[neoonwheels]

Life is too short to drive a boring car

This is about my upgrade from an Italian Beauty to a German Beast !!! From FIAT Punto to Volkswagen Jetta

[neoonwheels]

An etch called upgrade

Finally after spending 7 years and 75000 KMs, the itch to upgrade started. My faithful Punto had served me well all through years and would have served another few but then I thought, why not upgrade!!!

While my wife and I were talking about my colleague who recently bought a new car, my wife suggested, why not we also go for a new car, given Punto is now 7 years old. Well initially I tried convincing her that 2 years back we had got the suspension of Punto replaced and economically it does not make sense to upgrade so early but then eventually I gave up myself.

I started my search in around March and visited FIAT dealer to check if I can upgrade to Abarth. Since for last 12 years I had FIATs (Palio->Punto), why not make it a hat-trick and go in for a powerful Petrol hatch. Initially wife also liked this idea given my monthly running stands at 800 KM. So on a Sunday, we visited the dealer and took test drive of a White Abarth. She liked everything about the car but the interiors. It was not about fit and finish but she felt claustrophobic because of the dark theme used in the car and the dimensions did not help either.

I was sold over the handling and power but then 2 things put me off. The very first being wife's comment and other being that dealer/FIAT had only White Abarth available which was manufactured in 2015. So I will have to buy a 1.5 year-old car sitting at the company warehouse without much discount. The final OTR given to me was 10.25L which looks attractive but then when you see that the car is year and half old already, it does not make much sense.

Even though I love FIAT, looking at the overall picture, it just does not make sense to invest in a FIAT car at this point. As of now all the attention at FCA is primarily given to JEEP and there is no road-map for a FIAT branded car until another 2 years. I thought this is the right time to move away from this marquee until something really exciting comes up our way in another 2-3 years.

Looking at the current Car pricing, it made very little sense to go for a new car. Being a Salaried person, I dont get any benefit on the depreciation of a car and then taking a loan on such asset made no sense. With the funds I had at my disposal, I had no choice other than the hatchbacks and the so called Compact sedans. Since I was in market for upgrade, I thought why not try out a Pre-owned route and go for a lateral upgrade than yet again settle for a premium hatchback. It was a task to convince my wife that a pre-owned car makes a lot of sense as we can take benefit of depreciation and dont have to bother about yet another EMI. We had bought a used automatic i10 for her 3 years back at half the price of a new one and it has served us well. This helped me convince her but with a rider that if it does not work out (Trouble with used car), we won't ever again consider a used car in our life

Letting her go

The big ask now was to sell off Punto and fund the new “used’ car. I started going over the cars listed on Carwale and other similar platforms whenever time permitted. On one of the company outings, I casually mentioned to one of my colleagues that I am planning to sell off my Punto and upgrade to something else. Since he know me as an automobile junkie and the way I have maintained my car, he asked me to hold on my plans of putting her up for Sale. The very next day he asked his mechanic friend to have a look at my car and immediately offered me a quote which I could not refuse. So in 3 days flat, I sold off my Punto which itself came as a shocker to me since I had not even zeroed down on any car by then.

My Italian Beauty



and thats me with her



Few more...

[neoonwheels]

A fun called lateral upgrade

I accelerated my search for a pre-owned car and zeroed down my search on either Skoda Superb Petrol MT or VW Jetta Diesel MT. Both these cars have always been my dream cars and I decided to take this opportunity and buy one for myself. I am not into automatics so the choices were limited to these 2 cars only.

A Superb car called Superb:

BHPian Sarang helped me narrow down few of the Skoda Superbs listed on Carwale. He helped me with quotes and what to check when it comes to this car. Sarang himself has bought a Superb TSI MT a year back and one drive in his car made me drool over this beauty. Trust me guys, at around 7-8L budget, a Superb TSI MT made a hell lot of sense as a used option. That car has tons of features and can keep you amused for a long time. I had shortlisted around 5 really well maintained Superbs in the range of 5.8L to 7.5L. Thanks to Skoda’s image, this beauty depreciates like anything.

