[rajivn]

Skoda obviously out. VW is a nice car. What build quality. Built like tank.
I used to think, Jetta shud be the next diesel in family. But Cruze changed everything man. I will pick Cruze LTZ despite GM tag. Infact, GM is gaining respect in my eyes after Cruze pricing and supposed Beat launch in few months.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

Laura is a Skoda. That simple fact is good enough for me to remove it from consideration altogether.

Just for your prespective, yes skoda may have worse (though in larger numbers) service centres.

But the parts in the Jetta and skoda are identical with identical reliability. (referring to the engine, suspension, and electricals.). Made is the same place and infact can be fitted interchangeably between VW, Audi & skoda. So if that were a factor i would strike out Jetta as well.

[SkyWalker]

Originally Posted by ACM

But the parts in the Jetta and skoda are identical with identical reliability. (referring to the engine, suspension, and electricals.). Made is the same place and infact can be fitted interchangeably between VW, Audi & skoda. So if that were a factor i would strike out Jetta as well.

ACM, you are missing the point. I never said Laura is a bad car. I know that there's a lot in common with the Laura and Jetta - and its owned by the same parent company. In fact i would have loved to have the Laura TSI as my next car for its brilliant performance.

So why would i never buy a Skoda? Just look around ownership (and the breakdown) threads around TBHP and you have your answer. This would be the last brand i ever buy in India.

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by ACM

.. Made in the same place ...

Laura kits are made in Boleslav, Czech while the Jetta kits come from Mexico

[ACM]

Originally Posted by diffsoft

Laura kits are made in Boleslav, Czech while the Jetta kits come from Mexico

The Flywheel, Brake Pads, Wipers, Axel Bearings & Boots, - original replacements in my Laura all came from different countries in Europe - none of them Czech cities, all of these had VW, Skoda, Audi & Seat logos. (VW group companies) There is a VW parts bin (as it is commonly referred to) from which all the 4 manufacturers pick up parts to make a car. Original deisgn in each case is normally of VW or Audi.

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

So why would i never buy a Skoda? Just look around ownership (and the breakdown) threads around TBHP and you have your answer. This would be the last brand i ever buy in India.

Have you owned a skoda? I have? Have I had problems? Yes, Was the service bad? NO. Was the maintenance too heavy for a 19L on road Car? NO. I too have already read all the threads about skoda service, and lets not make this one another one on the same topic. Yes one of those horror stories could happen to us as well, but the major dealer Nummer eines is no longer their dealer due to things that they did, Roadworx is clearly mentioned as not being their authorised service outlet on their site, and many of the earlier employees of Skoda have lost their jobs, besides, warranty on parts has been increased to 2 years and service interval increased to 15,000. Cost of some parts have come down.

So just running some old and some continuing stories (harish and co) on and on for future debates does not make sense.

The features of the Laura, drive, build (body strength), looks etc are just not matched by the other two options provided.

[srikanths1]

@ACM

I havent owned a skoda, in fact the family moved away from it after the T-BHP stories (i told them) to consider the Jetta (which now am in doubt of cause of the overall problems VW group seem to have)...

I was as skeptic as you, a couple of guys pouring their hearts down on bad cars, but look around, its just not a couple of guys anymore. The list just seems to be growing specially the complete breakdown of the Superb seems quiet horrifying. We had one new poor soul yesterday with a faulty superb. One might argue that a lot of Skoda owners with bad cars are finding their way into the forum. But that only says more.. You have some sizable number of pathetic cars out there. I wouldnt want to spend 15+L and run around when something bad happens. As i mentioned in the other post, bad dealership or bad car, its Skoda's problem to handle both. I shell out my money and i like to have a peace of mind & the solution - Steer clear of Skoda. PS - Its strictly my personal opinion and one that i strongly advice to my family. I know it "can" happen with a Jap or Yankee car... but the odds seem to be in favor of them.

