A holiday turned into a hellish encounter with workshop bullies for one Singaporean family last weekend.
The workshop, in Seremban, made them pay more than $1,000 for repair work on their car. Then the car broke down, repeatedly.
When the family returned to the workshop to complain, they found themselves being surrounded by 10 mechanics carrying pipes and scrapers.
This was what Singapore retiree V S Nathan encountered when his car broke down during a family holiday to Cameron Highlands.
On the first day of the holiday on 10 June, a warning light kept flashing on the dashboard of his five-year-old Honda Stream.
Then, on the North-South Highway near Seremban, the car stalled.
He tried starting the engine again, but failed.
Stranded at the side of the highway, Mr Nathan, 57, was checking the engine when a passer-by stopped his car and offered to call for a tow truck.
The stranger claimed he knew a mechanic in Seremban.
Mr Nathan, his wife and daughter, Archana, 11, felt relieved.
Said Mrs Nathan, 47, a teacher: 'I thought it would be simple - getting the car fixed and we would be off to continue our journey by mid-afternoon.
'But it wasn't that easy.'
At 12.30pm, mechanics at the Seremban workshop told him the car would be ready in an hour.
Said Mr Nathan: 'I remembered telling them just to check and not open up everything.'
Six hours later, Mr Nathan received a shock when he was shown a repair bill of RM2,585 ($1,100).
The breakdown of the bill included new engine gaskets, piston rings, engine oil, valve work and air filter.
Mr Nathan said: 'They stripped the top half of the engine even when I told them not to do so. I told them that it could be a problem with a sensor and not engine trouble.'
He couldn't make a full payment because he did not have enough cash on him.
In the end, they settled for RM1,000 ($450), with Mr Nathan's licence kept as collateral.
The balance was to be paid on 14 Jun when the family returned from Cameron Highlands.
But the Nathans ran into more trouble, just 20km from the workshop.
The car broke down again.
This time it was towed free by the highway PLUS service to a toll station at Nilai, about 30km from Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Nathan called the workshop from there. He said: 'I was very angry when the workshop mechanics arrived. But I didn't show my temper.
'Luckily I hadn't paid the full sum.'
The car was towed back to Seremban.
The workshop then gave the family a Proton Wira to continue their journey to Cameron Highlands.
On 14 Jun, the Nathans returned to Seremban to pick up the car and settle the remainder of the bill.
And that was when things got really ugly.
The workshop boss became angry when Mr Nathan asked about the repair work.
Said Mr Nathan: 'I told him I was not challenging his bill. I wanted to pay up and didn't want any trouble.
'But as a customer, I had the right to know why the car still broke down even after it had been repaired.'
The workshop owner then shouted at Mr Nathan in Tamil to 'take his car and leave'.
Just as he was about to start his car, Mr Nathan claimed the owner shouted to his workers 'Don't let him get away'.
About 10 workers surrounded his car.
The situation was diffused when Mr Nathan paid the remainder of the bill to one workshop staff.
Mr Nathan felt it was all a big 'wayang' (a show in Malay).
'It was a tense moment for my family,' he said. 'Naturally we were scared by their thuggish behaviour. But surely he wanted to collect his money in the end.'
On the drive back to Singapore, the 'repaired' car stalled more than 10 times on the highway.
Said Mrs Nathan: 'It was clearly daylight robbery. They assured us all was fine but the car stalled every 20 minutes.
'I was praying all the way from Seremban to the Second Link, hoping that we would arrive safely in Singapore.'
Each time the engine died on the highway, Mr Nathan was able to start it again after the engine had cooled.
During the journey, Mr Nathan saw some 10 private tow trucks plying the highway.
One of them approached his stalled car, but Mr Nathan managed to drive away.
He did not want to risk another experience like the one he had just had.
In Singapore, Mr Nathan had the car's crank sensor replaced for $400.
The malfunctioning sensor would automatically cut power to the engine when the temperature rose.
When contacted, the owner of the workshop denied that he had shouted or that his workers had surrounded the Nathans.
The owner claimed he told Mr Nathan he wanted to change the sensor, but Mr Nathan had refused.
He claimed he had even intended to do so without charge.
What Mr Nathan had experienced is not uncommon, said Mr Nasser Mansor, a car workshop operator in Shah Alam.
In the last five years, he said he has heard at least 10 similar stories from both Singaporean and Malaysian customers.
Mr Nathan was lucky because his repair bill was small, said Mr Nasser.
'Having a breakdown on the highway, particularly if you're driving a foreign car, is like hanging a dollar sign around your neck,' he said.
'There are syndicates or runners who will make sure when they tow your car, they will 'potong'(cut in Malay) you for good.'
Mr Nasser, 48, suggests that Singapore drivers keep the telephone numbers of trusted Malaysian mechanics with them whenever they drive into Malaysia.
Another helpful tip is to refer to Automobile Association of Singapore's 'Drive Safely in Malaysia' guide at their website www.aas.com.sg.
Useful telephone numbers like those of the Malaysian police and the Automobile Association of Malaysia are listed.