Superbs that I had shortlisted..






An underdog called Jetta:

This is another car which I always loved to the core. Thanks to the horrible pricing when launched in 2011, VW never managed to sell it as per expectations. This resulted in having few cars on sale during my search. The biggest drawback of this car was lack of features to match its pricing. How can a car miss on ACC when even my humble Punto had it in 2010. Given the safety measures available in this car and for that lovely torquey engine, I kept this car as a lateral upgrade.

Shortlisting the cars:

Below is the summary of all the shortlisted cars. I inspected each and every car thoroughly with a checklist and then came up with its positives and negatives. Of course for all the cars I had to talk to Skoda and VW service advisers for its service history and then note down major repairs and services done. Of all, Skoda Pune and VW Thane were most co-operative and nice to talk to. Some gave me the reason of privacy and all but then I tried convincing them that I am not asking for any personal details of the owner and all I am interested in is when was the car last serviced and if they see any major repair work done in last 1 year. Trust me guys this was the most taxing process that I went through in my car search.




Narrow down the list:

Looking at the car, its pros and cons and then negotiating with the dealer about its potential value, I narrowed down my search to a White Superb and a brown Jetta.

The shortlisted Superb was a Jan 2013 model done 52K with 10 months insurance cover left and a yearly service done in Feb 17 (This is the White Superb MH04). The negotiated price was 6.8L + 2% brokerage of the dealer, so at 7L, it was a steal. The car was in good condition with the only downer being a broken AC vent but the seller agreed to fix it before I hand over the token amount.

The other Superb which was owned by a company was the BEST car I have ever seen in used market but the dealer was asking too much so I had to drop it. Later on after 2 months when I bought my Jetta from a dealer close this one, I could still see that Superb parked for sale, this time with a broken headlight washer!!!

Below is the Superb which I shortlisted. The logo was fitted when I checked her out so the below pic might be an older one which the dealer shared with me.



The other car which I saw on that day was a Aug 2014 42K done VW Jetta comfortline, Pune registered



I almost zeroed on this Jetta since it was only 2.5 years old, had all the features which I wanted in the car, it was a Pune registered so no trouble of getting NOC from Mbai RTO etc. The downer was that the dealer did not have bank NOC and so I flatly refused to hand over token unless I get the NOC. I had even got this car inspected at VW dealer and it came out clean. Since banks were closed on the occasion of Good Friday, I returned to Pune on the promise from the dealer that he would get the NOC over weekend and then I can visit on Monday and take the car home for 9.7L.

I got a message from the dealer on Sat that the NOC is arranged from the bank and I can come on Monday to seal the deal and take her home. I was so happy that finally I would get to own the pre-worshipped car but it was short lived. The very next day, I got a message from this dealer that he sold it off to somebody else who gave token on the spot. I was so pissed off, I had asked him his bank details on Sat so that I could transfer token but then he suggested that instead pay in full on Monday.

Then came another shocker, wife said she is not convinced with the Superb given its length. She liked everything about the car but its length and then knowing the fact that how I get pissed off when I don't get to park my car whenever we go out for shopping, she flatly refused to go for the Superb that I had as backup plan (White Superb).

[neoonwheels]

A ray of Hope

2 weeks passed by and I was kind of frustrated that I almost gave up on the idea of getting a used car. On one such day, between meetings, I stumbled upon a new listing on Carwale about a VW Jetta comfortline. The car looked beautiful in the pictures but then it was a Sep 2011 model. I was in two minds as I was searching for a relatively newer models of Jetta since the older one did not have ACC and I was quite used to it for last 7 years (Thanks to Punto). I gathered all the necessary information about the car and called up a VW dealer in Thane about its service. The lady on the phone told me when it was last serviced, what repair work carried on it this year and accident history.