[SkyWalker]

Originally Posted by ACM

Have you owned a skoda? I have? Have I had problems? Yes, Was the service bad? NO. Was the maintenance too heavy for a 19L on road Car? NO.

dude, i don't have to consume cyanide to confirm i will die if i do . You might have had good experiences, there are lots of horror stories in this forum itself.

Originally Posted by ACM

So just running some old and some continuing stories (harish and co) on and on for future debates does not make sense.

old horror stories? wake up and smell some coffee!

here's one posted yesterday
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...down-help.html

Here's one this Oct itself
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...g-machine.html

so unless your definition of old is "2 hours back", these are quite recent ones.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

wake up and drink some coffee!

so unless your definition of old is "2 hours back", these are quite recent ones.

Sep, Oct also saw a 3 issues getting resolved of which a couple were replacements with new car / refund of money. Do we get such a resolution from another vendor. Yep you would reply that other vendors dont get into such a mess, but they do. Lets leave it at that.

All I am saying is that there are enough threads about skoda service and decision to be made on account of that. Even I did clearly mention that skoda service is an issue that needs to be considered. But to derate/ reject a car purely on service from 3 service outlets nationwide would not be appropriate.

[SkyWalker]

@ACM: lets chill. I do not think enough is done, and if you check the first thread in my link you will be appalled at the way they handled it.

But lets not argue here and respect each others view point. Let the discussions continue.

[freewheelburnin]

All cars are machines and machines and are prone to mechanical issues.A car is a total package which includes the equipment and it's support.But at the end of the day if the manufacturer washes his hands off the responsibility of supporting the car and shows attitude reminiscent of the British Raj, why should we recommend these cars to anyone?Let Skoda first change their attitude.Not only Skoda, for that matter any manufacturer should be criticized for such bad attitude.If we support them, in return they will take us for granted and keep selling us inferior parts and Bad A.S.S.Skoda if you are reading this please change your attitude and remember that you are not selling SODA.We have respect for some of your cars.But if we start hearing horror stories, we will all stop buying your products.

[issigonis]

I thnk its important for the potential buyer to arrive at a decision on his/her own, by giving due weightage to his/her priorities.

My points are, speaking for myself :

I took the decision to buy a car in May after some research. I wanted a comfortable, reliable, rugged and fast car and despite waiting for the Laura RS for about two years knew full well that on Indian roads all that power won't translate into a superior driving experience at alltimes : most likely I'll be in bumper to bumper traffic on our horrible roads at maybe 20 kmph.

I also wanted a car which would notdraw attention to itself.

I chose the Jetta ( you can read my thread on my acquisition by searching for Jetta) TDI for all of the reasons, as cited above, plus then some.

I ignored Skoda despite the parts sharing with VW because I sensed that their benchmarks for quality would be slightly better than those for the Skoda.
I didn't like GM products because of their 'in your face' design. I wasn't comfortable about GM's future either at that point in time ( Today the newspapers say China's SAIC might buy into GM India- I will scram surely).

I did not give too high a weightage on 'features' as for me ride, handling,tank like build quality, rear seat comfort, not to mention driver's seat comfort and high speed stability, were more important than ICE features or gizmos.

Based on my limited experience with the Jetta so far,I will most likely stay loyal to the brand and possibly consider the Passat CC as and when its introduced. If the gods favour me and make me a millionaire somehow, then I may consider an Audi or something like that...

At the end of the day, to each his own.

P.S. :
1.I was impressed by the Fiesta 1.6S, but couldn't stomach its limited rear room and its fixed rear headsets. Had these been addressed satisfactorily, I might have been a proud Fiesta owner and saved some very valuable cash too!
2. I find the peak torque of 250 Nm at about 1800 revs in the 1.9 litre TDI (PD) engine more than adequate; the clatter of the diesel is heard when you open the doors or floor the throttle. I am not sure that VW will replace the PD engine as of early 2010.


Regards

[MurtazaGhiya]

Originally Posted by issigonis

I thnk its important for the potential buyer to arrive at a decision on his/her own, by giving due weightage to his/her priorities.

