[sawnilrules]

Congratulations Karvel on owning this beauty. I am sure you are going to enjoy this beauty for long. Trust me when I say this, with Octavia, everyday is a new day as days keep passing, you keep learning some new hidden nifty feature here and there.

Few quick things that you can look at doing.

• Amazon has a key fob cover, looks fab, may be you may want to pick it up. My kiddo keeps fiddling with the keys, hence I ended up searching for one and found this one. Looks sturdy and has nice look to it too. Here’s the link https://www.amazon.in/Keyzone-Silico...avia+key+cover
• On the topic of maps, there is a voice guidance feature, may be you can look at updating the same through the service station, I got mine updated during my last service. Additionally, if maps is what you need as an essential item in your car, mapmyindia has upgraded maps available with them, it’s a simple switch from one SD card to another, may be you can opt for it.
• It may help to take a yearly interior cleaning package from 3M or equivalent, it is absolutely crazy difficult to maintain the beige inside.
• Ideal Tire pressure is range is 32-33, you may be feeling the car too bouncy at 34-35, NCT’s are even otherwise poor in grip, I am currently facing grip issues with the tires and I am on the similar ODO on my car too. Do let me know how you are feeling.
• Octavia certainly deserves a better looking number plates, do get them changed to enhance the look and appeal further.

Enjoy the car to fullest mate and wishing you happy miles ahead. Keep updating the thread as and when you can.

[Karvel]

Originally Posted by Col Mehta

Beautiful car! Wish you and your family many happy and safe miles with it!

Thanks a lot, Col Mehta.

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

Congratulations! Wish you many miles of happy motoring. The placement of that lever is a safety feature to prevent accidental opening of the hood while driving. Common across all VAG cars.

Thanks. Yes, this makes sense. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Great choice in the Octy! And the sweet deal must have made the buying decision even more pleasant.

How do you feel after a big jump from Estilo? The diesel is a workhorse and fun to drive thanks to the ample torque available from low down.

Wishing you lakhs of kilometers of fun filled trips with the Silver Bull!

Thanks BlackWasp. Yes, the deal of nearly 3 lakhs on discount made the deal sweeter. While we were feeling down after the delay from the earlier booking, this deal came in as an icing on the cake.

Moving from Estilo to Octy was quiet exhilarating. Estilo is a peppy car even now and city driving was smooth. With the diesel in Octy, City as well as highway driving is a breeze now. Size of the car did create some flutters during the initial couple of weeks, then got used to it. Back at home, the traffic is not like in Gurgaon, so a bigger car was easier to handle.

The torque in the Octy is the beauty and ofcourse getting used to the automatic took some time. Now overtaking long trailers, which are abundant on the NH48(8), is a kids play even when cruising at 100 kmph. Love the car for the fun.

Originally Posted by Flyer

Congratulations on your new ride. You have made the right choice. The 2.0 TDI and 6 speed DSG 250 combination is awesome. There are a few other ownership reviews of the Octy in here and more informations about service packages available from Skoda. Be sure to check them out.

Thanks Flyer. Have taken the 4 yr service package from Skoda. They were running a special offer during the time and the 4 year service package was available for Rs 14 k.

Originally Posted by ZMG

Congratulations on the new ride!
Its raining Octys on team-bhp.

Please remove the Green sticker above the Skoda logo! It just destroys the looks of the car.

I am so tempted to buy a new car in D2 segment each time a see review, however holding back knowing what a depreciation disaster it is, and moreover I can use that 20 odd lakhs in some better way, especially when I am only 26 years old.
Maybe 10 years down the line, I will definitely bite the bullet and buy a D2 segment car.

Cheers!

Thanks ZMG. Oh. oki will remove the sticker.

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Wow, what a write-up. I thought i was reading the official review. Superb pictures.

One humble request, never ever let your kid pop their head out of the sun roof unless its just for a picture when the car is parked in your garage or off the road.

wish you and your family a beautiful ownership experience.

