[discoverwild]

Voted No. Though I like the Rapid, I like the Octavia better.

Drove the Vento Petrol over two days, Coimbatore-Chennai-Coimbatore, with a 4-5 hour break on the day of the Chennai floods in 2015. Ended up with a real sore back and bottom. Never felt that kind of issue in the Vista driving it for 25 days across the country, or over a 1050 km (practically non-stop) journey from Kolhapur to Coimbatore.

[itsashishsharma]

If I were in the market looking for a used car from this segment, I would go for the EcoSport or Duster.
As a used car, thumb rule is, go for a simpler, robust machine that would fare better in long run. VW/Skoda cars are known to involve costlier expenses in long run.
As a used car, an Alto is a better buy than a Kwid. A Ford is better than a VW, and likewise.

[andafunda]

As the former owner of a new Skoda Rapid 1.5 MT Diesel, my vote would be a strong no. There is a reason why, despite being in immaculate condition (OCD), I did not sell my car to anyone in my known circle - sold to CarDekho.

Here are my reasons:

1) Reliability or complete lack thereof - There is a concept of parts binning in electronics (Apple/Dell/Samsung corner the best ones). I don't have any evidence of this, but I am sure VAG is choosing the lowest auto part bins for India. There is no other way one can have ABS sensors, injectors, ECM etc fail so often for so many people, especially in their entry level cars. I have had the ABS and red attention tell tale lights glow suddenly so many times especially on long trips.

2) Joke called After Sales Service - I think Skoda ASS is filled with the choicest of snake oil and used car salesmen. They tried to con me every single time, right from the first service. Once tried to make me pay for a steering wheel issue that was covered under warranty, another time a bad battery, another time ABS sensors. Good riddance to Autobahn.

3) Poor quality parts - A lot of people speak about high quality components that VAG uses. I'd like to invite them and check out the rattling plastic parts in my Rapid that was driven 25k KM in 5 years on good roads. The service guys at the ASS confirmed that a lot of people face these issues, especially with Rapid.

In hindsight, I should've just gotten the City. Heck even the contraption that is the Verna would have been better.

The only people I'd advise to go for a pre-owned Rapid/Vento/Polo are enthusiasts who have time and resources to get stuff fixed when it breaks, because it will break.

[gigatech2006]

Voted No. (because, a BIG NO wasn't available as choice)

I own a 2018 MY19 Rapid (1.6 MPI). Right from day 1, I felt there's a problem with the starter motor. Occasionally, the car would stutter - as if the starter motor is being stopped from rotating properly, when I crank. As I said, it was happening now and then and not frequently. The Skoda service centers in Bangalore and Chennai didn't acknowledge the issue and I too didn't think of it much as this was happening just a couple of times a month. I was doing weekly Bangalore-Chennai trips (it was at a different era when we went into physical offices), and the occasional starter hiccup didn't bother me much.

During the lockdown period, I regularly started the car once every other day, and also took it for a very short drive once a week. The starter motor issue started bothering me a little too often during these months - especially from early April. Since the car was due for service in September, and that I wasn't doing any miles on the car, I decided to wait. To give the benefit of doubt, I didn't rule out battery issue.

About a couple of weeks ago, when I was in a rush (can't call it emergency, but I had to be somewhere and back before a specific time), the car failed to start when I stopped to top up the tank. Pushed the car to the side, and tried cranking several times. Didn't budge. I called Gurudev motors (Chennai) on 2 different numbers to check what could be wrong - no one answered.

I thought about it, but didn't call up the RSA as I really had to be some place. There was an Amaron authorized shop. Asked him to check the battery. He did check the voltage (was showing 9 volts, instead of 12), used his battery and the engine cranked. So, we all thought it was the battery, changed it then and there and went about dealing with the other personal situation at hand.

