The drive to Penukonda Fort was nothing short of mesmerizing, with scenic hills unfurling before us in a breathtaking panorama.

BHPian SedanGuy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

In a world dominated by bustling cities and concrete jungles, there's an undeniable allure to escaping the urban chaos and venturing into the serene embrace of nature. And what better way to do so than embarking on a group drive with friends, traversing winding roads and discovering hidden gems along the way?

Recently, I had the opportunity to partake in such an adventure, as a convoy of 10 cars set out from Bangalore with Penukonda Fort as our ultimate destination. Our journey began in the early hours of the morning, everyone was excited as we gathered at Hebbal junction, ready to hit the road and leave the city behind. Despite the unpredictability of group drives, where attendance can sometimes be a hit or miss, we were fortunate to have a strong turnout this time around.

As the sun peeked over the horizon, we embarked on our expedition, the hum of engines and the promise of adventure fuelling our spirits. Our first pitstop was at Nandi Upachar near Nandi Hills, where we indulged in a hearty breakfast, fortifying ourselves for the miles ahead.

Originally, our plan was to head to Big Bay, but as fate would have it, we decided to take a detour and explore the lesser-known Penukonda Fort. Little did we know that this spontaneous decision would lead us to an unforgettable experience.

The drive to Penukonda Fort was nothing short of mesmerizing, with scenic hills unfurling before us in a breathtaking panorama. Despite the summer heat, the weather was surprisingly pleasant at the top, with a cool breeze accompanying us throughout our journey and making the drive all the more enjoyable.

Upon reaching Penukonda Fort, we found ourselves amidst ancient ruins, remnants of a bygone era steeped in history. While there may not have been much to see in terms of intact structures, the panoramic views it offered more than made up for it. After exploring the fort and soaking in its ambiance, we reluctantly bid adieu and began our homeward journey. But no road trip is complete without a gastronomic indulgence, and so we made one final stop at Big Bay for a leisurely lunch, relishing in the camaraderie of shared adventures.

In the end, it's not just about the destination, but the journey itself—the winding roads, the unexpected detours, and the bonds forged along the way. And in that regard, our group drive to Penukonda Fort was nothing short of extraordinary.

This drive was organised by an SROB (Skoda Rapid Owners Bangalore). SROB is more than just a group; it's a community of passionate Skoda Rapid owners in Bengaluru who share a common love for their vehicles. What sets SROB apart is our dedication to sharing knowledge, experiences, and insights about the Skoda Rapid. From discussing the latest mods and accessories to sharing tips on navigating the sometimes challenging Skoda authorized service centers (ASC), our group serves as a valuable resource for Bengaluru owners.

Thank you for reading and here are the pictures from the drive.

Super smooth tarmac of the newly constructed twisties at the penukonda fort.

Some photos of the drive up the hill

The next couple of pictures are on top of the hill. On top of the hill, there is a nice stretch of road which leads to nowhere and people use it for parking.

Some remnants of the fort and some temples atop. There is also some archaeological work happening to restore the ruins on top.

Panoramic view of the cars parked next to ruins. Picture taken atop a small peak that has another temple (the previous picture is where this picture was taken from).

The last picture we took before we lined up the cars to leave.

The snap I captured while we started the descent.

Some pictures while we reached the Bagepalli toll.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Some of the few cars that I have in mind are Hyundai Elantra, Verna, VW Vento, Skoda Rapid and Chevrolet Cruze.

BHPian aryannzx recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello, I am Aryann and I am currently completing my bachelor's degree in Automobile Engineering from Punjab and live in Mohali.

I am looking to buy and replace my current daily driver which is a 2010 Maruti Alto LX. I also own a 2021 Kia Sonet 1.0L Turbo Petrol but it is currently with my dad who lives in Jaipur.

Now I have my eyes on a few models and have a rather small budget but need your help in deciding on which to go for.

Just for your information, I am looking for a Diesel Sedan with a Manual transmission, I do not prefer Automatic and Petrol but it is not a deal breaker for me whereas the Sedan part is, I do not want a Hatchback or an SUV or a coupe or anything. I want a proper sedan with a good boot (preferably 400L+) and good leg space in the 2nd row.

Now with that out of the way I will share the few models I have in mind (these are not specific listings just model names).

Hyundai Elantra 2013-2015

This is my most preferred model out of all as I personally love the looks and it almost ticks all the boxes. Now I have a question for all you enthusiasts - Is the 1.6L Diesel variant of this car limited to 3000rpm? I have recently driven a 2013 Fluidic Verna which shares the same engine and it is limited to 3000rpm.

Volkswagen Vento & Skoda Rapid 2014-2019

No specific problem with these as both are pretty good models. Slightly smaller than Elantra though but covers up in performance. But they are expensive these days.

Hyundai Verna 2016-2019

Overall a very very good car and would've been top of my list if it wasn't costing upwards of 8 Lakh rupees in my area. Same question for it - is it limited to 3000rpm?

