Don't Trade-in Your Old Rims - Sell Them via Mudah.my

Many car enthusiasts make the mistake of trading in old rims when upgrading to new ones. Most of the time, we get much less than what we feel our old rims are worth.

Sometimes, the offer we get is so low, it's actually insulting.

For instance, the trade-in offer that I got from Eneos for my Kia Forte 17-inch rims was a measly RM500.

Supposedly, there was not much value to the Kia Forte 17-inch rims. My old Nexen ZR tyres fetched a higher value of RM400, which meant that my rims were valued at only RM100 by Eneos.

This is, of course, ridiculous. Yes, my rims are used rims, but they are in good condition - no curb marks/scratches or dents and they've never been reconditioned. With a little buffing, you'd have difficulty telling the difference between newly fitted Kia Forte rims and my old rims.

So, instead of trading them in at Eneos, what I did was advertise my old rims at Mudah.my. RM800 for 4 of them.

Within an hour of my advertisement going up, I received an email from a prospective buyer who expressed interest in buying my old rims.

Fancy that! From RM100 to RM800. That's 800% more than what Eneos was offering.

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Addendum: The rims are sold, thanks to Mudah.my. Goes to show, you don't have to be reliant on second hand cars/parts dealers to get your money's worth.

How Sad - No PCD 108 for My Focus and No Lowering Coils

After work today, I thought I could indulge in some retail therapy as a way to blow off steam and focus my attention and energy on something other than work and on something I like doing - making my car better. Unfortunately, the 18-inch rims that I selected wouldn't fit my car and the lowering coils I wanted weren't available. Sigh!

The Eneos Bukit Tinggi mechanics had already taken off the old 17-inch rims to fit the new 18-inch ones. But since the 18-inch rims were not PCD108, they just wouldn't come on.

Dang! I forgot all about the stupid PCD108 requirement (which is the length between each wheel nut). While finding PCD108 rims would not have been a problem in Europe, here in Malaysia where Jap cars rule supreme, PCD108 is like something from another world.

Yeah, I can get Volvo rims if I look hard enough in Sunway, but I'd have to go to Sunway and deal with people whom I've never dealt with, and I'd probably get cheated as a result. Of course, I haven't tried it and, so, I can't say for sure.

Still, the prospect of going to over-crowded Sunway to look for sport rims at tyre shops I'm unfamiliar with isn't enticing.

As for the lowering coils, Eneos didn't carry anything compatible with my Focus.

Next time I buy a car, I'm going to make damn sure that its upgrade path is not as difficult as the Ford's.

Meanwhile, I'll just have to wallow in my sadness...

:(

Eneos, Bukit Tinggi - Klang's Little Automotive Heaven

I love going to Eneos. I can get lost in it for hours.

I love looking at the sports rims and tyres on offer, among other things. And I usually end up buying something as a result.

As I said I would, I went to Eneos to increase the pressure of my nitrogen-filled tyres to make my car go faster. I've done that and my car is more responsive when accelerating.

Also, I finally put a down-payment for a drop-in K&N filter for my Ford Focus S2.0. The list price was RM385 but I got it at a discounted price of RM335.

Once installed, my Focus should run even faster.

I know my Ford Malaysia Enthusiast Club (FOMEC) friends are going to say that I can get the thing cheaper at e-Bay. But I don't want to handle the shipping hassle and other possible hassles, which is why I'd rather go through Eneos.

Anyway, I also changed out the wiper blades of my Focus to PIAA silicone wiper blades. At only RM88 a pair, the blades cost far less than what Ford Service Centre - PJ (FSC-PJ) would charge for a pair of wipers (last time I checked, a pair cost RM380).

Unfortunately, it took some doing for the mechanic to fit the new blades in. They weren't perfect fits and, so, he took close to an hour to slide them into place.

These blades should last a lifetime, however.

Still, the wipers do look a little worn out now, what with all the manhandling. So, next time I need to fix my wipers, I'll have to go back to FSC-PJ.

Hopefully, they would have wised up by then and get their supply chain management correct - I heard that they've begun offering Focus wiper blades for only RM180 but can't confirm this yet.

I'm so glad there's Eneos in Bukit Tinggi, Klang. Each time I feel like going to automotive heaven, it's only a ten-minute drive away :)