Here is my ordeal with a preworshipped skoda . I Have given details and will put it in phases . All pricing mentioned is in Indian Rupees .

Recently got the car from a dealer ,pre-worshipped 2007 L&K with 62000 KM on odo . Got it checked from a neighborhood mechanic but could not get service history . Switching from Hyundai Santro 1.1 to a 1.9 L beast was amazing . I decided to get the car serviced in front of me ( even after assurance from dealer that car has been serviced ) . Took the car to European Motor works which is walking distance from my office. Later workshop Manager called me up and informed that transmission packing ( behind radiator on passenger’s side ) was leaking and m-seal was applied to stop it . They can get the new packing for Rs 1200 but labor would be Rs 5000 as whole engine has to be taken off for the same . Also they would not give any assurance of fix as DSG have known issues and replacing oil may lead to trouble . I went to check and as oil leak was negligible , I chose not to get into the replacement activity and told him to top up the oil . Also he told me that car’s odo has been fiddled with and that is the reason , it keeps blinking “error” next to number of Kms on MFD . There were marks of screwdriver just at the bottom of the panel covering the whole display . I could not say much and told him to call me when done with servicing . Got the car same day and with no other major issues reported . List of job done :

1. Engine Oil Change

2. Servicing ( which included all the required checks )

3. Dry Cleaning

4. 2 Consumables

With a bill of Rs 13500 I got my first taste of Skoda maintenance . While taking delivery I asked for charges for some replacements I thought off . Details below :

1. Transmission Packing & Oil - Rs 1250 & Rs 1450 per Liter. Labor Rs 5700

2. Disk Brakes and Pads ( All four ) – Rs 18400 . Labor Rs 2850

3. Air induction Chamber – Rs 1350 . Labor Rs 950

4. V Belt replacement – Rs 3250 . Labor Rs 950

5. Hornset – Rs 1250 . labor included in point 4

EMW gives you 6 months warranty ( except transmission in my case ) on such installs but considering they are not authorized , they do charge a bomb .

After a week or so I start getting strange noise from the left side of the car (grinding). I did an inspection but could not figure out much. Took it to one of the alignment shops and asked him to open the tyre. He said he cannot as one of the nuts can be opened by a specific “ adapter“ which should be with me. I checked the whole car and could not find anything, and then I come to know that all four wheels have that “ Locking nut “which can me make me go NUTS. I started off the exercise of finding that particular adaptor , Local mechanics, tyre and alloy shops nearby my house. Called up EMW and workshop manager said that he can give me the adapter from another Laura idling there , sadly that adapter did not work on my beast . Finally landed at a Skoda A** . Service manager clearly stated that he cannot sell me the item but if I get my car to the service center he would get it removed and replaced ( which is a must ) for some amount . Apparently these safety bolts are car specific and have to be ordered through Skoda . Grinding my teeth came out and called the dealer I bought the car from , to my dismay he had no idea about this ( wow ) and told me to contact a local mechanic in South Delhi . With nowhere to go I decided to go there next day .

Kohli Motors is a very small ( 3*8 may be ) establishment which operates in the market’s parking area and as per the dealer are one of the best when it comes to Skoda . I bought brake pads ( front & rear Rs 3000 ) from Palika bhawan and a horn ( Rs 300 ) on my way . I meet this short dude who ensures that they will fix the whole thing . Gets in the shack and brings out 10-12 locking nut adapters which makes me wonder “ So much for security feature” . Finally he manages to open the “special” nut and replaced the pads .Told him not to put it back . A quick TD reveals that brakes are way to soft for new pads and answer I get is “ automatic adjustment in time “ . Well the response has improved but still not the way an automatic is supposed to have . Gave him Rs 1000 as labor and left .

Contd .

