[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by 500ContyCruiser

My car did around 2100 kms in a week and was planing to get engine oil changed.

While reading this article, people suggesting oil change for first 1000 - 2000 kms.

Today when I went to Skoda Service center (Okalipuram, Bangalore), they mentioned for Skoda cars we do not need to change oil. And the engine can run till 15,000 kms or 1 year (whichever is earlier) without any oil change.

Please can someone confirm whether I should go for oil change now or wait as per Skoda's suggestion.

Separately, I was trying to get horn changed as the current horn does not have good effect.
As per service engineer, the only horn which can fit is from Laura and still they cannot give warranty as it can go bad while washing (due to difference in front grill). Also Laura horn costs about 3,500 /-

I remember someone talking about horn change for Rapid.
Any pointers appreciated!

PS: Do not to make any major changes to car and void warranty.

I believe the reason an oil change is recommended at 1,500 kms was to put in new fresh engine oil after the engine has been run in.
There is no harm in getting the oil changed. Worse case, you will be poorer by Rs. 4,000. Best case - your engine will be protected.

Regarding the horn - look for after market horns. For Rs. 500-1000 you should be able to get a proper horn. I am planning on getting the ones on our Laura changed (it has the new Rapid type horns, no more VW horn) - while there could be warranty issues, I personally would rather be safe.
Why don't you try out another dealer for servicing? Or is the current one the best? He seems to be taking advantage of you - during the buying process, and even some stupid points regarding the after sales.

[500ContyCruiser]

Originally Posted by hrman

It cost him some 650/- Not sure of warranty though. He mentions its plug and play, so should not affect the warranty.

Ok. I will check on it.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Why don't you try out another dealer for servicing? Or is the current one the best? He seems to be taking advantage of you - during the buying process, and even some stupid points regarding the after sales.

Other dealer is Tafe in Bangalore and have heard even more horror stories with them

I believe its part of Skoda package to take advantage of customers ..
I just dont blame Skoda alone here, thats how our industries are.

[kalpurja]

Originally Posted by 500ContyCruiser

My car did around 2100 kms in a week and was planing to get engine oil changed.

While reading this article, people suggesting oil change for first 1000 - 2000 kms.

Today when I went to Skoda Service center (Okalipuram, Bangalore), they mentioned for Skoda cars we do not need to change oil. And the engine can run till 15,000 kms or 1 year (whichever is earlier) without any oil change.

Please can someone confirm whether I should go for oil change now or wait as per Skoda's suggestion.

Separately, I was trying to get horn changed as the current horn does not have good effect.
As per service engineer, the only horn which can fit is from Laura and still they cannot give warranty as it can go bad while washing (due to difference in front grill). Also Laura horn costs about 3,500 /-

I remember someone talking about horn change for Rapid.
Any pointers appreciated!

PS: Do not to make any major changes to car and void warranty.

Service engineer is right. Horn you were talking about is root horn. Problem with these horn is that once water get inside, they stop working. In Rapid, horn is just behind the front grill. While washing or during rains there is a very high probability of root horn to get kaput.

[500ContyCruiser]

Another thing I missed to inform. After reading this thread, remembered!

The service engineer looking at my car stickers,

SE: "Oh, you are coming from TBHP"
Me: "yes, what happened?"
SE: "have you modded your car for higher turbo boost and BHP?"
"because TBHP people usually do it"
Me: "What?? No! car is just one week old no intended to do anything sooner or later"

[hrman]

Originally Posted by rajni

Oh, I think I read you only. Thanks for replying.

Anyways, I will take an appointment with Vinayaka and try my luck.

HI, Were you able to take an appointment with Vinayak and did the issue get resolved?
Last week I just got my five tyre rotation, wheel balancing and alignment done at Madhus, Langford Road. This was after completing 6 months and 6800 kms. I informed them about the steering wheel being tilted towards the right side.
They corrected it at the front wheels itself, as he said its not possible to do it at the steering wheel with airbags.
I felt a visible change after this. My steering is straight (I feel a very minute play in the steering, could be my imagination). But the steering has become silky smooth now. Also reduced my tyre pressure to F:32 and R:30 from the earlier 34 all around. Am enjoying this even more.

