[ajitmoses]

Hello Tbhpians.

I just wanted to share my agony over the ownership of my new Skoda Rapid. The car is brilliant. No doubt about it. However, a lorry driver rear ended my car and I gave my car to Gurudev Motors, Chennai for service on 18th Jan and I still have not got my car. That makes it almost 45 days and counting. Can anyone help me out? The dealer blamed Skoda India as they had not sent the parts so I have written to Skoda Customer service but in vain. Please find my communication below.

CustomerCare <CustomerCare@skoda-auto.co.in>
date: Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 3:18 PM

Hello

My Skoda Rapid met with an accident and I gave it for service to Gurudev Motor, Anna Salai,Chennai on 18th January. They said that they will deliver the car on 31st Jan. Today when we visited the service station to see the progress of the car, I was surprised to see that the car has not even been touched till now and they are stating that they have not got the spare parts from the company? What kinda of a car company makes a customer wait for 3 weeks? I have heard about horror stories about Skoda's after sales support from many forums and I am afraid it is going to be true. Please look into this at the earliest or else I will have to escalate about your poor after sales support.

Thanks

Ajit

---------------------

I got an auto responder stating that the matter has been taken into account and the dealer will revert.

From: <customercare@skoda-auto.co.in>
Date: Feb 3, 2012 12:14 PM
Subject: System generated Acknowledgement email


Date: 02/03/2012

Concern No: SPL7215

Veh Regn No: TN07TMP5213

Name of Customer: Mr. Ajith Moses

Dealer Name: Gurudev Motors - II (Chennai, Saligram/Vadapalani) Dealer Location: Chennai, Saligram/Vadapalani

Kind Attn…..

Dear Mr/ Ms. Mr. Ajith Moses

Greetings from Skoda India!!

We acknowledge the receipt of your concern to us and have noted the contents of the same.

We wish to inform you that we have forwarded your concerns to our dealer M/s Gurudev Motors - II (Chennai, Saligram/Vadapalani)(Chennai, Saligram/Vadapalani) and have advised them to attend to the concerns. We assure you that your concerns will be attended on priority.

If you need any further assistance, kindly feel free to call our Customer Service Manager at the above dealership or Skoda Auto India Info at the following toll free numbers 1800 209 4646 / 1800 102 6464 or write to us at customercare@skoda-auto.co.in .

We thank you for choosing Skoda and assure you of our utmost attention and best services at all times.



Best regards,

Customer Care

Skoda Auto India

SKODA AUTO India Pvt. Ltd. | Plot No. A-1/1 |

Shendra, Five Star Industrial Area, MIDC |

Aurangabad Maharashtra 431201 | India

---------------------------------------------------

And then I got this following mail from Gurudev Motors.

From: <serviceunit2@gurudevmotors.com>
Date: Feb 7, 2012 11:31 AM
Subject: TN07TMP5213- SIDE PANNEL
To: <ranimoses@gmail.com>
Cc: <kuppusamy@gurudevmotors.com>, "IONA" <iona@gurudevmotors.com>

Dear Sir,

This is regarding your vehicle bearing registration No.TN07TMP5213,here we would like to inform you that we received the side body pannel for your vehicle on 06.02.2012,

Here after Mr.Sivaraj (service advisor) will update you the details .

If any clarification you need on this please contact Mr.Sivaraj mobile No.7299999028.

Regards
Bindhu
Customer Care Dept -Vadapalani
Phone No.044-44404141
----------------------------------

I have been immobile because of this and I have tried to call them several times but there has been no response. Really frustrated.

[theMAG]

Weren't you aware of Skoda's service reputation before you decided to buy their product? Unless you're another ajmat with his own OBD scanner and the wherewithal to fix his own Skoda better than the service station, buying their products is always assumed to be a tradeoff between a good car and a lousy service experience.

[vinair]

I assume this being a pretty new model, there could be some lag in getting the right panels from the factory by the dealership. Did you claim insurance? Was there any delay from their end?

[mempheS.D]

I am so sorry to hear this, my friend. But, fear not and try to escalate this matter to the highest extent possible. Numerous email addresses and phone numbers of Skoda higher authorities have been shared on another thread wherein another member is fighting a case with Skoda for duplicate parts in his vehicle.

The Rapid, being a new and attractive car in the market, Skoda is definitely beating down any further prospects. I wish someone really read this. Why can't these guys understand that, "Fix the service issue first, and the sales will automatically follow!". That's the whole reason why Marutis and Hyundais have succeeded in this market, and not because of superior engineering by any means. I've done my bit to drill this thought into Skoda's brains through their FB page which apparently is "still" more focussed on advertising the Rapid than fix their known problems as a company.

[bala80]

I feel sorry for you - but skoda service in chennai isnt anything to write home about. Do check the following thread which talks about this dealer in detail -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ev-motors.html

Point is, Chennai doesnt have any other options apart from Gurudev motors for after sales service, so you really dont have a choice. After reading through the various threads on skoda horror stories on the forum, I really dont think any amount of escalation is really going to help you.

Did you try calling the service advisor to get an update? I suggest you continue to work with him to get the issue resolved at the earliest. Sad but true, skoda owners just dont have any choice as far as after sales is concerned. Recent entrant VW is much better off in this aspect (atleast in chennai).

