iafm proton saga blm

i learned a new word today - iafm a.k.a intake air fuel module.

recently, my proton saga blm began to make this irritating knocking sound so i went to the mechanics to check it out. the first mechanic i went to told me to flush my engine with an engine flush and cleaner - specifically, a product by würth. but the thing is, i have to use it a few kilometers before the next service and leave the engine running for about 20 minutes before changing the engine oil. my car was serviced like 3 days ago. tak berbaloi. lagipun the mechanic said, maybe akan hilang bunyi tu. maybe is the key word. not good enough. so i asked him to give me an absolute answer. how do i make the noise disappear? his answer, replace a part of the engine (sorry, can't remember what part) for rm1k++. but that's not the exact figure though because he has only done it for mazda cars. not proton. okay.. never mind.

the next day, a colleague proposed that i should try asking other mechanics and compare answers. hm.. good idea. but where exaxctly should i go? he suggested a mechanic nearby the proton service centre. then it hit me. proton service centre kan ada! around 7 minutes drive je pun. haihh. why didn't i know that? padahal dah 8 months kerja around this area. so off i went to the proton service centre.

and that is when i learned this so called new word. iafm. the mechanic said i can get it replaced for rm200++ not including labour charge. two different answers from two different mechanics. but i am placing my bet on the second mechanic though. because he works at the proton service centre and my car is a proton. duh! but anyways, since i now know what seems to be causing the problem, i decided not to place my order yet. i need to do some research first.

and.. the second mechanic may be right! google told me that other proton saga blm owners have had the same problems as mine. i consider myself fortunate to not have it replaced sooner. some owners reported having it replaced at less than 10k km mileage. my mileage is now at 160k++ km, 2009 edition. so maybe the proton r&d team did make some improvements on the iafm they installed previously. err.. thanks?

proton still has a long way to go.. *bittersweet emotion*

related links:
^ my car makes noises similar to this video.

housing loans

i have been house hunting these past few weeks. mainly in the area of cameron highlands and kulim. secretly, rasa macam susah je nak bayar monthly installments as the house prices are going up ridiculously. and tiba-tiba dapat tahu, zeti umum tempoh housing loan akan dipendekkan from 40 years to 30 years. *sighs*

anyway, after a few visits to a few banks such as ambank, maybank and cimb, so far i've learnt that if you want to buy a second-hand home, you have to know the lot number, address etc. kesimpulannya, nak senang, mintak je salinan geran from the home owner. the banks will also need other information such as how much you will be buying the house for and if the house been renovated. after that, the banks will send a penilai hartanah to sum up how much the house is really worth. from there on, the bank will then decide how much they will actually lend you.

and kalau nak jimat duit, of course you have to compare interest rates between various banks. so far, ambank offered me with the lowest interest rate at 4.2%. whilst maybank and cimb both offered 4.4%. i also asked about the pr1ma scheme that the government is currently offering for malaysians. turns out that to be eligible, first and foremost you have to work in the private sector. alas! :(