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11th December 2011, 00:48 | #1 |
BHPian Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Sydney/Kolkata
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| Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Circa 2010. Lead Characters (adapted from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling) Mowgli - Me Shanti (Mowgli's girlfriend) - Wifey Kaa (Python) - Maruti Zen 2001 Mowgli needs a new ride. Mowgli has been riding Kaa for 9 years and Kaa has stood upto Mowgli and Shanti's transportation demands unfailingly every time. Kaa with its solid build, instance performance on call, superb manners and handling on the road traveled close to 100K kms in over 9 years. Mowgli has pushed Kaa all around in the treacherous jungle of Kolkata and suburbs and Kaa has rarely complained. However time has come for Kaa to retire from active duty and lead a more sedate life. It is ready to venture into the jungle on weekends but pushing Kaa to transport Mowgli and Shanti to office every day is getting too much. Having spent so much time with Kaa, Mowgli knew what he needs in the next mode of transport that replaces Kaa. The DNA structure is all clear only the specie needs to be decided. Some other reasons for getting a replacement for Kaa. 1. Has to be a comfortable ride with good luggage capacity (read trunk) - Shanti's luggage that she lugs to office (due to various reasons) has increased by the day so much that Mowgli is seriously contemplating riding to office and back on Kaa's hood . 2. Good rear seating comfort - Shanti cannot drive (umm so well) so additional help on the ride is needed (chauffeur). Hence the rear seat space and comfort was foremost in mind. Ability to stretch one's legs with Shanti's daily luggage thrown in is a key factor. 3. Has to survive on diesel - Enough about Shanti. She will take Mowgli to task and there will be a lot of ashanti for making her the only reason for getting a new ride. The jungle raj (government) has decontrolled petrol prices. Mowgli's alarm bells started ringing. True to Mowgli's fears, the price of petrol went up faster than a NASA rocket. So had to be a diesel ride. 4. Overall appearance - Should be pleasing to the eyes. The overall package should pass the vision test. Nothing too garish while still can turn heads. Mowgli and Shanti are now past mid thirties so something sedate looking is needed. 5. Kaa's expensive hospital trips - As age has caught up with Kaa, his hospital trips and treatments costs have started hitting the higher side. Wear and tear means higher annual maintenance costs on Kaa. 6. Budget - Last but not the least. Should not go too far above the 10 lac range on the jungle. Mowgli has a general idea about the prices so knew what to expect when zeroing on a diesel ride. Up next, the selection process. Last edited by samarjitdhar : 22nd December 2011 at 19:41. |
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11th December 2011, 01:28 | #2 |
BHPian Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Sydney/Kolkata
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| re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Continued from above ... sometime towards the end of 2010 through June 2011 Main Lead Character Enters Bagheera - VW Vento TDI 2011 Mowgli has to go through the selection process and does the only logical thing. He starts checking out TBHP religiously. There is news of new launches of rides which are to be introduced in the jungle. Mowgli starts actively following the different species of rides reviewed by TBHP as well as ownership reviews. So Mowgli first wishes to thank from the bottom of his heart to TBHP for being there and being the most comprehensive source of information. At TBHP, Mowgli accessed a wealth of information on the rides available and the ones to be launched. Apart from the in-depth official review, amazing reviews by nileshch, noopster, bala, souravc, blackdiesel, evilshantanu, mikon, ninja, the list is endless. Sorry if Mowgli missed out somebody but Mowgli thanks each one of you. Armed with the wealth of information from TBHP, Mowgli and Shanti start taking test rides by May/June 2011. The species considered were the usual suspects Hyundai Verna, VW Vento and Ford Fiesta. New Hyundai Verna - The new Hyundai Verna was just launched, the older Verna never appealed to Mowgli in terms of its looks. So when Mowgli inquired about the new Verna right after its launch Mowgli was informed that no diesel test drive species are available in eastern India . Mowgli could take a test drive of the petrol if Mowgli wished which Mowgli declined. Mowgli checked the specie out in the showroom. The specie is awesome in terms of looks and features. But it failed miserably in the rear seat. Lack of under thigh support, high windows. These are specially uncomfortable for folks who travel mostly in the rear seat in the jungle called Kolkata. Specially one has to have a clear vision of which moron has lost control and is about to hit you so that one can take evasive action. For the record diesel test drive species are still not made available to the dealers when Mowgli last called and Mowgli eventually gave up. So the Hyundai Verna lost the race before it started. New Ford Fiesta - Did Mowgli say the Verna lost the race before it started? Sorry the Fiesta lost it before it was announced. Mowgli and Shanti actually checked out the new Ford Fiesta