[ajmat]

My RS got kissed by a Sumo. Handed it over to Vinayak who have done an excelent job. They took about 3-4 days more than planned but he welding, joins etc are faultless and also the painting. Service was also good

[androdev]

is it a black vrs? (pearl metallic black magic color?)

can you please confirm that the color match is 100% even when you view it in sun light? i got a small paint job done recently at TAFE and the color match was bad when you view it under sunlight. so got it redone but this time asked them use paint formulation from Standox instead of their local formula. it is perfect this time. (not sure what fixed - better workmanship or better paint formula or both)

just today i got a big ugly scratch on my laura bumper:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...u-parking.html

and i am thinking maybe i should take it to vinayaka instead of tafe this time. does vinayaka allow you to take a look at their facilities, talk to the painters,etc.?

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by androdev

is it a black vrs? (pearl metallic black magic color?)

can you please confirm that the color match is 100% even when you view it in sun light?

and i am thinking maybe i should take it to vinayaka instead of tafe this time. does vinayaka allow you to take a look at their facilities, talk to the painters,etc.?

Yes it is

1: Yes, so far - only had the car for a couple of hours

2: Ask for Raj Kumar - he the the BS manager and he will take you around gladly. Neat and clean place but again it is new

[akole]

My car's (Octavia L&K) coming up for servicing (21,000 kms) and I was hoping that this thread has reached some conclusions on which skoda service center to use.

I stay near Manipal hospital and in the past have used TAFE's service center, but now with the distance, it's difficult to use them. While their pick up & drop is convenient, I miss the opportunity to interact with the service supervisor face to face while driopping the car and inspecting the car during pick-up.

During my first trip to TAFE, I was very impressed with the servce team - many of whom have been trained by skoda specialists. This was evident when they installed a nokia bluetooth car kit in my car - a very professional job.

My next service job was done by the TAFE guys picking up and dropping my car - convenient but not entirely comfortable.

My only nagging problem is explained below in (2)

I also have a couple of questions:

1. What are the benefits (if any) of using synthetic oil over mineral oil?

2. When I got my car, the air conditioning worked great. Currently, after some time, the car gets very hot inside even though the climate control is set for 18 degrees. What could be the issue?

In one of my trips to TAFE, I got the door locks reprogrammed (the door locks come on once the car starts rolling some distance). My a/c problem seems to have come after that (I could be wrong but that's probably the only time someone tweaked the factory settings).

Any thoughts?

Ashish

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by ajmat

My RS got kissed by a Sumo. Handed it over to Vinayak who have done an excelent job. They took about 3-4 days more than planned but he welding, joins etc are faultless and also the painting. Service was also good

some pics


At the accident

During repair

Back on the road

[theMAG]

Ajmat,

Do they have a customer drop service - OMR is far from everywhere

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Ajmat,

Do they have a customer drop service - OMR is far from everywhere

They do not but if you are there early, they will help you hitch a ride in a car going for registration. Plenty of ricks outside. They will pick up car for service

[rchimni]

The car looks good as new Vinayaka seems to have done a good job, slightly OT did you change the tyres of your car by any chance , dont quite look like dunlop from the photograph ?

[androdev]

Originally Posted by akole

1. What are the benefits (if any) of using synthetic oil over mineral oil?

You can use any oil (mineral, semi, fully synthetic) as long as it meets the VW specification mentioned in your manual (like VW 505.00).

HOWEVER, Indian/Bangalore city driving is classified as "severe" which is why you will be better off using the superior synthetic oils. This is also why Skoda India recommends more frequent oil changes (compared to European owners). Oil is the last thing you want to compromise unless you really know what you are doing.

Synthetic oils are better than mineral oils in every single aspect - except the cost factor. Remember, it is just not the piston rings that need lubrication. There are lot of other high precision parts such as turbo that runs in the order of 100000 RPM. Exhaust gases are recirculated into the inlet air (google for EGR) which mixes all the exhaust junk with engine oil which can lead to exhaust+oil paste which can create lot of problems.

For more info:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modify...neral-oil.html

2. When I got my car, the air conditioning worked great. Currently, after some time, the car gets very hot inside even though the climate control is set for 18 degrees. What could be the issue?

In one of my trips to TAFE, I got the door locks reprogrammed (the door locks come on once the car starts rolling some distance). My a/c problem seems to have come after that (I could be wrong but that's probably the only time someone tweaked the factory settings).

Any thoughts?

Highly unlikely that enabling "auto lock" feature affected AC because their control modules are very different (Central convenience & Auto HVAC). I can think of the following:
1. The air that is blowing itself is not cold enough, or just the cabin temperature is not low enough? Sometimes the air blowing inside is cold, but the heat loss is too much to give comfortable feeling inside.
2. Try running the blower at highest speed to see if none of the vents are blocked.
3. Dealer can diagnose control module (software) to see if anything has been changed accidentally.
4. Dealer can check for the more likely problems such as loss of refrigerant gas, faulty compressor, etc.

