[sachin_cs]

I was contemplating for a suspension mod for quite some time as my stock ones had already done 85k kms. I also saw BHPian Tuisha110BHP's review on Sachs and since then I wanted those. I got the contact of Germancart from Tuisha and discussed my mod plans with him. He suggested that I go for the Sachs setup as he owns two Rapids himself and based on his personal experience, Sachs was the best your VAG can get. The other options were Schaeffler, TRW, OEM, Meyle, Monroe, Alko Spain, etc. I decided to go for the best one out there- Sachs Front and Rear shocker. I placed an order in November 2023 but unfortunately due to Red Sea conflict my shipment could arrive only in February 2024. Since my car has seen a lot of abuse in those 85k kms, I decided to get the entire suspension overhauled. The following parts were ordered-

• Sachs Front & Rear Shocker
• Borsehung Germany rear Mounts
• Meyle Front Mounts
• Magnetti Marelli Suspension kit
• Meyle Germany Lower Arm Bushes
• Vika Link Rod
• Magnetti Marelli Balance Rod bushing
• Some child parts which I forgot

Total Cost~ ball park of 40k, if you want to replace steering rack then around 50k

A. Installation-

I scourged the Raipur FNG scene and I didn't find anyone worthy to do the job. Either they asked too much money or they were too shoddy. Finally, I requested my Skoda CRM to please get it done in the Showroom itself but she said it won't be possible because these parts are technically aftermarket however superior they may be to the OEMs. But she helped me get in touch with a Skoda mechanic and he agreed to do it on Sunday in some ABC workshop of his friend. Finally, the day arrived, I went there to get my dream suspension setup installed on my Car. It was a 4-5 hour job and it almost took my entire day considering I live 40kms away from the workshop.

You will need a hydraulic lift, a wheel gun, tools, and a bit of space for a suspension job. Regarding the quality of work, it was okayish to be honest, though the guy had worked at Skoda, he did a hasty job and he was not very careful with my car. He broke my wiper cowl, scratches on the bonnet, and even while loading/unloading parts from the boot, he accidentally banged my car with link rod. Overall a mediocre experience, I gave him an earful but that doesn't make any difference to the damages. Labour cost- 5k

Experience with Sachs: (I have done 5000kms on Sachs)

As informed by the guy from Germancart and Tuisha, the Sachs are on the stiffer side when compared to the stock gabriel shockers. So, naturally the low-speed ride quality is on the stiffer side. On the other hand, my gosh, the car literally flies. The high-speed ride quality has improved by leaps and bounds. I will explain how-

• Expansion joints are not felt when you are driving fast, it just glides over them
• Dips after flyover are taken with maturity, it just goes in the dip and gains back its composure. Other cars bounce over such dips, Rapid just sticks to the road
• Body-roll... what does that even mean? Take a corner at 40 or 60 or 80, the car stays flat
• Braking has improved a lot, the car just stops and there is minimal nose dive
• Shockers take some time to open up, initially they were very stiff but after driving 2000 km, they have settled in nicely.
• Because of stiff suspension, underbody hits have reduced
• Low-speed ride is stiff but in a good way, it takes bigger potholes & bumps with maturity i.e. it does not make a thud sound and even if you hit a big pothole, it doesn't make you feel as if your car will break, it just feels robust
• There's less sagging when the car is loaded with passengers and luggage
• I took a test drive of Verna 1.5 Turbo, Slavia 1.5 DSG post-installation and they don't even come close to the confidence you get on the Rapid

Negatives:

• If you regularly drive on bad roads then it might not suit you
• At slow speeds you will feel the road a lot more, once you speed up things smoothen out but you can't always drive fast, especially in the city
• Expensive, the stock shockers cost 10k and the Sachs costs 28k [F & R]. But I feel it's a one-time investment, so I went ahead with them.
• The rear makes a thud sound at times when going over bumps, it feels like something is loose, I will get it checked soon.
• You tend to drive fast because the speed is not felt

Experience with Germancart:

I got his contact from BHPian Tuisha and we both are not associated with him in any way. I had a great experience with him right from placing the order to delivery & post-delivery feedback. He was transparent throughout and kept updating me on the status of my shipment. He is a fellow VAG enthusiast who started this venture during the lockdown and you may find his insta id here https://www.instagram.com/german_cart_/ He mostly deals in parts of German cars.

