[Viraat13]

Here it is, Yet Another Polo GT TSI thread, hence YAPGT.

Warning: This is going to be a series of posts, detailing many things from the buying experience, to purchase decision, and subsequently, the ownership and mini-mods. I'd started writing this in the 2020 lockdown, but finishing in the lockdown of 2021, so some figures (km, usage) have changed since then.

I am planning on putting up each section on an individual posts, so that the opening post can be a handy guide to the various topics I've covered, as well as all the DIYs.


Picture credits: @RoadGlide

Ownership:

Prologue
Choices
Hunting
Ownership Experience
Living with the Polo GT
After sales and Troubles with VW
Service Centre Experience
Insurance Claim & Subsequent Repair + Insurance experience with GoDigit
Non-Service Centre expenses
Photos + General Notes
Improvements (Addressing my dislikes - Legroom, brakes, lights)

DIYs (in no particular order):

• Basic tools required
• Audio upgrade
• Euro spec air intake + GTI intake pipe
• Vanity Lights
• Bonnet Struts + Leather Handbrake lever
• Fakra Shark Fin Antenna + Anti Glare ORVM + Chrome Finish Mirror Adjustment Knob
• Auto Headlight Switch
• Car Air Purifier
• Glove Box Lamp + Boot Lamp
• Passat W8 Dome Light W/ Ambient Lighting + Illuminated Cigarette Lighter
• Auto Dimming Mirror

[Viraat13]

Prologue: My previous car and the need to change

It was 2018 and all was well with my garage. I had a 1996 W124 E220 for fun times, my dad was happy with his 1988 W124 300E, and I was enjoying my daily driver, a pre-owned 2006 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI AT, and happily puttering around the city despite the threat of NGT looming large on diesels over 10 years old. At that point, out of state cars weren’t affected and I had a non-NCR car, I figured, no worries. I was fully prepared to spend a pretty penny to spruce up my Octy (including a full new suspension, additional sound deadening, respraying a couple of panels, etc.) which faced rough use on a daily basis (bumper to bumper, or pedal to the metal).

All that changed in August, when I was pulled over and informed that out of state cars came under the purview of the disastrous/unfair/idiotic/uninformed/heavyhanded NGT ruling on old cars. I paid the “fine” and moved on, but was troubled by the ordeal. In the initial days, the enforcement was only in and around Lutyens Delhi, but as I had a Business Development role at the time, it meant going for meetings to various parts of the city at least every other day. This meant it was time for a new car. But what would replace my beloved Octy?


My Octavia, with the car it replaced, a 2003 Opel Corsa Swing 1.6

Even though it was 12 years old, it served my purpose. It was quick (top end, not 0 to 100), reliable (relative term for an old German ), fuel economical considering the kind of driving, safe, well insulated from the outside world, respectable enough, large enough boot to carry sundry items and a subwoofer, and also had a lovely sound system that I had put together. Oh, and of course, it also had the intangible "connection" that non-car people (or maybe even some car people, don't get)

Side note: In 2017 I tried replacing the Octy with another forum favourite, the Honda Civic. I bought a 2008 Civic V AT from a family friend. It was in pretty good nick. I kept it for 4 months, while (not really) trying to sell the Octy. It checked all the boxes, plus was quick, came with a 5 speed AT, and flappy paddles, not to mention the other good stuff about it. Ultimately, I never felt a connection with the Civic and sold it some 8K kms/4 months later, and I switched back to the Octy. TWO key lessons learnt: Japanese cars are not my thing; connecting with the car is really important to me.


Despite my overall disappointment with the Civic, the interior was a nice place to be in.

[Viraat13]

Choices

Considering my usage pattern, budget constraints, and various other considerations, I drew up a a small list of cars I'd like to try.

To get a better understanding of the choices, the summary of my usage pattern is:

• Self-driven
• Daily driver (home-office commute, plus at least 1 day on the weekend)
• Almost always in heavy traffic (Delhi-Gurgaon-Delhi)
• Almost always with a heavy foot
• 20,000 km per year, with no more than 500-1,000 km in highway usage (usually used the W124 for this)

After driving the Octavia for many years, I figured I’ll look for a like for like replacement. So I started hunting for diesel AT saloons like the Jetta, Laura, Cruze, and even the Verna (for the sake of it). Before I knew it, I was heading way out of budget, and those that were within budget, either didn’t have enough years left for NCR, or were just not worthy. I even considered the hopelessly ugly Ameo TDI DSG.


The contenders.

Disappointed with the search so far, I decided to look within the Skoda family, and figured that the Rapid TDI DSG was a good, sensible option as well. I went for a TD, and was fairly impressed - I would have to stretch my budget a bit, but a new one was affordable because of the absolutely brilliant deal I had managed to get from Jai Auto, Mathura Road, Delhi.


From what I remember, the model I was interested in was 13.xx OTR, with a 1L loyalty discount, 1.5L valuation of my Octavia, plus a cash discount, and further some free accessories etc. This wasn't even the final deal, I could have squeezed a little more from them probably. Sometimes I feel it would have been a better overall buy considering that Skoda is now in the driving seat w.r.t VAG in India, plus they have far better customer support than VW (reasons detailed ahead).

Then I realised, for someone who is driving themselves, and alone 99% of the time, a large car did not make sense. That’s when it hit me: Till the time I am driving myself, I wanted something that is nippy in traffic, easy to park, and yet safe. I wasn’t willing to compromise on the transmission either, it had to be an AT.

At the time, the options available were Jazz, Baleno, i20, and Polo.

