[raghavv]

Called the Tafe Access guys for a test drive today. Car drives as good as it ever did but interiors have become pathetic. All fabric is pretty cheap quality and ugly looking central console. To make the matter worse, price is higher than the base Civic.

[siddartha]

Originally Posted by raghavv

Called the Tafe Access guys for a test drive today. Car drives as good as it ever did but interiors have become pathetic. All fabric is pretty cheap quality and ugly looking central console. To make the matter worse, price is higher than the base Civic.

the price of the 1.8tpi is too high , and its definitely not worth picking up a new one ,, so the best thing to do is to get a used rs

[manveet]

Originally Posted by siddartha

the price of the 1.8tpi is too high , and its definitely not worth picking up a new one ,, so the best thing to do is to get a used rs

1.8TPi was 11.17 On Road Delhi and has now been reduced to 10.92 after the 4% deduction in tax. Apart from the 3 years free service, I've heard a 30-35k discount is negotiable.

Alternately, you could wait till 5-6th Jan'09, that is when there will be a bigger discount on Dec '08 TPi's.

Edit:

Just a thought,

10.5L > 1.8TPi
50K > 17" alloys and tires
35K > Stanley Leather upholstery
20K > simple body-kit
35k > Webasto Sunroof
5K > HID's

So, in less that 12L, you've got a better looking car than the vRS.

[Bomi]

Originally Posted by manveet

So, in less that 12L, you've got a better looking car than the vRS.

Ummm...not really. The 1.8 TPi definitely does not come in the RS yellow colour. Not sure about the Red. The Skoda site shows its available in Red but don't know if its updated. And these 2 colours made the RS stand out.

[ImmortalZ]

5K for HIDs? Are you kidding me? The projector headlamps for the Octy are north of 1L a pair! If you are advocating HIDs in reflectors, shame on you.

Also, cutting your roof for an aftermarket sunroof will almost always end in tears.

[siddartha]

i agree with u , i broke my lh headlight and i paid 36k +9 k for the xenon bulb, also the rs comes with a lovely 3 spoke steering wheel , which u dont get on the rider, i had considered buying a 1.8tp1 and getting all these things done, but later i somehow felt it just wouldn beat the rs just the way it is

[manveet]

Originally Posted by Bomi

Ummm...not really. The 1.8 TPi definitely does not come in the RS yellow colour. Not sure about the Red. The Skoda site shows its available in Red but don't know if its updated. And these 2 colours made the RS stand out.

Add 40K for a custom paint job :P

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

5K for HIDs? Are you kidding me? The projector headlamps for the Octy are north of 1L a pair! If you are advocating HIDs in reflectors, shame on you.

HID in reflectors is not the ideal setup, I agree with you there.

But are there any after-market projector headlamps available for the Octavia? I'm not sure I've seen any. Eventually, it's a matter of weighing the pros against the cons.

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

Also, cutting your roof for an aftermarket sunroof will almost always end in tears.

I disagree. Is this hearsay or do you personally know anyone who has had a bad experience with Webasto. My understanding is that they are quite good and in fact the OE suppliers on many cars.

Originally Posted by siddartha

i agree with u , i broke my lh headlight and i paid 36k +9 k for the xenon bulb, also the rs comes with a lovely 3 spoke steering wheel , which u dont get on the rider, i had considered buying a 1.8tp1 and getting all these things done, but later i somehow felt it just wouldn beat the rs just the way it is

Thats true, if the RS were available now, even I would be facing a dilemma.

Here are the pro's and con's (IMO) of spending say 10.5 + 2 Lakhs on a TPi vs. a RS at about 14L (had it been available at this point in time)

Pro's for 1.8TPi :
- You get to choose your own alloys
- You get to choose your own tires
- You get to choose your own bodykit
- You get to choose your own leather color

Con's against 1.8TPi
- You don't get the smaller steering wheel
- You don't get the folding key
- You don't get the Climate Control
- You don't get the bucket seats (although aftermarket possibility exists here)

And, more importantly for me, the major NEGATIVE in buying a new RS
- Terrible resale for the OE alloys. I would hate to trade these in for Chinese/ Taiwanese make. At the same time, I absolutely cannot drive a car unless it is personalized to some extent. And new alloys and rubber is step one towards this end.
- I'd feel guilty spending on a body-kit since I paid a premium for the RS kit in the first place.