Thankfully, the car was serviced every year at Mumbai West dealership and there was no major accident repair in its lifetime. The lady also told me that the car has got the Dieselgate software issue fixed in January of this year. At least looking at the service records, it appeared to be a clean car and I decided to not let it go. I called up the dealer and asked him about its service history, to which he gave me the exact same details and forwarded me the complete service history on mail. Since he has a counter at the VW dealer (for old cars as exchange), he has access to all the service history for the cars he keep on sale.

I went through almost all the Jetta comfortline threads on TBHP and gathered all the important information about this car. The common issues which I came across were: Water pump failure, fuel lid actuator going kaput and battery going dead in 2-3 years. Also came to know that the very first batch of Comfortline Jetta had Cruise control (thanks to sharing steering with highline) which was then removed in 2012 models.

Making a move

So now that I have 1 Jetta which passed all the prerequisites, I searched if I can club inspection of other cars and shortlisted total 3 Jettas in Mumbai. This time around I was hell bent on getting a car back home since its a cumbersome process to visit the other city every now and then.

On a Thursday, I checked out this 2011 Jetta and fell in love with her. There was only a single hairline scratch on the left fender but rest of the car was in good condition. I took test drive of the car at various speeds and there was no suspension noise nor the engine felt under any load. I connected the ELM module to the OBD port and used Torque app to see if any error pops up. The dealer was kind enough to allow me to do such stunt since he himself was pretty sure about the car’s condition.

Icing on the cake was that the tyres were replaced in 2016 and to make sure that the dealer is not pulling a fast one on me, I checked the manufacturing month of the tyres which indicated Nov 2015 as a manf month. As I said, the only downer in this old Jetta was no ACC but then you gain some and you lose some. This car is from the very first batch and so has Cruise Control + 8 Speakers which were then dropped in late 2012. Also the less the electrical in a German car the better. Even though this looks bare bones in comparison to Skoda Superb, it also has less chances of electronic gadget failures.

There was one White Jetta which dealer said had run 50K KM but in its last service about 8 months back it had clocked 49.5K KM. Something fishy as the dealer said its a daily drive and yet in one full year it clocked only 500KM. I did not bother to check it out in person which then left me with 2 Jettas. The last one was a black 2013 comfortline Jetta but looking at its photos one can easily make it out to be an abused car. It had its bumper broken and rear left door had dents.

Now the only choice that I had was this Brown 2011 Jetta which anyways was my first choice !!

Taming the Shadowfax

Finally, after 2 months of efforts, I zeroed down on this Sep 2011 43K KM run Toffee Brown Comfortline Jetta. The initial quote from the dealer was a hefty 8.75L but after sitting across the table and with the negotiation experience I have gathered in last 2 months , I could bring the value down to 7.45L. I started at 7.3L but then did not push too much knowing the fact that I wont be spending on tyres (Around 32k) anytime soon.

I have named this lovely machine “Shadowfax” for the way this thing builds up speed (Even though the color does not match - LOTR fans can relate). The very first long drive that I did was to get her home in Pune and boy that was one heck of a drive. Coming from a Punto, you can easily get amused by the way she builds up speed. The 2 litre engine has immense torque and can easily put a smile on your face. I don't know if there is any loss of power after the Dieselgate update but even now she is quick. I just loved the way she cruises in triple digit speed and yet return you FE even hatchbacks are envious of.

I would do a separate photoshoot that it deserves but till then here are some pics of the car -

Very 'Vento'ish front



This is a nice angle and looks interesting



The interiors - Fit and finish is miles ahead of Punto. No ACC in this segment is pure stupid !! Look at that decade old HU



Rear legroom - Not a match for Superb but certainly good enough to keep you happy



And the front



That 6 speed gearbox is a delight to use. The shifting mechanism is top notch.



