[sandeepsarma]

Originally Posted by just4wheels

Firstly congrats on your Black Panther. Definitely looks one.
And on you OCD.. made me grin!! I guess you can add me into this peculiar group too. I used keep turning this knob every time my son or wife messed with it in my Vento.

Thank you very much! Surprising that there are so many of us who find an issue with the knob but yet VWAG themselves are perfectly fine with it. Not sure whether the people who design the buttons are human lol.

Originally Posted by polestar2016

Congrats on your new pet I just have one ques, was your HSRP (aka number plate) fixed using normal screws or was it riveted using tamper proof screws? Thanks

Thank you Will need to check that actually. Don't remember what they used to fix it.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

What is it with brand new Octavias and drunken bikers in BLR?

Oh that is really sad mate. Especially since your accident happened in broad day light. Mine happened around 10 PM but still annoying nonetheless. What are you planning to do with it?

[itwasntme]

Nothing actually. All the good paint shops are in south BLR while I live near KIAL and translates into a logistical nightmare. Skoda charges some obscene amount for full bumper repaint and won't touch small jobs.

If you come across any good paint shops in BLR CBD or thereabouts, do let me know. It pains me to see it everytime!

[sandeepsarma]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Nothing actually. All the good paint shops are in south BLR while I live near KIAL and translates into a logistical nightmare. Skoda charges some obscene amount for full bumper repaint and won't touch small jobs.

If you come across any good paint shops in BLR CBD or thereabouts, do let me know. It pains me to see it everytime!

Sure will certainly do so.

Another day in Bangalore and yet another biker strikes. Not sure why but never had so many incidents in my Vento so soon after purchase.

Was near the Seasons signal on Bannergahtta road when the signal was turning red and traffic was inching forwards towards the signal. There was a swift dzire to my right and a biker was trying to cut through in between both our cars when he lost balance and hit both our cars. I felt the hit but couldn't see what the damage was. I asked him where he was looking and gave a gaali. The cab driver tried chasing after him but he seemed to have jumped the signal. Was wearing no helmet and had a worn out bike which was constantly giving a buzzing horn sound.

Aftwr the signal stopped in front to take a look at the damage. Took a microfiber cloth and wiped off whatever I could. Here's what remains.

Three significant scratch marks as well as a dent and a few marks below the door. The three marks look like a mini wolverine tried to cut the car. There are also a few rubber marks most likely from the bike handle but should go off with a proper wash or clean up. I managed to remove the dent with the help of a plunger but the scratches still remain.

[madnish30]

Hi Sandeep!

Your Black Panther looks amazing
Sorry to know about the scuffs, but then it was bound to happen.

I just took delivery of a TDI Style Plus. While all seems great! I can't get the memory seats to be working. I press SET followed by the 1/2/3 keys and even hear a beep. But when I press the 1/2/3 memory keys - the seat resets to a position different from what I had set.

Seems to be a strange bug, maybe it needs some sort of reset and/or VAG-Com coding.

Could you please help and try and save a position with the seat tilted at its lowest on the rear end and the at it's highest on the front end [both of these using the horizontal seat adjustment switch] and try to save the same, I am unable to save this position (amongst others). Just want to confirm it's not a particular position being blocked by Skoda for safety/airbag zoning reason.



Thanks!

[sandeepsarma]

Originally Posted by madnish30

Hi Sandeep!


Could you please help and try and save a position with the seat tilted at its lowest on the rear end and the at it's highest on the


Thanks!

Hi dude,

Thank you very much. Agreed. Little we can do about such scuffs.

Congratulations on your new ride. Great choice


Sorry for the delay. I saw this but forgot to check. I just checked now and it is able to store the position without any issues. I don't think they would allow any setting that would cause any issues or interference with safety anyway so it should be something else. See what the SC has to say about it.

Hope it's sorted soon for you.

[sandeepsarma]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to update you all with the current status of the car. Have now crossed the 10k Mark and is around 10500 kms overall which I feel is quite a bit considering that I got the car only on Jan 31st. Loving the car just as much if not more than I did on the first day.

