[jigbarai]

Originally Posted by GTO

NONE!
My suggestion : Wait for the new Sonata before you decide; the Hyundai might well be worth it. I love their new designs, Hyundai has fantastic diesels and going by int'l reviews so far, the i45 is a sorted sedan. The launch shouldn't be more than a quarter or two away:

Bells and whistles not withstanding, I dont think a Hyundai will ever be as fun to drive / involving as a Skoda (or equivalent).
Hyundais have great gizmos, some good engines and based on individual tastes - some good designs as well; but, somehow they dont seem to get the 'handling' or the fun bit right.

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

Thanks Ajay!

Final Calculation for Laura Elegance 2.0 CR TD MT;

Can wait to drive this machine! Hope they deliver sooner.

Many congratulations !

Originally Posted by inder

Firstly congrats on your new ride.One question though,why din't you ask for discount on the ex-showroom cost (or is it not possible),it would have brought down your insurance aswell as tax component.

Simple - it is a 'cash discount'

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Mahesh, whats the colour you have chosen?
And elegance trim have leather seats as standard right?

My usual color is Black, i feel cars look beautiful in Black . Yes - leather seats are standard.

Originally Posted by inder

Firstly congrats on your new ride.One question though,why din't you ask for discount on the ex-showroom cost (or is it not possible),it would have brought down your insurance aswell as tax component.

Guess - that won't be possible, since Govt will always ask for road tax on the company specified ex-showroom price, that's why dealers do it on OTR or some give free insurance, etc.

Originally Posted by camchennai

Congratulation Mahesh, you have decided so quick I thought this thread would go for another 5 pages Waiting for your review!!

18.7% road tax is way too high!!

Thanks! yes - it's way high. Guess it's common for all car at this price point. Am I correct?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

My usual color is Black, i feel cars look beautiful in Black . Yes - leather seats are standard.

Fantastic...!
Personally I felt the Laura looks the best in two colours - White & Black

[rohitm]

Congrats on your choice! The Skoda Laura is a brilliant car. While I respect your decision i would have also gone the DSG route.

Teflon Coating: Guess you have not read through the to Teflon or not thread.

Sun Film: Which Sun Film has the dealer promised? It must be 3M SP series which is really a economy sun film and your car IMO deserves much better. I know from first hand experience the quality of worksmanship especially when providing a free sun film is really poor at TAFE . Please ensure they do a good job and inspect to ensure you do not get a million air bubbles else you will lend up with a windows which look like a starry night sky.

[VW2010]

Congrats on the Laura.

Personally avoid the Sun film from the dealer and if possible the teflon coating.

Get at least the Air-75 and Vkool for the windows and windshield.

The price is a bit on the higher side compared to Chennai. The car is supreme fun to drive around and has enough bells and whistles to enjoy the near luxury ride

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by rohitm

Congrats on your choice! The Skoda Laura is a brilliant car. While I respect your decision i would have also gone the DSG route.

Teflon Coating: Guess you have not read through the to Teflon or not thread.

Sun Film: Which Sun Film has the dealer promised? It must be 3M SP series which is really a economy sun film and your car IMO deserves much better. I know from first hand experience the quality of worksmanship especially when providing a free sun film is really poor at TAFE . Please ensure they do a good job and inspect to ensure you do not get a million air bubbles else you will lend up with a windows which look like a starry night sky.

Originally Posted by VW2010

Congrats on the Laura.

Personally avoid the Sun film from the dealer and if possible the teflon coating.

Get at least the Air-75 and Vkool for the windows and windshield.

The price is a bit on the higher side compared to Chennai. The car is supreme fun to drive around and has enough bells and whistles to enjoy the near luxury ride

Thanks! Have gone through other threads on Teflon coating part. I have now decided to not apply Teflon immediately . Will check on the sunflim as well.

I have few more queries;

1) Any mods recommended? I am not a racer....so not going to tune the engine.
2) Accessories - thinking of Boot spoiler & Stainless steel exhaust pipe. Any further recommendations?
3) Underbody Anti rust coating - how effective & is it recommended?

If any have done mods or added accessories to f/l laura 2009 - pls. reply with pictures!

[VW2010]

Accessories - thinking of Boot spoiler & Stainless steel exhaust pipe. Any further recommendations?

Black or White Laura looks fantastic as it is. I saw few Lauras with the boot spoiler and I personally didnt like it. It made the car look cheap wheras the plain looking laura is a definite treat to the eyes.

The only accessorie that i would recommend is the 3D mats for the car.

[kgkaran]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

Whereas Skoda guys are dolling out discounts. They are now giving me a good 80K discount on the on-road price + all accessories (mats, mud flaps, Teflon coating, sun flims, body cover & IND plates).

Hey, where are you getting these discounts? Which city? I tried in Noida but the guy is not giving more than 15K discount... if there is more to grab, then I will do that gladly .

Obviously, am on the way to purchasing my Laura...

[djay99]

Mahesh, So did get your laura delivered? and how is purchase experience and its performance?

[kgkaran]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

Thanks! yes - it's way high. Guess it's common for all car at this price point. Am I correct?

Actually no... the issue is that you live in Bangalore... while the city is wonderful (I lived there for 2 years) the road tax there is obscene... I live in Noida and I just purchased a Laura TDi too... Noida's rad tax is 7%. So I guess you are paying almost 2 lakhs more in road tax than I paid for the same car...

And you did a VERY good job on the negotiation. These Laura dealers just are too tough to crack on discounts. I met mine 6-7 times and slowly and steadily over these meetings got a discount of 90K (cash) plus teflon and anti rust coating for free... delivery scheduled for tomorrow :-)