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My car is due for Ist service. My dealer is giving me the tentative costing Rs. 5500/- which includes around 4300/- for the synthetic oil.
What is the reason of price difference?

Ask for a breakdown of the costs? Then we will know exactly how the total is estimated at Rs. 5500.

Mine is a TDI. Whats yours?
How many litres of oil will it require?
By the way, TDI capacity is only 3.8 litres?

k_ajay: Sir, like someone pointed out, it was RPM held for a matter of seconds, AND the engine had already reached operating temperature. IMO you're quite safe and can rest assured you've done NO damage to your engine.

Invinsible: 1000 POSTS AND COUNTING!!!

It's been a terrific saga and I'm really proud to be a part of the illustrious and passionate FABIOSI! Cheers guys. Great going- keep up the good work.


Mysticeyes: Forget about it- it's water under the bridge. We're glad you're back on air and we LOVE to hear your wit and wisdom, insight and more.

Over 1000 posts and a 5 star rating...

Yes, Sir. It's thanks to all of you for keeping the ball rolling. This IS the definitive Fabia story in India. Not true: it's probably the definitive Fabia experience around the world. Many eyes are on us and we have to live up to expectations.

Hi,

About 10 days back myself and my wife went to check out a Santro. We felt we need a car and this would be the cheapest and solves the purpose. There we saw i10 and thoughts cropped up to consider that instead of Santro, since it might get outdated.

Having checked i10 I was wondering about Swift for its diesel. Did a test drive as well but 6L looked too much for it.

Again switched back to i10 and went to the dealer where I saw i20.
I always wanted a spacious car and somehow not convinced with i10. Was impressed with features and space of i20 at a cost of 6.3L (On Road)

Inner heart started questioning 'When You are considering i20, why not try Fabia.'
I have always thought of Skoda to be a premium segment and never went near it. To my surprise I could get Fabia 1.2 HTP Classic for 6L (on Road). Got impressed with Fabia 1.2 HTP Ambiente.
I convinced my heart that anyways am to spend about 4.5L for some car. Why not stretch for a Fabia which is spacious, loaded with features, solid, almost imported, VW-Audi-Porsche family...

Requested for a Test Drive. They came with a TDI. Drove that and felt too noisy. But was impressed with the need for less gear shifts. But felt diesel would be out of my budget and insisted on Petrol TD.

Got into the car and asked the salesman if the engine is on. It was too silent and went for a round in the jammed road. Had a 1.6 ikon and compared to that felt the 30 bhp lacking. But that didn't really matter a lot.

Was confused a lot if I should stretch that much and get this Ambiente. With my home loan currently running and today's economic scenario was worried to take the step.
I was told that Fabia cost is to increase by 15K from 19 Jan 09. So I had to decide fast to get this price. With confused mind after travelling 15 kms to the showroom I returned with out booking. On my return leg Unlike other days last Saturday I saw 6 Fabias on road and it pulled me back to the showroom.

Saturday did the booking as well. They did not have Cap.Beige in showroom so did not know how it looked. Had told will go between that and T.Orange.

That evening I read some comments in this site and some other site where the reviews of petrol Fabia were not great. Again the confusion started. My cousin who is also an enthusiast discouraged me to go for Fabia based on the reviews he had read in various sites.

I didnt want to decide with such a confusion and so last monday went again and cancelled my booking.

After a week, today went to showroom to see if my refund cheque is ready. Saw the C.Beige and here I am .. started reading more reviews....

Thanks to everyone for detailing your experiences and providing an insight.
From this link I understand the following:
1. No major issues with 1.2 HTP
2. Idea on how much it would cost for each Service
3. Possibility of getting discounts from skoda too.
4. Approx Mileage I could expect which I assume 12 in City and 15 in Highway

I am in Hyderabad and would like your help to understand if I can expect any discounts from Mahavir Auto. All that they offered was tank of petrol and UV Coating. On Road cost was 6.72L

Also its just 1 year old car and am worried about its resale. (want to be prepared for the worst...though I intend to have this car atleast for 5 years.)