I feel that the mileage has improved and am getting an average of 7 on most days while the initial days I used to get around 5-6 on most occasions. Not sure if it's because I got used to the car or the car got used to the driving style. Either way, it's a good thing.

There's a slightly pungent smell that comes from the AC whenever I start it up. After getting some advice from fellow TeamBHP Octavia owners, it seems like it's mostly leaves and other organic matter stuck in the AC filter and I've been advised to get it inspected and cleaned once I take it for service.

I have added a boot lip protector as well as the faux exhaust tips and most recently door protectors called R Sticks.

Planning to upgrade the existing 205/55/R16 NCT 5 to a Michellin PS4 225/45/R17 with Momo Massimo Rims. Not sure if I'll keep the original set of tyres and rims but my SA has told me that an upsize by 1 inch and the tyre spec that I am planning to upgrade to shouldn't create any issues in terms of warranty. So, I might just sell them off after getting used to the new setup or directly if I get a good deal on them.

Lastly, I have done a review of the Octavia as well which is up on my channel called RevAtlas. It's a new venture of mine where we do Tech and Automobile videos and articles. The blog isn't up yet but should be running pretty soon. Please do let me what you think about the video as well

https://youtu.be/LKCc8DMmPcY

[mustang_shelby]

Hi Sandeep,

Congrats on your new venture. Your video review looks great. Some observations:

1. Script is well written and narration is smooth, without any awkward pauses etc. Diction is good too. Thumbs up.
2. Production quality of the video is great.
3. Better proof-reading (or maybe proof-watching) might be needed. At around 6:00, the mileage is mentioned in kmph instead of kmpl.
4. I felt that some topics were missing from the review: rear leg room and seat comfort, ride comfort, quality of audio system, a short note about competitors.
5. Now this might be nitpicking, but I feel that the reviewer's attire has to complement the vehicle being reviewed. To me, the t-shirt and adidas kicks stood out a bit in contrast to the elegant black business sedan.

I wish you all the best.

[sandeepsarma]

Originally Posted by mustang_shelby

Hi Sandeep,

Congrats on your new venture. Your video review looks great. Some observations.

Hi dude,

Thanks a lot for your support and kind words. Didn't notice what you mentioned in point 3. Even my colleague didn't spot it. So we must be more careful.

Point 4 is a tricky one. To be honest, we had initially planned a full fledged review. Had enough footage for a 20 minute review even. However, decided to do a shorter one for 2 reasons. First, we're very new and not everyone is going to watch a 7 minute video let alone a 20 minute one. Secondly, YouTube has an audience retention rating which in our case is around 2 - 2 and a half minutes. Was lower when we started but we are slowly increasing it. So say someone watches 3 minutes of this video on average, its still less than 50% of the entire clip. While 40% and above is still pretty good for a video, that figure would drastically drop if its say 20 minutes. As a result, tge algorithm would identify the video as not engaging enough to promote to audiences. So we figured it's better not to scare people away with a huge clip length and instead focus on getting the highlights done well. Perhaps we could've made better use of the running time but then again think we need practise to make it better.

Point 5 is very valid and I think I need to put more thought into that next time around. Thanks a lot for your wonderful feedback! Have a nice weekend

[sandeepsarma]

(Image After Service)

It's been quite a while since I posted an update on the car and I'm sorry about that. But I guess the laziness just got to me as well.





Today the car marks its first birthday and I thought it would be a good idea to post an update along with some photos of the ride. Since the last update, the car has gotten its first service at 15k kilometres back in September. It didn't cost me anything since I had taken the maintenance package. Since then, the car has crossed over 24,000 kilometres as of 29th January 2018.


(Took it to 3M After Rim Change)

Later in September, I also went ahead and changed the rims to the Momo Massimo 17" along with the tyres to a 225/45R17 profile Michelin PS4. I had been waiting for the rims from June onwards and was a moment of great joy when I received it. The new tyres offer much superior grip with slightly lesser road noise and the mileage hasn't really been impacted. The comfort too remains more or less the same. Maybe a bit more harsh but not one thats causing a difference of day and night. Perhaps 18" would've been too much.



Also, quite recently, have added a black glossy wrap to the front grille, bottom chrome strip as well as the side chrome lining around the window. Total cost was Rs 2800 including a quick wash and clean at 3M UB City.



