[libranof1987]

Hey Deepak,
Congratulations on the Polo!

The choice of floor mats and leather seats is wonderful! They blend in well with the car colour and the dash.

Have a great ownership period.

[starter]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Yup nice looking car and it has been done really well. Full credit to the 3M and Karlsson people as you said. They have done a good job and no doubt they will get more customers after people here see your photos, so feel free to put up lots more

Yup, you are right Ganapathy. I shall also update their individual threads with the link to this thread.

Just curious, don't you have fog lamps on the car. Thought I saw them in the photos. If so, try driving with those on and see if it makes any difference to your night vision.

Thanks for the info about the mileage.
And yes, i do have fog lamps in the car.
I did switch it on once and they seem to light up only the area near the front bumper and that's it.
So, it doesn't help me that much. Hence, i've not been using it.

Just curious, do you think the Gypsy can be made very comfortable as a tourer. I guess it would be OK on good highways, but can't see it being very comfy on bad or even uneven surfaced roads.

Yup Ganapathy, you can make a Gypsy comfortable. You have many after market options for suspension kits like Old Man Emu, Iron-Man and more which provide suspension kits that supposedly improves the ride quality.
Let me give it a try and i shall keep you all updated via my Gypsy thread.

Originally Posted by allinbalance

@Starter, very nice post. our experience (both at showroom and later post delivery) are important lessons for me. I am EXACTLY in your situation (when you started the post), wife has a 2009 Alto LXi, done 14000 KM and her driving is set.

Now my choices are between a Swift VDi and a Polo TDi (Trend of Highline is still left to showroom inspiration). RNS Motors, Yeshwanthpur is about 3 mins from my office, VW, PC is about 20 mins.

VW Palace Cross seems to have some customer relationship issues.

Neither of us drive much (I got my Fluidic Verna 1.6 SX in August, 2011 and STILL not done 6500KM!!) so it may seem strange to look at a Diesel, but as you observed Petrol prices are complete runaway now.

In my situation, which do you recommend as a better decision?

BTW, I will MOST CERTAINLY get the accessories/tyre upgrdes the way you did!

Dear Allinbalance,
If i were you, i would've picked the petrol Swift.
Since you already have a car and that too, a Verna, i assume that your wife's car would be to run errands within the city?
If the usage of that car is similar to your Verna, you shall break-even the excess money you pay on a diesel by the time you complete about 40,000 kms. (I've arrived at this purely from the difference in the fuel prices). You would atleast need 5 to 6 years to just break-even. So, you could instead look at a petrol swift/polo. Do give it a thought.

As i said, my choice would be a swift simply because i am more convinced with the after sales service of Maruti than VW.

Sure, you could get it done at 3M & Karlsson. Please feel free to let me know if you would need any help from my side. All the best with your new car purchase.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Hey Deepak,
Congratulations on the Polo!

The choice of floor mats and leather seats is wonderful! They blend in well with the car colour and the dash.

Have a great ownership period.

Thanks buddy! Yeah, we really put in a lot of thought before making that decision. We wanted to keep it like stock as much as possible.
It shall be a tough job ahead in keeping the beige leather beige

Cheers,
Deepak

[sameerg001]

Congratulations on your new acquisition. Those S drives are enhancing the look of the car, a must needed upgrade from those crappy jk's.

Regarding Headlamps issue i will suggest you to get osram NB in same specification as of stock Bulbs, as upgrading to higher wattage may effect your warranty. If warranty is not an issue you should go ahead with higher wattage bulbs with relay or you can get HID's with projectors, which will look wicked on this red beauty

Wish you a wonderful experience with your ride, drive safe.

Cheers
Sameer

[bottle]

Congrats on the car! I see you got the steering leather too, do you have a pic of that from the front ?

[allinbalance]

Originally Posted by starter

As i said, my choice would be a swift simply because i am more convinced with the after sales service of Maruti than VW.

Sure, you could get it done at 3M & Karlsson. Please feel free to let me know if you would need any help from my side. All the best with your new car purchase.

Cheers,
Deepak

@Starter, Many thanks. Will most certainly take your advice. Actually, the one reason why I am even looking at VW (and to an extent also Honda Jazz or Brio) is for build quality. The roads (due to sewage systems upgrade) in entire North Bangalore are a complete mess with no repair in sight. The red soil has set rock hard in most places and looks like the surface of the Moon!!

Swift is a great hatch, top class FE, peppy and fun, but it is a Maruti after all. I would know - I had a Esteem 2007 for 4 years before I changed it to the New Fluidic Verna. All Marutis have body rattles, weak brakes - generally thin build is typical. That is what I do not want.

To you and all those following this thread, in my position, what would you do? Say given a budget of INR 7 lakhs on road? Car should be good for 5 years.

