Proton Saga service after 10000KM

I wanted to write this earlier but I totally forgot about it.

I send my Proton Saga BLM to its 10000KM service last month. It's just shy a few weeks of its one year anniversary. I think I really under utilize this car because it says in the service booklet "10000KM service or 6 months, which ever first". I think users normally drive 10000KM in 6 months, I only drove 10500KM in 12 months.

At the service center, I complained about my passenger doors again for the 3rd time. Every time I send it for service, I tell them that my passengers have a hard time opening the door. Seems that the cable inside the door is extra tight. It takes a lot of force to pull it open. Personally, I don't mind because I hardly use the passenger doors. It's my wife and my mother-in-law who has a hard time.

I also asked for new wipers. The Proton service guy said they don't sell rubber wipers anymore, they only have silicon wipers. It's about RM100 plus and it comes with 6 months warranty. I asked him if anyone has ever returned it in 6 months, he said no. Well, I thought okay since Proton QC has improved I got it. The wipers work much better than the rubber ones but they squeak sometimes.

Now that I think about it, I think I did see one guy selling silicon wipers in Tropicana City's Carrefour. He had a lifetime warranty for the wipers and even provided delivery for the wipers if they failed. I think the price is higher but since he was selling it at a stall, I didn't really trust him. If the wipers failed 6 months from now, he might not be around anymore.

I also asked them to do wheel balancing. So far the driving performance is still the same. The fuel economy has improved. I find that since its an auto, I average about only 9KM/Liter for my daily home to work commute. Mind you, that drive is only 7KM so it's not that far really. Plus everything else I want is in Petaling Jaya so I hardly drive very far. I get about 240KM for every full tank I fill. A full empty tank is 40 liters, the warning light comes on when there's only 10 Liters left. So I fill it in about 30-35 liters each time.

For long distance driving I find that the car does much better at 15KM/Liter so this car is more suitable for those who commute longer distance... say KLIA to Petaling Jaya via highways. I also stopped using the Shell V-Power (the red one). I find that the kick is too much coming out from a stand still. Personally I don't mind it as a driver but my passengers find it nauseous. The acceleration is too fast. Once awhile I still use it just to clean the engine.

I have a nicks on the car already but overall, its find. The biggest nicks and scratches is actually at the door opener on the driver side. It's got small scratches all over the part under the handle. Either it came from accidental contact with the key or just plain wear and tear from contact with my fingernail maybe?

The other problem I have with it is the mat they give for the driver side and front passenger side. It keeps curling up and droops as the front side is curved at an angle. The mat is made of a soft rubber so it keeps sliding down and the material bunches up. It can be slightly dangerous if the material gets in the way of my pressing the paddles. I keep having to pull the material up and arranging it. I would have preferred a hard rubber mat they used to provide for the old protons. Those were easier to clean and wash also. The current one is a like a rubber carpet. Dirt gets stuck in between and it's hard to remove them.

Over all, I can't complain much about the car. I find it's still value for money.