They Took The Only Cash In My Purse

I meant to post this up sooner, but somehow I got distracted playing Pet Society in Facebook (haha)  and had it saved as a blank draft until now.

Well, last Wednesday I brought my car to the service center for standard servicing after delaying it for 2 weeks. I told Mom that I was going and she asked, “Ada duit or not?”  Trying to be the good finance-planner daughter, I said “Got, my scholarship masih banyak.”

Normally, the service only costs me at a range of RM 80 to RM 150, depending on what type of service the mechanics are going to give me. (Ya ya, quite cheap. Small car, that’s why.) I withdrew some cash from the ATM that morning because after servicing the car, I planned to use the rest of the money to pay for my internet bills. So I have RM 420 in my purse, with more than enough to spare.

So I went. And after reviewing my car for any faults or problems, the mechanics told me that my wheel balancing / alignment is off and my car battery had totally dried up!

He asked, ” You tak pernah ganti air bateri you ke? Sudah kering tu, you kene ganti yang baru. Kalau tidak kereta you boleh rosak.”

I answered, “Tak pernah ganti, kene ganti ke selama ni?“

“Yes, you actually kene ganti air bateri you at least once dalam 2 or 3 weeks. So, selama ni you memang tak tahu?”

“Tak tahu. Tak ada orang pernah bagitahu saya. Saya tahu hantar service je. I thought it was supposed to be your job to check that for me.”

Or was it common sense? And me being totally clueless about cars and what nots to ensure the engine run smoothly, of course I don’t know.

“So sekarang ni macam mana?

“Oh, you kene ganti bateri you. Di sini, kami ada jual 2 jenis bateri. Jenama YOKOHAMA. Yang murah RM 180, tapi you kene ganti air bateri tu every 2 weeks. Air bateri tu kene beli. Yang satu lagi agak mahal sikit la, RM 230. Tapi yang baiknya, you tak payah ganti air bateri tu. You install, just let it run, then after 2 or 3 years macam tu, baru you tukar.”

“Dan satu lagi, alignment and balancing kereta you dah tak berapa baik.”

“So, kalau saya nak tukar semua tu berapa total?”

“Atur alignment, ganti bateri baru, standard service…(tekan-tekan calculator)..semuanya RM407.20 miss.”

And at that moment, it felt like the clock had stop ticking. I was like, “WHATTT !!!”. Literally lah. But I had no choice, either do it or live with it. So, I said OK.

The guy went to attend to my car. A few moments later, he came back.

“Miss, tayar you satu tu ada paku terbenam. Nak kami tampal? Tapi kene tambah RM 6.”

“Hah, ada paku? Saya tak perasan pulak.”

The guy, the mechanics, the girl at the cash counter and some few of the customers waiting for their cars at the service center must have had this expression on their face:

!=_=”

Hmpph.

RM 407.20 + RM 6. You do the maths. Minus it with every amount of cash I had at that moment, I had only RM 6.80 to spare! Makan satu kali pun dah boleh habis. Ok la, 2 times if I take nasi + telur + tempe and air putih.

I immediately texted Dad about that. He told me it’s normal for a car battery to cost that much. (Phew~). Then I told Dad, “But but but more than RM400 bah daddy. How? Habis my pocket money. Now my scholarship is draining.” *Talked to Dad on the phone with the most kasihan-est voice I can make*

Then my Dad laughed, ” Ohhhh~ So you want Daddy to ganti is it? Hohoho.”

Aikss, how did he knew? Siap ketawa lagi..~

And I said, “Hohoho, yes la. My scholarship after this tinggal XXXX amount only, how am I going to survive another 3 months here?”

Then he said, “Ok la. Daddy bank in.”

And he did.

Punah la harapan nak jadi a good finance-planner daughter.

The bright side of the story is: I don’t have to worry about my car anymore!