Thanks DieselRitzer. Had put the phone on QHD mode to take the pics, but had to downsize due to 4 mb restriction . No, the kido never gets to stand on a moving car. That was the only time kid had ever stood there till now.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Congratulations and happy motoring. If your budget permits or your wife allows you to sell the jewelry her mother gave her then I would suggest you get PPF done on the whole car. I did it for my Volvo XC60 three and a half years back and the Lexus ES300 last year and have not regretted it for a moment though many laughed at me for doing so. We used a Laura for 8 years and well over a lakh kilometres with no major complaints. It was a manual transmission. If you use Giriraj Motors for maintenance be ready to be firm and snarling from day one.

Thanks Narayan. After seeing the benefit of the PPF during the 1st year, i too feel the same. Its worth it if installed properly with edge wrapping. But had done the Onyxaa coating last year after the purchase. That is holding up nice and well. So will give PPF a miss for now.

[Karvel]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

Congratulations Karvel on owning this beauty. I am sure you are going to enjoy this beauty for long. Trust me when I say this, with Octavia, everyday is a new day as days keep passing, you keep learning some new hidden nifty feature here and there.

Thanks a lot, Sawnil. Yes, everyday i keep finding new thing or get to use one of them. Ordered the keycover. Looks great. Will get it tomorrow. Thanks.

Maps are not essential, as i rarely travel out. Will check out mapmyindia. Anyway, Google is there

Interiors are good as of now. I do personally clean the car once a week and use the jopasu dusters during the week. So no washing daily by anyone else. Basement parking at home and office helps. Kids do play around, but manageable till now.

Have experimented with 36/34, 35/34, 34/34 setup (front/rear) as of now. Will check out 33/33 this week. As nearly 80% of the ride is on the highway with anything between 80-100 kmph on a daily basis kept a slightly higher pressure. Will check on what you have recommended.

Number plates are my bad.. Just now going to get them replaced with the HSRPs as now Haryana has made it mandatory.

[Karvel]

Got the plates changed to the HSRPs. Haryana govt had announced that HSRPs will be compulsory for the all the vehicles registered from 2016. Been running with the normal plates earlier.

While fixing the plates, the agency guy was also providing the option to include the plate covers as an option. Checked them. Looked good and sturdy. So fitted them as well.

HSRP's - Rs 380, including tax, paid to the RTO
Express delivery - Rs 290, including tax, paid to the HSRP authorised agency
Plate covers - Rs 450




Also got the Key Fob covers, @Sawnilrules had shared in the earlier post. Good ones, soft and supple. Covers the Key Fob fully with proper slits for the key and the buttons.

[Karvel]

Next pamper for the Silver Bull. Did the PPF treatment from 3M, as shared earlier in the thread. While that was done for the front and rear bumpers, the full body wrapping would have costed a whopping 60k. Thought it was too much to put in for, along with the risk of the wrapping yellowing with age. Hence started reading about the various paint treatments. Came across “Ceramic” or “Glass” coating as a widely recommended option to protect the paint and from scratches from debris and day to day cleaning.

Checked with few of the detailers and finally zeroed upon Onyxaa treatment. Spoke to the Onyxaa helpdesk and asked for their workshop nearer to Gurgaon. Got directed to “Advanced Detailers” who are doing the Onyxaa treatment as a franchisee. Spoke to them and fixed up an appointment for that Saturday. Reached there by 10.30 am.






A thorough inspection of the car was done. They had three packages.

Packages
Exterior Coating Material-Silver Package(9H 1 layer,Glass Pro) : Rs.17500/- (2yr warranty)
Exterior Coating Material-Gold Package(9H 2 layer, Glass pro, Wheel pro) : Rs.23500/- (5yr warranty)
Exterior Coating Material-Platinum Package(9H 5 layer, Glass pro, Wheel Pro, Anti-Fog) : Rs.40000/- (7yr warranty)

Chose the Gold package, which gave 2 layer coating along with Glass and Alloy coating. Was promised a 5 year warranty (for whatever its worth ) along with it. Have to see the effectiveness over couple of years. As I had already done the PPF for the front and rear bumpers, that area was reduced from the charges and the final price agreed was 20,750/-.

