[M124]

Rear bumper - Rs 3100
Rear bumper painting - Rs 5500 (really its that high? suggestions are welcome)
LH tail light assembly - Rs 1970
Approx labor charges - Rs 2500 (can someone please validate?)


Rear bumper charges are reasonable since your are getting it done from authorised centre. i recently was charged around rs.5000 for sx4 . the rear bumper was damaged when car was in a mall parking.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

The first time was done at the VW workshop with total costs coming to 16k (only repair & paint job, no parts being replaced). The second time I got it done from a known (MASS) garage, total costs came to 2.2k. Quality of work - as good as the VW workshop. Infact they also repainted the rear section so that there is no difference of color shade between the two paint jobs.

16K for just repair and paint job? Thats quite a massive damage. Good to know that a MASS garage could match the paint quality at such a low price. I will have to find out something like that here. However the damage is so hideous this time around I need to get it fixed ASAP. Also the stock bumper that the service center has is not painted so would find it a little odd staying with the rear bumper with no or white color on a black car. Since the guy paid up Rs 10K which more or less covers the damages I think I will go with the service center for now. But thanks much for this sound advice.

Originally Posted by M124

Rear bumper charges are reasonable since your are getting it done from authorised centre. i recently was charged around rs.5000 for sx4 . the rear bumper was damaged when car was in a mall parking.

Well mine comes to actually to over Rs 8K including the painting and in your case I think it is Rs 5K assuming its a painted bumper they replaced.

[shuvc]

Sheesh ! That's bad :(

Painting panels is typically expensive. Maruti is relatively cheaper. I believe around 2-3K per panel. I know Honda charges around 4.5K per panel for Citys. So 5.5 sounds ok from an authorised workshop pov (albeit a tad expensive). Good independent garage rates are somewhat similar to Maruti rates, maybe a bit less.

Bumper and tail lamp prices are very very reasonable for the segment.

Must say you got lucky with the Tfort owner. Rarely would people cough up that much cash - even with the threat of a police case. Maybe his papers were not in order

ps: Although you are not claiming insurance. Painting charges will cease to be totally covered by insurance. A small % will need to be borne by the insured. Around 7% I think.

[nozzlering]

An excellent writeup. You are capable of writing a book, which can be a best seller. I read each and every post of yours in this thread. Very interesting.

Somehow I sensed (by looking at the title only), the thread belongs to a bongali babu...

[joslicx]

Sad to see the damage samarjit. I have myself been rear-ended no less than 3 times (twice at the traffic lights) and I know the feeling. Good thing that, the T-Fort guy was a gentleman and offered to cover up your loss. Rarely we see that. In my case once I was on Karizma when an Indica cab reared me at a light. I had no damage but the Indica suffered broken number plate and dent and that cab driver got out and was ready to fight with me for stopping on a red light! Fortunately there was a policeman there who saw everything who came to my help. Another time my Alto was hit by a biker who just sped off! More recently another biker rear-ended my i10 when I had to panic break here in Bangalore. Suffered a hole in the tail lamp casing. That guy just said sorry and went off.

I am in Sweden these days and see people stop for others all the time! Even the bus stops when people cross streets here. Its so much different from our place. People are in a mad rush all the time, no respect for others and none for rules. It is just so sad.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by shuvc

Good independent garage rates are somewhat similar to Maruti rates, maybe a bit less.

Could you please PM me some good garages if you know them doing paint jobs? Would like to keep them for future reference. Cannot rely on being compensated so well every time.

Originally Posted by shuvc

Must say you got lucky with the Tfort owner. Rarely would people cough up that much cash - even with the threat of a police case. Maybe his papers were not in order

Did some research about the owner of the TFort. Already knew that he is connected with the real estate business. My wife suspected something was wrong definitely, maybe the insurance/road tax not paid or his entire business maybe under the scanner coz his demeanor changed completely at the very mention of a case. He was putting up a spirited fight in defense for not stopping at red lights until now. Who knows. Or maybe he truly is a gentleman and generally a responsible road user, maybe this was just a one off case. Obviously I am not revealing anything else about him but will be very careful when I see his TFort with spongy brakes on the road again. I do hope he stays alert with his TFort and how it's driven in the future or he can cause more serious accidents.

Originally Posted by shuvc

ps: Although you are not claiming insurance. Painting charges will cease to be totally covered by insurance. A small % will need to be borne by the insured. Around 7% I think.

Yeah the service center mentioned the same thing so foregoing insurance claims this time around.

Originally Posted by nozzlering

An excellent writeup. You are capable of writing a book, which can be a best seller. I read each and every post of yours in this thread. Very interesting.

Thanks much, I feel flattered though personally I feel I have a lot to cover before I can write a book, a very long way to go for a best seller

Originally Posted by nozzlering

Somehow I sensed (by looking at the title only), the thread belongs to a bongali babu...

Wow, now we are typecast. LOL.

Originally Posted by joslicx

I am in Sweden these days and see people stop for others all the time! Even the bus stops when people cross streets here. Its so much different from our place. People are in a mad rush all the time, no respect for others and none for rules. It is just so sad.

It is but then the amount of traffic in most western nations is very low. I have seen some serious build ups in the US but yes most folks stay calm and polite adhering to traffic rules except for occasional morons. Kolkata has much lower average speeds which is kind of a boon in a way as accidents automatically become less fatal. I was reading these statistics on another thread and our city is way low in terms of fatal accidents simply because of slow moving traffic.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by shuvc

Painting charges will cease to be totally covered by insurance. A small % will need to be borne by the insured. Around 7% I think.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Yeah the service center mentioned the same thing so foregoing insurance claims this time around.