after they booked their new ride. The specie looked as good as the Verna, the tail being not so great. What shocked Mowgli again was the rear seat. It had even lesser space and the seat quality was well below par. Then came the premium pricing where the chauffeur would thoroughly enjoy a 12+ lac rupee car while Mowgli and Shanti are struggling in the rear seat with their luggage. And to top it off, like the Hyundai, no test drives of the diesel available. Bye bye Fiesta. Other diesel rides considered Maruti SX4 - One used to be parked always in front of Mowgli's apartment on the road daily and Mowgli had an idea about the rear space which didn't seem adequate enough. That coupled with a comparatively lower powered engine and having owned Kaa which was of the same make ruled it out. Fiat Linea MJD - Mowgli's friends asked him to stay away from it because of the infamous A** from Tata as well as a potentially underpowered engine. Mowgli and Shanti actually also looked at a couple of petrol species too simply for the heck of it. Honda City - Excellent specie except for the fuel type it runs on. Umm maybe ground clearance too. Mowgli took the test drives in peak of monsoons where the roads in the jungle of Kolkata resemble a battlefield. It scraped quite a few bumps. Otherwise everything about the specie is impressive. The only thing that went against it was the fuel type it consumed. Toyota Etios (diesel was still not launched) - Nice driveable specie with oodles of space (as much as the City). Steering response was great for city driving and acceleration instantaneous with well placed gear ratios. The only letdown was the plain jane interiors and again running on the wrong fuel. However with the annual running going easily above 12K kms and the jungle raj's (government) propensity to hike petrol prices at random to meet annual revenue shortfalls, Mowgli decided to stay away from petrol rides specially with the packed jungle traffic of Kolkata promising to return nothing better than a mileage of 8-9 KMPL for a largish ride. Petrol rides were ruled out. Enter Bagheera (VW Vento) - So finally for the test drive experience of the Vento. The showroom folks were really courteous during all the showroom visits and brought the car to Mowgli's office for the test drive. Mowgli's mind was already almost made up on Bagheera thanks to TBHP's extensive official and ownership reviews. The nicest part was in the monsoon ridden roads and bumps, it didn't scrape a single crater or bump. On the open road the rush after the magic RPM was exhilarating and to go with it the butter smooth gear shifts. Turns at relatively high speeds and even u-turns were handled with aplomb and maneuvering with the light steering in and out of traffic was a breeze. Mowgli was thoroughly impressed by Bagheera, having ridden Kaa for over 10 years Mowgli found the ride quality as good as Kaa with added power thrown in. Shanti liked the rear a/c vents, the reading lamps and the space max arrangement. The VW snob factor had already bitten Shanti and they were more or less decided to go with Bagheera for their next ride. The only things that stood out like two sore thumbs were the enormous rear hump and the clatter of the diesel engine when the windows were rolled down. Everything else was what Mowgli and Shanti wanted in their ride. Actually Mowgli's love affair with the VW species started in 2000 in the jungles of US when Mowgli saw and rode one of his colleague's 1999 Jetta. Mowgli was thoroughly impressed having ridden it and always dreamed of owning a German ride. So here was his chance .... Up next, booking and the ownership process. Last edited by samarjitdhar : 26th December 2011 at 19:37. |
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11th December 2011, 09:59 | #3 |
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| re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update So by the end of June 2011, Mowgli's mind is made up, the heart is set, Bagheera it is, the question is when. And then came the news of the 2% price rise by VW. Only those who book by 30th June, 2011 will have a price protection. Signs of trouble. The jungle raj (government) will surely raise levies and duties on diesel rides and now the manufacturers. It is time to make a move. After a flurry of discussions between Mowgli and Shanti the booking is made on 27th of June, 2011. The choice of color is another agonizing thing, blue or black? Kaa is of metallic blue color and Shanti wants a change in color so they like all typical couples go with what the female deems is right. Waiting period quoted for Bagheera to arrive was a maximum of 2 months. As happens in these cases, buyers remorse set in immediately, Shanti starts seeing a lot of blue Ventos on the road and started reconsidering what to do . As for Mowgli? Black and blue aint making a difference. The palms and feet are itching to get a hold of it, though personally Mowgli likes the black color as rides go bigger in size. While they waited, Mowgli spent the agonizing wait in re-reading all the research on TBHP all over again and became increasingly convinced that he has made the right choice. And then comes the shocking news as ownership experiences start pouring in on TBHP. 2 weeks into July folks find features going AWOL in Bagheera. No leather steering cover, no chrome accents. Mowgli asks the showroom and true to word the folks have no clue. After some inquiries Mowgli finds