83,000 km update on my Skoda Octavia vRS 230

The car still looks good and the water beading is excellent after a good wash.

BHPian Nikhilb2008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening 300 times over to everyone reading this thread.

I logged on to TBHP yesterday after a gap of almost a year! My last log in was in Jan 2021.

The last few months have been the most stressful ever. With the effects of the coronavirus induced lockdown, the business needed my full focus and as I was focusing on that, the 2nd wave decided to add a not needed challenge into the mix.

The last few months have been all about work. And what little time I get away from work, I try to ensure I spend it with my family to ensure that they don't forget me.

My car has been by my side during this entire time.

The last time I posted, the car was at 52,500. Today, the car crossed 83,000 kms. 80,000 kms and 83,000 pic attached below:

Over the last 1.5 years, I have driven across India. I will detail some statistics on this thread sometime next week.

In August I had to drive to Mangalore and a particular road had been closed off due to a landslide. I had to go through some non existent estate roads and my car managed to do this slushy off-roading with a bit of difficulty.

MY most recent trip was from the end of September to October 18th. The route plan was BLR-Gulbarga- Bijapur - Hubli - Mumbai - Nashik - Shreerampur - Sangamner - Loni - Pune - Satara - Karad - Kolhapur - Goa - Ranebennur - Davangere - Chitradurga - BLR.

I have only listed the towns where I stopped for work or for a break. Obviously the number of towns covered were far more.

This long trip of almost 3900 kms took me 3 weeks. It included a short break in Goa for 4 days. I had completed most of my work in Kolhapur and I flew my family down to Goa for a 4 day break. A much needed reunion with my wife and kids after being away for almost 3 weeks!

Once the vacation was over, I hit the road again, meeting clients in Ranebennur, Davangere and Chitradurga before reaching home around 8:00 pm that night.

 A few other pictures attached which show how fuel efficient the car can be if the driver is in the mood. Given the current petrol prices, this is a hidden superpower of the car that can be unlocked when needed.

Apart from the heavy driving and use of the car, it has been victim to a couple of stray dogs that somehow entered the compound of my house and unleashed their frustration on the front of my car.

I suspect a cat was inside the hood or even sitting on the hood of the car and the dogs were trying to attack that cat.

I heard a lot of commotion around 4:00 am and when I came outside, I saw 4 dogs and chased them off.

Later in the day, I saw the damage they had wreaked on my number plate and the hood.

However, the scratches are quite minor and can be removed with some polishing. A few scratches are deep and need to be repainted. They actually managed to break the number plate and I ordered a new single number plate to replace that broken one.

Apart from that, I have continued to wash the car myself. I am unable to find time to go and spend 2-3 hours at a good car wash centre, so I end up washing the car with some help from my daughters on some Sunday evenings.

The car still looks good and the water beading is excellent after a good wash.

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