Saturday, February 21, 2009

Visiting Puspakom & JPJ ; The Real Deal

Not so long ago, my brother bought a halfcut for his Integra. Same model and same displacement engine. It was a replacement engine for his old Vtec turbocharged engine which has been sold to someone else. So basically the new engine has to be legalised.

We went to Puspakom and JPJ fully loaded. Didnt even change the exhaust, tint and etc. So the deal was to legalised the new engine. We went to JPJ and straight to the Technical Department. We were asked to go to Puspakom which the sad part, Puspakom was far away. By hook or by crook we had to get things done on that particular day.

As we arrived Puspakom, we had to pay a fee and filled up a small form. Shortly after that we were asked to queue as the inspection lane. We noticed the humps and hurdles on all lanes. They looked like they want all lowered cars to fail and get stuck by the looks of it. We queued, they popped up the hood, switched on all available lights and moved slowly while they inspected. The exhaust sound was throbbing during the checking. At the end of the lane, the car was asked to be parked at the open parking space and another round of fee had to be paid.

The car was asked to queue again at the last lane for final inspection and this time it was like a circus show. Since my brother's engine bay is clean and shining, it attracted many people including the officers. The car was checked thoroughly including the under carriage. At the end of the lane, the generated the B2 report that shows all the new information for the new engine. The car passed the test.

We had to go to JPJ again and this time we went to the Technical Department. Again, they pointed us to go to the main office. We took a ticket and another form, sat down and waited for our turn. When our turn came, we had another problem, for new engine change, they must be a new car insurance. We dashed to town and paid the new insurance which was only RM5. The amount will change if we did not do the same day and increase day by day. The small fee was just to send a notice telling them they were notified by the change.

We dashed back to JPJ, didnt take any numbers this time due to the fact it was lunch hour and JPJ will start work only after lunch time and the numbering system will be switched on by then. We just queued at the same lady (luckily she was still around) and everything went through well. Even there was a bit of minor issues here and there, we managed to settle it.

It took us between 4-5 hours. Had to travel back and forth JPJ-Puspakom-JPJ-Insurance Co-JPJ. After the long ordeal, we had a good fish curry head lunch.

Tips For You :

  • Make sure you have your documentations (Custom Form, Purchase Receipt, etc) are right and filled up attached the latest forms from both JPJ and Puspakom.
  • Valid car insurance.
  • Bring a witness plus his/her MyKad.
  • Make copies of all the signed forms, MyKad and driving license.
  • Wake up at dawn and queue up before they even open in the morning.
  • Have a damn good breakfast with plenty of water.
  • Bring extra pens.
  • Bring money.
  • Bring a lot of patience and perseverance.
The Easy Way :

  • If you do not have time - Pay a runner.
  • If you have any health issues - Pay a runner.
  • If you do not have patience and perseverance - Pay a runner.
  • If you are slow and lazy - Pay a runner.
  • If you do not like queueing - Pay a runner.
  • If you do not like the sun or rain - Pay a runner.

I think registering the same engine with the same displacement shouldnt be harder than those with different engines and displacements.

There are possibilities that you could fail during the Puspakom checkups. I believe different states has their own ways of pushing your patience with the rules and regulations.

Good luck if you plan to visit any of them.