My All New Volkswagen Polo


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My All New Volkswagen Polo - 2nd service update

Search for a new car

In year 2009 around October I thought of buying a new car. The search started. Chevy spark , i10 were on my mind. Then suddenly beat and figo came into picture and after extensive search I decided to buy a beat LS, which seem sufficient to cater my needs.
As days passed we keep on searching internet forums to confirm that our decision of buying a beat is good one . Due to personal reasons the plans to buy a new car kept on hold. And then suddenly we decided to extend our budget and go for a medium size car instead of a compact one. Sedan was ruled out from the beginning because we never found it viable to have a sedan in Mumbai keeping in view the tight parking spaces and heavy traffic.
We again started searching for cars, this time Swift vxi, i20-era and Polo TL were on mind. My budget was 5 to 5.5 Lac. So swift vxi, i20 era, and polo TL were my options. First we were about to book a swift vxi(5.3 Lac), but later found a 3 months waiting period and speculation of a new model as turn offs , I did not like the looks also. Then we considered i20 era , but found the price(5.4 Lac) for base model a little high keeping in view the equipment level and steering rattle issues in all auto forums. Then saw polo TL (5.10 Lac) with VW badge and with some good features on base model itself( tilt and telescopic steering, front power window, central locking). Went to showroom . Wife like the car at first sight. Taken a short test drive. Quality was premium. Immediately booked one on Octo. 9, 2010 with a assurance of delivery in 3rd week of Jan 11.(Note: During the decision making period I read thousands of pages all over the internet about all the cars considered by me and interviewed all my friends who own some of these.) This might be one of the biggest search I made for something.

And the wait………..

After one month of booking I called the dealership and asked them to provide me any number which might have generated during the process of booking. After several follow ups I got a number. Which proved not much of use later. It was a number allotted by them. I kept following them every 10 days. But didn’t get any information worth use. In December third week I got a miniature polo, having a letter printed on it saying the delivery is soon to happen. I started calling the sales executive, he kept me waiting till third week of jan 11 saying this Monday / Friday , you will get info. etc.. Days passed, nothing useful came out. I started suspecting about manipulation in bookings , my car must be given to somebody else. Then I started sending emails right from the top officials of company to Wolvesberg . I received some email replies but none of them had any info. Which can be termed as useful. Finally after chasing the showroom people for days , I got a commission number for my car stating that the delivery is delayed and will happen in 4 the week of February 2011.
During this period I started searching for other options right from Punto to beat. Test driven beat. Car is good, but did not like the gearshift position and feel( rubbery). Except this Beat is a great car. Turned off by the interiors and outright quality of Punto. Decided to stick to polo and wait endlessly.

Got delivery

Finally got a call on feb 11th saying that the car is billed from the factory and can be sent for registration by the end of next week. The car reached stockyard on 17 th or 18 th. Made payment on 19th of Feb. and finally got delivery on 27th of February, one of the luckiest day in my life after a long waiting of 5 months.

Experience with VW customer care/dealers:

1. Phone number provided on VW website are useless for pre-sales queries. No use of calling them. I will post about after-sales utility of these numbers after experiencing it.
2. Customer care emails/ contact us form will send you a computer generated reply. Don’t expect any solutions. However sending a cc to Wolvesberg may be helpful.
3. Send a email to Wolvesberg-Germany(kundenbetreuung@volkswagen.de)
With all details of your booking, they are more responsive.
4. Contact VW office at Mumbai( 022-40547000), you may get some information.
5. Post a comment on Facebook (Volkswagen India | Facebook) & Twitter(Volkswagen India (volkswagenindia) on Twitter) Volkswagen fan page, there are more chances to get a reply.
6. Talking to dealership on phone is useless. Do visit often. Try to get concrete info. And do cross check and cross question.

My observations..

Meter was showing around 40 kms. at the time of delivery , driven the car on highway around 80 kms. My observations are:
1. Solid tank like build quality.
2. Exceptional paint, fit, finish and interiors.
3. Superb steering wheel, effortless driving and a premium feel inside.
4. No problems with rear view as reported by some people.
5. Smooth engine performance, no cabin noise once you close windows.
6. Tilt and telescopic steering is a boon.
7. No problems with front view without seat height adjustment feature, adjustable steering compensates to it.
8. Effective AC.
9. Superb ride quality, absorbs bumps, no rattle sounds.
10. Super smooth gearshift ads to joy of driving, my next will be an automatic.
11. High speed stability.
12. The rear seat is comfortable and spacious, enough legroom. 4 can seat at premium comfort. BTW in which hatchback 5 can sit comfortably on a long drive, even very few sedans qualify in this category.
13. Got VW usb music system and parking sensor from dealer. Both performing good.
14. My car is an eye candy to everybody.

