Team-BHP - Skoda Rapid : Test Drive & Review

Hey folks, I'm contemplating on buying a Rapid Ambition TDI from Vinayak Skoda, Marathahalli, Bangalore. Any one who has any experience with this dealer?

Also, has Skoda's *** improved at least a little bit? The two things that I'm actually bothered are:-

1) Skoda's *** and spare part costs.
2) The centre hump at the rear, which is a big turn off and makes it impossible for 3 adults to sit at the rear. Any idea as to why there is such a huge hump in the rapid? I dont see such huge ones in the other cars like the verna or even my current dzire.

And lastly, any reason as to why I shouldnt be buying a Rapid? I hope I'm not going wrong here. I have had a peaceful 3.5 years with my dzire VDI and I only hope that the rapid doesnt fail me in the next 4-5 years. I would have loved to buy the linea, but the unpredictability surrounding Fiat is a little scary. And there is just no other choice really. The verna, new fiesta, Vento are all at least a lakh more than the Rapid and the sx4 & sunny just dont feel so special.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluevolt (Post 2666624)

You can also try Jai Auto in Gurgaon and Delhi. My friend has good experience while dealing with Jai Auto Gurgaon servicing his Octavia. But road tax in Delhi is more than Noida and Gurgaon.

It doesn't make any difference where the dealer is located (or where he is not). Most dealers in Delhi and NCR happily do your registration in any of the three states of your choice: Delhi, U.P. or Haryana. After all, how does one account for 30% of recent cars of Delhi residents (who bought cars from showrooms in Delhi), esp diesel, having HR26 and HR51 registrations?

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorworks (Post 2670080)

I have bought from Tafe Acess and it was a good experience. I had initially approached Vinayak Skoda but they insisted on buying extended warranty and insurance from them only. Extended warranty is currently not given by Skoda on Rapid. So they collect some money as advance and keep it. I didn't like this. Also, the dealer insurance quote is quite high and I wanted to buy from outside. Tafe Access gave me all these and so I opted for it.
I have heard from my friend (who owns Laura) that Vinayak Skoda gives a better service experience. So planning to go to Vinayak for services in future ( I stay near Marathahalli).

And regarding the things that are bothering you :

1. I had spoken to Tafe access and they said, since they expect Rapid to sell in large numbers and are planning to launch Citigo ( small car priced below Fabia) they are improving their A.S.S. Anyway, if that doesn't happen also, there is no need to worry much as the service interval comes after every 15K kilometers. So you will go to them once a year only. The spares are supposed to be cheaper compared to their other cars because Rapid shares everything with Vento and is manufactured locally. I have heard from my friends who own Vento that the service costs and spares costs are quite reasonable. So you can expect the same from Rapid also.

2. The centre hump is due to the rear AC vent (senior BHPs can correct me if I am wrong here). Its slightly uncomfortable but you will surely get used to it and it wont matter much, I guess.

Rapid is a superb car and you will be delighted to own it. Even I had a Swift and now I am very happy with Rapid. It surely puts a smile on your face every time you drive it. Its value for money and has the best diesel engine for its class combined with excellent ride quality and stability.

So go for it :). Try to take delivery before April 1st as there are rumours that Govt is planning to put some 80K excise duty on diesel cars. So you can save that money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorworks (Post 2670080)

Rapid is basically a Vento with a Skoda badge. Just look at vento ownership threads to get an idea about the cost of ownership. In Bangalore at least I feel Skoda dealers are better than VW dealers in their attitude. I feel Vinayak's presence has forced TAFE to improve their service attitude.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nishanth.shegde (Post 2673878)

2. The centre hump is due to the rear AC vent (senior BHPs can correct me if I am wrong here). Its slightly uncomfortable but you will surely get used to it and it wont matter much, I guess.

The central hump is basically due to the transmission tunnel. Pretty common with most Euros. Although some of these cars are front wheel drives, I can't understand why such a huge hump needs to exist. I am sure if the designers applied thought , they could easily remove it. Believe me it is more than just slightly uncomfortable with five onboard, having experienced rants from my family members (I have a Laura) . The middle passengers find it really difficult with that hump. I made the mistake once of asking my wife to take the middle seat. I haven't heard the last of it yet stupid:

Quote:

Originally Posted by architect (Post 2674785)

While looking at Vento ownership threads may give us an idea of the general issues regarding maintenance, but do Skoda and VW have the same costs for parts and service? I am asking this because they are both distinct entities who can price their parts / labour as per different policies. Skoda might also try to make up the difference in the sticker price by making parts / labour more expensive than Vento (as if Skoda ownership were any cheap already!)

True, Skoda and VW are independent entities and are free to price their parts as per thier own policies. But I really doubt if Skoda will want to price their spares higher than VW. By pricing the Rapid lower than the Vento, Skoda is basically telling the customers that the Rapid is a VFM product. They would not want to ruin it by charging more for service and spares. Moreover what justification can they give, when VW has already set the benchmark for cost of spares and service for the Vento?

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorworks (Post 2674393)

@ Nishant,Thanks for your inputs on the Rapid. I plan to buy the Rapid 1.6 TDI Ambition. Vinayak has quoted Rs.10.24lakhs in which insurance is about 33k, drive assurance about 8k and some essential pack{ which I think are some accys} for Rs.2850. I had pushed for a corp discount and as of now they have agreed for about 15k.I believe you have also bought the same variant. Can you help to advise on the price that youpaid {if you dont mind} Also Can you please let me know if the insurance which you got done on your own was substantially lesser?

Sure, I paid exactly 9.95L (on-road) for the ambition variant. I had booked it when it got launched in Nov and none of the dealers were ready for a discount that time. So I bargained for buying insurance on my own. Got the insurance for 19K from Tata AIG. I had 25 % NCB from my previous Swift and so got a goot deal.
Otherwise it will cost you somewhere around 25-26K for the insurance but definitely not 33K. If you have NCB on your current Dzire then you get it transferred to the new car.

Hope this helps.

Finally booked the Skoda Rapid with Jai Auto Gurgaon. The dealer experience was excellent and leagues ahead of Volkswagen, and Hyundai.

The only problem was that I could not extract a single penny of discount beyond the corporate discount. Big let down as I have helped a couple of my friends to extract discounts with hard bargaining when they were purchasing their cars.

Expected to cost me around 9,80,000 on road if I buy insurance from my own agent and not the dealer. Hope to get it before budget, otherwise may have to cancel depending upon what the FM proposes.

Planning to go for parking sensors as well, the ones which are mounted on IVRM. Any suggestions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jods (Post 2677691)

Which model you have booked and is this price is on road Gurgoan ?
What are the taxes in Gurgoan these days, as I am also planning to change one of my car ?