I always had issues with A** way of work and costing . It was one of the reason my santro was serviced outside . I used to buy oil , filters and other parts from Palika bhawan and could easily find an expert to do it . But here considering the transmission issue and that too “ Sakoda “ one fine day I took it to Arshia motors at Faridabad for a scan and suggestions . My friend had some contacts there and was ensured reliable answers to my queries/issues . After a good 3 hours of inspection manager came back with observations :

1.    Transmission Packing – It can be replaced but with gasket and oil refill . Costing Rs 10000 for parts &Rs 7000 for oil . Part has to be ordered and waiting time is 10 days .

2.    Air Bag module sensor – Need to be replaced , cost Rs 26000

3.    CV joints – Need to be replaced , cost Rs 25000

4.    Safety Switch ( to lock/unlock doors and boot ) – Rs 1100

5.    V belt – Cannot replace , as AC compressor is locally fitted .

6.    Inspection cost – Rs 1600

7.    Passenger window squealing noice – Rs 300

8.    No other issues reported .

I say ok to part order and got safety switch replaced . Window’s noise was fixed later I realized that lubricating fluid is all over the window .Everytime I get it up or down , there are stains on the glass . Thought of getting it fixed on my next visit . Over all it was an ok experience as they take hell lot of time . Execution of work was above average . And yeah , did I forget to mention that he also gave me service history of the car and last time car got serviced was at 118000 Kms . And I read somewhere that digital meters cannot be tampered with .

Almost 2 weeks passed by with no issues and I began to believe that finally I can start planning on replacing current 3 way component system with a polk/focal and what brand of alloys I should opt for ( Matt black , srrrrp ) . My planning was postponed when a small “ pop” while overtaking a car ruined everything . Engine started making “whooshing “ sound and acceleration dropped . By the time i was home , I must have covered half my neighborhood area with vaporized Mobil 1 5w50 which was coming out from exhaust :p . Local mechanic declared turbo failure with a damage of Rs l00000 plus . I got the car towed to Arshia motors and two days later they came up with an estimate of Rs 170000 ( new turbo , new intercooler , transmission packing ) . Now this is one of those times when you curse yourself for buying a lemon . I asked the workshop manager about issue with turbo and he had no answers . I was not ready to buy the whole replacement story and was not at all convinced with A** quote . Called up a friends who deals in second hand cars and is quite knowledgeable . “ Dont worry dude , we will get this job done in half the price “ was the response . He gave me number to a workshop owner in Faridabad , Rishipal of Pal motors . Initially he asked for Rs 40000 for a used turbo plus labor ( as per his diagnosis there was no issue with intercooler ) . It took him one day to arrange the part and two days to fix and test . Exactly after 5 days I see my beast waiting for me . I took a quick TD and found it ok . My friend who was a regular customer to him negotiated and total cost with labor for the whole fix ( turbo replaced , intercooler cleaned , engine oil changed , V belt replaced ) was Rs 40000 . He also assured that I can get back to him in case of any issues . Thanked him and took the car back .

Contd .

I feel for you. But in all honesty it does not look as if you did your homework well. Buying a used Skoda in India is fraught with issues especially when you do not have a clear service history for the car and ESPECIALLY if you are buying it from a dealer and not from the owner. Odo tampering is most rampant with Skodas because the car does not show its age as clearly as other cars. And odo tampering has nothing to do with digital odos. It can as easily be done to digital ones. Looks as if you have already lost a ton of money on this one.

I feel for you. But in all honesty it does not look as if you did your homework well. Buying a used Skoda in India is fraught with issues especially when you do not have a clear service history for the car and ESPECIALLY if you are buying it from a dealer and not from the owner. Odo tampering is most rampant with Skodas because the car does not show its age as clearly as other cars. And odo tampering has nothing to do with digital odos. It can as easily be done to digital ones. Looks as if you have already lost a ton of money on this one.

Thanks for your concern , so far i have managed to find workarounds . Rather than cribbing on my mistake , i would want to make it work . I still have some patience left for this beauty .

In all honesty, I also think you are surrounded by folks who do not know their game well. For 40k (the amount you spent on the used turbo) you could have got a brand new genuine Garrett turbo for your car. The cost of good used ones (generally sourced from Mayapuri or Merrut) is less than 25k. Good that you have love left for the car but if you really want it for keeps then I strongly suggest you start picking up thorough technical knowledge about the car and find an honest indy to take care of it.

