On a trip up north, appointment was made to meet in Auto City, off Juru interchange. Being first time to Auto City, first turning got past McDonald, then went along and saw a sign Isuzu which was relevant because the car to be viewed was a D-Max.
Though Isuzu was mentioned, the seller just refused to meet at the dealer's showroom, and instead asked to meet at McDonald. While waiting for them, the couple actually spent time talking to a nice Thai salesman who explained in detail what was needed to know. For example, the vehicle in question was a 2.5 model which he said is definitely a 4x2! This alone ruled out the main requirement of a 4x4 off-road workhorse. The couple decided not to view the vehicle as it was pointless and a waste of time, plus having to find excuses for declining the offer.
The salesman was very convincing about the new D-Max 3.0 litre but the Rm1,638.40 road tax was a dampener.
Choice was narrowed down to those with 2.5 litre engines like Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger, and Toyota Hilux. The last was ruled out because neighbour has one! Anyway, the step on the rear bumper was way too high to climb with ease.
At the Nissan showroom in Jalan Kuala Kangsar, Ipoh, there was a new Frontier bought by someone from Perlis awaiting collection. But there was a fully imported Navara a.k.a 'Mother Trucker' which was being viewed by two men. But the price difference of Rm10,000 (after discounts) made the Navara beyond a given budget.
The next day, it was decision time. On the way, the decision was made for a Frontier. Upon arrival, no Frontier was available for a test drive and the sales representative suggested the Navara. Why not? Wife drove the car and was impressed by the power of the new engine which was comparable to an Xtrail, so it seemed. The plus points were newer engine (compared with the Frontier) and latest 6-gear Manual which promise more power and fuel efficiency. Anyway, an appointment was made to test drive a Frontier later in the afternoon (which confirmed Navara a better choice despite the price difference).
Meanwhile, visited Ford dealer at Jalan Kampar to view the Ranger. With just a brief discussion and therefore no mention of possible discount, the price between Frontier and Navara made it difficult to compete. In fact, the engine sound was so similar to the current 6-year Mazda Fighter that it gave the impression there was no change to it.
To be used as a combination of a SUV and a twin-cab pick-up, a canopy was decided to be necessary. While walking towards own car, saw a Navara with a canopy which has rear lamps on it! At first glance, it looked like a SUV and this more or less should be the type to look for.
Nissan has their own range of canopies but without rear lamps. Went to a known dealer in accessories and met a friend who is a vet. His Navara was fitted with a canopy and realized too late that the openings of an inch of the side windows were unsuitable for the dogs which he has to carry in his routine rounds. To rectify the problem, a fan has to be installed but he was not pleased.
Learning from his mistake, the search for a canopy should be those with sliding windows. I bet he would be envious when he sees those Navara with rear lamps and sliding windows.
Advice from the staff of dealer in vehicle accessories: Find the canopy of your choice and arrange to have it inspected by Puspakom. It seems an application needs to be sent to the technical department of the Transport Ministry in Putrajaya for approval! The immediate reaction from me was, 'why can't one application for a certain brand and design suitable for a given make of vehicle be acceptable for all future cases?
The tinting of the windscreen and windows has to be done after the canopy has been approved, and the reason? Those tints approved by JPJ will not necessarily be approved by Puspakom! Apparently they use different equipment! This must be causing unnecessary hardship to owners of vehicles. I know of a retired teacher who bought an imported re-conditioned Estima which came with a tint. He is resigned to being stopped occasionally by police or JPJ and given a summon.
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