[vivekz]

Originally Posted by Altocumulus

Saying this I don't want a car which has part failures even when you take care of it and since VW parts are expensive I wont be able to afford regular such instances.

IMHO, I do not find Polo an unreliable car. Yes there may be horror stories for a few but then which car hasn't. Also, Polo is not loaded with too much modern tech, so the chances of anything going wrong is minimal. Mechanical parts are anyway covered in warranty.

Also the regular parts are not so expensive. For e.g. the taillamp cluster costs 1400 odd Rupees (had to replace it after an autorickshaw chipped it). The cluster for Alto K10 costs 1100 odd. So it is not exhorbitantly expensive at all. Similarly, I did not find regular parts like wiper, etc very expensive.

Where it will pinch you is any dent repair with paint. This is one reason I have learnt to live with some scratches and minor dents as it cannot be avoided in Mumbai traffic. However, zero-dep insurance should take care of that.

Also I can feel after-sales improving over my 2 year ownership. Initially they had the "superior German" attitude but over last one year, I have seen a lot of proactiveness with regard to follow-ups and feedback. In case you are dissatisfied, the feedback is indeed routed to workshop and they give you a prompt call.

However, Swift will be cheaper to own anyday.

Originally Posted by f1dotcom

Altocumulus: The Polo has under gone numerous changes ever since it was launched and quite a few of the changes are not visible / noticeable by the end customer.

For instance: The ground clearance of the Oil Sump was raised and a protective sheet was provided as standard after numerous complaints regarding breakage of oil sumps due to low ground clearance issues. The protective sheet was also offered to older customers at a discounted rate to ensure minimizing of such damages.

I do agree that VW has been trying to improve it in bits and pieces. For e.g. my biggest grouse with Trendline option is the lack of airbags and height adjustment seats. While Airbags were included after recent crash reports, the height adjustment seats were made standard across variants when the model was refreshed last year. No one asked for it or pointed it out in any reviews but they still did it.

Similarly, headunit with USB connectivity was added. Just compare that to someone like Maruti who haven't even responded to the critical weak brake issue in L/V models (incidentally, one of the few key reasons I rejected Swift after test drive)

The down-side is that if model improvements are done after you have purchased the car, you do feel left out.

[Altocumulus]

Originally Posted by f1dotcom

Altocumulus: The Polo has under gone numerous changes ever since it was launched and quite a few of the changes are not visible / noticeable by the end customer.

For instance: The ground clearance of the Oil Sump was raised and a protective sheet was provided as standard after numerous complaints regarding breakage of oil sumps due to low ground clearance issues. The protective sheet was also offered to older customers at a discounted rate to ensure minimizing of such damages.

VW also conducts "silent campaigns" where changes are done proactively based on a few complaints.

The Polos that are rolling out in the recent past have been rid of a lot of issues that have been discussed in this thread.

The best part is that you get a 2 yrs unlimited mileage warranty (4yrs or 1 lakh km if you opt for Extended Warranty) in the eventuality that something does go wrong.

This is great info. Thanks a lot

Edit: Thanks Vivek. However the new Maruti models aren't that inexpensive to maintain nowadays either specially the diesels.

[f1dotcom]

Originally Posted by vivekz

The down-side is that if model improvements are done after you have purchased the car, you do feel left out.

Yes, that's true. If you are not in a hurry, I would suggest you wait for a bit as I believe the Polo is supposed to get a facelift sometime this year. I could check with my contacts in VW and get back to you sometime next week on the expected timeline of the launch of the face-lifted Polo.

[Cooltronics]

Originally Posted by Altocumulus

Saying this I don't want a car which has part failures even when you take care of it and since VW parts are expensive I wont be able to afford regular such instances.

Do you have any details of which parts fail ? If you look at i20, you can see nearly every one complaining about steering rattles. I do not know what the ratio of failure in each car is but it seems significantly high when threads are created on that topic. I am yet to find details about some part failures in Polo reported as widely as rattling in i20 (pardon me in case I missed - you can share the link with me). In general, if the issue is not reported continuously, it should be considered one off as people who are happy about their cars are never the one's who express it as much as an unhappy person would do.

[BenjiRoss]

Originally Posted by f1dotcom

I could check with my contacts in VW and get back to you sometime next week on the expected timeline of the launch of the face-lifted Polo.

Do let us know. My VW salesman said it was not expected this year when I asked for discounts on the polo as a new version was expected - sales gimmicks?
Also is the price expected to be higher?