The work started in earnest. Had a bunch of 5 people working on the car. As i was doing all the weekly washing and the day to day cleaning with the Jopasu dusters, there were no swirl marks except few minor scratches due to road debris.

A thorough shampoo washing was done to degrease.







Wherever minor scratches were present, rubbing was done.




Then the car was washed again.







Then the treatment started. Some parts were covered to avoid any contact of the coat.



Two bottles of 9H were used - 1 for each layer.



Coating was done using a lint-free cloth folded over a stiff sponge. Coating was done segment by segment and after 10 mins to dry was wiped with microfiber cloth to even out. Then the next segment was one. Likewise the entire car was treated twice and then the glasses and alloys. The entire process took about 3 hrs to complete.




The curing process was done with heat lamps after the 2 layer coating.

















The "Silver Bull" indeed became a Shining Silver Bull

.

[Karvel]

Update after a long break:

20 K Kms done in 14 months. Car holds good and is fun to drive.



Nano coating : Extremely useful. The sheen and the brightness of the car has been consistent. Just a wipe with the Jopasu dusters make the car clean. Water wash/wipe is done only once in two weeks in dry weather. Dust just does not stick. Been washing the car on my own. No swirl marks or scratches in 14 months. People still comment that it looks new.

Tyres: Been with the stock ones. Goodyear Eagle NCT5s are wearing out evenly. Wheel balancing and rotation done once in 7.5k kms in Bridgestone Wheel care centre (not sure about the ASS work). Good grip, but getting louder above 85/90 kmph. Daily highway drive to office is about 45 kms at average of 70 kmph and hence the noise levels are a bit of bother. Will last for another 25-30 k kms easily. Following the thread of Nikhil B and hence interested in trying out the MRF Perfinza's when the time comes.

Engine : A gem truly. The pull when needed and the lazy thrumming @ 1750 rpm for cruising at 100 kmph makes for a lovely note. Excellent torque available at just the dab of the pedal and overtaking even the 40 ft trailers is a breeze. Very good mileage. City/Highway combo mileage is fantastic with 18-19 kmpl is default. A full tank gives about 850-900 kms. Zimbly love it.



DSG Gearbox : Has made driving a breeze - whether on highway or in the city traffic. There is a delay of atleast 1.5-2 secs before the downshift happens when an aggressive overtake or acceleration is required. Maybe the ECU is tuned to my soft pedal general drive.

Couple of niggles : Had some rattling issue in the sun-roof. Had it checked and lubricated in the second month of delivery. Was good till last month (for 12 months). Now sounding once in a while, when going through rumble strips or bad roads. Also looks like the left side view mirror rattles as well. Have to check both of these during some free time, before going to the ASS (i simply hate the idea of some mechanic touching the spotless interior while checking for this ).

Overall : Music system is good. Been playing the full quality FLAC songs as well. Spacious cabin and very good noise insulation upto 100 kmph and in city driving. Lights are good. Okay in the rains as well in city and highway drive. I prefer the yellow tinge rather than the blueishness of the LEDs.

All in all a happy and proud ownership experience.

[Karvel]

Clocked 25,000 Kms in 18 months, nearly exact. Low miles munched in the last couple of months due to frequent official travel.

Engine and DSG combo is great. Once the engine warms up after initial 7-8 mins drive, it becomes super silent and revs up effortlessly. Max speed done till date is 123 kmph, and i understand it does not do justice to the capability of this machine. Even at this, it hardly crossed 2k rpm and still have not used even 40% of the torque band revs. DSG is acting good, with my mostly sedate driving and soft on the pedal approach, at times ECU is slow to respond, so it takes atleast 1-1.5 secs to downshift, when i feel like sprinting. Overall the mileage is good and clocks regularly above 18.5+ kmpl. In the last few tankfulls, seeing about 1000 kms per tank, indicating 20+ kmpl. Being soft on the pedal and predominantly highway drive (NH48) for daily commute is helping a lot.





