[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by Bluengel180

@Sam

There is a Skoda showroom 500metres before the shell Outlet on the pune-mumbai bypass road, Didn't you notice it?

Yes I noticed the showroom. It was not a service station right?

In any case when I crossed it, I was simply trying to get to the Shell pump and hence was not interested in anything else.

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by jigbarai

Guess what he meant here was that the Skoda dealership is right across the road of the Shell station they were at.
You could cross the road walking down, no need to drive the car around.

@jigbarai ^^ here is your answer.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

3) Drain the oil from the engine and replace with ordinary mineral oil

Why does Skoda not start the car with mineral oil? Then recommend that the car be serviced by them after 10k and perfrom a proper flush and systhetic oil refill at that stage?

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by navin

Why does Skoda not start the car with mineral oil? Then recommend that the car be serviced by them after 10k and perfrom a proper flush and systhetic oil refill at that stage?

$$$ there may be lot more margin on 7-8 liters of $hell helix $ynthetic oil then ordinary mineral example Castrol GTX approx 8 liters has MRP of 2K rs versus some 16K for fully $ynthetic , This means fatter margin for company.
Now to us it may look small change comparing overall price of Skoda car but for a company it is Number of cars sold X Margin.

[shibujp]

Great post, Sam. Last week I read your post on buying the car. And this week this..frankly it's the first time that I have heard of Skoda's initial oil drinking habits.

Frankly if Maruti and Hyundai can ensure that it's dealerships confirm to the standards that they do, I can not figure why Skoda cannot do the same. I am afraid that the only conclusion is that they have not risen off their collective butts even after the "instigation" thread.

Now remember that this is no city punter that we are looking at. These cars regularly do seriously long distances. It is imperative that Skoda tells the customer about the oil habits and supplies two cans of the oil FREE of cost for the first 5000 kms. Sam is in the know or knows people in the know. Not every Skoda customer is that...

Drive on,
Shibu.

[Jaggu]

Wow Yeti goes yengine wengine! Am impressed with Skoda for making you one

But yes they should keep the customer informed about the drinking habits of these engines, why cant they be lil pro-active and avoid the ill will?? And no marks for you Sam, there is one whole thread running on this oil consumption in here and you never bothered to check it!

[jkrishnakj]

Hi Sam, Enjoying every bit of this.
Going slightly off topic -
A very cheeky advertisement of Skoda Laura, through Vinayak Cars Pvt Ltd. appeared in today's Bangalore Times. Not sure if other Bangaloreans noticed it. It was on the last page of Bangalore times in today's edition. There is a nice little picture of a Laura and around it are Foot Prints / Steps - and inside the foot prints, you will notice the words "Yeti" written. Total of 8 foot prints or steps. Is Skoda / Vinayak Cars using Yeti's name to sell ?

[prateek99]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Hi Sam, Enjoying every bit of this.
Going slightly off topic -
A very cheeky advertisement of Skoda Laura, through Vinayak Cars Pvt Ltd. appeared in today's Bangalore Times. Not sure if other Bangaloreans noticed it. It was on the last page of Bangalore times in today's edition. There is a nice little picture of a Laura and around it are Foot Prints / Steps - and inside the foot prints, you will notice the words "Yeti" written. Total of 8 foot prints or steps. Is Skoda / Vinayak Cars using Yeti's name to sell ?

Krishna ji, is it possible for you to upload snap of this ad?

[reignofchaos]

They basically mean the Skoda Yeti is coming.

[jkrishnakj]

Oops..My bad actually .
I was reading through that advertisement again and only now did i read the message " YETI bookings Open. Limited period offer".
Reignofchaos is right - the Skoda-Yeti is coming.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

There is a nice little picture of a Laura and around it are Foot Prints / Steps - and inside the foot prints, you will notice the words "Yeti" written. Total of 8 foot prints or steps. Is Skoda / Vinayak Cars using Yeti's name to sell ?

Originally Posted by prateek99

Krishna ji, is it possible for you to upload snap of this ad?

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

They basically mean the Skoda Yeti is coming.

lol, yes that does mean that the Skoda Yeti is coming. I am not important enough to use my name to sell cars, lol.

[prateek99]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

lol, yes that does mean that the Skoda Yeti is coming.

Why would Skoda market Yeti taking Laura's support? Both are from different segment, but still.

I haven't seen the ad; the footprints are coming out of the car or going in to the car? (Of course coming out, just confirming). Maybe Skoda wants to say that Yeti came sitting in Laura, that's it?

Any views Brand Director saab?

I am not important enough to use my name to sell cars, lol.

I bet they haven't read you yet

[navin]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

l am not important enough to use my name to sell cars, lol.

you would be if you had written those books you promised

Originally Posted by prateek99

Any views Brand Director saab?

here is a test drive video
Skoda Yeti 2009 Test Drive in Norway - Video

[rahul016]

Will it be a good idea buying the first batch of Yeti after seeing the problems in Superb first batch.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

By the way, its not just Skodas. Quite a few high end Germans have this big appetite for oil in the first few thousand kilometers.

Originally Posted by Gansan

This is simply a characteristic of these high-end engines and is part of the running in process

Which high-end engines are you guys talking about? None of the Germans from my circle (including petrol & diesel Mercs / BMWs) have shown this appetite for oil. The only cars that have are from the VW stable (including Audis). Even after 10,000 kms of hard driving, my Benz shows the oil level as "ok". There is nothing high-end or low-end about excessive oil consumption during the run-in period.

Is it a deal breaker? Surely not, AS LONG AS this oil consumption problem resolves by itself once the engine components have bedded in. Skoda should ideally:

1. Stuff a 2 liter oil can in the boot of every new Superb / Laura 1.8 TSI

2. Clearly inform all customers about the car's drinking habits. The only plausible reason I can think of, as to why they don't, is to avoid a "high maintenance" or "problematic" reputation for its products.

Originally Posted by navin

Why does Skoda not start the car with mineral oil? Then recommend that the car be serviced by them after 10k and perfrom a proper flush and systhetic oil refill at that stage?

Nearly all premium cars are factory-filled with synthetic oil. Some not-so-premium have also started adopting this practice.

Originally Posted by amitk26

$$$ there may be lot more margin on 7-8 liters of $hell helix $ynthetic oil then ordinary mineral example Castrol GTX approx 8 liters has MRP of 2K rs versus some 16K for fully $ynthetic , This means fatter margin for company.

Rubbish. The customer pays the same MRP for his new car, whether the car is factory-filled with synthetic or mineral. Therefore, and contrary to your statement, its actually an additional cost for Skoda to fill the Superb with synthetic oil at the factory level.

Your statement is valid at the (paid) service level. But every other premium car requires synthetic oil, thus I don't see why Skoda is any different.

Originally Posted by rahul016

Will it be a good idea buying the first batch of Yeti after seeing the problems in Superb first batch.

With European & Indian manufacturers, its generally recommended to wait a year or two (post launch) and give them sufficient time to sort out initial glitches.