The next day - was curious and wanted to start the car. Heck, the same starting motor stutter! (I even made a couple of videos for the record.) Then it dawned on me - the battery could have been weak, and the sticky starter motor could've drained the battery that day - aggravating the starter issue.

Since the car was anyways due for service, I took it to Gurudev Chennai (Guindy industrial estate), and explained the problem and showed him the videos as well. The service advisor was well-mannered and knowledgeable, and agreed that it was starter motor issue.

After listening to me he asked 'any chance you can go the battery guy and retrieve the old battery? When I asked why, he explained that the company policy doesn't allow non-OEM batteries to be installed, and the warranty cannot be claimed through usual channels.

Well, there was some mild argument around this as it was clear that he wasn't the one making rules. I don't know about you guys, but this whole thing about the battery change and voiding warranty seems like a farce being pulled on customers like us.

I told the service advisor not to do the service if the warranty claim is not honored. I'd rather give my car to a private mechanic and void the warranty than let skoda make a sot out of me. After about a day, I was told that the warranty has been approved, and it's not the regular warranty as I had changed the battery - it was Skoda's goodwill warranty, and that I have to pay the labor for replacing the starter motor.

I had a Fiat for 6 years, and a Hyundai for 8 years - the 2 years of Skoda ownership is leaving a bitter taste already. So, when the customer care calls me up to ask, 'would you recommend skoda to your friends and family?' I say 'NO, never' even before the sentence is finished (and they don't bother to ask why anyways).

[Annibaddh]

Long post alert.

Originally Posted by Annibaddh

I so should not have posted this! In almost a cruel poetic fashion, the car let me down completely on my way to Lucknow. I was a 100 kms from LKO having done 470 odd. And the car judders and loses most of its power. Glo Plug starts blinking. This is nearly midnight and I wasn't able to find any help. So drove the car slowly (30-40 kmph) and reached. This is a March 2012 Vento. So I'm assuming this is the dreaded injectors. Oh well.

Would really appreciate referrals for decent Gangs on LKO, capable of managing a nasty VW.

Right then. I just wanted to update in case some of us are still pondering this question. I reached Lucknow safely and dropped my car at VW LKO for damage assessment. Lo and behold, their VCDS wasn't working. They initially told me it would arrive in 2 days from Kanpur (the entire workshop was backed full of cars, must be more than 200!). The car stayed there for 5 days, when I gave up. Lucknow is not a city I'm familiar with so here was a proper conundrum. I realized I'd have to rely on my own peripheral understanding of the car and its mechanicals and read as much as possible to make up for the rest. I reached out to Go Mechanic who referred me to a local partner. The guy turned out to be an experienced mechanic with experience of working in Dubai. I stayed with him through the scanning process (they had the necessary equipment) and as he checked pressure in each of the cylinders. VCDS threw up Injector 4 as the culprit. A diesel expert was called in (Adil bhai turned out to be careful, knowledgeable and experienced). I was most fascinated to watch his process of diagnosing the car and going through detailed and deliberate steps. None of the injectors were jammed. In fact, the nozzle of one and casing of another (injector 2) had cracked!

The car had Continental injectors. Adil carefully checked rest of the cylinder for any signs of damage and performed multiple scans (this part I did not really understand, as he went through multiple software to check the integrity of cylinders, health of injectors, pressure, tuning and so on). He confirmed there was no lasting damage to any other part, but the injectors were beyond repair. Unfortunately there was no new replacement available either, the fastest availability for one being 12-14 days away. Now here i was stuck in another city with no recourse. Adil bhai to rescue. He reached out to multiple of his connections and we spent the next day walking through Lal Bagh, Lucknow from store to store looking at possible solutions. The best we come up with was 2 refurbished (Continental) injectors, which Adil again took into his workshop, to put through his rigorous scanning process. Over the rest of the day, the injectors were declared worthy and healthy and fitted into car, tuned.


