[ramukthior]

I have been a dormant member on this forum, largely because I was living overseas and only browsing to keep abreast with the motor scene in India.

I have moved back to the country now and on the hunt for a car (the Alto I have will be used by my wife). I am in a fix though:

Heart says Rapid but mind says City.

Skoda's A.S.S. horror stories are well known. But I wanted to know if there's been any ray of hope recently with the maintenance and service, particularly for a Rapid bought in Hyderabad (due to spares being locally sourced, Skoda getting their act together as they start selling larger volumes etc).

Hope some Rapid owners can share their experience recently as compared to the past and help me with what is a big decision!

cheers,
Rohit

[IshaanIan]

The Rapid really isn't a very complex car either way so even if Skoda doesn't take care of the car well, which I am sure they will in Hyderabad, you can always give it to an independent garage

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by ramukthior

Skoda's A.S.S. horror stories are well known. But I wanted to know if there's been any ray of hope recently with the maintenance and service, particularly for a Rapid bought in Hyderabad (due to spares being locally sourced, Skoda getting their act together as they start selling larger volumes etc).

Go with the heart buddy.

Skoda @ Hyderabad ate better as compared to the other cities. Have heard lot of positive reviews for the Skoda ASC in Hyderabad.

Overall shouldn't be an issue at all.

[venkyhere]

I might get some bricks thrown my way for saying this, but at times I feel we BHPians think about indian VW group cars (vento/rapid/yeti/jetta/octavia) exactly like how Top Gear blokes think about alfa romeos - "most of the time, it will give you a headache, but the short time when all comes together and works, it will make you grin ear-to-ear"

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

I might get some bricks thrown my way for saying this, but at times I feel we BHPians think about indian VW group cars (vento/rapid/yeti/jetta/octavia) exactly like how Top Gear blokes think about alfa romeos - "most of the time, it will give you a headache, but the short time when all comes together and works, it will make you grin ear-to-ear"

Headache in terms of what? Quality of the car or A.S.S or failing components?

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Headache in terms of what? Quality of the car or A.S.S or failing components?

failing components & A.S.S

[D C]

Originally Posted by ramukthior

Heart says Rapid but mind says City.
cheers,
Rohit

Rohit, Are you very specific to Rapid or City? If you would ever consider a Verna, I just want you to know that as far as my experience is concerned, Hyundai provide the best customer service through their ASS. I drive a 2012 Verna CRDi 1.6 SX. 2.5 years, 4 service and 40,000 kms later, it has proven to be a reliable machine. Well, I agree it has a low ground clearance and a soft suspension, but it is not that disappointing.

If you intend to buy a petrol car, I suggest City than Rapid because of its reliability (though, the new gen Honda City is not as reliable as the old ones) If you want a diesel power plant go for Rapid, a 7 speed DSG is a no match to the City.

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by D C

as far as my experience is concerned, Hyundai provide the best customer service through their ASS.

+1 on the HASS part. Hyundai are at par if not better than the legendary Sai Service of Maruti. Right at the top there. The German's "go to hell" attitude is not there. And it has paid off for all to see their stupendous sales track record. But also in the same breath, its a known fact that the product quality of the germans is bullet proof. And what's more, they've managed to give you that quality at an almost same price point as the other better selling non-germans. If only they could match that with honest, prompt and customer centric after-sales and service, then Hyundai and Maruti would be left sweating profusely..... . Talking about ASS, is there any thread which pin-points any VW/Skoda ASS where customers have consistently experienced acceptable service and peace of mind? Don't know if such an ASS exists but if fellow BHPians could point out any it would really help the people who have fallen for the German charm...

[ramukthior]

Thanks for all the inputs folks.

@D C, I have TD'ed cars in this segment multiple times and the Rapid just feels so well put together. I am looking for a diesel and none of the others could inspire the same urge to own. I did not, however, want to knowingly walk into a nightmare. Hence was curious to know if the Skoda A.S.S experience, particularly in Hyderabad, has seen any improvements at all recently.