Edit:
Ideally, buy a 15,000kms driven pre-owned RS, if you can find it

[siddartha]

terrible resale for the o.e wheels? they are beautiful!! who would want to sell them ? i am dying for one extra set for my car ? lemme know pls,

[manveet]

I'm on the lookout for a good used vRS with less mileage. When (and if) I buy one, you can have the alloys

[Bomi]

[quote=manveet;1099957]

Add 40K for a custom paint job :P

And, more importantly for me, the major NEGATIVE in buying a new RS
- Terrible resale for the OE alloys. I would hate to trade these in for Chinese/ Taiwanese make.

Manveet, do not flog your view so much that you end up contradicting yourself. On one hand you are saying that the RS' biggest negative is terrible resal value of original alloys. On the other, you are recommending a custom paint job to convert the 1.8TPI into RS colours. Any paint job trashes the resale value of a car.

[ashish22]

manveet i know a source from where i can get those vRS headlamps for around 4K(not a typo), not sure about the xenon lamps though

[siddartha]

Originally Posted by ashish22

manveet i know a source from where i can get those vRS headlamps for around 4K(not a typo), not sure about the xenon lamps though

4k?, this surely needs some investigation

[shuvc]

True. Beats me why they discontinued the RS. It surely would have had more buyers than the TPi. How many TPi's sell nowadays?

Maybe they had plans to replace the 1.8petrols with the 1.4petrols - but the timing went awry and they weren't ready with the 1.4 when the RS was being phased out. Speculations, speculations.

Originally Posted by manveet

I'm on the lookout for a good used vRS with less mileage. When (and if) I buy one, you can have the alloys

This looks like a nice deal
Team-BHP Classifieds - Skoda Octavia vRS - Powered by PhotoPost Classifieds

[manveet]

Originally Posted by Bomi

Manveet, do not flog your view so much that you end up contradicting yourself. On one hand you are saying that the RS' biggest negative is terrible resal value of original alloys. On the other, you are recommending a custom paint job to convert the 1.8TPI into RS colours. Any paint job trashes the resale value of a car.

Bomi, do not be in such a hurry to reply that YOU end up contradicting yourself (see bold above) .. When did I EVER say that I seek resale value in a car?

I'll explain my opinion to you again, hope you understand:

I would like my car to have unique alloys. If I were to buy the vRS, it would mean selling the NEW high quality (and expensive) alloys of the RS for about 1/4th their value because buyer would compare them with the competition based only on design. So the overall money I would lose in the deal is equal to the premium I paid for the wheels and the money I lost in selling them. On the other hand, in a used RS this premium would be much less, so one doesn't mind selling the alloys at a lower cost.

To summarize, if one knows before they are buying the vRS that they would be changing the alloys and tires, and putting a bodykit, all in the short term - why pay the premium for a vRS?

Edit:
Obviously, our discussion is hypothetical as the vRS is not available now, so you kinda HAVE to buy the TPi if you want a new car.
And another thing I noticed, when did I say paint it to vRS color, I was think custom paintjob - like Orange or Grey or pearl White.

[Bomi]

Manveet, you may not seek resale value in a car for whatever reasons, but you suggested repainting a new 1.8 TPI and other mods to RAGHAVV on 19th Dec. who was debating whether to buy a 1.8TPi or not. Were you clairvoyant in knowing that he too did not care for resale value? If you advise someone, spell out the fine print. In my opinion, re-painting a new car for whatever reasons, trashes its resale value. The future buyer will almost always suspect its a cover-up for an accident.