Chevrolet Cruze 2013-2016

Ahh the Diesel Rocket, My father used to adore this car back when Chevrolet was still here but as of now, these are harder to find and even though I do not have an issue with the whole service part of this car I doubt that good condition models would be available in my area for a price I can afford.

I am still doing my due diligence in this process but I have to replace my car in the coming month or 2 as my Alto is not holding up well and keeps needing repair work which I do not want to spend my money on as it is not fast or comfortable enough to me. My last request is that I want to know places where all of you (from Punjab and Haryana) buy pre-owned vehicles as I haven't had great success in finding used car websites or places other than the ones that are popular and overpriced.

Thank you for reading. Drive Safe.

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

Look for deals in Delhi. The vintage you're looking for is close enough to the death knell for Delhi cars.

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

Rightly put @mayankk.

One man’s tragedy is another man’s opportunity is perfectly summed up when it comes to Delhi’s deathbed for cars.

Plenty of Vernas and Rapids should be on sale of that spec. Elantra and Cruze will be hard to find, might need to look a bit harder, maybe some dealers might be able to source one.

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

If diesel is actually what you desire then why aren’t you considering a Laura/Jetta or an Octavia? The VW auto group didn’t go through diesel gate for nothing; their diesel mills are arguably the best (Hyundai’s are even more refined and impressive however 1.6 liter motor in the Elantra feels small). If you’re lucky you might even come across a 1.4 TSI Jetta or Octavia if you’re into considering a petrol.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The Mechatronics program offers a 3.5-year course that focuses on developing school leavers' talents to take up critical roles.

Skoda has showcased a unique 4-door convertible based on the Rapid, developed as part of the first-ever 'Student Car Project' in India. The Rapid convertible was created by students from the Group Academy's Dual Vocational Training in Mechatronics program. 

As part of their project, mechatronics students from the academy converted a standard hard-top sedan into a cabriolet. Students ensured to complete the project on time and with an immaculate finish. The Rapid convertible gets a retractable Skoda badge on the bonnet with LED lip lighting, an illuminated 'Skoda' inscription on the boot lid and other sporty bits. 

Inside, the car gets a touchscreen infotainment system, scarlet red leather seats and a sporty exhaust. The students also had to integrate the seatbelts into the front seat as the car doesn't have a B-pillar. 

Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Academy's Dual Vocational Training in Mechatronics program offers a 3.5-year course that focuses on developing school leavers' talents to take up critical roles.

The other authorised service centres are at least 3 hours away.

BHPian the.dogfather recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My friend owns a Skoda Rapid Diesel which he has been servicing at Malayalam Skoda in Trivandrum. For the last 2-3 months, the showroom and service have not been taking appointments, as they are planning to hand over the operations to PPS Skoda.

Initially, he was told that PPS Skoda will be starting in January 2023, but later they said it will take more time. He has an extended warranty till mid of Feb 2023 and has been facing an issue with the ORVM knob. When he checked with Malayalam Skoda if it can be fixed, he was informed that the workshop is still operational with limited staff and requested he brings the car over.

At the workshop, they checked and confirmed the issue with the knob and that it would be covered under warranty. However, they are asking him to go to some other Skoda service centers to claim the warranty. For people in Trivandrum, after the closure of Malayalam Skoda, the other service centers are at least 3 hours away.

Initially, Malayalam Skoda sent a mail claiming that he can go to the other service centers, and they will refund him the cost of fuel for the round trip (which might be higher than the price of the knob). Upon checking via phone with the service centers in Nagarkovil and Kottayam, they informed us that Malayalam Skoda is making such claims, however, no refund of fuel costs would be done.

My friend's extended warranty will expire in a few weeks, and even though it has been assessed and approved for warranty, the time and fuel spent on the issue will not be worth it.

Would there be any way to raise this with higher-ups in Skoda?

As the issue is already assessed and approved by Malayalam Skoda, would it be possible to get it replaced under warranty from PPS Skoda, after the extended warranty expires, as the issue is at Skoda's side here that they are postponing the opening of their service center in the city?

Multiple emails have been sent to customer care, without any response from them.

He does not want to extend the warranty any further, as he is not sure about the new service center which is coming in Trivandrum and he has not had a good experience with respect to warranty claims till now.

Attaching a response from Malayalam Skoda regarding this issue.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I'm planning to sell the Rapid or Duster or even both and get a new automatic and comfortable car for dad.

BHPian Heisenberg_ad recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Need suggestions for shuffling my Garage

Here's my dilemma

Few months ago my dad started experiencing leg pain and was diagnosed with AVN (it requires a total hip replacement for people who don't know). So he finds it difficult to drive a manual car or a low-seated car because of low ingress and egress. Therefore, we need a car which is comfortable for him and will be used 90% in the city only.

Our current garage

Renault Duster 2014: 100k kilometers on odo, I bought it used in 2018. This car is mainly used by dad in the city for office-to-home commutes, and on our family trips too. I bought this car in 2018 and I love how it rides on broken roads. Replaced all tires at 50k and all shock absorbers at 96k. Works like a charm.

