Skoda Slavia's rear glass shatters due to metro work; Got compensation

The rear windshield got shattered due to metro construction debris falling on the car when I drove under it.

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I just completed the 2yr/30k kms service

Apart from some random rattles in the roof liner area and a loose dashboard which was fixed, the car is running pretty flawlessly and does a 50:50 mix of city and highway runs. I had used the car for 12k kms after the last service and was not feeling good about the engine oil being used for so long. Apart from that, there were some updates and campaigns conducted on the car. The car is not very different compared to what it was before the service, so I expect that the oil didn't make a big difference which also proves how finely engineered the engine is. Service cost was covered under SMP so I only ended up paying for some consumables.

What I am also surprised by from the last few thousand kms is that the FE has improved very much. Gone are the days when I used to get single-digit FE and now it's always in double digits, without much of a change in my driving habits. Even on the last Mysore expressway trip where I was pretty fast due to very light traffic, I ended up getting 16kmpl. My office commute returns between 10.5-12.5 depending on traffic. For statistic's sake, out of the 50-odd times I have done a tankful of petrol so far, I have used 91 octane only once, Shell V power twice, HP power 95 four times, and the rest being XP95 itself. Power 95 is somewhat smoother than XP95 with similar performance, but V power smoothens the drive but also results in a power drop due to it being 91 octane.

One issue I have observed is with the tyre deflation warning which has given me false warnings twice with no explainable reason in the last 22k kms. As a reliability record that's pretty passable, but both times, I have had a spirited highway run(with tyre pressures accurately checked) and this warning pops up after I reach my destination town. I can't even calibrate the system and end up getting tyre pressures checked just to find they are not even 1 psi apart.

It's almost two years but my Slavia 1.5 DSG has already crossed 22k kms, which was pretty higher than what I expected when I brought the car. But the car just begs to be driven again and again, longer and longer. So thanks to this feature, I have almost left the Crysta for my Dad's sole use and stick to the Slavia all the time. The other reason is that some changes in my personal life have added a drive to Tumkur as a routine in addition to my earlier drives to Kolar.

Recently had been to Ooty and loved the car in those hairpin bends and the Mysore expressway as usual. Fantastic handling, braking(1.5), excellent NVH at high speeds and the tyres are keeping up at their half-life without any change in road noise, etc.

The rear windshield got shattered due to metro construction debris falling on the car when I drove under it. This happened last Monday and was also the reason to advance the service by a month. As I drove back from work, I passed below the upcoming Bellandur metro station where there was construction going on overhead the traffic. There was one portion that did not have safety nets and something fell on the glass and within a second I realised the car got its first actual damage in the last two years. Due to it being a crowded area, I did not get an opportunity to stop right at the spot and create a scene. I parked a few meters ahead and tried to walk back to the place where the incident happened but couldn't find anyone at ground level to speak to. Hence I resumed my commute back home and immediately started working on the next steps.

I needed the car by Thursday for an upcoming trip and the guys at Tafe especially Mr. Krishna went beyond their means to get this fixed in no time and finish the periodic maintenance as well. The glass was not in stock at the dealership and as I called them right after the incident, they had placed an order for the part the same evening even though it was beyond the cutoff time. Kudos to them for a speedy fix.

The order for the part was placed on Monday, I left the car on Tuesday, the part arrived Wednesday late afternoon and was immediately fixed that late evening, and I received the car Thursday afternoon which was wonderful. I was not so sure if they would fix it so soon since there was a room for lot of possible delays especially since the part had to arrive and then there was also a curing time required for the adhesive. Another advantage was not claiming insurance, because that would have added to the delays. The replacement cost 9200 and 2500 for interior cleaning since there were glass pieces everywhere in the cabin, boot as well as in the insides of the surrounding trim. The rear windshield itself cost 3800 and the adhesive being some 2500 and labour another 3000 odd.

The Metro contractor refunded the entire amount which was a good ending to the story after I had reported this matter to BMRCL and had a tough word with them. As soon as I received the car, they had asked me to come to their site office for a meeting and I expected some sort of defense from their end and arguments but it turned out to very apologetic tone and an immediate refund without any bureaucratic or paperwork-related delays. The fact of the matter was that apart from a picture at the site of my car, there was nothing else to prove the entire turn of events. I couldn't even find the actual item that fell on my car due to the infamous Ecospace traffic jam.

I am told that safety nets are always mandatory but in this case, one portion had its net removed to lift up something and that caused this issue. But all is well that ends well, and I would like to sincerely thank the Metro officials as well as the contractor for the immediate resolution, even though it would have been a serious incident had the same part fallen on a two-wheeler rider or even a pedestrian.

I have a few planned mods on this car now for my own academic purpose - One is to upgrade the camera to a Highline RVC with dynamic guidelines, and then to add direct TPMS. While the latter is to get rid of the false alarms, the former is because I got the Highland RVC for peanuts and both these features are CAN bus-related changes which would be an experiment that would go both ways. Hence, if I am successful with the RVC, then I will be more confident to spend money on the TPMS setup.

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