This angle tells you its surely a size bigger than the Vento



The long drives with full house would be easy - Thanks to the boot



This is my fav angle of this car. Certainly very Audi-ish

[neoonwheels]

More on What I like

1. Agreed that from front she more or less looks like a Vento but then she is definitely a size bigger than the Vento. Highlight is the side profile which I feel is best as far as looks are concerned. The Audi-sh rear looks good and grows on you easily. Overall the car has a very underrated and matured look.


2. That 2 litre engine under the hood is pure magic. This car pulls up easily and builds up speed so rapidly that at times I got scared of her. May be since I am moving from a puny 1.3 MJD engine that too in a over a ton car has played this trick on me. I just loved the way the torque is distributed across the power band and most of it is available lower down the RPM.


3. This car has got most of the safety measures included even in the base variant and this being the mid variant has got almost all except the 8 airbags. I am ok with 6 too given that my Punto had only 2. Honestly initially I struggled with the hill hold functionality as I am not used to it and stalled the car 3-4 times but then slowly I am getting used to it now.


4. Jetta has quite good ride and handling which I guess is due to its independent multi link suspension at the back. This is a big plus since I am used to Punto’s awesome ride and handling.


5. One of the reasons to not go in for Superb was its length and I would say that Jetta has got a perfect balance between a compact sedan and a luxo barge. Superb is almost 1 feet longer than already long Jetta and it clearly shows in form of the legroom that you get in Superb. Surprisingly while driving I never struggled to maneuver the Superb but parking it in tight spots would pose an issue. I hope Jetta would not bother me much on this.


6. Even though the car has pretty basic interiors, I found them to be good on fit and finish.


7. When I compare this car to the shortlisted Superb, it looks like barebones but then the less the electronics in a German car, the better the peace of mind. German cars are usually solid on mechanicals (Except the DSG) but fail on the electronics and so I feel it might prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Of course I don't like

1. The steering at low speeds is vague and does not provide enough feedback. I am used to the Hydraulic Power Steering in my Punto (And earlier in Palio) and that might have biased me towards this EPS unit. As you build up speed the feedback improves but still HPS of Punto is leagues ahead than this unit for sure.


2. I am short at 5’4 and it took me a week to get adjusted to the seating position in Jetta. The seat offers ample adjustment on height and reach but then I feel the seat is deep too much for short drivers like me. As of now I have kept it on fully raised position and I can see some part of the bonnet which is confidence inspiring. The dashboard in Jetta is placed higher and the windshield is on the smaller side and it feels SO weird


3. It has a very basic ICE which does not even support Bluetooth and thus the telephony controls on the steering wheel dont work. I can imagine the frustration the owners might have gone through specially after spending 20L and ending up with a decode old HU. Thanks to TBHPian maddy and his thread on RCD 330 plus, I have ordered this HU and would soon enjoy the Bluetooth audio and telephony.


4. The angle of the drivers seat somehow is not very comforting and at times I feel a slight back pain after I drive her for an hour. May be I am getting used to this type of seating and I hope it would not bother me. I have done 10 hours and 750 KM of driving in my Punto in a single day and never felt tired.


5. Imagine you have to fiddle with the AC controls every now and then, thanks to the lack of ACC. In my Punto it was set and forget but in this car, I keep on changing the fan speed or cold and hot switch.


6. Even though the brakes bite well, they are spongy !!! Punto had perfectly calibrated brakes and so I struggled a bit when I brought her home from Mumbai. Thankfully now I know how much pressure and when should I apply.


I have put up these points from a Punto owner's perspective and even though you may feel like this guy has so many negatives about this car but trust me these are nitpicks and does not mean the car is not worth it. I loved my Punto and now equally love Jetta

[neoonwheels]

Of course we just cannot use a stock car, can we?

So its been not even 2 weeks since I bought the beast, I ordered 2 things from AliExpress: RCD 330+ and LED DRL lights.