[bala80]

@Starter - Congratulations on your new car and wishing you a very pleasant ownership experience.


@bottle - You still havent got this done for your car? If I remember right, you were planning to get this done long back.

Originally Posted by bottle

Congrats on the car! I see you got the steering leather too, do you have a pic of that from the front ?

[bottle]

Originally Posted by bala80

@bottle - You still havent got this done for your car? If I remember right, you were planning to get this done long back.

No Bala, haven't yet got it done, so far somehow the steering leather done for Polo/Jetta they don't seem to be able to do it like an OEM fit so still deciding whether to get it done or not.

[shashank.nk]

Congrats on the Polo, Starter! Looks like we both decided to go the Polo way thanks to the waiting time and price hikes on the Swift. Wish you trouble-free ownership with the Polo!

My car also has the steering noise, more of a whine. The car is 2k old now, but the noise is very much present. Did the SA mention it'll go away after 2 or 3k kms ?

Loved the leather seats you've got done, can you please PM me the cost?

The mileage you've achieved is superb, i'm able to get 14 out of my car in city limits

[starter]

Originally Posted by sameerg001

Regarding Headlamps issue i will suggest you to get osram NB in same specification as of stock Bulbs, as upgrading to higher wattage may effect your warranty. If warranty is not an issue you should go ahead with higher wattage bulbs with relay or you can get HID's with projectors, which will look wicked on this red beauty

Hey Sameer,
Thanks for your suggestions.
I shall then get the Osram NB. I shall give it a shot first and see if it is better.
If not, i would go the higher wattage way. I am already out of warranty with the tyre upgrade, i guess :P

Originally Posted by bottle

Congrats on the car! I see you got the steering leather too, do you have a pic of that from the front ?

Thanks bottle! Nope, i don't have a pic of it from front, but i can surely take one. I shall post it in a day or two. Ok?

Originally Posted by allinbalance

@Starter, Many thanks. Will most certainly take your advice. Actually, the one reason why I am even looking at VW (and to an extent also Honda Jazz or Brio) is for build quality. The roads (due to sewage systems upgrade) in entire North Bangalore are a complete mess with no repair in sight. The red soil has set rock hard in most places and looks like the surface of the Moon!!

I get your point. But, the new swift ain't that bad i've heard.
I also love the Jazz. Do take a TD of it before you decide.

Originally Posted by bala80

@Starter - Congratulations on your new car and wishing you a very pleasant ownership experience.

Thanks Bala!

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Congrats on the Polo, Starter! Looks like we both decided to go the Polo way thanks to the waiting time and price hikes on the Swift. Wish you trouble-free ownership with the Polo!

My car also has the steering noise, more of a whine. The car is 2k old now, but the noise is very much present. Did the SA mention it'll go away after 2 or 3k kms ?

Loved the leather seats you've got done, can you please PM me the cost?

The mileage you've achieved is superb, i'm able to get 14 out of my car in city limits

Hey Shashank,
Thanks! Congrats to you too! Nice to hear that you also bought a polo.
Yup, regarding the steering noise, i did take it all the way to Hesaraghatta and had it inspected with a SA.
He told me that it just needs some lubrication. Since these '11 cars were parked in their stock yard for a long time, there is this noise.
He asked me to come back at 5K kms if the noise isn't gone by then.
In my car, it is almost gone now. Am not sure, if the new tyres are helping.

I paid 30K for the leather seats Shashank. You can get in touch with Sajith to get the latest quote. The 30K is inclusive of steering, hand brake and doors.

Please let me know if you would need any other info.

Cheers,
Deepak

[allinbalance]

Originally Posted by starter

Dear Allinbalance,
If i were you, i would've picked the petrol Swift.
Since you already have a car and that too, a Verna, i assume that your wife's car would be to run errands within the city?
If the usage of that car is similar to your Verna, you shall break-even the excess money you pay on a diesel by the time you complete about 40,000 kms. (I've arrived at this purely from the difference in the fuel prices). You would atleast need 5 to 6 years to just break-even. So, you could instead look at a petrol swift/polo. Do give it a thought.

As i said, my choice would be a swift simply because i am more convinced with the after sales service of Maruti than VW.

Sure, you could get it done at 3M & Karlsson. Please feel free to let me know if you would need any help from my side. All the best with your new car purchase.

Thanks buddy! Yeah, we really put in a lot of thought before making that decision. We wanted to keep it like stock as much as possible.
It shall be a tough job ahead in keeping the beige leather beige

Cheers,
Deepak

@starter Thanks for your valuable suggestion and apologize for commenting back so late. My primary requirement is safety and comfort since we just got our second daughter. My wife will drive with two kids in the car. Performance/driving pleasure are not relevant. Maruti does not really shine in that area does it?

