[KarthikK]

Voted for No.

We've had multiple VWs in my friends' and relatives' circle and while these are fantastic cars to own from Day 1 onwards (if bought brand new), I would be wary of getting a 5 or 6 year old VW and trying to keep it for another 5-6 years from there on. Maybe if it was almost new (<2-3 years old), it would be okay to consider one (just my opinion)

Some of the reasons I would stay away from old preowned Vento/Rapid would be:

- Service experience is a hit or miss. As the car ages, somehow I observed that the service centers are unable to solve niggles (even age-related ones) easily and even simple things require multiple visits / frustrating waits. The 'take it or leave it' type of attitude coupled with the tendency to fleece at every opportunity only worsens the experience, and their (un)willingness to honour warranty replacements is not very assuring.

- Uncommon spare parts aren't readily available. In case of body work / windshield, etc, if any incident occurs I'd be left in the lurch for weeks together.

- DSG failure reputation in the automatic variants and the probability of this happening outside warranty means a fear of a time bomb lurking in one corner of the mind.

- The manual variants are okay from a reliability point of view, but the old 1.6 NA petrol didn't feel anything like a 1.6, and boy the VW diesel engines' clatter is as noisy as a tractor and it somehow worsens with age I guess . Of course, the 1.6 diesel was a hoot to drive though, not taking anything away from that

[WhiteSierra]

Voted NO.

Only 1 reason : Any sane person would stay away from an out of warranty Volkswagen or Skoda. Parts are damn expensive and would cost a fortune to replace those failing parts.

You can invest similar money on a used City, Verna or a Corolla Altis in the similar segment and pricing and can live with complete peace of mind and happiness.

[Shome]

Voted Yes (with lots of ifs and but, so probably a NO for most others)

I currently own a pre-worshipped 2012 1.6 MPI AT Rapid for the past 4 years. Currently looking to upgrade the car in terms of the suspension, interiors, and possibly a wrap.

Pros:
1. Timeless design
2. Exceptional handling
3. Spacious
4. Reliability (Yes, you read that right)!
5. Great product for a low price in the used car market

Cons:
1. Expensive parts when replacement is needed
2. Difficult to get a well maintained one, and I mean a truly well maintained one.

The trick here is to ensure that you spend a lot of time looking for the car before you buy. I had looked at 27 Rapids and Ventos back in 2016 over a 7 month period before finalizing the one I chose.

Once you like a car, spend some time with it to make sure it ticks all your boxes, then and only then go for the purchase.

In my past 4 years of ownership, I've changed the tires once, replaced the coolant reservoir cos it cracked, and changed the ABS sensors twice, once under warranty, that's it. My annual mileage is only about 7-8k KMs and thankfully, I haven't had any major failures or issues with the car. These include trips to Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Goa. The major repairs that I need to spend on now are a suspension overhaul and steering rack replacement, which I think is going to cost me around 40k.

I plan to keep this car for another 3-5 years, so don't really mind the investment, and yes, this is our primary and only car in the house.

P.S: Bought it at 45k on the odo, it's now at 68k. My opinion is if you're purchasing a car for an occasional trip and a short distance daily driver, Skodas are good.

P.S2: You need a good FNG, luckily it seems like I've found one, never going back to the ASS again.

[Crank]

Voted Yes.

I mean the Vento TDI - manual.
I feel the Pros outweigh most of the Cons. Anyway, here's my list.

Pros:

1. Build quality - I don't think anybody will refute this
2. Ride and handling - I would say segment best
3. Safety - most people think Airbags and ABS means safety. I hope fellow Team BHPians know what I mean by safety here
4. Engine - ensure to get post May 2012 built engines which are devoid of fuel injector issues. Prior to that its a hit or miss.
5. TDI is a gem of an engine, its not as good as before the fix for emission scandal, but still much better than most cars in this segment. Some complain of engine noise, but inside the car that was 8 years old, the engine noise is very much less. Stand beside a Vento TDI with its running engine, diesel clatter certainly will remind you a tractor
6. Reliability - if its maintained well and not abused much (many owners owing to their confidence in the car abuse a lot), reliability is top notch.

Cons:

1. Maintenance - Actually maintenance cost is much less when compared to other cars as its only yearly once maintenance. However VW dealers fleece their customers - shooting one's own foot, leaving a lot of customers unhappy. This is the primary reason for sales declining and in turn hits them hard on their margins. If you have a good mechanic who specializes in German cars, better service it there.
2. Spares - again hit or miss - depends on what spare you want as per one of the body shop personnel in VW, but maintains that 90% spares are available always

These twins are the segment best in most ways, I would say. The biggest drawback is the After Sales Service, which has to be improved. But if you have a local mechanic good at these cars, then you can very well go with these cars.