My points are, speaking for myself :

I took the decision to buy a car in May after some research. I wanted a comfortable, reliable, rugged and fast car and despite waiting for the Laura RS for about two years knew full well that on Indian roads all that power won't translate into a superior driving experience at alltimes : most likely I'll be in bumper to bumper traffic on our horrible roads at maybe 20 kmph.

I also wanted a car which would notdraw attention to itself.

I chose the Jetta ( you can read my thread on my acquisition by searching for Jetta) TDI for all of the reasons, as cited above, plus then some.

I ignored Skoda despite the parts sharing with VW because I sensed that their benchmarks for quality would be slightly better than those for the Skoda.
I didn't like GM products because of their 'in your face' design. I wasn't comfortable about GM's future either at that point in time ( Today the newspapers say China's SAIC might buy into GM India- I will scram surely).

I did not give too high a weightage on 'features' as for me ride, handling,tank like build quality, rear seat comfort, not to mention driver's seat comfort and high speed stability, were more important than ICE features or gizmos.

Based on my limited experience with the Jetta so far,I will most likely stay loyal to the brand and possibly consider the Passat CC as and when its introduced. If the gods favour me and make me a millionaire somehow, then I may consider an Audi or something like that...

At the end of the day, to each his own.

P.S. :
1.I was impressed by the Fiesta 1.6S, but couldn't stomach its limited rear room and its fixed rear headsets. Had these been addressed satisfactorily, I might have been a proud Fiesta owner and saved some very valuable cash too!
2. I find the peak torque of 250 Nm at about 1800 revs in the 1.9 litre TDI (PD) engine more than adequate; the clatter of the diesel is heard when you open the doors or floor the throttle. I am not sure that VW will replace the PD engine as of early 2010.


Regards

If you bought a Jetta, you're already a millionaire

[ACM]

We indians kind off earn less money compared to our equivalents in US and our cars cost about 80% more than theirs, also the fuel costs that much more. It's an inverse situation of more getting less, and costing more when there is less to start off.

The career profile of a guy in india picking up a corolla would normally exceed that of a guy picking up a camry in the US. Issgonis you are already a millionair in my books after picking up a jetta in India.

The guys who would pick up a cruz, laura or jetta out here in India would be well placed executives doing well in their companies or people with medium sized business that they own.

Of course there are others.

[aerohit]

Originally Posted by ACM

We indians kind off earn less money compared to our equivalents in US and our cars cost about 80% more than theirs, also the fuel costs that much more. It's an inverse situation of more getting less, and costing more when there is less to start off.

The career profile of a guy in india picking up a corolla would normally exceed that of a guy picking up a camry in the US. Issgonis you are already a millionair in my books after picking up a jetta in India.

The guys who would pick up a cruz, laura or jetta out here in India would be well placed executives doing well in their companies or people with medium sized business that they own.

Of course there are others.

That is because almost all middle class in the US buy expensive cars on Credit. A very long credit. They do not have savings to buy a brand new luxury car. Sometimes they buy what they cannot even afford!
So, a 21 year old may be driving a BMW in the US, but doesnt necessarily proves his worth. Bad Economics - as you may be aware of the ongoing crisis (over there, not here).

In comparison, Indians typically only borrow loan for 50% of the price of the car, and tend to pay off the loan as soon as possible. This is not the case over there, they even buy cars on lease, which in my opinion is a waste of resources. I have seen a LOT of fancy cars getting towed away right outside the owners house in the US! What a joke!

Good that the Oil is likely to be priced in Basket of Currencies, rather than just USD, in future
Why did it took the world to realize that Dollar is not our currency, it is their currency!

I would say try to pick a better role model instead, or just be your own role model (like China). I dont know why Indians only compare themselves with the US, what about the rest of the civilized world - may be it is the effect of cable TV brainwashing since the 90s.

[stanjohn123]

Does anyone know about the current A.S.S of chevy...If that is as bad as Skoda's ,I think there is no point in them having such a good vehicle