Unless you have personal relationship with the service manager, I doubt there will be much difference in the A.S.S between TAFE or Vinayaka. Vinayaka being new will probably have better customer service - but that need not translate into better "vehicle" service.

At the minimum you should check that the job card includes all the items that are there in the service checklist in your service manual + "auto scan" for fault codes by their diagnostic software.

[anandrs]

Originally Posted by androdev

i had a bad experience with TAFE body shop when they did a small paint job on my car. plan to take it to vinayaka for rework. any past experiences with their body shop? thanks.

anandrs, any luck with your problems you mentioned above?

Got the first service with Tafe rather than Vinayaka. The service was very good. The customer experience fine. And best of all, all teh nagging issues with the car - squeaks, brake vibrations are gone. The only issue being the brake discs had to be replaced. Now apparently the discs don't come under warranty. So I had to pay Rs 7000 for that. Other than that service quality was good.

Also, my office being in electronics city, Tafe was a much better choice. I spoke to Vinayaka but they said that they will take more than a day.

And, some thing I did not know before. Octavia uses mineral oil, not synthetic. Atleast thats what the service guys told me. I have put in synthetic as of now but this was news to me.

[vkiran_2000]

Hi all,

I had looked up this thread before going to Vianayaka. Things are (still) good with them. I had a good experience with the folks there. The service seems spot on. I got charged 4.3K for the first service of my Laura. (I am still figuring out the free part of the "free service" ! ). The manager walked up to me to talk and I got a low down on how they will take care of the car. They even have a water softener for the car wash. Phew, no more calc stains after wash. The car was well cleaned and ready for me when I got there.


The manager (mr. patil) seemed to be a very good and level headed gent. I went in for some small upgrades, a crome boot liner, door sill liners and a laura specific spoiler.

regards,

[androdev]

Originally Posted by vkiran_2000

I went in for some small upgrades, a crome boot liner, door sill liners and a laura specific spoiler.

can you please give the cost breakup for these upgrades? my car is also due for service and i might buy some goodies. does the spoiler increase the length of the car? thanks.

[deepakvrao]

I had given my car to Tafe a year ago with a list of following minor complaints:

1. Central lock inside switch not working
2. Alarm chimes for door open and seatbelt not working
3. Left seat heater not working
4. A/C taking time to cool

Tafe returned the car with the basic servicing done, none of the above attended to and without even a cleaning of the engine bay. They made me take the car all the way to Hosur Rd again to rectify the above and AGAIN expressed inability to do so.

As they were all minor I just left them but when service was due again I went to Vinayak Motors in KRpuram.

They took the car yesterday and returned it today with ALL the work done.

The switch was replaced, AC filter was dirty so replaced and electrical jobs done.

The only complaint is that they charged me for the switch when the car was still under warranty. Otherwise service was good and I know that this is just one experience but I do hope we have a better option to TAFE in Bangalore for Skoda.

Another complaint is that the 3M interior detailing was REALLY bad. Better to get it done at the Old Madras Rd guy.

[Nikhilb2008]

I called Vinayak today, asking them for a TD of the Laura 1.8. The lady who answered transferred the call to one Mr. Umesh. I spoke to him regarding the TD and knowing Skoda's 'chequered' history of customer service, I made myself very clear. I told him my TD will not be a 20 min affair. I told him I would like to drive the car in the city, then take it to NICE road to test the highway capability of the car.

He wasnt sure if the car was free today and promised he would call back in 5 mins regarding the TD.

20 mins later I call back and he isnt there. No one there has a clue. The lady says that she will enquire and get back in 5 mins.

25 mins later, I call again and this time some bloke answers the call and I am a little harsh with him. To his credit, he takes it well and sympathises. I tell him I need to plan my day and am just waiting for Mr. Umesh to confirm if he can get the car for TD today or not. He says he will speak to Umesh.

5 mins later, another sales person calls and schedules the TD for Monday. Unfortunately the car isnt available today.

Frankly, I did not like this. When a sales executive(Umesh) made a promise, he should get back to me.

But, I was impressed with Mr. Ravindra. There are two of them there and both of them spoke very nicely and were very apologetic.

[mkc15]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Frankly, I did not like this. When a sales executive(Umesh) made a promise, he should get back to me.

But, I was impressed with Mr. Ravindra. There are two of them there and both of them spoke very nicely and were very apologetic.

Most dealers (non-Skoda as well) are like this. Cant expect much from anyone. Take it easy Nikhil.