Engine Oil Warning Scare

A warning signal started flashing on the lower left of the dashboard when I started the engine on the GLX today. It's something I've never seen before. Ah crap ... we are trading it in tomorrow and it must be pissed and decided to give me one last "in-your-face" blowout.

The engine sounded fine so I took a risk and drove to the office. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary on the drive. A quick check on the internet indicates that it is a engine oil warning sign. Ok so the engine oil must be low, but that's odd I just serviced the car a month and half ago and changed the engine oil.

I went to the petrol kisok during lunch to buy a 1 litre bottle of synthetic motor oil and topped a little into the engine. Its rather weird, testing the oil level indicates its at the maximum. And the warning light didn't go off. Hmmm so it may not be the oil ... which worries me more. Anyways, I drove home with lunch and then back to office.  

Having strike off lack of engine oil as a cause, I went searching on the internet again for plausible reasons. Some sites recommend not driving the car at all so as not to destroy the engine. The more I read the more worried I got ... and eventually decided to rush down to the service workshop. I don't want to risk not being able to drive the car down to Volkswagen tomorrow for the trade-in.

Thankfully it wasn't anything serious. The customer service on hearing my description of the engine oil warning light confidently assured that it is only a minor issue. He offered that it is a normal occurrence on the GLX and nothing to worry about. The engine oil gauge had worn off and a replacement will solve it. So I went ahead with the repairs which summed up to $72 for parts and labour.

It's not a big sum, but definitely something which bugs me since we were going to trade the car in tomorrow! Why can't the engine oil gauge wait a couple of days or a week before breaking ....

Gynae Visit - Aug 2017

Dr Loh seems more keen to discuss the black garlic that he has been eating rather than talk about Meimei's pregnancy. And this is actually a good sign. He had looked through the Panorama results and looked relaxed about our progress. All looks good :-)

We were excited to see outline of baby. He was sleeping and Dr Loh cheekily push his buttocks to try to wake him up. But that didn't work haha.

OO @School - Collaboration With K2 Class

OO has been out of school for a month plus so I was pleasantly surprised to find photos of her on the school's web portal. I'm glad she was there for a play session together with the bigger kids. The teachers have been telling us that OO tends to look for the older 姐姐 during morning classes.

Oceanhorn

I've been immersed in Oceanhorn for the past few weeks. Although the game was released years ago I never got to trying it till now. Glad I finally bought it and gave it a go.

The graphics was so vibrant, the music score so enchanting that I thought I was playing on a game console and not the Ipad.

The controls were ok, would have been better if played on a real game pad but it sufficed. The only grip I would have was it ended too soon. I am looking forward to the sequel!

Conquering The Playground Net Steps

We were at what OO likes to call, the "Big Slide Playground" today. And today she decides that she'll have a go at the Net Steps.

I can't say I'm totally surprised. OO's has always been a fearless child ... for better or worse. We can only hope she knows her own limits, remains sure-footed and never risk any more than what is sensible.

Waiting For Grandpa

Meimei and Mama went out for a Mother-Daughter me time outing so it was up to me to take care of OO. We had already planned to go Hillview to visit Ah Gong and Ah Ma. We had just arrived when it started to rain heavily. Papa was out on an errand and so we waited patiently for him to get back.

OO has always been highly fascinated with the rain and kept asking about the sound of the rain hitting against the metal roofing. She was contented to sit and watch as the rain continued to pour. Thankfully she didn't try to go play with the water gushing down from the roof. I suspect the thunder and lighting scares her.

LaoBa came back right after the rain subsided to a light shower. He knew OO loved the water apples and insisted on climbing up the tree to collect some for his precious grand daughter ... against my constant nagging not to ... haiz.

OO was a busybody and kept checking on what Ah Gong was doing. I try to keep my distance just so LaoBa and LaoMa can have more time with OO. It's good to come visit on Saturday afternoons as Gareth is out to playgroup. OO can have the full attention of LaoBa and LaoMa hehehe.

And It's A .....!

Meimei received news from the clinic today and couldn't wait to tell me about it. The important news was that the Panorama test results shows all low risk, which means baby is more likely to be born healthy.

The bigger news though ... which Meimei is extremely elated about, is that it's a boy! Woot! She has been longing for a boy so her wish has now come true. Of course I'm sure she would be just as excited had it been another girl. But she can't contain her glee after finding out.

Now all we hope for is a smooth delivery and for baby to be healthy and strong. Hurray!!!

The Assessment

The car selection is naturally the dinner table topic of the night. Meimei and I threw random comments between the two of us while Papa, Mama and YeeYee offer bits of advice. I think they try not to sway our decision in any direction since we are the ones who have to bear the big financial commitment. If anything, it's important we make the choice ourselves.