[cr4nkshaft]

hi guys..

today while passing Ultadanga railway underpass (Kolkata people will understand) a stupid auto-rickshaw drew the first blood on my Polo. I was in the rightmost lane, he was in the middle, both of us were approaching the incline at the end of the underpass.. the bugger tries to overtake the bus in front of him, nudges my car, realizes the damage done, promptly takes the leftmost lane and gets away. Couldn't get the guy as it is a busy intersection, and the next possible stopping location was around 5-6 minutes ahead.

Anyway, the damages are two straight horizontal dents inside the marked area in the photo. Note that the damage is limited to quarter panel only, and the door is in pristine condition. Paint scratch only, primer showing (I guess, as the color is whitish and not of bare metal).

I have a scratch repair kit by Com-paint from carlounz (any feedback, someone?) at home which has emery paper, filling material (not needed in my case), spray pent and spray finishing liquid.

What do you suggest guys, take this to SA and get this dent-and-painted, or get the denting done by some good garage (should be cheaper) and take care of the scratch myself? I would have taken option 2 straightaway, but the dents are over the wheel arches, so there is a dent-over-a-crease thing going on. Not sure if a garage would be able to handle that.

UNRELATED:
Can't we all just gang up and beat the **** out of the stupid auto-wallahs?

[saket77]

Originally Posted by cr4nkshaft

. Paint scratch only, primer showing (I guess, as the color is whitish and not of bare metal).

Try to rub the scratch with a cloth. If luck is on your side, then it might be the paint of the other vehicle and will come off.

[cr4nkshaft]

Originally Posted by saket77

Try to rub the scratch with a cloth. If luck is on your side, then it might be the paint of the other vehicle and will come off.

Did so, no luck.. I'm not sure about your city, but autos in Kolkata have all sorts of projected thingies around their bodies. Think motorized porcupines. It's definitely primer/metal, and I think it is primer.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by cr4nkshaft

Did so, no luck.. I'm not sure about your city, but autos in Kolkata have all sorts of projected thingies around their bodies. Think motorized porcupines. It's definitely primer/metal, and I think it is primer.

It's better to advise if you post a pic. Otherwise, take your car to a 3M / detailer an they could tell you whether it can be removed by rubbing.

[cr4nkshaft]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

It's better to advise if you post a pic. Otherwise, take your car to a 3M / detailer an they could tell you whether it can be removed by rubbing.

I guess you are suggesting about the scratch. I'll try to post a pic. However, my primary question is about the dent, whether to approach SA or local garages..

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by cr4nkshaft

I guess you are suggesting about the scratch. I'll try to post a pic. However, my primary question is about the dent, whether to approach SA or local garages..

An FNG would be your best bet. The authorised service center would charge a bomb and a lot of time to rectify a small defect. Look up here to find out an FNG that does repairs of scratches and minor dents.

[Thad E Ginathom]

It may be something like the dent/scratch in the front of wheel arch on my Polo. VW dealer said 5,000 to dent and paint.

Possibly because I was complaining about other stuff (which they put right) they just painted over it for free. That protects the metal, and makes the dent a lot less visible. VW advantage: exact manufacturer-paint-shade colour match.

[f1dotcom]

Originally Posted by BenjiRoss

Do let us know. My VW salesman said it was not expected this year when I asked for discounts on the polo as a new version was expected - sales gimmicks?
Also is the price expected to be higher?

I have checked with a couple of dealers and VW is supposedly planning to launch the facelifted Polo in Q3 of this year (around Sept to cash in on Dussera sales). Also, a Polo Diesel AT may be planned for sometime this year.

Originally Posted by cr4nkshaft

I guess you are suggesting about the scratch. I'll try to post a pic. However, my primary question is about the dent, whether to approach SA or local garages..

VW cars use a water based paint which is more expensive than normal oil based paints. Your Polo comes with a 6 year paint warranty (against flaking / bubble formation, etc) and rust warranty and this would be void if you got your car painted outside an authorised service centre.

[Detroit-Dude]

Friends! I am getting a weird sound from the front left side of the car. It's like something sticking out near the tyres is scraping the ground. The sound appears either when my polo starts from a standstill in parking or the car is in the first or second gear in traffic. Increases when I turn the steering to the right. No sound beyond 30-40 kmph. Off late it seems to be more frequent but always at low speeds.
If any one of you has experienced something similar, please let me know if I should be heading to the workshop for a checkup.

[f1dotcom]

Detroit-Dude: I would suggest you take your car in for a check-up to your local VW service centre as there could be various reasons for the noise.