[Nikhilb2008]

I went to TAFE for my third service a couple of weeks back. It was a simple oil and oil filter change. As usual, I had taken the oil myself. Motul Xcess 8100 procured from the distributor in Bangalore.

Mr Vineeth from Motorcycle House was excellent to deal with. Last time, a friend had bought it from him on my behalf. This was the first time I was dealing with Mr Vineeth. Very prompt responses and just 3 hours after I spoke to him, I had someone collect the oil and it was done!

If buying locally was this easy, Amazon would go out of business! Amazon's price was marginally lower, but I preferred to deal with this gentleman. I paid Rs 3900 for 5 Litres. I had a spare 1 litre bottle in my boot.

This time at TAFE, my usual friends werent to be seen. Mr Venkat or Mr Shankara Narayan. However, their presence was felt as they had informed their colleagues that I was expected.

The only "hitch" was that TAFE's booking system failed a bit. I had originally taken an appointment for 9:30 on 21st April, Saturday Morning. I called TAFE on Friday and spoke to a Customer Care Executive and changed my appointment to 2:30 pm. However when I landed up at the service centre, they were confused and they told me to wait as they service advisor was busy. I was ok waiting for a bit but then it was getting late.

The problem was simply that they hadnt updated my appointment leading to the confusion. After I spoke a bit firmly, the service advisor did attend to me and got things moving.

He was new to me and my crazy behaviour. So, when I told him that no one drives my car but me, he was a bit taken aback. However, he didnt object and I took my car inside and parked it in the assigned bay.



The mechanics were quick to loosen the oil filter holder and raise the car and start the job.



As the oil was streaming out, I just touched it and felt it. It was a bit more than 7,500 kms since the previous oil change and this time a large part of the running was harder than the previous few months. It was also summer and the car had been driven hard in very high ambient temperatures. I was curious to see if the oil felt any different.

I was happy to see it was still quite thick and viscous. Looks like the Motul oil is able to cope well with our conditions. I still wouldnt follow Skoda's 15k kms oil change interval though.

As the mechanics continued to drain the oil and go about their work, I decided to closely inspect the underbody of the car to find the battle scars inflicted by Bangalore roads.

I found quite a few scratches on the plastic cladding that covers most of the car.






The below two images are taken of the left and right sides of the car. I dont know why but on the right side, the plastic piece is bent downwards. On the left side, it is bent upwards. It makes no difference to me, but many times, I can see something hanging down from the right side of the car. I always wondered what it was and now I know.

I tried twisting it and pushing it back into shape but it was quite hard and I was not successful in bending it to my will

I just left it as it is after that.




I noticed the front bumper was quite badly scratched. It is not visible from a normal viewing angle but when I was under the car, it was clear as day.

What this shows is that even though the car has just enough ground clearance for normal driving, it is pushing the limits of what is possible on Bangalore roads. Boy, am I glad that we didnt get the Euro-spec Sports Suspension which lowers the car by another 15mm or so.





Do keep in mind that I drive a lot. If the car is going to be babied around, then I guess all the "stanced" cars can manage. For my kind of usage where the car is loaded quite often, the standard height is absolutely critical.

I recently drove to Chikmagalur with a full load of luggage and 3 passengers + me in the car. There were a few diversions along the route and we had to do some minor off-roading and had to handle some bad speed breakers along the route. My car made it easily but more than a few times, there was a huge scraping noise as the car dragged itself over the speed breaker or the mound of sand and rocks. It was quite clear that I wouldnt have been able to make it with a lowered car. I may have had to ask my colleagues to gt out of the car and then cross. With the stock height of the vRS, I made it but I'm sure the underbody has picked up many more scratches.

Anyway, once the oil was drained, it was time to fill it up with fresh engine oil and apply the finishing touches.




They also sprayed their Würth battery terminal spray to ensure no rust forms on the battery terminals.



Post this, it was time to pay the bill and leave.

The work was done in about an hour and the billing was faster than earlier.

Billed amount was Rs 1554/-. Not bad at all. I'm quite happy with the service costs.



Overall, yet another pleasant experience at TAFE.

Originally Posted by Karvel

Hi Nikhil,

Wow. Just like out the NFS game. This was taken during the VRS rally done sometime back?

How are the MRF Perfinza's holding up? Do you have a separate thread for the update on the tyres? Request you to share if any. Thanks.

Not a vRS rally as such. Just a bunch of friends meeting up and going for a drive.

There is a separate thread for these tyres. It's there in the Tyre and alloy Wheel section.

Originally Posted by nerd1200

No points for guessing who won the #SkodaTribe contest on Instagram. 😊

That was a fluke! I saw everyone using the hashtag on Instagram and I used it as well. Didnt know there was a contest going on!

Whatever gift Skoda gives me, I shall be passing it on to the deserving photographer!

[F150]

Wondering how they allowed you to bring in your own oil. Is warranty not impacted ?
During my last service, someone who came for servicing, was insisting on using a specific type of coolant, and they was huge discussion in the service center. Finally, they used the coolant provided by the customer, but, they also wrote in the remarks section, "used customer provided coolant".

How is it working in your case ?

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by F150

Wondering how they allowed you to bring in your own oil. Is warranty not impacted ?
During my last service, someone who came for servicing, was insisting on using a specific type of coolant, and they was huge discussion in the service center. Finally, they used the coolant provided by the customer, but, they also wrote in the remarks section, "used customer provided coolant".

How is it working in your case ?

No idea. It just works. And when it does, it's best not to ask too many questions and just go along with the flow!

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

No idea. It just works. And when it does, it's best not to ask too many questions and just go along with the flow!

