[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by joethomasv

How low was the coolant? You'll get a warning only when the circuit is broken. Have you tried removing the sensor plug to see if they are working?

Thanks for the detailed explanation Joe. I checked it only from outside, definitely the coolant was below the sensor level. It was below the 'min' mark. Still there was no warning light. Since that day it has never gone below the max level, even after hard driving. Now I am scared that is any coolant going in the engine at all?

Originally Posted by nakul0888

Well if if there are no competent workshops nearby you, then you are better of with the dealer.

He got it done from a private shop for 6000. And I can tell you it looked exactly the same as it was before the incident. Top quality job on a top quality car.

There might be some shops near to you that might be really good. Please inquire about them adi.

Nakul, I got some work done on my old Verna(silver), Innova (grey) and Laura (white) from private workshops. But the quality is doubtful. Of course I don't remember the brand of paint used, but since the Laura and Verna were in basic colours, it were very easy to match and the job was far from shabby. But they messed up my Innova so bad, it was a completely different shade altogether. So definitely I am not risking the Octy which has a much much more complicated colour to match, even Skoda guys are nervous about it and are really scared to handle my car, they probably remember me flipping at them when they returned the car all scratchy after a wash. So lets just hope they get the shade right this time round at least.

Originally Posted by gaurangsaini

The paints on our cars today are extremely complicated pigments.

Why experiment? These cars ain't cheap!

Absolutely agree man, can't handle the agony of discoloured panels on the car.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

While a private garage may do it cheaper and in the beginning it may look almost as good as a company job. What needs to be taken care of is that that the private workshop should be using good quality paints like Standox, and that the clear coat used is ceramic which European cars use. If these are used the cost may be half as much as a dealership cost, or a little more but a top quality one certainly won't be 1/6th the cost.

Exactly my point. If only I can search for a good shop in Ahmedabad, then I can safely get it done outside. But till then, dealer is my best bet. Even if it is half the price, and exceptional quality, I would consider it, not even expecting it to be 1/6th in price.

[androdev]

I had great results on a Skoda Laura (black) I owned with the formula information available on Standox website. TAFE Bangalore did a terrible job on the paint match. I searched Standox website and asked them to redo the job using the formula given on the website. The colour match was perfect.

Select "Formulations online" on the left and use "advanced search"
http://www.standox.com/corporate/en_...olour-box.html

Ask them to deliver the car without applying any wax, etc. so you can see the quality of sanding/buffing.

[adi_petrolhead]

I wrote an email to Skoda management today, pardon my language, I was at 'rage max hulk' level when I wrote this:

"Dear Mr. Borkar,

This issue is to be brought to the notice of Skoda management, as now I am tired of dealing with Torque Automotives Pvt. Ltd. at Ahmedabad. Unfortunately, recently my car was damaged in a minor accident, and was promptly taken for repairs at the dealer's workshop.

Not only was i charged too high, the quality of work done is simply poor and I think a spray paint job would have been better! There was a dent on the LHS front fender which is now so much 'over filled' with filler putty, that now its bulging out.

When i asked them why they have done such a shoddy job, they replied that this is the best we can do, and that we don't have spare fenders so replacement is not an option.

Pls see the attached pictures, they show how shabby the interior was. You will also notice a picture of the roof of the car, showing clear rain drop marks.





This is where my misery begins. Since the whole front bumper and fender was supposed to be painted, the dealer removed both these parts from the car, and left it 'outside' in rain! Yes, sans the bumper! The dealer should have been at least carful to remove the horn, which sits right in the grill, and is fully exposed to water once the bumper is removed because the grill is a part of the bumper for the so called New Octavia.

As soon as I got in the car, started the engine, pressed the horn, i noticed that only one horn is buzzing while the other is off! I tell them about this, and they straight away refused to even listen to me as they claimed they had nothing to do with the horns. This was conversation with Mr. Vipul.

Now it was only after I created a scene, called a senior manager, Mr. Bharat Patel, that they even tried to listen to me. They have kept the car in rains, outside, without a body cover!! Hell I never keep my car without a body cover especially in the rains! How can your staff be so careless? I even saw several brand new cars, almost submerged in the water, collected in rain. These cars were being sent off to clean and then they will be sold to unsuspecting buyers, about which I will warn the community on an online portal, to stay away from Skoda cars for at least 2 months till new stocks arrive, at least in Gujarat.

