[noopster]

Got my first 12.x kmpl figure tank to tank in regular usage last night. I have got this figure only on the highways before this. Car is about 100 km short of the 15K mark, due for its first service, and that's perhaps why it is at peak performance! Also the ambient temperature has cooled a lot and I have observed this car does really well at around 16-20 degrees instead of the usual 25-35 the rest of the year.

Will update on my service experience once I get it done. The BUB omnline service form doesn't seem to be working- I used it last week and haven't got a reply yet.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Thats some mileage you've managed to get from Fraulein!
Any change in driving style, or is it just that the car's engine seems to be opening up?

I suppose, after the 15k servicing, it would increase by a notch or two.

[Monaro CV8]

Spot on observation with the ambient temperature..

You may notice the same all around the year specially during early morning drives, when the air is relatively cooler.
Not just the FE, but you'll notice that the overall performance (specially the engine) will be towards the optimum side.

Your FE will also marginally go up after the 1st service.

[Hayek]

That's why fuel economy in bombay is so lousy through the year. Though even 25° vs 35° makes a difference.

[subodh]

@ Monaro agree with you totally. When you are driving the car early in morning, the engine feels more powerful and responsive. Its because of the cold air intake it gets and the engine temp remaining cold.

@noopster: That is great Milage. Now a days since I am approaching the 15k mark, even I have seen improvement in the Milage by 1 to 2 kmpl. I guess the engine has started to open up and lets hope it gives better fuel efficiency as well as Milage after the First service

[bluevolt]

All cars gives more fuel efficiency in winters (or in cold weather/monsoons).

Related thread
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ng-better.html

[subodh]

Right Bluevolt but it cannot be very cold as well. If its too cold, then half of the efficiency goes waste in heating up the air i guess. If this is not true, then do cars run longer miles in iceland than in tropical countries?

[suhaas307]

Congratulations, long over-due Anoop?

Let me say, that when I saw the Vento for the first time, I didn't think much of it. It looked like a hatch (Polo) with a boot. Much like many other sedans in India. But only after a few months did I realize how important this car is for our market.

VW have pulled off something quite amazing with the Vento.

It's decently spacious, extremely well-built, packs a punch, and it's German!

It's arguably, the most sensible car for the price.

I enjoyed the write-up, and the pictures are nice too. Now, it's time I go through the entire 30 page thread.

Oh, and I must commend VW's design department for managing to neatly integrate the boot on this one. Thank God, for that!

Congratulations Noopster! Wish you many many miles of happiness!

[noopster]

Completed my 15,000 km/1year service last week. I got it done from the BU Bhandari folks whose service shop is at Wakad, not far from my place of work.

Overall experience: positive. [list][*] I am quite happy with the BUB folks- service advisor is very responsive and knows his stuff (same guy I dealt with last time, when I took it for the general checkup in October).

• I requested a pick-up and drop from my office which is hardly 5 km away. They sent a guy bang on time (I kept him waiting 20 mins in fact, ).
• The car seems to be in good health overall: the only things changed were the oil filter, air filter and AC dust/pollen filter. Plus the oil itself, about 3 and a half litres of it.
• I have not had to top up my oil once in 15,000 km which is a relief since VW engines are notorious for being oil guzzlers. Almost all TSI and TDI owners report having to top up at least once or twice before the scheduled servicing
• They also did a wheel balancing and alignment- despite me saying it was fine. The SA said there was some misalignment- I actually hadn't realised it but he assured me there was. The car does feel better to steer now.
• The air conditioner vents seem to have opened up and air flow is freer now. I was delighted by this since I had assumed that was just the way the climatronic operates. Will be a relief in the harsh summers.
• Overall car feels smoother, fresher. My dad describes a servicing as "getting a haircut for the car" which is as perfect a description as I've heard!

Grouses- well am nitpicking, but whatever!

• They charged me 250/- for pickup and drop despite me being told it would be complimentary both when booking the appointment and by the guy who picked up the car. When I protested, the lady at service reception claimed that the bill was already made and reversing the charge would not be possible. I maintained a sugary sweet tone, told her that I have given the car to you guys despite buying it from your competitor and if 250/- is such a big deal to you, no worries, will give it to the other guy going forward She said she would have to discuss it with her senior, the service manager. When my final bill arrived, it was conspicuously missing a 250/- pickup/drop charge!
• The car was not cleaned thoroughly from inside. The dash and air vents were clean but the floor wasn't. If VW insists on providing beige upholstery to their customers, the least they can do is run a heavy-duty vaccuum cleaner on those carpets!
• No goodies/freebies of any kind. My MSIL service centre tosses in free servicing/pickup and drop coupons everytime I send it to them.

@suhaas- welcome to the party! Better late than never I say!


The estimate was 7K odd and the final bill was 8012/-

[evilshantanu]

Originally Posted by noopster

Completed my 15,000 km/1year service last week. I got it done from the BU Bhandari folks whose service shop is at Wakad, not far from my place of work.

Overall experience: positive. [list]
I am quite happy with the BUB folks- service advisor is very responsive and knows his stuff (same guy I dealt with last time, when I took it for the general checkup in October). [list]
I requested a pick-up and drop from my office which is hardly 5 km away. They sent a guy bang on time (I kept him waiting 20 mins in fact, ). [list]
The car seems to be in good health overall: the only things changed were the oil filter, air filter and AC dust/pollen filter. Plus the oil itself, about 3 and a half litres of it. [list]
I have not had to top up my oil once in 15,000 km which is a relief since VW engines are notorious for being oil guzzlers. Almost all TSI and TDI owners report having to top up at least once or twice before the scheduled servicing[list]
They also did a wheel balancing and alignment- despite me saying it was fine. The SA said there was some misalignment- I actually hadn't realised it but he assured me there was. The car does feel better to steer now.[list]
The air conditioner vents seem to have opened up and air flow is freer now. I was delighted by this since I had assumed that was just the way the climatronic operates. Will be a relief in the harsh summers. [list]
Overall car feels smoother, fresher. My dad describes a servicing as "getting a haircut for the car" which is as perfect a description as I've heard!