Tyres, Goodyear NCT5s, are holding good. Even tread wear, regular (once in 7.5kms) balancing and alignment and rotation is helping. Good grip as of now, though noisy above 80+ kmph speed. Looks good for another 25-30k kms, as commented by the Bridgestone dealer guy where i take it for balancing and alignment. Have tried multiple combination of tyre pressures - 36/34, 35/33, 34/32 and 32/32. While 32/32 does give a softer ride, felt 35/33 combination gives a better handling and braking as well as mileage. Thats what the tyres are filled up as of now. Using nitrogen filling, for what its worth, though not sure if the gas filled is actually only nitrogen. Anyway normal air is also 78% nitrogen.

Onyxaa 9H coating is helping. The shine and water beading is still good. Once in 2-3 weeks washing is the practice and in-between Jopasu duster is good enough. Driving in the highway mostly and silver colour too helps. Had couple of minor rear-ending experiences by bikers in Gurgaon traffic, but PPF on bumpers came in handy and no scratches so far on the bumpers, touchwood. Interior looks well and very little aging is noticeable. Till now its self cleaning and it helps in avoiding swirl marks.

[Karvel]

2nd Service Update:

Completed 30k a month back, on 2nd Feb. Took the car to Jai Auto's in Gurgaon for the scheduled service. Had asked for the service appointment through the Skoda App. Got a prompt call back from the service center in couple of hours.

Went in by 9.30 am. SA was with me in 5 minutes. Told him i have the 4 yr service package. SA inquired about any issues i had. Told him about couple of observations: 1. Sunroof noise once in a while, like when going over the rumble strips or at fair speed on some stone paved roads. 2. The left sideview mirror stopped tilting while engaging reverse. 3. Battery seems to have weakened as there was some flicker once in a while after the weekend stop

Went out for a test ride, but as it usually happens, there was no noise from the sunroof. Anyway, told the SA that i will be with the car during the service.

Car was taken into the bay by 10.15. Work was done quick and Engine oil, Air filter, pollen filter, Diesel filter was all changed in quick succession. Complete underbody check was done. Except for a couple of scratches, it was fairly a good sight.

After this scanning was done on the logs and reset was done for left side view mirror tilting function. Started working. The logs also showed that there is some issue with the batter. Battery strength test was done and it come out that the cells had weakened test result came with “Replace Battery”. This was when all the fun started. SA walked over and said that battery needs to be replaced and whether he can go ahead. I said yes as it will be free. He was a bit surprised and said that battery had a warranty of only 1 year. I told that might be true for batteries from outside india, but the one in my car was “Made in India” and hence it should have minimum 3 years warranty. Some discussion happened and the service general manager was brought in. TeamBHP came in handy. Showed the few threads on free / goodwill replacement done. Though most of these cases were in about 12-15 months, mine was nearly 22 months. The GM wanted to sound it out with the Skoda team. Even though it was a Sunday, some calls were made and then I was offered a replacement with a nominal charge of Rs 1,800 + tax, with two year warranty. Looked to be good offer, as in the meanwhile checked for price of equivalent battery from Amaron and Exide. Was costing upwards of 7k. So took it and asked the SA to go ahead with the change.

Picture of the new battery.


Brake Pads


Overall experience in this 22 months and 30k Kms:

• Engine and Transmission are smooth as butter. Power on tap with the addictive pushback into the seats whenever I feel like. Excellent mileage, average hovering around 18-19 kmpl.
• Brakes are fantastic. With 30k done and mostly sedate driving, it looks like the pads are good for another 20k minimum.
• NCT5’s are holding good. The road noise level has gone up. The tread depths ranged from 2.9 to 3.1. The strange things was the front tyre depths were more than the rear. Had done the tyre rotation about 8k kms before. The service person said the tyres look good for atleast another 25k. I would want to get the Perfinzas at the earliest.
• No software or map updates as of now.

