[ventoman]

Congratulations Poloman on completing 6 months of ownership.
Your thread and Chethan's thread on Polos have not only helped prospective Polo owners, but also Vento owners like me.

PS: I also owe you one for giving me ideas to choose my TBhp Handle!

[sadnabrina]

Hi poloman,
Congratulations on completion of 6 months of ownership. You will surely enjoy many years of trouble free ride on your Polo.

I have too faced issues with the paint hardness. I also have 2 stone created spots on mine. Though very small but still visible if you look carefully.

Did you check with the VW guys about the paint hardness? I tried with the dealer but they couldn't help. Yet to check with the workshop guys. IMHO a layer of hard clearcoat might solve the issue.
Till date I have covered 6400 KMs in the last 3 and 1/2 months averaging around 11 kmpl on my Flash Red 1.6.

Originally Posted by poloman

My Polo has completed 6 months of ownership. The odo reads a healthy 7587Km with 75% highway and 25% city usage. My heart is filled with content and satisfaction looking back at the decision of going for Polo.Absolutely niggle free ownership so far. Not even a single visit to the dealer for problems in six months ! The car has been driven through some harsh terrains and still is holding on as it was on the first day.I am yet to hear even a single squeak or rattle.Lot has been said negatively on the forum about the German relaibility, A.S.S experiences etc. But so far so good for me.Also I don't worry too much about those things. I just love my Polo.Everything is secondary. So given a choice I will buy Polo again, this time in white .

I had given detailed reviews in earlier pages, so after six months.. a long term perspective.
The car looks fresh even after 6 months and you will never stop admiring her looks.
The understated elegance will win over lots of hearts.Extremely popular with ladies.
1yr/15K service is a delight. A relief from frequent visits and waste of time at dealerships.
VW logo so far associated in India for premium cars adds lot of snob value.This from my experience.
The car is meant for highways. Extremely good highway manners.Absolute pleasure to drive for long distances.
I have driven it non stop 5 hours in a single stretch with out break. The feel of comfort
and safety you experience inside is commendable.
Extremely good mileage. I got up to 22kmpl with sedate highway driving.
The paint shine is excellent. But some concern on the hardness. It is getting chipped often by stones.
Being one of the early buyers of Polo I am heartened to see the sheer numbers of Polos on road after 6 months. In my native place of Thrissur, Polo sightings easily out number even i20s. this even with out a dealership there.

[poloman]

Thanks ventoman, sadna. Polo and Vento are now having a cult following in TBHP.
Yes, the paint hardness is of concern to me. The chips (4-5mm dia) are problematic specially in red color since the underlying primer in white is getting highlighted. The show room guys are insisting on repainting the entire panel which I flatly refused.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Glad to hear of your happiness, poloman.

I might have dreamt this up, but I seem to remember hearing that paint on new cars doesn't get fully hard for about six months?

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by poloman

Thanks ventoman, sadna. Polo and Vento are now having a cult following in TBHP.
Yes, the paint hardness is of concern to me. The chips (4-5mm dia) are problematic specially in red color since the underlying primer in white is getting highlighted. The show room guys are insisting on repainting the entire panel which I flatly refused.

Were they charging money for that or was it to be considered under warranty?

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Glad to hear of your happiness, poloman.

I might have dreamt this up, but I seem to remember hearing that paint on new cars doesn't get fully hard for about six months?

Six months is too long a time! Isn't the top coat (clear coat) supposed to protect the base paint from such issues?


Today I have sent an email to VW highlighting my concern about the paint chipping issue. Will update the forum once (if at all) I get a response from them.

[Abhi_Automobile]

Off topic!!

@Chetan

There are places which will charge 100 bucks. There is one on Bannerghatta road also. Total money I spend per month for car-wash is 500 bucks. And I get it done 4 times in a month!

Can you share this details? If this is the case, do you not get your car cleaned (cloth cleaning)? If I get my car washed 4 times a month, will it suffice?

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by poloman

Thanks ventoman, sadna. Polo and Vento are now having a cult following in TBHP.
Yes, the paint hardness is of concern to me. The chips (4-5mm dia) are problematic specially in red color since the underlying primer in white is getting highlighted. The show room guys are insisting on repainting the entire panel which I flatly refused.

Hi Poloman - Nice to know your experience. Knowing the way you care for your car, I am sure that you will have many many more years of trouble free ownership of polo!

My experience until now, has been great. Comparing to the amount of joy / fun I am having with my polo, the commercial side of the problem that I have had, is negligible. I am only trying to put across my experience on the forum, does not matter if it is good or bad. I will definitely not allow these small things to effect my pleasure. I am enjoying my car & please have no doubts about it!

I had similar experience on paint with my Spark. Paint on the edges will be brittle and tend to chip off. Specially the door edges which comes in contact with the wall in the garage, when parked. I do not think that this is a cause of concern.

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

Off topic!!

@Chetan Can you share this details? If this is the case, do you not get your car cleaned (cloth cleaning)? If I get my car washed 4 times a month, will it suffice?

Abhi, I have seen one near Gottigeri on Bannerghatta road. Maintenance depends on individual requirement. Best is to clean our car every day, like we take bath!!

[poloman]

Chethan, these things are not at all taking away my pleasure or enjoyment of the car. May be I am paying a little more attention to details than required.
Since your car also has completed 6 months, what is your take on the single most impressive aspect of the car? My answer will be the butter smooth gearing. I doubt it can get any better..!

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by poloman

Since your car also has completed 6 months, what is your take on the single most impressive aspect of the car? My answer will be the butter smooth gearing. I doubt it can get any better..!

This car has given me immense satisfaction as a whole. Personally for me, Polo has been an upgrade in terms of ride, handling, power, steardiness... etc - you can name it. This is probably the reason for my complete satisfaction.

"World car of the year 2010" does make a difference! Some features could have been removed from the version that won the award. But the base still remains the same.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I'm very disenchanted by what I read here about actually doing business with VW, and circumstances (aka 'wife' ) don't permit buying now anyway, but I'm reading poloman's and chetan's posts and sighing for that Polo or Vento!

If anything can sell a car, it is simple, honest sentiments like you two just expressed.

[AnkitPrashar]

Mine has completed 3 months and no problems to report whatsoever (keeping my fingers crossed!). But the best part is the immense joy and pleasure i get revving away the 1.6 on empty roads. The early morning drive to the office is especially satisfying as i leave quite early and have empty roads to push my car, not to mention the snob value i get while parking the car!

Also now when i sit in my corolla or my dads civic(by the way those two cars are taken very good care), suddenly those cars feel too rough and old, the gear shift is hard, the power steering feels heavy and even things like pulling the handbrake or shutting the door just reminds me about the high quality of the Polo.

I am very much satisfied by the car and just love driving it!

[poloman]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

"World car of the year 2010" does make a difference! Some features could have been removed from the version that won the award. But the base still remains the same.

That is one reason why everyone should be appreciative of VW. They realized the real potential of Indian market and launched a world car ahead of many other established markets. On the contrary I am very much disappointed by the efforts of companies like Toyota who are still playing "India specific built to price" games with the latest Etios.

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by sadnabrina

Today I have sent an email to VW highlighting my concern about the paint chipping issue. Will update the forum once (if at all) I get a response from them.

Got a call from the local Dealer. The same lady who talked to me earlier when I had complained of incompleteness (with recpect to the 1.6 data) of the owner's manual. The rep was appologetic and sounded like "Why did you complaint directly to VW? We could have fixed it". I told her that I want a response from VW not the dealer. She insisted to take a look at the car and setup an appointment on Monday the 13th.

Will keep you posted on the happenings.

[poloman]

But what is the dealer going to do? Repainting the chipped panels (even if it is free) is not an option since the paint matching at the dealer cannot be 100% satisfactory. I would do this only under extensive damage.

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by poloman

But what is the dealer going to do? Repainting the chipped panels (even if it is free) is not an option since the paint matching at the dealer cannot be 100% satisfactory. I would do this only under extensive damage.

Agree.
Isn't the paint supposed to be under warranty for 3 years? In that case any repainting by dealer should also come under warranty. But still the quality concern remains.
I think another layer of clear coat on top of the existing paint would possibly provide better protection for future. But in that case the damaged areas will remain unchanged.
What do you suggest?