[asit.kulkarni93]

UPDATE

As expected December 2020 was super busy for the Laura. I had a work trip down south and the car covered close to 5800 kms. The following cities were covered- Bengaluru, Madurai, Coimbatore, Valparai, Kochi, Dharampuri, Salem & Krishnagiri. It was a 26 day trip and the car performed really well. The highest I could manage on one full tank was 910 KMs inspite of idling the car for over 30 mins on 4-5 instances. Thanks to the roads in TN and KA, the car drove really well. The ODO is nearing 155k KMs and I think I’ll be doing another oil change in feb. In Kochi, as I was waiting for a signal, a speeding auto came and knocked off the LHS mirror. Fortunately, it disassembled itself and I was able to put it back. On the return leg to Pune, At Nipani, I was trying to overtake a truck when suddenly the truck’s LH rear mud flap came off and hit the front right of my car. There are a few scratches on the bumper and the bonnet. Might get it painted if the car is free. I am glad it was my car which took the hit and not a 2-wheeler. After driving on TN roads, I was convinced that I should get bigger rims but as soon as I entered MH I decided against doing so. Attaching a few pics.

Whenever going down south I prefer tanking up at Indian oil umbraj, Shubham automobiles. This fuel station is owned by a fellow Bhpian.



At Shimoga going towards B’lore

Somewhere near Davanagere

Enroute Salem





Enroute Coimbatore from Madurai





Spotted this W124 outside the famous Sree Annapoorna, Coimbatore.



Enroute Bengaluru again





Getting the car washed at Whitefield. Found a small place called Rapido steam wash near the hotel.



Enroute Coimbatore again



At Palakkad, enroute Kochi



Leaving from Coimbatore for Kochi



A small drive around the Kochi port











My first official break in 2020. Took a day off and went to Valparai.



Found this lovely place for dinner enroute Coimbatore.

Factory visit at such locations was amazing.

Caught up with fellow Bhpian Doc_Nikhil and we went for a short ride/drive.

Finally back home.

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Hi Asit,

I had somehow missed your thread. I had not been online on T-BHP for a long period around the time you had posted it. Came across this today and read it. Your car brought a smile of happiness on my face. Congratulations for owning such a good car and maintaining her well.

Have you upgraded the headlights? If yes, do post the details here. I considered upgrading to 100/90W on my SX4 but ultimately avoided due to the fear of spoiling the reflectors. I was running on stock bulbs (since 2011) and I replaced them yesterday with same specs; 60/55W H4 (which came with the car as spare, lying in the boot since 2011). Even this simple change made a good difference in the brightness. I realised that the bulbs may fade with time.

I read about the demise of your grandmother. I offer my sincerest condolences to you and your family.

I wish you more and more miles filled with happy memories with your 1.9 TDi.

Thank you sir. Yes the bulbs are upgraded but I am not too happy about them. I am planning install a bi-xenon setup soon.

[Doc_nikhil]

Hey Asit, was great catching up with you! Yes, bigger rims and MH roads do not really go well together! But a set of Jetta alloys maybe a good upgrade, what say?

[Fire0072]

Wow, that's a really clean-looking Laura you've got there. Happy mile-munching with it.
I've got the 16 in MINORIS from Octy 5E for my Laura. The ride quality is unaffected, and they're serving me great. You can alternatively consider them as well.

[aa_asif]

Hey Asit,

Excellent thread you have here on long term ownership of a car people would otherwise think 10 times before retaining. Love to see another Laura ageing gracefully.I am currently with my second Laura bought from a fellow team-bhpian/close friend. I knew this car from day-1, In fact I was involved in the whole testdrive-booking-delivery experience back in 2012. Hence there was no looking back when he offered me the car. My previous Laura was a souped up 2012 L&K with Pete's Stage1 map, Bilstein B8+ H&R Springs. That car was a rocket with an amazing stance. Moving forward to my current Laura, It is again a 2012 Laura L&K which has too many after bells and whistles retro-fitted from Superb and Passat namely the Bluetooth module, Autoparking module (Passat), Superb steering wheel with Paddle shifters and Driver Fatigue Detection module. I have taken this car in the middle of Covid lockdown with 58K on the ODO and slowly building up a monster like the previous Laura. Changed the wheels to 225/45R18, Added Paddle shift extenders. Soon going for Code6 Stage1 map with stock replacement filters, Coilovers and a free flow exhaust. This time she's staying with me for a much longer time hopefully. Sharing few pictures below. Sorry for the hijack .

