[saurabh sharma]

Yes, insurance taken from dealer. 71,310/-, bajaj allianz. This only because of the threat that extended warranty when it arrives wouldn't be possible for cars which aren't insured through the dealer.

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by saurabh sharma

Yes, insurance taken from dealer. 71,310/-, bajaj allianz. This only because of the threat that extended warranty when it arrives wouldn't be possible for cars which aren't insured through the dealer.

In this case you have taken Bajaj Allianz, and they have yet not come up with extended warranty program for Skoda Octavia, but Skoda's another tie up which is ICICI has come out with it already for customers taking it as a bundled product with the insurance. So bottom line is you took Bajaj's insurance, then its as good as any other insurance you could have taken privately. Anyway, just wait for the Extended warranty to be launched separately. Fingers crossed!

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Shortsell

life tax and regn and ess pack: 2.28
(he told me this is for 15 years only, is this standard practice?)

SA is absolutely correct, that registration of a car is valid only for 15 years after which you have to again renew it. Mostly within 15 years people change up their car, so not much of a problem.

BTW nice shade of blue on Octavia, gives a different look in comparison to other standard colors.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

SA is absolutely correct, that registration of a car is valid only for 15 years after which you have to again renew it. Mostly within 15 years people change up their car, so not much of a problem.

As I understand it, road tax is paid for lifetime. Registration is different from road tax, and registration needs to be renewed after 15 years based on obtaining fitness certificate. The fees for renewing registration have no link to road tax - atleast this is what I recollect from when we renewed the registration of our Maruti 800 many years back :-)

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

You are going for the Ambition TSI or TDI? If TSI, 1.8 or 1.4?

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Did you get the insurance from Dealer? If yes, how much? And if no, how much?

Adi, you surely have a very funny way of asking your questions. Makes for very amusing read.

Originally Posted by Shortsell

I went to the showroom and checked out the car. Im looking for 1.8TSI elegance but just went to check this color. The car was awkwardly placed and right below "shiny disco balls" hence you may see some reflection on the car.

Attachment 1174583

Attachment 1174582

Attachment 1174581

Therefore onroad is 22.10

if you want skoda secure that will be 20k over and above this. Skoda secure is bumper to bumper

Im very insistent on both extended warranty and preferably bumper to bumper, what do you guys suggest I should do? Is this insurance amount on the higher side?

Wow. In B'lore the 1.8 TSI with Drive assure is a lakh costlier than Chennai price (23.09). Lucky you.

Obviously take bumper to bumper insurance protection. It's a no brainer. What you need to instead check feasibility of is if you can take extended warranty while taking insurance independently, outside of the showroom. If that can be done, you can get more than bumper to bumper protection (like hydro care, etc that are mentioned by our members a few pages prior) and still save at least 15K-20K on insurance amount alone.
And that race blue color with a glossy black roof. To die for!

[petrolveins]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

BTW nice shade of blue on Octavia, gives a different look in comparison to other standard colors.

I'm in the market for a new car between 15-25 lakhs sometime next year and so closely following the threads and whenever I see those lovely pictures of Octavia/VW cars, I get tempted and decide, now this is it, again I see some A.S.S or reliability issues and think, come what may, Toyota or Honda only... this process repeats all over

Is there a brand which can give me both? Any suggestions? Lexus?

[iliketurtles]

The Octavia is, for me, the perfect case of head versus heart. The car is lovely and it just pulls at my heart strings, but I fear about owning it long term due to reliability and after sales concerns. It's also a case of me versus the wife as I prefer the Octy and she prefers the Cruze!

Had a chat with a sales rep at Autobahn Andheri and when I enquired about retrofitting the Elegance's headlights to an Ambition he said it's just not possible. I'm not buying that, I think he's simply pushing the Elegance more. Can anyone throw light on this and tell me if it actually is possible to swap out the Ambition's headlights for the Elegance's at a later point?

Originally Posted by petrolveins

I'm in the market for a new car between 15-25 lakhs sometime next year and so closely following the threads and whenever I see those lovely pictures of Octavia/VW cars, I get tempted and decide, now this is it, again I see some A.S.S or reliability issues and think, come what may, Toyota or Honda only... this process repeats all over

Is there a brand which can give me both? Any suggestions? Lexus?

