[V-16]

Congrats Nirav. Thats a sweet deal considering the Bangalore market. Somehow, and i wonder why, cars are more expensive in Bangalore. Maybe its the OTT or some other cess or levy. Still getting a pre owned deal with hardly any movement on the odo meter is a boon. Im sure you are enjoying the car. Im a little concerned about your loan percentage though but i really dont know if Bangalore works differently than Bombay.
Anyways, enjoy your new wheels and please put up some pictures of her and you own driving report as ans d when you are ready with it.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Another Laura from Bangalore? Man, what are you Bangy guys feeding to the Skoda dealers? .

Congrats on the purchase Nirav. 5.5k on the odo is as good as new, and that at 11.5L is sure awesome! Nice deal you've got there.

Enjoy the beast to the fullest, and since the run-in has probably been done, let go the 160 horses as soon as possible . Update us on those orgasmic details, Please!

Lastly, you do know, that any review without photos is just not done, right. Upload tons of snaps. Drive safe. Happy revvin.

[amitk2kin]

Congrats Nirav, Join the Laura Club!

[nirav]

Thanks for the wishes guys.

Originally Posted by V-16

Congrats Nirav. Thats a sweet deal considering the Bangalore market. Somehow, and i wonder why, cars are more expensive in Bangalore. Maybe its the OTT or some other cess or levy.

Thanks V. I think the cars are more exp as a direct result of the high road tax here (=~ 18%) as opposed to other states. This not only drives up the new car market, but the used one as well. Doesnt seem to be stopping Bangaloreans from buying cars, or the authorities from NOT using the tax money to build any roads for them!

[nirav]

I have also discovered that my wiper blades will need replacing- Skoda is charging me close to 3k just for 2 new blades! Does anyone have any suggestions on better alternatives? Or is it recommended I just get them done at the dealer? Note this is just for the blades, not the arms.

[ethanhunt123]

I got my Cedia blades replaced with Hella OE for 220/- I suggest look for Hella/Bosch OE blades. Wouldnt cost you more than 500-600 for a pair.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by nirav

I have also discovered that my wiper blades will need replacing- Skoda is charging me close to 3k just for 2 new blades! Does anyone have any suggestions on better alternatives? Or is it recommended I just get them done at the dealer? Note this is just for the blades, not the arms.

Actually, Rs.2100 for both front wipers - got from my dealer.
In fact, IIRC, that's for replacing the wiper assemblies (not only the rubber). Please correct me if I am wrong.

I found out from my Hyundai service engineer how to confirm when only rubber replacement will be good enough and when it's time to replace the assembly. Lift the wiper stalk (the base) and check the play in the blade assembly with respect to base stalk. There should be none. If so, just change the blades. If there is play, change the assembly. Skoda being from the west, probably don't consider the possibility of no play, and mostly they will be correct! Hyundai being from the east, offer both the options - blades for @Rs.700 each, assemblies for @Rs.1400 for driver's side and @Rs.700 for the passenger side. Numbers are for the Tucson.

BTW, while we are on this topic, a very interesting piece of info from my TSi's owner manual - when you switch off the wipers, the wipers come to rest at 2 different positions (after every 3 switch off cycles). And I have seen this happening myself. This reduces localized wear of the wiper blades thereby increasing their life.

Good car!
And good book - this Skoda manual .

Cheers!

[nirav]

Hi Guys,
have taken a few average quality pics with my BB- apologies for the lack in quality! Will take a few more and upload soon. So far have installed the tints from V Kool and put in the IND license plate. Next in line are the seats, followed by possibly a tyre upgrade. Still loving every minute of driving this beast- in traffic or otherwise!

[SmartCat]

Good deal @ 11 Lacs. Top end versions of Vernas, Fiestas & Lineas cost 11 Lacs in Bangalore on-road.

Originally Posted by GTO

What was the interest rate like on your Kotak loan? Reason I ask is, the higher interest rates on used cars minimise the financial advantage, especially when buying <2 year old cars (which are priced close to new).

RBI is going berserk with their interest rate hikes - 18 times in the past one year I think. At these levels, yes, what you say is right.

However, if one could time their purchases when the interest rates are low, one could take a car loan on a pre-owned 1 - 2 year old cars and still save some money. When 1 year bank FD offers something like 5% (a little more than savings A/C interest), that's the time to go look for a car - both new and pre-owned!

My first car Chevrolet Optra was bought in 2004 on a loan and I paid 6.25% per annum interest on that! In 2010, I bought a pre-owned Honda Civic without a loan - because the interest rates were not too palatable to me at that time.

[cedricsg]

Heartiest Congratulations Nirav. Welcome to the TSI club. The 2009 & 10 Lauras are better value given the fact the current stock is stripped of goodies.

[nirav]

Hi guys,
have completed 10k of smile-filled, dust creating, truly pleasurable driving and i have to say, i have had not a single moment of regret buying this car. The only 2 problems I've had so far have been the wiper blades (changed from TAFE, Blr for around Rs. 3k) and the engine oil (luckily the warning appeared a day before servicing so filled 1L of Shell Synthetic 5w40 for around Rs. 1100). To recap, i bought the car at a showroom condition 5,800 kms and before i knew it, another 10,000 kms had passed! During the course of this time, I have driven her on round trips to Coorg (around 250-270kms each way), to Masinagudi (around 250kms each way), and to Tirupati (again, 250 kms each way). The rest of the use has been within Bangalore city, primarily to my factories in Peenya and for airport runs (typically 1-2 times a week).