[nidheesh]

Looks like we have similar sticker obsession . That's my Octavia MK 2 ( Laura 1 ). Your car looks very decent with respect to the ODO. I specially love 1.9 TDI 's power delivery, it keeps you calm and confident on long drives . Wish you even more happier miles ahead.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by Doc_nikhil

Hey Asit, was great catching up with you! Yes, bigger rims and MH roads do not really go well together! But a set of Jetta alloys maybe a good upgrade, what say?

Haha that’s the only upgrade I am considering now.

Originally Posted by Fire0072

Wow, that's a really clean-looking Laura you've got there. Happy mile-munching with it.
I've got the 16 in MINORIS from Octy 5E for my Laura. The ride quality is unaffected, and they're serving me great. You can alternatively consider them as well.

Thank you! I was offered one of these but I was occupied due to a medical emergency at home so I couldn’t get them. The minoris rims would look great in the gunmetal shade.

Originally Posted by aa_asif

Hey Asit,

Excellent thread you have here on long term ownership of a car people would otherwise think 10 times before retaining. Love to see another Laura ageing gracefully.I am currently with my second Laura bought from a fellow team-bhpian/close friend. I knew this car from day-1, In fact I was involved in the whole testdrive-booking-delivery experience back in 2012. Hence there was no looking back when he offered me the car. My previous Laura was a souped up 2012 L&K with Pete's Stage1 map, Bilstein B8+ H&R Springs. That car was a rocket with an amazing stance. Moving forward to my current Laura, It is again a 2012 Laura L&K which has too many after bells and whistles retro-fitted from Superb and Passat namely the Bluetooth module, Autoparking module (Passat), Superb steering wheel with Paddle shifters and Driver Fatigue Detection module. I have taken this car in the middle of Covid lockdown with 58K on the ODO and slowly building up a monster like the previous Laura. Changed the wheels to 225/45R18, Added Paddle shift extenders. Soon going for Code6 Stage1 map with stock replacement filters, Coilovers and a free flow exhaust. This time she's staying with me for a much longer time hopefully. Sharing few pictures below. Sorry for the hijack .

Your car looks lovely. Just recently I was telling my dad that he can get a used Innova or CRV because I will be replacing this Laura 1.9 TDi with a Laura 2.0L TDi DSG. His “sigh” and “do whatever you want” was extremely funny. Now I am damn sure I will be picking up the 2.0 TDi Laura as a replacement to this. The overall package the Laura offers is simply amazing. Practical, frugal and fun.

Originally Posted by nidheesh

Looks like we have similar sticker obsession . That's my Octavia MK 2 ( Laura 1 ). Your car looks very decent with respect to the ODO. I specially love 1.9 TDI 's power delivery, it keeps you calm and confident on long drives . Wish you even more happier miles ahead.

Wow! Is that Bahrain or Qatar? The number plate looks different.

________________________________________

UPDATE

As soon as I returned to Pune, I was moved to a different house as my parents and brother had tested positive. What could have been a normal 14 day quarantine routine turned really sour. My parents were moved to Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital due to breathlessness. Eventually mom was discharged but dad was moved to the ventilator for a few days and came back home after a month only to return in less than a week due to an infection in the gall bladder. All this ended around 15th February. In all this the Laura was only used in the city and I occasionally took it office. I started working after 15th February. I come down home everyday for lunch to spend time with dad and on my way back to office on 1st March, I heard a loud noise as if something burst and the car was making a loud whooosh noise every time I gave throttle input(more than 20%). I suspected some hose being torn. There was no loss of power or check lights. On taking the car to The Mechanix Automotive they put it up on the lift, we realised a turbo related hose has cracked. Sushant from Mechanix insists on getting original Škoda parts in most cases especially rubber parts. We checked with one dealer and he said they don’t have it and all the orders will be taken in after 15th March. This is when I realised what people meant with parts shortage at Škoda. I had started mentally preparing myself that I’ll get the car after 3 weeks. Today in the morning, I spoke to a few Škoda service centres in Mumbai, Pune & Nasik. Garve Škoda in Pune didn’t have it in stock but I requested them if they can help me track down any dealer in Maharashtra who has it. They gladly did and told me Akoya Škoda has it in stock. I spoke to Akoya and they confirmed they had it in stock. I went there in 20 mins, picked up the part and went to The Mechanix Automotive where it was installed in 15 mins. In less than 24 hours, I had my car back with me.