Will be checking out the 5th/6th year extended warranty announced couple of weeks back. Have asked the SA to update once the details are available. Have not yet got a call.

[Ithaca]

Originally Posted by Karvel

2nd Service Update:
Completed 30k a month back, on 2nd Feb.

Sorry for the delayed congratulations on the purchase of your vehicle, Karvel.
Read through the entire thread and am glad you have fallen in love with the vehicle.
Wishing you miles and miles of flawless ownership.

One query - How easy was it to get the refunds of the booking amounts from Giriraj Skoda and Arya Skoda after you decided to not go through with the deal with them.
I hope they spared you the run-around and were gentlemanly in refunding the amounts.

[Karvel]

Originally Posted by Ithaca

Sorry for the delayed congratulations on the purchase of your vehicle, Karvel.
Read through the entire thread and am glad you have fallen in love with the vehicle.
Wishing you miles and miles of flawless ownership.

One query - How easy was it to get the refunds of the booking amounts from Giriraj Skoda and Arya Skoda after you decided to not go through with the deal with them.
I hope they spared you the run-around and were gentlemanly in refunding the amounts.

Thanks Ithaca, yes the car is lovely and doing great.

On the refund of booking amount, it was with Arya skoda, there was practically no fuss other than some initial fervent calls from the dealership when I sent the mail for cancellation. After I made it clear that I cannot wait indefinitely for them to confirm and hence going ahead with other option, they were polite and confirmed for refund in 7 working days. They stayed true to their promise and the cheque was directly deposited, by the Arya Skoda team, into my account. I just made one enquiry call inbetween as a follow up.

[Karvel]

Update: AC compressor changed @ 32.2 K Kms

Sometime during late Oct'18 felt that the AC cooling had a delayed start. Blower was working, but no chillness in the air. Peculiar thing was that this happened only in the mornings mostly due to overnight parking. Then after couple of days noticed it even during the late evening starts, with a 10-12 hrs stoppage. Took it to Jai Auto Skoda @ Gurgaon. All parameters were checked and everything including gas pressure and weight turned out to be okay. After discussion, the service manager asked the AC technician to deplete the gas & oil, vaccum the circuit and refill. This was done in about an hour. It was agreed that i would run the car for few days and incase of repeat of issues compressor check also would be done. No charges for this.

Since it was start of winter, it was not clear whether the cooling is getting delayed or working fine as the night temperature started dipping below 18 C and reached to low mid single digits over the next few months and continued the same till late March. Hence even during the 30 K Km service done in Feb, this was not attended to.

Come April, the temperatures soared and again the delayed start was very evident. Took it back to Jai Auto and was asked to leave the car for overnight check. Got a call from the SA, Nikhil, that the issue had been diagnosed as Compressor failure and will be changed under warranty. I had meanwhile crawled most of the SKODA forums found that RCV – Refrigerant Control Valve – going kaput leads to this issue. To replace it a AC specialist guy will be required. Would have searched for one rather than going with Skoda service as that valve is about Rs 6k. But as the vehicle was under warranty, agreed to go ahead with the entire compressor change. I felt lucky as the replacement compressor was available readily in the stores. Delivery was confirmed for the next day.

Small niggles attended to:
Asked my SA Nikhil to also check on the sunroof rattling over rumble strips or potholed roads. This was initially attended by doing some lubrication on the sunroof channels and was expected to solve the problem. While doing the test drive before giving delivery of the vehicle the rattling was noticed again and hence SA Nikhil asked to hold the vehicle for one more day and check with the Skoda engineering team. Was told that they advised to remove the assembly and then realign and tighten some link rods.

