A few days ago, there was an unexpected traffic jam near Parliament caused by a car that had caught fire. Normally, one would expect a grey import from Europe with an unsuitable cooling system to be underneath the plume of smoke. Well, in this case, it was quite the opposite.
Instead of a poorly maintained Italian supercar, we found the firefighters dealing with a Toyota Corolla from the mid 90s – one of the most straightforward, no-nonsense, affordable to maintain cars around. Of course, the owner may be to blame for ignoring servicing intervals, but the fact is that it can happen to anyone if the circumstances are right.
So, what can you do to protect yourself and your car? Besides getting the regularly scheduled maintenance done on time, also make sure you fix or replace parts on your mechanic’s advice as soon as possible. It’s also worth investing in a small fire extinguisher for each of your vehicles.
You can find some very small, but affordable ones in Ace hardware going for less than RM30, but going through the Fire Fighter building (we’re told there’s a drive through) will open up options. A quick browse of lelong.com.my shows loads of great deals, including 6 mini extinguishers for RM60, or a 1KG ABC Fire Extinguisher for RM80.