I thought of sharing my experience with the community after having gone through lot of ups and downs in the last 2 months after buying a used Skoda Laura. I am sure this will prove valuable for a lot of people.
Please feel free to contact me if anyone needs help\advice.
I bought Silver Laura 1.9 TDI MT Ambiente (April 2010) with odometer reading of 57K from a company AS-IS condition auction for Rs 4 lac. In the circular, the company was generous enough to inform that the car needed work in clutch assembly, flywheel and AC. It was clear that this repair work would have been quoted from the Authorized SS. Having heard and read from the team-bhp forums, I could assume that the damage was nothing less than a lac if I was to go for repair at an Authorized SS
I had option just to have a look at the car from outside in the company basement parking. But I had made up my mind that I am buying this car if I was getting it around 4 lacs
![Cheering](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Cheering.gif)
Having driven Chevrolet Optra Royale petrol for 5 years, I knew that I would never go to the Authorized SS for any repairs not related to engine work. (This is my take as I do not have a very free hand and spend only required amount of money)
Finally I got the car and took it straight to the Bosch service center at Gurgaon where I was quoted that the repair of Clutch and Flywheel work will be settled around 25K. I was a happy man with this damage until I knew that Bosch guy would create a nightmare for me
![Stupid](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Sign stupid.gif)
5 days later I had the car with me finally, after several visits to the service station, heated exchanges with the owner and calls from mediators. My flywheel was not changed because he felt that this was fine and could do with polish from lathe machine. However the clutch plate was changed (LUK). Believe me, I still feel that my clutch might be harder than other Lauras though the Bosch guy was not convinced and said that I feel so because I was driving a diesel for the first time! Typical answer from a mechanic\service center owner to justify their statements
![DeadHorse](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/deadhorse.gif)
Their engineer told me that it will get softer as I drive. I have driven 2000 Kms but feel no difference. Perhaps I will get used to it over the time unless I take it to another mechanic for opinion. I didn't have to do it at that time as I was already pissed off on this topic.
My next damage was AC repair as the Delhi summer was approaching. From the previous experience at Bosch, I learned it hard way and after spending almost a month and several visits\calls to different AC repair centers ranging from Lajpat Nagar, Mayapuri to Gurgaon, I was convinced that my AC compressor had gone Kaput and there was no option to save money but to go for a new compressor. Again, team-bhp forums were of great help as I could believe that Laura compressor would generally fail around 60K odo reading. It was clear that the damage was somewhere around Rs 25-30K just for the compressor replacement, gas, fitment, etc. Luckily my condenser was in good state and didn't need a replacement.
I decided that I will look for other branded AC compressor replacements apart from Sanden as maximum Lauras were seeing this AC problem at this stage and the company was fitting Sanden compressor. After extensive research I had options of using Valeo, Delphi and Sanden. Somehow I couldn't find the availability of Valeo in Delhi so I was to choose from Delphi and Sanden only. Having heard and witnessed this compressor problem at 60K, I didn't want to repeat Sanden if I was to invest this much and keep the car for long (at least 5 years).
I got Delphi from Kashmere gate for Rs 15,500 (and Sanden was close to 20K) with bill and got it fitted at a local AC mechanic in Gurgaon. It feels so nice now and had a big relief that I got everything done within Rs 20K
Having said all the above, spending 2 interesting repair months of my life and about Rs 50K, I still feel happy with the power and style of my Laura. I really love it when I push the accelerator and see the car going from 0 to 100 within a few seconds.
Perhaps I am satisfied because I got the car originally in a good price and had patience to spend time, money and effort to get it back in shape. However I am also hoping that there is nothing new which pops up suddenly and and asks for more money from my pocket because I know that anything it asks for doesn't get settled for small.