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Old 31st October 2012, 08:25   #1
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VW Dealer Woes : Polo fuel pump failed. Dealer won't cover in warranty

This is in relation to Skoda's parent company VW.

A friend of mine owns a 2010 Polo 1.2 petrol. He has 4 other cars (3 petrol) and fills fuel for all 5 from the same fuel bunk.

Last month his Polo started sputtering while being driven. VW workshop diagnostics say the fuel pump needs replacement. On check up at another workshop (not VW) it was shocking to see a ton of dirt in the fuel lines. The fuel filter was choked (2nd filter as first was replaced at 10K service. How can this happen on a 2 year old car (clocked 22K kms) which fills petrol from the same bunk as his 7 year old CRV and 6 year old Civic and none have reported any fuelling issues till date?

On top of this he has extended warranty for his Polo. As per the extended warranty card the fuel pump is covered, whereas on the next page it says "parts subject to normal wear and tear are not covered under warranty like fuel pump, etc. etc.". Contradictions in the same warranty card. Anyways, the service agent did not agree to replace the pump on warranty. To this when my friend argued that they should replace warranty covered items, the SA went into a heated argument.

Frustrated my friend gave an ultimatum that he'll go to the consumer courts. The Service agent's reply stunned him and me when I heard it, "We are a big company having lots of well placed people at hand to deal with people like you" .

Well he has filed a case and as it proceeds I'll post the results or whereabouts of it.

Related Threads/Posts:

Ajmat's Jetta woes
Sunil's friend's Polo ends up smashed
The sordid Skoda saga

Last edited by noopster : 31st October 2012 at 14:07. Reason: Added related links and moved to new thread. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 31st October 2012, 08:45   #2
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Is VW following Skoda's After Sales Service ethics and morals?

Quote:
Originally Posted by NOS Power View Post

Frustrated my friend gave an ultimatum that he'll go to the consumer courts. The Service agent's reply stunned him and me when I heard it, "We are a big company having lots of well placed people at hand to deal with people like you" .
That says it all! Goodbye VW.

Thanks for sharing.

When you receive such a retort, in a car service centre or in real life - there are no choices left.

Last edited by noopster : 31st October 2012 at 14:10. Reason: Post title changed
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Old 31st October 2012, 09:39   #3
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Post deleted by the Team-BHP Support : Please do NOT post one-liners that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the overall quality of this forum.

Please read our rules before proceeding any further.

Last edited by GTO : 31st October 2012 at 18:51.
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Old 31st October 2012, 10:17   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NOS Power

Frustrated my friend gave an ultimatum that he'll go to the consumer courts. The Service agent's reply stunned him and me when I heard it, "We are a big company having lots of well placed people at hand to deal with people like you" .

Well he has filed a case and as it proceeds I'll post the results or whereabouts of it.
Well it's true. They know how to navigate the consumer courts system, as is evident in so many Skoda cases. Unless your friend has some serious 'pull', I *highly* recommend that your friend does not go to consumer courts.

The unfortunate truth is that if VW doesn't want to replace it, it won't. The only way you can pressurize them to do so is by convincing, cajoling, requesting. Please do not take a stand against VW/ Skoda. India doesn't har adequate consumer protection to deal with this.

With due sympathies to your friend, he will have to accept this. I know that it's wrong, but you live in a country where if a brand wants to mess with you, then it can. And VW/Skoda are known to be masters of this in India primarily ecauae of the hap hazard way in which they started Skoda ops in India. The team from the bottom all te way to the directors in India don't respond to mails. The importance of a customer for them is only as a statistic, as in how many they have sold this month. And unfortunately, apart from not buying a VW/ Skoda, there's nothing that you can do.

Again. DON'T approach consumer court. Try to wheedle / cajole the dealership. That is your only real option, as horrible as that may sound.
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Old 31st October 2012, 10:36   #5
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

Quote:
Originally Posted by NOS Power View Post
This is in relation to Skoda's parent company VW.

...

Well he has filed a case and as it proceeds I'll post the results or whereabouts of it.
From your description of the incident, it seems your friend has only interacted with the dealership and not VW. Or has he already contacted VW directly and they have also refused to replace the fuel pump under warranty?
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Old 31st October 2012, 11:00   #6
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

Quote:
Originally Posted by NOS Power View Post
On check up at another workshop (not VW) it was shocking to see a ton of dirt in the fuel lines. The fuel filter was choked (2nd filter as first was replaced at 10K service. How can this happen on a 2 year old car (clocked 22K kms) which fills petrol from the same bunk as his 7 year old CRV and 6 year old Civic and none have reported any fuelling issues till date?
All it takes is one spurt of dirty fuel to clog the fuel lines and I m sure that is what happened. It would not have been a deliberate attempt by pump attendant.
I know it since I have had "water" filled into a friend's car at a pump which is amongst Bangalore's best pumps.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NOS Power View Post
On top of this he has extended warranty for his Polo. As per the extended warranty card the fuel pump is covered, whereas on the next page it says "parts subject to normal wear and tear are not covered under warranty like fuel pump, etc. etc.". Contradictions in the same warranty card. Anyways, the service agent did not agree to replace the pump on warranty. To this when my friend argued that they should replace warranty covered items, the SA went into a heated argument.
Warranty clauses are always like noodles, nothing clear comes from them and hence your friend should have spoken to the Service Head there and tried for a "Goodwill" replacement.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NOS Power View Post
Frustrated my friend gave an ultimatum that he'll go to the consumer courts. The Service agent's reply stunned him and me when I heard it, "We are a big company having lots of well placed people at hand to deal with people like you" .

