[Srikanthan]

Amogh Barakol - Typically, Lack of coolant can only heat-up the engine - again which is detrimental.

Coolants are kept external to the engine and combustion chamber. However, coolants can enter engine block if there is a crack in the engine block, head gasket failure (due to over heating) or other reasons. If coolant mix with engine oil, they can change the change the physical properties and make them milky white - which is the reason for white smoke!

Keep us posted of VW's response in addressing this issue. Remember - Your car is still under warranty.

PS: I have booked a VE Vento TDI HL and awaiting delivery!!

[thoma]

Anyone looking for a DIY cleaning of your A/C pollen filter can take a cue from my thread here.

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by anToNIcHeN

I too have had similar kind of vibrations felt in my car. It turned out to be uneven wear and tear in breakpads. Do check it out!

Interesting, But again, am not applying any brakes, I am talking about vibrations in the gear while coasting. The current vento I drive is only 7K old. My earlier vento was 14K old in less than 10 months and I dint have a single issue until I sold it. Having driven a vento from the initial batch and the one from latest batch, i can see a lot of new niggles in the latest batch.

[nik_kapur]

Guys i just changed the tyres on my 1.6TDI to Michelin XM2 196/60's.
The car feels fantastic and it simply glides. If you can, please get rid of the Apollo Acelleres as they are not doing the car any justice.
Seriously fantastic change in behavior.

[newtonMeter]

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

Guys i just changed the tyres on my 1.6TDI to Michelin XM2 196/60's. The car feels fantastic and it simply glides. If you can, please get rid of the Apollo Acelleres as they are not doing the car any justice. Seriously fantastic change in behavior.

Price details please?what all tyres you short listed? Some key improvements?? Mileage drop?

[vnabhi]

Vento owners, I have a question for you:

Last week, I was travelling with my cousin in his year-old Vento, when it got a slight knock at the rear by a truck, at near zero speeds at night time. That happened when the traffic light turned green, and the car started moving in first gear. Suddenly we had to brake because a biker cut across the front of the car ahead of us, causing a minor ding at the rear by a truck who'd already braked, but not quick enough. It was not possible to haggle with the truck owing to thick traffic.

All that was visible in the dark was a minor dent in the 'Vento TDi' emblem. In daylight, there also appears to be only a small spot of less than half cm of paint damage in a spot below it, as can be seen in the picture below.

My cousin got a whopping estimate of nearly Rs 11200 from the VW dealer!
Even the emblem costs Rs 1500. They are also trying to replace the VW emblem, which was not damaged at all.

Don't you think the dealer is trying to rip off the customer? Pictures below:

[thoma]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

My cousin got a whopping estimate of nearly Rs 11200 from the VW dealer!

Why do they want to replace the Volkswagen emblem on the other side when even the 'Vento TDI' emblem can be salvaged going by the pictures. I guess they want to paint the dicky in full and that is why 6k for painting. Is the passenger side of the dicky damaged? Maruti and Hyundai do a portion of a panel (I guess, for the dent shown in the pic) for INR 2k-3k which will still come down to 1k to 1.5k if you give to an outside garage. But you may don't want to loose paint warranty by giving it outside. BHPian evilshantanu should be able to help you out with costs for a dicky job as I remember he has done an accident repair some time back. I searched for his costs, but couldn't locate exactly.

My neighbor gave his new VW Jetta for correcting a minor dent (from the handle of a bike) near the fuel lid and ended up paying 10k. given the cost, I was totally unimpressed by the paint job they done as there were tiny bubbles when you feel your hand against it.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by thoma

Is the passenger side of the dicky damaged? Maruti and Hyundai do a portion of a panel (I guess, for the dent shown in the pic) for INR 2k-3k which will still come down to 1k to 1.5k if you give to an outside garage.

No damage on the other side at all. All that you can see in the picture is the only damage that took place. The boot opens fine with the remote or key, and even the light inside works fine.

It looks like they are trying to milk the customer, not only by full painting, but also by replacing another emblem that was not damaged at all. And each emblem costs Rs 1500 !!

My cousin took an estimate from an FNG, who said he'd hammer out the dent, and paint the concernd area for less than 2 K. But he cannot guarantee 100% perfection. I believe he was not sure if there would be a mismatch of paint, if only a portion was painted.

[ASVA]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Vento owners, I have a question for you.....

All that was visible in the dark was a minor dent in the 'Vento TDi' emblem. In daylight, there also appears to be only a small spot of less than half cm of paint damage in a spot below it, as can be seen in the picture below.

My cousin got a whopping estimate of nearly Rs 11200 from the VW dealer!
Even the emblem costs Rs 1500. They are also trying to replace the VW emblem, which was not damaged at all.

Don't you think the dealer is trying to rip off the customer?

VW is know to be expensive for such stuff and abt the service centers, the lesser said the better.