Grouses- well am nitpicking, but whatever![list]
They charged me 250/- for pickup and drop despite me being told it would be complimentary both when booking the appointment and by the guy who picked up the car. When I protested, the lady at service reception claimed that the bill was already made and reversing the charge would not be possible. I maintained a sugary sweet tone, told her that I have given the car to you guys despite buying it from your competitor and if 250/- is such a big deal to you, no worries, will give it to the other guy going forward She said she would have to discuss it with her senior, the service manager. When my final bill arrived, it was conspicuously missing a 250/- pickup/drop charge![list]
The car was not cleaned thoroughly from inside. The dash and air vents were clean but the floor wasn't. If VW insists on providing beige upholstery to their customers, the least they can do is run a heavy-duty vaccuum cleaner on those carpets!

• No goodies/freebies of any kind. My MSIL service centre tosses in free servicing/pickup and drop coupons everytime I send it to them.

@suhaas- welcome to the party! Better late than never I say!


The estimate was 7K odd and the final bill was 8012/-

Good to know that she is feeling better and kicking some fine dust on the road already!

The Dash and the vent cleanliness is something that even I had an issue with here. Wwhen I got my vehicle, there was dust on the dashboard, something which I would never expect after servicing (aka haircut!) of the vehicle. Another minor sore thumb kinda feeling was using the news papers as foot mats (IMHO) after the washing and vacuuming of the car. Even the Humble Hyundai and Tata folks have "Please visit again" kind of branded recycled paper foot mats to avoid dust soon after the vacuuming.

I asked for a box of tissues, as I got after the delivery of the new vehicle. Not that I mind buying tissues from the grocery store, but a VW branded tissue dabba in a VW car looks good. I was not given this box of tissues, even Tata gave this to me after the service of my Nano.

Not that this is a big issue, but these are the minor things which brings in the "feel good factor" . Guess the VW customer care needs to work on these things.

Surprisingly the cost for servicing of Petrol and the diesel comes to around the same thing!

[Swanand Inamdar]

Noop, that was some work done on the car!
How do you find the oevrall performance? Any change that is noticed?
It may be too early, but this tankful should generate some even better FE figures.

I still feel that 8k is on the higher side. Yeah, I know my Laura's second servicing was exactly twice that amount . But the 1st one was a mere 5 odd.

What I found out today morning is, Shell Helix Ultra at these service stations costs Rs. 835.XX a liter, as against the Rs. 11XX that they charge us for picking up cans. Same oil at different prices? Surprising.

[Monaro CV8]

Hey noops,
Great going with your Vento!

Just curious to know: did you by any chance pick up from BUB; the make of the synthetic oil they used for your car?
I remember, during my days of getting the octy serviced at an authorized service, the Skoda's preferred only Shell Helix.
Wonder which oil company VW is married to in India..

Originally Posted by noopster

• The air conditioner vents seem to have opened up and air flow is freer now. I was delighted by this since I had assumed that was just the way the climatronic operates. Will be a relief in the harsh summers.

Thats because they changed the AC filter.
The air intake breathes freely now, with the replaced new filter.

[benzinblut]

Originally Posted by noopster

• They also did a wheel balancing and alignment- despite me saying it was fine.

How much did they charge you for wheel alignment and balancing?

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by noopster

Completed my 15,000 km/1year service last week. I got it done from the BU Bhandari folks whose service shop is at Wakad, not far from my place of work.


The estimate was 7K odd and the final bill was 8012/-

Anoop

Good to hear that the service experience was satisfactory at BUB. They were not so good in the days of TATA-Fiat. Except the pickup-drop goof up and clean-up issue, looks like they have done a good job on your Vento. Like you mentioned about Maruti giving free P&D, even I get it free from Tata.

Just FYI, My friend who's got a Polo (P) had inquired at both the dealers in Pune regarding first service costs. Surprisingly, the 'other' dealer was cheaper by about 1k INR.

My Vista recently gulped down a whole 4 liter can of Mobil1 0w/40 Fully Synthetic oil. It costed me 4100/- for the can. Don't know how Vista takes 4 liters and Vento takes 3.5???

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

Surprisingly the cost for servicing of Petrol and the diesel comes to around the same thing!

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Noop, that was some work done on the car!
I still feel that 8k is on the higher side. Yeah, I know my Laura's second servicing was exactly twice that amount . But the 1st one was a mere 5 odd.

Shantanu/Swanand

I think the service costs for all Polos (P&D) and Ventos (P&D) are standard acroos. I know of service costs of 2 Polos (1P and 1D) and 2 Ventos(1P & 1D) hovering around 7k mark.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by benzinblut

How much did they charge you for wheel alignment and balancing?

About 500-odd (cost of the weights) plus maybe the same for labour. The actual bill is in my glove compartment, will check and see if I can upload a scanned copy.

The oil cost 3500/- or so. The filters cost 1300 and 800 if I remember correctly. There was some 200/- for consumables.

I think 8K is a decent amount to pay for an annual servicing. Can a Honda City owner confirm what the cumulative cost of the first year services are? They are called "free" but as far as I know you need to pay for consumables. That will give a good head to head.

Also the fact that the AT cost the same to service as a TDI is a relief, especially since there were a lot of people on the "Why wouldn't you buy an AT" thread that voiced the opinion that auto trannies are more expensive to maintain!