Not if you are on zero depreciation policy. In that case, you bear only the processing fee, nothing else.

Edit: This weekend seems to be one about Vento dents/accidents. First you, then @pillainp and @skaja on the Vento thread!

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Edit: This weekend seems to be one about Vento dents/accidents. First you, then @pillainp and @skaja on the Vento thread!

Looks like Saturn is paying special attention to Ventos this weekend . All Ventophiles need to be careful through this weekend perhaps.

[samarjitdhar]

Its been a long time I updated this thread. Well nothing much happened here apart from the daily rides and small fixes. The Vento is about to complete a year in a couple of week's time however having covered around 14,700 km I was advised by my SA to get the 1st service done. Moreover I will be taking off for a smallish trip to put on some miles and take a much needed break hence thought it might be a good idea to get it done before the trip. The booking was made for last Saturday. The key issues to be checked were the following

1. Excessive engine clatter
2. Slight creaking sound from rear drum brake on the left wheel after cold starts
3. Check on vibration levels
4. Any rusting under the seat assemblies (thanks to a non-TBHPian friend for reminding this to me)

In addition I finally got rid of the el cheapo mud flaps and went for the new shorter version of the mud flaps from VW. The cost of the mud flaps however remain the same even though they are smaller. I also skipped on the A/C filter replacement as I had replaced it not that long ago.

The total service cost came to Rs 10,982 including the price of the mud flaps. I didn't go for the wheel balancing & alignment as I chose to get it done outside having read somewhere about the higher charges by VW for the same. Here is a breakup of the charges.




Some rusting was found below the front seats so the seat assemblies were replaced under warranty. I just saw Rohaan's update on the engine mounts and have asked the service center about the same. Post service, the engine clatter has come down and car feels smoother to drive. The braking performance also has improved and the creaking sound seems to have subsided now. The service center however had their water pump broken down which meant there was no cleaning or washing . As usual there were some grime marks left in the interiors. I will get the car properly cleaned and detailed perhaps once I am back from the trip.

One question though. The wheel balancing and alignment cost me around Rs 1050 because the wheels needed around 200g of weights. The tire guy remarked that generally alloys should not be needing so much weight. Is there anything wrong with the wheels that I should get checked separately? Will share my experience on how the car now performs on the highways once I am back from my trip.

[souravc]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Its been a long time I updated this thread. Well nothing much happened here apart from the daily rides and small fixes. The Vento is about to complete a year in a couple of week's time however having covered around 14,700 km I was advised by my SA to get the 1st service done.

Why have they charged you for the fuel filter ? They are supposed to replace it under warranty, quite a few of us ( including me) got it for free .
Whats the massive Rs 17K+ seat related charges that you paid ? Wheel alignment and balancing for Rs1000 + that's quite steep as is the prospect of adding 200 gms of weight . I think you should take a second opinion , doesn't sound too right .

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by souravc

Why have they charged you for the fuel filter ? They are supposed to replace it under warranty, quite a few of us ( including me) got it for free .
Whats the massive Rs 17K+ seat related charges that you paid ? Wheel alignment and balancing for Rs1000 + that's quite steep as is the prospect of adding 200 gms of weight . I think you should take a second opinion , doesn't sound too right .

Hmm. That's weird. My fuel filter was replaced once under warranty earlier. This time around they said that during the first service the fuel filter must be replaced but no mention of being done under warranty. The massive Rs 17K for the seat related changes are for replacing the seat assemblies which had started rusting. This was done under warranty and I didn't pay anything for that. I mentioned that in my service report. For the older Vento owners, I think it is a good idea to check for this issue if one has already not done so (rusting in the front seat assemblies) as I remember I have seen similar problems reported here on TBHP by other Vento owners. If there is any rusting, it will be replaced by VW under warranty.

As for the wheel alignment and balancing I will get it checked in another shop and see what's going wrong. I had to get everything done in a jiffy because of my upcoming trip. Once I am back I will get it rechecked from a different shop.

[bala80]

And if thats not enough - what's with the GFF charges of 350? GFF stands for the guided functions which is nothing but the VAS machine check. Labour charge of 350 for connecting a cable to the ECU and doing a scan? Man, I'm not in the right job!

Isnt this a part of every service? Why should this be charged seperately? This may be the case with others also, but I find this very unreasonable.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by bala80

And if thats not enough - what's with the GFF charges of 350? GFF stands for the guided functions which is nothing but the VAS machine check. Labour charge of 350 for connecting a cable to the ECU and doing a scan? Man, I'm not in the right job!

Isnt this a part of every service? Why should this be charged seperately? This may be the case with others also, but I find this very unreasonable.

Fully agree. Without connecting the VAS and running those diagnostics how could they even perform the service and they charged for that . I noticed it later after I came home. These labor charges tend to be a rip off at VW even if the parts seem reasonably priced. They just have to cook up a bill kissing the 10K mark I think to please VW headquarters .

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

They just have to cook up a bill kissing the 10K mark I think to please VW headquarters .

Umm, not VW, but their headquarters. I believe it is the other way - VW would love to see service bills that match Maruti levels - I can easily visualize what a field day their PR machinery would have if that happens.

On a similar note, imagine the glee I saw on my SA's face when the VW official approved the bonnet paint issue to be done under warranty. I might be getting it done free of cost, but the dealer was sure to send a hefty bill to VW for the work.

[torque18]

Thats one awesome ride you have Samarjit! congrats! I am new on the forum so couldnt wish you earlier but i have been following this thread very eagerly.
One thing that i wanted to ask was where did you get those number plate mounts/holders? I have been looking for them for my Rapid but nobody seems to know anything about them! Is it available from VW or you got it from outside?