Dealerships criticism part 1: MHD

New Series. (I always start a series but then stop posting about it).

I decided to be like any other frustrated Omani in the Sabla and start bitching about the crappy cars dealerships here in Oman. I used to take it because I didn't face big problems but it reached a limit where I have to speak about it. I will mention my own experience with the dealerships and the bad things I've been through.

I will start the series with an average post about Mohsin Haidar Darweesh (MHD), which is the dealership for Land Rover, Volvo and Jaguar. (God I thought this was going to be a short post. It's not!)







Encounter one: Volvo S40 accident.





My sister got into a small accident in her Volvo S40. So I took it to MHD get an estimate of the total damage and a quotation of the needed parts/labor for the job.

- I went twice without the ability to meet the concerned person. One time because I went at 5.25 PM and they close at 5.30. The other time because he had a meeting and nobody knew when he was gonna finish.

- After I met the concerned person, I had to wait for around a week to get the quotation. And that is with me pushing them to finish it. They never called to update me. I had to call every single time to check whether it was done or not.

- Once I got the quotation, it was so high I didn't even want to bargain about the price, even though the omani employee wanted to set me a meeting with the body shop manager to discuss the quotation.

- Parts were expensive as hell. and I thought BMW parts were expensive. A really tiny piece of plastic (the hook cover, 5x5 cm) costs around 16 rials.

- They told me it will take 2 days to get the part. it took them 2 weeks to get it (and I'm not exaggerating).

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Encounter 2: Jaguar XF test drive.



- Simply put: I took the XF for a test drive and I couldn't start it in the morning because it had a gear fault. The salesman was so cold and after the dealer truck took the car, I never heard from him again.

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Encounter 3: Land Rover LR3 technical issues.



- Any person with a good amount of general cars knowledge knows that Land Rovers (including the Range Rover) are cars that suffer from technical problems.They would be the most amazing SUVs if it wasn't for these problems because everything else is great about them.




I won't write every single problem we had with MHD regarding the LR3 because they are endless. The staff there know us well but still the treatment wasn't good. They are always late, the car goes in for the same problem several times, and only 2 out of the thousand times our LR3 went there, we got a courtesy car.


The MHD staff we know are very helpful. I really don't know who to blame for all of these problems.

End of Blog Entry...

Jaguar XF review

All car reviews are sponsored by Omanternity.com



There has been a lot of fuzz and buzz about the new Jaguar XF. Mainly because jaguar doesn’t introduce new models that often and this is supposed to be the start for new generation of Jags. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Jaguar but I thought this one was interesting and my good friend recommended test driving it. I’m going to be honest again and say: when I checked the XF in the showroom, it reminded me of the Ocean’s eleven movie. The movie starts and you can’t help but to notice that a movie star pops up every couple of seconds. The Jaguar gives you the feeling that it has all the stars in one movie.

Looks:



Along with the XK, those are the only two jaguars that I like their design. Jaguar dumped the old classic look and finally realized that most people got bored from the old designs and want other people to know that they have a 2009 model instead of 1909. Wavy design with an aggressive front definitely catches the eyes on the street. Some may say that in profile, the XF looks like the Lexus GS. Overall, an Aston Martin-ish design has to be good. That’s like George Clooney; the sexy man standing in the front line of the gang.


Interior:



So Jaguar spent around 10 year developing the XF? That’s the time span between introducing the S-type and the XF. What I think is they spent most of these years developing the interior features. I really think that this is the best part about the car (or at least the sexiest thing). Kinda like Brad Pitt in a movie. Jaguar has succeeded to combine luxury with technology. Jaguar now seeks to combine old rituals with the latest fashion and technology. Starting from the start button and the cool gear lever, passing through the navigation screen and AC/Radio controls and ending with the “Jag sense” features like the interior lights and the touch-sensitive glove box. You can’t help but to smile when you enter the cabin and look at all those luxury gadgets. The tilting AC vents are very Transformers-ish. The rear-view mirror and the rear seats headroom are somehow small to accompany the coupe style. However, the XF cabin gets a grade A for both its look and overall function. If you have seen the brochure pictures then let me tell you this: they don’t give the car justice. “Charming” is a word I would use to describe the cabin in general. Just be sure that you are getting the “Premium” XF to enjoy all those features.

Interior features movie


Driving:


Here is the part where I expected the car to disappoint me. Unfortunately, it didn’t. The heavy sedan with 6 cylinders engine was not as slow as I thought. The paddle shifters on the wheels had a good response. Acceleration is not bad at all. It is, in fact, fast for a 6 cylinder luxury saloon. The engine had a really sweet tone. Just when I thought Jaguars are going to be dull again, they didn’t. The XF shares a lot with its sportier sister, the XK. Going through corners was a pleasure because of precise handling, responsive steering wheel and comfy ride. The level of communication between me and the car when cornering is exciting. Just be sure not to be getting out of a BMW 530i or an AUDI A6 right before you drive the XF because then, you would notice that the grip can still be improved.


