The Red Laura!

anandbhat · 1st September 2008, 19:07

Hi,
Thought sharing my experience on buying Skoda Lauara so far.
Called for a test drive in May,08. The sales rep happily came to my house. Checked that I can part this car in my parking. Went for a short drive.
TD was impressive.
- Smooth ride
- Compared to petrol car, cabin noise was there, but was quite OK (need to still see high speed noise, etc.)
- Liked the car to some extent, but not the price though!!
- Checked couple of other cars (Octy L&K, Jetta, Civic, Corrola, Scorpio, Verna, Optra)
- Finally concluded Laura is the choice.

Then comes the discussion with Sales rep (I chose Vinayaka Cars, after getting insightful stories about TAFE).

Finally my negotiation works to get following accessaries:
- Sun film
- Stanley Clasic leather upholstery
- Matting
- Mud flaps
Thought it to be good bargain and decided to stick to Vinayaka Cars.

In the mean time, had a TD with TAFE, this guy quotes me same as above except for leather upholstery!
And for Stanley upholstery (silverline leather it seems) he tells me costs Rs 60k and he can negotiate it to 30K (no corporate discount at all! --> which in turn he gives 30k discount on upholstery, ridiculous, because when I checked with Stanley, they don't have any thing called silver line leather!
And Nappa leather would cost ~50K. So in affect TAFE guy was trying to rip me off with additional profit!

When I tell him about this next day, he gets offensive, that was good enough a reason to walk away from TAFE for me!

Booked the RED Lauara on 21st Aug, 08, with Vinayaka Cars.
I was called on Saterday from this guy to tell me that my car has arrived and I can take delivery on 2nd Aug.
And today he came ot my office (on my request to show the RED Laura to me before he takes it to Stanley for upholstery)!
That was a good enough service so far!!

I get the VIN number (I have given check dated tomorrow, in case if I have to block the check for anyreason!!), go through the checklist that was found in this forum and finally happy now.

Waiting for taking the delivery tomorrow!!
See some pics I took today... Looks cool, see in attached pictures taken from my cell phone!

Then checked VIN decider to find out that this is a 2008 manufactured Octavia II (Lauara in India) and it said assembled in Aurangabad, manufactured in Czech.
Thats all for time being. Will update you folks with initial drive some time soon.

sajivr · 1st September 2008, 20:56

Nice choice.

how much did you pay OTR with stanley leather?
I assume its the Ambiente variant. Does it come with 15 inch alloys or 16 inch?

Please post some pics of interiors also.

undead · 1st September 2008, 21:06

Congrats anand . Nice color.

anandbhat · 1st September 2008, 22:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by sajivr

Nice choice.

how much did you pay OTR with stanley leather?
I assume its the Ambiente variant. Does it come with 15 inch alloys or 16 inch?

Please post some pics of interiors also.

Costed me ~16.5lac on road in bangalore, that included Stanely Satin leather as wellb, but had to leave out sun film at the cost of Satin V Classic leather.

Yes it is Ambiente, only this variant has red Laura.
It comes with 15" alloy and 206/65 R15 Dunlop tyres.

Will post the interiors and exterior picture tomorrow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by undead

Congrats anand . Nice color.

Thank you!

karanraheja · 1st September 2008, 22:33

Congrats Anand ! Awesome choice. Red looks awesome on this car. White is the other colour i adore on this car. How much did it cost you OTR?

d_himan · 1st September 2008, 22:48

heartiest congrats! some nice blacked out windows please!

abhinav.gupta88 · 2nd September 2008, 01:14

Nice Choice there.

And are the head-lights xenon?

zaks · 2nd September 2008, 08:50

great looking car, please post some good quality pics.

anandbhat · 2nd September 2008, 09:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by karanraheja

Congrats Anand ! Awesome choice. Red looks awesome on this car. White is the other colour i adore on this car. How much did it cost you OTR?

Thank you! See above post on OTR.

Quote:

Originally Posted by d_himan

heartiest congrats! some nice blacked out windows please!

Yes, that's the work for this weekend

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

Nice Choice there.

And are the head-lights xenon?

Thanks. Yes, Xenon HL

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaks

great looking car, please post some good quality pics.

you'll see tomorrow!

ajmat · 2nd September 2008, 10:13

The headlights are not Xenon, only the L&K have it. It would have headlight washers otherwise

neoonwheels · 2nd September 2008, 10:42

Looks super hot. Congrats

PhrozenFire · 2nd September 2008, 11:12

Great choice Anand!

Congratulations and have fun!

anandbhat · 2nd September 2008, 12:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat

The headlights are not Xenon, only the L&K have it. It would have headlight washers otherwise

I stand corrected. Laura Ambiente has projector hand lamps but not Xenon.

MalluDude · 2nd September 2008, 12:22

Great car, great color, great choice. Congratulations. How much would it cost to updgrade the wheels and tyres to the L&K ones? But on the other hand, the present ones will more comfy, I guess.

quicksilver · 2nd September 2008, 13:10

That's a lovely car pal. Great colour choice, should look good with a very light tint.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anandbhat

I stand corrected. Laura Ambiente has projector hand lamps but not Xenon.

The brighter side is that you don't have to spend a fortune on replacing these should a need ever arise. The old Octy headlights tend to fade over 3 or 4 years of regular usage. Is it something to do with the plastic?

1st September 2008, 19:07	#1
anandbhat BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 136 Thanked: 15 Times	The Red Laura! Hi, Thought sharing my experience on buying Skoda Lauara so far. Called for a test drive in May,08. The sales rep happily came to my house. Checked that I can part this car in my parking. Went for a short drive. TD was impressive. - Smooth ride - Compared to petrol car, cabin noise was there, but was quite OK (need to still see high speed noise, etc.) - Liked the car to some extent, but not the price though!! - Checked couple of other cars (Octy L&K, Jetta, Civic, Corrola, Scorpio, Verna, Optra) - Finally concluded Laura is the choice. Then comes the discussion with Sales rep (I chose Vinayaka Cars, after getting insightful stories about TAFE). Finally my negotiation works to get following accessaries: - Sun film - Stanley Clasic leather upholstery - Matting - Mud flaps Thought it to be good bargain and decided to stick to Vinayaka Cars. In the mean time, had a TD with TAFE, this guy quotes me same as above except for leather upholstery! And for Stanley upholstery (silverline leather it seems) he tells me costs Rs 60k and he can negotiate it to 30K (no corporate discount at all! --> which in turn he gives 30k discount on upholstery, ridiculous, because when I checked with Stanley, they don't have any thing called silver line leather! And Nappa leather would cost ~50K. So in affect TAFE guy was trying to rip me off with additional profit! When I tell him about this next day, he gets offensive, that was good enough a reason to walk away from TAFE for me! Booked the RED Lauara on 21st Aug, 08, with Vinayaka Cars. I was called on Saterday from this guy to tell me that my car has arrived and I can take delivery on 2nd Aug. And today he came ot my office (on my request to show the RED Laura to me before he takes it to Stanley for upholstery)! That was a good enough service so far!! I get the VIN number (I have given check dated tomorrow, in case if I have to block the check for anyreason!!), go through the checklist that was found in this forum and finally happy now. Waiting for taking the delivery tomorrow!! See some pics I took today... Looks cool, see in attached pictures taken from my cell phone! Then checked VIN decider to find out that this is a 2008 manufactured Octavia II (Lauara in India) and it said assembled in Aurangabad, manufactured in Czech. Thats all for time being. Will update you folks with initial drive some time soon. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

1st September 2008, 20:56	#2
sajivr BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: banglaore Posts: 36 Thanked: 0 Times	Nice choice. how much did you pay OTR with stanley leather? I assume its the Ambiente variant. Does it come with 15 inch alloys or 16 inch? Please post some pics of interiors also.
	() Thanks

1st September 2008, 21:06	#3
undead Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bhavani - Komarapalayam Posts: 1,193 Thanked: 179 Times	Congrats anand . Nice color.
	() Thanks

1st September 2008, 22:33	#5
karanraheja Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 1,961 Thanked: 436 Times	Congrats Anand ! Awesome choice. Red looks awesome on this car. White is the other colour i adore on this car. How much did it cost you OTR?
	() Thanks

1st September 2008, 22:48	#6
d_himan BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bombay Posts: 862 Thanked: 947 Times	heartiest congrats! some nice blacked out windows please!
	() Thanks

2nd September 2008, 01:14	#7
abhinav.gupta88 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Delhi , India Posts: 4,092 Thanked: 325 Times View My Garage	Nice Choice there. And are the head-lights xenon?
	() Thanks

2nd September 2008, 08:50	#8
zaks BANNED Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 952 Thanked: 181 Times View My Garage	great looking car, please post some good quality pics.
	() Thanks

2nd September 2008, 10:13	#10
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,866 Thanked: 27,981 Times View My Garage	The headlights are not Xenon, only the L&K have it. It would have headlight washers otherwise
	() Thanks

2nd September 2008, 10:42	#11
neoonwheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 2,065 Thanked: 1,877 Times View My Garage	Looks super hot. Congrats
	() Thanks

2nd September 2008, 11:12	#12
PhrozenFire BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 267 Thanked: 5 Times	Great choice Anand! Congratulations and have fun!
	() Thanks

2nd September 2008, 12:22	#14
MalluDude BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Kochi Posts: 397 Thanked: 56 Times View My Garage	Great car, great color, great choice. Congratulations. How much would it cost to updgrade the wheels and tyres to the L&K ones? But on the other hand, the present ones will more comfy, I guess.
	() Thanks