The manager agreed when they opened the bumper again, there was water inside the horn, and only way of water entering in the horn is if the bumper is removed, otherwise the horn is so well secured from water that even if you try you can't reach it. This is a good feature in the car over the Laura, in which the horn was not so well protected, i would have been screwed if I had the Laura.



After a lot of me shouting, irritating behavior of the staff, and abuses later, they changed the low tone horn for me.

But I ended up wasting 2 hrs of my prime office hours, and also i feel cheated being asked to pay money after such a horrendous experience, which I will also publish in online public media.

The worst part is, while they were trying to sort out the matter, i was roaming outside where the stocks are kept, new cars as well as old accidental 'total loss' cars, lying to be scrapped.

I notice two technicians, trying to pry out a low tone horn from an old damaged white Superb, and suddenly i see them, they scram!! Is this the type of idiotic response one can expect from a company of such high stature?

Skoda India, pls consider this a last and final warning, in terms of service, after sales and body shop repairs. We buyers are npt idiots and we pay through our nose to maintain our cars, we get them serviced at your workshops and get them repaired at body shops of the dealer, when we do have good individual garages, offering way better service.

Again. Pls consider this as a last and final warning, if such events happen again in future, I WILL FILE A CASE AGAINST THE DEALER TORQUE AUTOMOTIVE AND SKODA INDIA PVT. LTD.

Its been almost 9 months sice I bought the car, and I have still not recieved any damned communication about extended warranty.

My car's ORVM, infact all Octavias across India, including your test drive vehicles, have defected ORVMs. They make a lot of noise in the mechanisms when being folded or opened.

The dealer service manager Mr. Pratik, had recorded a video himself, of the noise and told me that he sent the video to Skoda factory, which I highly doubt. If he had sent the video, I would have heard an answer by now. Kindly take it up with the delaer and oblige.

Photographs attached for my description of the experience.

Regards
Aditya."


So finally I got the car washed at 3M, these guys know how to clean cars with absolute care!



On a positive note, got my new key chains today.

[Hayek]

Can understand you are upset, and keeping a car with the bumper removed outside is dumb - but personally, I think keeping a car with a cover in the rain is NOT a good idea. Even if the cover is water proof, unless you dried the car completely before covering it (tough if it is raining), the combination of closed conditions and moisture will be more likely to cause problems than if a car gets soaked. And I am not aware of any dealers of any brands who have their yards entirely in covered sheds.

EDIT: just Googled a link on this for you:
http://store.carcareonline.com/carco...tousethem.aspx

[adi_petrolhead]

On a lazy evening drive, this is what the car returned, i am sure that on express ways, at a constant speed of say 110, the car can definitely return 15-16 kmpl, with ac on, and cruise control set. Also I keep the Ac just above comfortable temperature, and try not to max out the chill, this also helps in better fuel economy. Almost 20K kms completed, niggles are:

1) the ORVM noise is still to be corrected
2) frequent need to libricate the door and window seals, sunroof seals, to reduce sound of rubber beadings brushing up against each other, is plain irritating, and yesterday it was even more so as the sound is now at max level and I ran out of my silicon spray. Can someone tell me where can we get a heavy duty silicon spray that would last a bit longer?

I also end up using it in the interior near the glovebox lid, the seat belt latch and the area of the seat where the latch comes in contact, makes a disgusting sound when I try adjusting my seat for height, will demonstrate it in a video 'before' and 'after' lubrication.

[Akshay1234]

Adi get this thing called Gummi Pfedge, its available on Amazon USA and some other places. It will last longer than any of these silicon sprays. You will need to do it once every 2 months or so.

[adi_petrolhead]

20000 KMS Update:

I am happy to report no issues so far, after completing 20k kms, in little over 10 months. Yeah this year has been a little more busy than I assumed it to be, hence the running.

Still, I haven't been able to source the 'Gummi Pflege Stift' lubrication applicator for the rubber seals, and there is no solution to the ORVM noise at least by my dealer. May be i'll just have to wait till I complete about 27-28K kms, when I take the car for its second service.

Its silly how Skoda India doesn't sell official accessories in India. Which they do, are very limited, and most of them are not appreciated, at least by me. I asked to get a bumper protector plate, that goes near the boot lid in gloss black, but the dealer never responded. I also asked for the Waste bin that fits in the door pocket which I think is very good, but again it was not available! Only accesories they have is a car cover, and floor mats, mud flaps. Not even those gorgeous door sills.