Haha good luck, you're in the same boat as I am. The Japs/Koreans spoil you with their low cost of ownership and general reliability while the Europeans are just so much more plush and fun to drive. There isn't one car I think that does both well. The Cruze ticks a lot of boxes, but it's low on rear space and interior fit and finish. I don't think there is a brand that gives both in that segment, I've racked my brain trying to come up with one, but each has it's own shortcoming.

The Elantra - It's a beautiful, vapid supermodel...all looks and no soul.
The Cruze - It's all brawn and is great VFM, lacks finesse though
The Octavia - Great looks, polished offering, but the A.S.S is scary. And there's already tales of reliability issues!

I'd think the Cruze is the best balance of all in that segment, but I do not like the interiors that much and I know that I'll look wistfully at every Octavia if I didn't get one....C'est la vie.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

The Octavia is, for me, the perfect case of head versus heart. The car is lovely and it just pulls at my heart strings, but I fear about owning it long term due to reliability and after sales concerns. It's also a case of me versus the wife as I prefer the Octy and she prefers the Cruze!

Had a chat with a sales rep at Autobahn Andheri and when I enquired about retrofitting the Elegance's headlights to an Ambition he said it's just not possible. I'm not buying that, I think he's simply pushing the Elegance more. Can anyone throw light on this and tell me if it actually is possible to swap out the Ambition's headlights for the Elegance's at a later point?

I would think it is not easy to do. The Elegance has AFS i.e. adaptive front lighting system. That uses sensors based on speed, steering and vehicle load to adjust the beam pattern. I don't know where the sensors for these are located but I doubt they will be in the headlight assembly.

Secondly the Elegance uses bi xenon's which need a separate ballast and wiring. The Ambition has 2 sets of bulbs, one for high and one for low so again the wiring will be a little different.

You can check Skoda forums but I have my doubts whether it is possible or not.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I would think it is not easy to do.....

You can check Skoda forums but I have my doubts whether it is possible or not.

Thanks for the quick reply Vid. Seems like I'll have to go all in for the Octavia then if I absolutely want those bi-xenons. I gather from earlier posts on this thread that getting the paddle shifters is a bit more straightforward, so that's a relief!

[Vipin Kumar]

What about the Laura as such? Are the Skoda people going to discontinue it, and introduce the rumoured Octavia 1.6 TDI any time next year?

Vipin.

[Brishti]

I had asked about the Skoda Shield and the Maintenance Packages to which the dealer is said next year coming just book the car today we will see it later. Upon telling them that I was also interested in Jetta, Passat, C-Class and 320d and VFM is paramount he changed his tune and was pitching Skoda Shield and the Maintenance Packages as very good VFM alternatives against the Jetta/Passat. For the C-Class and 320d he showed me his iPad "I thought iPad was a Mercedes thing" which had registration and general servicing prices for them both plus A4 which seemed a bit more inflated than what I came up in my research.

Other than this I had a short chat with an Elegance owner who had problems with the sunroof. It leaks does not fit back correctly were his main problems, also the wind net located on the roof has also been torn for which they did not have a replacement.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by petrolveins

I'm in the market for a new car between 15-25 lakhs sometime next year and so closely following the threads and whenever I see those lovely pictures of Octavia/VW cars, I get tempted and decide, now this is it, again I see some A.S.S or reliability issues and think, come what may, Toyota or Honda only... this process repeats all over

Is there a brand which can give me both? Any suggestions? Lexus?

I can relate to you, I was in same boat when I had to decide between Honda City VMT and VW Vento TDI HL way back in Dec'10 and also both were priced same 9.13 lac Ex-Showroom. I went with my heart and I don't regret it.

Japs/Korean give you reliability which is undeniable but servicing cost are more or less same. But with VW I visit workshop once in a year for servicing my car compared to Japs/Korean which is more frequent.

In general I like VW more compared to Skoda, since I don't like the green back light and also VW are more sleek & elegant(personal opinion). If I were to pick a D segment car today it would unlikely be either Skoda Octavia or VW Jetta. Hyundai just don't connect with you in the same way and Chevrolet Cruze interior quality is something I don't like also its design is quite old now, since I considered it as well while purchasing Vento.

Given the current market scenario with diesel now coming nearer to petrol and price difference between petrol & diesel car of same brand ranging in more than a lac, until new Jetta based on MQB is released I would rather buy a Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSi MT. Less gadgets, more power compared to my Vento, D-Segment feel and with the money saved vis-a-vis diesel could use it for fuel, remap & Karlsson leather seats.

