Team-BHP > What Car? > Sedans


Reply
  Search this Thread
16,341 views
Old 22nd March 2005, 13:21   #1
VMG
BHPian
 
VMG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Chennai
Posts: 344
Thanked: 32 Times
Maintenance - Corolla VS Skoda

By driving about 1000KM per month is it OK to go for a Diesel car like Skoda TDI?
If yes, I would like to know the maintenance cost between Skoda and Corolla on a yearly basis.
I think initial cost is almost same. ( about 12 Lakhs )
I drive at 100-120KM speed in the highways. I would like to keep this for a long term.( about 8 years). Need to know about ASS also for both. Any idea what is the warranty for Skoda?
Pl. suggest which one is better.

Thanks
VMG is offline  
Old 22nd March 2005, 16:13   #2
BHPian
 
Vulken Auto's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: .
Posts: 545
Thanked: 263 Times

NO go for RS turbo if using for 12k kms/year. no doubt abt it in my mind. corolla is ok if you cant stretch your purse.

Last edited by Vulken Auto : 22nd March 2005 at 16:15.
Vulken Auto is offline  
Old 22nd March 2005, 16:22   #3
BHPian
 
tabrez02's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 286
Thanked: 6 Times

Cant compare a Desiel to Petrol.
tabrez02 is offline  
Old 22nd March 2005, 17:42   #4
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: N.A
Posts: 7,046
Thanked: 2,751 Times

Tabrez is right, we shouldnt compare the diesel that he wants with a petrol.

However, quick question to VMG - if you're doing just about 1000 kms a month why would you want a diesel? The difference in fuel cost would hardly be about Rs.2,000 a month, and since you can put down Rs. 12 lakhs for a car would that really make a difference?

Coming back to that calculation anyway, at the rate you drive the savings in fuel over your projected 8 year lifetime would work out to roughly Rs. 2 lakhs @ Rs.24,000 a year. By then, the cost of petrol and diesel may be closer or even equal - that would definitely make a dent in that figure.

Again, over a long term the maintenance cost of a diesel would normally be higher. Spares for a diesel (engine) are costlier than equivalent spares for a petrol. On top of that, Skoda's spares are decidedly expensive in India.

Perhaps you would consider these factors and tell us whether you're still in favour of a diesel. If you still prefer one, then you should perhaps consider the Elantra diesel as well since you are bothered about maintenance costs - Hyundai service is good, spares are generally cheaper than those of comparable cars and the degree of localisation is higher - availability over an 8 year period should be an issue with 'assembled' cars as all spares will have to be imported.

If you're the SUV type perhaps you should consider the Endeavour too - it has a diesel engine as well.

Cheers

Steer
Steeroid is offline  
Old 22nd March 2005, 18:08   #5
Team-BHP Support
 
Rtech's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 5,770
Thanked: 359 Times

Quote:
Cant compare a Desiel to Petrol.
I beg to differ. In today's market, diesels go head-to-head with petrol engines. Diesels are as silent and smooth as their petrol counterparts, but have more torque making for more relaxed city/crowded highway driving.

Quote:
if you're doing just about 1000 kms a month why would you want a diesel?
Not everyone buys a diesel purely to save a few bucks on the price difference. Aside from the points mentioned above, if you do long distances regularly, diesel is easier to find on highways, and is more tolerant of lousy fuel. Something to consider if you drive in remote areas and not just between twin cities.

Initial cost prices being the same, it is only wise to consider both options before making a decision.

With regards to the Skoda vs the Corolla, well, the Toyota service should be better on the whole, but this would wary from dealer to dealer. Can't really put a general statement on all dealers. Check out the dealer you plan on buying and servicing it from, speak to existing customers in the garage and judge for yourself.

The Corolla will not give you any troubles over the proposed 8 years of ownership. History would suggest a few more niggling issues with the Skoda, but overall, I would say they are neck to neck on the reliability issue. Let it be known though that the 1.9TDi is one of the world largest selling engines, and will run without problems for years.

Interior quality is where the Toyota looses out. It is plasticy and cheap and is prone to rattles after a few thousand Km's. This is precisly the area where the Skoda excels. Interior build quality is miles ahead of the Corolla.

the Octavia is way better when it comes to ride quality as well, though it looses out on interior space.

Quote:
If you still prefer one, then you should perhaps consider the Elantra diesel as well since you are bothered about maintenance costs - Hyundai service is good, spares are generally cheaper than those of comparable cars and the degree of localisation is higher
Seeing the dismal quantities the Elantra has sold, it would not be a wise purchase. Any money saved during the intitial purchase will surely be lost when it comes time to sell. Something to think about.

