[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by ajmat

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

Interestingly, battery bhai and batterywale have some confusion.

For the Yeti both sites are saying 74Ah battery which is around 8K. For the Jetta one site shows 74Ah and other shows 60Ah. The 60Ah is around 5K. Can you check how much Ah is mentioned in the manual?

I had the same confusion for my Altis. Online prices were less than 4K but of different rating. When I checked the battery in the car, it was of a higher rating than what online was recommending.

In anycase buying a battery from dealer is robbery. There's nothing extra dealer offers vs buying outside for the markup.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Interestingly, battery bhai and batterywale have some confusion.

For the Yeti both sites are saying 74Ah battery which is around 8K. For the Jetta one site shows 74Ah and other shows 60Ah. The 60Ah is around 5K. Can you check how much Ah is mentioned in the manual?

I had the same confusion for my Altis. Online prices were less than 4K but of different rating. When I checked the battery in the car, it was of a higher rating than what online was recommending.

In anycase buying a battery from dealer is robbery. There's nothing extra dealer offers vs buying outside for the markup.

I think 60 is correct, but they installed a larger one in my case, possibly the 74ah. The people who came to install it were unaware that it was larger than what was in the car, and tried to get me to pay more saying the exchange value would be less. Told them to take it up with batterybhai since I had a quote in my hand.

[shankar.balan]

I had checked with Exide in Koramangala (8th Main Road) - their price for a Skoda Sized Battery was 11250/-

Amaron pricing was marginally better - from the dealer because I did not go direct to Amaron or anywhere else, much preferring that their people come over home with the right tools etc, check the old battery, fit up the new one and do everything in a seamless manner.

[condor]

@Shankar, did you not check for the price of battery of that spec, outside ?

I normally just call one guy who comes with the specified battery, and gives a decent price too. Have done it 3 times so far. The only time I got a better price at the dealership was for the Ikon .. surprisingly for a Ford spare part.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I think 60 is correct, but they installed a larger one in my case, possibly the 74ah. The people who came to install it were unaware that it was larger than what was in the car, and tried to get me to pay more saying the exchange value would be less. Told them to take it up with batterybhai since I had a quote in my hand.

I checked, the Jetta is 60Ah and the Yeti is 74Ah ( may be due to the demands of the 4WD). Batterybhai offered 7400 + old battery. Still a significant saving

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I checked, the Jetta is 60Ah and the Yeti is 74Ah ( may be due to the demands of the 4WD). Batterybhai offered 7400 + old battery. Still a significant saving

Battery bhai lists the Yetis battery as larger than it actually is. The actual size is 60 or 61ah, whereas the site lists it as 74ah. That was where the confusion was when they installed it on my car. They were expecting a similar sized battery in exchange, and when they got the smaller one they asked for more money. I had to tell them to deal with batterybhai since I had not asked for an upgrade, and 74ah was the size listed for the Yeti on their website.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by condor

@Shankar, did you not check for the price of battery of that spec, outside ?

I normally just call one guy who comes with the specified battery, and gives a decent price too. Have done it 3 times so far. The only time I got a better price at the dealership was for the Ikon .. surprisingly for a Ford spare part.

Frankly I did not. Was more interested in getting the battery fixed asap and driving the car.
Yes I may have paid a bit more but I don't mind, because I get prompt, first class service from Vinayak.

[shankar.balan]

Quick Update on the Yeti and its 4th Service at 30250 Kms.

The Yeti's 4th Service was done over the last week when I was out of town.
They replaced the Haldex Clutch Fluid / oil completely - it took 900ml of Oil for this - cost about 4K.

I had asked about the Differential Oil and they mentioned it is not required - it is supposed to be changed only when the car hits 60K Kms. Saying that, as per the service schedule the car is supposed to be serviced every 15000kms or 1 year, whichever is earlier.

Now I have had this 4th year service done and technically, thought I ve only hit 30250kms, I am supposed to have hit 60K Kms as per the original service schedule. In this situation, I am wondering if I should anyway insist and get the Differential Oil changed. Any inputs on this will be most welcome indeed!

The rest of the servicing was done in full and I think the bill is about 23K though I haven't paid it as yet since the servers weren't working and I m yet to receive the bill itself.

While the actual servicing was only due in November end, I got it done 3 months early because my extended warranty is due to expire in November this year.

Some time ago (around 3 months back) I had noticed that the LED lights which provide back lighting illumination to the speedometer, had started fading on the right side of the speedo while the left side lights on the speedo were fine.

When the vehicle was serviced this time I asked them to check this.

It appears that the LED lights have indeed fused and therefore the right side of the Speedo is not as brightly lit as the left side. Apparently they cannot change the LED lights themselves but the whole instrument panel itself needs to be changed.

They have promised to do this under the Extended Warranty since otherwise it is likely to cost me around 38-40K!

It ought not to fail, but perhaps when my battery had died around 3 months ago, these lights might have failed when I cranked the engine a couple of times. Saying that, this part is also not readily in stock and has to be brought in from the Czech Republic.

I believe I shall have to wait for a couple of weeks or three, for the part to arrive and then they will take away the car again, fix this and bring it back.

The car had started "missing" occasionally when accelerating, almost as if the injectors were choked up. I got this also checked and apparently they have re-set/ re-calibrated the injectors now and this problem ought not to arise.

Other than this, they have changed all the filters, oil filter, pollen filter, air filter and fuel filter plus they've changed the brake fluid as well. This year they changed the Wiper blades too - this job has been done for the second time since purchase; once every 2 years or so.

Post expiry of the car's Extended Warranty, I am not sure what Im going to do, except for paying for the Zero Depreciation Insurance, which I am hoping will stand in, for the Extended Warranty in some measure.

