[graaja]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Figured! On the other hand, there is a whole thread dedicated to VIN reports I am sure you know, everyone mentions the VIN and the report is also published there itself

Now that you mention that, yes, I remember about that thread. Sometimes, I get too smart to the extent that I actually cross the line to stupidity

[graaja]

The first significant milestone came up today - 1000km.



I have got an average fuel consumption of 13.0kmpl as per the MID. Based on the FuelLog app on my phone that uses tank fill method, the average fuel consumption is 12.22kmpl for this 1000km. Most of the drive so far has been in city, in 2 lane roads with heavy traffic in Kerala and hill roads. Also, I too have been contributing to the fuel consumption by way of running the AC for long durations, idling the car and researching the features etc.

Per the MID, average fuel consumption for in city rides varies from 14 to 17kmpl. During a 80km stretch on the highway on Coimbatore-Pollachi-Valparai trip, I got an average of 21.2kmpl. Will update more when I do some long highway runs.

[graaja]

One thing I found from reading lots of ownership reviews here in the forum is that car detailing and proper washing of the car goes a long way in both keeping the car fresh looking over years and also attracts a better price when it is time to sell the car. I was not well educated on this topic during the ownership of my first car, the Getz. Though I used to regularly (once in 2 or 3 weeks, if that may be called regular) wash the car, I did not know anything about proper method of washing. So, at the time I sold the car after 6 ½ years, the car was full of swirl marks, scales due to sun drying of water etc.

I wanted to correct this mistake with my Jetta. So, the first thing I did after taking delivery of the car is started researching on car detailing. The VW showroom had 3M car detailing and they charged about 5K for this. I started a discussion about this in the official Jetta Review thread and after getting inputs from fellow TBHP’ians (iliketurtles, Chethan, akshay1234, VW2010), I decided to postpone the treatment by a year when the paint starts to get dull.

Next in the to-do list was the ideal washing process and the things I should buy for this. After lot of Google search, found a couple of good videos on wash procedure and quick waxing.

Meguiar’s wash and wax video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbAo8KLD1g

A few good tips I learnt from the video are:

• Never wash the car in the sun, as this will lead to scales
• Never wash the car when it is hot, as this will also lead to scales
• Use microfiber to wash and dry the car as regular rough towels will leave swirl marks.

I never followed these tips (never knew them) with my Getz

Meguiar’s ultimate quick wax video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFHlgSYxl6M

Of course, they mention that there is no substitute for the protection offered by solid and liquid waxes, but this can be used for quickly waxing the car -

Following is the shopping list.

• Jopasu duster from snapdeal – For daily dusting. Washing once a week or 10 days
• “Armor all ultrashine wash and wax” from snapdeal -
• “Vheelocity - Multi Purpose Microfiber Dry Wet Cleaning Polishing Cloth Set of 3” from snap deal
• “Vheelocity - Microfiber Glove Mitt for Car Cleaning Washing (Set of 3)” from snapdeal -
• Unfortunately, they sent me another set of micro fiber towels instead of mitts. Need to get these replaced.
• “Meguiar's Ultimate Quick wax Spray” from www.autofresh.in
• “ArmorAll Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner” from snapdeal. They sent a nice microfiber towel free with this product. I have not used this yet as I have not done interior cleaning.
• Two buckets

I have been collecting these items over the past week. Today the list was complete.


I set out to clean and wax the car. Followed the same procedure described in the videos and it took about 45 minutes to complete. Here is the result.











It is quite possible that the shine is not due to the washing and waxing, but because this is a new car, only time will tell.

The only problem I faced is that even though I did the cleaning late evening with no direct sun, water used to still dry up. Need to find an efficient way of cleaning the car in parts so that this can be avoided.

One more thing: There is a note in the Armor All Upholstery and Carpet Cleaner that this product is not suited for leather. Not sure if I can use this on the Jetta seats which are made of leatherette. Is leatherette a fancy name given to a fabric or is there some leather mixed?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by graaja

One more thing: There is a note in the Armor All Upholstery and Carpet Cleaner that this product is not suited for leather. Not sure if I can use this on the Jetta seats which are made of leatherette. Is leatherette a fancy name given to a fabric or is there some leather mixed?

Leatherette is artificial leather, so it may not be a problem. If its safe for vinyl, it should work for your seats as well. But its best to check on their website or any available catalog.

[Santoshbhat]

Nice shine you've managed to get there. I have got full exterior detailing done on my Laura twice so far. Once at 1 1/2 year (Smartwax'd) after ownership and once after 3 years (3M paint sealant). I have waxed it myself with Meguair wax a few times in between. Washing at home is done by me exclusively and never have I used anything other than microfibre towels. No swirl marks yet and the paint shine is a as good as it was on day one. Of course my car being silver does not reveal swirl marks so easily.

Originally Posted by graaja

The only problem I faced is that even though I did the cleaning late evening with no direct sun, water used to still dry up. Need to find an efficient way of cleaning the car in parts so that this can be avoided.

Hope you are not using hard water. Hard water stains that form near emblems and crevices over time are very tough to remove.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Leatherette is artificial leather, so it may not be a problem. If its safe for vinyl, it should work for your seats as well. But its best to check on their website or any available catalog.

