Quote:
Originally Posted by aaggoswami  Imagine the reliability of those machines whose parts were interchanged and are still happily plying on the road.
I think Skoda is even taking the aspect of safety as granted. I think in any other developed country they will be charged for attempt to murder. |
The only solace that I have now, is that the vRS that I have been zooming around in at high speed up and down the Mumbai-Pune Expressway is a car that belongs to my friend who treats it so well that after four years it still looks like it has just come out of the showroom. I am one of the few people that he lets to drive his vRS. He accompanies it for every servicing and waits while it is serviced.
Now for a standard story: 
He, too, started this ritual because during his early service days, one of his headlight ballasts was replaced by a faulty old one. He had sent the car for service with both xenons working, but it came back with one headlamp out of order. It was odd and we noticed quickly that all the car fittings were new and this 25,000/- odd Rupee ballast was distinctly old as compared to the other one. When he made a ruckus, the part was changed back free of cost. Forget the 50% discount mentioned earlier on a part as a 'goodwill gesture' , it's possible to get 100% off on a spurious part !
Now we understand that this seems to be standard practice and an old trick at Skoda service centers !
Team BHP-ians who have regularly used the old Mumbai-Pune Highway Bhor Ghat section may know about the notorious two wheeler borne mechanics who used to prey upon unsuspecting motorists who had fuel pump failure while climbing the steep up-slopes. All they would do is let the fuel pump cool down and re-install it. They would meanwhile claim that they had replaced it (they sometimes did, with one from a previous victim) and then charged exorbitant amounts from the hapless motorists.
This madness doesn't seem to end. Another friend with an Octavia landed up with a cracked engine cover after a routine service, even though I clearly remember that it was intact when the car went in for servicing. Unfortunately, we noticed many days later, and there was no proof to follow this up.