Well he has filed a case and as it proceeds I'll post the results or whereabouts of it.
The SA behavior is unacceptable. However, your friend will lose this case since it is evident that there is "no manufacturing defect with the fuel pump."
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Old 31st October 2012, 11:11   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NOS Power
Frustrated my friend gave an ultimatum that he'll go to the consumer courts. The Service agent's reply stunned him and me when I heard it, "We are a big company having lots of well placed people at hand to deal with people like you" .

Well he has filed a case and as it proceeds I'll post the results or whereabouts of it.
That is probably the worst thing one can hear from the service guys. Really shameful. I cannot imagine a Maruti or Toyota or Honda dealer showing such cold attitude to their customers. VW is sitting on a high pedestal with their so-called premium brand image. They are are bound to fall in the years to come. Their sales numbers are low and it comes as no surprise. It's time to wake up to the German Engineering-Made for India crap that VW makes Indians believe with their excellent marketing strategies (ads). The fuel pump issue I believe has been reported by other Polo owners as well.
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Old 31st October 2012, 12:14   #8
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

Quote:
Originally Posted by NOS Power View Post
This is in relation to Skoda's parent company VW.

Frustrated my friend gave an ultimatum that he'll go to the consumer courts. The Service agent's reply stunned him and me when I heard it, "We are a big company having lots of well placed people at hand to deal with people like you" .
Please share the name and details of the dealer (including the city - it is Kolkatta only presumably?) so people here are informed of the particular dealer's attitude.
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Old 31st October 2012, 14:17   #9
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Re: Is VW following Skoda's After Sales Service ethics and morals???

Mod Note: The original post and all replies have been moved to an independent thread.

Shocking stuff. Am really regretting getting a VW now. Think I will sell it off before it starts giving real trouble.

I have a story to narrate as well, just give me a couple of days. Not as shocking as Ajmat's or Sunil's friend's case, but still discomfiting.
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Old 31st October 2012, 14:47   #10
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Re: Is VW following Skoda's After Sales Service ethics and morals???

I have been considering buying a Vento or Rapid for quite some time now. Both are really good machines. The only reason I have not bought one yet is because I have never felt comfortable with VW or Skoda, I do not get that peace of mind when I imagine owning a VW or Skoda.

I had almost made up my mind to go for the Vento/Rapid despite my concerns. This just helps my decision and I'm gonna stay away from both the brands, even though there really is not better car in this segment for my needs.
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Old 31st October 2012, 14:52   #11
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Re: Is VW following Skoda's After Sales Service ethics and morals???

Thanks a ton for sharing, stories like these make people like me to never dare touch a VW or a Skoda.

Only sales numbers (or lack of it) can bring some sanity in these heavy headed individuals. Until that happens i do not see a desire from them to do an introspection. let alone actually changing anything including attitude.
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Old 31st October 2012, 14:53   #12
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Re: Is VW following Skoda's After Sales Service ethics and morals???

Quote:
Originally Posted by sunilg33 View Post
No ajay I am yet to finalize the purchase. VW after sales service is the only worry that's stopping me from doing so( Check out the image - How VW service played with my friends polo at the service center )
I just thought of quoting the above post to this thread. Shows that Service quality is an issue with VW, irrespective of the location!
Its just so much of an astonishment that VW can spend so much money and effort on marketing plans and strategies but no so much on Service. Afterall its the A$$ which brings in the brand loyalty and word of the mouth publicity.
I think VW have not incorporated the "Lessons Learnt" by other European manufacturers, as to how without good A$$ the product does not sell much!

Last edited by MCR : 31st October 2012 at 14:54.
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Old 31st October 2012, 14:54   #13
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Re: Is VW following Skoda's After Sales Service ethics and morals???

Don't forget its the same company (VW) that got into legal troubles when it wanted to set up shop in India initially.

VW was involved in a bribing case (bribing Govt officials) in Andhra Pradesh and few top guys at VW were moved back to Germany.

Here's the link - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4706777.stm

Read this to know how corruption is not just India's baby!

http://www.cnbcmagazine.com/story/ho...-germany/85/1/

Last edited by vinair : 31st October 2012 at 14:59.
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Old 31st October 2012, 15:00   #14
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Re: Is VW following Skoda's After Sales Service ethics and morals???

Utterly shocking response. In fact, the times have come when such a blatantly rude statement can only be made by VW or Skoda.

But, I fail to understand this ignorance. I thought the dealers reaped more profits from service than sales. Are they really so ignorant about their profits from sales? Or is there something wrong in the service agreement between VW/Skoda with its dealers? For eg, if VW/Skoda pays a flat amount to the dealer network for service, this ignorance is understandable as the dealers would NOT care at all as long as they get the money.

But, what the heck is happening here? It seems to be getting worse now despite numerous complaints and avenues of distress being expressed.
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Old 31st October 2012, 15:02   #15
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Re: Is VW following Skoda's After Sales Service ethics and morals???

The VW woes continues. Its hard to imagine a dealer saying those things of getting away easily with the law. However good vehicles VW bring out, this attitude will surely spell a doom for them. They are intimidating the same customer from whom they expect sales/profits? I wonder how did they get the manufacturing licence, may be threatening a few honest fellows I guess and using the money power. .

Its surprising that the warranty card of VW is flawed. By parts subjected to wear n tear they should have meant the consumables I guess but definitely fuel pump is not a regular part which goes bad and should have been rightfully replaced under warranty.
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