[hrman]

Originally Posted by icyspikey

Hey Guys !

Today i noted a rather vague spot in My Rapid .

The White paint is coming off just under the tail lights . [ Build Quality? ]

The Car is just a month old now .

has this happened to anyone ?

I am attaching a picture of it for reference !

This appears to be scratched by a key or something. Look at the wrinkled paint at the right sides.

But I think the service center may have a different story to say. I too had a small black paint chip off just below the left tail light. Didn't bother too much about this. Was noticed the next day after delivery.

[rajni]

Originally Posted by icyspikey

Hey Guys !

Today i noted a rather vague spot in My Rapid .

The White paint is coming off just under the tail lights . [ Build Quality? ]

The Car is just a month old now .

has this happened to anyone ?

I am attaching a picture of it for reference !

Really hard to believe. I have not yet noticed any such spots on my car. But, will check it in sunlight today. From what I know, these cars come with multi cot paint - 6 or so - and there's no way this can happen without a reason. I believe it happened either while fitting the bumper or transportation. The dealer guy would have attempted to touch it with normal paint before delivering to you. Just a thought. Do post when you get a response.

Originally Posted by AvinashV

Friend of mine has booked a Rapid from Europa Pune. Had gone along with him for the booking. The car would be shod with 185/../R15. Is this the right size or a size too small? (I felt that way as just that morning had test driven the Fiesta & it was running on 195)
Is it a good idea to upgrade it to 195/../R15 right out the showroom? & by the way the brand of tire is Apollo Accelere.

I have not experienced any serious stability or braking issues with the stock 185/60 R15's. Though I am not a fan of the Apollo shoe and may swap them out after 10-15k. Michellin/Yokohoma/Bridgestone of the same size should be able to make a difference in comfort. There are goods and bads with upsize. When you get advantages with braking and comfort etc you would end up having odo correction, slight pickup issues and issues with steering and associated parts. If you still want to go for an upsize the best replacement for 185/60 R15 is 205/55 R15 as the odo correction and GC correction is the least. You can play around with the tool in this page Tire size calculator to try different dimension yourself. I wouldn't advise you to go for an upsize of alloy to get lower profile. It surely will look good but drive/ride comfort on rough roads will be affected. Also, can be very dangerous if you don't slow down for the typical Indian speed breakers.

[AvinashV]

Originally Posted by rajni

I have not experienced any serious stability or braking issues with the stock 185/60 R15's. Though I am not a fan of the Apollo shoe and may swap them out after 10-15k. Michellin/Yokohoma/Bridgestone of the same size should be able to make a difference in comfort. There are goods and bads with up-size. I wouldn't advise you to go for an upsize of alloy to get lower profile. It surely will look good but drive/ride comfort on rough roads will be affected. Also, can be very dangerous if you don't slow down for the typical Indian speed breakers.

So i guess advice to him would be then to change the tires straight out of the showroom if like you he ends up changing it later at around 10k thus losing out on whatever value it had in the first place & guess no upsizing.

[rajni]

Originally Posted by AvinashV

So i guess advice to him would be then to change the tires straight out of the showroom if like you he ends up changing it later at around 10k thus losing out on whatever value it had in the first place & guess no upsizing.

Yes - but only if he manages to get decent quote for his stock tires. Tire dealers would try all kind of tricks to convince you to deal your tire for peanuts. In my case, the ST hike with last budget took away an additional 39K out of my pocket which I had kept for the tire swap . So, I dropped the plan for the time being. By the way, the Accelere's are not that bad in terms of braking etc. Heavy body also might be contributing to that. Anyways, I am perfectly happy with the braking experience. No much squealing or skidding. But, I believe that the drive/ride comfort will be better with a better brand, especially Michelin.

[AvinashV]

Originally Posted by rajni

Yes - but only if he manages to get decent quote for his stock tires. In my case, the ST hike with last budget took away an additional 39K out of my pocket which I had kept for the tire swap . But, I believe that the drive/ride comfort will be better with a better brand, especially Michelin.

He's getting all 5 changed for 7.5k from Darshan tires. Guess it's a good quote. Bridgestones that is. 8.5k for Michelin. I asked him to go for Bridgestones as i did the same all tires change when i got my Swift the last December & have had a great experience with them plus based on all the info on the face off between the two in best all rounders thread.