The car was delivered on the 3rd day. By now I had done extensive reading on what to look for: I spent another 3 hrs putting it through rigorous drive. I let the car idle for a long while and checked for overheating. I also checked for any flat spots upto 2500 RPM while idling. Then I checked acceleration and deceleration, at different RPMs, gears, kind of roads, traffic etc. I checked for residual vibrations in the engine bay or cabin in completely silent spots. And flat spots in power delivery. The scans all obviously came out normal. The final thing to check was mileage. Ideally mileage should have significantly improved since tuning and correctly working injectors should burn fuel much more efficiently.

Over the next day, I spent another full morning and evening on the road putting the car through its rigors again. And then finally took the plunge - drove back to Jaipur on Sunday morning. Here's the summary: The mileage of the car has VASTLY improved (it delivered 25 KMPL, which had over my last 3 trips had been 18ish). Power delivery is as good as before. The car did not overheat or throw any other tantrums. My car is Mumbai registered so the idea is possibly exchange it / sell it once back in Mumbai. It'll hurt and I'm loathe to give it up. But such is life. :mad

ps. Mods do repost this in the right forum if not relevant here. I just continued on the old post on the forum.

[ghatotkatch]

Didn't vote. Didn't want to vote YES, because I already have two of the infamous ones (one with a 4+ yrs old DSG, out of warranty, and another a european CKD with expensive parts). And couldn't get myself to vote NO, since the cars are stunning from all perspectives - driving dynamics, safety, excellent cabin quality, understated but polished looks, strong build, did I say handling and dynamics?

Together both my cars have run about 40k in last 2 years - polo DSG in daily office runs, and jetta in the occasional highway runs.

I have done a 6000 km Gujarat road trip in the Jetta, with family, over 2 weeks (to and from Bangalore). Apart from a new continental tire getting ripped off on one of the bad roads in Gujarat, there wasn't a single issue all through the trip. There have been numerous smaller trips to Keral, Pondy, Tamilanadu, Shimogga, the Nilgiris and many other ghats and coasts in the Jetta. No trouble, runs solid, and as good as new, for a 7-8 year old car.

With Polo too, the DSG is just extra-ordinary when it comes to driving with one, especially in the Bangalore traffic. Or on those occasions when you want to rip it - so as to run away quickly from a moving traffic island behind a slow moving truck. I bought a manual Jetta to avoid a DSG, but now having driven the Polo with a DSG for a long time, I don't know what could replace it (apart from may be a 330i with the ZF ).

Having said that, I still think most of the criticism in this thread is fair. For anyone considering buying a pre-owned VAG/Skoda car, a few factors do need to be considered -

1. Avoid - if you are going to rely on after sales. Especially in a city like Bangalore. Most of them are crooks, no matter which dealer you go to. SA from one of the reputed dealers in Bangalore "recommended" me to buy battery from outside, rather than replacing it in-house, even though the diagnostic system recommended replacement. Later it turned out they do that so that they don't have to honour DSG warranty claims! Apparently, externally replaced battery is used as a reason to deny warranty!

2. Avoid - if you don't have access to a very reliable and trustable garage. I have had bad experiences with private garages as well, who like to pose as "trustable" but subtly take people for a ride. I have reviewed one such elsewhere on this forum.

3. Avoid - if you don't know how to or aren't willing to learn/DIY the regular service of your car. Most of the VAG cars usually require just a general consumable replacement as a service. If you know how to do that, those 12-16k service bills can be reduced by at least 50% (mostly much more). [Note: This is applicable for out of warranty pre-owned cars.]. Even otherwise, general understanding of various sub-systems, and ability to troubleshoot basic stuff, goes a long way in detecting bluffs and figuring out if a mechanic/garage is credible enough to be trusted with the work.

4. Avoid - if you aren't/don't-want-to-be prepared financially for an unfortunate expensive repair. Chances of these are usually low, and mostly depend upon how one maintains the car; but going by the reports, luck too may play a part in case of these cars.

