I got back into my Hyundai Getz, sobrang init!

What are your license renewal or car registration stories?

About two weeks ago, the front right tire of my Hyundai Getz started to squeak really loudly when I fetched my wife from work. We’re not talking the kind of bicycle-tire iki! iki! iki! sounds. We’re talking the kind of loud EEEEEEEEEEEEK! sound that attracts attention because it’s so darn loud and painful to the ears.

After driving a few hundred meters, I pulled over to the side and examined the tire. It looked okay, but when the car moved forward – even at snail’s pace – the front right tire made that horrible shrieking sound. So I decided to replace the tire with the spare tire, thinking maybe the sound would go away with a different tire. Big mistake. I managed to replace one nut. When I worked on the second one, the nut wouldn’t budge. After stepping on the ratchet – or whatever you call that thing you pop into the nut to loosen it – the head of the nut suddenly broke off, leaving the rest of the bolt’s screw inside the hole.

Well, we’re screwed now, aren’t we?, I thought to myself. The squeaking sound wouldn’t go away, we were miles and miles away from Hyundai Global City, and I didn’t want to travel any further than we should because at that point I thought our tire might just fall off! My options were Hyundai Manila Bay along Macapagal and Hyundai Otis, so we proceeded to Hyundai Otis.

It was there that we found out the extent of Gina’s sickness. Two of the nuts on the front right tire had fused into the metal plate behind the tire. To remove these would require sawing through the metal and basically breaking the plate. Replacement and labor: somewhere near Php2,000. Wait, it gets worse. As they went to check the driveshaft, they discovered that one of the central points of the mechanism was broken. The entire pipe would need to be replaced. With labor and parts, total cost was somewhere near Php9,000.00 total, despite a discount given by the service department of Hyundai Otis.

No choice, diba? So I gave the go-signal and basically lived without Gina for two days. This was the first time ever that I’d been separated from my Hyundai Getz overnight. For two nights. The separation anxiety was ridiculous. I commuted to work for the first time ever, and found that it wasn’t as bad as I would’ve thought. (And once the MRT line is complete along EDSA, stretching down past A. Bonifacio, I’ll definitely find it easier to commute.)

When I picked Gina up from Hyundai Otis, she was obviously in much better shape. All parts original, all service original, all bayad original (hahaha). I’m glad she’s okay.

How are your Hyundai Getzes? Any major surgery like Gina’s?

Today, after I fetched my wife from work along Taft Avenue, the front right tire of my Hyundai Getz started making noise. Not the kind of whoosh whoosh that one would expect from a flat tire, but a shrill, piercing noise that can only come from metal on metal. It was extremely painful to the ears, and very, very loud. Naturally, we were very concerned, and I couldn’t imagine bringing my car all the way from Taft Avenue to Fort Bonifacio to have it checked up at our usual casa, Hyundai Global City.

I then had the brilliant – I say this sarcastically – idea of replacing the front right tire. Maybe it’s the tire, I told my wife. So after lowering our tire down and getting all sweaty and stuff, I succeeded in breaking off a nut and bolt from the front right tire.

!#@$*^*%!!!! (Buti na lang, kinalm-down ako ni Lord at ni Misis. hehehe.)

So Cathy and I weighed our options – get it towed to Hyundai Global City, or bring it to a different Hyundai service center. We could choose between either Hyundai Otis, pretty close to DLS-Manila, with it being along United Nations Avenue,  or Hyundai Manila Bay, not so far either from Taft Avenue, but further away from our home in Caloocan. So Hyundai Otis it was!

Upon our arrival there, we were immediately met by the service adviser Eric. He told me that another technician, Dek, would conduct a road test with my Hyundai Getz. So I hopped in the car to show Dek what I was talking about. And wouldn’t you know it? The noise stopped! Kainis!

I insisted they check it out though, so for the first time in my entire life with Gina, I had to leave her overnight. So Dek and Eric worked out a repair order for me and everything, and helped me settle Gina in for the night. (While waiting, I took a couple of pictures of the Hyundai Otis showroom because I’d never been there before. Sorry about the quality; it was just my camera phone.) A lady named Rowena gave me some information on the Hyundai Tucson. My God, what a beautiful, sleek piece of metal!! If I weren’t so afraid of driving such a large car…! Tuloy laway. Ganda!)

I’m having separation anxiety. I can’t sleep! lol

I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes, what was wrong with Gina, and how much it’s going to cost me so if you ever encounter a problem like this, you may know what to do.

Yngat sa kalye, mga tsong!

The green revolution has reached home base! According to this article, the Australian edition of the Hyundai Getz has gotten a makeover, courtesy of Australian innovators Blade Electric Vehicles. The revamped Hyundai Getz has an electric motor driven by a lithium iron phosphate battery that can power the car 100km per single charge.

The folks at Blade have christened their new baby the Blade Electron. How different is that from Hyundai Getz? Other than the fact that it’s electric and has a different name, not much, apparently. The Electron has passed Australian safety standards on its two-speed automatic transmission. According to the article, “the great thing about this car is apart from the drivetrain, everything else is just Getz. The air-conditioner and power steering are driven by an auxiliary motor, so most of the driving experience remains constant and the Getz retains its character. The batteries take up little space and the luggage area is almost unaffected. Only 10cm of this space is taken up by the batteries and related electronics.”

Right now, the Electric Getz Blade Electron sells in India, and apparently, Australia, for our equivalent of – are you ready? – Php2,000,000!! Ouchies! I mean, I love the concept, and it’s terrific that we’re doing something to promote sustainable technology, but greenergy shouldn’t be this expensive. What do you think?

Happy holidays, Getzers! May 2010 be a year of upgrades, lower gas prices, & personal joys for all of you. Thank you for passing by and sticking with Life With Gina!