Thanks for such a wonderful thread and Keep Going.

Sathya.S

tosathyas: Thanks for stopping by and I sincerely hope we can collectively proffer the background info necessary to simplify your decision.

That said, I'm afraid I'm not qualified to personally put in an argument, but GENTLEMEN, especially those of ye in Hyderabad, please help Sathya out any way you can.

Good luck, Sir.

My recent experiences:

An emergency stop from 90 Kmph. Was tearing down to the new airport, and unlike my usual style of going easy on a relatively uncharted stretch of road- I was giving her some juice. Mind you, my babe is a diesel slurper, which means she's heavier and slower off the mark than her petrol siblings, so I was probably holding higher speeds than any even circumspect fool would have tried, in the interests of keeping momentum and saving time. Well, if you've heard of 'Dumb and dumber', there's a new- secret -category bring proposed: it's called Dumbest. AKA Brain-dead.

I was lulled into complacency. The music was good. The lights along the swank neo-riche over-the-top-please-white-man-at-any-cost tarmac dazzled luxuriantly. Even zebra crossings blinked at me seductively. And I began to think- YEAH, just when I began to think with heart brimming with gratitude that our Cheif Highways Engineer had been kind enough to place every impediment along this great big sign of an arrived Industrial Nation, Yeah- just about then, after I'd passed a dozen intersections and not one speed breaker. Guess what the darned Chief Engineer throws at me? Yes, a cheaply tarted-up speed bump, lurking in a poorly lit section of the road, and certainly not one designed for a driver who's begun to feel none existed on this beautiful road. So, there I am sleep-deprived (but not dangerously so), and running late to meet an airplane (another indicator of Third world's first First World Prom night), when Wham- it's ten inches from my nose and I'm going way too fast. Did I mention I was driving on my onesome-lonesome? Well, I was. This meant the only load the car carried was placed driver side right hand corner of the car (where a sensible driver sits :-) ), and obviously that the car was therefore inmbalanced. Well, I slammed down on the anchors, and naturally, the wheels locked (I'm not a Senna, and my wheels aren't equipped with ABS). All four tyres screeching on the tarmac and leaving a black streak on each side, BUT she kept a straight line and helped me whittle down what could have been undercarriage damaging speeds to inane digits that only resulted in an uncomfortable shake, heave and thump. Boy, was I relieved. And peeved a bit with myself.

My words of wisdom to myself? Never DO a road you don't know. NEVER.

Next, service time: TAFE says the first service is due in 10K kms OR 1 year- whichever comes first. Next month marks her first Birthday, so we're talking of scheduling a service date end-of-month. Watch this space to hear how it went.

Take care, gents, and drive safe.

netchef, glad to know your car didn't let you down.

However, do check your tyres for flat spots. An emergency stop involving screaming tyres might create a flat spot on them. Deep enough, they make the tyre useless.

Wise words my friend - i had an uncomfortably scary moment on double road in Indiranagar.

Thank you netchef !
Though it is great to know that your car took care of you, the in(acc?)cident sounds worrisome.

Another confusion I had/have is...

Dealer was claiming it to be german engineering... I assume it to be because of VW engine and it shares the platform with VW Polo.

Few years back Opel one other successful German Engineering brand which was here is today virtually non-existent.

I can imagine that Octavia has been here for a while and Skoda has Laura, Superb and so are serious in business. But at the same time from having following models when launched today many aren't there....

1.2 Petrol Active - Not Available
1.2 Petrol Classic
1.2 Petrol Ambiente
1.4 Petrol Elegance - Not Available
1.4 Diesel Active - Not Available
1.4 Diesel Classic
1.4 Diesel Ambiente
1.4 Diesel Elegance - Not Available

Almost 50% of the variants are non-existent within 1 year of launch. Is this something one should be worried about ?

As always thanks in advance
Sathya

tosathyas:
The shortage could be because of
1. I heard Skoda has plans to bring in new engines and Fabia Combi etc. So it could be because of that.
2. Also VW's plant will start producing Fabia's soon (if not started alredy). So there could be shortages

Also Fabia is a niche market product. You will not find on the road like Swift.

