[volkman10]

Update: @ 40k up on odometer the 1.6 was due for its 4th Service.

A truly blissful ownership but a bit mixed experience at the service station.

No major complaints reported while giving for service, except for one air vent replacement and tightening of the rear mudflaps.

Got a bill of ~ 11.5k, the next day, but had to return the next day as sweating near the engine drain plug had been observed . Rectified the same as the washer was reported to be damaged.

Intact under body, on inspection





Car at delivery






Changed the tyres at 40k to Goodyear.

[volkman10]

10 days is all it needs to unveil the drama of my Polo 1.6!

Was on vacation for just 10 days and the car was not used- did not disconnect the battery, as this is not the first the Polo was left thus.

Was back from the trip, cranked the Polo - it did start and all seemed okay.

Well the next did the situation was different, trying taking the Polo out on a Saturday and no signs of it getting cranked.
Checked the battery amperage seemed okay - Now what?

Called up VW - Whitefield for the first time , as this is not the Service centre I use, but is closest to my residence.
If you are a VW owner you will know it is very difficult in such situations to get hold of the service calls through.
Finally got the Manager and requested for the diagonals to be done at home as I was kinda sure it could be a minor glitch. He made sure it is a paid visit irrespective of the outcome.

The Service engineer arrives checks the battery, confirms it is fine and declares most probably the starter needs to be replaced ( ODO at 42k km)
When enquired on the lead time , the next shocker - it needs to be ordered and could cost ~INR 29k.
Charges for the Service consultant was ~ 450 INR.

Left with no choice , decided to use the trailer service to reach the Polo to the service centre on Sunday. ( trailer charges ~ 2k INR)





A couple of days by checked the status, was informed will be informed as the
car was not yet attested to.

Exactly after a week a surprise answer I get - the car has no issue but is under observation and it sometimes happens when not used for a long period- Relieved as was mentally prepared to hear the starter issue but reaffirmed that the car is just fine.

A day after the call, was asked to collect the Polo. For the very first time I enter VW Whitefield and it seem chaotic and very congested.

Too many cars around and very few SA's. Finally got hold of the SA and he repeats the same ans asks to disconnect the terminal when not using the car for long .
he mentions the car sometimes go in the ' sleep mode' but mentions it is a rare incidence though!
Anyways was as no serious damage done- payment was just INR 450 and was very happy to get the car back!

VW Whitefield Service centre.





Since then the car is just normal but owning a German car is all about reliability - You will not know when you will be in situations like this.

It does reaffirm my decision - If possible when owning 2 cars , always have a Japanese car as a back-up!

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by volkman10

It does reaffirm my decision - If possible when owning 2 cars , always have a Japanese car as a back-up!

Aah, finally some update on your first love eh volkman10?
Actually bro, you have still not understood the problem here, so let me explain.

I had a Labrador many years back, which was playful, healthy and ever so charged up. It was just over 4 months old, when I decided to add some muscle power and bought home a German Shepherd pup. As this was way too tiny and cute, it got all the attention and love. My Labrador however would never complain, but stopped being playful, started eating less, sleeping lesser and falling ill so often. Then we all realised the core problem and decided to give equal amount of attention & love to both. It just took a week for my Laby to get back to pink of health and everything was back to normal.

I think this small story should have given you a fair bit of insight into this German & Japanese turmoil at home !!

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Aah, finally some update on your first love eh

I had--------everything was back to normal.

LOL. In- fact a similar reference was made within the family and had borne the brunt at that time. But it is far from reality.

Can you ever forget your first love? And the Polo 1.6 is mine and on Fridya that is the car I take out - So no partiality in anyways

If you have a single car , I would always recommend a German Car ( but cautioning on the possible risks). At work after buying this Polo, a friend too bought one - but the 1.2 Polo, he has many problems with it and has stated will never go for another German car.

2018 I could add another German car - but VW has to update their ageing mass (premium) product portfolio for that .

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Can you ever forget your first love? And the Polo 1.6 is mine and on Fridays that is the car I take out - So no partiality in anyways

Polo has become my Friday drive to work and this is what I get in terms of FE in a relatively traffic free drive through Bangalore City. But the indicator stalk positions between the Japanese Vs European is always a pain to adjust.



Relatively the S Cross ( DDiS200) would give me ~25 Km/l

[volkman10]

Above the Rest- My Polo 1,6(P)

Five years up and 45K on odo. A chequered ownership ( details up shortly). Here are some pics,






Great mileage as driven in Bangalore city.

Mornings ( early drive)


Evenings

[McLaren Rulez]

Very crisp and concise ownership review volkman10.

A shame that our tax regulations made this engine unviable - If there's one thing missing in the Polo lineup, it's something that slots nicely between the barebones 3cyl MPi and the mental TSI.

[CarguyNish]

If I am not wrong, the location where you have taken Snaps is CV Raman Road right.

Regarding FE, do you calculate it based on Total Trip Meter Reading/MID or Actual Tankful Method ?

My cousin who owns S Cross 1.3 Alpha isn't extracting the kind of mileage you get on you're SCross. He is getting 15.5 kmpl.