What does the workshop use as OEM for standard TSIs and vRS Octys? Looks like Castrol Magnatec Pro(?)
This is what I have from my 30k km service:
OILS AND LUBRICANTS
7. OL3372489 3372489 MAG PRO OE 5 27102000 OEM LTR 5.200 779.66 4,054.23 - 18% 729.76 4,783.99

@Nikhil: Pains me to see the front lip so badly scratched. Frankly in my TSI with stock tyres and a 3 adult/1 child load, I sometimes scratch tall speed-breakers (mid-way underneath) around the running board/exhaust area. But never yet on the front lip.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

What does the workshop use as OEM for standard TSIs and vRS Octys? Looks like Castrol Magnatec Pro(?)
This is what I have from my 30k km service:
OILS AND LUBRICANTS
7. OL3372489 3372489 MAG PRO OE 5 27102000 OEM LTR 5.200 779.66 4,054.23 - 18% 729.76 4,783.99

@Nikhil: Pains me to see the front lip so badly scratched. Frankly in my TSI with stock tyres and a 3 adult/1 child load, I sometimes scratch tall speed-breakers (mid-way underneath) around the running board/exhaust area. But never yet on the front lip.

Yeah, it looked bad. However, the positive thing is, it is not visible from above. I had absolutely no idea that it was this bad.

[GM6James]

I envy you Nikhil ji, my local Honda dealership would boot me out the second I try and see my car in the service bay. Moreover, they tend to be very rough on the cars too.

They always make me remove my dash cam just in case I catch them doing anything funny.

I wish all dealerships would maintain a certain transparency with the customer.

When I eventually pick up my VRS, I shall try to be as stern and strong as you. ��

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by GM6James

I envy you Nikhil ji, my local Honda dealership would boot me out the second I try and see my car in the service bay. Moreover, they tend to be very rough on the cars too.

They always make me remove my dash cam just in case I catch them doing anything funny.

I wish all dealerships would maintain a certain transparency with the customer.

When I eventually pick up my VRS, I shall try to be as stern and strong as you. ��

I havent been stern and strong. I honestly dont think it gets us anywhere. It's important to be friendly and make the service guys (from the junior-most technician to the senior VP or owner) understand that we are truly passionate about our cars.

We should also take certain steps to ensure we dont impede the professionals from doing their job. I generally keep my mouth shut when they are working. I dont want to be the one to keep asking "Have you done this? Have you done that? Why are you doing it like this? Why dont you do it like that? I read online that this is correct. I read online that this is wrong".

This sort of backseat driving pisses people off.

At the most, I may ask some genuine questions to understand something. The first time they used that Würth spray, I asked them what it was. They gave me the can and explained it to me. Things like that.

Otherwise, I just stay near the car, take pictures without impeding them and mind my own business.

The first oil change, they used a cut-open Bisleri bottle to fill up oil. I didnt say a word as honestly, it was ok. Not the end of the world. But I made a note of it here on my thread and they observed it and changed since then.

[antardaksh]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

I havent been stern and strong.

Hi,

As Nikhil mentioned we dont have to be rude or question everything done by them. Most of these folks are able to distinguish between someone who send car for service through pick-drop vs someone who comes along with the car and is more attentive.

I believe sparing one day from an year for car service is worth. I plan time off from work and make sure I make everything clear to service advisor in the beginning. This avoids confusion/clashes later on.

Being with the car during service also gets the work done faster and you dont get surprises later on for the parts replaced and bill.

Regards.

[GM6James]

With all due respect gentlemen. I completely agree, letting the mechanic do his job without intervening or bothering him is very crucial. I'm all for putting across as many days as my machines require in a calendar year for giving them proper care and maintenance.

Most service centres have a strict policy that prohibits customers from entering the workshop area.

In such circumstances you and your car are left at the mercy of the mechanic, who at least in my experience can be least bothered even if you have personally brought in your car.

At one point the mechanic and the floor manager outright refused to continue working on my car because I insisted on being close by.

[Nikhilb2008]

A lot of people keep asking me how much mileage I get in the city. I dont have any hard data, but I have managed to make a small collection of trip details for various trips in the city.

The first one was today. A Sunday. From Lingarajapuram to Jayanagar.

The others are from random city drives. No highway driving.









All of these are for long-ish distances where I've driven a good chunk on some wide open ring roads without too many signals.

If there are signals, the fuel economy drops drastically.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

A lot of people keep asking me how much mileage I get in the city.
If there are signals, the fuel economy drops drastically.

My heart dropped when I saw your FE figures, then realized I was looking at your average speeds

[Nikhilb2008]

Oho! Mr I've-got-Cylinder-On-Demand is here to rub it in now.....

Please go away Mr underpowered TSI driver....

[Nikhilb2008]

A drive from Kanakapura Road to Old Airport Road HP pump and then to Langford Road.

While I didnt take any ring roads or particularly traffic-free roads, I didnt get stuck for too long at any signal or junction.

An average of 20kmph is lightning quick here in Bangalore.

At these kinds of speeds adn traffic conditions, the fuel economy was quite good.

[HarshD]

Nikhil,
Can we upsize the tyres to 245/50/ r17 (PS4) for a relatively more comfortable ride ?
Thanks and Regards,
Harsh.

[Nikhilb2008]

I washed my car a couple of days back and made a quick video to show the water beading of the Kamikaze coatings.

https://youtu.be/6XW5UgcuCFk

Originally Posted by HarshD

Nikhil,
Can we upsize the tyres to 245/50/ r17 (PS4) for a relatively more comfortable ride ?
Thanks and Regards,
Harsh.

NO. It's too big.