Hence my interest in VW or in Skoda (really looking at Fabia).

Counterpoint, service is always a question mark with both companies, right?

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by starter

Thanks buddy! Yeah, we really put in a lot of thought before making that decision. We wanted to keep it like stock as much as possible.
It shall be a tough job ahead in keeping the beige leather beige

Cheers,
Deepak

Deepak, I do understand the difficulty in maintaining beige leather beige. And if you have kids, I think it's better to leave that topic completely aside.

How are those beige 3D mats coming along? I plan to get a set before the monsoons (if they will ever) hit this time. I "love" the beige 3D mats but for the sake of practicality and maintainability, am considering the black.

[rejoycjohn]

Originally Posted by starter

If you check the diameter of the car tyres:
On TrendLine and ComfortLine - Tyres are 175/70-R14 - overall diameter is 23.64" - (600.5mm)
On HighLine - Tyres are 185/60-R15 - overall diameter is 23.74" - (603mm)
On my car - Tyres are 205/55-R15 - overall diameter is 23.87" - (606.3mm)
So, the difference in the tyre diameter is only ~0.1" or about 3mm
Hope, this answers your question.

Hey Deepak ,

Belated congrats on your Polo HL TDi, I also happened to buy a Polo GT TDi very recently. Currently the car has stock tires from Appolo Accelere. I wanted to upgrade the tire to 205/55 R15 like you did . But then the service manager at the showroom mentioned that such an upgrade can cause issues with the ABS sensor / even the ECM ? Well as you would agree I did not want to take a risk right from the day one, so was checking in T Bhp and found that your car has the exact same tires.
I would like to understand your experience with this tire? How many kms have you clocked till now? Is the ride comfortable and the grip better than the stock ones? The one thing that you think is compromised due to the tire upgrade ?

Looking forward for your reply.
Cheers

[starter]

Dear Rejoy,
Congrats on the GT-TDI. Do share your experiences with the GT in an ownership report.

Originally Posted by rejoycjohn

But then the service manager at the showroom mentioned that such an upgrade can cause issues with the ABS sensor / even the ECM ?

Which service center's manager did you consult?
Well, my TDI did have problems with the ABS sensor twice.
The first time they only flushed the error codes and the second time, the wheel bearings and the ABS sensor were replaced as part of warranty.
I am not sure though, if this is due to the upsizing.

How many kms have you clocked till now?

21K clicks.

Is the ride comfortable and the grip better than the stock ones?

Yes and yes.

The one thing that you think is compromised due to the tire upgrade ?

Nothing really. But maybe with the stock profile of 60 and mine being 55, am not sure if the 60s are marginally better in terms of ride quality. But, as i've mentioned above, i have no complaints with the ride quality on 55s

Hope, this helps.
Cheers,
Deepak

[rejoycjohn]

Originally Posted by starter

Dear Rejoy,
Congrats on the GT-TDI. Do share your experiences with the GT in an ownership report.

Indeed I am planning to do the same. I hope to make it ASAP.

Which service center's manager did you consult?
Well, my TDI did have problems with the ABS sensor twice.
The first time they only flushed the error codes and the second time, the wheel bearings and the ABS sensor were replaced as part of warranty

.
He is the service center manager at Calicut showroom. Well its indeed a question if the ABS sensor issue was due to the tyre upgrade or not. I am not sure how to get that clarified. Any thoughts ?
It will be great if any T-Bhpian who is well informed in this ( may be someone who is working in this industry ) can throw some light into this issue.

Nothing really. But maybe with the stock profile of 60 and mine being 55, am not sure if the 60s are marginally better in terms of ride quality. But, as i've mentioned above, i have no complaints with the ride quality on 55s
Hope this helps

Well indeed the information helped. Thank you so much for replying to my post.

Even though I do not have any complaints about the stock tyres, I really want to get it upgraded to a 205/55, the only thing that lies between is this ABS sensor issue and how much of it is caused by the tire upgrade. May be I need to look around in this forum and take some kind of feedback from who have done this upgrade. Hopefully I will be able to come to a conclusion by then.

Once again thank you and your ride looks awesome. I am sure the fellow bhpians will be more than happy to see some recent pics of your car.
Cheers

[aneezan]

Originally Posted by starter

Alto LXI in October 09.
Drove it for about 2 years and 3 months and clocked 17K kms.
It is indeed a very nice car, very reliable, easy to drive and easy to maintain. But, it does come with its own set of issues (you get what you pay for, i guess..). Shuddering when the AC is on, life less gear box, weak brakes, body rattles, noisy suspension.

Can relate to this. I bought my Alto just one month after yours; also a KA53 N regn. I still have mine still running at 44,000 km. Same issues as well. I normally don't use the A/C for the daily office runs. But the suspension, rattles, brakes are all present.