[torque18]

i was generally browsing through the features being offered in different Rapid models and i saw that elegance trim now has leather wrapped wheel, gear knob and handbrake lever. This seems to be new as my car doesnt have any leather touch!

anybody out there with a new car who can confirm?

Also, what exactly is skoda shield? is it offered for rapid? and the price?

Thanks

[sunsetorange]

I am in Trichy, Tamilnadu and went to check out the Skoda Rapid. Gurudev motors has a branch here. The yard in front of the showroom and the adjacent compound was full of Rapids in various trims. I was asking for discounts when the salesman tells me Skoda is not offering any discount as the target for 2012 has already been reached. When I asked about the cars standing outside, he says these cars are from 2013 batch and says they use 2013 year chassis. Are the Rapids really selling like hot cakes?

[hrman]

Originally Posted by sunsetorange

I am in Trichy, Tamilnadu and went to check out the Skoda Rapid. Gurudev motors has a branch here. The yard in front of the showroom and the adjacent compound was full of Rapids in various trims. I was asking for discounts when the salesman tells me Skoda is not offering any discount as the target for 2012 has already been reached. When I asked about the cars standing outside, he says these cars are from 2013 batch and says they use 2013 year chassis. Are the Rapids really selling like hot cakes?

Bull.
Fact 1: rapid is not setting the sales charts on fire.You can check the monthly sales figures to confirm this.

Fact 2: Skoda has indeed pulled out discounts on all its models. A lot of its higher end models were selling at a great discount. So we guess a price correction is around the corner. But Rapid was anyway available only at a 15k corporate discount and nothing else.

3. 2013 batch cars available now? Who is he trying to kid? Even in Vento and Polo, their 2011 manufactured models were still selling around August/Sept of 2012. Maybe the Skoda guys are perceiving a huge spike in demand and manufacturing tomorrows models today. Unbelievable in any case!!

At the most they must be procured in expectation of the festive season and related spike in sales.

[500ContyCruiser]

Originally Posted by torque18

i was generally browsing through the features being offered in different Rapid models and i saw that elegance trim now has leather wrapped wheel, gear knob and handbrake lever. This seems to be new as my car doesnt have any leather touch!

anybody out there with a new car who can confirm?

Originally Posted by hrman

3. 2013 batch cars available now? Who is he trying to kid? Even in Vento and Polo, their 2011 manufactured models were still selling around August/Sept of 2012. Maybe the Skoda guys are perceiving a huge spike in demand and manufacturing tomorrows models today. Unbelievable in any case!!

When I went to take my car for delivery [mid of October 2012], the Sale Lead at Vinayaka Cars informed the same. Skoda has released new version of Rapid with leather wrapped wheel, gear knob, handbrake lever and chrome AC vents. These are 2013 models.

I did not understand the logic though. Of stocking 2013 models when they are unable to meet existing sales target.

I did see one of car's and apart from above mentioned list, did not see any changes. With all the these changes, Skoda will bump price by 8000 /- atleast.

[Turbo car]

Originally Posted by 500ContyCruiser

When I went to take my car for delivery [mid of October 2012], the Sale Lead at Vinayaka Cars informed the same. Skoda has released new version of Rapid with leather wrapped wheel, gear knob, handbrake lever and chrome AC vents. These are 2013 models.

I did not understand the logic though. Of stocking 2013 models when they are unable to meet existing sales target.

I did see one of car's and apart from above mentioned list, did not see any changes. With all the these changes, Skoda will bump price by 8000 /- atleast.

Common sense says 2013 model comes in 2013 only. Usually face lifts or feature additions of cosmetic nature does not gain the tag of "model" as these guys claim. I guess they can call minor cosmetic work and call it new model na? after all they will be the only ones doing so in real time

[hrman]

Originally Posted by sunsetorange

When I asked about the cars standing outside, he says these cars are from 2013 batch and says they use 2013 year chassis.

Originally Posted by 500ContyCruiser

When I went to take my car for delivery [mid of October 2012], These are 2013 models.
I did not understand the logic though. Of stocking 2013 models when they are unable to meet existing sales target.
.