Rapid it shall be then!

cheers,
Rohit

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by ramukthior

Thanks for all the inputs folks.

@D C, I have TD'ed cars in this segment multiple times and the Rapid just feels so well put together. I am looking for a diesel and none of the others could inspire the same urge to own. I did not, however, want to knowingly walk into a nightmare. Hence was curious to know if the Skoda A.S.S experience, particularly in Hyderabad, has seen any improvements at all recently.

Rapid it shall be then!

cheers,
Rohit

Hi Rohit. Just go ahead with Rapid. There is no car as good as Rapid in this segment currently. I also had the same confusion till I finally decided with Rapid.

Having driven the Honda 1.5 idtec and 1.3MJD (extensively), I strongly feel the 1.5TDI unit of VW group to be way better.

I also felt that Rapid had an edge over Vento and finally I chose Rapid.

As stated earlier by our fellow members, it looks like A.S.S in Hyderabad seems to be good. So don't worry and just go ahead with Rapid.

Are you going for the DSG or MT?

Happy motoring

[ramukthior]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Are you going for the DSG or MT?

Happy motoring

Thanks rki2007! Glad to hear you have had a good experience so far with the A.S.S. Quite reassuring. The product itself is solid, so it should only take a little conscious effort from Skoda and their dealers to provide a better ownership experience. I know first hand how much product quality eases the work for managing A.S.S experience, having worked for an automotive manufacturer looking after a few dealers in the service network. I hope Skoda and their dealers make that little bit of extra effort as their sales increase.

DSG or MT is the next 12-14 lakh question

To be honest I was pleasantly surprised with the DSG's performance during the test drive. I can't seem to shake off the bias towards MT though. I am hoping folks with experience with both transmissions on this forum might shed some light. I am looking to see if there are existing discussions already on the forum weighing the two.

cheers,
Rohit

[anuragbagur]

Hello Rohit,
Welcome to the Skoda club! I am a proud owner of Fabia for close to 2 years and I must say the ASS has definitely improved. Of course it is not on par with Hyundai or Maruti or even Honda for that matter. (My bro owns a Hyundai and still I see a world of difference!)
I have even done few OEM mods to my car and Tafe Access Bangalore sourced the products for me from Germany and did not charge any shipping costs.

On your confusion on transmission, will your usage be more in city or highways?

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by anuragbagur

Hello Rohit,
Welcome to the Skoda club! I am a proud owner of Fabia for close to 2 years and I must say the ASS has definitely improved. Of course it is not on par with Hyundai or Maruti or even Honda for that matter. (My bro owns a Hyundai and still I see a world of difference!)
I have even done few OEM mods to my car and Tafe Access Bangalore sourced the products for me from Germany and did not charge any shipping costs.

On your confusion on transmission, will your usage be more in city or highways?

Hi Anurag. Welcome onboard.

Happy to hear some positive things about skoda's A.S.S. Where do you get your car serviced. In Tafe or Vinayak?

[anuragbagur]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Hi Anurag. Welcome onboard.

Happy to hear some positive things about skoda's A.S.S. Where do you get your car serviced. In Tafe or Vinayak?

My two checkups and one service have been at Tafe Access. I have also been there 4-5 times to get body kits (front and rear bumper spoiler, rear diffuser) installed. Only issue faced was w.r.t rear diffuser. The service personnel did not know how to install it having got the product from Germany! The exhaust pipe had to be cut and welded a bit for the diffuser to fit snugly. I had to read it from manual and explain them.
Barring this no niggles faced.

[ramukthior]

Originally Posted by anuragbagur

On your confusion on transmission, will your usage be more in city or highways?

Hey Anurag, thanks for sharing your experience.
As for my driving, I expect a good mix (half and half) of both. Office commute and regular jaunts across the city everyday and longer drives every now and then. If it was purely in the city I guess the DSG would make the most sense. But still in a bit of dilemma.

cheers,
Rohit