If one has the above points sorted out, I think a pre-owned VAG car experience will work out just fine. After all, it's a win some lose some. It's because of these troubles themselves, pre-owned VAG cars are where some of the better VFM deals can be found, compared to a "perception-priced" (i.e. almost always overpriced) Japanese or Korean pre-owned car.

[andafunda]

Originally Posted by Annibaddh

Long post alert.
In fact, the nozzle of one and casing of another (injector 2) had cracked!

Oh my God, this reminds me of the time when one of the injectors gave up on me on the Western Express Highway peak hour rush in Mumbai. I was almost traumatized with my car not being able to move faster than 20 kmph, especially on the flyovers, with other cars honking continously at me.

This was in Jan 2020, after my warranty had expired. Probably the only honest guy at Autobahn (who i had gotten to know well) told me to get it checked / replaced at a diesel repair shop as Skoda will milk me for replacement. Sure enough, the thing was checked and repaired within 3000 rupees. Interestingly when I called the Bosch repair shop he first asked me if I had a Skoda Rapid and promptly told me they don't do work on Continental injectors.

It is shocking that people have been facing the same issues since 2011. Watch this experienced Aussie reviewer John Cadogan talk about VAG and DSG. You'll realize how little they care. After all it is the same company that thought it is cool to kill hundreds of thousands of people to sell more cars by faking emissions data.

[arindambasu13]

Voted for No.

The only Vento variant which appealed to me was the TSI +DSG combination, and buying that variant used is a strict no-no for me, given the reliability concerns of the DSG box and the generally pathetic after sales experience that friends have faced in a VW ownership.

The Rapid looks good, but till the new 1 liter TSI came into the Indian market, its engines have been unappealing to me, so buying it used is also a non starter for me.

[2TR-FE]

I have just purchased a 2019 VW Vento TDI DSG Highline Plus with 15k kilometers on the odometer.
As of now, I am quite satisfied with my purchase due to the following reasons:
1- We needed an automatic transmission with either torque convertor or DCT.
2- VAG group, Toyota, and Honda were the only brands to choose from.
3- Budget was 8-12L.
4- Fuel economy must be above 15 KMPL in city and above 20KMPL on highways respectively.
6- Like GTO, we were looking for examples that were 1-3 years old.

After a search of two months, found this on OLX and closed the deal for 11L. I admit it's expensive but our strict criteria made us pay a hefty premium.

Note to Mods: Please inform me of any mistakes. This is my first post on the forum.

[pocketaces]

I'm planning to buy this Rapid. It has run 62,193 Kms already, but the condition is quite good. It also comes with a 1-year warranty from Spinny, and the standard warranty is valid until July 2022. I'm planning to use it for not more than 18 months, and they have a buy-back guarantee of up to 18 months. I was hoping to buy Skoda Kushaq and bit disappointed with their AT offerings and thought of waiting for updated variants (Monte Carlo maybe?) / initial niggles to be fixed. Any suggestion would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

[indiradhanush]

Dear BHPians, I'm not sure if this is the right forum to pose this question...but here goes nevertheless.

I'm looking at a pre-owned VW Vento (2014, Comfortline Diesel) with 42k on the Odo (location: Mumbai). It is a single owner vehicle & the asking price is 3.75L. I've hear a lot....A LOT (very largely negative) about the service costs, etc. of VW. I'm a very sedate driver (no harsh revving and suchlike) and will probably not run the vehicle more than 200kms a week. While I know that that kind of usage doesn't warrant a diesel, I love the sound and feel of diesels (I used to drive a friend's Tata Zest with the Fiat Multijet 1.3...but that is very easy on the pocket). This being my first car, I wanted to ask fellow BHPians on their opinion. (P.S: I had booked a Maruti CNG earlier...but just wasn't convinced with the rather fragile build quality). Looking forward to an early response so I can get back to the gentleman selling the vehicle. Sincere Thanks.