Basis my experience with the Civic, I was slightly skeptical of trying another Japanese car, but still made a list of good and bad points of each option:

Baleno

• For: Cheap to maintain, reliable, spacious
• Against: Cheap fit and finish, not safe enough, I hate Maruti as a brand
• Result: No TD

i20

• For: Loaded with features, spacious, reliable (?)
• Against: Ugly, underpowered
• Result: No TD

Jazz

• For: A fairly complete package
• Against: CVT, previous Honda experience, generally unexciting
• Result: Test drove a family friend's AT and thought "Hmm, nice car, extremely boring; I could never live with it"

The rejects.

Truth is, considering the no Japs rule (basis the Civic experience), the choice was made simply by elimination; I was going to get myself a Polo GT TSI!

Then arrived the next problem: new or used? I had managed to get a good deal for a new car from a friend of mine, and in hindsight should have gone the new car route considering my usage, however all said and done, no regrets with the used purchase either!

Short Story: The GT TSI is a car that I have always liked a lot. A dear friend owns a VW showroom in his hometown, and often he would leave a GT TSI/TDI at my disposal; yet I never actually thought about owning one till this time.

Honourable mention for the Punto Abarth, but sketchy availability, awkward ergonomics, manual transmission, horrid stickers, and the fact that my dad hates Fiat as a brand meant that this was a non-starter.

However, once I ventured into hatchback territory, there was only one car for me right from the start.


Parting shots of my beloved Octavia. Clockwise (from top left): Freshly detailed and shining (approx 2016), one of the last odo shots (sold the car at 124,xxx), last photo ever (when I was going to pick up the Polo), freshly washed (1 day before I sold it).

[Viraat13]

Hunting

For someone who is an experienced used car buyer like me, buying a used car isn’t too hard.

My top two tips are:

1. PATIENCE (Don’t leave home without it)
2. BE CLEAR (On what you want)

With that in mind, I set the criteria for my next car:

• Not red
• Has to be a first owner car
• Must be under 20K kms
• Must be in warranty (which mostly meant under 4 years old)

The hunt started in August 2018, and for weeks, nothing came up. One day, a white GT TSI showed up, it sort of fit the bill but had done 30K kms. No matter, the price was appealing, so off I went for a test drive. Alas, the dealer showed no interest once I was there, and the car was not what I hoped it would be, and the search resumed.

At the end of September, I found a 2015 Grey GT TSI, with 20K kms on the clock with a used car dealer (MR. CAR, Naraina, Delhi), and fixed up an appointment for a TD. I showed up, and the car was missing! I raised hell and the owner came out to pacify me. The car turned up in about 30 minutes, and I did a full test drive of it, looking for all the signs of DSG trouble, and all the other things I usually check when I’m giving a used car a once over.

A couple of days later, I took my dad along for the TD. He too is a huge car enthusiast, and has been on many road trips in a friend's GT TSI (and later GTI) and is familiar with the GT TSI too. Long story short, everything on the car checked out and it was time to strike a deal. The asking price was ~7.75 lakhs, which was negotiated down to 6.3 lakhs. Additionally, I got an exchange value of 75K on my Octy (I would have got ~1 lakh for the car in Himachal, but this was easier, as I drove in with my Octavia and drove out with the Polo).

MR. CAR has a direct tie-up with HDFC for used car financing (in fact, their office is within his compound), and all the formalities were wrapped up at the dealership on 6th of October and the delivery day was finalised to be 11th October. The Polo was going to be my 26th birthday gift to myself, one month in advance!

Note: Despite the initial hiccup in the experience at Mr. Car, everything else was handled very smoothly by Mukesh (the owner himself) and I have since directed many of my friends to him. He did the negotiation with HDFC on my behalf, and the loan was closed at under 10%, all my queries were handled in a timely manner, and overall I would rate the dealership experience a solid 8.5/10.

[Viraat13]

Ownership Experience

I got delivery of the car at 20,990 kms in October 2018.


Day 1. Customary visit to the nearby mandir.


First odo shot that I took. Probably second day of ownership.

In the two and half years I’ve owned the car, I’ve added 37,000 km to it and the odo now reads 58,000 kms.


Current mileage, as of May 2021.

My initial impressions while transitioning from my 2006 Skoda Octavia to the Polo:

• Very familiar feeling surroundings, a lot of the switches and buttons are placed in similar locations (headlight switch, power windows, mirror controls, seats, etc.)
• Instrument cluster is pretty much the same. In the Octy I had an actual fuel and temperature gauge, but in the Polo I get a larger MID, but lose the gauges (sadly)
• Sound insulation, or general insulation from the outside world is pretty poor in comparison to the tank that the Octavia was
• Accelerator and brake pedal placement was still not right (same as before)
• Legroom was still not enough (same as before)
• No one can sit behind me, rendering this essentially a 3 seater (same as before)
• Medical kit was the same as my previous car
• The super compact and easy to use VW jack (known as the widowmaker) had been replaced by a generic scissor type jack

Familiar surroundings.

A lot of these small things made me feel at home pretty quickly in the Polo. I was able to get comfortable and get to my usual driving style within a few days.

There is already a wealth of information available about how the Polo is and the overall ownership experience is documented in several threads prior to mine, so I will just touch upon a few topics.

