My 2014 Skoda Rapid with 2.6 lakh km on odo: Revive or sell

The service advisor suggested getting a used engine from Delhi and fitting it in my car. This would cost about Rs 1 lakh.

BHPian k491 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello. This is the tale of a 2014 Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDI Elegance.

It was 2014, my dad owned a 2009 Wagon R at that time and it was due for an upgrade after putting in a decent mileage of 2.1 lakh kms on the odo. Dad liked the Hyundai Verna, mom liked Honda City. I was leaning towards Honda City as well.

It was 2014 Akshaya Tritiya and we decided to book the car on that day. We were heading to the Honda showroom after taking the test drive of the Verna. On the way, dad stopped at the Skoda showroom just to see if we would like the car. At first, I said let's not waste time and go book the Honda City, but my dad insisted on checking out. At that time I was still a bike guy so I never bothered about learning about all the cars in the market. I didn't even know anything about the Skoda cars.

We went inside and let's say it was the best salesman I've ever seen. He explained all the features and I didn't even listen. He took us for the test drive, I was the first one to drive, the executive made me wait till the road ahead cleared and then asked me to step on it and I did. It was mind-blowing! The acceleration, sprint to very high speeds, overtaking a car at that speed, the awesome feedback from the steering wheel (compared to the dead feeling of the Verna). Now I was the one insisting to buy the car. My dad didn't take the test drive, he just sat there for almost an hour thinking about it and he wrote the cheque for the booking amount.

We got the car about 45 days later. It was supposed to be dad's daily driving car.

He wasn't impressed with a few things, the heavy clutch, engine noise etc. He always complained about the car and still does to this day. The only thing he never complained about was the performance, he went from a sedate driver to a maniac.

It was time for the first service and it was immediately apparent that the maintenance cost would be through the roof. My dad is a civil engineer and he drives almost 150 to 200 kms every day from one project site to the other.

Fast forward a few months, an Innova driver T-bones our car. It just damages the right rear door, and it took the service center 15 days to replace it. Back then some of the spares weren't readily available and it took 2 to 3 days for a regular service.

Recommended service interval is 1 year or 10,000 kms, but my dad drives that much in 4 to 5 months. It was at least 3 services a year, 30 to 40k Rs per service easily.

Another major incident and my family is very thankful for the build quality of Skoda. My dad and others were sitting inside the car discussing something. The JCB driver was taking a U-turn, don't know what he did but he dropped the bucket on the roof of the car. The car withstood the impact, not a single scratch on any of the 4 occupants. I can't even imagine what would have happened if it was any other brand's car. It took another 30 days for the service center to fix the car.

At this point, there were minor issues popping up here and there. The major one came in 2019, I don't know what exactly happened but the cylinder head assembly was burnt and it had to be replaced. This is where the problems started. I believe the engine reassembly wasn't done properly. They didn't even fit one of the bolts that hold the engine. There was some noise in the engine bay, the mechanics were astonished that nothing happened the way engine was held together. My dad is a soft-spoken guy and didn't even give them a warning for the negligence of the service center.

It was around October 2020, this time it was my fault. I took the car to visit relatives and it was an empty road (it truly was), I drove the car at very high speeds for almost 60 kms. As soon as I reached the destination and slowed down there was a whistling noise. Immediately I knew I messed up big time. I am not familiar with diesel engines to immediately find out what was wrong, but I narrowed it down to either a leakage in the exhaust pipe or turbo leakage. There were just local garages and my uncle suggested against getting it checked over there. On the way back a warning signal popped up, there was no power above 60 kph, I called the service advisor and also my friend. I was asked to either slowly drive back the car or get it towed. I drove all the way back home at 60 kph.

The service center guys fixed it, at least that's what they told my dad. But the whistling noise persisted, the power issues popped up now and then. They even kept the car for a week to find out the issue but they said they couldn't find any problem or replicate the issue. This time I took the car to the service center for the first time and it was apparent to them that I wasn't nice like my dad. My friend put me in touch with another service advisor, he listened to the issue, inspected the car and said there was play in the turbofan and it had to be replaced. We replaced it, the power issues seem to be fixed but the whistling noise still exists.

A month later I notice there was oil spillage where the car was parked. I check the oil levels and it was almost empty. I get it towed and the service advisor said there was an issue with the EGR which needs to be replaced and it would cost up to 1 lakh Rs. My dad said no and got a temporary fix from a local garage.

I occasionally drive the car, it feels like the power is gone down by 30 to 40%. We never drive it about 100 kph at any cost and my dad has clocked 2.66 lakh kms on the odo. I have contributed about 10k kms in that.

It was time for an upgrade and I too have to buy a new car. I am a big fan of the Skoda Octavia but I can't afford it yet. I also love the Polo but the bookings for Polo have been paused.

The used car market for Diesel Polo and Octavia is inflated. Recently found a 40,000 kms driven polo GT diesel (2019), asking price was 9.75 lakhs.

I asked my dad to book any car of his choice and I would keep the Rapid for a few months while searching for a good deal on Octavia or Polo GT. It just flashed that I could get the Rapid's engine overhauled or replaced and enjoy it for another few years while I save up for the Octavia.

Thanks for having the patience to read the long story and here are my actual questions.

The service advisor said it would cost up to 3 lakh rupees to replace the engine. He also suggested getting a used engine from Delhi and getting it replaced which would cost about 1 lakh.

• Should I go for the engine overhaul or get the used engine or replace the engine in the service center itself by paying the full amount? I want to know if anyone here has done that.
• Is it possible to retrofit the new Skoda infotainment system onto our car? if not, any recommendations for a good third party infotainment system, please?
• How will the ABS and brakes behave if I opt for 16-inch wheels (most likely that from Polo GT)?

We thought of selling the car, it would fetch hardly 1 lakh rupees, but we don't get the diesel engines anymore so I would like to revive this old and abused beauty and enjoy it for at least 5 more years.

Here's what BHPian androdev had to say about the matter:

Don't opt for any major rebuild work on a car that has a very low residual value. Very rarely rebuild projects have a time-bound, with-in-budget happy ending.

Sell it and buy the same model used car with lower mileage if you like the model a lot.

Here's what BHPian scorpian had to say about the matter:

If you are very keen on keeping the car for a couple of years, I would suggest getting an engine from a reliable source and using the car.
Recently a friend of mine did the same for his Fiesta, sourced a used engine from a reputable used parts dealer and installed it in his car. His Fiesta diesel had also done close to 2.5 lakh kilometres and Ford had quoted a very high amount for an engine overhaul.

The other option is to sell. Of course, you will fetch very little money for this car and buy a used car as a replacement.

Here's what BHPian Turbohead had to say about the matter:

Please buy a new / good second-hand example.

Your car has gone through a lot - roof rebuild, lots of engine work, etc. along with poor after-sales support.

Totally not worth spending on the Rapid anymore - you guys have used it well and it's time to let go.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.