[nileshch]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Argh...That's a sad news. Sorry to hear that. Perhaps it was an effect of too many BHPians (me included) liking your car and colour a lot! Is it really deep and the paint has chipped away? Is it so severe that a rubbing compound cant fix it? If metal is not exposed, rubbing compound would be worth a try.

I can't blame BHPians for that! It could however be some jealous neighbours

Here is a photo of the scratch. The paint primer is visible and the blue colour has completely chipped off. So will definitely need a visit to the workshop else the paint may start peeling from that point. I doubt if the rubbing compound will help.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

I'm myself terrified at the thought of someone washing my beloved car daily with water and a cloth that god knows has how many abrasive particles embedded over days. I can't believe someone else will take good care of my INR 6L car, as much as I would. So I don't wash my car regularly . She generally looks like a rally car. I wash, vacuum & polish her myself thoroughly once after a month or two. IMO it has benefits. Since she isn't too clean, nobody gives her too much attention, neither does anyone dare touch her . Since no cloth is used often, there are 0 swirl marks on the paint even after 9 months of ownership. When I do wash her, she looks as if just out from the assembly line.

Makes sense. Though I would like to see a clean car every morning Wish I could avoid the daily cleaning. So the only option is to give a soft cloth to the cleaner for cleaning the car. I generally ask the cleaner to dust off the dirt if dry (have got a Jopasu duster), use a bucket full of water on the car and then wipe it dry using a soft cloth. That's all. No extra rubbing with a wet cloth. Hope this will keep the swirls off for some time.

Originally Posted by noopster

Nileshch- sorry about that. Somehow I missed that post.

Reinhard- it's not the cleaner's fault. The Vento's wiper design is absolutely atrocious. At rest position you cannot pull it upto clean the blade undersides. Also, in Mumbai a lot of cleaners use the wiper-up position to indicate that they have done the cleaning for that day: when I park at my parents' these days, the guy just leaves one wiper up!

In fact even my bonnet has a chipped off portion where the cleaner tried to raise the wiper up. I am seriously considering leaving the wipers in "service position" every time I lock the car up for the night. It's a habit that's easily cultivated: after switching of the ignition, pull on the wiper stalk once and it goes to a position halfway up the windshield where it can be cleaned and pulled up without any damage.

Yes exactly, even when I used to check if the older car has been cleaned, I would see if the wipers are up. But I would think the cleaner should have had some sense to see if the wiper can indeed be pulled up. Why yank it forcefully?

Leaving the wipers in service position every night seems like a good habit to cultivate. I am going to do this today onwards.

On a different note, saw the Blue's bigger sibling in the traffic. Followed it for quite some time in the evening.



Here is how the Blue looks in rain. Just awesome.

[VW2010]

On a different note, saw the Blue's bigger sibling in the traffic

Drool over that car.

Anyway i dont think you should fix this paint chip. Keep it as a "Dhristi".

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by nileshch

I can't blame BHPians for that! It could however be some jealous neighbours

Here is a photo of the scratch. The paint primer is visible and the blue colour has completely chipped off. So will definitely need a visit to the workshop else the paint may start peeling from that point. I doubt if the rubbing compound will help.

Attachment 578984




Makes sense. Though I would like to see a clean car every morning Wish I could avoid the daily cleaning. So the only option is to give a soft cloth to the cleaner for cleaning the car. I generally ask the cleaner to dust off the dirt if dry (have got a Jopasu duster), use a bucket full of water on the car and then wipe it dry using a soft cloth. That's all. No extra rubbing with a wet cloth. Hope this will keep the swirls off for some time.



Yes exactly, even when I used to check if the older car has been cleaned, I would see if the wipers are up. But I would think the cleaner should have had some sense to see if the wiper can indeed be pulled up. Why yank it forcefully?

Leaving the wipers in service position every night seems like a good habit to cultivate. I am going to do this today onwards.

On a different note, saw the Blue's bigger sibling in the traffic. Followed it for quite some time in the evening.
Attachment 578986


Here is how the Blue looks in rain. Just awesome.
Attachment 578985

Awesome in the dry, better in the rain!! absolute beauty.