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  While going back home I realized that car was underpowered , it was not able to take the desired pickup . It was fine for city driving but that throttle response was missing . I could not check it earlier due to space issues . Not too worried , I decided to take it back to him the next day . Unfortunately , I was busy at office and was able to take the car to him next week only . The only plus I had with this issue was FE , it shot up like anything , I used to drive 550 in a tank full and now it was touching 700 . Upon reaching there , I told him the issue , he drove the car but failed to identify the problem . He took it for a scan and came back with a separate error ( P1741 – Clutch adaptation limit reached ) . Now I had another issue to worry about . He kept repeating that its not turbo and I agreed with him as car was ok for driving . I called it a day as I was tired and came back home . After that 2.5 hour drive in peak traffic , I decided not to go back and find someone nearby . Guess what , my buddy calls up the same day inquiring about car’s status ( he knew the issue all along ) . Also told me about a workshop in the neighbourhood where he saw some Skodas parked for repair . Next day both of us go there and meet Nidanshu . I could see a few riders , superb and an Endeavour being worked upon . I gave him a quick brief of what happened and he told one of his boys to check turbo pipe for pressure , which was not there , he picked up a ball kind of part with pipe going to turbo and said “ Vaccume bottel needs to be replaced “ . The pipe was actually broken and it took him less than 10 mins to figure out the issue . I told him to get the part , next day he fixed the part in less than 30 mins and car was vrooming again . I was overjoyed and bill was Rs 1500 . I told him to scan the car again for any issues and he also gave me the same report of P1741 . As per him , car can stall anytime and smartness would be to sell the car . But post that repair , whenever I put car in reverse , the shift does not engage completely ( the shift lock button comes back only half way ). Nidanshu had one answer – P1741 . You can guess my expression at that point of time .
  Now am worried , a DSG transmission will cost me no less than Rs 200000 in India . I was not ready to spend so much on a 5 year old car . Time for another opinion ? One of my friends suggested to visit KJA Antony shop . He got his Octavia repaired and was quite satisfied with the job . Christopher there took TD with me and had the same explanation of DSG being problematic . For transmission packing he wanted to keep the car for a day but I was not ok with that . Decided to come back next time and get it fixed in front of me .
  Read a post some time back from at Teambhp where he mentioned about “ Bittu” who can open and repair automatic transmissions . Same day I went to Zamrudpur , found the guy and briefed my issue . Bittu is an old man with a small shop in car market . I could see a few auto transmissions ( including mechatronic ) being worked upon . He took some time with the car and ruled out transmission issue < pheww . sorry what :wonder: > As per him gear shift issue can be fixed by opening the panel and there are sensors in the boot which can be cleaned to be sure . He ran a scan too and did not find any error :think: . He was very straight and told me that mechatronics are not repairable and best they can do is to take the box out , clean it and put it back again , still there is no guarantee it will work . He told me about this new Superb’s transmission which has been cleaned thrice and still gives away after twenty odd KMs . Stating that my car has no symptoms of transmission failure as of now , I can relax . He asked me to come after 2 days to fix shift and sensor issue.
  Contd .
  

In all honesty, I also think you are surrounded by folks who do not know their game well. For 40k (the amount you spent on the used turbo) you could have got a brand new genuine Garrett turbo for your car. The cost of good used ones (generally sourced from Mayapuri or Merrut) is less than 25k. Good that you have love left for the car but if you really want it for keeps then I strongly suggest you start picking up thorough technical knowledge about the car and find an honest indy to take care of it.

I am still learning about skoda so yes would more or less agree with you . I hope all the searching does not go in vain . Also , I checked about Garrett turbo but i wanted to go with the mechanic to avoid unnecessary hassels of delivered product and installation issues .

I should change the title as “ 4000 Kms for 80 Gs” now :p . As per my last post , car’s gearbox was taken off to fix shifting . Took him a complete day to dismount , fix & mount the part . Shifting is a lot better now . Next task is to get the transmission oil replaced completely with new packing .