Zac Hollis has done an exemplary job in improving the after sales. Back in the day, I could never imagine getting the parts over the counter without an argument at any Škoda dealer. All of them were cooperative even on call.

A big shoutout to the team at The Mechanix Automotive who diagnosed the issue on time and insisted I stick to OE rubber parts and gave me the car back in less than 24 hours. Given the current circumstances, we keep one car at home and the other one used by me. I took the car to Mumbai yesterday for some work and it was a calm trip. Drove with CC on most of the times on the rest and the overall FE was 20.1kmpl. On the eway part the car had actually touched 28kmpl but a visit to goregaon reduced it significantly. As dad is recovering most of our outstation travel has reduced and it would just be my regular Nasik and mumbai trips. I changed the horns to some Hellas as the old ones were throwing issues. These feel good. Overall the car drives really well, just needs a detailing session. The ODO is near 159k KMs.

The torn hose



The car ready at The Mechanix Automotive



The new hose installed

[nidheesh]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Wow! Is that Bahrain or Qatar? The number plate looks different.

Kingdom Of Bahrain
Just a matter of few points and Hue

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by nidheesh

Kingdom Of Bahrain
Just a matter of few points and Hue

That’s nice! My schooling was done in Bahrain as my dad was working there. I had last visited in 2018. Surprised to see the pic of a Laura or Octavia MKII in Bahrain. I remember seeing a MK1 Octavia at a Mahashtra Mandal function in adliya back in 2008. I used to regularly spot the Behbehani Škoda dealership on our way home in Tashan, Khamis from tuitions in Manama. A superb and Fabia were always parked outside.

[nidheesh]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

That’s nice! My schooling was done in Bahrain as my dad was working there. I had last visited in 2018. Surprised to see the pic of a Laura or Octavia MKII in Bahrain. I remember seeing a MK1 Octavia at a Mahashtra Mandal function in adliya back in 2008. I used to regularly spot the Behbehani Škoda dealership on our way home in Tashan, Khamis from tuitions in Manama. A superb and Fabia were always parked outside.

Glad to hear that we share quite a few things in common , It is very disheartening that Škoda and VW are not able to catch up the sales pace the middle east in spite of offering various engines/ model options . This market has always been dominated by Japanese / American manufacturers and very few customer opt for any thing European. Skoda suffered moreover after the introduction of DSG , it ruined the brand value completely due to poor reliability in the scorching heat along with other issues such as high parts cost , unavailability of parts etc. It has become almost impossible to sell a Skoda here if it has a DSG.
I believe there are only 10-12 MK2 running here and all others are almost scrapped or stripped for parts .
Sadly 1997 Toyota corolla has more resale value here than a 2010 Octavia

[rishabh.joshi]

Hey Asit,

I've only discovered your thread whilst being on the hunt for a 2.0 DSG Laura for myself. While i have done a lot of reading around on the internet and multiple threads here, there is certainly no doubt that the Laura is a brilliant car and would make the city commutes as well as the highway runs a lot more fun.


This is primarily going to be my personal car and also my first car while at it. I just wanted a bit of advice on what to look for while buying a Laura, what to replace upon purchase and how much of a hit is it to the pocket incase something conks off. While there are a lot of cars here in Mumbai, i would like to stay away from those that were treated as beaters, hence the question. Alternatively, should i also look at 1.9 DSGs?


That apart, I hope you find your dream 2.0 DSG and i'm hoping to pick mine up in the coming couple of months. Hoping to meet you sometime with both the 2.0's in Pune.

Great thread though, Cheers!

[Restart]

Hey Asit,

That’s a great car you have there. We own the same model, 2010 1.9 TDi Ambiente MT Laura. My dad had used it till 2016(18kms ODO) and I took over the car. We purchased a 2016 Grand i10 1.1D, 2017 Merc GLA 220d and our 2021 Innova 2.4Z AT was delivered a week ago. Now the Laura is presently at 38.5k kms ODO.