My advice to polo/vento seekers

1. Get everything in writing from the dealer. Verbal commitment hold no good at dealerships.
2. Ask dealer to mention prospective week of delivery on sales contract. You should start a follow up , before one month of the expected date of delivery.
3. Ask for commission number of vehicle at least before one month of the expected date of delivery. If you don’t get one , there are good chances of delay.
4. You should get Chassis and engine number of the vehicle before at least 12-15 days before delivery.
5. Ask you dealer, with which insurance company he has a cashless tie up. And buy insurance yourself. It will save almost 7 k or you can get a better package(0%dep. etc.) on the same price dealer is charging. I bought Bajaj Allianz with all blows and whistles at their fullest that too on full invoice price of the car at almost same price quoted by the dealer. Do negotiate while buying insurance, and have some quotes in hand while negotiating.
6. If you are getting a delivery after registration, then see the car before it goes for registration. Though I didn’t do it, but it is highly. Not adhering to this may lead to any trouble.
7. On delivery day learn all the features about the car and ensure everything is upto your satisfaction, specially about all kind warning lights. Collect Road tax, octroi, registration charges , tax invoice for car and accessories, warranty card for car and accessories, route map and phone numbers of workshop, insurance covernote, manual of car and accessories, your original address proof( voter id / passport etc.) given to dealer for registration, two original keys.
8. Check that the engine number and chassis no. and your name is mentioned correctly on all these papers.
9. Get mating for your car, if you are buying from outside then take it with you and enter the car only after putting it. The interiors are tend to spoil within ten minutes, if mats are not there.
10. Don’t buy any aftermarket electrical accessory. If you can’t afford one available at dealership then better do without it. Always preserve original invoice for electrical accessories. Don’t give them a chance to void warranty for two years. Beware this may prove fatal to your pocket.

1 year completed -Please see first service update on following link
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...my-all-new-volkswagen-polo-11.html#post139040

2 years completed -Please see Second service update on following link
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...my-all-new-volkswagen-polo-14.html#post260901

3 years completed -Please see Third service update on following link
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...my-all-new-volkswagen-polo-14.html#post366420

4 years completed -Please see Fourth service update on following link
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...my-all-new-volkswagen-polo-14.html#post434542
 
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Hi ashikawa,

A very warm Welcome to The Automotive India. Congrats for your New VW Polo. You hav very well illustrated the pros and cons which would definitely be helpful for the prospective buyers. Nicely written report, But where are the pics? Any ownership report is incomplete without a good set of pictures. Do post some pics of your ride.

PS: Also dont forget to post an introduction of yourself in appropriate thread. Enjoy your stay!
 
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congrats buddy for new acquisiton. polo is definitely big head turning hatchback. do post pics soon and yeah interesting write up too!! [:)]
 
Thread Starter #7
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Hear are some pics, will keep posting, there are lots more...
 

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Thread Starter #8
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@Mods: i just posted some pics, but not appearing in the thread. Unable to find them.Please help.
 
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Looks great Ashikawa. And from what you said, I guess I might have some tough time negotiating with the VW folks. I've adviced my sister-in-law to buy a Trendline Petrol and have to look into all the sales and delivery matters for them. And the sales team leader has already pissed me off by bringing a Highline Diesel for test drive plus not turning up on a promised date to show us the petrol version. I had to drive 60 kilometers to and fro, two times in vain for seeing the car and its really irritating.
 
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Nice review there Ashikawa.
The Polo looks great in white colour.
could you please write about the ride quality, comfort of the car?
 
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Congrats on the car[:)].This indeeed one of the best looking hatchbacks on sale in the world today.Polo TL IS The best buy as its costing very less compared to the equipment they offers.Even though vw ass may be poor but the brand value is miles ahead than its competitors.
 

350Z

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Great choice and many congratulations, Volkswagen Polo is undoubtedly one of my current favourite hatchbacks. No surprise why your car is an eye candy for everyone around. I don’t know how much actually it costs to maintain but definitely, look wise and quality wise this car rocks. Please keep updating this thread with service and other maintenance details of your car, as and when the time passes. It’d prove to be useful for all. Enjoy.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
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Welcome to TAI , good write-up there! I love Polo in white and red , your car is no exception!


Looks like you had a very tough time with the VW dealer!
 
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congrats on your polo mate. i too was keen for going for the polo.but opted for vento as kids have grown up needs more luggage on travels.the wv dealer at calicut seems to be okay till today. hope it stays the same in future too.
 

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