Are VW/Skoda dealers fleece much more than Honda/Toyota/Hyundai? I heard horror stories about these as well. Except for Maruti, all others are alike is the comment by a trusted local mechanic.

[Sasanka_Sanga]

Voted No.

Reason being extremely expensive spares and longer waiting lines to get them. Mileage is similar to that of Concorde flights (Pun intended). The roar of the diesel engines are way too loud.

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by Shome

P.S2: You need a good FNG, luckily it seems like I've found one, never going back to the ASS again.

You should please share this with the Mumbai community here. You can PM me if you find that suitable.

Also, I may need a suspension overhaul too, we should try for bulk discount

[Vipin Kumar]

I have voted yes.

But, terms and conditions apply.

It has to be a manual and diesel. This second is my personal preference. That is, given that a new Rapid petrol is a good pick from the showroom itself, compared to a Polo 1.0L TSI.

DSG will be a real gamble as a used option. I have seen an acquaintance shelling out 1.8 lacs for repairing his DSG Rapid. So, if one takes a DSG, one should keep another Rs 2 lac as provident fund.

Otherwise, a well-maintained and serviced VW or Skoda car is acceptable even if it is high mileage. We can always go for routine/scheduled parts replacement.

[Nithesh_M]

The Golden rule for almost all German cars I follow is that if you want to buy one buy it new with the longest warranty period available. Used German cars are a complete No-No for me as 7/10 owners sell it when it starts giving major troubles.

[Shanky_1002]

While the European timeless design, solid build quality, plenty of engine options, fun to drive DSG AT and exceptional mod potential does lure to own a Polo GT TSI or a Octavia, however the hit or miss after sales service experience, exorbitant cost for select spares and the numerous hassles faced by owners of both Volkswagen and Skoda makes me steer clear of both these brands. Although a dear friend recently picked up a used Octavia which has been tuned to churn out 350+ BHP if I go by his words, I do not have more information on the specifics about it at the moment. Also this is his third car, he already has a Toyota Corolla and Polo GT TSI, so even if the car needs frequent visits to ASS/FNG's he wouldn't mind much since there are other cars and staff to ferry at his disposal. Most of us do not have that leverage and want just a enthusiast car which is reasonably reliable, doesn't break the bank in maintenance/spares cost, can be a daily car as well as bring a ear to ear grin every time one takes it for a drive.

[gulerianeeraj]

I’m not able to vote but Would’ve voted YES. I own a Pre owned Rapid 1.5 AT. The vehicle was around 5 years of age and 49k KMs on aisi when I bought it. It has covered around 10k in span of 4 months (Yes during lockdown).My personal take on the heading of the thread is as :
1. The vehicle is build to last.
2. Safety is top notch. I’ve experienced it first hand.
3. Maintenance : That’s a tricky part. Since the car was out of warranty when I bought it and knowing the Skoda services are not upto the mark I opted for Private garage for servicing and maintenance. Those in Pune might know The Mechanix. You can choose yours. I have been pretty satisfied so far.
4. Price : Since VAG cars have poor resale you can find them for a reasonable price.
5. Interiors : Change Whatever that feels outdated according to your requirements. There’s no dearth of aftermarket services in India.
6. Spare parts : Never had an issue with respect to availability and reliability. The cost are also reasonable. They are costly but not exorbitantly costly as some say so.
7. Driving pleasure : Most of the VAG cars are Drivers Cars. Period.
8. DSG : Amazing gearbox. Never had a breakdown or any issue so far (Touchwood). Even if I feel there’s one Skoda have been repairing it under goodwill. There are so many examples in the community itself. You just have to fight your way to persuade Skoda to do it.
9. Comfort : I’ve driven 2000km straight twice with my Rapid and never felt uncomfortable at any moment. Mind you it is the most comfortable vehicle around.
10. Looks : Timeless. You’ll not feel too far behind when you compare yourself to the new Rapids since the design hasn’t changed over the years. Moreover I like cars having clean and minimalist Design since they age well. Too much of flashy designs get outdated too soon and personally they aren’t to my liking.
11. Fuel Economy : will give you good 15-18 kmpl in city and around 23-25 kmpl in highway on diesel. It is quite good and a deciding factor if you drive too much.
12. Mods capability : both are amazing cars to enthusiasts who are looking for mods. It makes sense to try mods on a Pre owned car than on a new one.
13. Fit and finish : it’s top notch. My vehicle now is about to touch its 6th year and have driven around 60k. Not a single rattle or squeak so far.
Regards

[motorworks]

Having owned a Rapid diesel for 6 years, I would say a firm No. All positive traits are well known, excellent build, great road grip and braking and also a decent handler. I did enjoy driving the car thoroughly. However, the kind of failures I had, well, here it goes. Turbo Failure at around 30k, steering Rack failure at around 40k, EGR failure at around 50k.