After going at it for awhile and looking to get no where, YeeYee took the initiative to help us note down our thoughts. And we all agreed to move away from the looks ... there is nothing to compare, the Touran trumps the Caddy by the longest stretch possible. So rather than listing what we liked about each car, we focused on what bugged us more in terms of practicality and assigned severity to each factor.

So it turns out if we put the looks aside, the Touran seems to draw more irk. For Meimei the key no-go was the flimsy mesh closing the sunroof ... its useless in preventing the rays from getting into the car. For me, its the space factor ... why pay for a seven seater when I have to sacrifice seats to carry strollers. We can switch to a Touran in a couple of years once the kids no longer need strollers.

So yeah ... the Caddy it is.

Family Viewing @Volkswagen

Meimei has been planning the logistics for Papa, Mama and Yeeyee to come check out the Caddy and Touran. I, on the other hand, have been watching video after video on the Touran through the week hehe.

When the family first arrive and we introduce them to the Caddy, there were a couple of raised eyebrows. Obviously the Caddy falls far short on the looks department. I suspect the neon green doesn't help either. There is however one who loved the Caddy. She ran into it and planted herself on the 3rd row seats and went "Papa, Emily like green bus! Wheel of the bus go round and round ~" Hahahah looks like the only one impressed is a 2 year old who thinks it's a bus from her videos. Not exactly reassuring *tears.

After trying out the passenger seats, the folding steps for the 2nd row seats, the walkway and headroom to the 3rd row, the general consensus is that the vehicle is huge. And add a big boot to that and you'll never lack space.

We moved to the Touran next and everyone seemed drawn to it immediately ... except of course OO. She literally refuse to go near the vehicle ... much less get into it. She wants her bus and would not entertain any other. So off to the play area she went with Mama and the maid. Which leaves the rest of us to pore through the Touran. My first task was to test whether we could fit our stroller ... and sadly it failed.

I couldn't close the tailgate ... oh crap. To fit the stroller we'll gonna have to fold down one of the 3rd row seats. As Yeeyee quickly pointed out, if we need to do that we are only getting another extra seat from our current ride. And to pay $126K for an extra seat doesn't make much sense. Of course it's not just another seat ... the equipment on the Touran is far more than anything we had in the GLX. But this realisation does put a damper on the Touran. We needed the space and the Touran seemed like a compromise rather than the solution.

Undeterred, I asked for a test drive for both cars to give everyone a feel of riding in the back rows. Papa and Meimei rode on the 2nd row for both rides. Yeeyee tried the Caddy and Mama the Touran. It turns out Yeeyee was fine as the Caddy's seats were like a movie theatre where the seats gradually rises to the back. Mama had a tougher time at the back of the Touran and was mildly car stick after the short test drive.

Another key discovery during the test drive was that the sunroof is only closed with a thin mesh rather than a hard panel. There was immediate concern from Papa of the heat and rays from the sun. Oops.

So what seemed like a easy decision initially became somewhat 'complicated'. Meimei and I was leaning heavily towards the Touran but now with the other key factors of space and sunroof coming into play, we are no longer sure the Touran is the best choice. Sensing the dilemma and stalemate, our SE offered that we go back to sleep on it before deciding in a day or two. A wise offer.

An Impulse Buy?

Having looked at the Biante and Outlander we were back at Volkswagen. In most cases, one would have jumped into the car and drove off to maul over the 3 models. However Volkswagen has a promotional tie up with Safra to offer Safra members a $1.5K discount ... and it ends on Monday.

So we went back into the Volkswagen showroom to make sure we are getting the right decision. Our SE welcomed us back and answered a couple more of our queries beforing walking us to view the Caddy again. She saw I was holding on a brochure for the Outlander and tried to sell the merits of thr Caddy to the Outlander.

Sensing our reluctance that the Caddy doesn't look as slick as the Outlander, she suddenly asked if we ever considered the Touran. "Huh? Nah ... the Touran is out of our budget. It's like $140K-$150K yah ..." "No no, if you are considering the Biante you can consider the Touran too, we have a diesel version that is chesper, hold on let me calculate and give you a good price." "Ok you go ahead, we'll have a look at the Touran first."

Wow ... we can afford a Touran?! Both Meimei and my eyes lit up as we exchange gazes. The Touran is definitely the more attractive car. And the equipment was fancier than the Caddy. The only concern we have is the boot space. We need to bring our stroller for a test. 

