Scrapping / De-Registering my Toyota Vios Car at the End of its 10-Year COE

I relied heavily on my car for unplanned food explorations and it's with great sorrow to announce that i have decided not to renew the exorbitantly priced certificate of entitlement (COE) to drive my trusty Toyota Vios for the next five / ten years.

With that decision made, usage of the car was pushed to full force and i purchased quite a number of items all over Singapore given that my house's renovation is slated for completion in another one or two weeks' time. p.s. that's why i didn't have much to blog! 

We also had to follow up on the necessary procedures to scrap / de-register the car by the deadline; in our case, the expiry of our car's COE is tomorrow, 20 March 2016. The above is an easy illustration on what you should do to de-register your car. Number 1 is not applicable to us as our loan was for five years and i cleared it back in 2011. 

Didn't know i can apply for the transaction pin online though and our ignorance brought us to LTA early this morning as dad insisted that the queue would be bad and the Authority works half day on Saturdays! Trust me, dad's nagging skill is potent and it's easier to follow his call rather than endure his endless torment.. 

Wait was thankfully less than 20 minutes and we got the pin in no time; in all, we spent only about 30 minutes at the LTA building in Sin Ming estate! 

After which would be a drive to any one of the LTA-appointed scrapyards! Why not make full use of the COE and do it tomorrow? I cannot because none of them is open on Sundays! Technically i can but the car has to be towed instead of being driven to the scrapyard on Monday.

Kheng Keng Auto Private Limited - our choice for no particularly strong reason as Sungei Kadut is simply nearer to home than Gul Road in Tuas.

Seeing the numerous cars parked in front of me within the compound was just so sad and the reality of taking public transport for good sank in; those who benefited from the ten-year 100% loan with super low COE of less than S$10,000 in the past and couldn't afford the certificate are likely to be suffering from the same symptoms as i! 

While waiting for the staff to assess the scrap value, i thought it would be meaningful to take a few photos of Toyota-san's final moments before i finally bid him goodbye. 

Front grill which was broken in the middle yet hidden pretty well behind the cut-out of a leather bag i used to have. The history was that that the driver of a car who was turning out of a carpark in Simei suddenly reversed too fast and hit my car which was at the back. I didn't spot the breakage then and hence, didn't claim for insurance. We lived with the sore eye for quite a while until my dad accidentally cut his hand when he was washing the car.

My uncle had the same model / make and dad had kindly agreed to change our "good" material with my uncle whose car had slightly dented bonnet and trunk. Well, good to recycle anyway. 

Road tax on the right; the disc on the left was for season parking at the open-air carpark centering my block. For those who are scrapping their cars, do note to cancel the season parking; as i have utilised the parking for slightly more than half a month, there was a refund of about S$24 bucks! 

Tear on the driver's seat - this resulted due to a pair of shorts that had a metal buckle at the back; after i tore the fabric with it, i was so pissed that i removed the buckle once i got home! 

Lucky tokens - there's another one concealed behind that's given by Karen; according to her, that particular design was meant for ease of finding parking lots! Key action; rub it so that it can perform its magic.

This wasn't the original tyre rim and Alex changed them to this so that the car had a "sportier" feel to it. The only issue was that the rim was bigger than the original and in the beginning, we can feel the wheel scrapping against the  undercarriage when we made a u-turn! 

We couldn't find the culprit for the damaged body kit and in my almost ten years of driving this car (one day short of 10 years mah), there were a number of incidents that some of you might still remember; the side mirror that got dislodged and the misfortune continued. 

Total mileage in the ten years - 240,314 kilometers! 

Apparently, i am not the only one who was overwhelmed with emotion and there was even a photo wall in the scrapyard's office showing many pictures of car owners with their about-to-be-scrapped cars.

There were message-signs like "very wasted lor", "so sayang", "i will miss her" etc that you can use to express your emotions. Funny that we can attach such emotions for an inorganic object! Anyway, we were not offered the photo opportunity; guess it was because there were too many people bringing in their cars for the final "slaughter". 