[ash22]

Upgrade story :

We have 2007 Alto completed 1.2 Lakhs kms which have been reliable and city-friendly. With occasional highway trips popping up, we were in need of a safe/spacious diesel car.

Options considered :


Keeping budget till 10 Lakhs, Only Altroz XM+ Diesel was coming in our budget and we need to stretch our budget a couple of more lakhs for venue/Sonet/Nexon.

Post multiple test drives and rounds of family discussions, We settled for Altroz XZ diesel and booked the car om December 2021.

We were planning for 5 Lakhs downpayment and another 6 Lakhs of Loan.

Inspiration for a used car :


My friend bought a 2011 Jetta 2.0 Diesel DSG (1.1 Lakh kms done during the purchase) for 3 Lakhs and spent around 1 Lakh INR in running repairs/complete restoration and all mechanical works in German Motor works Chennai. Post which was the Jetta was taken out for all their highway runs. To a surprise, Jetta completed 25k km in a year which includes multiple Chennai-Goa / Chennai-Mumbai / Chennai-Banglore runs.
Just surprised to see a decade-old german car running like a workhorse.


Wildcard entry :


Was casually browsing OLX/Cars24 etc on a Sunday afternoon, Came across a 2014 End Rapid 1.6 for 4.6 Lakhs (With a dealer). Just shared the ad with my friend who owns the Jetta. He immediately asked me to take a look, With so many Skoda horror stories and expensive repairs running in my mind, Just went for a casual test drive. Since it was a 7-year-old german car, Was expecting rattles/oil leaks etc.

Just one test drive that changed the perspective :

Rapid was washed and was standing in the parking bay. This was the first look of the car.




The paint quality was excellent with all factory finish. No dents/repaint was done.The outlook was neat which gave a good impression.

Driving impression :


As soon as I slot the key and with half crank, the diesel mill powered up. The engine noise was minimal in idling and not much rough/misfires. No Christmas lights in the dashboard console. This is a positive sign and took the car from the parking and went directly to the nearest bunk and filled 5 liters of diesel.
As soon as I started the car, I was ready for a long test drive.

The car felt like home within a few minutes and the seating posture etc was comfortable. Had a drive from MRC Nagar to ECR Akkarai a total of 35 km. The MID was showing an average of 19kmpl. The power on tap was enormous. Didn't feel like a 70k kms completed car.

Rapid felt solid/safe and was confident enough to overtake with ease. The 1.6 diesel engine is such a gem. Handling and braking were sharp and as expected. Didn't express any of these to that dealer, Left the car to the dealer, and came back home informing the dealer that will get back later.

Final call :

A round of discussions happened the next day within our family with so much of opposition for a used car and that too a used Skoda. Being our family cars were from the Maruti stable (Zen to Alto).

Somehow this Rapid was in my mind and was not able to sleep properly that night. With the known Injector issues/ABS failures/hard clutch/water pump failures at 70k kms, I was not mentally prepared to take a used Skoda.

Did some finance allocation and a quick comparison between the booked Altroz and this Rapid.

1. No Car loan since this rapid comes within our cash budget of 5 lakh.
2. Diesel BS6 DPF issues etc,
3. If Reliability is a major line, Even some new TATA Altroz had oil leaks reported in our forums too.

The next day morning, Went to the dealer again and took another test drive. This time, my wife was with me in the drive. She liked the car, Rear seating was comfortable with rear AC Vents and it was a green signal from her.

Delivery day

No much drama, Post negotiations with the dealer, We settled for a price. Did a quick PDI, checked papers, transferred the amount to the dealer, and took the Rapid.





Rapid Service

From the dealer, Went directly to German Motor Works for the checkup. Did a complete round of checks and below works was suggested.

All fluids flushed and replaced, Filters replaced,
Timing kit, Water pump, Belts replaced
Ac serviced and AC blower motor replaced.
Tyres and Battery was a year old and didn't need a replacement.


