[iSpoke]

hey, its one year belated but anyways Congratulations for buying the all new car instead of going for a used one that you were considering before.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Hi,
Yes, I bought the Laura Tsi - from Europa in Feb 2010.
The reason I chose Europa was - their TD cars are MH12 registered, while TD cars of Asset Auto are NL (Nagaland) registered - as far as I could search, I did not find any Skoda dealership in Nagaland...so I was a bit doubtful in dealing with them.

Now that is really a good observation whatever be the reasons for having the NL registered cars. Anybody, any ideas?

I will start my own ownership thread - now that I have stories to tell .

Please go ahead. It would be very useful for all punekars planning to take risk of buying a Skoda!

[mayankjha1806]

How has your laura been treating you? Any major issues to report? Any long drives taken? please update. Thanks

[n.devdath]

I have a question too. Do you feel the Laura is a spacious 5 seater or a spacious 4 seater for well fed Indian adults over long distances?
Also, what is the FE that you have been getting?

[Swanand Inamdar]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

I have a question too. Do you feel the Laura is a spacious 5 seater or a spacious 4 seater for well fed Indian adults over long distances?
Also, what is the FE that you have been getting?

Let me answer that question, as a fellow Laura owner.

To answer your question in one word- NO. The Laura is not a 5 seater car. For us well fed Indians, its best suited as a 4 seater car, unless the 5th person is willing to sit cramped up or for a short distance.

I own a 1.9 TDi and the FE ive been getting is around 14 -15 in city conditions and around 20 on highways.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

I have a question too. Do you feel the Laura is a spacious 5 seater or a spacious 4 seater for well fed Indian adults over long distances?
Also, what is the FE that you have been getting?

Yes, it's not a comfortable 5 seater...actually I saw your separate thread on this and replied on that...

[anandpadhye]

As mentioned before, I finally chose Europa and it's now 2 years since then.

But my experience with them is not good - I experienced unfair practice twice.

First - the reverse gear buzzer sensor went bad and I took the car to them in last week of December 2011 for warranty replacement. They charged me labour, said the part is not available and ordered it. I refussed to pay for the labour - they asked me to pay and then complain. I complained to Skoda and then Europa got back saying it was a mistake of the service advisor and they will refund the amount. Still no news of the part.

Second - I called them multiple times, they could not confirm the part availability. I told them about the second free service (warranty is upto 4'th Feb 2012) - they said let's do both things in one go. Finally I called on 7'th Feb and they said, let's do the free service first and asked me to come on 15'th - no appointment till then! The car is with them since 15'th - they did the service, found the part and replaced it and now want to charge me for the labour as today is past the warranty period. I refussed saying I had come in 2 months ago and the delay was from their side. Looks like they applied for goodwill warranty to Skoda - conviniently forgetting that the issue was reported and diagnosed 2 months before the end of warranty!!!

Can someone help???
This is ridiculous business practice!!!

[Anand123]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

This is ridiculous business practice!!!

How many times were you warned, in this thread itself?

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Anand123

How many times were you warned, in this thread itself?

Can't help - until Honda and Toyota start making exciting and fun to drive cars...


BTW, I refussed to take the delivery of the car and assured them that I am going to consumer court. Then they called back and said they have reverted the labour charges...

Sad situation, really.

[aniket.tiwari27]

Europa is bad. Few minutes back I called up at the Wakad showroom and enquired about the Yeti. On asking for current offers and discount the Sales Exec told me that Skoda Shield can be provided for free. I asked him anything else and this is what he said "Sir aap offer ke liye gaadi kharid rahe ho ya kya? Ya gaadi lene ke liye offer puch rahe ho". Such a rude response!! And even on telling him that this attitude is not right and this now how you deal with a customer, he had no shame or guilt to atleast say sorry, rather he was willing to argue. I immediately hung up on him. There is no point talking to such guys. If I am not mistaken the Sales Exec name was Shakti.

On the other hand, Asset team was way too helpful. The next of my enquiry call, the Sales Exec at Asset, Wagholi, Pune got me test drive of both Laura and Yeti (next consecutive day) that too without any followup from me. The offer which Asset extended on Yeti 4X4 Elegance is INR 150000 (Flat Discount 1.35L+15K Corporate Discount.)

My suggestion - SKIP EUROPA.

One request : If anybody here at T-BHP knows someone senior at Pashankar Auto (Europa) or for that matter at SKODA, please raise this attitude issues with them.

[anandpadhye]

Hi,

The Laura will complete 3 years on 4'th Feb and it's time to renew the insurance.
Europa told me they only "recognize" Baja Allianz and if I take any other policy, accident work will take time.... ha ha ha!!!

I had Bajaj for the first year, Europ tried to loot me there, I had to speak to Bajaj to set it right. Second year, Bajaj declined to even talk to me about premium calculations - their stand was they have sent the renewal notice and I have to pay per that, so I went to Bharti Axa. Third year, Bharti was in rumours of selling their insurance business so I chose Bajaj. This time, again Bajaj is quoting high for the zero dep part, so I am thinking what to do. I have had zero dep policies all throught the three years and not a single claim...

Does any Skoda owner in Pune have non-Bajaj policy and if so which one? Also, any claim settlement experience around this? Please advise.

