[ketantendulkar]

I had intended to take Octy to 3M Care Baner for detailing.

However while filling diesel at the University Road HP COCO pump these boys came up with a car care product pack and when I declined they offered to do the exterior and interior at the price of Rs.800 (haggled at the start to Rs.650)

Small Upfront List of Questions: Is this car care kit enough for detailing? How different is this from the 3M packages? Any feedback? (questions which should have been asked BEFORE doing this, but hey.. )

I relented and they started with spraying the foam on the sides. The first side they did shone bright. However their enthusiasm waned with each part and by the time they started the other side I found them mixing water with the foam and spreading it over the car.

Thus they had to be constantly supervised. Every ten minutes they would come and say proudly "Done, sir!" when I would make them see all the grimy corners, the interior trim parts conveniently left out, the seat covers with dirt patches, and thus generally had to coax them into doing what they should have done in the first place without needing to be told.

Would I do it again? No - it is too much hassle to keep cribbing every five minutes. Perhaps doing it myself would be a better idea. Or try 3M perhaps.

The pictures of the process (first two) followed by the 'after' pictures':

[ketantendulkar]

In continuation of the impromptu weekend polishing job, I am now posting the photos of the interiors after the detailing:











I found the quality pretty decent (though not perfect). Hope this will help someone decide if doing the detailing at these 'kit' outfits is worth it.

(edit) Another photo after the car was almost immediately driven off to a very scenic location:



Side note: The following things were PROMISED upfront but were NOT done:
"We will polish the wheels" - promised, not done with the excuse "Company policy does not allow us to do wheels as more cleaning material is required". (Duh?)
"We will remove all minor scratches" - promised, not done "These *minor* scratches are permanent and will not go." (Duh? I know about the permanent *minor* scratches but surely some superficial scratches that can be removed must be removed. This was NOT done)

[anandpadhye]

Thanks Ketan,

perhaps some snaps before the cleaning would have helped understand how good they did it.

From what I have experienced, with uncovered trucks carrying sand and vehicles with no mud-flaps on our broken roads, the car body and windshield aquires fresh "polish" the moment it hits the road...so i have kind of given up on "detailing".

Did they vaccum the cabin?

I clean my cars myself and I feel cleaning the internals is more important from health point of view, but even my 1800W LG vaccum cleaner is also not enough!!! it can't suck everything and it does not have blower - most of the stuff needs to be first unsettled by blower and then sucked out by vaccum. I think only Eureka Forbs offer a model with vaccum + blower and I hate brands who do not sell via shops (may be this has changed recently).

BTW, thanks to Hyundai Service guys - my Tucson AC was blowing smelly air for just the initial minute when AC is switched ON and I asked them to open the entire AC circuit and clean the evaporator coil - they said they will try the AC cleaner spray (3M or Gulf, I need to check) so as to save the cost and time. They said this has to be sprayed into the blowers, goes deep into the piping due to it's long nozzle and disinfects and unsettles the dust and bacteria, etc. I can accept disinfection, but I am not sure if it really unsettles the stuff (and even if it does, where does it exit from!!!). However, it seems to have done something and the air blown by the AC does not smell now.

Did these HP COCO guys do this as well?

Cheers!

[ketantendulkar]

Hi Mr.Padhye,

You are right about the 'before' pictures but it was so bad that I was avoiding snapping the car at all.

The camera had become rusty due to such disuse - and the car carries two kids eating chips n biscuits etc; add to that the rainy season and I become paranoid every time someone deposits mud and marks on the *beige* color. But less said the better!

These guys were interested in doing a quick job. Also they did not even have a decent rag to begin with and were asking ME for my car cloth to do their stuff

So vaccumming was not on the agenda, not was the a.c. cleaning etc.

I whole heartedly agree about the free road polish that gets applied by sand trucks and rainy jet shootem mud-flap missing bikers :-) hence I decided to go cheap and get this done here instead of 3M.



The a.c. smell might be because the condenser coil gets frozen if you operate it for too long. I only get a faint odour if I switch on the a.c. at full and drive continuously for about four plus hours. Do check if this is the same problem. I take care to take the climatronic to ECON mode after two hours or so and the problem has not come back in the past eight months.

About vaccum cleaners with the blower feature - I have a Made in China one branded NOVA and its blower does the job - In fact its only useful feature is the BLOWER - it is a measly 900 W and blowers don't need so much as the suction part which hardly works.

