Octavia RS - 20000kms ownership experience

[Boom Shiva]

Good car, good review. Just wish Skoda A.S.S wouldn't hurt so much!

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by Boom Shiva

Good car, good review. Just wish Skoda A.S.S wouldn't hurt so much!

Then Honda/Toyota would have bitten the dust!

[Bomi]

DMH, am pretty sure about my service bills. First one in Sep 05 cost me Rs. 3312. Second one in April 06 cost Rs. 3800. No labour cost, no parts except one air filter. Silvertone used Shell Helix oil. I always check if oil has been changed (look for lighter colour oil). The service engineer is a Mr. Naidu. So far my buying and servicing experience with Silvertone has been good.

[navin]

I've got about 12.5K in my car. I dont drive it much (expect Sundays) but it a fun car to drive (wish all days were Sundays). THE OE speakers do leave much to be desired but there are nicer speakers in the market so it is an easy upgrade.

The car averages about 8kmpl (Speed 97) in Mumbai since I drive in the worst of traffic. On the one occasion when I drove on the highway to Poona it average about 10.5 (including some city driving).

My car even survived being stuck in Santacruz on 26/7. THe only victim was the EPC whch insurance covered. I do agree that the Skoda dealers offer very poor service (atleast the one that is nearest to me does) and spare parts are ridiculously expensive (compared to any other car in it's class or even a class higher).

If I had to do it again today I might have chosen the Embera (more leg room and big enough trunk).

[ST7677]

Very true, It was due to the sad A.S.S, expensive maintenance and low FE i decided to not go for Skoda.
I still love that car, and would have gone for it, if I had more+more money.

Delhi traffic is anytime better than Bangalore. Here, my friend reported 6km/ltr in city on RS...
Moreover the petrol here is most expensive... :(

Watch out for your insurance next year, try not to make any claims this year.

[da MotorHead]

My insurance renews on Nov 1. So i guess i'll be good for another year with those new rules comes in 2007.
Navin, can you give me an example of what exact speakers can I change and for how much.
Sorry this is getting Off topic.. Bomi, I'll keep you posted as this time, I'll take the car to Silvertone. Lets see. But guys, all said and done, its still one hell of a car

[sidharth_j]

Originally Posted by jkdas

nice review. to the point.

"2. Very expensive mainatinence. Two services done in which labour was free. Still paid about 13.5 grand for both. Now even the labour won't be free :(" emm, thats wher Skoda loses my vote

Agree!...also the bit about the attitude of the service personnel, and how much care your car gets at the service centre is a big part of the ownership experience...with dealers such as these, i think it will not be long before Skoda goes the FIAT way!!

[navin]

Originally Posted by da MotorHead

Navin, can you give me an example of what exact speakers can I change and for how much.

Good speakers can be had for as little as 3K per pair. Let us know your budget I am found over on the ICE forum.

[da MotorHead]

Hey thanks all you guys. Will make up my mind and come back to you soon.
Meanwhile, you keep having fun,..

Cheers,
dMH

[speedzak]

That maintenace bills are looking helluva BIG!!!!

That's the only sore part of the Skodas I guess!

[navin]

Originally Posted by speedzak

That maintenace bills are looking helluva BIG!!!!

That's the only sore part of the Skodas I guess!

and QOS (Quatiy of Service).

[sandeep108]

I am only surprised that Skoda/Audi/VW are not taking this aspect seriously, especially when they intend to enter the country in a big way. As one poster said, Audi got an A6 for test drive with a failed AC! When I wanted to buy a skoda RS, I told the dealer I wanted a minimum warranty of 4 years and 5, if possible, even at high cost of 30k more in lieu of discount. He flatly refused and said they could give max. warranty of only 1 year more and that too limited.

With Toyota, Honda, Maruti all giving 4 year warranties at nominal cost and normal cost for paid services, knowing about skoda huge bills, I stayed away. Every time they still call and ask whether I am interested or not and why not. When I mention high maintenance, they simply hang up - do not even try and give sales pitch about low maintenance / high reliability.


And as Navin said QOS is very bad - no transparency / clean dealing at all.

[GTO]

Isnt it a coincidence that the two cars that are most expensive to maintain (in terms of service costs and spareparts) do NOT offer extended warranty plans. Yup, I am talking about Skoda and Mercedes.

Guess they want to keep their dealerships really happy!

[nitrous]

Guess they want to keep their dealerships really happy!

Yes.But at the end of the day, it clearly shows they dont give a d@m about after-sales customer satisfaction.
GREEDY GERMANS!!!

[GTO]

it clearly shows they dont give a d@m about after-sales customer satisfaction.

On the contrary. Auto Hangar has been the best that I have ever experienced, in terms of customer service. Their support is truly exemplary. Even in my previous C180 case, I had a complaint against Mercedes India. Not Auto Hangar.