P.S. When it comes to insurance, service, etc, I really wish this car was a Hyundai :-)

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Hi,

The Laura will complete 3 years on 4'th Feb and it's time to renew the insurance.
Europa told me they only "recognize" Baja Allianz and if I take any other policy, accident work will take time.... ha ha ha!!!

I had Bajaj for the first year, Europ tried to loot me there, I had to speak to Bajaj to set it right. Second year, Bajaj declined to even talk to me about premium calculations - their stand was they have sent the renewal notice and I have to pay per that, so I went to Bharti Axa. Third year, Bharti was in rumours of selling their insurance business so I chose Bajaj. This time, again Bajaj is quoting high for the zero dep part, so I am thinking what to do. I have had zero dep policies all throught the three years and not a single claim...

Does any Skoda owner in Pune have non-Bajaj policy and if so which one? Also, any claim settlement experience around this? Please advise.

P.S. When it comes to insurance, service, etc, I really wish this car was a Hyundai :-)

Anand, it really does not matter which insurance company gives you insurance cover for the repairs. THe bill for repairs is raised on you and it is you who is going to pay the service centre. If you claim insurance, the insurance co. is only compensating you for the expenses incurred by you caused by the unforseen event.

Most Skoda dealers seem to have tied up with Bajaj Allianz for the insurance. Since they act as their 'agents', they will be getting some commission which is why they push you take it. For the first year I too went with Bajaj as they confused me saying extended warranty is linked to it. Pure BS. For the second year, some guys from Vinayak's 'insurance desk' came to my office with renewal papers quoting some 38k odd for a TATA AIG policy. I got an online quote from ICICI Lombard right in front of them and showed them that I can get the same zero dep cover from ICICI for 29K . I had to show them the door

I recently had a claim with ICICI and the whole process was very smooth with them paying the amount to Vinayak directly. The whole claim process took no more than 3 days, from lodging the claim to settlement.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Hi,

The Laura will complete 3 years on 4'th Feb and it's time to renew the insurance.
Europa told me they only "recognize" Baja Allianz and if I take any other policy, accident work will take time.... ha ha ha!!!

I had Bajaj for the first year, Europ tried to loot me there, I had to speak to Bajaj to set it right. Second year, Bajaj declined to even talk to me about premium calculations - their stand was they have sent the renewal notice and I have to pay per that, so I went to Bharti Axa. Third year, Bharti was in rumours of selling their insurance business so I chose Bajaj. This time, again Bajaj is quoting high for the zero dep part, so I am thinking what to do. I have had zero dep policies all throught the three years and not a single claim...

Does any Skoda owner in Pune have non-Bajaj policy and if so which one? Also, any claim settlement experience around this? Please advise.

P.S. When it comes to insurance, service, etc, I really wish this car was a Hyundai :-)

You don't have to rely on what the dealer is offering you. You can choose any insurance company that you like. Do a thorough comparison before finalizing the policy. Check with the insurance company whether they have cashless claims management with the Skoda dealers in your city.

[ajmat]

Frankly, Bajaj took too much time for my VW and kept on calling me about when to inspect the car when it had already been inspected. Am moving to Tata AIG next time around. They make it a point to close things fast.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Most Skoda dealers seem to have tied up with Bajaj Allianz for the insurance. Since they act as their 'agents', they will be getting some commission which is why they push you take it. For the first year I too went with Bajaj as they confused me saying extended warranty is linked to it. Pure BS. For the second year, some guys from Vinayak's 'insurance desk' came to my office with renewal papers quoting some 38k odd for a TATA AIG policy. I got an online quote from ICICI Lombard right in front of them and showed them that I can get the same zero dep cover from ICICI for 29K . I had to show them the door

I recently had a claim with ICICI and the whole process was very smooth with them paying the amount to Vinayak directly. The whole claim process took no more than 3 days, from lodging the claim to settlement.

Hi Santosh,
Yes, I read your experience on that thread. It's the dealers creating nexus here. Let's see, I am checking with Bharti AXA as well.

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Check with the insurance company whether they have cashless claims management with the Skoda dealers in your city.

Yes, that's the point. Both the dealers here "claim" that they only work with Bajaj. This is ridiculous - should be reported to both Skoda as well as IRDA.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Frankly, Bajaj took too much time for my VW and kept on calling me about when to inspect the car when it had already been inspected. Am moving to Tata AIG next time around. They make it a point to close things fast.

Wow, so Bajaj is wasting their monopolistic position inside the VW group. BTW, I called TATA AIG and asked them to give me the list of dealers/workshops in Pune with whom they have cashless tie-up. It's been two hours and they are searching their database.

[Bomi]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Frankly, Bajaj took too much time for my VW and kept on calling me about when to inspect the car when it had already been inspected. Am moving to Tata AIG next time around. They make it a point to close things fast.

Ajit, use TATA AIG with caution. In Mumbai, I had a bad experience. They quoted a renewal premium, took my cheque and sent me the cover note with a promise to send the policy a few days later. A month later I followed up with their call centre and was informed that the policy had been held back because there was a short premium collection. I explained that this was their fault, so why should I suffer; why am I being told about this after a month. A series of escalations later, the policy was delivered to my address. Wonder how they treat a claim for damages.