RCD 330+:

Thanks a lot to "maddyguage" who I was in touch with while finalizing my RCD 330+ purchase. He has a thread on this system in the ICE section and it has wealth of an information. This is what I love about TBHP, it has answer to almost anything automotive

I ordered the 330+ and a Quadlock to ISO connector with CanBus adaptor on AliExpress and the consignment reached me in 2 weeks time. Looks like somebody was not happy the day it reached customs as I was charged a whooping 1600/- duty on that. The seller had quoted it to be a $40 item (Actual $112: Unit and cable) which the customs does not seem to agree with.

So with the help of the Pry toolkit and a friend, I opened up the center console trim of my Jetta comfortline and discovered that it already comes with a Canbus compatible Quadlock connector. The one I ordered would be up for grabs now since I no more need it.

I was surprised to see that the one (RCD 300) which came with the car is also made by Desey China so as the new one (Unless the first owner of the car had replaced original with Chinese RCD 300, which seems unlikely). The seller on the page had mentioned that the unit is picked up from a VW car and its unused.

I am pretty impressed with the vivid display and the touch response of this system. I tried the USB pen drive, FM and Bluetooth A2DP as well as telephony. All worked well, however there is not much difference as far as sound quality is concerned. The steering mounted controls and the auto switch off on car key removal work and that's a big relief. I was missing the Bluetooth telephony on Jetta since my Punto had it, so its a big plus for me. The MirrorLink did not work with my Google Pixel phone which is expected, I will try it out on my friend's Samsung soon.










LED DRL

[neoonwheels]

A fly in the ointment

It was almost a month and half enjoying this beauty when this happened. One fine evening after wrapping up my work in office, I came down to the basement parking to the horror sight of my Jetta's broken front door window. Initially I thought that there were some water droplets on the glass but I wondered why only on the front door and then it struck me that I was actually looking at the shattered glass. The film on the window was holding it so the glass pieces did not fall down.

Here it is



I immediately got in touch with the office security to find out if the car is covered by any CCTV camera. To my disappointment there was no camera which covered this part of the parking and so chances of knowing what happened or who did it just vanished. Upon close inspection, it looked like an impact at the bottom part of the glass which then spread across the whole glass pane. There was not even a single scratch on the car anywhere around the door or bonnet or roof and thanks to the fact that no camera covered my car, its now going to remain a mystery throughout my life. Thanks to BHPian YCJ who came to my office with a packing tape and we taped it to make sure it would hold its position at least till the next day.

This is when the fun started !!! Called up both the dealers in Pune to check if I can come down for a replacement and to my surprise, both the dealers said "Glass is not available". I was kind of pissed off because its such a trivial and cheap item that I was expecting at least one of them to have it available. I then asked one of them how much time it would take the company to ship the part, then came the next shock !!! VW did NOT have even a single Jetta front door glass available in the company. Talk about VW service !!!!

In my entire 12 years of ownership of rare cars Palio and Punto with a legendary emblem FIAT never had this "Part not available" problem and here I am at mercy of a German giant which did not have as trivial part as door glass. To be honest it came as a downer because VW had sold around hundred Jettas every month and yet the part appeared like a made to order part. May be CKD is to blame as the car is not locally made but is manufactured through CKD route. The dealer said it would take 3 weeks for VW to ship the part to their service center with a smiling face as if he was telling me a joke. I smiled back moving my facial muscle as little as possible. That was one funny conversation we had in front of a bunch of worried VW customers.

Since I could not keep the car at office for so long, I started looking out for alternatives. I tried Windshield experts and some local garages but no luck then finally another BHPian came to my rescue with a number of a garage owner at the other side of the city. Made some frantic calls and got lucky finally. Visited his body shop and picked up the glass which he said would fit Jetta 2011 onwards. Took the car to a friend's garage nearby my office and he immediately started working on her. It took him almost a day to remove the door trim and then refitting everything. He called me up and gave me 2 news. Good news was that the car was ready with new locally made (AutoShield branded) glass, the bad being, its not a perfect fit. There was about a 2mm gap at a corner where it meets the upper portion of the door trim. It was not a deal breaker since I was anyways going to order OEM glass and this was going to be a stop gap arrangement.