3M Upholstery & Interior cleaning:
Meanwhile SA Nikhil after checking the car when taken for servicing advised to go for the 3M drycleaning of the leather seats as over the last two years some stains and dirt had accumulated with generous contribution from kids. Checked the rates – Rs 1.5k for the entire seats, roof lining, carpet and doors/dashboard. Checked out few of the comments in our forum and understood that its value for money offer. Agreed and asked him to go ahead.

All in all the vehicle was at the service centre for 3 days. Did a longish test drive along with SA Nikhil and tried some rough roads as well. The sun roof rattling was gone and the rubber beading grinding noise as well had disappeared. The seats were cleaned well and the entire floor board along with dashboard and door padding looked like factory new. Seat leathers were soft and supple, looked shiny but not slippery.

Need to mention that the service experience was very good and left me pleasantly surprised. No unnecessary delays or push for additional services, with just the needed suggestions like the 3M cleaning. Timely updates. Kudos to SA Nikhil. Even when he had to go on a leave on one of the in-between days, Nikhil had arranged for another of his colleague to give me an update on the repair status, including the pre-delivery internal test drive and the delivery timelines. So far so good over the two years of ownership. Hope this continues so that Skoda ASS rating improves. Fingers crossed.

The total cost of compressor change and Sun roof rattling servicing was about Rs 76.5k, but charged Nil as all these were covered under warranty. The 3M dry cleaning cost was Rs 1.5k+GST and the Silver Bull is now ready for munching more miles.

[br_876]

Excellent thread! Happy to know that you are enjoying the Octavia to the fullest. The economy you are getting is stupendous.

You do not get your wheel alignment and balancing at the dealer right? Doesn't it come included with the service package? And you don't pay any bills for a service?

[Karvel]

Originally Posted by br_876

Excellent thread! Happy to know that you are enjoying the Octavia to the fullest. The economy you are getting is stupendous.

You do not get your wheel alignment and balancing at the dealer right? Doesn't it come included with the service package? And you don't pay any bills for a service?

Hi br_876, Thanks.

I get the wheel alignment and balancing done outside at Bridgestone tyre point. Planning to try out the MRF zone next time. Alignment and balancing done once in 7.5k kms. These are not covered as part of the service package.

No, I did not pay any amount for service for the 15k / 30k services done as the entire materials and labour charges covered under the 4 yrs/4 services pack. I was lucky to get this pack at a discount offer at Rs 13 k, instead of usual Rs 40 k, when I took delivery.

[Karvel]

Extended warranty:

Finally, got the extended warranty purchased. When i enquired during Apr/Oct 2019, based on the ads by Skoda and our forum info's, at Jai Skoda, Gurgaon, they were not sure if it was available for existing vehicles. While i showed them the t-bhp thread and news paper clippings i was asked to wait while they will check with Skoda service team and update me. Everytime i was told that it was not available.

I had also called up the Skoda helpline to check and to my surprise i was told that i had to take insurance from dealer or should have existing insurance from Bajaj Alliance and only then i will be eligible. My insurance cover was from ICICI. Hence decided to wait for the next renewal cycle to check again.

Meanwhile, on 3rd Jan'20, another Bhpian RohanDheman updated in another thread that he was able to get the extended warranty without any hassle from Jai Skoda. Was happy to hear that and went next day to the service centre to get it.

Since vehicle was within 3 years of purchase, the rate worked out to be around Rs 67k including GST. Paid it and walked out in less than 10 mins. This was on 4th Jan. And by last week, around 20th, the details got updated in the Skoda app as well. Yet to receive detailed document on coverage items or exclusions. SA had confirmed that all items covered under standard warranty are covered and no specific exclusions. Have to check.

Now warranty applicable till April 2023.

[Karvel]

Tyre Change:

Changed tyres couple of weeks back with odo reading of 43.2K Kms in about 34 months.