For the Rapid, the Chassis number is etched on the bottom edge of the passenger side windshield glass. Is it possible for either of you to note down the Chassis number of any of these "2013" models and post it in the "Find your cars date of manufacturer by VIN number" thread by Wildon? That will put all doubts to rest!


What the dealer means may be the 2013 facelift models, but technically, they cannot have a 2013 manufactured chassis. It can have a 2012 chassis only.

[sunsetorange]

Originally Posted by 500ContyCruiser

Skoda has released new version of Rapid with leather wrapped wheel, gear knob, handbrake lever and chrome AC vents. These are 2013 models
I did see one of car's and apart from above mentioned list, did not see any changes. With all the these changes, Skoda will bump price by 8000 /- atleast.

The Vento already has all this and now has a navigation tablet to go with it. And they have REDUCED the price by nearly a lakh! Now Skoda bumping up the price is akin to Seppuku !

[chanvivek]

Hi Guys,

I just got my Skoda Rapid less than a month back. When I booked my Rapid, the dealer, Gurudev Motors, told me that a new model Elegance Plus has been released. They pulled out Skoda Finance schemes for all their 'Plus' Series. Moreover, this comes with the leather wrapped steering wheel, handbrake and gear knob. And with a price hike of Rs. 6000.

They had the older version without the leather trims and they were offering Skoda Finance schemes for that though they did not have a White Elegance.

I still do not believe their concept of a 'Plus' version for their Elegance variant!

My VIN number iterates that the model is Aug 2012 and not 2013 by any means!

I finally had to settle for the Elegance 'Plus' which is the model name they claim. Got delivery in less than a week and have already done 3700 kms. Find the car a pleasure to drive but also am a bit worried about the suspension. Due to the hard suspension, handling has been a charmer. But on the flip side, the road conditions in Chennai are pretty bad now and am worried whether the suspension might give way sometime soon!

I also have the Skoda Shield and bumper to bumper insurance. Someone please educate me on what the Skoda Shield does not cover!

The Skoda Shield is nothing but just an extended warranty that covers your car for 4 years or 1,00,000 kms whichever comes earlier. Comes dearer by Rs. 16,000.

Another bit of news for the 2013 stories. My friend had booked a White Laura Ambiente Auto about 10 days back and had paid the advance also. They had given him a discount of 1.5 lakhs. On saturday he got a call saying that the 2012 Laura is available only in their Maroon color and if he wants White, he should get the 2013 model only. For the 2013 model, they cannot give any discount. Moreover, they have hiked the price by Rs. 30,000. So basically for the same car, we are expected to pay 1.8L more.


- Chan

[dkaile]

Rapid pips the Scala as better the mid-size saloon - http://www.autocarindia.com/Feature/...ult-scala.aspx

[motorworks]

My first free checkup { 6 months / 7500kms} is scheduled this saturday. Actually, I have covered less than 7k kms, but it has been nearly 10 months since I bought my car. I have requested Vinayak Bangalore to get this done, but i will have to visit the service center to find out if they will do this free check up in spite of the time lapse.

I wanted feedback from fellow Rapid / vento owners as to what are the main points that I should look out for during this free check up. I had a few concerns which I thought I will check on:-

1) Off late, I'm hearing a weird rubber beading noise in the car while going over small bumps. I'm not sure how to explain this. Whenever the car goes over some bumps I can hear some noise from the doors, as if the rubber beading on the doors are pressing over on the car's body. If you press the car's rubber beading from outside when its closed, you will understand what I'm talking about.
2) I had gone over some speed breakers couple of times without slowing down, obviously due to the poor lights in Bangalore's roads. Wondering if this might have damaged the engine guard or the under body.
3) I understand they usually "plug" the car to a system and run routine checks, so anything that I need to be aware of in this regard?
4) When there are 3 or 4 people seated in the car, the mudflaps scrape even the smallest of speed breakers. Are there new mudflaps which are slightly smaller, since I have heard that the ventos have new ones.
5) The "hissing" sound in the Airconditioner, whenever it starts in the morning.

That's pretty much what I thought of, please let me know if you guys come across some points.