Skoda wanted to change cowl for 6K. But only the drain required cleaning

[Red's]

Hello BHP-ians , I just wanted to share an experience with all of you to show you how stupid and irresponsible Skoda service is !

So here it goes ,
My Laura aged around 4 years old had not experienced a single major problem to date . One day on discussing about cars with my father and brother my father suddenly mentioned me that there was water all over the footwell of the car on the drivers side . I was shocked and exclaimed "No way " its a Skoda , this cannot happen . I went out and checked and saw no water , little did i realise that was just a teaser trailer of the horror movie .

One cloudy and rainy day I get in the car ad see that the whole foot well area has become a mini pond soaking in water , shocked , disgust etc etc so many thoughts running across my mind !!.. A 20lk car and i get to see water inside ?. Never have seen such a type of problem in our earlier cars !.

Call up Vinayak Skoda , arrange for a pick up and drop of the vehicle costing Rs300 ( Ford does it for free ) . The guy shows up in the morning

Send it to the workshop , I had asked him to call up and brief me about the problem incurred and the total cost for the repairs !

Call comes at around mid afternoon

Skoda : " Sir problem diagnosed . There is a problem in the cars "cowl" and need to be replaced . replacing costs Rs 6000 , I can repair it to you for a lesser amount ( I dont remember the correct figure ) . Sir also the entire carpet flooring needs to be dried and will taken 10 days

I was in turn narrating all of this to my father , he gave a thought and says " No need , tell him to get the car back safely "

I was shocked and a tad angry
Me : " thanks i would like to have my car back please "
Skoda : " ok sir I will drop it by the evening " .

Car comes back home in the evening . I was like " Now what ????? "
That night dad drives the car off to my native on some work .
He come back next day and tells me problem solved , I go and check it out
Wala !!!! No water no leaks !!!.

I was like How ???.. When ???.. Who ??...
The solution was pretty simple . Now water was seeping in through because it was getting stored some where ( a theory u may suppose ) . He took a bucket of water and splashed it on to the windscreen , Water not moving freely enough , he checked for areas where possibly it could get stuck and finally spots the culprit ! .
The drain which runs down from the windscreen and to the wheel arch's .
The end of the drain inside the wheel arch was completely blocked with muck dirt etc , there was lots . cleaned up everything sealed the matting properly and tested again , water flows freely . The water on the inside was removed with the help of a vaccum cleaner and lots of paper ! . I was relieved that the problem was solved .
Also that moment i hated Skoda Service , I wanted to pull them up and show them " Do you guys know how to diagnose a problem !!!" . These guys end up operating the heart when the problem is at the liver , Even if I had got the car repaired there , it would leave me just more disgust , pain and more of rs 300 tips !!!... I am done with Skoda's service !.
Now the wiper blades of my car needs to be replaced , I would be very happy If anyone could let me know of a authorised service of Skoda apart from Tafe and Vinayak !!. I will post the pics soon to give you all a better idea!

Thanks
Red's

[ethanhunt123]

For wiper blades you don't need to go to A.S.S. Any decent accessory shop will have Bosch/Hella wipers which would be much better than Skoda one's.

[drmohitg]

Its funny how skoda mechanics all over have apparently developed this habit of replacing wrong parts when the problems are simple. I am guessing due to the over expensive spares the dealers must be earning huge profits on spares.

You can get the wipers anywhere outside. Why pay more and get them from the dealer?

[ajmat]

REDS

Welcome to Team - BHP

Been there, done that and I live to tell you the tale and how to prevent it again

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/owning...hlight=sunroof (ARTICLE: Sunroofs. India-specific Use and Maintenance Tips)


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...hlight=sunroof (I solved a big problem for Rs 110 which Vinayak Skoda could not repair)

[swarnava.m]

This is absolutely horrifying to listen to your experience.
However, speaking from my own experience, this isn't something new. In fact, many A.S.S.s in the past are known for over-charging their customers for minor problems, just by reporting them as something major (in other words, cheating them point blank). They take advantage of the customer's blind faith in the A.S.S., and in your case what I suspect is that they very well knew what the real problem was, would have solved it, as well as replaced the parts as mentioned just for the sake of making money because of the over expensive parts.
Feel sorry for the demeanour you faced mate, and hope this makes you a wiser customer to deal better with the A.S.S. next time.

Happy diwali..!!

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by Red's

Skoda : " Sir problem diagnosed . There is a problem in the cars "cowl" and need to be replaced . replacing costs Rs 6000 , I can repair it to you for a lesser amount ( I dont remember the correct figure ) . Sir also the entire carpet flooring needs to be dried and will taken 10 days

Red, the problem is not about diagnosis; guess its more than that.
I had dropped my Octavia for 90k kms service few months back. All I wanted was routine service, as it was running perfectly . By Noon I get a call from service advisor citing AC condenser fan needs to be replaced. I told him that the fuse has been exchanged with the Headlamps, as it got blown earlier week and told all they have to do is put in a new one. An hour later another call comes, citing that the Main Leads to the Battery needs to be changed . I asked him more details, and he said its in bad shape and might break off. Though not fully convinced , the thought of getting stranded without Battery Power made me agree. Post service, they had kept the replaced wires , leads, fuse box ( BTW it comes along with the fuse box as well and costs a consolidated 9k) in the boot. I could not find any fault with it ( like cuts or bends or anything that necessitates replacement) ; and on querying I was told the wires have become stiff ! I really could not understand what difference a 'stiff ' wire would make as its sole purpose is to conduct electricity and not a moving part.But it was too late to make an issue as I had already paid the bill and the signed acceptance of bill.

Guess the management has set an 'up-sell' target to the service advisors. Would suggest you to avoid Vinayak Skoda like plague, unless you know someone there. On the other hand TAFE has improved quite a lot in their service.

[mayankjha1806]

Welcome to Team BHP.

This is what exactly what scares me of Skoda, absolutely no clue as to what the problem is and what possible areas to look first. They first start from engine itself i guess .

How has the experience been otherwise with the car? Do you have a TDI or TSI and maybe its time to put up an ownership thread for folks like me who keep refusing to buy Skoda for one reason or the other, and the more long term ownership threads would only increase the confidence level on buying the car.

[Red's]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Welcome to Team BHP.

This is what exactly what scares me of Skoda, absolutely no clue as to what the problem is and what possible areas to look first. They first start from engine itself i guess .

How has the experience been otherwise with the car? Do you have a TDI or TSI and maybe its time to put up an ownership thread for folks like me who keep refusing to buy Skoda for one reason or the other, and the more long term ownership threads would only increase the confidence level on buying the car.

The experience with the car !!!!.. Hmm .. Maybe i can be speaking about it all day . In short car is a perfect piece of machinery , but i would still not suggest Skoda !!!.. FORGET service !!!.. Horrible . Just one word ! .

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

For wiper blades you don't need to go to A.S.S. Any decent accessory shop will have Bosch/Hella wipers which would be much better than Skoda one's.

Thanks a lot Ethan hunt !!!.. Will have to go for some shopping . Company tells me that a single wiper blade costs 2.5 k ! True ??..

Originally Posted by ajmat

REDS

Welcome to Team - BHP

Been there, done that and I live to tell you the tale and how to prevent it again

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/owning...hlight=sunroof (ARTICLE: Sunroofs. India-specific Use and Maintenance Tips)


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...hlight=sunroof (I solved a big problem for Rs 110 which Vinayak Skoda could not repair)

God save me !!!.. I have still not encountered any major "leak" problems from the sunroof as of yet !!.. though the knob used for operating works once in a blue moon !!..