Sometimes the dealer will try to fool us by giving wrong info. So clarify these info with some other city's dealers.

nice to see the fabiosis back after a long weekend and seems General Netchef put on the racing drivers suit at least for some timelol: seems its the season of 'bumps'. I too had a similar experience on sunday evening in the 'wide', 'spacious', 'ultra-modern', 'access controlled' 'properly lit' and 'THE MOST SMOOTHEST SINGLE LANE NATIONAL HIGHWAY WHERE YOU CAN TAKE 1 HOUR FOR TRAVELLING 5 KMS' - THE TRIIVANDRUM-KANYAKUMARI NATIONAL HIGHWAY. The average speed a normal driver can obtain in the highway is around 80km/hr in normal cases. I was just touching 70km/hr in the out of blue January rain, when suddenly, I spotted a bump right in front of me (I should mention that such a bump was not in place at the same spot when i hit the same road on 25th December,2008) and pushed the brake pedal hard after making sure that no vehicles were behind me. thankfully, the car stopped in time without much dramas, may be due to the ABS coming into play so fast due to the pressure on the pedal.

But what confused me was:As usual,the vibration came through the brake pedal. Ofcourse, its quite normal while ABS is activated on rough roads or gravel roads. But it was the first time that the vibration came through the pedal while braking on a smooth road (don't let the NH Engineer hear this..he may ask for promotion and also, the incident happened at the only stretach of the NH which had no potholes)Has anyone got the same experience of the vibration while braking hard on smooth roads? Or was it due to the rain factor? Back in August I had mentioned about the increased brake response of the carwhile driving in rain. But didn't have any incidences of hard braking in short notice.

@ tosathyas

I met the manager of the Skoda dealership last weekend. While having a casual talk, he mentioned that Fabis is being offered free insurance. Earlier the discount was only upto 30%. Another thing which you can haggle over is the 'Registration & Misc. Cost'. Usually dealers here charge amount varying from 2500-4000 for taking the vehicle for registration on your behalf. ut if you can take the vehicle for registration after taking delivery of the car, you can save that much amount (you might have to spend half a day)

As Madrash mentioned, Fabia is aimed at the niche market. If you look at the pattern of sales among various trims/models, most sales are in the 2nd and 3rd model in petrol (Classic & Ambiente), where as in diesel version it is 3rd & 4th (Ambiente & Elegance). I'm not sure if Diesel Elegance is out of stock. The buyers in niche market always look for specific things and that might be the reason for the higher sales of Diesel Elegance. If ever, 1.4 Elegance has been discontinued, I'm sure, its due to the overpricing

hi Sathya,

I have put in my observations below. Hope it might be useful to you.

From some discussion with my dealer, it looks like Skoda is planning to get a super hatch diesel here, with a 1.9 TDI engine with 105bhp on tap, all sporty goodies inside and out, audio controls on steering and the works, for about 10.5L on-road price.

If what he stating was to be true, it doesn't look like Skoda will Quit India [pun intended] soon. Specially now that Skoda might have VW supply parts to it, made in India [possibility of prices and spare part prices going down from where they are now]

ImmortalZ: I did consider that, but think it's not much of a risk as I didn't lock the wheels for more than 10 feet, and anyway, she seemed to show no signs of a 'ellipsoid' thump that is very rhythmic and quite clearly evident on a glass-like surface. If there were flat spots, I think they'd have been on all four tyres- probably more pronounced on the front 2 due to shift of ballast forwards- and would not have been difficult to catch. Good thinking, Sir. Pal recently advised me not to buy 'track' use only tyres from a biker (for my Fireblade), cause most of the wear exhibited could have been on one side!

Vikster: Welcome- if you're new here. I agree we need to drive more carefully. While our highways have been designed to support higher speeds, almost every driver making use of them is busy pushing his or her envelope, and not many are qualified enough to do so, nor have requisite skill sets. Then, while we're trying to safely factor in these elements, we run out of bandwidth to make allowances for the random scenarios that our 'Indian' roads will always throw our way: speed breakers, bumps, detours, detritus etc.


tosathyas: All I can say about the models being discontinued is that it's more a microcosmic shift and perhaps tactical, and not to be read as an ill-boding writing on the wall.

