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-   -   Volkswagen Jetta : Test Drive & Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/107073-volkswagen-jetta-test-drive-review-87.html)

Thank you all friends for the suggestions and ideas.

I am actually fine with spending the Rs.500 more per tire and hence will go with the 3 STs. BTW, I was planning to change only 4 tires. As the spare wheel is only a steel rim, I am planning to keep the Good Year tire on the spare wheel. Is there any reason why I should change the tire for the spare wheel as well?

If all goes well, delivery is expected this Friday. Fingers crossed!

Thanks. I will go for 3 ST. I checked snapdeal at the link you provided and the price quoted there is 41K for 4 tires and 10.3K for a single tire. Do you get any special price at snapdeal as you are a regular member?



Also, there are a few other problems I see with buying online. The tires will be displatched in 3 business days and the Good Year tires will depreciate if I dont change them straight away after delivery. As shashank has mentioned, there will be no control on the age of the stock. The tire dealers may not buy the Good Year tires if I do not buy the new tires from them.

Thanks for the advice. I have decided to go and get them changed at the local dealer. Also, as you have mentioned about the age of the stock, how old a stock is ok to buy?

Thanks for the reinforcement. After spending 23 big ones, I have decided not to hold back from spending the extra 25K if this is going to make a big difference in the comfort levels.

I bought 8 month old tyres recently and they're doing just fine. I think up to a year old is OK. Anything more than that I'd walk away.
Since tyres have a life of 5-7 yrs, the later the manf date the better for you :)

The Primacy 3STs haven't been out long enough for you to get 'old' stock. Go ahead with them, and you will thank us all later for changing over from the crappy Goodyears. I would take this over the V550s, since I don't particularly like the V550s too much besides their good silence.

No need to change the 5th, but considering your tyres are brand new ask your tyre fellow to provide you a slightly better price on the exchange.

The dealer I bought the tyres from is a very straightforward guy and completely trustworthy, and he actually recommended I only go for the set of 4 tyres but I went for the 5th tyre anyways. My rationale was that if I don't want the 4 tyres that came with the car for whatever reason, why keep hold of the 5th one? It's negatives won't disappear just because it's a 5th tyre that's sparingly used. I just wanted 5 of a kind, that's all.

When you hover mouse over the question mark beside 15% you get the discounted price.



Well during most of my transaction they do deliver before delivery date. If you plan to purchase from Snapdeal, you could ask VW dealer to deliver your car when tyres are delivered at your house. After which take delivery of car and head off straight of to a tyre shop.

P3ST are recently launched tyres, so getting a old stock is almost negligible. If at all, warranty on tyres are from date of purchase and not by date of manufacture.

I don't think dealer should have any problem its a normal sale of tyres.

They are really noisy - Intolerable on concrete road.

I made a mistake of not changing them directly from the showroom. I realised after driving them for 2000+ kms. But it was too late to get any decent exchange price.

I have decided to live with them for about 25k Kms and then exchange. 13k Kms is already done and another 12K Kms is due. :)

Thanks Akshay. I thank in advance for the advice :)

And thanks Chetan, for confirming that the stock tires are indeed noisy!

Actually, 15% (around 6K) is a significant saving and I am definitely tempted to take that path. However, the delivery of the car is scheduled for this Friday. After waiting more than 3 months for the Octavia, every day seems to be eons and I doubt if I can postpone the delivery any further. So, decided to forfeit the savings and go ahead with the delivery on Friday.

I am on the lookout for a sedan in the 13L price range and have checked out the City and the Vento. Neither of these cars gave me the 'Yes, this is the car for me' feeling. Skoda is out of the equation with no service station closeby. Recently went for a TD of the Jetta on going through the forum and was left mightily impressed by the Jetta! However, the Jetta is way out of my budget and so, I started looking up options in the used car market. There is a Jetta on offer-a 2012 December Comfortline with 36k on the odo. Asking price being 14L, what would suggestions of fellow T-bhpians be with regard to going in for a used Jetta? The car in question does not have EW and comes with manual AC controls. Is reliability a major concern with these cars as one accumulates kms/years? I plan on using the car for another 5 years at least.

Hi YakubKC.