Also I don't know if anyone would have seen the power to weight ratio of both 1.4 TSi & 1.8 TSi, its about 110 bhp/ton & 129 bhp/ton which after a remap on 1.4 TSi should be near about it. Other than that 1.4 has higher torque to weight ratio 198 NM/Ton in comparison to 1.8 182 NM/Ton. My pick 1.4 TSi any day as also its a MT and more fun on highways. No reliability headache of DSG.

That's just me.

[petrolveins]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Given the current market scenario with diesel now coming nearer to petrol and price difference between petrol & diesel car of same brand ranging in more than a lac, until new Jetta based on MQB is released I would rather buy a Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSi MT. Less gadgets, more power compared to my Vento, D-Segment feel and with the money saved vis-a-vis diesel could use it for fuel, remap & Karlsson leather seats.
That's just me.

Thank you for quite an elaborate reply. I tend to agree with you and I will keep a track of the DSG issues and take a call on 1.8 TSi or 1.4 TSi. If the issues persist, will go with 1.4 MT though it is not as charmer as 1.8. That is why I was rooting for 1.8 MT few posts back. How about new Jetta (on MQB) with a 1.8 MT mid variant at 16 lakhs ex-showroom? Dreams...

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

What about the Laura as such? Are the Skoda people going to discontinue it, and introduce the rumoured Octavia 1.6 TDI any time next year?

Vipin.

I don't think it is a great idea to keep Laura alongside Octavia. Skoda will ultimately show the door to Laura.

[Shortsell]

Originally Posted by petrolveins

Thank you for quite an elaborate reply. I tend to agree with you and I will keep a track of the DSG issues and take a call on 1.8 TSi or 1.4 TSi.
I don't think it is a great idea to keep Laura alongside Octavia. Skoda will ultimately show the door to Laura.

I dont think they will. The dealers aren't taking any bookings for Laura AT (i asked) . I think they will just finish the last few stocks and retire the laura.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

I can relate to you, I was in same boat when I had to decide between Honda City VMT and VW Vento TDI HL way back in Dec'10 and also both were priced same 9.13 lac Ex-Showroom. I went with my heart and I don't regret it.

Japs/Korean give you reliability which is undeniable but servicing cost are more or less same. But with VW I visit workshop once in a year for servicing my car compared to Japs/Korean which is more frequent.

In general I like VW more compared to Skoda, since I don't like the green back light and also VW are more sleek & elegant(personal opinion). If I were to pick a D segment car today it would unlikely be either Skoda Octavia or VW Jetta. Hyundai just don't connect with you in the same way and Chevrolet Cruze interior quality is something I don't like also its design is quite old now, since I considered it as well while purchasing Vento.

Given the current market scenario with diesel now coming nearer to petrol and price difference between petrol & diesel car of same brand ranging in more than a lac, until new Jetta based on MQB is released I would rather buy a Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSi MT. Less gadgets, more power compared to my Vento, D-Segment feel and with the money saved vis-a-vis diesel could use it for fuel, remap & Karlsson leather seats.

Also I don't know if anyone would have seen the power to weight ratio of both 1.4 TSi & 1.8 TSi, its about 110 bhp/ton & 129 bhp/ton which after a remap on 1.4 TSi should be near about it. Other than that 1.4 has higher torque to weight ratio 198 NM/Ton in comparison to 1.8 182 NM/Ton. My pick 1.4 TSi any day as also its a MT and more fun on highways. No reliability headache of DSG.

That's just me.

I too was concerned about the A.S.S of Skoda and had paid the booking amount for the Honda City for its reliability and A.S.S. However, you don't get the same thrill with the 1.5 NA engine of Honda, that you get with the turbo charged Skoda engine. So, my heart keeps on telling me to cancel the Honda booking and go with the Octavia. Your post has pushed me another step closer to this decision. Thanks for the nudge

Coming to the 1.8TSI vs. 1.4TSI, I wanted to go with the 1.8TSI for its engine. However because of the reliability issues with the DSG, I am leaning towards the 1.4TSI. As you rightly pointed out, owing to the same 250Nm torque of both the engines, and the 135kg weight difference, 1.4TSI has a better torque/ton ratio. So, 1.4TSI would be my choice.