[bchander67]

Hey ketan, can u share with me Mr Shanbhag (Select Auto) phone number ? i've any octy - and its showing up some errors (the glow plug flashing with check engine light on). would select auto be able to diagnose the problem ? would appreciate any feedback. thanks.

[ketantendulkar]

I drove my Octy to Mumbai and back today.

After the expressway ended I was on the Bangalore Highway (NH 4) and when in fifth gear I tried to downshift..... a terrible thing happened.

The car would not slot into any gear at all. It was seemingly still engaged in fifth gear as it would move forward slowly when I would release the clutch.

The gear lever feels like a joystick and it is possible to move it in any direction. There is no slotting action happening.

Luckily for us, Wakad's Europa Auto was nearby (around 3 kms) so I mustered up the courage to drive the car slowly in the last lane at a slow speed.

All the while the car felt as if the engine was revving freely (or so I thought) and only part of the power was reaching the transmission and hence the slow speed. It could just be my imagination though.

Finally I reached Europa, checked-in the car and headed home.

The odometer stands at 87,900+.

The whole incident has left me puzzled and agitated. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can understand the problem.

[F150]

Originally Posted by ketantendulkar

Luckily for us, Wakad's Europa Auto was nearby (around 3 kms) so I mustered up the courage to drive the car slowly in the last lane at a slow speed.

All the while the car felt as if the engine was revving freely (or so I thought) and only part of the power was reaching the transmission and hence the slow speed. It could just be my imagination though.

Finally I reached Europa, checked-in the car and headed home.

The odometer stands at 87,900+.

The whole incident has left me puzzled and agitated. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can understand the problem.

MonaroCV8 drives a SKODA OCTAVIA. He can guide you. He is in PUNE too.

Drop him a PM.

Looks like the clutch assembly is gone.

[Monaro CV8]

Originally Posted by ketantendulkar

The car would not slot into any gear at all. It was seemingly still engaged in fifth gear as it would move forward slowly when I would release the clutch.

The gear lever feels like a joystick and it is possible to move it in any direction. There is no slotting action happening.

Originally Posted by F150

MonaroCV8 drives a SKODA OCTAVIA. He can guide you. He is in PUNE too.

Ketan,
I'm sure that your car worries would have been sorted by now.

Like F150 said, it looks like a clutch failure.
I would also look into the gearbox, specially the gear shifter.

Do keep us updated.
Cheers.

[BuBooMan]

Hi Ketan. I use an Octy too. Its a 2006 with 100000km on the clock. From what you describe, it sounds like a clutch faliure. But incorrect slotting? Well, I dont know what to make of that.

I hope by now your car is back on the road. Do let us know what went wrong.
Cheers!

[ketantendulkar]

Hi Folks,

The Octavia was back on the road after spending a week with Abhijit Lonkar (Tune-Up Plus, Baner).

It was a simple clamp that had broken and it cost around 1000 bucks (plus 1100 labour :-) )

The clutch cable was ok and so was the clutch.

Thanks to all those who gave their advice.

[F150]

Wow. That's amazing.
Could you share any pics of the clamp and any part number ?

[BuBooMan]

Good to know you are back on the road Ketan. Just one question. What made you get out of Europa and go to Abhijit?

[ketantendulkar]

Originally Posted by BuBooMan

Good to know you are back on the road Ketan. Just one question. What made you get out of Europa and go to Abhijit?

Its not really Europa but after going through all the 'Skoda material' on Team-BHP I do not want to take a risk of keeping my car for even a few minutes under any Skoda dealer's wing.

Go through:


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2186809

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2696568

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post2668620

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2687510

[Reinhard]

Hey I seem to have missed this thread all this while. A very late congratulations to you! Octavia has always been my favourite when it comes to a sedan's looks. Its elegant lines and overall demeanor are a class apart. I'll still pick the Octy over a Laura for its looks.

And - a pleasant surprise to find a fan of Lee Falk's Mandrake. We are becoming a very rare breed you know!

Happy Motoring!

[praveenbalan]

I also own a 2004 Octavia.It has done 110000 kms very good condition but the spares are expensive , it is a good car to drive in city and highways it is a dream. Got so used to the skoda my next car will ba european make for Sure. Your car looks great can you share the price.

Praveen