The Inspira Dairies: The Cost of Cosmetic Conversion

This would be the tale that would be a warning to all Inspira owners in Malaysia. In simple terms, if you don't have the cash, then don't do it.

I guess Murphy's Law is true in just about anything that you think you know quite well about, except for the things that you have done so personally and in great frequency.

I'm talking in terms of cost and time spent on cosmetic conversion of my humble Proton Inspira into a 2011/2012 Mitsubishi Lancer GT (with Ralliart front facia).

[Not my actual car]

My initial intent went back to 2013 where I would source for Lancer GT rims circa 2008-2010 which are 18" rims that would make my ride slightly more tough looking. However, poking and prodding around asking for items just got myself into trouble.

I asked my then housemate that if he's seen or known any owner that wishes to let go of their OEM Lancer GT rims, I would be very much interested to alight their burden. Then, one fine day when I was in Bintulu, my then housemate told me that his neighbour wishes to sell his rims plus some items. Curious (mein untergang) I agreed to have a looked. Walking into his house (the seller) he went straight to the spare room and showed me his front and rear bumper, side skirts, sport exhaust and rear spoiler and explained to me the items. He spoke of the price of letting go of the 4 factory fitted rims (18" Enkei OEMs), 2 used tyres (Yokohama's OEMs), front and rear bumper, side skirts, front bonnet, sport exhaust and rear spoiler at a very attractive price.

However, there are several items that would need attention, mainly on the front bumper. The Ralliart styled chrome garnish is cracked and would need a replacement, the front-lower plastic honeycomb grill is cracked due to a large stone hit and would also need replacement, front emblem is cracked and need replacement. I knew of the conditions of the items that needed replacement, and the general conditions of all the other items seem to be at good condition, meaning 8/10, not perfect but is as good as you can get besides getting it new of pinching it from a factory fresh car. I calculated in my head of the items that needed replacement, as in; Guestimate the Chrome Garnish to be around RM450++, Front-Lower Honeycomb Grill around RM100++ and the missing tow hook cover. Boy, was I wrong (which I'll elaborate further in the post). I made a decision based the package of having the rims and OEM bumpers, skirts, hood and spoilers that it was a reasonable price, shaked the seller's hand and transferred money to his account. That was just the start of the project/problem.

First, the issue to transporting the items, as it may has been the fact that I was driving the Inspira and had some luggage in the trunk, I haphazardly fitted the used tyres and sport exhaust into the back seat of my car and traveled 230+km from Bintulu to Miri. The other problem was transporting the rest of the items including the rims, bumpers and skirts to Miri. It took me another 5 months or so to arrange for transport of those items and I am deeply in gratitude to the guys who transported the items back to Miri. That is when the project made past it first stage. The second stage would see even more money being poured out.

[Tire'd passanger]

I took a look at the front bumpers, and made the assessment of the items that needed to be changed. I took apart the Front Chrome Garnish and the broken Front-Lower Honeycomb Grill. Next, I took the front emblem out as it was already broken. I list out the items that needed replacing by searching through the internet for the part numbers.

[This was the rims]

Do you know how far off I was at guestimating the broken parts? The Chrome Garnish was close to RM1,000 for a piece of plastic that is painted to look like chrome. Plastic chrome that cost RM1,000. If you think Mitsubishi is cheap, just try buying it's chrome pieces made of plastic. The plastic grill cost around RM160, towing hook cover cost more than RM30, front grill emblem cost close to RM100, a total of more than RM1,200 just for replacement parts for damaged/missing sub-parts on the front bumper. Then, there is the clips for the side skirts and they cost a whooping RM130+ just for the plastic clips that would hold the side skirts in-place, bringing in the total of RM1,400 just for parts prior to installing the white (did I mention that they were white) bumpers onto my black car.
That was just Phase 2, buying replacement parts.

[That was how it arrived, pretty right?]