Likes

• Looks: Very subjective, but to me, the car is still good looking, more than a decade after we first lay our eyes on it. It is at ease in a crowded lane or at the porch of a fancy hotel.
• Quality: Obviously, the quality has dropped post 2015 and VW’s localisation efforts, however, it is still miles ahead of every other car. 4 star safety rating + a general feel of being a in a solid car will make one pretty happy. Of course, 0 squeaks or rattles.
• Ergonomics: Absolutely spot on. All the controls are within reach, and the buttons and switch gear are high quality and well placed. Some may find the LHD orientation of the wiper/indicator stalks awkward, but this is natural to me. In fact, out of all the cars I have/had, the Civic is the only one with the stalks the “right” way.
• Performance: Say what you may about VW giving us an (internationally) outdated SOHC engine, but the 1.2 TSI + 7 speed DSG is MILES ahead of the competition. Zipping around in traffic has never been so good! Of course, experts will say that the handling is poor and blah blah, but for someone who learnt driving on a boat (Opel Swing) and spent the rest of his time in a W124 or a Mk1 Octavia, it is pretty sharp!
• Ground clearance: I absolutely love not worrying about scraping a stone on the road or a high speed hump, this is the highest car I’ve ever owned and I really appreciate the ease of driving it brings.
• Endless upgrade possibilities: Being a VW, there is no dearth of options available if you wish to do selective upgrades. For someone who enjoys DIYs, this is neat!

Side profile, after a good wash.

Dislikes

• Legroom at the front could have been better; I’m 6 feet tall and wear a size 11 shoe. Even if I keep the seat at the lowest adjustment + all the way back, I could do with a few extra inches of legroom. (2021 update: addressed this problem as well. Will detail ahead)
• Brakes: They suck. I like driving hard when the opportunity presents, and the brakes don’t inspire confidence. I’ve warped a set of rotors already, and managed to finish a set of brake pads in 12-13K kms. This is one upgrade on my list, and I’ll do it when the funds permit. There is no chance of a remap prior to that, because I can smoke the brakes in just 20-25 minutes if I am driving hard. (2021 update: wore out second set of discs and pads, have arranged BBK)
• DSG: Mine is making some not so nice sounds from time to time. The master technician at the workshop has told me that once the noise becomes easily detectable (and can be recorded on a phone), he will pull the GB out and do all the work. I don’t mind too much, I have extended warranty for exactly this purpose. Also, the DSG is too keen to upshift, I find that an annoyance sometimes. (2021 update: clutch pack failed, will dedicate a post to this)
• VW’s skimping on features: VW has deleted several useful features that the Polo gets in other markets. I’ve made a significant amount of corrections on that front (detailed below)
• Headlights: They could have been better. Throw isn’t enough, but I do admit that I should reserve my comments till I upgrade the bulbs (2021 update: have addressed this and now I am super happy)
• Stickering: This one is relatively minor, but I dislike the excessive badging, and have removed the C pillar stickers as well as the badges from the rear.
• Climate Control: This is one feature I am happy to forgo for the rest of my life. I am very particular as to how I like the AC to be adjusted and the damn thing keeps reducing or increasing the fan speed of it's own accord. In fact, sometimes it is irritatingly insolent, as demonstrated in the GIF below.

And yes, this is normal - I've seen it on other VWs myself.

[Viraat13]

Living with the Polo GT TSI

The term hot-hatch is so over used(/abused) in our market; that I’ve settled on terming the GT TSI as a warm-hatch. Globally the 1.2 TSI is strictly a commuter spec engine, however, domestically amongst the offerings available, the 1.2 TSI is probably one of the best. Pair that with the brilliant (again, basis the present company) 7 speed DSG, and it is no wonder that several years later you see a healthy sprinkling of GT TSI’s out on the street. In terms of performance, the car meets my needs and expectations. The 0 to 100 timings are decent and a remap will make that even better. Here is a screenshot from my OBD tool Torque Pro:




9.7 seconds - on a cool winter night in Delhi. I'm too lazy to upload a video to YouTube and then embed it here, so this will have to do.

When it comes to its primary duty as a daily commuter, the numbers are not that great, but not too poor in my book considering my driving style. I don’t know why, but I am compelled to keep tabs on my car’s fuel economy, what the reason for that is, I don’t know. I never get stunning mileage, but here are the details, right from October 2018:


10.95 kmpl over 33 months

In the above data, I’m missing around 3000km of data. The truth is that sometimes when visiting the ASS the data gets reset and I’ve missed the calculation, so if I ever forget to note it prior to entering the service centre, I just tank up right after the visit and start the calculation again. Once or twice it has so happened that the trip meter has reset itself, I'm not sure at what KM it does this, but it has happened in months with high running.


While we are on the subject of fuel, I’d like to take a second to talk about System G and why I use it.



System G is the only fuel additive that has proven to work for me. We've been using it since 2003 (Opel recommended it in the owner’s manual) with practically every refuel in all my petrol powered cars. I didn’t use it for the initial 2-3 months with the Polo, but the car had a very unhealthy knocking sound at low RPM. Since I’ve started putting System G, the knocking has reduced drastically. It is an effective octane booster in my book, and worth the extra effort and money. If you wish to give it a try, visit any BP fuel station and ask for it. I try to use 93 octane as far as possible (it is available at select IOC outlets), but with the launch of XP95, I will be switching to that exclusively. Will check on the need for adding System G with that and update the thread at some point.


Late night shot outside my preferred bunk. I was too late for fuel that night.

Overall, for a small car, 10.95 kmpl is not impressive, but the poor car has spent a lot of time sitting in traffic, and the rest of the time I’m too busy enjoying the fast downshifts and the overtaking ability to really care about the FE.

Sure, if I’m more patient I could improve the FE, but let’s face it, I’m not going to change. Which is not to say that excellent FE cannot be had in this car...