Our cars are driven 95% in the city except for some occasional trips to religious temples or once in a year outing. To be honest 12k of the 18k covered in first 6 years of ownership was only at these kind of trips which probably lasted 30 days combined. And yes, all our cars are self-driven. Thats the end of my small intro.

I recently had my first small trip which lasted around 300kms after I had a front suspension overhaul as it was creaking very badly and also had the balance rod replaced. The car felt very underpowered with 5 persons onboard for some reason on the highway, performance in city is always adequate and the manual gearbox is an absolute gem.

I thought I’d make the Innova my personal car and sell the Laura but after I drove the Innova, I decided that I’ll keep the Laura until it breaks down. Innova feels underpowered in the city and is too big to park properly.

Coming back to the Laura, I’ll be changing back suspension and clutch plate + flywheel, AC overhaul, maybe tires as well when I find Michelins again(They became hard due to our low usage but have a lot of rubber). The car is regularly serviced with respect to time intervals.

The speaker setup is good if not the best in all our cars, the only problem would be lack of Bluetooth but AUX works brilliantly.

(Mod, please remove the next sentence if it counts as advertising not adhering to forum rules and remove this bracket as well, thank you.)

I’ll be starting my own private car servicing garage soon. I’ll be doing all the above listed repairs but I have two things I’d like to do which I’d like to have opinions from fellow Bhpians,

One, I was considering pete’s tuning box but I am more inclined towards remapping. I want suggestions as to where I could get it done in Hyderabad without the car getting bricked.

Two, I want to change the stock HU with a bluetooth HU from Skoda that is compatible with my car. I’d like to know whether the one that was offered in Elegance or L&K would work and if possible the source as well.

Thanks for reading

[asit.kulkarni93]

UPDATE

The ODO has crossed 171k KMs. The usage has reduced. Apart from short weekend drives & one trip to Nasik, The Laura hasn’t been driven much. I prefer using the Figo as my usage within the city has increased. The bushing kit was replaced first for the rear suspension and then later for the front suspension. The car drives extremely well now. Only when I was considering replacing it . Overall FE has been decent. Oil change was done after 9.5k KMs. With a remap + downpipe and me ripping the car, I prefer changing the oil well in advance. Got the alloys painted in the gunmetal shade and the B-pillars painted to black.

At Pawna

Late night work means a visit to the shell fuel station for chai

Returning from Nasik

[asit.kulkarni93]

UPDATE

The car is nearing 175k KMs. Like the rear, I Decided to complete the front suspension too. For a change, I am trying out the magneti marelli struts upfront. It’s been a decent experience so far. The car travelled to Karad once for the wedding of a Bhpian & Narsobwadi for a family function in December. The new year started in a relaxed way but work took me to Navi Munbai, Nashik & Pune. 2 days later, I had to again visit Navi Mumbai. All this was covered in one tank. Also replaced the parking lamps with amber colour bulbs and it looks good. Really tempted to upgrade the rims but pushing the purchase away. Scanned the car and found the glow plug control module throwing an error. I have ordered the part and it should arrive soon.

I visit shell stations more for their tea or coffee than fuel. Have moved both the Figo and Laura to IOCL xtragreen.

Shubham Automobiles- my go to place for tanking up whenever I cross umbraj. An IOCL pump owned by a fellow bhpian. Suggest every person from travelling down south from Mumbai try out this station. It’s a clean facility and they will soon start xtragreen diesel too.

Coffee break at Shell deli2go enroute Nashik

[Joshua_Ray]

Hey Asit!
Really spectacular thread that I am sure most Laura enthusiast's love following! You really have a well used & equally well taken care of Laura 1.9!
I too have a 2010 Laura PD, with a Stage 1+ Code6 tune & BMC stock replacement filter.
Power is at ~140 bhp & 320 nm, but the itch for more power has started to take over
I am considering a cat-less downpipe and a Stage 2 tune (~155 bhp & 350 nm)

I would request your experience in this area, does the cat-less downpipe cause more turbo-lag? What are the pros & cons from your perspective?

Eagerly awaiting your reply. Cheers!

[sidpak]

Hey Asit,

Awesome thread indeed,
I have a 2010 Skoda Laura 1.90 and was seriously considering letting go of my workhorse as I have booked the new Kodiaq,
After reading your posts (surprisingly for the first time) I am now seriously considering getting a remap and giving my car some TLC and keeping for a few more years,

Look forward to your next update,

Cheers,
Sid