A crappy ending to a great movie:


I got home totally satisfied with the Jaguar. I didn’t even get enough of it so I decided to go for a spin and a photo shoot after dawn. I switch on the car put it on reverse and suddenly this message appears: “Gearbox Fault” and the car shut down by itself. I tried switching it on but it wouldn’t. The gear seems to be stuck on reverse so the car won’t start till it’s on P mode. I tried couple of times on 3 different time periods but it seems like the car would not want to start. My thought is that Jaguar has too much technology for it to handle. I called the dealer and asked them to come pick the car from my house. I’m writing this review 3 weeks after that day, and I still haven’t got a call from the dealer. I won’t blame them cause I won’t be calling after such an embarrassing situation.

movie of the fault


Specifications:

Engine Type: 3.0L V6
Horsepower @ RPM: 238 @ 6800
Torque lb.ft @ RPM: 216 @ 4100
Drivetrain: rear Wheel Drive
Transmission Type: 6-speed auto
0-100: 8.3 seconds (est)
Average fuel consumption: 10.5/100 km
Weight: 1,690 kg


Pros:
- Aston Martin rear design.

- Class A interior.

- Nice exhaust tone.

- Comfy ride.
Cons:
- Still not as sporty as the A6 or the 5-series.

- Front design is nice but slightly off.

- Too much technology for a jaguar to handle.

Price: Luxury starts at 16,000, Premium starts at 19,000 (for V6 models, there is also V8 and Supercharged V8).

Verdict: Jaguar got back some of its lost reputation with this car. A great bargain but scary technology.

Devilish Me

I found out a side of me i never knew it existed.


Yesterday at work something really bad happened and pissed me off BIG TIME.

I was not angry at anybody, I was just angry at the whole situation.

I left work, went home really pissed, and i was so close to get into 2 accidents on the way...

I did stuff I never knew i would ever do (that includes yelling at people who has nothing to do with work,hit a tree so hard and so many time i let my hands bleed, and walking for around 5 km with no idea where i'm heading).

a simple way of explaining it is: I became someone else that i dont know, and couldnt control ...

the "Devilish me" if I may say...

i got a call from one of the guys at work explaining stuff to me and promising me that things will get fixed tomorrow.

now this is the normal me talking, Devilish me doesnt even know how to blog =p


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the Lyrics of this AMAZING song by 3 days grace: "Animal i have become" are PERFECT to talk about me yesterday ;)

I can't escape this hell
So many times i've tried
But i'm still caged inside
Somebody get me through this nightmare
I can't control myself

So what if you can see the dark inside of me
No one will ever change this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal


I can't escape myself
So many times i've lied
But there's still rage inside
Somebody get me through this nightmare
I can't control myself


Somebody wake me from this nightmare
I can't escape this hell...


End of Blog Entry...

Japingo CURSED!!!

This happened to me and my cuzns on our first day of Eid.

we picked Japingo to have dinner there, and it was really CROWDED.

we were waiting for our table(s) to be set,,,,

the employess were moving the tables and CRAAAAACK!!!!!! the glass on one table broke into shadders !!!
that was weird!!!

There were girls who came few minutes after us, and they were waiting for their tables to be set as well.
The employees were arranging their tables, and CRAAAAAACK!!! The glass on one table broke!!!! Exactly the same scenario!!!!

Us and the girls were sooooooooooo =/ and =O

The girls were seated at another table, thank god it didn’t break, and we were waiting.

The employees were arranging our tables and CRAAAAAAACK!!!!! The glass broke!!!!
WHAT ………………. THE ……………………. HELL !!!!!!!!!

3 times!!!! There must be some sort of curse here!!! We were all speechless!

After around an hour later, they were able to arrange 2 tables for us without breaking them.

It was an enjoyable dinner, even though everyone was scared the table might break any second xD



End of blog entry

Horrible start of a nice day:

me and Mike were on our way to meet the VW club guys for our Friday event.

somehow we saw 2 police ladies kinda stalking us, in their brand new Mercedes S-class...

they stopped us, asked my bro for his license + registration.

now i heard lots of people talking about how rude those ladies are, but never witnessed it myself.

GOD!!! they are worse than what i expected.

la 6areeqa wala i7teram, wala osloob.

she was asking my bro questions, and before he answers, she would ask another, and another, and another, in an offensive way. She also accused him of speeding and risking the life of others on the road. WTF?? the road was EMPTY and we were driving at a speed of 80 km/h !!!! (cuz we didnt want to catch up with them).

they left us in the police cars yard, the car was to stay the night there, and for what?? for having a black hood (cuz it causes threat to people's safety on the road)

what kind of system is this? and what kind of police force is this??!!!

we had to call our brother (who was in bed with bad flu) EARLY in the morning to come pick us up.

End of blog entry.