Skoda Rapid 1.5 TDI DSG: 30k kilometers on odo. This is used 100% by me.

Due to dad's condition, I was thinking of replacing one of the two or both cars, and here are my options:

• Keep Rapid, sell Duster and buy New Ignis AMT or pre-owned Jazz CVT for dad
• Sell both cars and buy automatic Ignis/Jazz for dad and pre-owned Compass manual/XUV00 5 seater for myself
• Keep both cars and hire a chauffeur for dad
• Others

Please suggest if there are any other better options.

Here's what BHPian Aakash118 had to say about the matter:

I don’t think your dad will like the seating of Jazz moving from a Duster. So I will say that sell the Duster & buy a used automatic Creta or a petrol Brezza/UC AT. Rapid hasn’t run much and can be replaced after 2-3 years.

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

Suggest a step-by-step approach: Hire a driver for dad, see how it works out. If you find a good driver, and dad & you all are comfortable, you can continue. This will give also give you time to think it over.

Duster's got a good ride, and I assume that your dad is comfortable in the car. The Rapid is too new to be sold. Between the two, if you really have to sell, then I think the Duster goes, more due to getting a decent price for the car due to its age.

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

I feel you should sell the Duster and get a newer crossover. 100k kms up, I feel it is the perfect time for a replacement. As far as my personal experience goes, Harrier's rear space is pretty good. But I would not recommend it primarily for the shoddy reliability it has on offer. Something like XUV700 or Hyryder will be a good bet IMO.

Or hiring a chauffeur and seeing how things go. Even if you hire a chauffeur, I feel the Duster has to go for something newer.

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

In addition to the Creta, I would also look at the Urban Cruiser / Vitara Brezza & the S-Cross Petrol Automatic. These would be newer models as compared to the Creta which has high resale value.

If you can, skip changing the Rapid & extend the budget to allow for a Kushaq 1.0TSi Automatic base trim, that could be a great replacement; and you could probably work out a deal on the car.

I'd have suggested a pre-owned Compass automatic ideally but at that budget (14-15L) the only automatic would be the 1.4 petrol with the not-so-great DCT.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Besides the Rapid, the Kodiaq could also be facing a similar airbag-related issue.

The Skoda Rapid is said to have been recalled to replace the passenger-side airbag.

Reports suggest that Skoda service centres have been directed to replace the front passenger-side airbag on the Rapid. The replacement will be covered under warranty.

Cars manufactured in 2018 and earlier are said to have been affected by this recall. That being said, the exact issue with these airbags is not known.

The Skoda Rapid was discontinued in February this year. In 2018, the car was offered with 1.6-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines. The car has since been replaced by the Slavia.

Reports suggest that it is not just the Rapid that has been recalled, but the Kodiaq could also be facing a similar airbag-related issue.

Thanks to the Team-BHP fan (he prefers to remain anonymous) who sent this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this page!

Achieving the highest possible fuel economy is all about the conservation of momentum.

BHPian ash22 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hypermiling my Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDI yesterday from Chennai to Vellore.

Got 35 km/l. Measured tank and got 34.2 km/l.

• Maintained 60-70 km/h
• Steady acceleration and maintained only engine breaking when required.
• Since it was early morning, AC was not required and had to roll down the driver-side window to a minimum level.

BHPian toyotafanboi posted about hypermiling & ways to improve fuel efficiency on this thread.

Hypermiling refers to a set of driving techniques used to extract the most miles per unit of fuel from your car. Achieving the highest possible fuel economy is all about the conservation of momentum. Here are some ways in which you can save some gas and be a more efficient driver.

• Remove unnecessary weight from your car. This is something simple but can have a huge impact on your fuel consumption.
• In terms of fuel consumption at cruising speed, AC on >/= AC off windows down (due to increased drag) > AC off windows up
• On highways, try to maintain a steady speed of 80-90 km/h. Fuel economy drops significantly at higher speeds (more info here)
• Contrary to popular belief, shifting to a higher gear as early as possible does not necessarily give better fuel economy. An important concept to understand here is BSFC (Brake Specific Fuel Consumption). Simply put, BSFC is the amount of fuel consumed per unit of power produced. Although less fuel is consumed at a lower rpm (e.g. 2000 rpm vs 2500 rpm), when accelerating, you would ideally want the engine at an rpm range where the BSFC is lowest. This rpm range is called the sweet spot and can be anywhere between 2000 and 3000 rpm in most cars.

Side Note: I came across conflicting information online about whether full throttle or part throttle achieves better efficiency when accelerating. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can shed some light here.

• As a general rule, use the ABC pedals as little as possible and try to conserve the car's momentum. For example, when you see a red traffic light ahead, let off the accelerator and coast in gear. It requires more energy to move a car from a standstill than one in motion. However, in emergency situations remember safety always comes first.
• Almost all modern cars have a feature called deceleration fuel cut-off (DFCO) which essentially cuts off fuel when decelerating in gear above a certain engine rpm. This means when going downhill, staying in gear not only provides engine braking but uses virtually no fuel (when off the accelerator).
• The above feature (DFCO) also means, a higher fuel economy can be achieved by accelerating up to a speed and then coasting, instead of keeping the accelerator depressed all the time. (e.g. accelerate to 100 km/h and coast till 80 km/h, then repeat). This technique is called Pulse and Glide.