When driven sensibly.



On a post lockdown T-BHP drive with the GT TSI gang
(L-R) @agambhandari, @dhruvritzed, and yours truly.
Photo credit: Utsav3010

[Viraat13]

After sales and Troubles with VW

The biggest issue I've had is the fact that VW changed their warranty policy sometime in early 2020, which meant that I was unable to renew my warranty beyond 9th June 2020. Prior to the warranty expiring I visited VW for a peculiar noise coming from the transmission. My concerns were dismissed and I was assured that my GB would be good for a long long time. This was around the 46K mark. At 52K, I had my first bit of trouble, where the car refused to slot into 1,3,5,7 and limped back home. Dhruvritzed helped me diagnose the issue as he had recently (at the time) dealt with the same thing, and he advised that I should just scan/clear the codes and hope for the best as it would mean that the transmission will work for a while more. At 58K, in April 2021 the transmission finally gave up. Since, I have got a full service history, and the service centre staff knows of my many attempts to get warranty, they assured me that they would try and get the best possible goodwill support from VW.

Unfortunately their best possible has only been up to 30%, so the cost of clutch pack + flywheel is coming to 100K approx. I was to get my car back from VW and do it myself (since the cost is working out way cheaper), but due to lockdown, my car has been stuck at VW since 19th April. I will again give it one last go, hoping that the lockdown will have affected their income enough to want to fight to retain this bit of business, else I will be forced to move away from VW SC permanently. A friend of mine got this same job done last year for 70K, I am willing to go up to 75K, but not a penny more, simply because the same job will cost me under 50K outside.

Let's see what happens, although I don't have much hope.


The infamous duo:

Dual mass flywheel


LUK Dual clutch

[Viraat13]

Here I'll be talking about each of my visits to the service centre and work carried out.


Pie chart of visits to the workshop: annual service/general check up, running repair, warranty, others.


Visit 1: 14 October 2018
KM done: 21,242
INR 31,431
Type: Annual service/General check up
AMC for 24,000, Link rods for 7,431
This was my first visit to the VW SC. I was introduced to a SA who talked me through the list of things required for the annual service. He managed to sell me the AMC of the dealer by convincing me that the service charge could increase. It was just my luck that a few weeks later VW announced that prices of service were being lowered. Felt a bit dumb, but overall didn't have a problem with it because the SA used to discount items as far as possible, and gave me a number of freebies as well (and has continued to do so, 2 years later). Apart from the service, the link rods needed attention as well, so got those replaced too. This was 3 days post purchase.

Visit 2: 29 October 2018
KM done: Not tracked
INR 9,000
Type: Others
Front Arm Rest 6RF061123XPA INR 5600
Low Tone Horn (Kit) 6RF093806 INR 3400
Visited the VW showroom as SC doesn't keep accessories. Negotiated pretty hard for these two essential items. The factory fitted horn is a disaster from a safety POV because it is absolutely inaudible. The arm rest creaked a heck of a lot, and I had to resort to furniture foam pads to fix the issue (to a large extent). Total time taken for the installation of the horn and armrest was 35-40 minutes.


The arm rest, with the foam felt pads slightly visibile.

Visit 3: 03 November 2018
KM Done: 21,969
INR 0 (INR 14,218)
Type: Warranty
This was the first warranty claim I had - the steering was super hard, and I didn't think it was normal. I visited the service center and the floor incharge immediately told me to leave the car for steering rack replacement. I also noticed that the cooling fans would be running full speed in a short period of time in traffic, so the front bumper was removed and the radiator (and condenser) was pressure washed as well.

Visit 4: 10 March 2019
KM Done: 26,710
INR 99
Type: Annual service/General check up
Just a regular 6 month general check up, got the car washed (AMC benefit), and also got 3M germ kleen (or clean, not sure), which is basically an interior dry clean (another AMC benefit). I noticed that one of the rear bumper reflectors was broken, so got that changed and was charged INR 99 for the same. The lowest bill I've ever settled at VW!


Interior cleanup in progress.

Visit 5: 24 March 2019
KM Done: 26,901
INR 4,328
Type: Running repair
I had damaged one mudflap while parking on a footpath, so went to get that changed. Turns out that they are only sold in sets of 4, so I bought a full new set. I still have the rear two with me, but am considering removing all 4. While I was there I noticed that the plastic triangular trim near the ORVM was broke, so I got that changed as well, and then decided that since the interior of the car was sparkly clean, the outside deserves to be shiny too, and got the exterior detailed by 3M.


The trim in question (next to the ORVM).


Post polish goodness.

Visit 6: 14 April 2019
KM 28,680
INR 0 (INR 7407)
Type: Warranty
During my previous visit, it was noted that the coolant level was slightly low. The technician (yes, the SC allows customers on the workshop floor, and that's where I prefer to be) topped it up and told me to keep a watch on the level. Within a few days it had dropped a bit, so I visited the SC and turns out that the VAGs + waterpump failure lovestory continues. Pretty surprising to see it at just 28k kms, but anyway.

Visit 6A: 14 April 2019
KM: 28,680
INR 7,396
Type: Running repair (not a separate visit, just two bills)

The brakes and pads needed to be changed soon, and I didn't want to come back for another visit in a month or so, so decided to get it done a bit early.