The long drives have been nothing short of heavenly- i particularly enjoyed the 100 or so km stretch along the new highway from Hoskote towards Chennai- it was hard to tell we were cruising at 170-180 in 6th- so hard that my father actually asked why I'm not shifting up from 4th gear! Over these long distance runs, she returned a steady 11-12 KMPL. I must also add that on one particular trip, she gobbled 4 peoples luggage with some space to spare!

The city drive has been great, too. You never forget the amount of power you have ready on tap, and with some smart driving you can eliminate most of the turbo lag thats felt between 1k-2.1k RPM. I haven't had an issue with the size of the Laura either, in spite of the insane traffic in Bangalore. The cabin is solid as ever, and the suspension is holding up well to the crater-filled and sometimes non-existent roads in and around the city. Initially i was getting an average of 8 KMPL in the city, however after getting used to the car and adjusting my driving style accordingly, I'm now seeing a steady 9-9.5 KMPL.

For the service, i chose Vinayak Skoda as they are located in my vicinity of Sadashivnagar. However i realized that there is a massive disconnect between the showroom and the service centre, so much so that it feels like they are run as 2 independent entities. Nevertheless, i made an appointment to have my car picked up on Friday the 3rd of Feb, and was ensured that the car would be returned that same evening. They also checked service history for me, and the car has been to 2 prior services with no issues reported (perfect for a 2.5yr old car). The only problems I reported for rectification were the washer nozzles to be realigned, the engine oil warning, a foul smell emanating from the AC 2 days earlier, and a slight rattle from the right rear (which is common in this model i believe). The driver showed up 2 hrs late for the pickup, though he was very polite on the phone and apologized for this. I got in touch with the service manager Arjun and had a chat with him about the issues, too. He assured me that all would be taken care of. Over the course of the day we ended up speaking 3-4 times on various issues, and i must say he was courteous and polite, even though a lot of the time he had no idea what was going on! Maybe because there were a lot of cars in the centre that day... The car was returned to me by 830pm that night, again 2 hrs late, but i can't complain as they returned it on the same day as promised. Issues were rectified however the rattling is still audible, and i also noticed they used Castrol instead of Shell. My mistake for not specifying. The car came back in great shape, with all surfaces cleaned and polished, and the air filter and ac filters changed as well. All in all, a pretty decent experience, given the horror stories that others seem to have faced with Skoda dealers. The total cost of service worked out to Rs. 9.8k.

Post service the car feels like she's been slightly retuned and is much more comfortable lower down the rev range whilst in 2nd gear, (i enquired about an ECU upgrade but they didn't seem to know what i was talking about) something noticed by a fellow TBHPian on his car as well. The steering also feels slightly lighter and of course the new air filters effect can be felt especially when the turbo kicks in.

All in all, loving it so far and looking forward to many more fun filled kms!

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by nirav

Hi guys,
have completed 10k of smile-filled, dust creating, truly pleasurable driving and i have to say, i have had not a single moment of regret buying this car.

Happy to know that you had a good service experience with Vinayak since my TSI is coming up for its first service shortly. I am planning to take the car down to Vinayak SC myself. I have virtually no issues to report and am totally thrilled with the experience of owning this car. Vinayak Skoda had given me a heads up on the oil consumption bit. As a result I have kept a close watch on the same. I have topped up about a litre of oil on two occasions so far. I believe out of the total cost of 9.8k, about 4K must be for oil itself. You mention that the car feels more driveable at lower rpms. Do you notice any effect at higher revs as well?

This car is very good at coasting. Hit the throttle and let her glide. You will find that the engine offers very little resistance (engine braking) even in 2nd and 3rd gear . This helps to achieve some amazing FE figures.

I happen to find a lot of brake dust formation on the front wheels. I thought that this was an initial phenomenon and would reduce as the brakes were bedded in. But somehow it has not reduced and the phenomenon has continued. Would like to know how has your experience been in this area.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I happen to find a lot of brake dust formation on the front wheels. I thought that this was an initial phenomenon and would reduce as the brakes were bedded in. But somehow it has not reduced and the phenomenon has continued. Would like to know how has your experience been in this area.

Does the brake dust appear at all times of driving or just when your doing good speeds on highways?

I notice a lot of brake dust on my front wheels in my Cruze especially during highway runs and none during city driving.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Does the brake dust appear at all times of driving or just when your doing good speeds on highways?

I notice a lot of brake dust on my front wheels in my Cruze especially during highway runs and none during city driving.

The brake dust formation after highway runs is more than during city runs. But it is there even when the car has run only within the city. I personally wash the car every weekend. Love to keep those alloys shining . Over a period of one week, the front rims look like they have a sprinkling of fine black powder. When I pour water on to the centre hub, black water flows out. This wasn't the case in my Corolla. I drive very sedately in the city. So its not like the brakes are working overtime.

[kryptonite]

Nirav - Dude, you just nailed an *almost* brand new Laura TSI for the price of my Rapid TDI!

Brilliant decision, I just didn't have the nuts to go with a new TSI due to the insane fuel costs, and of couse settled with the Rapid TDI.

Neverthless, this is an absolute brilliant car, no questions asked. One of the best engines I've ever driven. Congratulations, and have fun mate !