One morning in late 2024, while I was driving it to the neighborhood hairdresser, a novice driver brushed the left fender and bumper leaving some visible scratch marks.
BHPian sadnabrina recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Hello Team-BHP,
After a long time some updates on the Polo 1.6 as it reaches it’s 15th birthday in a few days time.
The last few years has not been very kind to the car. First, I do not have a covered parking in my new apartment. So the car was exposed to the elements since 2016 when we moved in. On top of that, the car was not being used extensively since the COVID lockdown started and post COVID was mainly doing college runs for my son during his UG and PG. Then when the boy moved to the hostel to pursue his MBA in June and the Jimny entered the scene in July 2023, the Polo was left totally unused.
This resulted in a bit or rusting on the doors, some paint fade on the roof and bonnet. One morning in late 2024, while I was driving it to the neighborhood hairdresser, a novice driver brushed the left fender and bumper leaving some visible scratch marks.
Then one fine Friday evening, my neighbour’s part time driver misjudged the length of his car and banged on to the front of the Polo while parking. This impact left the Polo further bruised externally – the left fender was dented and front the bumper was damaged along with the grill and one headlight.
I was scheduled to start the Sandakphu drive on the Jimny the next morning. So I kept the Polo as it is and went for the Sandakphu trip. When I came back after a few days and took the Polo out for a drive, the ABS error lights flashed as well.
Before
Meanwhile, the suspension has also started showing its age and the made all sorts of weird noises on a broken patch of road. Even on smooth roads the ride was bouncy.
I started feeling bad for the car and decided to do some much needed pampering.
Recently, T-BHPian Samba had done a complehensive repair / painting job on his Etios while dogndamsel12 did a suspension job on her Polo. So I contacted them to find out more details about their experience.
It turned out that they went to Hritam of HB Autoneeds for both the jobs.
I first took an estimate from the VW ASS. Then took the Polo to Hritam for a inspection and estimation. Looking at the rusting on the doors / running boards and the accidental damages, Hritam gave a denting / painting estimate which seemed reasonable. The estimate contained 5 panels denting and repainting, 4 pcs ABS sensor replacement, front brake discs, front grills and one head light replacement.
Then he came up with an alternative proposal – it may be quite difficult to do a very accurate color matching for the repainted panels which were slightly faded due to the age and prolonged UV exposure. Although the difference may not be significant, but still it would still be visible to a discerning eye.
So, he proposed to add the remaining panels for a whole body repainting at 10K more than the current estimate. That seems quite a deal.
So I signed up for it and decided to go for the suspension work after a month or so.
All that work finally completed yesterday. The final pocket pinch turned out to be considerably higher than the initial estimates – with more defects and damages starting to show up while the work was in progress.
The steering rack needed replacement, the front shockers had lost it composure, some of the rubber beadings had hardened and needed replacement, the list goes on. 
At the paintshop
But at the end of the day why do we spend money on maintining a car? To enjoy the drive.
So yes the Polo 1.6 is now back in form ready to hit the highway. I feel more confident in taking it out on long drives.
The final result
And while the Jimny is in the workshop and expected to remain there for at least another 1.5 weeks, the Polo will be the primary drive for the upcoming trip to pick up my son from his hostel at the end of his final sems next week.
Oh sorry… I forgot to tell you. Why is the Jimny at the workshop. Unfortunately during our return from Sandakphu, we were hit from the back by another car. Nothing major, but the tailgate was damaged and had bent from the middle. Insurance has agreed for a replacement of the tailgate and it is out of stock at the dealer. So while we wait for the Jimny to get battle ready, the old boy gets to flex.
P.S: There are a few minor blemishes on the paint surface and Hritam has promised to take care of those once I give the car to him after the Jimny is back. Will share another update once these fine tuning is done.