Well that means I'll be a regular customer at Superskoda.com.

I recently got the front and back VRS emblems. Now the problem is, the front one didnt come with screws, so I have to stick it to the grille somehow, the seller told me to 'melt it' which i tried but to no avail. Now considering Araldite and Feviquick combo, will post picture soon after install. Also just received the LED light for the boot, replacing the dim yellow bulb! Wish I had two sockets in the boot though like the EU variants.

Next on the list I am looking for interior trims in Carbon Fibre finish, OEM like the VRS models, a flat bottom paddle shift steering, 3D mats are still to arrive in India, and the OEM rubber mat for the boot. Also thinking, should I get the wheels customised a bit. With some subtle grey highlights, but cannot find a good shop in Ahmedabad to do that.

I also plan to de-badge the car, after both VRS emblems are in place, so will remove the 'S K O D A' and the 'O C T A V I A' badges. Have seen lots of people with the same thing on briskoda, and it does look cooler and meaner!

A parting pic.

[B747]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

20000 KMS Update:

I am happy to report no issues so far, after completing 20k kms, in little over 10 months. Yeah this year has been a little more busy than I assumed it to be, hence the running.

Still, I haven't been able to source the 'Gummi Pflege Stift' lubrication applicator for the rubber seals, and there is no solution to the ORVM noise at least by my dealer. May be i'll just have to wait till I complete about 27-28K kms, when I take the car for its second service.

Its silly how Skoda India doesn't sell official accessories in India. Which they do, are very limited, and most of them are not appreciated, at least by me. I asked to get a bumper protector plate, that goes near the boot lid in gloss black, but the dealer never responded. I also asked for the Waste bin that fits in the door pocket which I think is very good, but again it was not available! Only accesories they have is a car cover, and floor mats, mud flaps. Not even those gorgeous door sills.

Well that means I'll be a regular customer at Superskoda.com.

I recently got the front and back VRS emblems. Now the problem is, the front one didnt come with screws, so I have to stick it to the grille somehow, the seller told me to 'melt it' which i tried but to no avail. Now considering Araldite and Feviquick combo, will post picture soon after install. Also just received the LED light for the boot, replacing the dim yellow bulb! Wish I had two sockets in the boot though like the EU variants.

Next on the list I am looking for interior trims in Carbon Fibre finish, OEM like the VRS models, a flat bottom paddle shift steering, 3D mats are still to arrive in India, and the OEM rubber mat for the boot. Also thinking, should I get the wheels customised a bit. With some subtle grey highlights, but cannot find a good shop in Ahmedabad to do that.

I also plan to de-badge the car, after both VRS emblems are in place, so will remove the 'S K O D A' and the 'O C T A V I A' badges. Have seen lots of people with the same thing on briskoda, and it does look cooler and meaner!

A parting pic.

Attachment 1287877

Good to know that car is doing well. I replaced all interior lights with led and its makes lot of a difference.
Attaching a pic which shows the difference.

[Crazy_Bean]

Originally Posted by B747

Good to know that car is doing well. I replaced all interior lights with led and its makes lot of a difference.
Attaching a pic which shows the difference.

Which LED bulbs did you use?
I tried using canbus LED bulbs for licence plate lights on my Passat and they always throw an error. Tried 3 different brands.
Are the interior Lights not connected to the canbus system.
IF not, can you please give me the interior bulb specifications so that I can do the same

Also, do you still get that theater dimming effect with LEDs, or is it more like a flicker! ?

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by B747

Good to know that car is doing well. I replaced all interior lights with led and its makes lot of a difference.
Attaching a pic which shows the difference.

Do share the link to get these LED bulbs, I tried with the ones I had, I had ordered them from Vagtune. But they turned out to be too big to fit in the dome light housing with the cover closed. I have already changed the glove box light to LED

[B747]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Bean

Which LED bulbs did you use?
I tried using canbus LED bulbs for licence plate lights on my Passat and they always throw an error. Tried 3 different brands.
Are the interior Lights not connected to the canbus system.
IF not, can you please give me the interior bulb specifications so that I can do the same

Also, do you still get that theater dimming effect with LEDs, or is it more like a flicker! ?