Total cost from pocket

2014 Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDI Elegance (70,000 kms) - 3,90,000
Insurance - 14,000
Paper works (Name transfer) - 2,000
New Key case - 1,000
Service (Parts + Labour) - 47,000
Jopatsu & other basic cleaning kits - 1,000

Total of 4,55,000


Take away

-We completed 1500 km to date post service and the drive has been cheerful and blissful.
-With the 4.55 Lakhs on the road for Rapid, I can't even get a new Alto 800 in 2022.
-German cars when maintained well, Will serve well.
-Yes, Spares are not cheap and it is 20% to 40% costly over the competitors. I was aware of this and mentally prepared.
- I was prepared to keep a buffer of 1 lakh cash for Rapid's spares and service.
-Find a competent FNG and you can never say a German car is unreliable.

Signing off with a few pictures,

[ajaykp]

Originally Posted by ash22

Take away

-We completed 1500 km to date post service and the drive has been cheerful and blissful.
-With the 4.55 Lakhs on the road for Rapid, I can't even get a new Alto 800 in 2022.
-German cars when maintained well, Will serve well.
-Yes, Spares are not cheap and it is 20% to 40% costly over the competitors. I was aware of this and mentally prepared.
- I was prepared to keep a buffer of 1 lakh cash for Rapid's spares and service.
-Find a competent FNG and you can never say a German car is unreliable.

Thanks for the positive view on this topic, since I am also trying to get hold of a 4 year old Rapid 1.6 MPI AT, upgrading from a swift Vdi MT, although I will be keeping both for 1-2 years considering the low reliability issues. The objective is to get an automatic transmission and to get the feel of Skoda with the used vehicle before plunging into a new vehicle with lot of money at stake.


The vehicle is just 2 months post warranty and run 43000 kms. looks are really good but the asking price for 2017 end Ambition 1.6MPI petrol model is about 7 lacs. just worried about it resale value after another 2/3 years. what I understand is that the 1.6 MPI petrol is not having performance that will appeal to enthusiasts. Any guidance from the experts on this topic will be helpful.

Note: I have read all the responses from this thread but still want to try my luck with some buffer amount for any exigencies.

Thank you in advance

[ash22]

The vehicle is just 2 months post warranty and run 43000 kms. looks are really good but the asking price for 2017 end Ambition 1.6MPI petrol model is about 7 lacs. just worried about it resale value after another 2/3 years. what I understand is that the 1.6 MPI petrol is not having performance that will appeal to enthusiasts. Any guidance from the experts on this topic will be helpful.

My personal suggestion,
Skoda Rapid 1.6MPI is not a fun to drive car like TSI or TDI.
Spending 7 Lakh for used Skoda and selling it off in 2-3 years will be a hit in your pocket.
Prefer to avoid it.

Keep your budget to around 3-4 Lakhs for Skoda Rapid 1.6 MPI,
There are lot of Rapid 1.6 MPI in the market in that budget and can maintain in trusted FNG.
With this, The depreciation hit is already beard by the previous owner.
Even after two years if you sell it off, There will be a minimal loss of around a Lakh at max.

If you have budget of 7 Lakhs for a used petrol car, Then I would advise for Ciaz/City in which you can get latest model and resale wont be an issue.

[Shanksta]

Originally Posted by ash22

Upgrade story :

Post multiple test drives and rounds of family discussions, We settled for Altroz XZ diesel and booked the car om December 2021.

We were planning for 5 Lakhs downpayment and another 6 Lakhs of Loan.

Great choice ! Congratulations and wish you loads of (s)miles with the new car.

I too bought a used 70k run Fiat Punto(2011) as my first car and similarly got preventive maintenance done. The car ran perfectly well for the 10k kms I used it before the upgrade car bug bit me due to the pandemic. Kudos to getting all the preventive maintenance done, this will definitely ensure you have only good experiences with the car.

P.S. You seem to live in and around my area.