After I put up an order for the glass it finally reached the service center after 15 days, which was an achievement going by the service adviser's earlier remark of 3 weeks. I was so happy that VW could take some time out for me and send me a replacement glass. God bless VW india for arranging the most complicated part of the car so early. Took the car to the service center and got it fitted immediately.

Mean time I also got the RTO formalities done and got the insurance renewed from bajaj Allianz. I am now worried if a glass replacement takes VW 2 weeks, god bless people if they face any issues with any major parts of the car. Even though somehow it left a sour taste, I hope my ownership would be trouble-free and VW service-free.

I shall update the thread with the pics once I am done with the photoshoot!!!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

Heartiest congratulations. I absolutely love the VW Jetta & consider it to be the best pre-worshipped buy in this price range (especially the 6-speed MT). My brother's Jetta is 5 years old - a daily driver - and continues to perform flawlessly.

[vinayrathore]

Let me be the first one to congratulate you after GTO on the fantabulous decision. I was also on the same boat and bought a 2014 Highline AT in October last year. The ownership thread is in the making and your thread inspires me to finish it asap.

As GTO says, the Jetta is one of the best lateral upgrades one can have from the B and C segment. I came from Hyundai Accent Viva Crdi(it still adorns my garage and wifey uses it).

After almost 9 months I am absolutely loving my decision and each day I drive it, turns into an occasion. No breakdowns apart from a dead battery till now. Mine is still under extended warranty till 2018.

Will try to finish my thread asap! Wish you a million miles on your beauty!

Cheers
Vinay

[Nohonking]

That's a lovely write-up neoonwheels! Well detailed. You rock with your Jetta! Got to learn a lot from it.

Rating is a full 5 star

Well, since this is a pre-worshipped car, don't you have concerns from NGT(National Green Tribunal), for past 10 years it will be rendered illegal on the roads? Does NGT ruling apply in Pune?

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

It was almost a month and half enjoying this beauty when this happened. One fine evening after wrapping up my work in office, I came down to the basement parking to the horror sight of my Jetta's broken front door window. Initially I thought that there were some water droplets on the glass but I wondered why only on the front door and then it struck me that I was actually looking at the shattered glass.

Well, this is something really strange, that too in an office basement parking. I remember, in my office parking down the basement -3, there's a Merc parked for ages, the owner is apparently abroad and its perhaps the safest place to leave the car parked well in its slot.

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

The film on the window was holding it so the glass pieces did not fall down.

How come you had a film installed? Don't the cops stop? I had a very clear film from V-kool worth 29K installed on my 2008 City, and had to peel it off for cops made my life sour.

Thanks!

[feluda86]

May you be Gandalf to your Shadowfax and slay thousand of Orcs on the way! Heartiest congratulations!

Would you say Jetta's ride and handling is better than Superb's - especially at the back ?

[ishankpatel]

Congratulations! sweet upgrade!!

The big fan following that brands like Maruti Suzuki, Honda and Hyundai enjoy in India is a blessing in disguise for people who are open to drive other brands.

The Jetta, although is a brilliant car, depreciates like a stone!. Which comes in handy in such cases!

As you pointed out, you just have to live with the subpar A.S.S.

[blackwasp]

Congrats on the awesome car ! A friend of mine has a 2010 Jetta, and I have spent a good time with the car. The mod potential is amazing. Right from ICE, to autopark, to bluetooth module etc. The Jetta is a very good upgrade from the Punto, I can relate as I had a 1.2 Punto. The diesel 2.0 is a beast and I was pleasantly surprised with the FE when we went out on a roadtrip for the first time.

[vishy76]

Congrats on the car sir. The Jetta is certainly a good buy.

We have a 2014 Comfortline ourselves, and I can assure you, there is something very special about this German. People still can't believe that a German exec saloon can do what the Jetta does. A reliable runabout, check. A fun to drive car, double check. A practical one, check.