Deeply scoured discs


New discs and pads

Visit 7: 23 August 2019
KM: 35,054
INR 0 (INR 9512)
Type: Warranty
The power window motor was failing. The issue was that drivers side window would slow down and then anti-pinch function would kick in. Then I would have to hold the button to put window up instead of one-touch - a minor, but irritating problem. So I visited VW again, they opened up the door card (I provided them with the trim opening tools) and checked the motor. There was no sign of damage, but they had a spare motor to check, and the replacement worked fine. It was changed under warranty the same day. However, they did not listen to me when I said that the channel of the window was dirty and needs replacement/washing. Same issue cropped up again sometime last year - nothing that a bit of cleaning and a bit of silicone spray couldn't fix.

Visit 8: 17 September 2019
KM: 36,217
INR 9,669
Type: Annual service/General check up
It was supposed to be a basic service (already paid for under AMC), but there was a noise in the steering that was bothering me. It turned out that the grumbling noise was caused by worn out shocker mount + bearing. The advisor also advised that I should get a VW battery as the previous one was leaking, and since it wasn't OE, I could run into warranty issues. The VAG OE battery was only 500 bucks more than the comparable Amaron, so I went ahead with it. They even offered to buy back the old battery for 800 bucks, but I happened to check with my local battery guy about the buyback, and he was offering me more and was willing to come home and pick it up, so that's what I went for.


The new battery. Exide, made in Spain.

Visit 9: 10 October 2019
KM 37,346
INR 1000 (+INR 26,486 from insurance)
Type: Others
Details covered in next post (accident + insurance)
Mistakes + Multiple visits + time taken + repaint (of the poor repaint) + scratches + repaint pending = never getting anything painted at VW again. It takes too damn long.

Visit 10: 09 February 2020
KM: 43,671
INR 2978
Type: Running repair + General check up
Since I had done 7500km, I went for a general check up. Ever since I put the eurospec air intake + GTI air intake pipe, I have noticed that the car pulls more air, and ends up with a very dusty filter in just 6 months. It had been 15K km since I got the brake pads changed, but I felt there wasn't enough bite, and as it turned out the pads were completely worn!
For the first 1000 km the brakes had excellent bite. My friend akshay4587 had driven it a few days later on 16 February and also remarked about the good brake bite, but sadly the bite is now gone after just a few hard drives. This short brake pad replacement interval + overall poor braking has got me convinced on the need for a Big Brake Kit (BBK) upgrade. I'm planning on doing the same by the time the current set is due for replacement. Luckily I'd gotten in touch with mod suhaas307 over WhatsApp and he helped me with the part numbers + sources for the same.


Disappointed with brakes because they were worn down to nothing in just 14,991 km.


Visit 11: 13 September 2020
KM: 48,403
INR 9230
Type: Annual service/General check up
Just a regular service, since the last one was done 1 year ago (time lapsed, km remaining). I had noticed that the engine oil after 15k km is in really bad shape and had made a mental note to try and service the car a little earlier. Turns out, it is pretty bad even at 12k, so I will be switching to a 10 interval going forward. Also got carbon activated cabin filter as per usual. Always takes about 6 hours for a service + washing. Still had coupon remaining from the AMC purchased, but had decided not to get the car washed at VW again because of time taken. I wanted to get the fuel filter changed too, but it wasn't in stock and hence put off for another visit.


Visit 12: 10 October 2020
KM: 49,772
INR 1670
Type: Running repair
Visited because the bonnet stopped opening, issue was with one small plastic bit that holds the bonnet release cable together, decided to get the pending fuel filter replacement sorted out as well. Fuel filter change made a notable difference in the driving, pick up was better and the engine didn't seem to strain as much. I've decided to change this filter every year, since it is only 795 bucks. Also decided to use the last free washing coupon I had from the AMC.


The plastic bit that holds the cables together.


The fuel filter.

Visit 13: 07 March 2021
KM: 56,279
INR 2005
Type: Annual service/General check up
6 monthly check up - decided to get the air filter changed again, prices have reduced further and it now costs only INR 257. Cabin filter was changed too, and the carbon activated filter has become more expensive by about 150 bucks. Priced at INR 950 now. Battery was checked and found to be defective as per the battery testing tool. Need to visit at some point to get a replacement since I bought it in September 2019 and it has 2 years of warranty. No symptoms of a failing battery, but why investigate when I'm getting a new battery?


Visit 14: 18 April 2021
KM: 58,042
Type: Others
Clutch pack failure. Detailed in previous post.


On the way to the service center. Autonomous driving is certainly not for me.


If as I expect that VW will not budge on their stand of 20-30% goodwill, it is very likely to be my last visit to the service center for any work. Going forward I will maintain it myself and keep my own maintenance schedule.

[Viraat13]

Insurance



09 October 2019: I was standing at a traffic signal (next to the central verge) and a Zomato biker crashed into the verge, then into my car, and back to the verge and back into my car before he could manage to stop. As a result the rear right quarter panel, right passenger door, and even the drivers door got dented/scratched. The biker wasn't injured (beyond a few scratches) and probably was rushing to make a delivery, so I took a sympathetic view and told him to go on his way and ride carefully.

I had renewed with GoDigit in June, and had gone for 0 Dep, so decided to file a claim. The entire process was super smooth. All you have to do is call them and inform them of the damage; they send you a link over email where you have to click and upload photos of the damage. Thereafter take it to the workshop and give them the claim number, surveyor approves (not sure if he visits or does basis photos) and the workshop begins the work after you've paid filing charges. Would rate them 10/10 for this process.

Alas, I wish I could have said the same about VW's paint job. They took a few days, replaced the door as well, but the paint was full of dust. I pointed it out to the paint shop manager and he accepted his mistake and offered to redo the entire job. The second time around the work done was satisfactory, except that the inside of the door has an exposed area where the finish was absolutely sub par (photo below).




