Team-BHP > Team-BHP Reviews > Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports


Reply
  Search this Thread
51,383 views
Old 27th January 2013, 21:19   #76
BHPian
 
dezrskb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Udupi
Posts: 232
Thanked: 139 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

5000 Km Update:

Now the car has crossed 5.1K kms. No significant troubles till date. Some minor irritants -
1. Left rear tyre got punctured twice. That raises some doubts regarding quality of these OEM tires.

2. Neighbor's envy, Owner's pride, it is really ! some superficial scratches by jealous adult/ child in my apartment. Because 4 or 5 of them came within a span of few days, every time when it was parked. With lacquer pen, Genuine Skoda paint bought online, I have been able to hide them to some extent. Most of them are not noticeable from 3 feet away anyway!
3. Lower part all around has those tar spots from road. Not an easy job to remove them! I guess the service personnel remove them with a diesel soaked cloth. I thought I would leave it to them! Any other ideas guys?
4. A/c has been so-so since the beginning. But this was known to me before I bought the car. No real issues there.
5. Mileage has been very satisfactory. On long runs on highways, at about 100Kms/h in 5th, it says 4.7l/100kms, Should I believe it?

Some good things-
1. Engine and handling characteristics have been truly satisfactory. Excellent steering. This is what matters most to me !
2. After trying various leather upholstery cleaners, I have settled with Eagle-one brand. Which instantly removed few of the small stains on the light leather and keeps it from becoming hard. Car is parked in sunlight most of the times.

Last edited by dezrskb : 27th January 2013 at 21:20.
dezrskb is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 3rd February 2013, 17:51   #77
BHPian
 
dezrskb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Udupi
Posts: 232
Thanked: 139 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

This is to confirm few things -

1. Wipers go to Down/ off position automatically if they are in some other mid position when you switch on the engine even if wiper stalk is in "off" position. Danger is when you have brought them up and fold them away from the glass while cleaning / washing front windshield. After finishing washing if you forget to fold them back onto the glass and switch on the engine, they come crashing down on the windshield and may crack it. This was what happened to my car.

2. Credit of this observation belongs to somebody else -But I verified it in my car today. You can't open the car door from inside if it is locked with single press with remote from outside. Neither you can attract attention by pressing the horn - it too doesnt work. Only option is to go to boot by folding rear seat and opening it from inside. Also if you remote lock the car with double press (within 2 seconds from first press), then you can open the door from inside by yanking the unlocking handle twice. But this doesn't activate the alarm.
dezrskb is offline  
Old 3rd February 2013, 20:56   #78
BHPian
 
Shreyas Aterkar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 319
Thanked: 246 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezrskb View Post
2. Credit of this observation belongs to somebody else -But I verified it in my car today. You can't open the car door from inside if it is locked with single press with remote from outside. Neither you can attract attention by pressing the horn - it too doesnt work. Only option is to go to boot by folding rear seat and opening it from inside. Also if you remote lock the car with double press (within 2 seconds from first press), then you can open the door from inside by yanking the unlocking handle twice. But this doesn't activate the alarm.
Thats because, when you press the lock key twice the alarm system is deactivated. To activate it again, unlock the doors and lock them again by pressing the lock key only once. I read it somewhere in the owner's manual.
Shreyas Aterkar is offline  
Old 12th February 2013, 22:24   #79
BHPian
 
dezrskb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Udupi
Posts: 232
Thanked: 139 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Tire puncture and Alloy Wheel bent !!

Well, hardware is not to be blamed entirely as I remember hitting a hard edge of the road and I also remember driving at 130km/h at some moment during my return journey from Kundapur. But surely both did not happen together. Minutes after hitting the hard edge of the road to avoid a monster truck coming straight with no regard to road safety, I could feel the signs of a puncture (retrospectively, I didn't regret the damage as it was far better than challenging the truck). I did not hesitate but pulled to the side of the road and saw a punctured left front tire. Was using the default jack first time, but managed to change the tire in 10 min. Did not bother then to look at the punctured tire closely. Though the non-alloy wheel was looking odd, didn't hinder me in any way while driving back rest of my journey. I was stunned to see a side wall puncture with exposed steel mesh and a slightly bent alloy wheel (both on the inner side, hence could not make out in first glance) when I took it to the tire shop. Though the repair person told me I could still keep it as a spare tire with repair for emergency use, I felt I should not be using a tire with side wall damage any time if I could afford to buy a new one. Slight bend in the alloy wheel is repaired now (they said they would heat it and repair it, I am not sure what is done there). New Goodyear Eagle NCT is on the alloy wheel. I have ordered a single Michelin Primacy LC tire now to be kept as spare on non alloy rim. Plan is to change all 4 tires to Michelin when I reach about 20K.
dezrskb is offline  
Old 17th February 2013, 23:40   #80
BHPian
 
dezrskb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Udupi
Posts: 232
Thanked: 139 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

4.6 Litres/ 100Kms !! But Can it be true?

Last month I took my Laura for a longer drive on highway. Its not yet a proper 4 or 6 lane highway around here and construction process being in progress, one has to change lanes frequently requiring one to change the speed and gears frequently. But still when I drove constantly 80-100Km/hr in 4th / 5th gears (A/c on all the time) I have observed the mileage meter showing the fantastic figure above. That's to say >20Kms/L. Looks bit too optimistic to me ! But it does drop to 10l/100kms when I drive short distances in 2nd / 3rd gears in congested traffic. Thats understandable. But I would like to know whether 4.6L/100kms is realistic. Any opinions?

