oh{FISH}iee: Review: CitiCars Automobile Service Centre @ Sunway Pyramid

13 July, 2014

Review: CitiCars Automobile Service Centre @ Sunway Pyramid

Having a car is a necessity in KL, don't you think so? But headaches come when it is the time to service my car. How often do you spend 2 hours at the mechanic's when you have 1001 items on the to-do list? I hardly find my time for this, so I end up delaying my periodic car service, which in turn makes the problems in the car getting worse!

......until recently I found a new autoservice centre located in a mall, which is open every day including public holidays (I'm impressed, well how many mechanic shops still open during holidays?!) from 10am to 10pm. And no, it does NOT offer car wash services.

CITICARS is something new in Malaysia--- A lifestyle car servicing and repairing centre at shopping malls (Currently only at Sunway Pyramid and The Gardens Mall, soon they will be expanding to Paradigm Mall, 1 Utama, etc).

I love its ultimate concept of Convenience--- The first thing I do when I reach the mall is to send in my car for service and repair, then I go for shopping, lunch, movie, high tea and dinner. At the end of the day, I just pick up the car conveniently, and drive home safely in my fully serviced and repaired reliable car.

Citicars is powered by Shell. It uses the original Perodua oils (mineral / semi synthetic) exclusively for Perodua models, and the popular Shell Helix motor oils for any car brands other than that.

Now they are doing a promotion of giving FREE 26 Inspection Points Check until 31 August 2014.

It includes:

1. Air Cleaner

2. Hand brake

3. Spark plugs

4. Doors (function)

5. Windscreen wipers

6. Front and back brake lines

7. Fuel filter (transparent type)

8. Steering (oil level, oil condition)

9. Rear axie (oil level, oil condition)

10. Fuel system ( idle mixture, cruise mixture)

11. Engine (starting characteristics, acceleration)

12. Cranking system (initial voltage, cranking RPM, cranking volts)

13. Charging system (charging rate, diode pattern)

14. Brake/clutch (fluid level, fluid condition)

15. Battery/ battery terminals and cables

16. Transmission (oil level, oil condition)

17. Drive belts (condition, function)

18. Engine (oil level, oil condition)

19. Radiator, hoses and caps

20. Windscreen washer

21. Windows (function)

22. Steering linkage

23. Lighting system

24. Cooling System

25. Foot brake

26. Tyres

I find it really a good deal! Since I'm going shopping anyway, why not save the hassle of find parking

and just head straight to Citicars for a free thorough inspection check?

The basic services with inspection check takes around 30-45 minutes. After diagnosing the problem, it is absolutely your choice whether to repair them or not. I love their professionalism of voicing out the honest opinions without trying to be pushy and hard-sell different packages to customers.

I choose the second package worth RM138 for my Kelisa,

which uses semi synthetic oil that can last me up to 7,000km mileage.

While shopping, the staff calls me to inform me on the problem within 1 hour. So I agree to change the hardened wipers, brake fluid and steering oil. Then the staff orders the spare parts immediately which will reach the shop within 15-30 minutes. Warranty is awarded between 3-6 months depending on the parts. Since I have bought the RM138 package, any additional service is FREE of labour charge (Yay!)

I see them pumping nitrogen gas into my tyres. Do you know that nitrogen air gets more stable and does not heat up easily during long distance travelling? That definitely makes your car feels lighter :) Instead of paying RM20-RM35 at outside mechanic shop, here you can get it free as part of the package, regardless of what car you're driving!

Each Citicars kiosk comes with an air-conditioned, comfortable lounge for customers to relax while waiting for the car (if you are done with shopping). Here you can chat with the professional automobile consultants to plan for your car service and save more from different packages.

Transparency is highlighted at CitiCars. If you're worried about your car, you can always

view the process via the CCTV recordings on the TV while chilling at the lounge.

How to make sure my RM138 worth the money?

Well, you may be wondering why do I have to spend RM138 on a full package when my Kelisa looks just fine. Let's make a comparison with the retail price charged by local Perodua service centre.

[First column] By choosing Citicars, I am RM115 richer as compared to going for my car manufacturer service centre. Moreover, what I get here are still genuine parts, but at a cheaper price and more convenient way.

Packages range from RM98 to RM298 per session

To become member, prepay the 3 sessions of packages in advance and you can bring in any cars for inspection. For local Perodua cars the charges can be as low as RM98, whereas driving an Audi R8 only costs you RM198 here.

Citicars Raya Promotion

The FREE 26 Inspection Points Check promotion is valid until 31 August 2014, and you can enjoy a free Moo Cow yoghurt cone after each check up. Be sure to have your car inspected before going back to the hometown! It's better to be safe than sorry!

All in all, it is a good experience as the staff gave constructive suggestions on few major issues of my car, and completed the inspection plus service within 2 hours. As for me, I feel more productive in a day as I can have a great time shopping, get my errands done, and enjoy a more comfortable ride at the end of the day. So accomplished by killing 3 birds in 1 stone!