Next, it came down to the planning of having the cosmetic items to be spray painted and installed onto my car. But, there was another issue of having to transport the bumpers to the bodyshop. Good thing I had my Satria with me. The ultra versatile hatchback prove its usefulness by having me taking out the passenger seat just so that the car interior would be long enough to carry the bumpers and skirts. It worked out great. The bodyshop owner agreed to take off the Inspira's front and rear bumper and have it ready for me to transport it back. It was then I managed to see my car without any front and rear bumpers. It's amazing how modern cars have their bumper wrap up high into the rear three-quarter panel.

[Which is now that I only know that the Satria is GODLIKE!]

It took a week or so to have the bumpers and skirts spray painted and installed. However, I was not in a hurry at the time and told the bodyshop to take it's time. He was a meticulous type and I trust him on his workmanship, basically as anal as I am with no half measures in details. Once the paint in completed, my wife went to pick up the car.

[Final look before transplant] 

There was more news, it needed a new Front Grit/Splash Guard where the bottom of the front bumper meets the engine skid/splash guard. This was because the Ralliart styled front bumper has a different overhang as the Inspira and non-Ralliart front bumpers.
The cost? another RM400.

[Naked front]

The total cost of having the cosmetic transplant ended up to be close to RM5,500 including various items where I later bought the rear emblem as well as other cost. Note that I have not included the tyres, balancing and alignment in changing the rims to the 18-inchers.

[Naked rear]

Lessons learned? Well, it cost more than double of what I would have anticipated to switch the front and rear bumpers, side skirts of the car, with all the various parts that I needed to replaced. Hence, I suggest everyone to do more research on the items and prices if possible.

The reason of all this madness? Well, I mainly did it because the bumpers and parts are OEM, taken down from a Lancer and I would be basically installing OEM parts which fits nicely onto my Inspira. The advice from the bodyshop from past experience with the same conversion, but with third party parts proved less than satisfactory. It was the case of either the quality of the bumpers were too porous to accept paint, the clips and fittings are not aligned with the body, and the overall fit and finish just looked aftermarket, instead of factory fitted. However, aftermarket has very attractive pricing, of less than RM500 for the complete set of front bumper, whereby I could have bought two (aftermarket) front bumpers for the price of my replacement Front Chrome Garnish! But, I was sceptical to save on items which has the higher probability of me having to redo with the original parts anyway. Spending on the right items are almost always more effective especially when I plan to have it last as long as the vehicle.

[Almost the end??]

Cost??? Think of it this way; when I bought my car, I've gotten a deep discount of RM10,000. I'm just using the savings to cosmetically convert my car to something I admire, plus MANUAL TRANSMISSION!!!

UPDATE: It requires a new splash shield/grid guard/engine front bottom shield which cost around RM400. I just broken the original one while driving at 80km/hr when the vortex induced vibration caused the thing to snap off and drag on the road. Blimey! 

The Inspira Dairies: What the Inspira is Not.

[Dirty dirty, which is why you never follow a truck in the rain especially long distance driving]

The Inspira is not an economical car in Malaysian standards of car ownership. In Malaysia, the best car to buy on a budget is the Perodua Myvi (based on 2013/2014 car launches). It's practical, cheap to maintain, consumable parts are relatively cheap, runs great, have good fuel economy and basically everyone (or a relative) has one. The reason I said that the Inspira is not an economical car in Malaysia standards is because most people are used to Myvi prices of ownership.

Based on 1 year of ownership, these are the reasons I can think of.

1. It's has a 1.8/2.0l engine which requires roughly 4.3l of engine lubricant. You may think you can just grab any cheap motor oil to run your engine, but be ready to face bad compression and premature engine failure with high viscosity oil. Manufacture recommends engine oil specifications that to keep the engine running at the optimum performance with minimal tapet wear and valve distress (basically keeping your engine from failing), low viscosity fully synthetic motor oil is required. Do you know how much does the low viscosity fully synthetic oil cost? Brands or classification are typically Shell Helix Ultra or Castrol GTX3 which is about RM55++ per liter. For an oil change, it would require a 4l plus a 1l to fill the sump and engine compartment. And you know what? There is no saving the excess 0.7l of extra oil since opened unused oil starts to deteriorate in 3 months, therefore under normal usage or oil change at 10,000km/6 monthly interval changes would make it impossible to utilize the extra oil, unless you have another car which could utilize the excess. Total oil change with labour and filters would usually cost up to RM400 or thereabouts.