"The best price I can give you for the Touran 1.6TDI is $126K." Woah ... just $3K more and we can get a Touran?!! Sign me up already!!! Ok I tried to act all poker face. In truth we needed to check with Papa Mama and Yeeyee too on which they prefer. After all they are the ones who would have to ride behind.

But with the Touran there isn't any more consideration for either the Biante or Outlander. It's simply Volkswagen, just which model. The Touran is now the forerunner and I can see in Meimei's eyes she's very interested in it. With that clear, Meimei and I sat down for some serious discussion.

The first thing that cross both our minds was "Is this an impulse buy? Have we thought this through clearly?" Very reasonable doubts, especially when this is our first day of car shopping. Our minds tell us we should not rush into a car purchase when it's such a huge financial outlay. But my heart and instincts tells me otherwise.

So in a quick exchange we agreed this is it, let's do it. And so we placed a $10K deposit and on our SE's recommendation, the Caddy was listed in the vehicle purchase agreement with the option to switch to the Touran once our family has had the chance to come see both models this weekend.

An impulse buy? I don't think so. Buying our new place at Bedok was the same, one offer non-negotiable quick and sharp. I just have a good feel about this.

The Other Rides

Having tested the Caddy and being impressed with the features it's fitted with, we had to see the Biante and Outlander. Meimei seems to have her heart already set on a Volkswagen ... well she's always been wanting to get one for the perceived safety the brand brings. But anyways we walked over to Mazda first ... for the benefit of my curiosity.

It's just across the street and we arrived 15 minutes before 6pm. Not sure if it's because its a Monday but no one came to attend to us the whole time we were there. I know they had a clearance sale on the Biante demo units but they must have been doing breeze business on all models that the SEs simply ignored us.

Doesn't matter, Meimei and I went about our way and checked on the Biante. It's as I expected, pretty spacious and I liked how you can potentially squeeze 3 pax on the 3rd row. Sadly the boot space is slightly compromised with the 3rd row seats up. We can fit one stroller but another would have to go on top of the other. One thing that caught my eye and irked me was the visible wires on the electric sliding doors. The wires were only encased in flimsy plastic, like those used to wrapped computer wires at home. At $135K it was also $10K more than the Caddy. Overall I wasn't impressed with the interior when I got into the driver's seat. The dashboard seems so bare, it looks better in the brochures.

So we spent no more than 15 minutes in the Mazda showroom. No chance of a test drive or introduction on the merits of the Biante since the SEs were too busy hitting at their desktop behind their desk. And we were not the only one given the cold shoulder. There was another family looking at the Mazda 5 and it took awhile before a SE came to attend to them. We were not going to wait for one so we left. We had written off the Biante and Mazda in general (due to the service or lack of) by the time we left.

Next stop was the Mitsubishi showroom. Outlander doesn't disappoint in the looks department, it's stylish and eye-catching. And this time a SE came to attend to us. After a short introduction on the highlights of the Outlander, we asked for a test drive. Wow ... the Outlander is definitely powerful with its 2.4L engine. Meimei also commented that it feels more comfortable and stable in the 2 row seats than the Caddy. At $124K it's the same price as the Caddy.

The issue with the Outlander ... and its a major one for us is the tiny walkway into the 3rd row. First there is the tall climb onto the car and then having to bend low at the ceiling to drop into the seats. I fear that'll be asking too much for our parents as they grow older. I also can't see myself fitting into the 'hole' while trying to strap on OO if we put her in the 3rd row. We definitely need our parents to come have a look before committing to the Outlander. And we made it known to the SE and promised to bring my parent-in-laws to view it on the weekend before we left.

As we were walking back to our car parked at the Volkswagen showroom, we started discussing seriously about whether we can afford a new car. I had originally thought that the GLX would only fetch it's paper value of $8K. But now that it's $15K it helps a lot in affording our next ride. And with Meimei offering to front half of the balance of the downpayment, we are pretty much all systems go!

First Touch Of The Caddy Maxi MPV

Meimei was great in offering to come check out the Volkswagen Caddy on a Monday evening. I had been talking about it all weekend but we didn't get a chance to go. So we had Mama babysit while we run off to look at cars. The plan is to start looking at cars over the next few months whenever we can.

For those who have never looked at a Caddy, it's actually a van spruced up into a passenger vehicle. It's chassis and primary equipment are that of the commercial van, eg. the rear suspension is a typical van leaf spring instead of a passenger coil spring; tall roof of a van; you need a key for the fuel cap; etc.

If you look only at the front facade, you'll be forgiven to think that this is a Golf or Touran. The Bi-Xenon headlights, LED day-time lights and chrome lines really makes the van look closer to that of a car. And well that's also because VW Singapore brought in a single Trimline for the Caddy, the Highline version. It was retailing at $130K odd for the past year but this weekend it's at $124K which made it attractive for the specs you get.