Last edited by dezrskb : 17th February 2013 at 23:41.
dezrskb is offline  
Old 17th February 2013, 23:53   #81
BHPian
 
ishlinea7260's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: .
Posts: 471
Thanked: 539 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezrskb View Post
4.6 Litres/ 100Kms !! But Can it be true?

Last month I took my Laura for a longer drive on highway. Its not yet a proper 4 or 6 lane highway around here and construction process being in progress, one has to change lanes frequently requiring one to change the speed and gears frequently. But still when I drove constantly 80-100Km/hr in 4th / 5th gears (A/c on all the time) I have observed the mileage meter showing the fantastic figure above. That's to say >20Kms/L. Looks bit too optimistic to me ! But it does drop to 10l/100kms when I drive short distances in 2nd / 3rd gears in congested traffic. Thats understandable. But I would like to know whether 4.6L/100kms is realistic. Any opinions?
It can be easily possible as sometimes I get 20+ figures on highways and I drive the automatic version
ishlinea7260 is offline  
Old 22nd February 2013, 22:17   #82
BHPian
 
dezrskb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Udupi
Posts: 232
Thanked: 139 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

I also have a funny thing to share
As far as I can remember, starting from my first car (Old Maruti Zen Lx with Bridgestone radials, not tubeless), then the second car (Maruti Swift Dzire Vdi with Yoko A drives), and now with present car / Skoda Laura, all the tire punctures have been on Sundays. Invariably it is a Sunday everytime so much so that when I take out my car on a Sunday, I have a good look at the tires before starting. But it didnt prevent me from having a puncture all the same. Problem is I find most of the tire repair shops along the roads closed on Sundays. But till now I have not got stranded anywhere till date.
dezrskb is offline  
Old 23rd February 2013, 08:27   #83
Distinguished - BHPian
 
nkrishnap's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 3,983
Thanked: 7,405 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezrskb View Post
I also have a funny thing to share
As far as I can remember, starting from my first car (Old Maruti Zen Lx with Bridgestone radials, not tubeless), then the second car (Maruti Swift Dzire Vdi with Yoko A drives), and now with present car / Skoda Laura, all the tire punctures have been on Sundays. Invariably it is a Sunday everytime so much so that when I take out my car on a Sunday, I have a good look at the tires before starting. But it didnt prevent me from having a puncture all the same. Problem is I find most of the tire repair shops along the roads closed on Sundays. But till now I have not got stranded anywhere till date.
I have something similar to share. The punctures on both my previous car and present car happened on Monday when you are in a hurry to go out.
nkrishnap is offline  
Old 17th April 2013, 22:44   #84
BHPian
 
dezrskb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Udupi
Posts: 232
Thanked: 139 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

First electronic trouble.

I drive with my DRLs on all the time now. Had a "bulb failure" (an orange bulb with an exclamation at centre) warning light coming on couple of days back. User manual said it was a bulb failure but couldn't spot which as all seemed to be working well at that time. Tafe access Mangalore ran the diagnostic tests (turned out to be a loose connection with left DRL), and problem was rectified (but funnily the seat belt warning light doesnt come on even if not buckled up now, not a problem as insisting on everybody buckling up has become a habit now for me, no need of a reminder). No issues as of now.
Also forgot to rotate tyres at 5K Kms (not exactly as all the tyres had their share of punctures and hence were being rotated, one had a side wall puncture and has been disposed). Did them today with wheel alignment and balancing.
I have a tour coming up to Orange County Resort at Coorg (219Kms) in another 2 days. Route planned is a mixed affair (good, bad and the ugly). Hopefully will be able to post a travelogue after the return.
dezrskb is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 26th April 2013, 23:10   #85
BHPian
 
pajero4me's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 90
Thanked: 125 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezrskb View Post
Just returned from a tour to Mysore.

To make a long story short, I ordered a scratch filling pen from e bay. It did really a good job on part of the scratch which became virtually invisible unless subjected to close examination. Then I ordered Skoda Laura cappuccino beige metallic paint bottle (not authentic skoda but definitely same color). Got it today.
Can you please share details of where / which website did you buy the paint from ?