[SmartCat]

What is the extent of damage? Any pics?

If the damage is fairly intensive and/or some rarely used parts are damaged, such delays are not totally unexpected. When my Chevrolet Optra had an accident, the dealer took 2 months to fix the car.

You need to really sit on the service adviser's head to speed things up. Call him up a couple of times during the week. Visit the service center every saturday to complain about their lack of progress in fixing the car. Speak to the Manager of the service center. Keep asking for a spare car (although don't expect them to oblige).

[mayankjha1806]

The only advise that comes to my mind is escalate and push, as much as possible. They do reimburse some of the money (i vaguely remember its about 2k per day, i might be wrong though, or it might be applicable only for VW cars and not Skoda), do check.

The horror stories on Skoda never die down, although this one might have happened at Honda as well (When they were facing parts shortage), but there is no reason for Skoda to have such problems with parts supply.

[Durango Dude]

@ajitmoses: Sorry to hear of the accident of your new Rapid. I see the vehicle has a Temporary registration number, wasn't it registered when it met with the accident? Was the shunt pretty major one requiring the change of the whole side body panel? If so the delay is expected. Skoda scales the premium end of the Service Sob Stories: most of us can afford buying a Skoda but upkeep is a totally different ball game.

[ninjatalli]

Sorry to hear about your issues @ajit. So many people have queried me whether to opt for the Rapid over the Vento, and I always mention them the risk of Skoda A$$.

What exactly are the parts that are not available? Possible if any of those parts are common with the Vento, if so you could personally check with the Vw workshops and if available, try to catch if the workshop guys are just giving arbit excuses. Just a thought. Hope your ordeal gets over fast. Also do keep a check on the condition of your car, not a good thing for it to stay idle at the dealer's place for so long. They are famous for flicking stuff and replacing it with old stuff (refer to thread link post by @bala).

[mempheS.D]

From my personal experience, it is best to raise complaints on the Skoda website. I've had minor issues during my intial phases of ownership which were not carefully attended to at the service center. 2 dissatisfied visits, and 1 complaint on the Skoda website turned things around for me. I do not know what is the hard word that Skoda used at the dealers, but the attitude suddenly changed and I had personal attention. It's not that these guys do not know how to rectify things perfectly. They have well-trained service engineers who are good at diagnosing problems, some of them even claims to have been sent to Germany for training. But, all that doesn't really matter unless the customers benefit from it.

I understand that this could be a totally different issue of shortage in supply of spares. But, with a manufacturing unit in Chakan, I don't think that's a reason those guys can fall back on any more.

Good luck man! Just be patient through the ordeal, and with a forum of this magnitude backing you, at some point those geeks will need to realize that the 'word of mouth' is mightier than their 'sword of barely kept promises'.

[pganapathy]

I am beginning to wonder whether this is a problem with Skoda or the A.S.S. The odds that they do not have all the parts for the Rapid, when it is being assembled in Pune is slim, which means there is a major problem somewhere in between.

If Skoda do not realise this, they will soon have a situation like Fiat. Only enthusiasts will buy their car and they will curse them for the service they provide.

What amazes me is that there is not one thread I have seen that praises the Skoda A.S.S in this forum. Is it really that hard for them to train their franchisees properly and for the company to care about their clients

[Durango Dude]

I think the only gainer in this would be VW and they are already a roll and would be happy to see their products fly of the shelves. Biggest 'Bumble Bee'(not fly) in the ointment of a Skoda experience is its Service Standards. I think Skoda has served its purpose for which it was launched into the Indian market: for VW to test waters and see how far the Indian customer can be taken for a ride (gauge the 'break point' of the Indian customer). For me Skoda is as tempting as the "Forbidden Fruit" literally, so don't fall for it, however tempting and "solid" the products may be. No "Solid" product can survive with such a "Slimy" Service. Skoda is going to be 'cold shouldered' by VW if thats the way VW can grow.

[ajitmoses]

This is the damage. I dont understand if this qualifies as a major repair. Even if it is, the part reached the dealer on feb 6. does it take more than 20 days to paint it and fix it? The car is still under temp registration and I will be claiming insurance.

[ritzy]

Originally Posted by ajitmoses

This is the damage. I dont understand if this qualifies as a major repair. Even if it is, the part reached the dealer on feb 6. does it take more than 20 days to paint it and fix it? The car is still under temp registration and I will be claiming insurance.

Attachment 893539

It is more of the part-availability-delay for which Skoda Auto as well as the dealer are to be blamed. The dealer do not keep stock of the spares to save their inventory carrying cost. While the Company donot have regional spare warehouse for prompt delivery of required spare to their dealer.
So we can assume how much time it takes for dealer to place order of the sapres and skoda to process it. .

This is a major repair for sure involving dismantling of the side panel, re-welding and reassembly of trims and painting.

[bala80]

It doesnt look like a major one. You can continue using the car while the service center is waiting for whatever that needs to be done, right? Its not hampering your day to day usage in any way.

If I were you, I would have only only got the rear right light assembly replaced and rest of the dent tinkered with a FNG, saves so much of money and effort. The finish might not be perfect, but then its much better off waiting for this long.

Originally Posted by ajitmoses

This is the damage. I dont understand if this qualifies as a major repair.