If I go by the Trip Meter/Average FE indication on MID, the numbers are roughly the same as yours.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by CarguyNish

If I am not wrong, the location where you have taken Snaps is CV Raman Road right.
Regarding FE, do you calculate it based on Total Trip Meter Reading/MID or Actual Tankful Method ?

Yes it is C V Raman Road, a trip after a 3M visit

FE method is done roughly only seeing th MID at the end of a 30 km city driving and seeing the consistent value every month.

The same method followed with the S Cross too.

[volkman10]

At 5 yr and 3 months report of VW's 1.6P ownership - A report more reflecting on the incompetence of diagnosis and suspect Quality of parts leading to the 'Reliability' of the cars from this brand in India.

Will I buy another VW car? - Maybe not till such time the confidence is restored which is currently at its lowest.

The Polo has been with me for the last 5+ years with a chequered experience in ownership of a VW car. Here are the chorological even of issues faced during this time.
1. Car immobile after wash – attributed to the brake drum jam and rectified by service personnel ~ at 6 months after purchase.

2. Dripping of oil at drain plug after 3rd service –Noticed by me after delivery and rectified at VW service but mentioned as being tightened and use of M seal – Service charge 0

3. Same issue of oil drip at drain plug at 4th service – Noticed by me after delivery – Now Issue attributed to the First batch of 1.6 Polo and Vento’s (Petrol) a flaw in the oil sump design.
Insisted and got a free replacement but took two weeks, run the car with welding the internal joint of the plug. Service centre is aware of this issue and a Vento was there too with the same issue – why no recall/ service bulletin? (In pics. below)

4. Car immobile after not being used for 4 days – Used Flatbed trailer - Issue sorted out but no convincing root cause- things done included cleaning spark plug, fuel lines, checking electrical. Towing charges 3.5k, service charge INR 400

5. Car immobile – showed signs of dead battery. A relatively new battery is just 1 year though. Used towing and issue sorted out by changing to a new battery under warranty. Towing charge 3k, service charge 0

6. Car immobile – Needed to tow the vehicle to Service centre – Cleaned all fuel lines – this time injectors too – Root cause not exactly known but attributed to block in fuel system – Note the car is always fuelled with Normal petrol from Shell. – Towing charge 2.5k, Service 3.5k

Miscellaneous- LH AC Vent broke, Power window switch replaced.

Well with the above events and the car is just ~ 46k kms ( 5+ years) on ODO, lost confidence in VW India and their competence in solving issue.. With the above turn of effects am leaning to never purchase a VW car and will be cautiously treading my ownership and recommendations within my circle on purchasing a VW car knowing fully the risks involved in the same.

At the VW Service center

Fifth Service,

Defective Oil sump( pin hole causing leakage)- Fix



New Modified Oil sump and fitment



Flat bed - The very first time,


Towing - 2nd instance

Towing 3rd time


The car is fantastic otherwise but am now paranoid s bit whenever this is driven. This is the exact reason for trusting a Japanese brand when choosing the second car!

The Polo and some fantastic figures,



Morning Drive

And evening City drive,

[Durango Dude]

@volkman10: Sorry to hear of the VW woes! I spent the whole of last evening drooling over the Polo GT TSI with the 7 speed DSG: Yeah, yeah, I've heard and read about the DQ200 woes. I've ordered a TD from VW also. But the unreliability and the woes of many who are plain disgusted with VW service and rip off spare prices, have brought my day dreaming to an abrupt end.
I have a 11.5 year Elantra that has never died on me (or) let me down ever; except for a dead battery after 8 years of service (yes the original battery lasted for 8 years) that also at home. To hell with perceived quality and status, I'll stick with the 'boringly' reliable brands, Hyundai, Maruti and Toyota!

[centaur]

I was sold on the 1.6 around 5 years back when I was in the market. Thankfully when I asked about the service costs, I was told that annually it would be around 12k and I was like

Yes I know its a bigger engine, uses more oil, probably synth etc etc but given the Indian mindset, I was really not sure of paying so much annually for a hatch especially when our dzire diesel costed lesser than that in a year.

Adding to it, not so good reputation of VW ASSC was another deterrent. Wanted a peaceful and hassle free ownership which brought it down between the swift and the i20, interiors ruling in favour of the latter.

Looking at your thread, I am really glad with what I did and what I choose to opt for. The Korean hasn't let me down even once except for setting me back by 11k at the 30k interval "major" service. However, I still like the looks of the polo/vento. Just seems ageless and the handling is any day way better than the korean. If VW ever gets me the reliability and trouble free ownership of the Japanese/Koreans with the Polo/Vento, I would be the first one standing there for a booking.

[volkman10]

Sixth Year of ownership:



Once Loved , then Hated (reliability?), but definitely cannot be Ignored - The Rebel( Polo 1.6)

Currently enjoying the drive and kept exclusive for solo/ weekend drives.

[volkman10]

At 6 1/2 years crossing the milestone of 50k km, car is being driven only on weekends.

Was thinking of replacing this with another VW but with VW's announcement of its future lineup with mediocre engines, will hold on the 1.6 for a longer time.

Except for the service competency and some localized part quality issues the 1.6 in the MT guise is a hoot to drive and added to the build quality has no comparison to other cars available in this segment in India.