Got the official stamp on the acknowledgment slip (to be kept in case LTA asks) and the cheque for S$100 scrap value. There is a Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PARF) rebate which is of higher value that would be transferred to your bank account (bank details must be provided and rebate has to be applied here).

Time to make full use of my legs! 

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My immense gratitude and endless thanks to my toyota vios; you performed remarkably in the ten years with us and i would always remember you for the hardship you endured under my stewardship! Friends who had "touched you" before had also requested i said goodbye on their behalf. 一路走好! 

Hit and Run Involving Only Vehicles (Thankfully)

While everyone in Singapore is likely to touch on the worsening haze (the last i read, primary and secondary schools would be closed tomorrow), i would like to share on a hit and run accident that happened right in front of me at a multi-storey carpark today. 

The culprit is the van shown in the above photo and the witnesses comprise of me, my mum and Alex. I was giving way to the van that was turning out from the parking lot and in his/her haste, the driver turned too soon; resulting in the bumper scraping the side of its 'neighbour'.

Thinking i would be punished with a longer wait, i was shocked to see the van moving off with not a care of what had just happened! Alex, being the kinder soul who couldn't stand any injustice, decided to paste a note on the victim's car, detailing what had happened with inclusion of his mobile number. 

See the paint that was scraped off and the dent on the car? That's exactly the same spot where it was hit by the van. There was even a piece of bumper that could act as evidence. 

You may check out the picture taken while we were waiting in line to exit the carpark; the arrow sign clearly shows a damaged bumper. Anyway, this isn't supposed to be a human search for the van's driver as the victim would file an insurance claim against the vehicle.

Frankly, there could be many reasons why the van driver didn't stop and sometimes, circumstances do bring out the worst in people. Nevertheless, it's good that no one is injured and it's best to let the insurance companies trash out the claims. 

Car Accident in Jeju Island [South Korea] & What Should Have Been Done.

The original intention was to write a day-by-day itinerary of my just-concluded South Korean trip but i think the above subject shall take precedence given the impact it has on me and my family.

I had a car accident in Jeju Island. 

In a nutshell, i dozed off and the next thing i heard was my sister exclaiming where the heck i was going. *BANG* the car went up the kerb and hit a signpost. Airbags exploded out of the steering wheel (and the dashboard) and the car came to an abrupt stop!

Shocked doesn't quite describe my emotion then. 

I was more worried for both my sisters! Joyce appeared to be fine and Louise, seated at the back, was in a daze and asked what happened. Another Hyundai, 66구 6173, stopped in front of us and three ladies (a mother with her two daughters) dashed out to check if we are alright. So nice right?!?!?

As i was about to say "we are fine", one of the daughters pointed to my sister and gave a muffled scream. I turned to see Louise literally dripping blood! No picture as i absolutely think it is inappropriate; the safety and well being of my sister shall come first!! 

An ambulance came swiftly (everything happened so fast and i didn't really time; i was in a daze and honestly unprepared on what to do next) and all three of us were brought to the nearby Seogwipo Medical Centre. Darn, i didn't even mange to express my gratefulness to the three ladies!! 

Louise was found to have a laceration near her eyelid that eventually required eight stitches but just to play safe, the attending doctor (a Dr Cho who thankfully could speak English) recommended a CT-scan which we agreed. Everything was cleared and i heaved a sigh of relief! 

Condition of my sister's injury as of 19 October 2014; currently, there are some bruises around her eye which would likely subside in the next few days. 

Deservingly, i also had some injuries; second degree burns on my right arm, bruises on my well hidden fat tummy and abrasions on my neck and left arm. 

I wasn't too concerned about myself and chose to seek medical treatment after Louise; I am filled with endless guilt as i couldn't shrink away from my responsibility as the driver as well as the culprit for this accident! :(

The patch of skin was gone and even though it didn't look too bad at that point; raw pinkness has set in and it kind of reminded me of the pink middle of a medium-rare steak. 

Wrapped arm as seen on the second day of the accident. The dressing was a pain in the ass since it deters me from washing myself efficiently! Even the supposedly waterproof opsite dressing failed miserably. 