[rajni]

Originally Posted by AvinashV

He's getting all 5 changed for 7.5k from Darshan tires. Guess it's a good quote. Bridgestones that is. 8.5k for Michelin. I asked him to go for Bridgestones as i did the same all tires change when i got my Swift the last December & have had a great experience with them plus based on all the info on the face off between the two in best all rounders thread.

You mean - 8.5k for all 5 michelin and 7.5k for 5 Bridgestone in exchange of all stock tires? That's definitely a good deal. May be I should also check with him for a quote for 4K~ done tires :-D.

[AvinashV]

Originally Posted by rajni

You mean - 8.5k for all 5 michelin and 7.5k for 5 Bridgestone in exchange of all stock tires? That's definitely a good deal. May be I should also check with him for a quote for 4K~ done tires :-D.

Yeah you should do that. Right away, if you intend to whatever change it soon. Those tires are just depreciating with each passing week & if you give it a few months guess there would be another increase in prices the way everything is getting jacked up.

[rajni]

Just realized that you are from Mumbai. I never got such a good offer from the shops I checked in Bangalore. Any ideas if they have a branch in Bangalore?

[AvinashV]

Originally Posted by rajni

Just realized that you are from Mumbai. I never got such a good offer from the shops I checked in Bangalore. Any ideas if they have a branch in Bangalore?

Sorry no idea & this is for my friends car & he's based out of Pune where this dealer is.

[icyspikey]

Originally Posted by hrman

This appears to be scratched by a key or something. Look at the wrinkled paint at the right sides.

But I think the service center may have a different story to say. I too had a small black paint chip off just below the left tail light. Didn't bother too much about this. Was noticed the next day after delivery.

Actually if it was invisible , maybe i wouldnt have bothered much too but the wrinkles are actually a bit visible . Yes i think so too .

My Rapid has become "apid" Today . Meaning The R has simply lost adhesion to the paint .

[hrman]

As mentioned earlier on this thread, I also noticed that the rear of the car touches speed breakers when filled with full load. I still cannot figure out what is hitting the road. It happens just when your rear wheels pass the speed breaker and come down. There's a thud sound, something like a flat surface hitting the road. Its not suspension sound. Its not the rear tow hook hitting , nor does it look like the plastic mud guard too.

Has anyone figured this out? I just did a cursory inspection of the rear underbody, could not see any visible scratches. And it doesnt happen on all speed breakers. It occurs on the sharper and steeper ones (black, yellow)

[Ford5]

It's mostly the outer body where your spare tyre is located.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by hrman

As mentioned earlier on this thread, I also noticed that the rear of the car touches speed breakers when filled with full load. I still cannot figure out what is hitting the road. It happens just when your rear wheels pass the speed breaker and come down. There's a thud sound, something like a flat surface hitting the road. Its not suspension sound. Its not the rear tow hook hitting , nor does it look like the plastic mud guard too.

Has anyone figured this out? I just did a cursory inspection of the rear underbody, could not see any visible scratches. And it doesnt happen on all speed breakers. It occurs on the sharper and steeper ones (black, yellow)

A slight tyre size upsize should solve the problem (did so for my first generation Laura) (upsize while maintaining the aspect ration within 3.5%) Either go in for 1 size wider tyres with the same aspect ratio or simply taller (greater side wall) tyres. - Can impact the warranty though and one wants that with a skoda.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by hrman

As mentioned earlier on this thread, I also noticed that the rear of the car touches speed breakers when filled with full load. I still cannot figure out what is hitting the road. It happens just when your rear wheels pass the speed breaker and come down. There's a thud sound, something like a flat surface hitting the road. Its not suspension sound. Its not the rear tow hook hitting , nor does it look like the plastic mud guard too.

@hrman, do you go fast over speed breakers? If yes, then it is the suspension sound. Also you have mentioned that this happens on sharp speed breakers especially the black and yellow strips. In that case, it is surely the suspension sound. These speeds breakers are sharp but not high so I don't think your car's bottom is hitting anything. Vento/Rapid suspension makes this *thud* sound when going over speed breakers/potholes at high speeds. The sound does make you cringe but there is no damage anywhere!

[bala80]

Agree with nileshch - It is the suspension sound and is present on the vento too. There was a very useful post by vid3369 on the reason behind this happening on this very same thread. This was made a note of in the official review too, you can search this thread for suspension noise and you will get your answer.