Are there any hypermiling techniques you guys use that are not mentioned here?

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

My interim car was a Honda City. It served its purpose well & didn't let me down even once.

BHPian IanNazareth recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Greetings everybody!

I decided to make this thread more image biased for the simple reason that most people today are pressed for time. If you’d like some help or a more detailed description, I’m a ping away!

Family Car History

My Family has always had cars around since I first learned to cry. It goes way back to the 80s when my grandfather owned a Red Tata pickup for company deliveries that my dad drove during his teen years.

Following that he bought a Maruti 800 (First gen), two more Maruti 800s in the 90s, a first generation Zen, a Tata Indigo and then finally the last car he owned, a Tata Manza.

He had a very strict rule about replacing the car after 5-6 Years and he did so diligently.

From these, the only ones I’ve driven or seen were the Zen (Yes, 4-year-old me was asked to pick a colour and I blurted out “Yellow”, there was no changing my mind after that). Funny thing, this yellow Zen was with us for 15 years and was the first car I learned how to drive on.

1996 Maruti Zen (Stayed with us from 1996 to 2011)

The Tata Manza was his last car that we retired back in 2019 before I started buying my own cars. He hasn’t driven since due to partial vision loss. He really did love his cars and that feeling has passed down to grow into the petrolhead in me.

Dad standing beside his 2011 Manza the day we handed it over to cars24 in 2019.

1st Car - (Skoda Rapid 2015 1.6 TDI Elegance Black Package)

After 8 years of the Manza Diesel and the previous Indigo Diesel before that, I was sold on the idea of getting another. The torque steer the Manza produced just left a smile on your face as you were pushed back into your seat for the initial few seconds. It was a dream to drive and so we needed another Diesel Turbo!

It didn’t take me long to find my way into German engineering, being a spectator on the forums for a few years and my love for the VW group companies led me to pick out a Rapid over the net. Went straight to the dealer, liked the car (the black package did most of the selling), wired him the money on the spot, and got back that evening having bought my first car!

It has to be said, this was nothing short of stupid. I took no test drive, I did no PDI or history check, I simply liquidated all the money I had saved working at the time and bought my first car.

At the time I had just taken charge of my previous employer's company, a small manufacturing unit in Kolhapur that I bought from him. I loaded up all my possessions into the Rapid’s huge boot, hauled it across the state from Mumbai to Kolhapur and made that place my home for the next 6 months to grow the business.

This period over the next year saw one injector failure.

En route to Goa on a winter morning. Car towed from Belgaum KA back to Kolhapur for the injector replacement.

Everything else worked like a charm and the car was always on the highway between Mumbai – Kolhapur. It racked up 20,000+ kms just shy of 1 year before the pandemic hit and the bug to replace the car struck me.

Some photos below for your viewing pleasure!

Middle of Highwary runs that it saw frequently

Industrial backroads in Mumbai

Nevertheless, I traded the car in 2020 just after the first pandemic for a Honda City 2016 VX CVT.

2nd Car - (Honda City VX CVT 2016)

Many thanks to GTO on his thread for lateral upgrades and especially tax advantages! I realised that if I found a preowned car already on a corporate name, I could directly add it to company assets with only a normal RTO transfer and depreciate it on the company books. What a boon for businesses and car enthusiasts! I always knew I was going to buy my first real german saloon soon, but as an interim car I picked up the City as it seemed like the financially prudent thing to do!

During Lockdown - Empty Roads made for great photo shoots!

Quick photos in the wilderness.

MH Traffic Police taking some very expensive photos of my Car! - Expressway

MH - Bangalore Highway

The Honda served its purpose – being an interim car preparing me financially for my first German, couldn’t be happier with the service I got. Let me down not once, also covered 20,000 some odd kms over the year like the Rapid did, taking into account the second pandemic in 2021.

However, the itch to finally upgrade was too severe to ignore and I started looking around for preowned Audi or Mercedes – typically the CLA and the A3 over the web.

The CLA had been my dream since I started working back in 2016 on my humble salary of 6000 rupees a month and 5 years later after drooling I had one of those typical YOLO moments like I did during my Skoda purchase.

This photo had been on the inside of my cupboard for over 5 years. I looked at it every morning I went off to work. However optimistic we are about our life goals, things usually take a while longer than we initially anticipated.

Part of what pushed me to take the plunge was:

• Scarcity of the EV movement! What if a few years later there are no 2-3-year-old diesels on sale? A possibility, given how fast things were changing globally.
• My improved finances, thanks to Honda’s purchase and tax advantage!

• My dad’s sudden hospitalization. It shocked me into realizing how short life is (This probably had the most effect on me)

The time was now right and it was now or never!

The Search!