Total medical bills came up to be ₩664,670 (roughly S$800). No police report was made as we didn't hit any other vehicle / person. That's another big relief. 

Sidetracked a little, i totally love the way the medications were being dispensed in the hospital! Each sachet (printed with my name) has all the medications i would require in one sitting; hence, it is just a matter of tearing it up, dumping the pills into my mouth and swallowing them with a mug of water!  Convenient right!? 

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Given this unfortunate experience, i think it would be good to share some afterthoughts. First and foremost, never tire yourself out! If you know you are sleepy, park the car at the car park and take a snooze! 

Second, note the emergency number!! In South Korea, the ambulance number is 119. From what i remember (not sure how true that is), emergency numbers would work even if you have no roaming services! In case i am wrong, always opt for roaming when you are overseas.

Lastly, the major issue i faced in Korea was the language barrier. In my honest opinion, i have heard better Mandarin than English from some of the Koreans. Therefore, note the number for voluntary interpretation service.

For the ladies of vehicle 66구 6173, i am really, really indebted to your help and assistance. Without the three of you to calm us down and follow up with contacting the ambulance and car rental company, we would definitely be in a nervous fix! 

Thank you, thank you and thank you! p.s. i would try to contact the car rental company to check if i could have their contacts but in case anyone can help, i would be most grateful too! 

Those interested in my actual itinerary to Jeju and Seoul may click the link here. It's a summary but clicking the "day" will allow for more details. :) 

Drivers Who Don't Know How to PARK their Vehicles!

Drivers cutting into my lane without signalling; no problem. Drivers who didn't check their blind spots; no complaint so long they don't hit my car. Drivers who park their vehicles badly; now, this pisses me off especially when i am parking right next to theirs! 

I am no perfectionist myself but if you don't know how to park head in; don't embarrass yourself and create additional inconvenience to others! 

You don't even have the decency to right yourself! Besides me, there are numerous other passersby who also took out their phones and likely post a similar picture on social media laughing at your stupidity. I believe they were laughing at me as well; for being so unfortunate to have parked next to you. 

Guess i have to thank my lucky stars that no one was parking parallel to the divider and i could manoeuvre out after a few turns. You have to thank yours too because if i could not get out, i am calling TransCab. 

Funny Notice on the Coach

I still remember the good old days when those accommodating uncles driving the long distance buses to Malaysia would allow passengers the flexibility to do whatever they want on the vehicle; save for having sex! 

Nowadays, times have changed. There are more notices and constant reminders would be blared from time to time, cautioning us not to litter, not to eat, not to drink in the sanitised bus and to vomit carefully into the plastic bags provided. 

Some operators took a step further by being even more detailed! For example, the Genting bus to Kuala Lumpur has a strange rule; no smelly food on board the bus. 

WTF! In my opinion, that can only relate to durians and smelly tofu. Other than that, does that mean i can safely have any other type of food while enjoying the scenic journey own the highlands?

I honestly thought so. 

Parking at the Bus Stop Bay - Another Inconsiderate Act!

The infamous video of a private car that refused to give way to an ambulance on the expressway has fuelled anger from many online netizens. 

Such inconsiderate incidents on the roads are often seen and i am going to share one that i personally encountered a few weeks ago; at a bus stop.

I took the free shuttle bus from RWS to Vivocity after yet another visit to Universal Studios Singapore and although traffic was smooth, the bus could not drive into its designated RWS bus stop to let us alight due to the selfish action of one motorist; driver of SGL4201P.

The car was parked with its hazard lights on and there was absolutely no one in the car! I can understand the urgency (hey, i am really being sympathetic here) but for goodness sake; stop your car outside, and not inside the bus stop!

Frankly, this kind of driver must be penalised and i know for sure that under Singapore's Road Traffic Act, it is illegal to park within 9 meters of a bus stop ["park" is defined as bringing "a motor vehicle or a trailer to a stationary position and cause it to wait for any purpose other than that of immediately taking up or setting down persons, goods or luggage"]!