Thanks. I did some internet search about leatherette. Found that there are two types of leatherette, plastic based and fabric based. So, I guess it should be fine. Could not find anything in the Armor All website about leatherette, and no information in any other forums as well. Maybe I should apply this to a small invisible test area and see if there is any adverse reaction and then use.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Nice shine you've managed to get there. I have got full exterior detailing done on my Laura twice so far. Once at 1 1/2 year (Smartwax'd) after ownership and once after 3 years (3M paint sealant). I have waxed it myself with Meguair wax a few times in between. Washing at home is done by me exclusively and never have I used anything other than microfibre towels. No swirl marks yet and the paint shine is a as good as it was on day one. Of course my car being silver does not reveal swirl marks so easily.

Thanks Santoshbhat. I think I will follow your method and get detailing done after a year or a year and a half later. And as I do not have any Man Friday to clean the car, washing will be done only by me. Hope I can keep the car nice and shining like you have managed to keep yours. Also, the color being gray makes it a lot easier to maintain than dark colors.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Hope you are not using hard water. Hard water stains that form near emblems and crevices over time are very tough to remove.

That is a very good point. Though I have a water softening plant, the hardness keeps increasing every day after regeneration. I will take care to time the washing of the car immediately after the regeneration of the softener, so that the water will be the softest. That should solve the water hardness problem.

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by graaja

Thanks. I did some internet search about leatherette. Found that there are two types of leatherette, plastic based and fabric based. So, I guess it should be fine. Could not find anything in the Armor All website about leatherette, and no information in any other forums as well. Maybe I should apply this to a small invisible test area and see if there is any adverse reaction and then use.

You know what my favorite cleaner for any car is? Colin Spray even on leather seats before putting the polish, you must clean the seats. To do so, take a microfiber cloth, spray the seat area with Colin, and start cleaning. You will be amazed at the amount of black dirt that comes off of the seats. One advantage of leather over fabric is that you can clean any stain and maintain the interior better.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

You know what my favorite cleaner for any car is? Colin Spray even on leather seats before putting the polish, you must clean the seats. To do so, take a microfiber cloth, spray the seat area with Colin, and start cleaning. You will be amazed at the amount of black dirt that comes off of the seats. One advantage of leather over fabric is that you can clean any stain and maintain the interior better.

Colin is alcohol based which means it will dry the seats up. This is bad.

You need a leather cleaner ph balanced and then a conditioner to keep the leather supple.

[Arjun Reddy]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Colin is alcohol based which means it will dry the seats up. This is bad.



You need a leather cleaner ph balanced and then a conditioner to keep the leather supple.

Viddi,can I use any of the leather cleaners and a leather polish on the cooled seats in the Elantra? I am only scared that if not done well they might clog the AC pores on the seat.Please suggest.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

You know what my favorite cleaner for any car is? Colin Spray even on leather seats before putting the polish, you must clean the seats. To do so, take a microfiber cloth, spray the seat area with Colin, and start cleaning. You will be amazed at the amount of black dirt that comes off of the seats. One advantage of leather over fabric is that you can clean any stain and maintain the interior better.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Colin is alcohol based which means it will dry the seats up. This is bad.

You need a leather cleaner ph balanced and then a conditioner to keep the leather supple.

Did some Googling and read some threads on leatherette maintenance.

How to maintain leatherette seats
Cleaning/maintaining Leatherette

A couple of learnings:
1. As Vid6639 has mentioned, alcohol based cleaners will result in cracked leather over a period of time. So, Adi, you need to be careful on that.
2. As leatherette is durable, anything that can be used to clean leather can be used to clean leatherette, but not vice versa. Leather requires more care.

So, I guess the ArmorAll Carpet and Upholstery cleaner should be fine with my leatherette seats.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by graaja

So, I guess the ArmorAll Carpet and Upholstery cleaner should be fine with my leatherette seats.

I wouldn't suggest you to use it. Upholstery cleaner have higher abrasives. I would rather suggest you to use any one of them. I'm using them for leatherette seats on my Vento.

1. Meguiars - Gold Class Leather Cleaner & Conditioner
2. Meguiars Gold Class Leather Cleaner & Conditioner

Above products clean as well as condition the leather. So you get a 2 in 1 product.

[suhas.sudhish]

Mod note: Please use Preview before Submitting posts. Fixing Quotes. Thanks.

Originally Posted by graaja

.

Hi graaja,
Do you know if we can program the ORVM's to fold when the car is locked and unfold when unlocked? As of now we manually have to turn the joystick before pulling the key out. Once key is taken out the ORVM'S do not fold.


And also have you used the xenon washers? If so please do share how. I couldn't figure out how to use them 8-)

[Amarendranath]

Originally Posted by suhas.sudhish

And also have you used the xenon washers? If so please do share how. I couldn't figure out how to use them 8-)

Hi Suhas,

The right side wiper stalk when pushed down (hold for 2 seconds) will activate the headlamp washers. I had also seen the mirrors fold in when the car is locked (test drive car) but not able to do on my car as well. Graaja your inputs?

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by suhas.sudhish

And also have you used the xenon washers? If so please do share how. I couldn't figure out how to use them

I would suggest you to read the manual and it would give all the answers. Also you would discover more features which you may not be knowing. Even how to auto fold mirrors would be given in it.

[Amarendranath]

Originally Posted by GTO

My brother's Jetta has completed about 30,000 kms in 2 years and not a bulb has gone out. Fingers crossed, here's hoping the long-term reliability is strong.

That's pretty reassuring to know. German build quality cannot be questioned, it's their level of device that's disappointing. Overs the years the issues being faced seem to have come down. Let's hope every Jetta is built like the one your brother owns.