Not only that, they had managed to scratch the car in 3 other places.



And if that wasn't enough, they also buffed the paint a little too aggressively here:


I was pretty fed up and gave the paint shop manager quite an earful, and the GM came in to intervene and had a super casual outlook on the whole situation, so he got told off as well. As a token of apology, the paint shop manager got the entire car detailed at no cost, and sent me an email saying that he will fix the damaged portions whenever I ask.

That repaint is still pending, as I fear what they will botch this time.

Regarding GoDigit: The insurance premium I had paid was something like 15K, and the claim settled was 27K. When the time for renewal came, they hiked the premium to INR 24,xxx and I renewed with Acko instead at INR 13,xxx. All the other quotes I had from Policy Bazaar and other sources were upwards of 22,000.

I haven't had any reason to file a claim with Acko (I hope I don't have to ever, in fact), but if I do, I will have to pay a mandatory deductible of INR 5000. I'm not too concerned by this as even if I have to claim twice in a given year I will still be paying about how much I would have paid for any other 0 Dep insurance.

At the end of January 2020, I was rear ended while crawling down a flyover. The errant car was an Eeco (private reg, carrying paying passengers), and the driver was occupied on his phone and came rolling right into me while I had my foot on the brake. The driver tried to make it out to be my fault, when in fact, I was practically at a standstill (heavy traffic) - this really annoyed me and I turned the tables on him and extracted a bit of money for his foolishness.


The damage.

I didn't want to go through the hassle of claiming insurance for something that could be fixed at an FNG for cheap, especially after my last experience, so I went ahead and visited my painter who has been denting/painting cars for my dad since the mid 80s.


Fix in progress.


Looks good - although I'm not a fan of the HSRP.

[Viraat13]

Non Service Centre Expenses

In this section I will try and cover all the various expenses and purchases made apart from the spends at VW.

Tyres
19 April 2019
The Polo was running Goodyear NCT from factory and they were in dire shape by the time 28,000 km showed up on the odo, so I went ahead with my tried and tested Yokohama Earth 1, in the stock size of 185/60/15. I paid INR 18,000 for a set of 4.


The Earth 1s on my Skoda Octavia. This is after ~65,000 km done.

I had a pretty nasty puncture in December 2019:

I got heat vulcanization done for the two holes and I've been keeping this tyre exclusively at the rear since - although I've noticed no balancing issues as such.

Considering my usage, I find these to be the perfect tyres. Some people say they get noisy with age but I am yet to experience that. I've done all sorts of unmentionable speeds, and they do well. I'm happy with the braking, handling, and performance in rain. Cannot recommend them enough for a daily driver.

Headlight Leak
December 2019

The drivers side headlight had an issue of moisture entering during rains/very humid weather and VW warranty doesn't apply to the lights after 3 or 4 years (fishy policy), so I had to get it done from my headlight guy. IIRC I paid something like 1000-1500 for the fix for which the light had to be cut open, and then the glass was pasted back to the body after cleaning up and drying the inside.

Eurospec Reflector
I had always wondered what that blank slot was there for and one day while TheLizardKing and I were discussing it, he finally found out that it was for the warning triangle. Both of us ordered it that very minute.

Part Number 7L0860251

Mats
I absolutely hate rubber mats and their unpremium feel, and regardless of how practical they are, I always like having a good set of fabric mats.

Elegant is my go to brand for this, and I've been a happy footmat customer since 2014. This photo is courtesy of TheLizardKing, as I didn't have a good photo, and these mats do need replacement every 2 years and I'm past that date, so they're not photograph worthy.

Others
Of course, there are a number of expenses that one can't keep track of, such as air fresheners, various tools/rachet sets, polishes, sprays, fuel treatments, and so on.
However, there are a lot of small improvements I've made to the Polo, which I will showcase in the posts ahead.

V-Belt Idler + Belt
This past winter I was getting a shrill chirping sound from the fan belt everytime I started the car in the morning. Initially I thought maybe the belt is a bit dry, so I put a couple of drops of brake fluid on it, but it did no good. I decided to change the idler pulley and the belt to kill the noise. I managed to source a VW OE belt, and the idler was from the OE supplier INA.

The culprits.

Sachs Suspension
I nearly forgot to include this major improvement done for the ride and handling of the car! The stock shockers are just so average and since they're oil filled they don't really respond as well as one comes to expect, plus they make phish-ing sounds all the damn time. At 53,000 km, the stock suspension was about ready to give up - it had started crashing through every small bump and I just couldn't live with it.

Ever since I'd driven Dhruvritzed's Polo GT TSI I knew I wanted Sachs dampers for my car as well. However, after the pandemic due to slow production worldwide, and general shipping delays, I had to search for these shockers for almost 3 weeks before finding a source!


Getting Sach-sy

While the front and rear suspension was open, I addressed a few other components that needed replacement: arm bushes, stabiliser bar bushes, shocker mount buffer (front & rear), and maybe one other thing that is slipping my mind.

Post suspension:

Does it ride high? Yes. Does it look slightly awkward? Yes. Do I care? No.
The ride is so supremely supple and yet feels so planted, I am able to do silly things with the car that I just couldn't have tried earlier. The INR 23000 I spent on the Sachs is probably the best 23K I've spent on the Polo till now.

[Viraat13]

Just some photos of the car...


A dear friend's Bug, with my humble Polo. Love the plain German font plates - sadly had to get rid of them for the mandatory HSRPs


Twinning with a close friends Vento 1.6 AT - absolutely lovely colour.