2. If you were to follow the manufacturer recommended service and maintenance specification, it would be very costly and usually in the price range of Honda Civic type maintenance prices. Cabin air filters cost around the best part of RM150 or thereabouts and the engine air intake filters cost about RM170++. These items are required to be changed at 1 year interval. Why? For the cabin air filter, since changing, the air from the AC was much fresher and a noticeable difference. In Malaysia with the humid climate, you would get mold growing in the cabin air filter. If not properly replaced, it would spread to the internals of the air ducts and spread into your lungs. Your decision, but in a car like the Myvi, you could probably get the cabin air filter for less than RM100. And for the engine air intake filters, they are just for optimum engine maintenance and performance.

3. Tyres cost are more than standard 13" to 15" tyre sizes. The Inspira starts with an 16" to 17" inch rims. That translate to tyre cost from reputable brands to be start at RM350 a pop for the lowest rung. Expect to pay for RM400 to 450 for good ones. That would cost at least RM1600 for tyres.

4. (This is based on Internet forum discussion) If you have the manual, you need change the clutch pads and the gear lub/oil at 80km interval (user recommendation). Lube are the super low viscosity type and expect it to more pricy than ecomonical alternatives. And there is a possibility of the hydraulic assisted clutch master and slave cylinder to be replaced especially the seal failure under spirited driving and clutch flogging. Cost are around RM1000++ for the set of master and slave cylinder. The problem for the slave and master cylinder might not be the cost, but rather the delivery time of the parts. (Personal note: it is the associated cost of enjoying a car with manual transmission where it is more fun)

5. Parts from Mitsubishi are expensive. Those body panels, items do come at an import tax and are expensive or basically not what you would expect from a Proton brand. Small items that might seem simple cost a lot. They are practically at the same price point as Honda parts at the Civic level. Don't expect Proton prices for this as the other items are Mitsubishi prices. Basically, you buy the car at Proton prices but maintain it at Mitsubishi/Honda price levels. I'll give a brief of items from Mitsubishi in another post.

Are this enough for me to regret my purchase? No!!! It's a fun car, a manual and that is how I like it. If you want something cheap and Godlike, get the Vios. I recommend it for people that couldn't be bothered about cars. Really, the Vios is a good car, just not what I would ever buy, just like some people would never buy Proton. See?

The Inspira Diaries: Taking Delivery

Taking delivery of a brand new car usually goes like this. You call the salesperson/dealership and he tells you that it should be arriving in a day or so. You call him again the next day and he says that it should arrive in the afternoon. You asked for the estimated time of arrival and he says sometime in the afternoon. This is going nowhere. You sit in your ergonomic chair thinking that the trailer that's delivering your splendidly sourced and nothing-to-option base trim level car is stuck behind those stupid tipper trucks that always carry mud or sand that is way above the load limit and might be giving your car a sandblast.

Alright, I admit that I'm a little biased towards those tipper/dump trucks, but I don't want my new car to look like the Sandman took a piss on it and then ejaculated on the windshield for good measure. I want the utmost care taken during the delivery of my pristine example of the base model car that I can only have in the previous year stock. Am I asking too much? Which makes me wonder, if I was taking delivery of a BMW, would be under the same conditions of the delivery?

It would arrive on Friday, I was told. I called the dealer asking for updates. He said 4pm. I called again at 3, he said 5pm. I called again at 4pm. He said 6pm. Nothing against the man, cause I think it is part of the driving a trailer behind an overloaded dump truck that drives at 60kph, and the excitement of getting my first brand new car. Makes you feel like a kid.

