[shibujp]

Any place where we can get the replacement schedules, oil change intervals, oil quantity etc for the Polo GT Tdi? The service booklet that VW gives is absolutely useless - it's an invitation for the dealer to fleece you.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Gannu_1]

Had a very eventful weekend. We took a half-day off on Saturday and drove to Bombay on the Independence Day to spend some time with a few close friends. The drive was awesome as usual sans the weather which were playing games with us - heavy showers for a few hundred meters and sunny for a small stretch. Luckily, the traffic on Ghodbunder road was not much and we reached well on time.

She clocked 13k on the return leg:


We also fabricated a pair of cheap DIY ramps using pine wood to get access beneath the engine bay and the rear. Some snaps:











These will come in handy for the periodic inspections, fabrication and installation of the skid plate which I intend to take up shortly and perhaps the oil change services later on if I manage to source the replacement parts (filters and such). Total expense - Rs. 1389.

Shall post a DIY thread shortly explaining all the steps in detail.

Originally Posted by shibujp

Any place where we can get the replacement schedules, oil change intervals, oil quantity etc for the Polo GT Tdi?

Hi Shibu,

The mandated service schedules (replacements - engine oil, oil filter, oil sump drain plug, air filter, AC dust-pollen filter and fuel filter) are done every 15000 km or 365 days, whichever comes first. The engine takes less than 5L of oil so they should give back the oil left over from the 1L bottle unless they are using the barrel and filling the exact quantity. The total cost including the labor and consumables' charges should come to the 9-11k figure which varies from place to place. My car's odo currently stands at the 13k figure and I'll be dropping her for the first service by the end of this month.

You should check out the updates from this thread for more details - link

[rajneeesh]

Does the Polo have an engine guard and is the GC better than the the 1.2 litre variants?

[Gannu_1]

The insurance on the car was expiring on October 4th and renewed it right away. It took 15 minutes to complete the entire process with the help of the Bajaj Allianz employee through a telecon.

The premium paid for ICICI Lombard last year was Rs. 39000 which was taken via the dealership. ICICI Lombard’s renewal premium for a depreciated IDV of Rs. 660765 was Rs. 29779. For an IDV of Rs. 670000, a 20% NCB discount, a zero depreciation add-on with a voluntary deduction of Rs. 2500, Bajaj Allianz charged me Rs. 22010. That’s a steal and I saved almost Rs. 8000! No more worries during the Kerala trip now.

The next step is to get the 15k/1 year service done by the end of the month.

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

Does the Polo have an engine guard and is the GC better than the the 1.2 litre variants?

If you can call a cloth-like covering below the engine as a guard, then yes it does have one. No clue if there is a change in the ground clearance. The only thing that keeps scraping the speed bumps is the mud flap. Will remove it after the monsoons are over.

[shetty_rohan]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

Does the Polo have an engine guard

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

If you can call a cloth-like covering below the engine as a guard, then yes it does have one. No clue if there is a change in the ground clearance. The only thing that keeps scraping the speed bumps is the mud flap. Will remove it after the monsoons are over.

I guess you are mentioning about the sump guard(which is a thick hardened plastic cover measuring around 4 feet X 3 feet). According to my understanding all Polo Diesel vehicles have this. But the same is missing in Petrol Vehicles.
I have got the sump guard(Part No : 6R0825902A) installed in my Polo GT TSi, which costed around 10K for me.

Please refer http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...review-90.html

Same is also available with Vagtune(http://vagtune.in/index.php/volkswag...fit-kit-detail)

[rajneeesh]

Originally Posted by shetty_rohan

I guess you are mentioning about the sump guard(which is a thick hardened plastic cover measuring around 4 feet X 3 feet). According to my understanding all Polo Diesel vehicles have this. But the same is missing in Petrol Vehicles.
I have got the sump guard(Part No : 6R0825902A) installed in my Polo GT TSi, which costed around 10K for me.

Please refer http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...review-90.html

Same is also available with Vagtune(http://vagtune.in/index.php/volkswag...fit-kit-detail)

Yes Rohan, I was refereing to a sump guard. I have heard of a few cases where people driving Polo have come to grief due to busted sumps. The car dues have issues with under-body hits

[Gannu_1]

Last Saturday while we were on our way back to Surat from Chikhli, we encountered a sudden downpour with lightning and thunder. I had never driven before in such rains and this was quite an experience. A bit terrified TBH since vision was severely impaired with the rain striking the front windshield in full force! All the vehicles had slowed down due to the bad visibility, the hazard lamps, headlamps, fog lamps and other lamps were turned on and the wipers were operating at the top speed. The Hella frameless wipers did their job quite well. My roomie clicked a short clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xPUxYhjQv0

The rains lasted hardly for 30 minutes. By the time we reached Surat, the sky was clear. I wish my car had a dashcam. A beautiful lightning strike bang in front of us with branches neatly distributed.