A nice place to be.


My first teambhp sticker on any car (thanks AShubrah!) and a punny Nurburgring (Neverbeen) sticker.


Sunday morning ritual: Starbucks coffee and then a drive around Lutyens Delhi. Can't wait for the first Sunday after lockdown!


One of the many Team-BHP meets I'd attended over the past year.


Blaupunkt GTB-8200A - 8 inch active subwoofer. Excellent for the price, and more than enough bass for a small car. Will be installing a hi-lo converter to see if there is any improvement in the SQ.


Who says you can't cart stuff around in the Polo? I'd loaded the car full of Gypsy parts for a fellow BHPian - epicenter.rulez and then couriered the parts to him in GJ.


When the temperature drops below 4 degrees, the MID shows this little snowflake and the outside temperature comes up and flashes along with a warning tone to tell you it's cold. I find that kind of sweet.


An absolutely essential accessory for the heat in Delhi. I've also got the factory tinted window glasses on order, since any sort of film is illegal in Delhi and a money spinner for cops.

[Viraat13]

Improvements (Addressing my dislikes)

Legroom
The legroom in this car was never quite enough for me. I have a very laid back driving seating position, and I used to find it difficult to lift my foot from the accelerator and to the brake repeatedly in traffic - this used to pull a nerve or cause a cramp. I had the exact same issue in the Octavia as well. As a result of this problem, I've taken to left foot braking, I started way back in 2014, and no, I don't get confused when I drive an MT car. However, I still wanted more legroom.

For this project, I roped in my upholstery guy and a denter with a gas welder.

Step 1: Remove all the seats, the carpet, and plastic trimmings from around the drivers seat mounting area:


Step 2: Measure how far back the channel can be placed, and measure again.

Step 3: Mark the areas where the seat channel is to sit, and create provision for the same by either making a hole in the sheet metal and welding in a new nut, or by adding additional sheet metal where needed.


I wanted the seat to be 3 inches further back, so on one side a bit of additional metal was needed. This came off from the C pillar of a Mercedes W203 which had been made into a convertible (I know, SMH.).

Primer applied to prevent rusting, and then it was sprayed with some paint from a can.

Since the seats and entire carpet was out of the car, I took this opportunity to add a layer of 10mm high density rubberised foam on the entire floor pan. It made a noticeable difference in the road noise.

Final seating position:

Both the seats are all the way back.

Brakes
I've complained about the stock brakes plenty, but what I've not complained about is the atrocious prices people charge for the BBK.
Since this is a VW, and VW treats their parts bin like a Lego set, I did some trial and error and made myself a BBK with junk parts. Now unfortunately, the transmission failure happened 5km after the BBK swap, so I don't have any feedback to give.


Top row: Calipers, disc size comparison, discs and the ever elusive caliper carriers
Bottom: The huge brakes that juuuuust about fit in the 15 inch wheels.
Big shout out to agambhandari for helping me figure this out.

Headlights

After having tried every conceivable combination of lights between LEDs (multiple), Halogens, Osram NBU, HID for almost each combo, below is the set up I am running, and finally happy with.

• Parking Lights: Osram LED (6000k)
• Fog Lights: 4500K LED w/ Fan (to be installed)
• Main beam: HID Kit (6000k)
• High Beam: DCH LED (6000k)

This is the what the output is like now, and I couldn't be happier. Before I get brickbats for using LED in my high beams without projectors, hear this - I don't drive with my high beams on at all, they are there only to blind the idiots who blind everyone else. Besides, the beam pattern is well controlled.


I love how it looks with the yellow tinted fogs (on the insistence of AShubrah - thanks again!).

[Viraat13]

DIYs - Basic Tools

Before undertaking any DIY, one must be armed with the basic tools/items that you could need while executing any little project. 95% of my DIYs were done with the below equipment.

1. Scotch Locks (wire taps)
2. Fuse Taps
3. Heatshrink tubing for joining wires
4. Wire cutter/stripper
5. 3m double sided tape w/ primer
6. Electrical tape
7. Various thimbles/spade connectors
8. Regular and needle nosed pliers
9. A good ratchet set

Apart from the above you'll need 0.5mm or 1.0mm wires in various colours (2/3), assorted self tapping screws (also known as Chinese pech locally), a lighter for the heat shrink, digital caliper (good to have), measuring tape (good to have), ammeter (good to have), and a test light (no need to buy, easy to make one).


And don't forget the zip ties. Seriously, those memes about how zip ties, tape, and WD40 can solve a lot of problems? It's true. You can use them to not only tie off excess cables, but you can tape together 2-3 of the biggest tip ties you have and use them to pass wires through trims/panels and in awkward places. Get them in multiple sizes.

Also consider getting a small torx toolkit, the kind computer/mobile technicians have. Sometimes you'll encounter a tiny screw and be stuck because you don't have the right tool.


Another useful tool is a telescopic magnet, many a time you will drop a screw in a hard to reach place, and this will get it for you

This is how your car will probably be looking like during a DIY:


And for the last, my most favourite tool - the Swiss Army Knife. This will bail you out of a lot of sticky situations, more than the fancy Leatherman floating around in your car.


Here I am cutting a hole for the boot lamp DIY - I only took a video to convince TheLizardKing to get a Swiss Knife too - I wonder if he did.

[Viraat13]

Audio Upgrades
HU: 11/2019
The Rest: 01/2020


I would rate the stock sound system a basic 5/10, the original HU had a good stable BT connection, apart from the usual AUX/USB/CD/etc. But it did look really old in an otherwise modern looking interior. Apart from the looks what I really wanted was Android Auto.