The Turbo costs a whopping 1.5 lakhs, at least at the time the issue, the EGR is around 30-35k, and something similar for the steering rack too. I was fortunate that all of these parts were replaced under warranty. In fact the EGR failure was out of the warranty period, but I escalated the issue to Skoda and somehow managed to get this under goodwill.

And during my ownership I kept hearing fuel injector failures and I was dreading if I would have that one as well! Luckily I did not.

The car as such is fundamentally very good, but these significant failures are a big turn off. Finally I sold the car in 2018 at about 60k on the ODO. I had kept the car in mint condition with Momo alloys, Continental CPC2 tyres, a pioneer HU and the works. But I could not get myself to hold on to it beyond that 6 year period. I got about 50% of my cost and thought it was best to let it go.

So in this sense, this is not a very easy car to own. The regular parts like bumpers, tail lights or things like that are probably just at par with Hyundai or Suzuki. Its the other complicated parts like EGR, Turbos, Fuel injectors which can burn a big hole in your pocket. These may not fail that frequently, but I guess there is a element of risk involved.

[arun_747]

Originally Posted by PradoGdr88

Yes. With a VW Vento or Skoda Rapid you get the below:
1) Amazing Build quality & Safety.
2) Humungous mod potential.
3) Timeless design (Subjective).

And when it is a pre-worshipped Vento or Rapid you get the below:
1) Attractive depreciation.
2) Torquey diesel or sedate petrol engine.
3) After sales service which is already under scanner and is trying to do a clean its name means win-win for customers.

Points of caution:
1) Never compare with Maruti Suzuki because its apple to orange comparison.
2) Safety, Build quality and Handling are things which cannot be quantified in monetary terms.
3) If you expect a car with needs minimal care and minimal downtime then it’s definitely not your cup of tea.

Perfect reply PradoGdr88 !!

[mah_mcp]

Originally Posted by Annibaddh

Voted yes. My 1.6TDi has given me nightmares mostly because the service support is abysmal. But. In it's over 1L km mileage, it has never let me down. This include the following solo drives:

1. Mumbai - Harda (MP)
2. Mumbai - Lucknow
3. Mumbai - Delhi
4. Mumbai - Bangalore
5. Mumbai - Goa (too many)
6. Delhi - Manali

and multiple other drives. The car feels brilliant to drive even today. Planted ride. Safe as a house. Comfortable. Excellent seats. Mile muncher par excellence. A suspension upgrade and RCD 340 swap have made the car contemporary in most ways. You need a capable FNG. Absolutely need one. And a willingness to spend to keep the car in shape. But I think the cost is absolutely worth it.

A B S O L U T E L Y agree with your views. I have definitely experienced the need for a FNG as the @$$ literally rip you apart with irrelevant replacements for spare parts even though everything is working fine. You really need to have an understanding of your car and the mechanics to ensure you are NOT conned by the @$$3$. Had a Skoda Laura for 12 years and replaced everything except the engine block and head unit. Very solid vehicles and I have numerous memories in my car (Laura 2007 model L&K) which I will cherish for ever. Currently own a Hyundai Kona EV. It’s not great but does the job of taking me from A - B. Traveled 6k plus kms in it but is definitely not worth the sticker price of ~27L. I’ll go with the new Octavia or a used Beemer anytime.

[mah_mcp]

Originally Posted by Annibaddh

But I can't think of a car to replace it, other than the Octavia 1.8 perhaps (but that has its own and bigger issues!).

You are absolutely right. Had a Škoda Laura 2007 L&K DSG model and couldn’t find a proper car to replace it other than an Octavia DSG. Finally settled for a Kona EV as i was absolutely floored by its acceleration and futuristic usability. I agree it is no match for a VAG however the practicality and future proof nature including my woes with servicing my Škoda Laura during her last days prompted me to go for a Korean brand even though I detested it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a Japanese brand EV to choose from. Also, Tesla wasn’t being sold in India, else, I would have gone for it!!!

[Blackbolt]

Well the product is great. Touch wood I haven't had any major failures ( 4 ABS sensors , steering rack and few niggles )

Advantages far exceed the draw backs of this car. So much so that we have 4 VAG cars( 2 Vento 1.6 TDI, 1 Polo GT , 1 Vento TSI) in our extended family; which have replaced Koreans and Maruti.

The cars have been around for a while and the parts are widely available and nothing that your FNG cannot fix up.

60k on odo in 6 years! Love my ride !