out yes it is true. Mowgli gets pretty pissed and flies at the showroom guys. They express their helplessness saying VW is doing this. They provide Mowgli some email IDs and along with the email addresses available here on TBHP threads Mowgli starts sending some nasty emails and harsh posts on VW's FB page. Finally VW relents and the dealer sends Mowgli an email. Apparently VW had asked every dealer to take off Rs 5000/- from the price in lieu of the missing features which the dealers were quietly pocketing if the buyers weren't complaining much. Well at least Mowgli's dealer finally complied with the directive. Dealership experience: OSL Exclusive is the exclusive dealer for VW in Jungle Kolkata. They also happen to be the exclusive dealers for Beemers though with a different name. Apart from that missing features issue, the experience has been fantastic from the get go. Unlike all the experiences read in TBHP, every visit to the showroom was a pleasant one even though Mowgli was always amazed with how the folks at the showroom showed a lack of knowledge on any random topic, specially when it was anything related to their own product . They always wanted Mowgli to take test drives even though Mowgli had already made the booking. What took always the cake was their paltry knowledge about the features of their own rides. But then Mowgli had nothing much to complain as long as they listened to him patiently and let him have his way. On road price: Rs 926709 (ex showroom) + Rs 53800 (road tax & regn) + Rs 42838 (insurance, went with the dealer quote on Bajaj Alliance) - Rs 16000 (corporate discount) - Rs 5000 (missing features discount) = Rs 1002347 Well just above the 10 lac mark but nothing to worry about. Could have been well below it if Mowgli had shopped around a little for insurance. Oh well. 14th August Mowgli gets a call from the showroom that Bagheera has been allotted and is on his way. 23rd August Bagheera reaches the showroom and is ready for his pre-registration inspection. The showroom is near Mowgli's office and he rushes over to do the prelim inspection before registration and complete mortgage formalities. Everything looks to be all right (thanks to TBHP checklists and the VIN no. checker), the manufacturing date is July, 2011. Here are some initial pics of Bagheera taken by Mowgli. Bagheera is here !!! Bagheera struts !!! Bagheera's branding !!! Bagheera sneers proudly !!! Up next, delivery and initial ownership till now. Last edited by samarjitdhar : 22nd December 2011 at 19:51. |
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20th December 2011, 23:33 | #4 |
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| re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update August 2011 till date ..... the tale so far Mowgli and Shanti took delivery of Bagheera on 26th August, 2011 with about 50 kms on it. Thanks to TBHP reviews, Mowgli even knew what accessories to get from the dealer and what to get after market. Here is the list from the dealer: 1. Rear parking sensors (offered free by the dealer) 2. Door side protector 3. Stainless steel sill protector Declined 1. Mud flaps - Hard ones will scrape all bumps and craters in the jungle based on TBHP reviews 2. Floor mats - Way overpriced for their quality 3. Extended warranty - Will think about it before the completion of a year PDI done was as thorough as could be thanks to TBHP checklists. Apparently the SAs had a target set by the dealer to deliver the car within 30 mins and Mowgli had already taken over an hour. Everything seemed to look good except for slight panel gaps in the left C pillar on the inside and the right side of the hood of the car (they are barely noticeable). Tire pressure was set to 36 (rear) and 42 (front) by the showroom even though request was made to change it. The result was both Mowgli and Shanti got a headache riding the bumpy monsoon roads going back home from the showroom. The tire pressure was changed to 32 the next day. And now for some pics to do the talking (please ignore the dates on the pics, Shanti never gets the settings right on her camera) Bagheera wakes up .... The heart of Bagheera Bagheera's cockpit Bagheera's instrument cluster Bagheera's branding Bagheera ready to rock and roll Bagheera on his way Bagheera in the jungle of Kolkata Bagheera has been fitted with after market leatherette seat covers, transparent floor mats, back to back carpet cover, el cheapo rubber mud flaps, bumper protectors, Stanley leather steering cover, door guards and sun films from Llumar for windows and windshield. Here are some pics. Leatherette seat covers to match the car interior colors (as close as it can be) el cheapo transparent floor mats over back to back carpet cover (Inquiries on Kagu mats met with incredulous looks) el cheapo mud flaps (stayed away from the VW branded hard ones for fear of scraping) Bumper protectors and rear parking sensors Oh yes, some of Kaa's nice accessories migrated over to Bagheera. A Griffin iTrip bought in 2007 to let the iPod work with the prehistoric HU that comes with Bagheera (the pre-refresh version), a Lenmar power port expander bought from Amazon and a Fusion car inverter acquired during Mowgli's business trip to Montreal, CA for using the laptop while on the move. Here is a pic of them. Griffin iTrip, Lenmar Powerport, Fusion car inverter (which has stopped working since) Experience till now Most of the likes and dislikes have been covered in so many ownership reviews till now. Mowgli shares more or less the same ones Likes