Boring looking stock HU with the piano black dust magnet trim.

I enquired at various locations and got quotes ranging from 30k (aftermarket) to 45k (VW). The prices at VW have been revised since then and this HU can be had for approx 25K with installation and warranty at VW itself. I got my unit from AliExpress (seller: LemonShark) for 22K landed and duty included.

The purchase was smooth, delivery was by Aramex and I got the unit a few days after I ordered it, unfortunately the seller forgot to put the correct wiring harness adapter, so I had to wait a few days for that.

I got the courier late evening, and went ahead with the installation that very night.


Test fit, and everything looked good. The wiring harness adapter wasn't perfect for my use since it assumed that the stock wiring didn't have Canbus (essential for the HU to know when lights are on, when the engine is running, when you're on the move, etc), it gave a long and complicated method of wiring up to the BCM. I just used wire taps and tapped the Canbus lines that were in the stock wiring coming to the HU and all was well.

A brief review of the RCD330+/RCD330G/RCD340. It is the same unit with multiple names. As long as it has AA/CP it is pretty much the same.

Features:

• Android Auto
• Apple Carplay
• Bluetooth/Radio/USB/SD Card/Aux
• 6.5 inch Display

Things I like:

• Very simple installation, and perfect fit for VWs (including back-light)
• Super fast BT connection - never had a hiccup
• Almost flawless implementation of AA
• Bright display with matt finish (never have trouble seeing the screen)
• Better audio output than stock HU - the SQ improved by a good margin just by changing the HU
• Call quality is decent, although some people complain of echo

Things that could have been better:

• Distinctly average output of 20w x 4
• No RCA outputs
• AA has just one bug, and it drives me up the wall: sometimes after you get a notification, the system decides to resume audio playback even if you weren't listening to anything!

A 90 degree USB cable is a must with the HU for me - I like how it sits flush.

The HU with the maps loading, and incidentally a notification from a T-BHP WhatsApp group.

As I mentioned above, the slight improvement in audio with the new HU suddenly sparked a desire to have a good sound system in the car. However this time, I wanted to do the entire upgrade myself - no good reason for it, except that I wanted to try it out.

I took all sorts of recommendations, listened to a whole bunch of set ups, and then eventually selected this:

Blaupunkt GTB-8200A Active Subwoofer, Infinity Reference CX6520 Components, Rockford Fosgate Prime R165 Components

• I've installed Infinity in the front as I really love the sound signature - it sounds like a much more expensive speaker considering the way it handles all sorts of music.
• I put the Rockfords in the rear, with the tweeters mounted near the rear parcel shelf. My initial selection for the rear speakers were Focal Auditor, and I think I may have liked those a little more. The Rockford focuses a lot on the mids and highs, so it more suited to being a front speaker than rear (where IMO mids and bass is more important so that the sound has good filler). Despite that, the RFs are fine speakers.
• There are a number of active sub options on the market, but I felt that the compact size of the Blaupunkt was more suited to a small car, and boy was I right. For the money, it can't be beat. I used a fairly expensive 8 gauge wiring kit for this as a way to future proof the investment in case I decided to get a bigger sub later, but I don't feel the need.
• I also went absolutely crazy with the damping. I've damped the doors (2 layers), the floor pan, the roof, and the boot as well.
• Another thing I spent a fair bit of money was the wiring. I had some copper speaker wire (16 gauge) lying around, so I used that for all the connections, and like I mentioned above, I used a pretty good wiring kit for the active sub too.

Unfortunately I didn't take too many photos while installing the speakers or laying the wiring kit from the battery to the boot, but it was a great learning experience, if a bit painful. I had to open much more trim than I had imagined, but luckily everything went back together without any damage. Will I do it myself again? Pretty unlikely, but I will surely be able to supervise any future installs much better!


Rear door:


Front door:


Approx Spend: INR 55,000
Approx Time: 12 hours

[Viraat13]

Euro Spec Air Channel + GTI (1.4 TSI) Air Intake Pipe

The reason for this mod is pretty simple. If your car breathes better, it will perform better.


This is the air intake channel we get as stock. It forces the car to suck hot air from inside the engine bay. My assumption is that this is to make the paper air filter last for the 15K km service interval.


This is the eurospec air intake channel (1T0 805 971) which allows the car to breath air from the outside, It is essentially a proper CAI (cold air intake).


While I was doing this, I also went ahead and swapped the air intake pipe. The bigger pipe is from the pre FL GTI (1.4 TSI).


Installed! It needed a zip tie to keep it in place because the plastic had bent a little while shipping. I'm sure it is fine now, but I've still not removed the zip tie.

Net effect:

1. Saw the TC light flicker a little more than usual.
2. The FE went up by a small margin (0.5 kmpl) and the torque at lower RPM felt to be slightly improved. I say felt because I don't have numbers to back the claim, purely butt-dyno.
3. I also have to change the air filter every 6 months because it pulls in much more dust too. Not a big deal, air filters used to be 350 or so earlier, but now they're even cheaper - INR 257.

Part Numbers:

• Air Channel: 1T0 805 971
• Intake Pipe: 6R0 129 618D
• Intake Duct (basically connects the pipe to the air channel) : 6R0 129 621B

Overall, I am happy with this cheap, easy, and quick mod.

Approx Spend: 3000-4000 (I don't recall, I had got these parts from TheLizardKing)
Approx Time: 30 minutes