Looking at the pics, with such minor damage, why bother spending so much to get it repaired. I understand, as a car lover, we all want out rides to be in mint condition but its not possible practically in our driving conditions. On prolonged usage our cars are bound to gather more scratches n dents and then all of them can be 'tackled' at one go! Also, avoid any FNG for such jobs unless he comes as highly recommended/experienced. In your case its tricky as the trim from the inner part of the trunk needs to be removed n work done. If the FNG himself isnt sure, it surely isnt worth it.

Flatly refuse the change of the rear monogram if it isn't damaged. FYI VW Vento rear monogram costs 1500 and the front monogram costs 750. These are for the monograms/emblems. i donot know the cost of the letterings.

Regards
ASVA

[thoma]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

The boot opens fine with the remote or key, and even the light inside works fine.

My cousin took an estimate from an FNG, who said he'd hammer out the dent, and paint the concernd area for less than 2 K. But he cannot guarantee 100% perfection. I believe he was not sure if there would be a mismatch of paint, if only a portion was painted.

Maybe it is that white tend to fade and so the old paint would be a bit yellowish and the new paint brighter.

If you are not going for insurance coverage, insist on your VW dealer to paint only that specific part. If mismatch is the problem, may be if you tell him that you don't mind a slight mismatch, he might agree. Tell him not to do anything with the emblem. Before giving, take off the emblem. Try to fix them later by your own or leave the boot debadged. This should reduce the estimate to a 3k(?) for painting + 1k for dent correction.

NCB comes to 20% of own damage insurance for the first year. Comes to around 6k in my case, a CL Vento.

I wanted to ask you another question. If you want to save on the NCB, why don't you leave it as such. Of course, it needed to be touched up and provided that you can live with the dented shape, as you said it is a minor one. May be some time down the line, when there is another dent, you can attend to it?

[Amogh Barakol]

Originally Posted by Srikanthan

Amogh Barakol - Typically, Lack of coolant can only heat-up the engine - again which is detrimental.

Coolants are kept external to the engine and combustion chamber. However, coolants can enter engine block if there is a crack in the engine block, head gasket failure (due to over heating) or other reasons. If coolant mix with engine oil, they can change the change the physical properties and make them milky white - which is the reason for white smoke!

Thanks for your reply Srikanthan ! Congratulations on making a wonderful decision VeeDub cars are very well engineered , but i feel that the Indian Dealerships ain't doing them justice .Also ,You should know that even the turbocharger needs coolant to operate efficiently . When you recieve your car and you have gone for a long drive , check this out . When you turn the Engine off , you can still hear a fan humming in the front . That's to give the turbo enough time to cool down properly . If Oil in the turbo solidifies or some other stuff happens , it can damage the turbocharger and you will have a hefty bill in your hand if that's so ! I'm sure you will learn all about it as you explore your car !

[thoma]

Originally Posted by Amogh Barakol

You should know that even the turbocharger needs coolant to operate efficiently .

Okay, the fan runs even after switching off when we have had a spirited run. But are you sure, is the Vento's Turbo water cooled?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ASVA

Looking at the pics, with such minor damage, why bother spending so much to get it repaired. I understand, as a car lover, we all want out rides to be in mint condition but its not possible practically in our driving conditions. On prolonged usage our cars are bound to gather more scratches n dents and then all of them can be 'tackled' at one go!

ASVA

Thanks, the idea is good. But the car is my cousin's, not mine. It is a few days over a year old. I'd had a similar dent on my Fiesta within a week of buying it. I left it as it is, and even today it is there.

But I'll pass on your views, as they match with mine. Frankly speaking, I've had 5 hits on the rear in the past 7 years, and the bumper has taken most of those so far.

Originally Posted by thoma

If you are not going for insurance coverage, insist on your VW dealer to paint only that specific part. If mismatch is the problem, may be if you tell him that you don't mind a slight mismatch, he might agree. Tell him not to do anything with the emblem. Before giving, take off the emblem. Try to fix them later by your own or leave the boot debadged. This should reduce the estimate to a 3k(?) for painting + 1k for dent correction.

NCB comes to 20% of own damage insurance for the first year. Comes to around 6k in my case, a CL Vento.

I wanted to ask you another question. If you want to save on the NCB, why don't you leave it as such. Of course, it needed to be touched up and provided that you can live with the dented shape, as you said it is a minor one. May be some time down the line, when there is another dent, you can attend to it?

Yes, great suggestion indeed. My cousin has already paid his second year's premium a couple of weeks ago, so the claim for insurance will affect the second year's NCB, which may be around 3 to 4 K. I'll leave the decision to my cousin.

[Aroy]

Old paint and new paint rarely match, that is why the major work shops paint the whole panel. In this case the best thing is to touch up the paint and leave the dent as it is. Repair when there are a whole collection of small dings and abrasion marks.

[prabhuferrari]

Got my Bridge highline edition yesterday. Will create a new thread soon. I changed the stock HU RCD 320 to Philadelphia 835 from Blaupunkt at the showroom itself. Today went to Madhu's in JC Road and upgraded the tyres to Michelin ST3 going by reviews from many people. 195/60 was 6200 per piece and he took my Goodyear 185/60 for 2500 per piece as the tyres hadn't done even 70 Kms. Very good difference in ride, grip and handling.