I spent 2 months test driving various CLAs around the city and couldn’t find the right value proposition. I also realised that this wouldn’t be a car to take on my monthly visit to the factory at Kolhapur given the ground clearance, depreciation to kms driven ratio and slow diesel, it was the petrol that was a hoot to drive!

That’s when I started looking to see if the Audi A3 had something to offer in the same category being a direct rival. Having owned the Rapid in the past I longed for that premium VW build and sound damping that these cars provide. Not to mention the seemingly farfetched FE figures the TDI motors put out.

It was then that I came across a 2.0 TDI A3 with Audi South as part of their preowned division.

I requested them to let me come see it on a Sunday and they graciously made it possible. It was just me, the sales rep and the security in their huge pre-owned Peddar Road garage.

Love at first sight

It was exactly what I wanted, and typically ticked all the boxes for the enthusiast in me.

The perks

• Fast Diesel for the long highway runs
• Shared parts with the other VW and Skoda siblings, hoping parts would be easier to access
• . Blacked out wheels, roof and door mirrors (I have a thing for black alloys)
• COMPANY owned! It was registered to VW India being owner 1
• CBU unit produced at HQ in Ingolstadt (something special about owning a German car actually built in Germany)
• Full service history and a complementary service
• Black interiors
• New 2017 facelift
• A great VFM deal that I could not refuse with a discount, especially the advantage of the Corporate registration, having to cough up 8% over the invoice is a huge sum if I were to buy another car registered by an individual.

The let downs

• NO reversing camera! (Has a 360-degree parking sensor though on display took some getting used to)
• No auto-folding door mirrors
• No Apple Car Play

That’s about it. I am planning to retrofit these three after a while and it wasn’t a deal breaker and the positives far outweighed the negatives.

Delivery

I took delivery exactly a month later, it took a while to arrange the finance and sell off my City. The car was sold to me through Shaman Wheels (Kalina) and not Audi south even though that’s where I took the TD. It wasn’t the best experience and a year later I’m still chasing them for the second key they promised me after the registration was done. Would be a great favour if anyone could help, the key they say is with VW India (Pune) and I have no way of tracking it down, it appears in the MID as the key being registered.

Here are some photos over the last year with Orca.

The first thing I thought of mentally was a killer whale given the colour scheme, so I’ve lovingly named my A3 Orca. (Maybe there’s a thing with petrolheads naming their cars?)

Mumbai - Pune Dashes in the rain

Bhandardara summit

Breakfast @Igatpuri

Somewhere north of Karad en route to Mumbai.

Aerial shots @Cafe

The Global Vipassana Pagoda in the backdrop, a peaceful place to be in a few times a year.

Of course, we took it to Goa too! Had to inaugurate our hometown!

Who owns who again?

Satara

In the fields

Lonavala

At the factory in Kolhapur

A look on the inside - all black! Especially like the new steering wheel.

Bhandardara summit again!

Most of us petrolheads can relate!

Found this over the web - I do not own this image and all credits are to the respective owner.

My Experience over the last year

DO reading stood at 36000kms last September when I picked it up. It has so far clocked 49500 on a recent trip to Kolhapur this month.

Over the last 11 months, it has been to the ASS once to get the wheel nuts changed. This was something of a discovery when I had a puncture and the Tyre guy couldn’t get the wheel off as I didn’t have the special Allen key to undo the wheel. He managed to fix the puncture while the wheel was on and I drove straight to Audi South to get the Nuts changed to normal ones. This seems to be a standard on Euro specs to prevent wheel theft.

No other mechanical problems over the last 14k kms. It has been a dream to drive and always provides a keen sense of occasion every time I’m behind the wheel.

It has been on numerous Mumbai – Pune dashes, seen horrid Mumbai traffic very often, Hiked upto Bhandardara camping and this weekend will be off to the Satara hills again. No garage queen, most times covered in muck but still gleefully chugging along!

To a petrolhead, I feel one's car is an extension of the self-image. It attracts the kind of like-minded enthusiasts to you and builds new friendships. It speaks for you before you get a chance to speak and especially in business, if getting behind the wheel helps visit and add customers, then spending a little extra on our car is an investment the way I see it. It has been true for the last 2 other cars I have owned and the same with the Audi.

At the end of the day, we are humans driven by emotion over logic, the heart wants what the heart wants. I've always found the best decisions came from gut feelings, whether as a petrolhead or in life and business, but I'm just in my 20s, what do I know about philosophy?

Credits to

• deepfreak15 for your A3 review that I've read multiple times before going ahead!
• Noel Nelly aka blackwasp for giving me the confidence to go ahead. Coincidence we were classmates and never spoke cars!
• TeamBHP community for the lovely A3 review and the facelift update as well that I've also read countless times before going ahead.

Thank you for your reading!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Long story short, I’ve done about 31 visits to the service centre, 18 of which were related to running repairs.

BHPian techmotor recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Dear fellow Team-BHP members. I want to share with you my predicament with respect to the endless number of issues on the car I own – A Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDI (Jan 2012 make).