GoodYear NCT5s had held up good till couple of months back. In the last two months had about 4 punctures in the front tyres, even though there was no change in the route taken daily. Yes, they were noisy and were getting hard day by day. The last couple of punctures were at the areas where the treads meet the side wall and i was a bit worried as there was no visible puncture marks or nails or any other telltale signs. Over and above, started feeling slight vibrations when doing about 50-60 kmph speeds, though regular balancing and alignments were done every 7.5k kms without fail. Tread depth was still good, with about 1 mm above the tread depth indicators. Considering all the above symptoms, decided to go for the change.

My usage is mainly on the highway for daily commute of about 60kms with major portion on 75-90 kmph speeds. And the roads are mostly good, except few small patches, which too get repaired on regular basis. Hence was ready to go for more softer and quieter option. Was not ready to go for any upsizing or experimentation as the potential warranty issue was flashing a red bulb.

Was reading a lot on our forum on tyre reviews. Had marked out the feedback on MRF Perfinzas by NikhilB on his Octy VRS. And also read a lot of positive feedback and recommendations on Michelin P4STs. Was checking out the price for both of these options over the last two months.

MRF Perfinzas were not readily available in 205/55/R16 sizes. Checked with three MRF T&S centers. Two were ready to procure them in couple of days, if i was ready to go ahead. Price quoted ranged from Rs 7.3k to Rs 7.7k per tyre including balancing and alignment.

Michelin P4STs were available at couple of places in Sikanderpur and Sohna road areas, but were being quoted at Rs 8.5k to 9.2K per tyre.

Meanwhile, visited the Jai Skoda ASS in the beginning of Jan'20 to get the extended warranty and one of the SAs while checking the sale date of the vehicle, asked me the mileage of the car. As i told him its about 42k, he asked whether i had changed the tyres and when i said no, offered to get them changed with Pirelli P6s which was available with the service center. Offered them at Rs 8.7k per tyre. Till then had not considered any other tyres other than Perfinzas and P4STs. After this conversation read review on the web and came across good feedback and recommendations on the P6s as well.

Prices of both P4STs and P6s looked to be on the higher side. Hence was procrastinating, with the choice between the three.

Two weeks back, got a TPMS warning on one of the front tyres and was actually frustrated. This pushed me out of procrastination finally.

It was a sunday and the P4STs shops were closed, when i called up. Went back to google and checked for Pirellis, got a hit on the authorised dealer in Gurgaon - Tyre City Pirelli Performance Centre. Gave a ring, shop was open. Checked on the price for P6s. Was pleasantly surprised when it was offered at Rs 7.5k per tyre. Immediately confirmed the visit and reached there in next half an hour. They had ready stock in 205/55/R16 and the tyre dates ranged from 4719 to 4919 indicating Nov/Dec'19 makes, as good as we get from the factory. Tyre change was a breeze and was in and out in straight 40 mins. Final price was package of Rs 29k, including the discount for the older tyres. Had the Hunter machine for alignment, when checked it was already okay and no adjustments were required.

Pirelli P6s are offered with 5 yr warranty, with the first 2 years being unconditional - no tread wear check, no damage reason check - exchange on the spot. Warranty from 3rd to 5th year is in proportion to the tread wear. This was mentioned on the invoice clearly.

The noisy NCT5s









Have done about 600kms on the new set. These Pirelli P6s are a marked difference from the hard NCT5s. P6s are very silent on the highway and when cruising at 80-90 kmph speeds, tyre noise is virtually absent, while the NCT5s will make you acknowledge them without any doubt. Marked improvement in the grip levels and feeling easy movement/less resistance to roll compared to the earlier tyres. Ofcourse, i am comparing a 43k done tyres to a brand new set, still i believe the experience is better. Mileage looks to be improving, though not sure if it is due to traffic conditions.

Was assured of atleast 50k kms tread wear for my driving conditions. Hope to munch these many miles on Octy from now.