[esteem_lover]

Nice one after a long while Sam. I liked the ferrari pit and the ferrari guy too.
cheers

[ambivalent_98]

Excellent Short Story Sam which ended on a Happy Note !!!!
Since the story is over a little change of topic ....

Sam, a week back when I was buying speakers for my new car I put on JBL. I thought they were made in Europe but the accessory waala told me they are made in China...(I was disappointed a little) but seeing the price of the German brand I thought I could take a gamble with the Made in China JBL's. I remembered that any problems with the JBL and I could contact you

[sudev]

I would be not happy buying a car in that price range and then being told about bedding down etc etc. Come on if Japs can do it why not German engineering? And oil at ~1k/lt rate at that.

[joshguy]

Nice writeup SAM

I used to fill diesel there only for their service.

But now the difference seems to be huge between shell and other pumps to stopped and there are no pumps near my work or house.

[.anshuman]

Even the Toyota Fortuner owner's manual says Oil consumption upto 1L/1000km is normal. The good news is our Fortuner has not asked for Oil till now, the car has done ~8k Kms.

[sameer sultan]

Hey Sam nice write up as usual. I noticed one thing, you were very magnanimous in your praise for Shell(they deserve it too) but you have refrained from complaining/commenting about Skoda?

Probably you dont want to sulk as you have spent 24L on the car. As its just going to hurt you more.

I had read a lot of praises on the 1.8TSI engine. But after your harrowing experience I am seriously doubtful about this engine. I mean you bought a new car spending so much on it and in the first 5K kms you end up almost stranded in a city which is not your homecity, and you need to get a particular oil which is not available every where. You end up waiting 35mins for the oil to come. You have been very nice to Skoda I say.

Even diesel engines do not require oil top up in their first 5000kms of running. I mean the Fiat Linea needed an oil topup/change only at 15000kms. And you can buy 3 Linea's at the cost of 1 Superb.

I feel this is really disgusting on part of Skoda that they are just fooling around with their fancy cars and they dont bother to point out the deficiencies before hand.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by sameer sultan

Even diesel engines do not require oil top up in their first 5000kms of running. I mean the Fiat Linea needed an oil topup/change only at 15000kms. And you can buy 3 Linea's at the cost of 1 Superb.

And he can buy 20 nanos instead of 1 Superb, and those Nanos don't need a topup for first 5k kms, so what?

I feel this is really disgusting on part of Skoda that they are just fooling around with their fancy cars and they dont bother to point out the deficiencies before hand.

Deficiency? Hey, Skoda has mentioned this clearly in the manual. But, the moron who did the PDI/delivered the car should have told Sam about this.

[McLaren Rulez]

By the way, its not just Skodas. Quite a few high end Germans have this big appetite for oil in the first few thousand kilometers.

[amitk26]

Well if the engine consumes so much for bedding in why can't they run engines on their test bed in factory till it beds in and then assemble and sell the car ?

I heard that many other manufacturers ( quite cheap ones actually ) run engine first on test bed.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Even the Toyota Fortuner owner's manual says Oil consumption upto 1L/1000km is normal. The good news is our Fortuner has not asked for Oil till now, the car has done ~8k Kms.

So, how is that explained now? If one car is expected to "drink" some oil, like Navin mentioned by its gaskets and packings then all engines of that make and dress level should "drink" oil right?

OT: What is the FE you are getting out of your Fortuner in city and highway conditions and with and without the ac?

[Gansan]

This is simply a characteristic of these high-end engines and is part of the running in process, that is all. If the manufacturers leave it that way, there would be a good reason. No need to flame the brands. After all they do specify it in the owners' manual. And once broken in, I think these engines will easily have a service life 3 - 4 times that of the cheaper brands.

[SafeDrive]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

And he can buy 20 nanos instead of 1 Superb, and those Nanos don't need a topup for first 5k kms, so what?

Yes but the Nanos do not come with umbrellas in their back doors - not paisa vasool

Originally Posted by Gansan

This is simply a characteristic of these high-end engines and is part of the running in process, that is all. If the manufacturers leave it that way, there would be a good reason. No need to flame the brands. After all they do specify it in the owners' manual. And once broken in, I think these engines will easily have a service life 3 - 4 times that of the cheaper brands.

I think if there is a reason for complaining then it can only be that Sam was not explicitly told this when he took delivery of the car. This I believe should have been done.

[sameer sultan]

If Sam was informed at the time of buying that this car will drink lot of oil in the 1st 5000kms then he would have given a second thought whether to buy or not. This was hidden purposely so that they can sell the car.

Imagine a family is travelling in some remote highway and this problem arises. They will be completely stranded and horrified. Shell Hilux ultra too would not be available in such a place.

When the dealer can take pains to explain all the fancy features(including the umbrella case) why dont they bother to inform the customer such a vital information?

A worst case scenario, a customer who is not aware of this issue ignores the warning light and keeps driving, then the engine might seize and when the car is towed to the service centre the Skoda guys will simply tell him that he needs to pay up the expenses to rectify as this will not fall in the warranty since this issue has been mentioned in the manual.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by sameer sultan

If Sam was informed at the time of buying that this car will drink lot of oil in the 1st 5000kms then he would have given a second thought whether to buy or not. This was hidden purposely so that they can sell the car.

Imagine a family is travelling in some remote highway and this problem arises. They will be completely stranded and horrified. Shell Hilux ultra too would not be available in such a place.

When the dealer can take pains to explain all the fancy features(including the umbrella case) why dont they bother to inform the customer such a vital information?

A worst case scenario, a customer who is not aware of this issue ignores the warning light and keeps driving, then the engine might seize and when the car is towed to the service centre the Skoda guys will simply tell him that he needs to pay up the expenses to rectify as this will not fall in the warranty since this issue has been mentioned in the manual.

I agree with you on some principles. If oil is a quick consumable requiring top-up every 1000kms then one should be informed.
If the oil is specific (which means I can't go to any petrol pump and buy it) - this makes it a critical component. Considering all the extra bulbs and stuff, I would have liked it very much if they included one litre of Shell Helix Ultra for the initial top-up.

If I had been informed that it will cost me a couple of thousand in synthetic oil to run the first 5000 kms, would it have changed my decision to buy the car?

Absolutely not.

But I agree, this is something that is critical and requires a clear mention, rather than an addendum on page 52 (just an example) especially considering that the liquid used affects the running and the life of the engine itself.

Had I not been able to source this specific synthetic oil, I would have been forced to either

1) Top up with any available mineral engine oil from some HP/BP pump
2) Top up with any available synthetic oil, IF I could source it between Pune and Mumbai
3) Drain the oil from the engine and replace with ordinary mineral oil
4) Try and locate the nearest Skoda Service station
5) Drive on and at some point the engine might seize

I agree that this is no light matter, but I would not go as far as to bad-mouth Skoda for this. If this is the nature of some German high-end petrol engines, then this should be explained more clearly but the sales staff at the point of delivery, if not the point of purchase. Not everyone reads a manual thoroughly.

[Bluengel180]

@Sam

There is a Skoda showroom 500metres before the shell Outlet on the pune-mumbai bypass road, Didn't you notice it?