I feel the price is a touch high for an almost 2 year old Jetta. Remember, the facelift has added a fair few features on the car (which should affect demand for used cars as people upgrade and drive the price of used cars down) and the Jetta was never a popular car to begin with, so that too should affect it's resale. I assume this car is available via a dealer? Try to cut out the middleman and you'll get a better deal. I don't know much about pricing in Kottayam, but my first reaction is its overpriced for sure. it's run about 2000kms+ per month and I'd only pay that price if it was very sparingly run (read 10-15k kms in the same time span).

It would also be a good idea to get the car checked out at the nearest VW service station. Is the service history available?

There is massive value to be had in the used car segment and this is one example of it. I'd say the Jetta in itself is a reliable car, especially in MT guise since you don't need to worry about the DSG at all. How is VW's service support in your area? That's the main question and biggest pain point with owning a VW as support can be a bit spotty, and even more so if you have a badmaash dealer.

Not having the Extended Warranty should be no concern at all, the car's mechanicals are very reliable. Just find a good friendly neighbourhood garage who can handle the car and you're sorted.

Just playing the devil's advocate here; doesn't the lowest end Elantra Diesel come for about the same, give or take? Check that out too, if you're not fussed about the fact that it's not as fun to drive as the Jetta.

Have you tried the Vento TSI? It may change your mind about the Vento. Or does it have to be a diesel? Even then, the Vento 1.5 diesel with a six-speed DSG is on the cards.

You can buy extended warranty on the Jetta now. Since the car you're considering is less than 2-years old, you can buy additional warranty anytime before that period runs out.

In terms of long-term ownership, I think the Vento will be a safer bet because 1) your budget gets you a new car 2) since its VW's mainstay in India parts availability and service know how should be better, not to mention cost less.

Thanks for the quick reply iliketurtles. You,re right. Even I had the same impression on hearing the price :eek:. And its the owner who I'm dealing with, so no middlemen involved. Service history is available and I will check with the dealership on their record of the vehicle as well. Good to hear that reliability on the MT shouldn't be an issue. According to the T-Bhp used car price-check tool, a fair price would be a maximum of 12L. However, I've seen only Trendlines go at that price, in Kerala. What would you say to making an offer of 12.75-13L? Does that seem reasonable?

I've checked up on the local VW A.S.S and have got positive responses from everyone. That was a major reason for me deciding to go with the German, in spite of quite a number of not-so-happy experiences others have had with A.S.S. And like you mentioned (like a few friends), I should probably consider and take a TD of the Elantra. Its just that I've never been a fan of Hyundai, and so never really had the heart wanting a Hyundai. But yes, if this deal fails to work out, I'll definitely check out the Elantra.

Yes, StarScream. It has to be a diesel. The Vento with the DSG sounds very appealing, but without an official release date announced, I could end up waiting, waiting and still waiting. Also, you're right on the long-term considerations-it might make more sense to get the Vento.

The problem is, after driving the Jetta, I feel if I can get a 2 year old Jetta for the price of a new Vento, would it not make sense to get the Jetta? You get more space, power and a 'more premium'car. This is the question playing in my mind. The additional warranty on the Jetta would work out to 60k as I understand. This is quite high considering a budget of 13L in mind. Is it necessary to spend this additional amount on top of the 13L spent on the car? I mean, isn't the car reliable enough without opting for EW? MT Jetta owners having used their cars for 2-3 years should be able to confirm on whether its a must have.

So my Jetta done with 44k kms. O decided to change my tires. Options for me were the new st3 michilins and continentals cpc2. My dealer offered me a really nice deal on Pirelli p7. Saved almost 8k over the michilins. Excellent tires.

They are very good tyres indeed Paras, well worth the money and an excellent VFM alternative to the Michelin's, Yokohama's and Conti's.

How has your ownership experience been so far? Perhaps you should also put down the details of your tyre deal just for the benefit of other members, information is a powerful enabler after all!

If you need the space and power then sure the Jetta is a good car. I'd just worry about availability of parts - as has happened with others on this forum. I quite like the Jetta but in my case I wanted a petrol automatic and the Jetta range doesn't have one. I also wanted to be very cautious in switching to a German from a highly-reliable Japanese car and the Vento TSI just made more sense for long-term ownership. I also didn't necessarily want a longer and wider car.

I think the extended warranty is an absolute must, especially for a German car, which is prone to unforeseen failures.