I went to take delivery of my car at 6pm. The salesperson was nice enough to tint my car darker as though black is not black enough, and fill up with a full tank of gas which I didn't request for. Awfully nice of him. Side note: I just don't understand why the salesperson would need to go though unfanthomable lengths to give freebies to a low commission car, or any car for that matter. If the car is good and after sales service is existent, it would be a reason to purchase the said car. But, I degrees, since the general Malaysian buying public are mostly looking for the best deals regardless of the vehicle in question.

So I took delivery of the car, checked all 4 corners of the car for any dings and nicks and found none, except for one on the front hood which was negligible since driving it on the road would incur stone chips on hood anyway. It was one of the reason I wanted white paint in the first place, since any anomalies would not be noticeable in the first pass. But, the Inspira in Black really does look menacing. It feels Ah Beng. It feels LaLa. It is the next Proton Putra, sorta.

Anyways, I got the car and I immediately test drove the car for any problems. There was none. I asked the salesperson to then take off all the plastic covering the seats. I'm not about to be those kind of people that drives a new car with plastic seat covers. There I was, happy of my new car and ready to pick up my-then girlfriend parents (in laws now). And the manual transmission is what I hoped it would be.

The Inspira Diaries: Placing the Order

When I first placed the order for the Inspira, I laid down the booking fee where the salesman took down the specification that I wanted for my car. Let's be honest, in Malaysia there are basically not much optional extras that you could normally put onto a car that cost less than RM100,000. What they do have are packaged trim levels that "thinks for you" on what you would generally want in the same model for a certain price range. This makes buying a new car very boring since you can't select the option to have fabric seats but with the navigation package. It usually becomes a trim level of leather seats and navigation package. What this does however, is that it makes the used car market very easy for buyers. Just selects your car based on the trim levels and forget about what the previous owner spec'ed for the car.

The end result is that people that are considered crazy by Malaysian standards can't get a lower trim level car (basically a manual) that can be spec'ed to the options that they want. "You want leather seats for your manual sedan? What are you? Crazy? You can't do that! Leather seats are for people that drive automatics!" I swear, that is what Malaysians are thinking, or at least the Malaysian car industry, that is only the poor drive manuals. Why shift your own gear when you can have the car do it for you. Why shag your girlfriend when she can just get a dildo. I digress, there are need for automatics, but for people are that looking into some sort of driving fun in everyday situation, putting a competent manual in a normal car can be very entertaining.

The main reason (80% of the reasoning) that I bought the Proton. Inspira is because of the 3 pedal Manual goodness. If Honda brought in the Civic FD2/FD10 in manual guise, I would have bought it. If Mitsubishi brought in the Lancer Ralliart in Manual I would have bought it. At this moment, I'm heavily considering the FD2-R just to enjoy the last Japanese manual transmission sports sedan.

Back to the Inspira. I'm having the manual transmission. I wanted the 2.0l matted to the manual transmission. I wanted it in white. I wanted leather seats. I sorta wanted the electronic folded side mirror. I wanted it to be spec'ed just like a 2.0l Lancer GT with Manual Transmission but at Local Assembled prices God dammit! What did I get? A 1.8l MIVEC 4B10, black, fabric seats and manual folded side mirror. Hey! I've got a manual!

This is Malaysia, the land of no optional extras. And do you know what was the kicker? The 2013 model has a waiting list of more than 6 months, while as the CVT models have basically no wait list. This shows that either the production volume for the manual is very low, or there are more people like me interested in the manual version of the car. I haven't met any in Miri for the later. I asked the salesperson on the delivery of my car and he would just dodge the question. Kudos to him for not lying. So, he pocked around and offered a 2012 model from another division (Kuching) about 1000 kilometers away and it was in Black. I've asked for a discount since it was a 2012 model. They discussed with the dealer in Kuching and agreed to give a substantial discount. There was a total of RM10,000 discount on my car which brought down the price to RM71,000 for my 1.8 liter manual Inspira in Black.
I got the car 3 days later.