Dislikes
Bagheera took over active duty from Kaa right from the get go and is used for Mowgli and Shanti's daily run and back to office as well as other errands on weekdays. Kaa gets to come out on weekends to ensure its bones are still functioning. The ride on Bagheera has been comfortable till now. The ride is understandably a bit stiffer compared to Kaa also confirmed by Shanti but nothing disconcerting. Amazingly Bagheera has not scraped a single bump/hump/crater till now traveling the same route where Kaa used to often scrape some of the bumps/humps. Only one 100 km highway run has been done on Bagheera till now on NH2 and fuel efficiency returned was approximately 20. For the daily city back to back traffic rides, the fuel efficiency has been around 12. Because Mowgli is mostly chauffeured around not a lot of driving experience unless the chauffeur is off or Mowgli and Shanti go out on Sundays. In the limited experience Mowgli found Bagheera adequately powered though not a candidate for a drag race. Once the turbo kicks in the story becomes quite different. However the power delivery on Bagheera is pretty linear and the lag on 1st and 2nd gears is barely noticeable even on bumper to bumper traffic. After the magic RPM on 3rd and 4th gear its a different ball game, something which tells that Mowgli will have lots of fun with Bagheera on highways regardless of riding style. From a comfort standpoint Mowgli and Shanti have found the ride on the rear seat definitely stiffer than the front seats and lets the rear occupants feels the different craters that Jungle Kolkata has on offer. Those are hardly felt in the front seat though. Bagheera just glides over those aberrations on the road without letting its front occupants know anything. Maybe Mowgli can experiment a bit by bringing down the rear tire pressure to 30 and risk a lower FE and bottom scraping. As mentioned rear seat under thigh support could have been a little better but the seats are firm and overall comfortable. Mowgli can continue to work without getting distracted while being driven around. One thing that Mowgli should not forget to praise again and again is the solid build quality on the exterior. One one occasion a hyena (mad biker) came and snapped at Bagheera's tail. Basically he was very impatient and probably wanted to slide from under the car. The result was the hyena (mad biker) fell down but Bagheera didn't get a single scratch. On another occasion a old Indica (sorry couldn't think of any name here) came and brushed Bagheera on the side. The Indica's paint peeled off, Bagheera remained intact. A slow polish on Bagheera's side with a dry micro-fiber cloth took out the Indica's paint otherwise no damage done to Bagheera. So Kudos to VW for giving Bagheera such a solid build. Bagheera's adjustment issues One day on its way to office, Bagheera started giving a loud screeching noise from its front left wheel. Bagheera was stopped immediately but even being stationary for a few minutes the noise remained for 10 minutes. However putting it in reverse made the noise go away. Bagheera was then taken to the service station where the engineers proclaimed everything is fine with the wheels. It was also time to find about the auto speed lock and honk on lock/unlock features. Actually Bagheera's auto speed lock and honking on lock/unlock feature were disabled during delivery the same way like others. On asking the SAs at the dealer during delivery their faces had turned into big question marks. Mowgli had let it go at that time. The service station guys even showed bigger question marks on their faces when asked this time. Mowgli got mad and posted a nasty question mark on VW FB's page. As a result the VW folks from Pune called up the service station and explained to them how it needs to be done. The service station guys called Mowgli up the next day and both the features were enabled within 15 minutes. They also requested to post some good feedback for them on VW's FB page. The other issue that has been seen sometimes is a feeble rattle coming intermittently from the inside but nobody has been able to pin point the exact location or the problem (definitely not the door beading as souravc and rachit have reported). During these winter months, Mowgli did find a little bit of sluggishness in Bagheera from a cold start. The service station replaced a fuel filter free of cost on Bagheera to address the issue saying it was part of some scheme from VW for Vento TDI cars reporting this problem. Mowgli was impressed. Bagheera got its engine oil topped up @ 1500 km and has done over 3000 km till now. Yes, Mowgli knows its measly by the standards of other owners on TBHP but Mowgli has been awfully busy with work in the jungle which has kept him away from some good road trips. Mowgli promises that this will be made up very soon in the months of January and February of 2012. Actually Mowgli has started making some advance preparations for this and gotten some accessories specially for road trips. These are a COIDO portable tire inflator, a digital tire pressure gauge and a tubeless tire repair toolkit. Recently a MMI 140s GPS was given to Mowgli as a gift . So here are some more pics. COIDO portable tire inflator Tubeless tire repair kit Last but not the least, the MMI 140s GPS So that's the story so far folks. Once again Mowgli thanks all of you and specially souravc for pushing Mowgli to write this longish tale. Mowgli also thanks all for reading this and apologizes if some parts got boring. Mowgli is not much of a story teller you see, unlike his creator. Next major update will be when Bagheera goes to meet Shere Khan. Stay tuned. Last edited by samarjitdhar : 27th December 2011 at 16:34. Reason: Moderator suggestions incorporated |