A little background

I love cars. This love started in childhood itself when I and my elder brother would get a variety of car magazines, spending hours eagerly going through each page like we were studying for term examinations in school. On top of that, we used to watch content available via TV on cars including WRC on ESPN, Top Gear on BBC and series like Knight Rider. Our family typically keeps two cars and we had owned HM Ambassadors, with one of them being completely revamped to have platform gear (from the lever type gears behind the steering wheel), a new custom-built dashboard with switches to operate the music system amongst others, custom fabric/upholstery etc. The entire work – from mechanical to paint job was done at our home itself and I used to hang around there pretending to oversee everything. Also sometimes after school, when the car will be given to the local workshops to fix certain issues, we could see a lot of repairing work going on up close. I have seen an engine replacement work being carried out with the engine being shifted with pulleys and all but how much of it I comprehended is a different matter altogether. The other cars we owned include a Tata Estate (we did a lot of family trips in this one covering most of South India), a Tata Sierra (the result of my college days craze of my brother), and Maruti Zen, a Mitsubishi Lancer and Ford Ikon. I took my baby steps in driving in an Ambassador, then the Estate and graduating to Lancer and Ikon. I went to driving school just to get the license and by that time I was a confident driver thanks to all the cars I’ve driven with both my brother as well as family driver encouraging and giving me opportunities to drive.

Disclaimer: All my driving lessons were done in controlled environments only and under supervision. Our home being on the outskirts also helped a lot.

Except for the first Amby, the rest were diesel models and probably that’s why I still prefer diesel over petrol. We never had any major issues with these vehicles and since I was so used to the low-end torque and moving the car with just clutch modulation, for a long time I couldn’t adjust with petrol engines. But then I got to drive some good NA petrol engines and I learnt not all petrol vehicles are boring to drive.

That’s all for the background for now before you get bored. Maybe I’ll write about my different driving experiences in another thread, at another time.

Let’s fast forward several years. It was almost the end of 2010 and after working for 3 years in BLR, I relocated to Trivandrum (TRV), Kerala. By the first half of 2011, it was obvious that I need a personal vehicle and thus began the search for my car. It was at this time, I got to learn about Team-BHP as well and from then onwards this has been, still is and will be, my primary and trusted source for all vehicle-related information.

Car hunting – My first car

I was looking for a hatchback as it’ll be primarily used only for office commute and weekly trips to my home town (80 KMs from TRV). Following were my requirements.

• It should be a driver’s car. Since I have driven Ford Ikon extensively and also Ford Fusion and the first-gen Figo, the ride and handling were of at most importance to me.
• A diesel engine with zero turbo lag.
• The exterior design should be neat with good proportions.
• Budget of up to 8L OTR.

Started taking TDs of some vehicles. I remember taking TD of Hyundai i20 (the early ones in 2011) and was left highly unimpressed with the handling. No steering feedback, having the car move unpredictably at 50+ Kmph on slight steering input etc. made me swear not to look at any more Hyundai cars. This is strictly my personal opinion and I mean no offence to existing owners and it seems they are much improved in the handling department nowadays.

Next was a car not on my list but got a chance to drive thanks to my brother who got it from a friend of his. It was a VW Polo TDI (1.2L, 75 bhp IIRC) and I was blown away by all aspects of it except for the lack of power and it had considerable turbo lag as well. There were rumours of a 1.6L engine being introduced at a later point in time but no tentative date of availability so I decided to wait for some more time as it’d fit my requirements to a T. In the meantime I did TDs of other vehicles, went back to Ford due to lack of options but didn’t find anything new. I also came to know about EcoSport via scoops and still remember digging through the web to get more info on the details, launch etc. But nothing was confirmed and my hunt for a car continued. It was November 2011 and having no news about Polo 1.6 TDI or EcoSport, I finally took a decision to go with Polo 1.2 TDI. We went to the showroom and gave a token advance of 10K. Back in my mind, I was still uncomfortable with the fact that I’m going to get an underpowered engine but was trying to make a truce between mind (need) and heart (want).

The Twist

My brother comes in one day and asks me to go for a Sedan. Now, the reason for not considering a sedan earlier was that there was no need for a bigger vehicle. Moreover, I was in my mid 20’s and most of my colleagues were using two-wheelers, so spending even more money for a sedan was not even in my mind. However, he gave me some solid points regarding space and comfort (especially considering our parents), powerful engines, vehicle respect etc. and by the end of our conversation, I was fully convinced. Yes, Sedan was at the cost of a final stretched budget of 10L OTR.

Now, this has opened up room for some more options and the immediate option that logically came to my mind was the Vento since it’s a stretched polo with a 1.6L engine. But the variant I was looking for was exceeding my budget so was in a dilemma again. But all this confusion ended quickly as Skoda introduced the same month (November 2011), a new model Rapid based on the same platform as Vento. What was even more attractive was that it was priced lower than similar spec Vento. Team-BHP review came very soon after and the positive review of the vehicle here sealed my decision. Team-BHP always pointed out the horrible after-sales experience of Skoda but I decided to go for it considering that most of the complaints I came to know were about transmission failures. There was also this thread on dealers swapping out factory-fitted parts with fake ones.