As for the paint, a thorough rubbing could do it, but the edge at which it has happened, would make it a tough ask. I'd recommend you not to actually paint the whole hood. Better simply get it touched up by brush with the same colour at VW. And, you may want to stick a little tape or www . team-bhp . com stickers around that edge (in a C- manner) so that in future if the wiper is pulled, it won't actually chop the paint deep...

[prabhuferrari]

Congratulations on your new car. It looks excellent, and your posts are very interesting. Please keep updating the thread on a regular basis. Just wanted to check on how good is the car on Bangalore roads and over the potholes/speed breakers etc. I am looking for a new car and the comfort factor is very important for me. It will be great if you can provide your inputs.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Drool over that car.

Anyway i dont think you should fix this paint chip. Keep it as a "Dhristi".

Haha! The problem is that the 'Drishti' might spread to the hood if I don't fix it in the next month or so.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Awesome in the dry, better in the rain!! absolute beauty.

As for the paint, a thorough rubbing could do it, but the edge at which it has happened, would make it a tough ask. I'd recommend you not to actually paint the whole hood. Better simply get it touched up by brush with the same colour at VW. And, you may want to stick a little tape or www . team-bhp . com stickers around that edge (in a C- manner) so that in future if the wiper is pulled, it won't actually chop the paint deep...

Ah! That's a good thing to do. I am going to tape up the section a couple of times, to avoid further damage.

Yes, painting the whole hood is a waste. I think the primer coating is almost intact in it. Only the paint has come off. Better than what I had originally thought.

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

Congratulations on your new car. It looks excellent, and your posts are very interesting. Please keep updating the thread on a regular basis. Just wanted to check on how good is the car on Bangalore roads and over the potholes/speed breakers etc. I am looking for a new car and the comfort factor is very important for me. It will be great if you can provide your inputs.

Thanks, Prabhu. Vento is a little stiffer when slow, but at medium/high speeds, it glides over potholes. The rear seating is, in my opinion, the most comfortable in this segment. I had to test the back seat for all potential car candidates (except the ANHV & NFF) properly because my parents would be using the backseats the most. They too liked the Vento rear seats over other cars.

You should also check out the new Verna and the new Fiesta. I did not test them as I had already made up my mind on the Vento. Don't know if you will like the pricing of the Fiesta though.

[nileshch]

Yuhoo! Back from another 870 km round trip to my in-laws' place! The odo now shows close to 2500kms!

Beginning to love the Blue knight more and more. Rock solid stable throughout the journey that took me through national, state and bullock cart highways!

I had taken this route: Mumbai-Nasik-Dhule-Bhusawal-a little further and back. The Mumbai Nasik route is scenic and roads are good throughout, except when entering & exiting Nasik city. NH3 inside Nasik is completely screwed up. They are building probably the longest flyover bypassing the whole of Nasik in one single stretch. It should be awesome when complete. But right now, everything has been dug up and its hard to figure out the highway from the surrounding muck.

I had reduced the air pressure from 36psi to 32psi on all 4 tyres. The result was an amazingly smooth ride quality. The stiffness that I was experiencing earlier was completely gone. The car sails over small bumps and potholes even at low speeds. The steering has also tightened up adequately now. It feels just heavy enough for my comfort.

The trip yielded an overall mileage of 18.5kmpl with generous amounts of ripping on the new highways. It is lower than the previous 20.2 that I got on the Bangalore-Mumbai route probably due to the lower tyre pressure. I will change to 34psi for my next drive and see if the ride quality is affected significantly. If it does, I'll change back to 32psi.

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure:

NH3, now, for the most part is like this -- smooth and enjoyable!!


The Blue, resting after a drive full of mud and grit. I am thinking darkened alloys should look good on the Blue!


Back to its original beauty & elegance after a home-made 'high pressure' wash!



On the way back, through the fields of Amalner (Wiproites, you have a connection with this place!):


A short halt at the gorgeously beautiful Chandwad ghat:


Finally, back to home after a real high pressure wash in Mulund.

[smrtdvl]

Congrats on the new BLUE. Man the car looks stunning in this color that I have mailed the link of this thread to a friend who has booked a white Vento and he has confirmed that he is going for a change of color .

