[navin]

I own a 2004 Octavia vRS and drive it on some sundays - usually I am chauffered. I got the vRS over the Accord and Corolla Automatic becuase I figured that atleast on the few occasions I get to drive I will have a car that is fun. The Accord was a ship and the Corolla had excessive body roll.

About the time Harish was posting his expereince on the now famous "Skoda dealer changes parts in my car" thread I decided to check out Skoda's service myself.

On two occasions in the past I had been unhappy with Skoda-Autobahn's service center (the first time in their ability to diagnose a problem post 26/7 and the second time in their ability to return the car in the same condition as they recieved it). This would be their third time.

However I opened my dialogue with Skoda by sending an email to Sudhir Srinivas. A few days after that email I got a call from Liyakat Chajju of Autobahn. We met at Skoda-Autobahn's showroom in Prabhadevi, Mumbai.

At that time I handed Liyakat a 3 page list of areas I wanted him to check. The idea was that if Skoda-Autobahn's diagnostic skills are limited maybe by pointing them in the right direction they will do a better job. I also told him that I would like Skoda-Autobahn to give me their diagnosis and we would take if from there.

We decided that since I ouwld be travelling from March 26 to April 1 this time would be ideal as it would allow Skoda-Autobahn to work in peace without be constantly breathing down their neck.

On inspection the following things were found wanting
1. The front discs had been scarred
2. the clutch was now very hard
3. the fuel gauge had stopped functioning properly
4. the timing belt had become hard and lost it's elasticity
5. Skoda emblems on the rear wheel which were lost by Autobahn in 2007 were to be replaced.

other areas that needed checking were
1. the water pump
2. the throttle body (just cleaning)
3. anti roll bar and rear bushes (this was my contention)

in addition since they had the car I told them to also check
1. the coil packs
2. engine fan and fan control unit

Liyakat and I spent 1 hour detailing not only how to fix much of this list but also the problems I had previously faced with Skoda-Autobahn.

My decision to try Skoda one more time was becuase
1. I wanted TBHPians to know that we at TBHP had not given up on Skoda nor were we biased given all the attention Harish's thread was getting. By having my own experience I would be able to post a more honest opnion.

2. The car needed a lot of servicing anyway and what better time to give the car to Skoda-Autobhan when they are under a magnifying glass and they should be doing everything in their power to repair their reputation

3. Assurances by Liyakat (who claimed he was in contact with Mr Srinivas) that I whould try Autobahn one more time and that they (Autobahn) would do their best to ensure I was satisfied. At this point I infromed Liayakt that he was dealing with a person who is hard ot please and reasonably knowledgeable about cars.