Today I got my second service done , my car has completed 28,857 kms . I could have waited for a month to be nearer to the 30K kms mark but unfortunately that meant the service date hovering dangerously close to the Ganpati festival dates and given the location of VW Downtown (Parel , bang opposite Lalbaugh puja) I decided not to take a chance . That aside the engine oil level had also gone down so rather than spending a grand on a litre of top-up , which would be drained out in a month's time, I thought it better to have the servicing done now itself.
Apart from the 2nd service , I asked the workshop to do the following :-
1. Complained about the door mini squeaks ( I know that there is no permanent cure but have resolved to pain VW on an ongoing basis
)
2. Hard clutch ( in the hope that clutch hose would be changed for these "bench press" clutch under warranty and it would bring in some much needed solace to my left leg )
3. Cold braking screech
4. Change engine and gear mountings under warranty
I also forbade them from doing the following :-
1. Spare the perfumed windshield wash liquid - have hit a sweet spot with a mix of a certain kind of "Mr Muscle" mixed with 10 times water. It works like a charm on the greasy grim that gets deposited in the Mumbai traffic
2. Wheel alignment and wheel balancing - prefer doing it at Premji's tyre plus
3. Fuel filter - had mine changed under warranty at 24000 kms . Since it has to be changed every 30000 km it can wait a couple of service visits more.
Total bill came to Rs 9553 /- , parts / consumables was Rs 6576 and labour was Rs 2977 /-
Breakup of the parts :-
1. Magnatec Pro 5W-40 ( Engine Oil ) - Rs 4850 /-
Last time I had changed over to Mobil 0W-50 but given that VW refuses to budge I thought its better to back down. It was getting too cumbersome - if I used mobil I would have had to get it done outside which means that either i get my oil filter changed twice or screw my record in VW system which would update it as "Oil filter not changed" .Many TBHP-ians have given good feedback about Magnatec too so I chose peace of mind . Curiously, I thought that Magnatec has been phased out - at least thats what I was told at an Castrol shop around 3-4 months back
2. Filter element with gasket - A "stretched limo" euphemism for Oil filter , cost Rs 380 /-
3. Air filter - Rs 392/-
4. Dust and Pollen filter - Rs 731 /-
5. Gasket - Rs 139/-
6. Plug ( thats the bolt through which the engine oil is let out ) - Rs 83 /-
The breakup of the labour costs is as follows :-
1. Interval service - Rs 1180 /-
2. Consumables - Rs 225/- ( presumably the cost of the paper floor mat and a neat gear knob cover , which impressed me quite a bit - I don't grudge this )
3. A/C disinfection - Rs 899 /- ( Come to think of it , a full house pest control is as expensive . I am curious to know what they do here , as they change the whole filters )
4. Service plus - Rs 197 /- ( No idea, whats that !)
5. Battery test - Rs 84 /-
6. Brake cleaning done - Rs 393 /- ( I can feel the difference , mild screech noise used to come when brakes were cold - now its not there !)
Amazingly they didn't charge me for wash
Feedback :-
I can't feel any major difference , my car was anyways running smooth so I guess it could not be made any smoother
- The brake noise is cured
- The door squeaks have vanished but I have a sneaky feeling that they would be back - been there, done it !
- The "thud" when going over a hump is still there - changing the engine and gearbox mountings haven't helped . I can't comment on whether its a "less" as compared to earlier but the "thud" still exists
- Clutch is slightly better - my VIN number does not entitle me to receive a clutch hose replacement
Overall I am happy . Yusuf was the SA - prior to this he was at National Garage for 16 years , loves Chevy( and Cruze) and knows his stuff. I never found him fumbling for answers and he delivered on time.
Saw the service checklist of VW - if they do check all that , then its impressive and if they capture that in their system then trust me any car's warranty can be voided . They are supposed to note down even the depth of the tyre tread ! Mentioning about tyres , VW downtown had a "new improved" Accelere on display , maybe thats what going on 2012 Ventos
Quote:
Originally Posted by noopster Sourav, I was shocked to find my Aceleres losing grip at 26,000 km but it seems this is the planned life of these tyres! Member subodh who has an identical car to mine just had his tyres changed at the 30K service on VW's advice. Anyway, more on the tyre thread |
Noops , average life of tyres anyways is seldom more 35,000 kms and with the condition of the roads its drastically coming down . Acceleres are hard tyres so the wear outs happen in the form of chip offs ( the edge of the treads would be broken ) and given their price point I am not surprised that they last 26000 kms . You are still better off than my C drives which lasted me less 15000 kms ! Which tyres are you planning ? Which tyres did Subodh get ?