Considering these as a rare case and that it has been brought to the public attention, I assumed (a costly mistake) I’d be having a relatively niggle free experience. Moreover, I haven’t faced any issues with the cars I mentioned in the prologue, so how bad can it get? Also, it’s been over a year since my car hunt started and I really needed a vehicle. So that’s how I ended up buying my first car with my own money.

Booking Process

The dealer in TRV didn’t have any TD vehicle and there was no proper response on when they could arrange one. The next dealership was at Cochin (COK) which is about 200 KMs from TRV. On enquiring, they told me they have a TD vehicle. Since there was a lot of work in an office, I asked my father and brother to go and check the vehicle. My brother gave a thumbs up for the car after TD and I’ve asked them to do the booking. Since I’ve driven Polo and since my brother said OK, I didn’t need another TD. I didn’t want to procrastinate the booking any further. Please note that this Skoda dealership at COK had just started its operations. Brother told me the red colour was sporty but they didn’t have stock and mentioned a longer waiting period. They mentioned a white colour model can be arranged faster and thus we made the booking for the same. The mid-variant (Ambition) was chosen and the final price was around 9.5L OTR. No accessories were given/promoted even the essentials like mud flaps, rubber mats etc. due to unavailability - A term I started hearing thereon from all Skoda service centres. Finally, we took the delivery of the car from the COK dealership in February 2012. During the key handover process, the young lady told me "Happy Riding". Little did I know that I was going to be taken for a ride - A roller-coaster ride.

Sharing a couple of pics.

What I like:

• Solid build. Be it the thud sound of a door close, the heft on the door panels, bonnet etc., everything is built to last. Clean and understated design that ages well.
• Excellent fit and finish. No uneven panel gaps inside-out, no creeks, solid and premium buttons and stalks for headlamp/fog lamp operations, indicators, wipers etc. Huge boot space.
• Simply clever features - One-touch window up and down for all 4 windows and with an anti-pinch function. The same can be controlled using a remote key. Another really useful feature of the ORVM is that it rotates 180 degrees in case of an impact.
• I found this super useful when there were a couple of incidents with bikers knocking the ORVMs. With most other cars, this would have resulted in a broken and hanging ORVM.
• Zero turbo lag. There is ample low-end torque and the car jumps into action once we engage first gear and slowly release the C pedal. Shift to 3rd gear, do a pedal to the metal and you’ll be pushed back to your seat with the torque surge. Really useful when doing highway overtakes.
• Steering feedback was good despite being an EPS. I was used to Ford’s HPS and though I missed it due to the incredibly direct feedback (the driver and car become and act as one), there were no complaints on the EPS on Rapid. It obeys the driver’s inputs.
• High-speed stability is excellent. No noticeable body roll, can handle corners with ease while speeding.

What I don’t like:

• No points for guessing the first item. Skoda’s terrible after-sales service.
• There are some ergonomic issues for tall drivers. I’m 6 feet and with the seating position I preferred, my head was very close to touching the roof liner and the IRVM was blocking a clear view of the front. Also, there was this problem of left knee scrubbing against the dashboard area. Thanks to the seat height adjustment and steering adjustment (reach and rake), I was able to find an alternative seating position albeit compromising some comfort.
• Pathetic tire profile at 175/70 R14. The upgrade is a must but options are limited because of the 14”.
• A front headlamp is strictly average.
• Engine clatter (especially on cold starts) is more compared to diesel standards.
• Front fascia from Fabia, especially headlight design and grill, though the facelift versions corrected it the way it was meant to be.

The never-ending issues

As you might know, Skoda had a standard warranty of 2 years/1 Lakh Km (whichever is earlier) during the time I have booked. And I haven’t opted for the extended warranty because we never had the need for the same for the vehicles we owned previously. European cars being new territory for me, I’d overlooked this fact even though there was strict caution in Team-BHP forums. A lesson learnt the hard way. And the lesson learned is to pay heed to what our forum experts say from moderators to distinguished BHPians. It’d prove to be useful in the long run.

The issues started after a year with about 19K on the Odo and 6 months after the first paid service. From there onwards till now, the issue has not been properly rectified. The following screenshots contain the entire service history (in descending order).

Long story short, I’ve done about 31 visits to the service centre till now out of which 18 visits were related to running repairs. The major components changed were the EGR valve, fuel injectors and ABS sensors. The fuel injector complaints were the core issue with 4 of them replaced under warranty, one time on goodwill, and the other time from my pocket. I had also filed a consumer case against this during the initial years after reporting the issue but let it go as I was fed up with this extremely time-consuming process. Moreover, I was too busy with work and personal matters.

In 2015, the vehicle was involved in an accident which was not due to my fault. A bike from the opposite side hit another vehicle's ORVM while overtaking and lost control and hit my car. The front bumper and headlamp assembly on the RHS and AC condenser related work were carried out. The fuel injector has failed a couple of times since then and the glow plug once as detailed in the service history pics.

