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My VW Polo buying experience: I got lucky to get the Legend Edition

6th June 2022, 11:34 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

The dealers couldn't give clear answers about the car, hence, I got desperate & started looking at other options including the Nissan Magnite.

BHPian vivek.ks recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My Polo buying journey

This post is regarding me buying VW Polo in 2022, post the news that Polo was being discontinued.

I did not fall in love with Polo until recently. Earlier I was looking at Polo as the only car in the garage where it was to be used by the entire family. Because the car was supposed to be used by the whole family, I was most concerned about the lack of rear space. I bought a Hyundai i10 in 2010 with the limited budget I had.

Fast forward to the year 2022. By now, i10 had raked up 45k on the odometer and was used as a second car in the garage. I purchased a Corolla Altis AT in 2018 to be used as a car for daily office and out-of-station drives. By now, i10 had started showing its age - some electrical failures, lack of comfort, and it was a manual in Bangalore, which meant we were looking to buy an automatic car.

Jan 2022

The idea was pitched by my wife and gladly accepted by me and hence started the journey. I started filtering cars with only 2 criteria in mind - adequate power for city / outstation trips and fun to drive feel. Having driven i10 in the city and outside, I was really looking for a better, powerful hatch that was fun to drive with a good steering feel. This has narrowed down my considerations to only 2 cars: Polo and i20. The i20 was immediately out of the list since I had a Hyundai before. Polo it is.

Feb 2022

Called up all showrooms in Bangalore to book a Polo Highline Plus AT, the one with rear AC vents. This model sit’s just below GT TSI but saves around 75k in taxes. This one even gets 2 remote keys.

VW JP Nagar - Yes to booking, no commitment for delivery
VW Palace Cross - No to booking
VW Hosur Road - Yes to booking, 3 months for delivery
VW Whitefield - Yes to booking, no commitment for delivery

Naturally, I went ahead and booked Polo Highline Plus AT in Flash Red via VW Hosur Road.

Mid-Feb 2022

I requested the sales advisor to include a Carbon Steel Gray color option as well since I wanted to get the car in any possible color except Silver.

From then on till early April there was complete silence from my sales advisor.

Early April

The Legend Edition and news of discontinuation came together. Spoke to all the dealerships again and did not get a clear answer on how to get the Legend Edition.

Due to this, I got a little desperate, since we were planning to shift my current hatchback, i10, within the family and there were queries on when the transition could be done. One Saturday, I became very desperate, so I took my son and went to the Nissan showroom to test drive Magnite. The car felt good to drive in the city but I was basically turned off by the condition of the car's plastics.

Dropped the plan and moved to Honda Showroom on Hosur Road, I was waiting there for a TD of Jazz Auto when my phone rang and it was my SA on the other side. He requested me to come to the showroom to talk about the Legend Edition. Since I was in the vicinity, I moved from one Elite property to another quickly, both Honda and VW showrooms on Hosur road are owned by the same person.

My SA mentioned that if I commit now and start the proceeding he will get the car delivered by April End. I jumped with joy and went ahead with the Carbon Steel color as it was the only one available now. Started quickly with loan proceedings and shared all the documents. I chose to go for a loan as I like to invest money in equity markets.

One day wife checked on the car color and when I mentioned Carbon Steel “Grey”, she remarked that our current i10 is also “Grey” so we should go for another color. Immediately spoke to my SA who requested a day to check on this. The next day, he called and mention that choices are not available and I have to proceed with Carbon Steel only. Spoke to my wife and she knew how much I wanted the car, so she let it slide. Full points to her.

On 18 Apr

I went for PDI as the cars had arrived in the stockyard. This is where the next surprise came. My SA had blocked a Flash Red Polo while the Carbon Steel had been allocated to someone else. The sales staff was panicking thinking they committed the same car to two customers and were expecting some noise or cancellation from my end. I meanwhile was super happy that I got the signature Flash Red color and immediately went for a PDI.

On 23 Apr

Finally, the car got delivered in a gala ceremony hosted by VW. I captured the delivery experience earlier in this post.

Since buying, the car has received:

Ceramic treatment from CarLux
Waterless wash 3 days a week - Carselona
Soft rubber mats for Door Pockets and Cup holders
Soft rubber cover for Key

I am delighted to say that the car is a joy to drive and I am very happy that I went for Polo instead of any other car. I finally see the benefits of having a powerful automatic hatch for the Bangalore city traffic.

Here is my car resting in a small village near Bangalore. Looking forward to long journeys with this car.