So Jetta went in for her 1,05,000 km service.
In a nutshell, I am delighted with the service experience and found the costs to be most reasonable.
Jetta back home after service and after a quick morning wash
Considering that Chetan had a very good experience with servicing of his car, I felt it would be prudent for me to continue giving the car to KPR VW in Mysore.
The decision to remain with an authorized service centre for my duration of ownership helped with this decision, as also the fact that I have a lot of time on my hands, so could afford to drive down to Mysore to get the car serviced
Prior to the service, Jetta had started feeling a little rougher and I was also worried about the timing belt replacement.
I was told by Pradeesh, that the timing belt had to be replaced at 1,20,00km but my brother who owns a VW in Australia, said that the service interval for timing belt change there, was 7 years or 1,05,000 km. Chetan also had advised for the timing belt to be replaced.
Keeping in the mind that the car had been remapped and my decision to keep the car for atleast another 4 years, I decided to get the timing belt change done at this service.
My experience in setting up the appointment at KPR VW was pleasant and no complaints there.
On the appointed day, I ended up leaving home late and as a result reached Mysore only by 11:30.
Mr Pradeesh, who has looked after Jetta since new, was there when I reached and I was very impressed by his competence and helpful nature.
Certainly, made the decision to drive down, worth it.
Leaving Jetta for service
Pradeesh was of the opinion that we can do the timing belt change at the 1,20,000 km mark but after a quick discussion, I asked him to go ahead with the timing belt replacement as also to replace the 2 wipers, which were leaving streaks.
I told him that I would collect the car back, the next day and then hopped onto a KSRTC Scania for the ride back home.
I received an update after reaching home, that the rear brake pads had only 1,000 km of life left and Pradeesh recommended a change, which I agreed too.
I got KSRTC Scania's to and from Mysore, somehow I like the Volvo better.
Left the next morning and reached the showroom around 11:30 and was glad to see Jetta ready to be picked up.
Very happy with the overall experience and my service advisor, Mr. Vinod was very helpful too.
Billing was a breeze and after hearing the horror stories off VW service bills, I found the bill to be reasonable.
Nothing additional was tacked on and the brake fluid was also changed, as Chetan had given them that instruction previously.
My wallet was lighter by Rs 31,310 (no complaints).
Very happy that the Timing Belt kit was imported!
Costs:
Rs 10,882 + Rs 1,711 (timing belt kit + labour)
Rs 3245 for 10500 km service
Rs 4608 for 4.8 L of Castrol Edge engine oil
Rs 1473 + Rs 584 (rear brake pads + labour)
Rs 2900 for 2 wiper blades
I decided against the 7th year add-on warranty as the car has been reliable till date and there was indication of any upcoming issues with the car.
I left with a wave and a smile.
I also got a feeling that VW has made it service costs more reasonable? I saw a write up to that effect in this month's Autocar issue as well.
Time to head back to BLR and the immediate realization on starting Jetta was how smooth she felt, what a delight ! The braking was excellent as well.
The VW Jetta is a truly impressive automobile that has held up this well at 1,04,000 + km on the odo.
There was less than a quarter tank of diesel in the tank, and I found to my surprise during topping up the tank, that was some air block inside.
We had to be careful while filling and eventually I stopped filling fuel at the 40L mark.
The drive back was excellent, though the BLR - MYSORE road has heavy traffic, Jetta was in her element on the long winding sections in the late afternoon.
At a lunch stop on the way home.
What a tasty dish ! low, sporty and sexy
I think the drive back home was about 180 km km and I took the NICE road to Electronic City to get home.
Extremely happy and delighted at Jetta's performance after the service.
10/10 for this service to the team at KPR VW Mysore.
The United Colours of Volkswagen
Interesting to note the Timing Belt kit had an expiry date
To my untrained eye, the original timing belt seems to have held up very well over 1,04,00 km
A close up of the other parts in the timing belt kit.
Brake Pad Box
Images of the rear brake pads that lasted just over 1,04,00 km.