As of now, the car has clocked approximately 84K Kms and is currently in a non-drivable condition because of the check engine light and reduced power. It’s showing all signs of an injector failure yet again. I have got the last injector replaced 4 to 5 months back only.

I also have the following doubts.

• Being one of the early buyers of the Rapid model, did I end up getting a lemon? Skoda has never acknowledged this but the issues I’ve been facing with the car are nothing short of something that happens with a lemon. Using Team-BHP VIN decoder, MY is Jan 2012. Considering that the car was launched just a couple of months back (Nov 2011), my car should be from the very initial batch.
• Did the COK dealership play something foul since the dealership was closed just one year after starting their operations and coinciding with the time I have filed a lawsuit? Was I given a display or TD vehicle? I wanted a red colour but they told me that it’ll take some time and they do have a white one in stock and hence I went with the white one. I did the mistake of not doing a proper PDI as this was my first car buying experience. Also since I had only started following team bhp, I didn’t go through the vast articles available on PDI.

What Next?

I have the following options now.

1. Get it repaired from Skoda authorized service centre and hope the issue won’t come up for at least 2 years. Or sell it after repairing.
2. Get it repaired from the outside and keep it or sell it.
3. Try using additives such as Liqui Moly and see if it makes any difference.
4. Sell the car to the current dealership without repairing it and getting a quote from them. This option, I already discussed this with the CRM and they said only exchange can be considered. After all these experiences with Skoda, I didn’t want to invest in yet another Skoda vehicle so I declined that.

That leaves me with options 1, 2 and 3. What do you guys think? Please provide your valuable suggestions so that I can take an informed decision on whether to retain the car or sell it.

Attaching some more pics taken this month. Even after 10 years, the design doesn't look outdated.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I broke this wiper nut 4 years back when my car was brand new and I was fiddling with wiper for some do-it-yourself task.

BHPian any23 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Long story cut to short - So, I broke this wiper nut 4 Years back when my car was brand new and I was fiddling with wiper for some do it yourself task.

Back then it was simply glued by me with the help of araldite (industrial glue) and the wiper was working fine since then, till recently when a stone chip on highway leading to windshield crack beyond repair. As it was evident that windshield must be replaced at the earliest for safety point of view I left my car at Skoda Service Center on 09/04/2022 for windshield replacement, it completely slipped out of my mind to inform the advisor regarding the broken bolt which holds the wiper arm it was so because the wiper worked fine till then, soon I got communication from service advisor that sir the bolt & nut for driver side wiper arm is already broken with the below shared images as a proof from his end stating it was not their fault.

I politely acknowledged that this is in my knowledge and it was due to my mistake that it happened so, I enquired possible solutions to fix the issue and finally got to know that they don't repair this and the whole wiper assembly has to be replaced which will add approximately INR 19,000/- to my bill.

I asked them to make it the way it was fixed before (well elaborated by me) to which they agreed. After a hectic day at office I collected my car from the service center during late evening hours, and in a hurry burry forgot to check the functionality of the wiper arm, drove to home parked my car in the garage and took sigh of relief that a long pending windshield replacement is complete, unaware of the fact what is going to unfold in the coming few days.

Fast forward to 14/04/2022, that day we (family & friends) had a planned brunch drive to city outskirts. I was in my garage and was busy with routine dusting of the car for the drive and when I tried lifting the wiper arm for dusting windshield the wiper arm came off from the stud. It was then when I realized that I had done a thorough check of the car before delivery but skipped the wiper check, so I was left with a dangling and dancing wiper arm.

As per the advice of various threads here on this forum I tried searching for a solution for the issue with a known local FNG and they were of the same view that the nut is broken and nothing can be done to repair this, replacement of the assembly is the only way possible. But deep within I knew this can be very well repaired if someone just want to devote some time and effort to do so, took my car back to my home garage parked it and I thought of possible solutions to the issue, one way was to do it the way it was done by me first time, but I myself was not satisfied with the way it was done the first time around even though the wiper worked fine after that.

Finally, it was decided that the same size bolt and nut will be procured from local market, the bolt will be cut to similar length required and will be glued to the stud and wiper arm will be fixed with the help of nut.

The bolt and nut required for the repair

Bolt cut to required length

Attempt 1 - trying to fix bolt on the stud with help of industrial glue

The final result was satisfactory and the glued bolt has enough strength (tried fiddling with it but it held its place), but wiper arm had very tight fitting to the stud, so it was required to cut the extra glue from the sides for the wiper arm to slide in, in the process the bolt lost its strength and came off while tightening the nut, this lead to failed Attempt-1.

Attempt 2 - This time I decided to push fit the wiper arm first, then glue the bolt to the stud, and it worked, extra glue was applied around the bolt to give it added strength.

Applied glue to the nut and tightened it firmly and left it to cure

The wiper is working fine, still I believe better attempt can be made to make the stud and bolt a better entity. Whenever time permits I have planned to drill central holes on both stud and bolt so that they can be glued with help of connecting rod, which will lead to a permanent fix to the issue.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.