The Jetta comes together as an all rounder which is a term we only use for Japs and koreans.

Even I am going to keep her for 3-4 years atleast. My mom says the Jetta will be the first car I will get to drive(only 15 now).

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by Nohonking

That's a lovely write-up neoonwheels! Well detailed. You rock with your Jetta! Got to learn a lot from it.

Rating is a full 5 star

Well, since this is a pre-worshipped car, don't you have concerns from NGT(National Green Tribunal), for past 10 years it will be rendered illegal on the roads? Does NGT ruling apply in Pune?


Well, this is something really strange, that too in an office basement parking. I remember, in my office parking down the basement -3, there's a Merc parked for ages, the owner is apparently abroad and its perhaps the safest place to leave the car parked well in its slot.


How come you had a film installed? Don't the cops stop? I had a very clear film from V-kool worth 29K installed on my 2008 City, and had to peel it off for cops made my life sour.

Thanks!

Well, I might keep on upgrading every 2-3 years . Makes hell lot of sense than buying a new car on loan. Even I always thought that office parking is a safer place for my car but then looks like somebody broke it by mistake and did not have courtesy to find out the owner and bear the expenses. Last month a new Brezza was damaged but it was caught on CCTV and so the offender had no way out.

The sunfilm was put up by the previous owner and I wonder it was not caught even in Mbai ever. Now apart from this new glass, all other have sunfilm on them.

Originally Posted by vinayrathore

Let me be the first one to congratulate you after GTO on the fantabulous decision. I was also on the same boat and bought a 2014 Highline AT in October last year. The ownership thread is in the making and your thread inspires me to finish it asap.

As GTO says, the Jetta is one of the best lateral upgrades one can have from the B and C segment. I came from Hyundai Accent Viva Crdi(it still adorns my garage and wifey uses it).

After almost 9 months I am absolutely loving my decision and each day I drive it, turns into an occasion. No breakdowns apart from a dead battery till now. Mine is still under extended warranty till 2018.

Will try to finish my thread asap! Wish you a million miles on your beauty!

Cheers
Vinay

Thanks a lot Vinay. At 7.5l its a steal as the basics in this car are well sorted out. I will also change the battery given the current one is 3 years old and Jetta is known to suck life out of a battery every 2-3 years.

Originally Posted by feluda86

May you be Gandalf to your Shadowfax and slay thousand of Orcs on the way! Heartiest congratulations!

Would you say Jetta's ride and handling is better than Superb's - especially at the back ?

Thanks Man!! I never sat in the backseat of a Superb so cannot really say. But trust me the 1.8 tsi MT is a delight to drive. I just love the Superb for the value it offers.

Originally Posted by ishankpatel

Congratulations! sweet upgrade!!

The big fan following that brands like Maruti Suzuki, Honda and Hyundai enjoy in India is a blessing in disguise for people who are open to drive other brands.

The Jetta, although is a brilliant car, depreciates like a stone!. Which comes in handy in such cases!

As you pointed out, you just have to live with the subpar A.S.S.

All German cars depreciate like its nobody's business. My Jetta was invoiced at 18L in 2011 and now look at the money I paid for it. Since the initial depreciation is already taken care of, I hope it would not be that much the time I sell it off. The Superb which I was interested in to buy was 19-20L on road which was available for 6.8L in 4 years

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Congrats on the awesome car ! A friend of mine has a 2010 Jetta, and I have spent a good time with the car. The mod potential is amazing. Right from ICE, to autopark, to bluetooth module etc. The Jetta is a very good upgrade from the Punto, I can relate as I had a 1.2 Punto. The diesel 2.0 is a beast and I was pleasantly surprised with the FE when we went out on a roadtrip for the first time.

I love the way it cruises so easily at triple digits and yet return you awesome FE. Well, will wait for 6 months to see if everything is ok and then would go for a remap.