When Toyota launched the Innova, they didn't expect the demand for the V series, and had accordingly planned to manufacture greater numbers of the cheaper G series. They were forced by the market to do the converse, making it quite possible that a G series hunter might have read the situation in a similar way viz failing/inconsistent offering reflecting on the company's stability or even long-term commitment to a market.

IMO marketing gurus often get it wrong, and the Company in question then corrects by 10 degrees. Or 20 :-)

[quote=MadRash;1147546]
2. Also VW's plant will start producing Fabia's soon (if not started alredy). quote]

MadRash: Will that bring the price down drastically?



Mysticeyes: Racing drivers' suit, Sir? Needed off-roading gear and a parachute :)

I wondered about ABS ever since you gents began discussing it. Having never driven a car fitted with ABS, I'm quite clueless as to how and what to expect from it. But it seems to have worked for you in those conditions- provided you exclude from the assessment the 'vibes' it dished out.
[quote=k_ajay;1148336]
From some discussion with my dealer, it looks like Skoda is planning to get a super hatch diesel here, with a 1.9 TDI engine with 105bhp on tap, all sporty goodies inside and out, audio controls on steering and the works, for about 10.5L on-road price.
quote]

k_ajay: THAT is one car I'd give up a king's ransom for.

Hi friends, yesterday made a plan with my friends for a nite over at lonavala. We started at 10.30 in the morning when the traffic was just about ok. This time I decided to drive in a much more sedate way allowing my friends to reach lonavala 20 mins ahead of me. Now, uptil halfway till crossing chembur I tried to keep my speed anywhere between 50-60 kms max taking it to 70kms, maintaining a very lite pedal through the journey making the rite use of the torque. After which once we reached the highway we decided to go on our own way instead of going together. The other two cars they were on went passed me. Now once i reached the highway keeping a hell lot of patience, listening to great old music of 80's rock on my moral speakers, it was devine, letting me enjoying the music, which i never get to in the mumbai trafic, i started my leg. All this while maintaining the speed of 80-90 I reached the MacD right before the expressway starts, where other friends were waiting. We had a quick bite and then moved on. I decided this to time maintain the speed of 90-100 until i reached the destination. From there on It took me approx 45mins or so to reach lonavala. On reaching the meeting point just before fariyas. My friends were right there making to the point 20 mins ahead of me, (waiting for me confused what went wrong with me today)after giving up on me after those end number of calls they made forcing me by telling me to push my baby more, but gave up in the end ;). I learnt from them they were doing the speed of 110-130 in their honda and octavia.
Now here's the catch all it took me 20mins more then them, maintaining my speed and getting out 25.5kmpl out of my baby. That's right previously i had managed to get 22or so but this time 25.5. I know for sure if i would following the speed they managed i would have got about 17 or so. For the price of those 20mins i got the astonishing 25.5. Am sure the extra torque from the REMAP must have played the role here.
After which we went ahead and enjoyed our evening and night and got this morning but the picture was different this time, i smoked them while doing 180 making them following my trail, as for the economy at that speed din't bother to check, in the end while bid goodbye to eachother they thanked God, that I was back to normal :) (by doing those speed)

In the end learnt onething having some patience always pays.

Cheers!


P.S. Attaching the pic which says it all it reads. 3.9l/100km. Sorry about the quality of the pic took it while driving from the phone.

Invinsible: 25.5 I like. In fact, ask anyone south of the north pole and they're sure to LOVE it. Incredible sums it up quite nicely. Congrats. You've obviously got the driving technique down pat.

ps. what's become of the rest of the Fabiosi? I know I've been silent for a wee bit due in part to this new project I'm on that leaves me enough time to breathe. And sometimes feed the inner man. Yet, I was sure I'd have many masala stories to catch up on...but the wire has been as quiet as the night.

Gentlemen: any advice/tips on Servicing? My first post-natal is due this week.