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The following 6 BHPians Thank samarjitdhar for this useful post: | amitkb, AutoIndian, guyfrmblr, kryptonite, planet_rocker, souravc |
28th December 2011, 13:04 | #5 |
Team-BHP Support | re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Report section. Thanks for sharing! |
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28th December 2011, 13:43 | #6 |
BHPian | re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Congrats for the Bagheera! Vento looks really good in black |
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28th December 2011, 14:21 | #7 | ||
Distinguished - BHPian | re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Quote:
Old Jungle Saying : The female is always the boss. Only difference between us, in my case I wanted black, while she wanted blue. Quote:
They allowed me to drive over 20 kms even though the TD car wasn't registered or allowed to go too far away from the dealership. Eh tu Brutus! Wonder for how many more is he going to be the reason to get their story going on tbhp! | ||
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28th December 2011, 14:28 | #8 | |
Senior - BHPian | re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Quote:
REALLY Mowgli ?? Congrats on your Bagheera samarjitdhar. Really very detailed narration of your experience. Its no news that Vento TDI is a scortcher on the fairer side of 10 Lks but as you have mentioned, the only glitch IMHO was the Diesel clatter. Its way too loud and sounds a lot like some good old Ambys used to once!!! | |
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28th December 2011, 15:31 | #9 |
Senior - BHPian | re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Congrats on your new car. We too got our Vento TDI in September.Our colour confusion was again on Blue or Black.Decided on Blue as we there are many black cars at home.It feels brilliant to drive.But some of the things i disliked about the car is the Engine Sound,it sounds louder than my 80k run Innova and the missing Aux/USB Port.Ours has done 5500kms till now. Facing bit of an issue when the Local Accessory chap broke of the Passenger Seat Adjuster,the one which the Rear Passenger could use to push the front seat while Installing the Autoform Seatcovers.The company is yet to get this part for me since 2 months. Look out for a Blue Vento with T-BHP Stickers. Last edited by cityvic : 28th December 2011 at 15:37. |
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28th December 2011, 16:04 | #10 | ||||
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| re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update
Thanks Doctor. Nice handle by the way. Quote:
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Thanks cityvic. Quote:
Its December, 2011 and no ownership report yet. Thou shalt be reported to souravc who is the resident Vento Ownership Review Cop on TBHP Last edited by samarjitdhar : 28th December 2011 at 16:05. | ||||
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28th December 2011, 16:13 | #11 | ||
Senior - BHPian | re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Quote:
My Handle was broken by Status.He has agreed to pay for the replacement. Quote:
Last edited by cityvic : 28th December 2011 at 16:17. | ||
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28th December 2011, 16:18 | #12 | |
BHPian Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Sydney/Kolkata
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| re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Quote:
Eagerly waiting for your ownership report. I think when we were taking delivery of our Vento, we saw a blue TDI waiting for delivery. Could have been yours. | |
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28th December 2011, 16:27 | #13 | |
Senior - BHPian | re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Quote:
My uncle and his friend both had booked Blue Vento TDI's together.So could have been that one as that came in August.Ours came home in Sep End. Dad wants to sell of the City i-VTEC due to it being petrol.Confused,Black Vento TDI or a Black Rapid TDI or wait for the Diesel City. | |
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28th December 2011, 19:14 | #14 | ||
BHPian Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Sydney/Kolkata
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| re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Quote:
Quote:
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28th December 2011, 21:09 | #15 |
Senior - BHPian | re: Tales Of Bagheera - My Black Panther aka VW Vento TDI Highline - First Service Update Thats the only Stanley Showroom in Cal.But there are many Reputed Accesory Shops which sell Stanley Leather Seat Covers.Namely,Glix,Speed & Sameer,Status,Xlusiv,Rix.Etc. I am more inclined towards the City Diesel.Lets see,only time shall tell. Well lets not go anymore Off-Topic here. Last edited by cityvic : 28th December 2011 at 21:10. |
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