Whatever happened to the P1741 (Clutch Adaptation limit reached) error?

its all good for now .

I thought I was alone who suffered like this. Belive me, I too bought a used SKODA Laura during July-2012 from a dealer in Bangalore and have already spent close to 80K. Only solace is I have driven 10K KM. Unfortunately I showed the car to Skoda A.S.S who said there was no problem in the car and can be purchased. Just after one month, the Turbo failed. I replaced it with Garrat one for 50K + Labor. Thought all is well. Suddenly now car has developed another SNAG. It wobbles at 40 to 50 KMS speed during acceleration. Got the Tie rod, balancing rod, tie ends replaced. Got the wheel alignment done with Balancing. No improvement till now. Suspect the tires may be bad or the CV joint could have gone bad. Really worried WHAT NEXT ! ! ! !

I thought I was alone who suffered like this. Belive me, I too bought a used SKODA Laura during July-2012 from a dealer in Bangalore and have already spent close to 80K. Only solace is I have driven 10K KM. Unfortunately I showed the car to Skoda A.S.S who said there was no problem in the car and can be purchased. Just after one month, the Turbo failed. I replaced it with Garrat one for 50K + Labor. Thought all is well. Suddenly now car has developed another SNAG. It wobbles at 40 to 50 KMS speed during acceleration. Got the Tie rod, balancing rod, tie ends replaced. Got the wheel alignment done with Balancing. No improvement till now. Suspect the tires may be bad or the CV joint could have gone bad. Really worried WHAT NEXT ! ! ! !

Welcome to the world of Skoda India . I would suggest to identify a competent mechanic and source parts outside A** .

About your wobbling issue , does it increase with speed ? If yes , get CV joints checked . They can be repaired by any experienced axel repair mechanic . Just ensure you get both sides done . Cost of repair Rs 6000 ,

. I

I thought I was alone who suffered like this. Belive me, I too bought a used SKODA Laura during July-2012 from a dealer in Bangalore and have already spent close to 80K. Only solace is I have driven 10K KM. Unfortunately I showed the car to Skoda A.S.S who said there was no problem in the car and can be purchased. Just after one month, the Turbo failed. I replaced it with Garrat one for 50K + Labor. Thought all is well. Suddenly now car has developed another SNAG. It wobbles at 40 to 50 KMS speed during acceleration. Got the Tie rod, balancing rod, tie ends replaced. Got the wheel alignment done with Balancing. No improvement till now. Suspect the tires may be bad or the CV joint could have gone bad. Really worried WHAT NEXT ! ! ! !

Welcome to the world of Skoda India . I would suggest to identify a competent mechanic and source parts outside A** .

About your wobbling issue , does it increase with speed ? If yes , get CV joints checked . They can be repaired by any experienced axel repair mechanic . Just ensure you get both sides done . Cost of repair Rs 6000 ,

. I

+1 on finding the right Garage outside of A.S.S. I leave my Car at the A.S.S only for scheduled yearly services, which involves nothing more than changing liquids and Filter, otherwise it is one of known Garages that I trust for fixes/issues. In my experience, chaps at Skoda A.S.S lack probing skills and are misguiding at best. Source your own genuine parts and get them fitted outside at some trusted Garage.

As for your problem, did you get your Wheel Bearings checked? They could as well be the cause.

+1 on finding the right Garage outside of A.S.S. I leave my Car at the A.S.S only for scheduled yearly services, which involves nothing more than changing liquids and Filter, otherwise it is one of known Garages that I trust for fixes/issues. In my experience, chaps at Skoda A.S.S lack probing skills and are misguiding at best. Source your own genuine parts and get them fitted outside at some trusted Garage.

As for your problem, did you get your Wheel Bearings checked? They could as well be the cause.

Well i dont even to go for service at A** . Cost of getting it done outside ( Oil change , Transmission oil top up , wash , diesel filter , air filter ,oil filter changed ) Rs 6000 inclusive of labor .