[bb8778]

Oh that sucks! Sorry to hear about the bad news. Is your dealership shutting shop or something?

[venom_op]

Originally Posted by bb8778

Oh that sucks! Sorry to hear about the bad news. Is your dealership shutting shop or something?

Not officially. But the word around town and whatever inside info I could get, there are issues between the company and dealer.

They might as well shut it down, if they can't even manage manage to pull in 2 cars out of the 750 allocation for the country. They haven't been able to deliver a single car to my town since launch.

Also from what I've seen is, the owner doesn't get involved in the activities and is completely reliant on the GM. And the GM doesn't even have time to answer calls from customers.

[carfreak]

Originally Posted by VickyG

Heartiest Congratulations for the car and getting it at pre-cess price. May I know how much it costed you ?

Also as someone said, this steel grey do have "50 shades of grey" vibe as in the pic under artificial light, it looks far more greyer then when I had seen it at Tafe Access, Bangalore in day light parked outside. I think it looks of lighter color in day light and little darker under shade or dim lights. Its color certainly can not be judged by looking at photos.

Thank you VickyG. It was me myself who mentioned the 50 shades of grey comparison.

I felt it looks darker in real than in pictures, where it appears a touch washed out.

I also got news today that Skoda is going to discontinue the Steel Grey and the White colours after the present lot is sold out (The available kits of the SG have already been sold out). The Blue and Red will continue to be sold and a new addition, Black, will join in from February.

[bb8778]

Congratulations carfreak!! I can imagine the grin on your face Everytime you look at your beauty.

Do post more pics or start your thread for your baby. I myself am waiting for mine which I'd booked in SG. I had given white as second preference as I'm still to see the SG in flesh and like you said it is like 50 shades of grey and still not totally convinced on the shade.

My sales guy said i should get mine by second week of next month.

Cheers!

[venom_op]

Originally Posted by bb8778

Congratulations carfreak!! I can imagine the grin on your face Everytime you look at your beauty.

Do post more pics or start your thread for your baby. I myself am waiting for mine which I'd booked in SG. I had given white as second preference as I'm still to see the SG in flesh and like you said it is like 50 shades of grey and still not totally convinced on the shade.

My sales guy said i should get mine by second week of next month.

Cheers!

Looks like I may still be in the running. Was on call with the GM and ASM today. I was told that there are still a lot of cars that haven't been produced yet. I told them that color is irrelevant to me now. And I've been assured that they'll deliver the car this month or early next month. Let's see what happens. This has been the most confusing pre-ownership experience of my life!

Originally Posted by carfreak

So finally took delivery of my Steel Grey beast yesterday.

I got it for the pre-cess hike price. I had paid the full amount before the hike itself so they got it billed at the launch price.

It was a brief drive from the showroom in Mangaluru to Udupi, around 55km. This stretch has few bad sections but most of it is in good condition. Here are a few observations:

Movers...: The car is really silent inside, thanks to the refined engine and the good sound insulation, and you do not realize the speeds you are doing. It gets to speeds really effortlessly too without any drama and I sort of like it.

...and Shakers: The suspension is stiffff. The SA told me they kept the tire pressure at 30 psi, but I doubt it. I am yet to check it but I can tell you this- If you are planning to by this car, get your backs insured. And I am one who prefers a stiffer set up actually. Going over expansion joints, one car hear explosions from the front suspension. The ground clearance need not be an issue though; I went over some big speed breakers and with 4 on board, it never scraped.

Driving experience: The steering is a bit too light. The gearbox upshifts effortlessly but there is a bit of a hesitation at times while downshifting. I am yet to drive in Sports mode and this is the observation in Drive mode. Of course the paddle shifts work brilliantly

I got an average of 12 km/l (as per the trip computer). The section I drove consists of 75% highway and 15% city driving

I will put up further observations and my ownership experience in a separate thread. Hopefully I will get down to doing it soon.

Meanwhile this is a pic of the delivery. My family and me with the car, my good friend Nishanth, from our local enthusiasts club Manipal Auto Club to the left and Zahin, (James in team bhp) who was the main motivating force behind me finally getting this car, to the right

I'm so sorry, in the heat of my fight for delivery, I forgot to congratulate you on your beast!

[Shome]

Originally Posted by venom_op

Looks like I may still be in the running. Was on call with the GM and ASM today. I was told that there are still a lot of cars that haven't been produced yet. I told them that color is irrelevant to me now. And I've been assured that they'll deliver the car this month or early next month. Let's see what happens. This has been the most confusing pre-ownership experience of my life!

Could be a case of the dealership not having enough funds to pay Skoda for fresh cars. Whatever amount you have paid till now, might have been siphoned off to pay for cars of customers who have booked before you and are waiting for delivery (any model). I have experienced this earlier where I worked where booking amounts/full payments taken from fresh customers were used to pay off for cars that were booked earlier. The minimum waiting period was between 3-4 months. I pray and hope that this is not the case, but if it is, do you have some "pehchaan"?

[carfreak]

Originally Posted by bb8778

Congratulations carfreak!! I can imagine the grin on your face Everytime you look at your beauty.

Do post more pics or start your thread for your baby. I myself am waiting for mine which I'd booked in SG.

Thank you bb8778. Yes, I am planning to start my ownership thread soon enough. Trust me, this car is well worth the wait.

Originally Posted by venom_op

I'm so sorry, in the heat of my fight for delivery, I forgot to congratulate you on your beast!

