I've finally gotten round to doing some online and call-in research for my new set of tyres today. Thanks to the Autoworld forum, I was able to have a general idea of what to get, where to get it, and the damage expected. There's a thread there too warning about places to avoid, one of them a shop called "Hup Shun" in Sunway. Having mentioned that, Sunway and some parts of USJ were mentioned generally as great areas to get the job done.

My initial preference, though, was to get my tyres from a workshop near the office. After all, if the price is right, I could get my tyres installed, balanced and aligned whilst I'm at the office (true convenience, since the process typically takes about an hour to complete). However, the workshop didn't have ready stock of the tyres I wanted, so I found myself dropping by the Sunway area on my way home. Since I generally knew where the general area of the "tyre paradise" in Sunway was, I parked somewhere near the fringe of the area and began my search for the best deal on foot.

The shops there were generally busy and full of activity. Many politely answered my queries and initial haggling before quickly turning to whatever they were doing. One shop was notably different. A very helpful and enthusiastic young attendant greeted me in a friendly manner as I interrupted him. He answered my queries very well, offering me a tyre + balancing + alignment package that was much lower than all that I've received so far. In fact, he presented me with several different options too, one of which was a better model at no increase in price.

Nevertheless, since I've pretty much had my mind set on what to get, I requested to personally inspect those options he offered. This request he entertained, much to my pleasant surprise (he's spent more than 15 minutes on me for this pre-sale activity - most workshops in KL try to dismiss you within 5).


Having selected the tyres, I agreed to proceed with the purchase. After driving the car into their workshop, I enquired on how long the process shall take. He promised me that it'll be ready in about half an hour ("Yeah, right.", I thought to myself as I looked at the time: 7.20pm). Since there was nothing much more to do, I had a look at the name of the shop. Almost all the blood in my face drained when I peeked at the signboard - I was at Hup Shun ("Oh no!", I thought).

There was no turning back, though, since I have committed to the purchase. I thus found myself ending up hovering around my car nervously as they worked on changing the tyres. And did they work on it fast... What I witnessed was the closest I saw to a Formula One team! The tyre change, balancing and alignment was carried out by a team of no less than five, all working at a rather fast pace.

They also seem to do it as though they really enjoyed their job - everyone was cheerful and working together quite well. They were even nice enough to answer some of the questions I asked as they were working on my new tyres. Once everything was done, I proceeded to make the payment whilst giving New Year wishes (CNY being just round the corner) to everyone there. I then took another look at the time - 7.40pm. Wow, it only took them 20 minutes to get everything done!

I believe that the service I got from the Hup Shun in Sunway deserves mention. Kudos to the management for having built a motivated, energetic and friendly team. I expected 'normal' (i.e. rude, rigid and complacent) service, but what I got could only be described as 5-star. This, combined with competitive pricing, makes shopping for tyres (and perhaps rims too) at Hup Shun one that promises a great consumer experience and excellent value. Hence, whilst the Hup Shun of yesterday may have created some irate customers who vent their frustrations in the Autoworld forums, my experience today attests otherwise.