Moving along well...

A progress report on what has been done recently.

New set of front tires purchased and installed:

Refurbished door sidings installed:

New dampers installed so the hood no

longer slams down in gusty winds:

My first look at the complete headlight system

with the kidney grille back on:

And rear lights too:

Even with all the dirt, notice how the paint maintains its shine:

If its shiny now, wait till I get my hands on it!

For almost all of the parts I have accumulated, it is the first time I am seeing them go where they belong.  They were ordered in advance from a wide range of local and overseas suppliers and then kept in storage for the last couple of months.  Admittedly, there is some risk in doing it this way because there might be missing components, problems in the fit, or are already defective to start with.  Returns or exchanges are out of the question since the cost of shipping alone would negate any savings.  Plus the time lag would make it extremely difficult to make a justifiable claim.  This was something I had to accept but it was also a calculated risk since I did a thorough researching of what I needed.  I made sure through the RealOEM.com website that the part numbers matched and further verified it visually through the exploded diagrams.  A major reason for why I have been taking a lot of pictures of the car from various angles is to be able to compare actual sections with the diagrams whenever I need a reference point.  I made a conscious decision to source parts locally if I was not certain of what to get or had doubts as to quality, regardless of the price differential.  All else being equal except for a slightly higher price, I would still choose to buy locally for better peace of mind, greater convenience, and consider it as my way of helping out the economy.   I also thought it would be counterproductive to nickel and dime my purchases.  Especially for relatively small-ticket items which are available right there and then, it makes no sense to still continue looking for a cheaper source.  There are a lot of sellers in Ebay who tout goods supposedly produced by OEMs, look good in pictures but are way inferior in quality when on hand.  Let's face it though.  A Sachs shock absorber will always be a Sachs shock absorber no matter where in the world and the same would be true for items produced by other established manufacturers.  Its in situations like this when comparison shopping becomes worthwhile. 

In the end, the rewards outweighed the risks as everything is working properly and I was able to save a good amount from the overall budget.  I was very fortunate in that I had my Hong Kong address to receive shipments from all over the world.  Since HK is a freeport, there was no need to worry about being taxed and even more importantly, the postal system is very reliable.  There never was a doubt in my mind that I would receive at my door whatever was sent to me and that they would be in good order upon arrival.

Remember an earlier post (Old vs New...1/31/2010) when I held out a blackened bulb holder?  With the new tailights installed, the usual diagnostic tests from the onboard computer show no more fault readings on that system and it would therefore be safe to conclude that the warnings really came from a badly corroded connection.  That's another problem off the list.

In the course of my regular visits, I have come to a better understanding of the difficulties mechanics face in doing their job.  It does not help that they work in a very hazardous environment but most obvious are the physical demands like heavy lifting, squatting, squeezing into tiny spaces, crawling under the car, or just even from the very hot weather. For instance, I was surprised to see for myself that reinstalling all four door sidings took the whole afternoon.  I was expecting that it would be done in an hour or two at most.  I failed to take into account that there were other details which go into this task such as attaching the latches, positioning the lock, inserting the rubber insulators, etc.  The presence of fastidious clients (such as myself) certainly adds to the stress since they know their work is being scrutinized thoroughly.  Inspite of everything, they are very good natured amongst themselves and often share food during a merienda or snack break.  Since they see me almost everyday, they have grown a bit comfortable with my presence and share jokes with me too.  

When the car is finished, I have told myself that everyone will be getting a very good merienda as a token of my appreciation...