Thank you man, hope all your troubles get sorted out fast and you will soon be behind the wheel of the vRS.

[venom_op]

Originally Posted by Shome

Could be a case of the dealership not having enough funds to pay Skoda for fresh cars. Whatever amount you have paid till now, might have been siphoned off to pay for cars of customers who have booked before you and are waiting for delivery (any model). I have experienced this earlier where I worked where booking amounts/full payments taken from fresh customers were used to pay off for cars that were booked earlier. The minimum waiting period was between 3-4 months. I pray and hope that this is not the case, but if it is, do you have some "pehchaan"?

Quite honestly, my dad is more upset than i am. And this is scaring me in the sense that, if this is the sales experience, i'm worried what the after sales is going to be like.

Originally Posted by carfreak

Thank you bb8778. Yes, I am planning to start my ownership thread soon enough. Trust me, this car is well worth the wait.



Thank you man, hope all your troubles get sorted out fast and you will soon be behind the wheel of the vRS.

Thank you! Unfortunately, now i'm in a new dilemma. My dad has thrown a monkey wrench into all of this and is suggesting that i switch over to the 330i M Sport. He's not very happy with all this fiasco.

Now what do i do? These are weird problems, i know! But it makes decision making so hard!

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by venom_op

Quite honestly, my dad is more upset than i am. And this is scaring me in the sense that, if this is the sales experience, i'm worried what the after sales is going to be like.



Thank you! Unfortunately, now i'm in a new dilemma. My dad has thrown a monkey wrench into all of this and is suggesting that i switch over to the 330i M Sport. He's not very happy with all this fiasco.

Now what do i do? These are weird problems, i know! But it makes decision making so hard!

How is this decision hard?

The 330i is better in almost every single way! It's like the easiest and best decision!

[esma1981]

Originally Posted by venom_op

My dad has thrown a monkey wrench into all of this and is suggesting that i switch over to the 330i M Sport.

I would not wait one more second and grab the offer before he changes this mind again. 330i M Sport any day of the week! The Octavia RS is for people like us who ultimately aspire but currently cannot afford to get behind a BMW with 0-100 in 5.8 seconds According to me the RS is a poor man's M, but if you can get close to the real thing, GO FOR IT!

[venom_op]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

How is this decision hard?

The 330i is better in almost every single way! It's like the easiest and best decision!

I agree that it's better in almost every way but it's at the end of it's life cycle. And i'm the kind of person that would rather have the latest.

Originally Posted by esma1981

I would not wait one more second and grab the offer before he changes this mind again. 330i M Sport any day of the week! The Octavia RS is for people like us who ultimately aspire but currently cannot afford to get behind a BMW with 0-100 in 5.8 seconds According to me the RS is a poor man's M, but if you can get close to the real thing, GO FOR IT!

I guess the only hard part in this decision is that this is the last year for the F30. My father is not one to change his mind. The offer will still stand if i want to wait for the G20 3 series.

So the hard part of this decision is, should i be impatient and pick up the ageing F30 or wait and get the G20. It could be a year away easily.

[Nikhilb2008]

An F30 is tried and tested. Service guys know how to service it, spares arent an issue, the interiors still look pretty nice. I would go with it any day!

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by venom_op

I agree that it's better in almost every way but it's at the end of it's life cycle. And i'm the kind of person that would rather have the latest.

The F30 3 Series has about a year left in its life-cycle, maybe two years tops! But that's no bad thing, in my opinion. It's still a handsome car and looks reasonably fresh, even after all these years.

It's worthy to note that the Octavia has also been around for a little over 4 years in international markets, and has received its mid-cycle refresh early this year. In about a year or so, we should see test mules of the next generation Octavia doing the rounds.

So the Octavia isn't exactly the 'latest' car either.

If I had the option of choosing between a vRS and a 330i, I wouldn't even give the Skoda a second look.

Granted, it's an excellent product, and the vRS makes a seriously compelling case for itself, especially at this mouth-watering price. But it's hard to walk away from a 330i when the option presents itself as an alternative.

[venom_op]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

An F30 is tried and tested. Service guys know how to service it, spares arent an issue, the interiors still look pretty nice. I would go with it any day!

All true. Now i must introspect.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

The F30 3 Series has about a year left in its life-cycle, maybe two years tops! But that's no bad thing, in my opinion. It's still a handsome car and looks reasonably fresh, even after all these years.

It's worthy to note that the Octavia has also been around for a little over 4 years in international markets, and has received its mid-cycle refresh early this year. In about a year or so, we should see test mules of the next generation Octavia doing the rounds.

So the Octavia isn't exactly the 'latest' car either.

If I had the option of choosing between a vRS and a 330i, I wouldn't even give the Skoda a second look.

Granted, it's an excellent product, and the vRS makes a seriously compelling case for itself, especially at this mouth-watering price. But it's hard to walk away from a 330i when the option presents itself as an alternative.

Very valid points. I guess i should take a breath, slow down, and think everything through.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by venom_op

Thank you! Unfortunately, now i'm in a new dilemma. My dad has thrown a monkey wrench into all of this and is suggesting that i switch over to the 330i M Sport. He's not very happy with all this fiasco.

Now before we all hijack the vRS thread -

DUDE! The 330i is the real deal. Its got the rear wheel drive, and a better steering. The suspension will be more compliant than the vRS too. I wouldn't say ageing - With the big idrive (now the 2017 version idrive with the new interface) and the heads up display it surely doesn't feel dated.

Go for it without a second thought, there is just no comparison.