Since we came early, we went for a test drive. They didn't have the Maxi version so we had to settle for a drive in the normal Caddy. Having only owned a manual Kia Rio and the Mitsubishi Lancer GLX, it doesn't take much to impress me. But power is not the key criteria I'm looking for. It is the space, the ability to fit 5 adults and 2 baby seats comfortably plus boot space for the strollers. And it doesn't take a test drive to determine that. I've pretty much figured which models have better legroom by looking through brochures and user reviews. The Caddy Maxi more than satisfies this primary criteria.

Once we were back from the test drive, our SE begin her sales talk and walk us through the financing bit. The one thing that caught me by surprise was the offer of $15K for our GLX. That made it easier to really consider switching our ride as soon as we can. However as much as I appreciate the earnest attention, we honestly told her that this was the first stop and we have yet to look at the rest of our short listed cars.

And since we had some time before the other showrooms closes at 6pm, we decided to go for a quick walk to Mazda and C&C to look at the Biante and Outlander. However it seems the Caddy might now be a forerunner and it's up to the other models to impress.

Finding A New Ride

I've been thinking about the up coming changes with another baby. We already have most of the stuff we need, basically OO's hand-me-downs. We just need to buy a couple more small equipment like the stroller and a walker. There is however a big ticket item I've been researching over the past one year. And now has come the time to seriously think about it. A new 7 seater car.

Our current Mitsubishi GLX can only fit belted child seats at each side of the 2nd row. It will be hard for anyone to get into the middle. I never fancy putting my child in the front seat so that's not an option too. So I've been looking at 7 seaters over the past year ... when we started trying for a second baby.

There is also the added push from the growing list of recommended repairs on the GLX. Every servicing trip ends with a discussion with the customer service on repair items. "Hi Mr Pokpok, there are cracks on your engine mounting, we recommend you to change it", "Will the engine fall out of the chassis?", "No (laughs)", "Is it a safety issue?", "No, no safety issue, just that the car will rattle" "Not safety issue, pass", "Ok sir, next we also find that ...~", "Safety issue?", "No", "Pass". So it keeps going with me passing on anything that is not a safety issue. What started as 2 items on the list last year is now a sizeable list of 8. I don't really understand what most of them are, only that they do not compromise safety.

So with a new baby coming and potentially hefty bill in repairing our current ride that has only 2 years to go, getting a new car is now a definite must. And this time we are getting a 7 seater for sure.

Right from the get-go I knew we weren't going to afford any of the luxury 7 seaters. Models like the Toyota Previa, Estima, Honda's Odyssey, Volkswagen Sharan etc were well beyond our reach. Our budget, and it's already a big commitment on our finances, was in the region of 110-120K. Maybe 130K if we stretch it a little. Anyways I am placing utility over form for our next ride. So not having Ottoman seats didn't matter, what we need is flexibility and lots of space.

Budget aside, I still make it a point to research online all 7 seaters from most of the authorised dealers in Singapore. Kinda educating myself on what one can expect in a certain price range so hopefully I will know when I see a good deal. It also gives me a chance to gush and ogle at the nicer rides hehe.

Our budget cut our available selection to a handful of cars. Toyota's Sienta & Wish, Honda's Mobilio, Mitsubishi's Outlander, Mazda's 5 & Biante, Volkswagen's Caddy, Chevrolet's Orlando, Renault's Grand Scenic, Citroen's Grand Picasso.

After poring through the specifications, I have the Biante as the top choice, followed by Outlander and finally the Wish as the default if we don't find any of the other models appealing. The Caddy and Grand Scenic are potential choices too but given a temporary pass as they are continental (reputed to cost more on maintenance) and priced around 130K range.

I've been admiring the Biantes and Outlanders whenever I spot them on the roads. Meimei doesn't seem too keen on either models. So I've been constantly pointing them out to Meimei in hopes she comes around the idea of these two.

Now ... oddly enough over the past weekend, I spotted a interesting promotion from Volkswagen which prompt me to cajole for a trip down to the showroom. It was something so out of the blue that I can't believe how fast things turn out. So we were there yesterday night and ...

Gynae Visit - July 2017

Good news from the checkup. Dr Loh was pretty happy with what he is seeing. No thickness in the neckline.

Best part was being able to hear baby's heartbeat. Woot, relieved to hear things are ok. Meimei still have to go through the Harmony test just to be sure.

Look Of Love

This is what makes being parent so rewarding - When your child looks at you with their full love and passion.

It takes just one look to brighten up your day. Love~