[Gannu_1]

Called up the service center and fixed up an appointment for the first service. Will be dropping the car tomorrow evening after work. I am a bit worried! I just hope they take good care of the car.

The lady over the phone was kind enough to mention, "Sir, saade nau hazaar padega aapko servicing charges." (Sir, the servicing charges would amount to Rs. 9500).

I replied, "Haan madam, patha hein." (Yes madam, I am aware of it).

Not sure if they were thinking if the VW owners were aware of it. Anyways, I shall post here once I get her back. Emptied the contents from the glovebox and the boot (extra tools, engine oil, WD40, puncture repair kit etc), removed the pen drive and the air freshener. I'll request them to not do the washing and interior vacuuming. Better off being done from outside and they do a much better job at that.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

The lady over the phone was kind enough to mention, "Sir, saade nau hazaar padega aapko servicing charges." (Sir, the servicing charges would amount to Rs. 9500).

I replied, "Haan madam, patha hein." (Yes madam, I am aware of it).

Lol. Before hand information is it!

But I have one doubt, how is the cost pre-defined? Is it fixed for the service?

PS: Please do tell them about the MOD jobs done on the car. That GTI cluster shouldn't mislead them thinking it is a petrol powered one.

Anirag.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

But I have one doubt, how is the cost pre-defined? Is it fixed for the service?

I suppose that's the estimate based on the replacements of the fuel filter, oil filter, AC dust & pollen filter, drain plug + washer, 5L of engine oil and the labor charges. Let's see what the final amount comes to.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

That GTI cluster shouldn't mislead them thinking it is a petrol powered one.

Definitely Anurag. The cluster and the hood opening part.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Called up the service center and fixed up an appointment for the first service.

Save money on following:
1. No washing. Give strict instruction otherwise out of sheer number of car SA may forget to tell wash guy about it.
2. Skip wiper wash fluid. Get a 250ml bottle of it instead.
3. No wheel alignment & balancing. Outside shop are better at it.
4. No brake opening and cleaning. Doesn't make any damn change.
5. Since you pay a lot of attention. See to that they update latest ECU software. Ask them to show you, how they verify that software they are updating is latest. Since with every iteration of ECU update, 1.6 TDi becomes smoother. Telling this, as they charge money for it by default.
6. Take a look whether coolant is needed or not. If not ask them to strike that off list as well.

Most important: 1.6 TDi engine oil capacity is 4.3 lt. Verified!

See to that they give back 700 ml back. They fool customer by giving back just 300-400 ml, or may be even less. I have been fooled 3 times, no more at 4 service due Apr 2015.

I believe following above list, you could easily service Polo 1.6 TDi for less than Rs 7500. Remember service cost of 1.2 TDi and 1.6 TDi would vary. Have a blast tomorrow. SA would be pleased to have a customer who knows his VeeDub much better than anyone else.

[Thad E Ginathom]

No washing. Give strict instruction otherwise out of sheer number of car SA may forget to tell wash guy about it.

At the place I go it is not just a bucket and rag: they sell all the 3m internal and external treatments, and the total price is pretty high.

I let them do it anyway, and wasn't satisfied with the external finish. To their credit, they did it again and painted out a couple of scratches for me, for free.

But if I had gone in there and said that I wanted what was in the VW manual only, it would have been a lot less money.

[no_boundaries]

Gannu, I must say my GT TDi purchase was really inspired by your log. Your luxury additions to the car are AWESOME and the more I read about it the more inclined I'm to splurge. Well, all in all a great machine in great hands.

I'm hooked to your thread to understand how the first service episode unravels.

[Intelsingh]

God only knows how I keep the itch away to upgrade post reading about your car. Since January I have crossed 13600 kms on my GT TDI. At this rate, hopefully will be done with the first service next month. Been a joy so far, and might get inspired to tinker with it a bit.

[Gannu_1]

Got the car back from the service centre sometime back. Experience - very satisfied!

Had dropped the car yesterday around 6:45 PM and they had promised to give the car back by today evening around 4 PM. I get a call around 2:15 PM, the SA says that the service is done and that I can collect the car anytime now. We have our lunch, run a few errands on the way and we reach the service centre around 4 PM.

The SA briefs whatever was done and whatever that wasn't as requested by me. I thanked him, shook hands and left. Amount paid - Rs. 8827. Here's the snap of the bill:


Noticed that they had charged Rs. 283 for some 3M service plus tretment. He said that this is a mandatory labor charge and cannot be deducted. I did not want to argue about it.

We proceed to the next pitstop - wheel balancing and alignment. Luckily, Surat has an outlet that has Madhus Hunter equipment located adjacent to my home. Took us an hour there. Balancing and alignment both were off. New weights were added. They charged us Rs. 810.





Here's the report:


Final pitstop - washing and vacuuming. Paid Rs. 300 and got it done:


Here's a teaser of the next upgrade:


PS: Not from my car! The stuff is yet to arrive.