[R2D2]

Wow. Your car is a looker and kudos to you for having maintained your car in an immaculate condition in Mumbai's weather.

It's a beautiful job by those detailers. As for the coatings, well, I too get my car detailed @ 3M every 6 months but not really willing to pony up large amounts of money for the exotic and uber expensive stuff.

I once had a black Honda City 1.5 Type II back in the early 2Ks and kept it, very, very well. She was a little over 3 years old when sold. But given my OCD with cars and bikes I swore off dark colored vehicles due to the maintenance overheads.

Did I mention your post is really well written? Made for a great read. Thanks for sharing!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Wow. Your car is a looker and kudos to you for having maintained your car in an immaculate condition in Mumbai's weather.

Thank you, R2D2. Much appreciated!

Originally Posted by R2D2

It's a beautiful job by those detailers. As for the coatings, well, I too get my car detailed @ 3M every 6 months but not really willing to pony up large amounts of money for the exotic and uber expensive stuff.

It truly is a terrific job done by them. Getting the ceramic is totally a heart over head thing, it left a tiny shiny black hole where money once existed in my bank account.

Originally Posted by R2D2

I once had a black Honda City 1.5 Type II back in the early 2Ks...But given my OCD with cars and bikes I swore off dark colored vehicles due to the maintenance overheads.

Black is a colossal pain to maintain (as you well know), but man, dark colors just look so good when shiny and clean. It's love at first sight.

Originally Posted by R2D2

Did I mention your post is really well written? Made for a great read. Thanks for sharing!

More than anything else, appreciate this. Thank you again.

[Dippy]

Sandesh has aced the job as he always does. The best part is the personal attention and effort he puts into every job. I got my Polo GT TSI done from him as well.

The car will be exactly a year old come October 1st. Dont mean to hijack your wonderful thread but here are a couple of pictures of my car to show how it has held up after a year

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by Dippy

Sandesh has aced the job as he always does. The best part is the personal attention and effort he puts into every job. I got my Polo GT TSI done from him as well.

The car will be exactly a year old come October 1st. Dont mean to hijack your wonderful thread but here are a couple of pictures of my car to show how it has held up after a year

Hijack away! Sharing is caring.

Incidentally, Sandesh mentioned your ride and Nilesh's Octavia to us, and it helped seal the deal. Very heartening to see the sheen of the coating one year on, the car looks terrific. Bodes well given that I'm sure many have doubts about the longevity of the coating.

[iliketurtles]

How time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I was flashing a toothy grin and wondering why dealerships make such a big deal about oversized keys as I welcomed the Jetta into my life. 4 years, many kilometres and one accident that we shall not speak of later, the time had come to send the Black Mamba in for its annual servicing.

I have known grown men to grow wide-eyed and quake in their figurative boots as they face up to the prospect of sending the car into a VAG workshop for servicing, but I have to admit otherwise. Like a fine wine, my experience with Volkswagen has matured and grown better with age (unlike me). With each passing year and visit, the experience has become smoother and easier to manage. On this particular occasion, the car was in and out in a day, leaving me to wonder if it was too good to be true.

The servicing included all the usual suspects; vehicular fluids and filters and I got the wheel alignment and balancing done from Volkswagen too for good measure. The damages, in as much as it doesn’t matter, was Rs. 15,500, which I reckon is very reasonable for a car that is now getting on in years, even if it is carrying its age with grace and elegance. For all your curious cats out there, below is a super hi-res copy of the invoice.

My only question pertained to the DSG, and its related fluid, filter and seal. I repeatedly asked VW if I should replace this too, and I was repeatedly assured that the DSG is in fine fettle and doesn’t need the assorted accoutrements related to its servicing. That was that, and on the whole I was quite happy with this servicing and my Volkswagen ownership experience on the whole.

So where do we go from here? Well, I think the time is almost upon me to give the car a mid-life update, in the form of cosmetic upgrades. I’ll ponder the what, when, why and how of it all in time, and keep you’ll posted too. In the meantime, just to up the visual quotient of this post, here are a few pics taken on a seriously-why-have-I-woken-up-this-early morning drive.

This twilight pic is courtesy Varun Raizada. I think. Grazie, Varun.

Until next time, ciao, and drive safe.

[graaja]

For a 54K run, 4 year old car, the Jetta looks fantastic. May you enjoy many more years and many more tens of thousands of miles of trouble free ownership

Regarding the DSG fluids, there is a DSG oil replacement scheduled for 60K / 4 years. I had confirmed this last time I had done the 3rd year service for the Jetta. I also heard from a friend who has an Octavia TDi that after changing the DSG oil, the gear box just became super smooth. Why don't you check the service schedule in the owner's manual for DSG oil replacement? I am planning to change the DSG oil when my Jetta goes for the 4th year service.

And oh, by the way, haven't you got the upgrade itch yet?

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by graaja

Regarding the DSG fluids, there is a DSG oil replacement scheduled for 60K / 4 years. I had confirmed this last time I had done the 3rd year service for the Jetta.

Precisely what I was about to write here. My Jetta MT had a whining noise on turns (Chk my ownership thread) and the issue turned out to be the tranny oil. The technical head mentioned that VW does not recommend changing tranny oil for MTs but its mandatory for ATs at 60K KM. My issue got solved post tranny oil change. I would suggest you to go for oil replacement even if SA said otherwise. It costs around 2K only.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by graaja

For a 54K run, 4 year old car, the Jetta looks fantastic. May you enjoy many more years and many more tens of thousands of miles of trouble free ownership

Thanks buddy! It'll look even better once I re-apply the ceramic coating in a month or two.

Originally Posted by graaja

Regarding the DSG fluids, there is a DSG oil replacement scheduled for 60K / 4 years. Why don't you check the service schedule in the owner's manual for DSG oil replacement?

Yup, I checked up on the service intervals and it said the same thing. Seeing how I got this service done early, I'll give it a few months and get that done too, before 60k KMS. The service advisor said it's not needed for now, perhaps since I haven't hit 60k yet. I'll get it done in some time for sure though, before the odo hits 60.

Originally Posted by graaja

And oh, by the way, haven't you got the upgrade itch yet?

Itch has been incoming for some time I still haven't a clue what I want to get done, but I'll figure something out inevitably!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

I would suggest you to go for oil replacement even if SA said otherwise. It costs around 2K only.

Absolutely, not fussed about the cost of it since I'm gonna get it done anyways. I think the service advisor only rebuffed my queries on it since there's still some time on the clock, but I'll get it done early anyways. Prevention better than cure and all that.

[Epic]

I think the Jetta is probably the best car out there in this segment. I believe it is a car that has a perfect combination of class & sportiness. You can take it to a business meeting or to the race track and not feel out of place! It both scenarios, it is a car that is highly appreciated.

I remember when I was looking for pre-worshiped Jetta a year ago, I came across a well maintained Audi A4 for almost the same price. My FIL was surprised when I went ahead and bought the Jetta instead. Many believe it was a silly decision, but even till today I do not regret it at all. It was just yesterday that my FIL suggested I sell the Jetta and take his year old Skoda Superb L&K and I turned it down. He feels something is wrong with me :-)

There is just something really special about the Jetta.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Itch has been incoming for some time I still haven't a clue what I want to get done, but I'll figure something out inevitably!

By upgrading I meant changing the car itself - say a VRS, 330i etc.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by graaja

By upgrading I meant changing the car itself - say a VRS, 330i etc.

Ah lol. I intend to keep the Jetta for a few more years at least. No sense in getting rid of a perfectly good car.

My thoughts veer to the VRS, 330i and the 530d M-sport too as a replacement for the Jetta. A small part of me lusts for the Endeavour too, but it's too huge to be practical. A classic head over heart decision. Let's see, that's some ways away. For now, all of that is just a distant speck on the horizon.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

*SNIPPED FOR RELEVANCE*

My only question pertained to the DSG, and its related fluid, filter and seal. I repeatedly asked VW if I should replace this too, and I was repeatedly assured that the DSG is in fine fettle and doesn’t need the assorted accoutrements related to its servicing.*SNIP*

Originally Posted by graaja

*SNIP*

Regarding the DSG fluids, there is a DSG oil replacement scheduled for 60K / 4 years. I had confirmed this last time I had done the 3rd year service for the Jetta. I also heard from a friend who has an Octavia TDi that after changing the DSG oil, the gear box just became super smooth. Why don't you check the service schedule in the owner's manual for DSG oil replacement? I am planning to change the DSG oil when my Jetta goes for the 4th year service.*SNIP*

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

*SNIP*The technical head mentioned that VW does not recommend changing tranny oil for MTs but its mandatory for ATs at 60K KM. My issue got solved post tranny oil change. I would suggest you to go for oil replacement even if SA said otherwise.*SNIP*.

This worries me. I just had my 60K service done. The DSG fluid was NOT replaced. When I questioned the SA I was told that there was a recent directive from VW that there was no need to replace the fluid at 60K, only a check was needed.

So, the part I bolded above - that MTs do not need it but ATs do, that worries me. Did my service centre misunderstand VW's directive and say my DSG too did not need fluid replacement?

Can someone who has contacts in VW be able to get a definitive response please? I need to know urgently.

Thanks and cheers

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by tilt

So, the part I bolded above - that MTs do not need it but ATs do, that worries me. Did my service centre misunderstand VW's directive and say my DSG too did not need fluid replacement?

The part you quoted is right in that the manual does indeed specify a fluid and filter change for the DSG at 60k KMs. However, it could also be true that VW has issued a directive to the contrary.

Even so, I'd say get it done, directive or not. Simple reason being that our climate and driving conditions are harsh and unforgiving, and its better to err on the side of caution.

[neoonwheels]

The technical head mentioned that VW does NOT recommend Tranny oil change for MTs but must for ATs. I was facing whining noise on turns at low speeds and on searching internet came across a post in an European forums where one fellow asked to change oil so I followed suit and it solved my issue.

I had a Punto earlier and FIAT recommended to change tranny oil every 2 years or 24K kms. I was surprised that VW does not recommend it for MTs. You better get it changed irrespective what the SA says.