Else, the car feels butter smooth post its 4th Service and I am looking forward to driving it about happily for the next year! The clutch is smooth and hasn't developed any quirks. Nor has the engine and the rest of the car including the brakes and lights/ electricals etc.

I hope to keep this car longer because I have hardly done 30250Kms in it from the date of purchase, over the last 4 years. Ideally I would like to keep it into the long term - at least 7 to 10 years because it is basically a strong and solid little car which gives me great pleasure and functionality.

The next thing that I wish to spend on, is a set of 4 good quality tyres to replace the OEM Goodyears. Since the Goodyears have a clean one year of life in them yet, and my running is very low, I shall be doing this only next year at around this time.

Cheers!

[sagpatel]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Some time ago (around 3 months back) I had noticed that the LED lights which provide back lighting illumination to the speedometer, had started fading on the right side of the speedo while the left side lights on the speedo were fine.

When the vehicle was serviced this time I asked them to check this.

It appears that the LED lights have indeed fused and therefore the right side of the Speedo is not as brightly lit as the left side. Apparently they cannot change the LED lights themselves but the whole instrument panel itself needs to be changed.

They have promised to do this under the Extended Warranty since otherwise it is likely to cost me around 38-40K!

Cheers!

I also have similar problem, they told me entire instrument cluster has to be changed as it cant be repaired . They don't have the part in stock as it costs almost 50k.
My car has completed 3 years and it will be replaced under extended warranty.
I think if anything goes wrong with the car after the warranty expires, it will be expensive to maintain the vehicle.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by sagpatel

I also have similar problem, they told me entire instrument cluster has to be changed as it cant be repaired . They don't have the part in stock as it costs almost 50k.
My car has completed 3 years and it will be replaced under extended warranty.
I think if anything goes wrong with the car after the warranty expires, it will be expensive to maintain the vehicle.

Im getting the instrument panel replaced in a couple of days time from now. Under warranty.

I am also getting the vehicle thoroughly checked - still under warranty.
And since it is also time for me to renew the insurance I am continuing with the Zero Dep insurance as well, as I have been for the last 4 years i have owned the vehicle.
The extended warranty expires at the beginning of next month, so I feel it will make good sense to continue with the Zero Dep for sure!

[shankar.balan]

So the Yeti's instrument panel has been replaced under warranty now.
The part cost about 50K
But the whole thing was covered under Extended Warranty.
The only thing I have to pay for is the pickup and drop service which costs about Rs 450/- or so.
I think the service I've received from Vinayak is great and am happy overall.

Now lets see how the vehicle performs over the next few months/ years.

My insurance is due for renewal now too since the vehicle is fully 4 years old. I plan to continue with the normal comprehensive policy and the zero depreciation insurance as well. I have had the zero dep right from the day the vehicle was bought. Now that it is going to be out of Extended Warranty, I guess it makes a lot of sense to keep the Zero Dep active through the life of the vehicle in my hands.

So far so good!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

So the Yeti's instrument panel has been replaced under warranty now.

Shankar,

What was the problem with the instrument panel? That would be good to know.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ampere

Shankar,

What was the problem with the instrument panel? That would be good to know.

I noticed this problem a while back. The LED lights illuminating the speedo readings on the right side of the panel had begun to fade.
So when I sent off the vehicle for its annual service - I sent it in Sep, much earlier than the actual due date and told them I wanted the panel checked.
They said the panel LED lighting system at the rear was indeed giving trouble and there would be no issue changing the whole thing under warranty. But they didn't have the part and would have to order it.
I was any way travelling a lot - I wasn't in the country for ages. So then when I got back I told them to take the vehicle whenever they were ready.
Then around 2 weeks ago one day, the left side of the panel also began to "blink" suddenly one evening.
So I called them and told them to take the vehicle away and get it done.
By this time of course the part was in stock and they were able to do the job properly a day or two ago.
With all this rain I was wondering if it was the right time really to get all these things done but they have a proper covered facility and anyway I created some good relationships with those blokes at Skoda so I am reasonably sure of reasonable care being given to my vehicle.
Now the panel lights burn as bright as ever they did when the vehicle was brand new.
And now in a few days the vehicle will actually become 4 years old in my hands. And the insurance and zero dip coverage etc is all falling due shortly.

Basis my overall experience with this vehicle Im keeping it a while longer.
The one thing I need to do soon - probably by March 2016, is to chuck out the existing set of tyres and change them for some Bridgestones.
Why Bridgestones?
Because I am not comfortable with the soft rubber compound used in Pirelli and Michelin and so on.
I would rather have a tough set of tyres to take on the evil Bangalore pot holes.
And I intend to upsize a bit as well - very marginally so as to not throw the camber and suspension off kilter!

So far so good.
Im hoping this vehicle is with me as a long termer because I really can't find anything else that comes close at this price point.

[shankar.balan]

I spent some time at 3M today and got them to place that special film all along the edges of the vehicle doors, bonnet, mirror housing surface and along the edges of the hatch as well.

Spent about Rs 3800/-
I think though my vehicle is 4 years old, this is one way to help protect the edges of the doors especially from scratches created because of parking in tight spaces with rough walls - for example when the vehicle goes to the service centre etc.

These last 4 years my poor Yeti has seen its share of horrible scratches done sometimes by accident and sometimes by malice. So for what it is worth I want to protect it as much as I can.

Today is its 4th Birthday (calculated from the date of registration).

The next present it is going to get from me is a nice lovely set of 4 brand new tyres!

Cheers

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Today is its 4th Birthday (calculated from the date of registration).

Now that Skoda shield is over (or is it 5 years?), hope still the vehicle continues to serve you well for a long time. All the best.