Next up is the fitment of new number plates. Fellow bhpian and dear friend sawnilrules Kindly got a new set of good looking plates made and sent all the way from Mumbai (Thanks bro! I owe you one). Yet to get it fitted on the car but planning to do so real soon. Planning to go for fully blacked out badges on the car as well for a stealth look overall. The only silver elements would possibly be the rims and I think that should look pretty good still. Not sure if I'll be spray painting the original rims or buying a new set from skodadop or superskoda. Hopefully will decide soon and will also update without much delay.

Let me know if you guys have any questions. Thanks and wishing you all a wonderful year ahead.

[itwasntme]

Amazing, man! How a set of carefully chosen 17" inchers and your subtle mods can transform an European saloon into quite a gangsta ride :-).

My few comments:

Why not wrap the B pillar with glossy black wrap as well? Mine has become a scratch magnet even though I wash the car myself.

Great to hear the number plates are en-route. Current ones look ghastly given the stunning background.

Yours is the first PS4 equipped Octy I've heard of. Did you get a good deal on the tyres too? I need to soon change my 6.5 year / 105k km Cruze so going slow on Octavia :-(

Let me know how you pay on superskoda. I have not been able to yet.

[Brigadier]

Superb choice of Alloys. Where did you get them from? Wonder if they are available in 16” for my 2017 facelift Rapid . The pics are awesome too.

[sandeepsarma]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Amazing, man! How a set of carefully chosen 17" inchers and your subtle mods can transform an European saloon into quite a gangsta ride :-).

Let me know how you pay on superskoda. I have not been able to yet.

Thanks buddy. Yea I agree, need to change the number plates ASAP. I think because its a larger area, he may try to wash it a bit too much and end up peeling the wrap. By "he" I mean the person who washes my car.

Yea I got both from the same dealer so I did get a pretty good price. Gave the stock tyres to a fellow BHPian and the rims I still have with me.

I've used skodadop in the past and it worked well. Never used Superskoda yet but many have had issues with it from what I hear.

Originally Posted by Brigadier

Superb choice of Alloys. Where did you get them from? Wonder if they are available in 16” for my 2017 facelift Rapid . The pics are awesome too.

I got it from Hercules Tyres in Bangalore. I believe they are available in 16 inches too. Give me a PM and I'll put you in touch with the dealer. On a side note, I have my 16" rims that came with the Octy that I am looking to dispose off so if you know anyone who wants it, please let me know.

[mathuranuj]

Hi Sandeep

That is one good looking car. Have you experienced Skoda service yet? Has it improved? How has you experience been with the Skoda Service.

Hope no horror stories here and wishing you all the best for your awesome car.

[sandeepsarma]

It's been a while but have had a very busy year since the last update. My wife and I welcomed our son in July and now we've also said goodbye to the Skoda Octavia and welcomed a new car to the family.

Since my last update, there had been an issue where the coolant had leakage but it was replaced under warranty and I had to pay no additional charges. Apart from this small issue, my ownership was very positive and I'd also like to say that Skoda service has improved by leaps and bounds and doesn't really reflect the horror stories that you or even I have read online in the past.

The car was 1 year and 8 months old. Made 3 visits to the service centre. Two for routine service and check-up and one for the coolant issue. I had taken the service package for 4 years or 60k kms of which I used just two.

It had covered nearly 35k kilometres in that time and gave us wonderful memories. The experience of parting with it was bittersweet but hopefully we'll have similar experiences in our new car as well of which I'm hoping to write a similar ownership thread as well.

Thanks for all of you who participated and provided your feedback and appreciation.

Originally Posted by mathuranuj

Hi Sandeep

That is one good looking car. Have you experienced Skoda service yet? Has it improved? How has you experience been with the Skoda Service.

Hope no horror stories here and wishing you all the best for your awesome car.

I hope what I have written above has helped answer your question

[itwasntme]

Hey, happy and sad to see such a short ownership period. But you did use it well racking up 35k km :-)

Did you manage to recover the 17" wheel investment? Was the resale value within your expectations? I'm also bitten by the upgrade bug hence asking.