Last edited by pajero4me : 26th April 2013 at 23:11.
pajero4me is offline  
Old 1st May 2013, 19:49   #86
BHPian
 
dezrskb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Udupi
Posts: 232
Thanked: 139 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by pajero4me View Post
Can you please share details of where / which website did you buy the paint from ?
I dont remember exactly. But it was from ebay.uk. I got another set too. Authentic Skoda. Colors were same in both case.
dezrskb is offline  
Old 23rd July 2013, 20:21   #87
BHPian
 
dezrskb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Udupi
Posts: 232
Thanked: 139 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

11,000 Kms, time for first service

Now my Laura is 11K Kms and 11mths old. Except for poor quality of OEM tyres which had repeated punctures and one tyre was retired due to side wall damage, I did not face any real issues (yes, there was a windshield crack, replaced and trouble free since then) so far and car has been a joy to ride. As most of my daily runs are short ones, I felt I should go for first service before 1 yr and before 15K Kms. So I have booked for first service visit tomorrow at Tafe access, Mangalore. I have been told that there will be an oil and oil filter change, air filter change, A/c checking, wash, wheel rotation, alignment and balancing. I have also planned windshield wiper blade change as well since more rains are anticipated. Also I have an upcoming tour of around 800-900 Kms. I am not so far impressed with quality of service by this showroom but next nearest option being Bangalore which is 350kms away, with heavy rains going on, work being very busy and as no major repairs anticipated, have decided to go ahead with Mangalore Tafe access. Minus the wipers my pocket will be lighter by 8.5K INR I have been told. Lets see. Will post an update after the job is done.
dezrskb is offline  
Old 13th August 2013, 22:37   #88
BHPian
 
dezrskb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Udupi
Posts: 232
Thanked: 139 Times
Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

First Service of my Car

I took my car slightly ahead of 12 months and at 10800Kms for first service at Tafe Access, Mangalore. I was not sure of their ability to handle complicated things but I didn’t have a complicated problem, just the routine first service. This is how it went –
I booked my service appointment with the service advisor who asked me to arrive at the service station at 9am in morning so that he could get the things done and return the car in the evening. When I arrived at service station slightly ahead of 9am, the gates had just opened. I was pretty impressed to see my name on the appointment list thinking they might be running things in a disciplined manner like a doctor gives appointments for a patient. But to my disappointment the person didn’t turn up till 09:30 when a mechanic approaches me and asks me to hand over the car to him and explain him if any issues were there. I didn’t want to spoil my mood and day so told him it was a routine first service which was due by next month but as I might not be there around that date, I wished to get the things bit ahead of schedule. Also I had the minor issues like front bonnet open warning light not coming up when the bonnet was opened and also the seat belt warning light failing. Not that they matter a lot to me, but I do wish that everything is in order. As far as I remember, these were indeed there when I got the car. But these stopped coming up when I got the DRL loose connection issue sorted out. Surely if they try to correct one thing, they end up creating trouble and errors somewhere else. The software and electronics of this car are bit complicated probably. I explained these things to the mechanic who took over my car for the service and also called the service advisor later and explain him these things again on phone. He said he would do the needful.
Evening 5pm and I get a call from the service center saying my car was ready. I get there in time, but was explained that these warning symbols (bonnet open and seat belt warning) were not available with my model (Elegance). Want to know how he came to know? He said there was another car for service of same model. And those warnings were not coming up in that car too !!. I got the feeling that next time he would say “Sorry sir, your brakes are not operating as that feature is not available with your model, How do I know? see the car standing next to yours? The brakes are not operating in that too !!” I see the symbols of seat belt warning and front bonnet open in my dashboard next to my speedometer needle but these fail to come up once the bonnet is open / car starts up. I think surely they are available but there is some fault there. This proves the level of their incompetence. I sincerely hope that my car doesn’t get any serious issues in next few years. They might change the oil and do other routine stuff, but probably will not do anything more complicated than that. Now I remember that I had been to them in first few days after getting my car asking them to turn on the DRLs and told them I would like to turn them on and off using the indicator stalk as mentioned in the manual. They said its available only in Yeti but not in Laura. Then I had an opportunity to visit Tafe access at Bangalore for a windshield replacement and they did it promptly and now I am able to turn DRLs on and off as per my wish. I had kept my car clean myself. All leather upholstery was quite clean (yes, it’s a tedious job with the light colored leather seats) and only had some dust in front door pocket. I saw that the dust was not disturbed during the service to indicate that they had not done any interior cleaning. Probably they thought it looked clean enough and spared the effort.
I feel the car is bit more smoother now to ride. I don’t have any complaints regarding its mileage or driving pleasure as they are really good. I have no other real issues as such. I am attaching the photos of the invoice.
Attached Thumbnails
Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT-1.jpg  

Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT-2.jpg  

dezrskb is offline   (3) Thanks
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks