[TheHelix0202]

Very nice review, beautiful pictures!

I was wondering why many find selling on OLX to be annoying? Is it because of people prank calling and stuff? Do the cons outweigh the pros?

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Very nice review, beautiful pictures!

I was wondering why many find selling on OLX to be annoying? Is it because of people prank calling and stuff? Do the cons outweigh the pros?

Thanks, TheHelix0202. I find the following issues with OLX listings-

1. You have people calling from cars24/cashmycar spamming you.
2. People making ridiculous offers through the chat option or call you asking the final price.
3. People wanting to make a quick buck. Negotiate with you on call and take your gpay number or bank account details. Send you a fake message stating money deposited in your account or send you a payment request on gpay. Too many scams.

It's basically the lack of genuine buyers around.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

I find the following issues with OLX listings-...

That is indeed very sad to hear. I didn’t for a moment think that used car dealerships would buy from private sellers and try to scam them too, but then all of the potential “buyers” seem to scammers anyway

[Monaro CV8]

Hi Asit!

Here's officially wishing you hearty congrats for the Laura.

This is indeed a very good buy - perfectly suited for those long drives with your family, et al. Very happy to see you enjoy this car! The pictures speak for themselves.

Swanand's car was well maintained, and I have witnessed a large part of this car's journey. From sharing maintenance garages with my 1st Gen Octavia at the FNG - Velocity motors, to our next trusted Service workshop - Mechanix Automotive.

I have also driven this car a number of times. I was always amazed at the performance of these last of the TDi engines, which were on the mill in the Laura at that time!

And it was indeed a pleasure to mediate the deal for you with Swanand's dad for this lovely car

Wishing you many happy miles on this gem!

[shibujp]

Congrats on your buy! Have a lot of happy miles with her.

Curious to know why to picked up the PDI engine instead on one with the more recent 2.0L TDI engines? I am not sure what your price point was but a 2014/15 Skoda Octavia TDI can be had at quite reasonable prices with respect to their price when new. But then i also know that picking up a used car who history and ownership you are well versed with is invaluable.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

Hi Asit!

Here's officially wishing you hearty congrats for the Laura.

This is indeed a very good buy - perfectly suited for those long drives with your family, et al. Very happy to see you enjoy this car! The pictures speak for themselves.

Swanand's car was well maintained, and I have witnessed a large part of this car's journey. From sharing maintenance garages with my 1st Gen Octavia at the FNG - Velocity motors, to our next trusted Service workshop - Mechanix Automotive.

I have also driven this car a number of times. I was always amazed at the performance of these last of the TDi engines, which were on the mill in the Laura at that time!

And it was indeed a pleasure to mediate the deal for you with Swanand's dad for this lovely car

Wishing you many happy miles on this gem!

Thank you Satyen sir for all your help. Indeed the car was well maintained and my family liked it instantly.

Originally Posted by shibujp

Congrats on your buy! Have a lot of happy miles with her.

Curious to know why to picked up the PDI engine instead on one with the more recent 2.0L TDI engines? I am not sure what your price point was but a 2014/15 Skoda Octavia TDI can be had at quite reasonable prices with respect to their price when new. But then i also know that picking up a used car who history and ownership you are well versed with is invaluable.

Drive on,
Shibu.

Thank you shibujp. There were two reasons why this car was picked up-

1. There is some uncertainty with my dad staying in Pune. If my parents leave Pune then we won’t need a big diesel vehicle. I guess a CRV will be perfect then.
2. This was a known car plus the GC of Laura is amazing. Being used to the GC of the Corolla, cars like Jetta, Octavia and Superb felt troublesome under full load. I have know Swanand since 2013 and this car was maintained at my FNG so knew it’s history. Ideally I would have loved a Laura diesel DSG but I am fine with the 1.9 TDi PD as it’s a know car.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Asit congrats on the car! Lovely review and superb pics.
Well, for me to say its well maintained, would be a bit pompous .
Nonetheless, I'm glad to see it go to a fellow car lover; who, i know would care for it equally, if not more.

Seeing the pics certainly makes me nostalgic! Have had many a fun runs in that car.
Also, miss the Turbo Diesels, have to be stuck with N/A or turbo petrol (nay, gas) cars here.

EDIT: Glad Satyen was the mediator, after i left for the US, he's the one who's looked after it like it was his own car.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Asit congrats on the car! Lovely review and superb pics.
Well, for me to say its well maintained, would be a bit pompous .
Nonetheless, I'm glad to see it go to a fellow car lover; who, i know would care for it equally, if not more.

Seeing the pics certainly makes me nostalgic! Have had many a fun runs in that car.
Also, miss the Turbo Diesels, have to be stuck with N/A or turbo petrol (nay, gas) cars here.

EDIT: Glad Satyen was the mediator, after i left for the US, he's the one who's looked after it like it was his own car.

Thanks, Swanand. Let me know when you are in India, You can take her out for a spin. You can share a few pictures here too

[asit.kulkarni93]

UPDATE

During the lockdown the car was getting used everyday as I had to drop lunch and dinner for a relative staying 5 kms away from my place. I had got the pass from the Pune police website as the relative had a patient with them who couldn’t be shifted to our house.

In the last week, I was going to get some groceries on my way back from office. There was a kachha exit to the service road. I took the exit and there was an underbody hit. Stopped a lil ahead and realised there was a huge pothole on the entrance of the kachha road. Somehow I missed it and the result was a damaged condenser. The underbody protection had pierced into the condenser. Took the car to The Mechanix Automotive as it needed a service too. The Condenser was sourced yesterday and put in today. The service was completed in the last week itself. I really missed the Laura’s boot in the last week when I shifted my office but the Figo did a good job. Took the Laura out for work today and loved driving it. The ODO is at 133k KMs, was hoping to cross 150k KMs by year end but looks difficult now.

[asit.kulkarni93]

It’s been raining since Sunday and I wanted to take the Laura out. On Sunday, went with my mom, dad and my brother but as it was getting dark we didn’t go all the way up to Lavasa. Today the plan was to go towards the Bangalore highway but the cops weren’t letting cars go beyond Khed Shivapur toll. So we drove off to Lavasa. My brother wanted to complete the run on his Duke390. He got the bike just a week before the lockdown.

[Shreyfiesta]

That's a gorgeous Laura out there!

Let me say the truth, most of the Lauras that I see here in my city aren't well maintained like yours and are dirty looking.

Talking about the Skoda Laura generally, it was one of the few cars that I used to admire in my childhood. My dad used to have a pre-facelift Laura 1.9 MT as his official vehicle for a short period of time. I always enjoyed each and every bit of its curvy yet clean design when I was 6-7 years old.

Btw, can we expect an alloy wheel upgrade in your car soon?

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by Shreyfiesta

That's a gorgeous Laura out there!

Let me say the truth, most of the Lauras that I see here in my city aren't well maintained like yours and are dirty looking.

Talking about the Skoda Laura generally, it was one of the few cars that I used to admire in my childhood. My dad used to have a pre-facelift Laura 1.9 MT as his official vehicle for a short period of time. I always enjoyed each and every bit of its curvy yet clean design when I was 6-7 years old.

Btw, can we expect an alloy wheel upgrade in your car soon?

Hey shreyfiesta

Thanks a lot
A close friend also had the pre-FL Laura and that was one feature loaded car for the era it was sold in. I get what you are saying about well maintained Lauras, I have seen similar cars in Pune too.
I want to upgrade the alloys to 16 inch rims but I’ll just wait for these tyres to wear out(have already done 12k kms since I installed them). I would love to have the stock Jetta Highline rims. Hoping to find those soon. 🤞🏻

[asit.kulkarni93]

UPDATE

Yesterday evening after wrapping up work, I decided to visit the folks at The Mechanix Automotive. I was hearing some noises from the rear suspension since a few weeks so wanted to get it checked. I had suspected the Balance rod bush having an issue but on inspection there was an issue with the link rods. Sushant has sourced both these parts but we couldn’t get to do it in the last week so we decided to do it today. As I was leaving the workshop, the car didn’t start and it was the obvious- a dead battery. They jump started the car and I reached home late in the evening. Today morning again the car didn’t start and I asked the local battery guy to jump start it. I had to pick up a friend and then go to office. On my way to the NH4 the car stalled and it was dead. Again got it jump started and reached office. Spoke to the folks at The Mechanix Automotive and they sourced the battery. The car was taken in at 5pm and I had a new battery + link rods & balance rod bush replaced. On my way back the car drove without any noises.

I have been using the Laura since 2 weeks and it’s pure bliss. My local car Accesories guy had sourced some 4300K LED bulbs and he wanted me to try them. I tried the high beam bulbs and didn’t find them satisfactory, having used them in the Corolla I knew LEDs lack a proper throw for the high beam bulbs. On the other hand, the spread was amazing. I might consider HIDs in the low beam projectors. As roads have been majorly traffic free, I have been pushing the car and the FE has been hovering around 14-16kmpl.

After a wash

Awaiting jump start II

[krish3]

Thanks for putting all updates, specially linked to parts replacements. Gives an idea to potential used Laura buyers on what to expect. Could you also put the cost and what it would have cost if you had chosen to do it as the A.S.S?

[Altocumulus]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

UPDATE

I might consider HIDs in the low beam projectors.

That's a beautiful car. Make me miss my Laura Tsi. Go ahead with the HIDs. It makes a stark difference. Consider the Osram HIDs so that there are no CANBUS errors.