[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

@Shankar, that is indeed bad luck! but good that you were in control over your emotion and things didn't get out of control. Sometimes, you just need to let it go and make peace. I hope the bigfoot gets fixed soon.

Looks like whenever these things happen, I am the one having to let go, make peace and remain out of pocket...

For no fault of mine. Thats what rankles. Apart from the poor vehicle and its damages of course.

[wilful]

Sorry to learn about your accident (minor thankfully). Bad scene! Folks like that VW chappie are common on our roads. They create all the problems and use filthy language and aggression to get away. And I can imagine this rankling because it aways happens to defensive drivers like us while those who drive recklessly go scot free.
Hope the damages on the purse are light.

[shankar.balan]

Been travelling out of the country this last one week. Came back today.
Heart lurched when I saw the dent on my Yeti though it is a minor dent.

But I have to wait till the Trend Auto boys come back from their holidays and help fix it for me.
Till then I must be patient and not react.

After a trip abroad, as always, I feel a terrible sense of desolation when I return to these bad potholed roads and lousy traffic manners and the horrible people using the public roads.

What to do? Got to accept it and just exist in this place I guess.

[shankar.balan]

I was at TREND yesterday for an hour and a half, getting Dinesh to remove the little dent on my wheel arch, caused by the evil biker a couple of weeks ago.

Dinesh is really a nice guy. As soon as he got back from his holidays, which was on Thursday, he rang me and reminded me that he was back. So I fixed up with him for a Saturday morning visit.

My car was taken in at 945 and I got it out at 1045. As good as new pretty much and a nice price too for the job.

Hope that I don't have to visit Trend for more work on my poor Yeti in the future. The only reason I want to have to visit them is just as a friend dropping by to share a cup of tea and shoot the breeze, or while possibly introducing some other poor soul in need of their help, to them.

As usual, Dinesh, Sathish, Anish and team have come up trumps and I thank them for that.

[shankar.balan]

Almost Three Years into Yeti ownership, next month, my Insurance renewal will fall due and over and above this I will be renewing the "Zero Dep" policy as well.
Next, in Dec, it will be time for the Yeti's Third Service which I am waiting to do!
Perhaps, I might even advance this to early/mid-November itself so as to benefit even sooner, from the excellent smoothness and driving pleasure that a freshly serviced vehicle gives one!
Thing is, the service intervals are 15000kms OR 1 year, whichever comes earlier. In my case, I am absolutely unable to clock more than maybe 6000-7000 kms in a year, because of various reasons.
I guess, this means, if all goes well, I would actually in all probability, be keeping my Yeti for a lot longer than the normal duration that I keep a car for, which is about 3 to 4 years time.
I don't mind at all, because it is the perfect vehicle for my needs.

[shankar.balan]

Discovered a small dent on my rear hatch door today. Clearly some infidel has bashed into my Yeti while it was parked. Or it could have been a stray ball thrown by some kids Or it could even be by virtue of some hydrogen bomb type cracker which may have hurtled onto the rear door with force after exploding.

I am sad that this has happened, but there is absolutely nothing I can do.
I guess it is back to dear old Trend Auto now, for a quick fix job of this dent, to keep my car looking and feeling brand new.

It is very disheartening to have this kind of thing happen to a prized possession and I guess the only thing to do is not worry too much because one after all, lives in this country where such things are more the rule than the exception. What a mess!

[shankar.balan]

Got the Yeti repaired.
Here are the before and after pics.

The Trend Auto guys, Dinesh and team have as usual done a great job but I guess it will never be perfect 100% once something is dented and repaired.

[shankar.balan]

So its that time of the year again.
A complete list of work has been made and shared and the Yeti will go away tomorrow for its 3rd Annual Service Job.
Hopefully it will come back on Wed/Thurs as smooth as butter!
The Insurance is also due and I shall be renewing the normal comprehensive Insurance and the Zero Depreciation Policy as well.
The only thing is that I have hardly done any mileage at all since I bought the vehicle. Barely touching 27000Kms and the vehicle feels as good as new in many ways.
I do hope I get to keep it for a long time to come, because there is absolutely no other car available in our market, that suits my current needs, the way the Yeti does.

[shankar.balan]

So the Yeti is back after its 3rd annual service.
All in good order. Nice and shiny.
Each time I look at it, I feel good about my decision to buy it!

Cost 15K all inclusive. Painless process of pickup, cleanup, servicing and delivery.
Vinayak Skoda service does look after me and for that, I am happy.

[shankar.balan]

Some of the parts that they changed as per routine service.
All filters.
Engine Oil - luckily I always specify the right sort of oil and these guys comply with it.
VW507 is the correct grade. An oil change involves 4.5 litres of this oil.
Else, the vehicle is smooth as butter.

[Akshay1234]

How much did they charge you for the oil? The last service luckily my dealer refused to get it, and I bought it from outside. While the dealer would sell it at mrp, I got it for 900 bucks a litre. Good savings if you ask me.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

How much did they charge you for the oil? The last service luckily my dealer refused to get it, and I bought it from outside. While the dealer would sell it at mrp, I got it for 900 bucks a litre. Good savings if you ask me.

Around 5Grand for 4.5 litres - give or take.
This Skoda Yeti costs me around 15K a pop for its annual service.
This works out to Rs 1250 per month.
I am not complaining at all about the cost.
Indeed, I used to spend a reasonable amount MORE on looking after my Blessed Scorpio!

[shankar.balan]

My Skoda Yeti's OEM "VARTA" Battery died last week at the ripe age of 4 years and 1 month.

Luckily it was right at home that the car refused to start in the morning so I just hopped in an auto and buzzed off to work.

(3 years and 8 months in my hands but calculated since the car was manufactured in May 2011)

I asked the Vinayak Skoda chaps for a new Varta but they said that they didn't have it in stock and offered me an Amaron instead.
They also said that the Varta comes with only a 1.5 year warranty but the Amaron comes with a 5 year warranty.

Upon confirmation they came over to my home and fitted it up, tested it and went off.

Approximately 10K give or take a bit here and there - Rs 500 credit for the old battery.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I asked the Vinayak Skoda chaps for a new Varta but they said that they didn't have it in stock and offered me an Amaron instead.
They also said that the Varta comes with only a 1.5 year warranty but the Amaron comes with a 5 year warranty.

Upon confirmation they came over to my home and fitted it up, tested it and went off.

Approximately 10K give or take a bit here and there - Rs 500 credit for the old battery.

Ouch, I paid Rs 5500 to Batterybhai who fitted an Amaron with a 4 year warranty, Our cars have the same engine

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Approximately 10K give or take a bit here and there - Rs 500 credit for the old battery.

I too paid some 6k odd, ordered from batterybhai. And the amperage on the newer battery was a bit more than earlier too.