Overall, you must choose the car that best fits your needs and not just go on which fuel it burns.
Rtech is offline  
Old 22nd March 2005, 18:26   #6
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Sahil's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 6,291
Thanked: 7,593 Times

Toyota is known and built its name coz of its after sales service. Their service stations r top notch and customer satisfaction is wat they r looking for. I have owned 3 qualis's and the service at shinrai toyota has been excellent, thats what i can tell u from my personal experience as i dont currently own any toyota car but if i ever had to buy one probably would worry one bit abt after sales issues.
Sahil is offline  
Old 22nd March 2005, 19:39   #7
cnu
BHPian
 
cnu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: BLR/HYD
Posts: 297
Thanked: 114 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steeroid
Again, over a long term the maintenance cost of a diesel would normally be higher. Spares for a diesel (engine) are costlier than equivalent spares for a petrol.

Is this true ? Aren't the new common rail engines at par with the petrol ones ?

For eg, the D-4D common rail in Innova is a very sophisticated one and I heard that the maintenance of this is also cheaper. Innova has increased maintenance intervals and the spares are also priced cheaper than the earlier qualis...

The interiors of innova are at par with Corolla. Innova is worth considering too at your budget....
cnu is offline  
Old 22nd March 2005, 19:45   #8
bhp
BHPian
 
bhp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: lokhandwala mumbai
Posts: 840
Thanked: 168 Times

i think the corolla will be cheaper to maintian and relaible . but the skoda has great fuel economy which no other car can beat and also has a relaible patented engine
bhp is offline  
Old 22nd March 2005, 23:22   #9
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: N.A
Posts: 7,046
Thanked: 2,751 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by cnu
Is this true ? Aren't the new common rail engines at par with the petrol ones ?

The interiors of innova are at par with Corolla. Innova is worth considering too at your budget....
As I have mentioned elsewhere, combustion in a diesel engine is still achieved through compression. Which means that the diesel engine still has to withstand those explosing at a higher CR.

Servicing a diesel is also tricky, whether modern or old - a person playing around with a diesel engine better know what he's doing.

Finally, diesel spares are expensive. Ever inquired about engine spare costs for the Octavia or the Accent CRDi? A fuel pump has a price tag with 4 zeroes and probably the numeral 4 in front of them! Or even the Ford Ikon 1.8? I guess the only cheap diesel spares are from Tata for their Indica/go and from Mahindra for their Tractor-derived Jeep engines, though what you said about the Innova's spares is good news!

As for Common Rail engines being on par with Petrol engines w.r.t maintenance - they havent been around for long enough for us to judge. Only time will tell, but as long as the basics of combustion remain the same I suspect they will require more care and maintenance in the long run.

If you're a torque addict, all that shouldnt matter ! Diesels deliver more torque than equivalent petrols.

Steer
Steeroid is offline  
Old 23rd March 2005, 09:22   #10
BHPian
 
johnjacob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Bangalore, INDIA
Posts: 344
Thanked: 25 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steeroid
Tabrez is right, we shouldnt compare the diesel that he wants with a petrol.

However, quick question to VMG - if you're doing just about 1000 kms a month why would you want a diesel? The difference in fuel cost would hardly be about Rs.2,000 a month, and since you can put down Rs. 12 lakhs for a car would that really make a difference?
I agree with RTech in that we can compare diesels to petrols, especially in the case of the Skoda where both petrol and diesel models are the same price.

Once reason to go for the diesel even driving just 1000 km a month, would be the resale value. If VMG intends to sell the car in 3-5 years, the diesel would fetch him massively more in the resale market. Don't know about the RS, since it is a new entry, but the old petrol Skoda was a bit of a depreciation disaster, I have heard,
johnjacob is offline  
Old 23rd March 2005, 11:37   #11
Team-BHP Support
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 14,841
Thanked: 27,791 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by johnjacob
Don't know about the RS, since it is a new entry, but the old petrol Skoda was a bit of a depreciation disaster, I have heard,

.....and a great second hand bargain ! Would go for one instead of a new Honda City/ Optra
ajmat is offline  
Old 23rd March 2005, 12:06   #12
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: N.A
Posts: 7,046
Thanked: 2,751 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by johnjacob
If VMG intends to sell the car in 3-5 years, the diesel would fetch him massively more in the resale market.
But the gentleman had specified otherwise:

Quote:
Originally Posted by VMG
I would like to keep this for a long term.( about 8 years)
Very long term, low mileage - petrol would make more sense, I thought. Older diesels depreciate much faster.

Stter
Steeroid is offline  
Old 23rd March 2005, 14:41   #13
VMG
BHPian
 
VMG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Chennai
Posts: 344
Thanked: 32 Times

Thanks to all of you for your valuable input.

Regards
VMG is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks