[KungFuPanda]

Re posting as a fresh post, in a more relevant forum:

Need help with a predicament that I am facing. Currently own a 2018 Skoda Octavia VRS - driven about 25K Kms. Bought the car in Gurgaon in 2018, and thoroughly enjoyed driving around on the excellent roads there for about a year.

Mid 2019, work brought me to Mumbai. Got a company car (Innova) as a perk (thank god for small mercies), and the VRS became a weekend / outstation car which was fantastic. Had some brilliant drives to Pune, Mahabaleshwar, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhopal. The car served our family well, superb power on tap, hassle free ownership.

Now in 2021, with COVID impacting my industry, company gave us an option to let go of the company car and get some cash in hand, which i jumped at (maybe not my brightest moment :P). The VRS has been my daily drive for the past 2 months to work. 10 - 12 Kms one way, takes me anywhere from 30 mins to 45 mins each way every day. On the famed roads of Mumbai. On the stiff VRS suspension and the 17inch low profile rims. OUCH. And therefore here I am.

My current situation:
Car will be primarily used as a daily drive in Mumbai. And some outstation trips. Will be driven 90% by me. 10% by wifey. No driver - don't intent to keep one. We are a family of 4, 2 very young kids (3 yrs and 2 yrs).

My preferences:
Prefer Sedans. Always have, always will. That said, the sedan should make sense for my needs. When we bought the VRS, it very much did. Now life has changed, we have Kids to think about, and the VRS has moved from being a weekend affair to a daily love hate relationship. I love the DSG (i know I am a masochist), but I hate the ride. My butt is complaining so my head has woken up. My heart says I am nuts.
I also like keeping cars for 8 - 10 yrs. All our family cars have been with us for at least that long.
And, to top it all, the cash registers are not really ringing. Don't want to exceed my current EMIs of about 40K a month. Any option within that I am willing to consider.

Don't have a preference for Diesel or Petrol. I currently use Shell V Power at INR 120/Ltr, and get 8KMPL.

So the million dollar question is:
Given my current situation, is it worth it to consider selling the VRS and getting the C5? Any other alternatives? Don't want the change to feel like a downgrade. Can't afford an upgrade (not keen on used cars at this point). Like a typical TeamBHPian, I want the solution to all my problems without making too many compromises. Folks, please help!

I am not keen on either the A4, or Superb since I feel they will be very similar to the VRS. Camry is an option - will test drive it for sure. Not super exited about the front facia, but definitely worth a test drive I guess.

Wanted to spend some more time with the C5 Aircross to understand it better (my original test-drive was just a day). Called for the car for a couple of days in Bombay. Loved everything about it, except for the pricetag & rear legroom.

The ride quality is simply phenomenal. I was giggling with joy as I drove over bad roads . This is the perfect suspension tune Indian roads:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5143284 (Citroen C5 Aircross Review)

@GTO - your opinion will make a huge impact, would you care to take a crack at my predicament?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by KungFuPanda

Mid 2019, work brought me to Mumbai. Got a company car (Innova) as a perk (thank god for small mercies), and the VRS became a weekend / outstation car which was fantastic. Had some brilliant drives to Pune, Mahabaleshwar, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhopal. The car served our family well, superb power on tap, hassle free ownership.

Selling a 3-year old car is a big no-no in my books. You lose way too much money! You broadly have 3 options:

- Use the cash you got from the company car to buy a nice AT for your daily commuting. There are good ATs now at every price point, even under 10-12 lakhs, which will fulfill the daily beater role well. Keep the vRS for your weekend drives, social outings and whenever you're going on good roads.

- Better option than selling the vRS would be to improve its ride quality. See if a swap to comfort-oriented tyres helps. What is your stock PSI rating? Try dropping it by 2 PSI just in the city (or to 30 PSI, whichever is lower). You could also consider a move to 16" rims + taller tyre sidewalls which will significantly improve your comfort levels (just ensure there is enough clearance for the brakes).

- If you have to absolutely sell the car, no point taking a double depreciation blow on your vRS and a brand-new overpriced Citroen C5. In that case, do a lateral upgrade = sell used, buy used. Something like a pre-owned Camry, 5-Series, Superb etc. might keep you happy. Just be sure to choose something with a soft suspension.

Your post is one of the reasons I don't like overtly firm suspensions anymore and am glad most manufacturers are focusing on more comfortable suspension tunes.

[androdev]

Depends a lot on your financial flexibility and parking situation but if I were you I would keep the vRS and buy a new or used Camry Hybrid for usage within city. You will really enjoy driving the Camry hybrid within congested urban traffic - the feeling of admiring how hybrid tech works in stop-and-go traffic is very similar to how one is mesmerised by DSG on open roads :-) Both are like magic. Camry covers the comfort and space aspects really well but the main draw for me is the hybrid tech. As a driver, I really like to appreciate good stuff in my car and Hybrid tech is up there with the very best. It is just so-so on highways depending on what else you are used to driving (that's why keep the vRS) but it is an outstanding car for urban traffic.

PS: This is probably my first post giving praise to Toyota since I joined team-bhp in 2007 :-)

[Shreyans_Jain]

Don’t sell the car, man. The best course of action here will be to get a set of 16 inch rims and higher profile tires. That, coupled with lower pressures will go a long way in fixing the low speed ride. Your total expense will remain in 5 figures.

Alternatively, you can get a smaller beater car for your day to day urban use, something cheap to run and with good low speed ride quality. Depending on how much you want to spend, options can be anything from Tiago to Baleno to Nexon.

[corvus corax]

Have you thought about retrofitting DCC?

It will be cheaper than buying a new car.

Also, see if your car still has the suspension blocks installed. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...nsporting.html (Skoda forgot to advise dealers to remove vRS suspension blocks (used for transporting))

[Raghu M]

But isn't the C5 a crossover? I thought you only preferred a sedan. I think selling the VRS now would drain a lot on depreciation. I can't comment on the Europeans as I have never driven them. I think stiff suspension does create a kind of discomfort that keeps nagging you while driving. I have experienced it. You can neither get rid of such things nor embrace them. Indeed a fix.

[sunikkat]

It doesn’t make sense to sell VRS, any buy any car in that budget - will not feel like a justice to VRS. Also you will lose on depreciation, though VRS has more demand in the used market.

As suggested by GTO and others, is it not good to buy a comfortable / spacious hatch for your daily drives and keep VRS? I am sure you will need to spend same money if you sell VRS and pick a Superb, A4, C5 etc. It’s always good to have a beater car for city usage - for any car in that segment it’s not good to drive in that daily city traffic.

Slightly off topic, for my Octavia diesel I upgraded my wheels to 17 inches with 225/45 tyres and Bilstein B6 suspension and keep a 32 PSI when 1 or 2 people and 34 PSI when 4 people. Absolutely love the increased stability and handling (stock was good too) and did not have much of complaints on ride quality. Mind you, I am talking about Bangalore city roads where BBMP (ever since Covid) have taken a mission to match city roads to Moon or Mars craters ��

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by KungFuPanda

Currently own a 2018 Skoda Octavia VRS - driven about 25K Kms.

Originally Posted by GTO

Selling a 3-year old car is a big no-no in my books. You lose way too much money!

Normally, I'd agree but it is a sellers' market now with turbo-petrols (and that too an Octavia vRS!) in especially high demand in NCR. I'd say there is no harm in putting it on the market to check responses from enthusiast buyers.

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Don’t sell the car, man. The best course of action here will be to get a set of 16 inch rims and higher profile tires. That, coupled with lower pressures will go a long way in fixing the low speed ride. Your total expense will remain in 5 figures.

I like this idea though it's an expensive gamble if it fails. Again, 25K km is also near about a 17" tyre's high quality ride life. As GTO says, see if you can get softer tyres when you change them.

[KungFuPanda]

Originally Posted by GTO

Selling a 3-year old car is a big no-no in my books. You lose way too much money! You broadly have 3 options:

- Use the cash you got from the company car to buy a nice AT for your daily commuting. There are good ATs now at every price point, even under 10-12 lakhs, which will fulfill the daily beater role well. Keep the vRS for your weekend drives, social outings and whenever you're going on good roads.

Will explore this. A beater car does help, will help me save miles on the VRS as well. I really don't want to sell the car. And for a beater, will now explore used as well - don't mind it. Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. Time to pour over the What car forum for a classy used beater with AT within 10 - 12L

Originally Posted by GTO

- Better option than selling the vRS would be to improve its ride quality. See if a swap to comfort-oriented tyres helps. What is your stock PSI rating? Try dropping it by 2 PSI just in the city (or to 30 PSI, whichever is lower). You could also consider a move to 16" rims + taller tyre sidewalls which will significantly improve your comfort levels (just ensure there is enough clearance for the brakes).

I was under the impression that my warranty (extended till 6 yrs) will get void if I do that. Am I wrong?

Originally Posted by GTO

- If you have to absolutely sell the car, no point taking a double depreciation blow on your vRS and a brand-new overpriced Citroen C5. In that case, do a lateral upgrade = sell used, buy used. Something like a pre-owned Camry, 5-Series, Superb etc. might keep you happy. Just be sure to choose something with a soft suspension.

Have made up my mind not to sell the car. Drove to work for an early meeting at 7:30 this morning, and fell in love with the car all over again, pot holes and all. I think the traffic along with the potholes were getting to me.

Originally Posted by androdev

Depends a lot on your financial flexibility and parking situation but if I were you I would keep the vRS and buy a new or used Camry Hybrid for usage within city. You will really enjoy driving the Camry hybrid within congested urban traffic - the feeling of admiring how hybrid tech works in stop-and-go traffic is very similar to how one is mesmerised by DSG on open roads :-) Both are like magic. Camry covers the comfort and space aspects really well but the main draw for me is the hybrid tech. As a driver, I really like to appreciate good stuff in my car and Hybrid tech is up there with the very best. It is just so-so on highways depending on what else you are used to driving (that's why keep the vRS) but it is an outstanding car for urban traffic.

PS: This is probably my first post giving praise to Toyota since I joined team-bhp in 2007 :-)

Ha ha. Am gald that I was able to provide the opportunity

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Don’t sell the car, man. The best course of action here will be to get a set of 16 inch rims and higher profile tires. That, coupled with lower pressures will go a long way in fixing the low speed ride. Your total expense will remain in 5 figures.

Alternatively, you can get a smaller beater car for your day to day urban use, something cheap to run and with good low speed ride quality. Depending on how much you want to spend, options can be anything from Tiago to Baleno to Nexon.

Thanks. My heart agrees. Researching used beater cars now.

Originally Posted by corvus corax

Also, see if your car still has the suspension blocks installed. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...nsporting.html (Skoda forgot to advise dealers to remove vRS suspension blocks (used for transporting))

Ha ha. Totally, yes. First thing I did was check this when I took delivery of the car.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

I like this idea though it's an expensive gamble if it fails. Again, 25K km is also near about a 17" tyre's high quality ride life. As GTO says, see if you can get softer tyres when you change them.

16 inchers, man! Plenty of good options to choose from for significantly less than 17”. You can expect a realistic tire life of 40-50k km too. Of course, high speed handling will not be as tight. But hey, OP’s a family man now!

[Laidbackakki]

Hi, I would like to offer my 2 cents on this.

1. Selling you car right now, will make depreciation hit you hard. Also as mentioned by a bhpian above you can list your car on the market as the performance part of you vRS might get a great deal. No harm in looking how much your car will fetch you.

2. If you are not getting a good deal on your vRS, just get a good beater car from the used market. Will solve most of your problems.

3. If you do take the decision of knocking off your car, then you can go to some of the big used car players in Mumbai or anywhere else you like (I
am sure this forum will give you a good idea about the good and trusted dealers) and why not check out a good exchange offer? So you can select a like for like car or get a good upgrade. You will be surprised by the how much of good deal you get on the used market and also find an exquisitely maintained car( refer forum posts on buying used cars).

Hope this helps and if it doesn't well I gotcha with a tried and tested hippie advise- "Just go with your gut"

[akash_v12]

I'll put it very clearly. Don't sell it whatsoever! Instead, if you're okay with it get a cheaper hatch/compact sedan to do the daily driving. Even something like the Tata Punch should be fine.

Reasons I recommend not selling the VRS:

- It's a special car. You'll probably not get the same thrill of driving from any other car this side of ₹50L. Its (supposed) rarity also means that there is a good chance it'll appreciate in value.

- A smaller used/new car will be much happier taking up the bumps in Mumbai (which I have generously experienced in all seasons). It might not be the most comfortable, but it'll definitely be better than the VRS. If it's not possible, switch to 16-inchers with a taller sidewall (plenty of options available nowadays).

- You lose too much money on the car. Considering it's just 3 years old, you're losing a good chunk of value (possibly close to 30%).

With ₹7-8L, you'll be able to easily get something really comfortable from the used market (City/Ciaz) or decently comfortable from the new market (Kiger et.al).

[sajid33]

Pleaas dont sell the vRS, its a special car! I too own one and love it very much. I would suggest you to keep the vRS with you and go for an automatic hatchback for Mumbai's traffic. As you shared both prtrol and diesel cars are fine, i would suggest you to go for an automatic petrol.

I'm sorry to say this, but i used to hate Maruti Ignis and used to wonder why the hell people were buying it in the first place, but then, one day a friend of mine came to pick me up in a silver automatic Ignis, i had to join him in that car as i was out of options, but as i sat in, i was surprised to feel that the car felt so refined and silent. being automatic, it'll make your life easy in traffic as well.

would be easy for your wife too

[shancz]

My first thought when I read the first post was what is this guy doing ? Can't he just get a beater car, new or used, from the cash in hand from the company car trade in.
But thankfully BHPians sounded the same and I heaved a sigh of relief by the time I read the response.
Fun part is I neither own the vRS or the concern but I guess its the vRS that owns us all

Some suggestions for a good AT, new/used is your call :
- Polo
- Jazz
- i20

I have intentionally skipped the AMTs, if you are interested then a multitude of options open up.

[landcruiser123]

You love the vRS too much. If you get parking space, buy a simple AT for city commute.

You get anything from a Brio to a Ciaz to a used Corolla. A used Corolla for 3-4 lakhs might be the best option if you need a ride which is not mass-market.

Originally Posted by KungFuPanda

Will explore this. A beater car does help, will help me save miles on the VRS as well. I really don't want to sell the car. And for a beater, will now explore used as well - don't mind it. Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. Time to pour over the What car forum for a classy used beater with AT within 10 - 12L