Go for those all black alloys ASAP and am sure BLUE will be a bigger head turner.

[noopster]

Great to know you did another long drive so early on. The pic at Amalner looks beautiful, wallpaper material!

Originally Posted by nileshch

I am thinking darkened alloys should look good on the Blue!

You mean... like these?

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by noopster

You mean... like these?

Yes yes yes!! we think alike! Black alloys on blue cars are smashing!!

By the way, tomorrow will be the last leg of my grand trip. Returning back to Bangalore!

[VW2010]

Drive safe and add more pictures. I like the silver alloys over the black ones for this color. The color brings out the curves and the silver alloy adds to the contrast.

[nileshch]

I am back in Bangalore. I made a record of sorts for myself. 13 hours flat out from Mumbai to Bangalore, with about one hour in breaks. Frequently touched speeds of 135-140 kmph on empty sections of the NH4. You should hear the soft and satisfying engine roar at these speeds. Its music to the ears! And you don't realize the speed until you look at the speedo. And inspite of these speeds, got a mileage of 18kmpl for the complete distance. Not bad, eh?

VW recommends these values for the tire pressures (from the fuel inlet flap):

• 2 people: 32psi (front) 29psi (rear)
• 5 people with luggage: 36psi (front) 41psi (rear)

This time I increased the tire pressure from 32psi to 34psi and could notice the immediate difference in ride quality. I would put 34psi in the same league as 36psi. However at constant high speeds (70+kmph) this isn't a bother at all. But higher pressure dramatically increases the mileage (by almost 2kmpl).

So the verdict is out -- 32psi is best for city driving (for soft ride quality) and 34-36psi for long distance highway driving (for better mileage).

It rained almost throughout the journey (though mildly). I was not able to take any good fresh photos. However, worry not. Will have some more photo opportunities in the coming weekend!

By the way, the Blue has now completed 3100 kms on the odo!!

Originally Posted by smrtdvl

Congrats on the new BLUE. Man the car looks stunning in this color that I have mailed the link of this thread to a friend who has booked a white Vento and he has confirmed that he is going for a change of color .

Ah, nice! Tell him to join TBHP (if not already) and start his thread when he gets the car.

Originally Posted by VW2010

I like the silver alloys over the black ones for this color. The color brings out the curves and the silver alloy adds to the contrast.

Yes, the matte finish chrome alloys do look good already. However, darkened alloys (instead of completely black ones) can enhance the looks. Need to try some Photoshop jiggery to confirm this.

[Ramsagar]

Great to hear that you are back to B'lore. Can we meet this weekend?

Just take a BLUE permanent marker and apply gently on the area where the paint had chipped and it works well. I did the same for my K.Rider. Refer my thread, you can find the difference

[VW2010]

This time I increased the tire pressure from 32psi to 34psi and could notice the immediate difference in ride quality. I would put 34psi in the same league as 36psi. However at constant high speeds (70+kmph) this isn't a bother at all. But higher pressure dramatically increases the mileage (by almost 2kmpl).

So the verdict is out -- 32psi is best for city driving (for soft ride quality) and 34-36psi for long distance highway driving (for better mileage).

I have a different perspective here. I started driving in 32 PSI and tried everything from 36 to 32. (Jetta).

32 was low on Gas mileage and the ride felt a bit bumpy on city and suburb roads. 35 felt far more comfortable that bad roads started to slide below. Also the gas mileage went up by atlesat 2KM/L.

I will use 36 or 37 for highways but will stick to 35 for city roads. Ride feels fantastic and i get atleast around 15 driving in the city.

[noopster]

@VW2010- that may be the case for Jetta but with Vento in Pune city I use 34 psi these days to keep up with the pathetic condition of the roads in the monsoons. Same for the highways as well- returns good FE.

I have also experienced the best ride at 32 psi but at the cost of FE.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

Great to hear that you are back to B'lore. Can we meet this weekend?

Just take a BLUE permanent marker and apply gently on the area where the paint had chipped and it works well. I did the same for my K.Rider. Refer my thread, you can find the difference

This I can try out and see. Good idea! Will PM you separately about the meet.