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Do share the link to get these LED bulbs, I tried with the ones I had, I had ordered them from Vagtune. But they turned out to be too big to fit in the dome light housing with the cover closed. I have already changed the glove box light to LED

In Octavia interior lights are not connected to the CAN bus, I first checked them before ordering. To check just remove one bulb and start the car, if it via CAN bus immediately it will show bulb failure indication.
Specification is W5W and yes I do get dimming effect but not as perfect as a normal bulb.

I used OSRAM 2880CW cool white LEDs, paid 1150Rs for a pair. Octavia has 3 in the rear and 2 in front so you need 3 pair of bulbs. These bulbs are bit costly, lots of Chinese LEDs are available in range of 200Rs for a pair.

[Amarendranath]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

When i asked them why they have done such a shoddy job, they replied that this is the best we can do, and that we don't have spare fenders so replacement is not an option. This is where my misery begins. Since the whole front bumper and fender was supposed to be painted, the dealer removed both these parts from the car, and left it 'outside' in rain! Yes, sans the bumper! The dealer should have been at least carful to remove the horn, which sits right in the grill, and is fully exposed to water once the bumper is removed because the grill is a part of the bumper for the so called New Octavia

So sorry to hear this Adi, In fact the entire management of VW needs to learn this. I recently faced the same issue where A mediocre paint job was done and the car was sent back to us without the final stage of finishing. Luckily the CRM, Dealership managers are co-operative and had a personal look into the matter. After giving the Paint shop guys a piece of my mind for their reckless attitude, they still just didn't care. I'm still not giving up on my grudge to get those guys fired. On the other hand the VW workshop else where did a stupendous job and took good care of the car. Not only VW i see this everywhere, all the workshops do not treat the cars with utmost care. I have seen guys touch beige leather seats after a oil change. All they do is wipe their hands to a rag and go ahead ewith the rest. Wonder when this fate would change.

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

I recently got the front and back VRS emblems. Now the problem is, the front one didnt come with screws, so I have to stick it to the grille somehow, the seller told me to 'melt it' which i tried but to no avail. Now considering Araldite and Feviquick combo, will post picture soon after install. Also just received the LED light for the boot, replacing the dim yellow bulb! Wish I had two sockets in the boot though like the EU variants.

The backside logo look just fine, but are you sure the logo would sit flush with feviquick?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Still, I haven't been able to source the 'Gummi Pflege Stift' lubrication applicator for the rubber seals,

http://www.amazon.com/einszett-91480...=gummi+pfledge
Order from here, they ship to India.

BTW nice to see you using the car a lot. Also I agree all of the official accessories should be available here. Its a big market they are missing out on.

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

http://www.amazon.com/einszett-91480...=gummi+pfledge

Order from here, they ship to India.



BTW nice to see you using the car a lot. Also I agree all of the official accessories should be available here. Its a big market they are missing out on.

Thanks again for guiding me to buy Gummi Pfledge will be ordering at least 4-5 of them, do anybody needs the same can take from me. But really, does Skoda expect me to do this every month? Can't they just accept that they need to address such issues in a premium flagship model? At least for India.

Originally Posted by Amarendranath

So sorry to hear this Adi, In fact the entire management of VW needs to learn this. I recently faced the same issue :



The backside logo look just fine, but are you sure the logo would sit flush with feviquick?

Well that's the sad part of buying a German car, you get free snob behavior of the dealer! :dead horse



The rear logo is flush, because it came with precise 3M tapes, and is now permanent on the boot! The main issue is with the front logo, I still can't figure out a way to stick it. One of the accessory store suggested using m-seal! I am not too sure about that, and using a Araldite is another option but I need a bright bright sunny day so that it dries up quickly. Still I would be worried about losing the badge to a bump or pot hole and never noticing it went off..

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Thanks again for guiding me to buy Gummi Pfledge will be ordering at least 4-5 of them, do anybody needs the same can take from me. But really, does Skoda expect me to do this every month? Can't they just accept that they need to address such issues in a premium flagship model? At least for India.

Seems to be happening on a lot of the VAG cars in India including the Yeti, Octavia, and Rapid/Vento. Something to do with the newer type of rubber beadings used. Gummi Pfedge takes 5 mins to apply. I'd rather do that than leave it with the grease monkeys to diagnose what it is.