Please find some pictures below-


The workshop in Mahadevghat Raipur


That's how you break the cowl, I asked him to remove the cowl and then work on suspension but he thought he was the expert


Old OE shocker


Removing the shocker




Bushings in lower arm were changed in Lathe/Press machine


Meyle


Old Bushings had Audi logo


Shocker un-mounting resulted in scratches in the bonnet because of his carelessness. I asked him to be careful but he






Perks of owning a Skoda


Just see the difference in the build of stock vs Vika link Rod


These days the Kushaq comes with a plastic link rod


Metal rear mount from Borsehung


The seller advised me to manually push the shockers before fitting for 20-30 times so that gas is equally distributed






Glad that Rapid came with underbody protection. It not only saves from underbody damage but also keeps the engine bay clean












When I returned home, this random dog strolled into our house


I guess he also likes Rapid


Random shot


Finished the day with a refuel at Jio Bunk

P.S. Please feel free to ask any doubts regarding Rapid or Suspension, I will be more than happy to guide you.

Mod Note: Please continue discussing this topic on the dedicated thread.

[sachin_cs]

As of writing this, my car is in service centre and I was supposed to pick her today but I just couldn’t accept my car in the state in which they wanted to return me. My car was given for Service on 15th May 2024 for 7th General service and a minor dent repair. Upon request I was given a courtesy car- Rapid petrol, which I really appreciate. I specifically asked them to be careful with my car, went on a test drive with a senior mechanic and explained him the rattling issues from doors and underbody. Today I got a call that my car is ready and I may take my car back. When I walked in the Skoda service centre, what greets me was-

• My car has a missing roof antenna
• Car is covered in dust and streak marks
• Cheap & smelly interior polish on the inside
• Upon close inspection, I saw damages on Front-Right door and door card

This was a clear disappointment from them, after a lot of promises that we are doing a lot to improve our service quality feels like all talk and no show. So, sat with the management and we came to conclusion that-

• Antenna was removed during bodyshop paintwork and it was installed back in my presence. Fair enough!
• Door panels were opened and instead of using prying tools, metal screwdriver was used
• When I asked the mechanic to provide me an explanation, he blamed it on someone else that a new guy has done it.

Dear Skoda, my car is not a Guinea pig that you will teach your mechanics a hand-on experience. When I’m sending my car for service, I expect my car to be returned in a better shape and not with more damages. It was a sheer disappointment. For them, it might be a small issue, but for me its not. I can’t stand a scratch on my car and I always bring my car to service centre to repair, the least I expect is to get new damages from the place where I’m supposed to get repair my previous damages.

So the service team assured me that they will take care of it- please take your car back, whenever you come back, we will get it repaired. Had they been slightly more proactive, I would have not wasted half of my day. I made it very clear that I’m not taking back my car till the time it’s back in shape. Let’s see how long does it take, I dropped my car on 15th May & on 17th it was supposed to be with me but alas.




If the authorised service centre is supposed to use screw driver to open the doorpanel, I would rather take it to a roadside mechanic, if both have to do the same thing.









It really pains me that when I'm giving you my time (showroom is 40kms from my home one way), energy, money and in the end this is what we get. Incidences like these really make me feel that at one point in my life I should open a workshop myself and cater to just mine and enthusiasts cars.

[R_Gowardhan]

Really sad to see the treatment meted out. A Skoda-VW workshop is the last place I expect a car to be mutilated like this. Reading through the post, I honestly felt that these might be minor scratches and you might be exaggerating the damage. But seeing the pictures, my heart sunk. The fact that I own the same car in the same color and variant made me feel the pain as my own.

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by R_Gowardhan

Really sad to see the treatment meted out. A Skoda-VW workshop is the last place I expect a car to be mutilated like this. Reading through the post, I honestly felt that these might be minor scratches and you might be exaggerating the damage. But seeing the pictures, my heart sunk. The fact that I own the same car in the same color and variant made me feel the pain as my own.

Thanks R_Gowardhan for relating to my plight and understanding the pain it gives to us owners who have bought the cars with our hard earned money. And while confronting them, they were like it’s just a minor scratch, the car has not met with an accident as such, you may drive it for now and whenever you come back, we will repair it. I stood my ground and asked them to call me when my car is back in the condition in which I gave them. I don’t know how hard is it for them to take care of customers property, the last time I gave my car, the sd-card from dash cam was stolen, they gave me a new card later after a lot of escalation.