[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by ferrarirules

I will say this whole service center experience thing is very subjective and based on person to person variation. I am a proud owner of Skoda Fabia which is almost 6 years old and has run 1,35,000 kms and counting. It still runs like a dream.
It has always been serviced at Skoda A.S.S.
The only major jobs till date are
1. Front suspension overhaul between 50k - 60k kms
2. Front Discs replacement (1,05,000 kms)
3. Timing overhaul with water pump replacement at 1,20,000 km service (as per Skoda service manual)
4. Battery replacement twice. Both times it was done from local battery shop.

Coming to my service center experiences. I have experienced service centers in Pune, Indore, Faridabad, Delhi due to switching jobs. Yes, it has not been a sit back and relax experience with the service centers. Some arm twisting, some cajoling, some camaraderie has seen me through most of my services. Yes, you need to know what the service center team is talking about. But then that is the same for every car you own.

I don't think there is no option being of being a layman with the newer breed of cars - We have examples here in our own forum -
1. Maruti - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...engine-28.html
2. Honda - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...nymore-26.html
3. Hyundai - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ai-dealer.html
4. Toyota - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...va-crysta.html (Niggles & issues with the Toyota Innova Crysta)
There are many more ranging from Marutis to Mercs. Sometimes it is just hard luck.

With my recent experiences, I have been heard at service center, I have been shown what is wrong and then approval has been given to fix. Skoda has been making it easier by telling you what needs to be done at each service with associated labour costs. For new cars, they are providing 4 years or 60,000 kms maintenance package and default 4 year warranty. I agree that the parts cost more than other brands but only major ones do like a Clutch assembly, flywheeel or AC related parts.

Coming to the points raised by iTnerd and Behemoth -
iTnerd - You could have easily asked then to show the leak and why they think it should be changed. Also, second opinion like you got does not harm. We do it in case of doctors as well.
Behemoth - It is surprising that the clutch on your car packed up in 46k kms. I think a second opinion at an outside garage wouldn't have mattered.

In my opinion, the reason for service center quoting a higher prices for a fix as compared to FNG is that VW or any other car company does not let them change sub parts or fabricate "jugaad" fixes. Plus the technicians (max 12th pass with some ITI diploma) are trained to perform steps A..B..C.. and there is no incentive for having a go getter attitude and finding "Z". Also, running a big dealership comes with cost and most them are trying to make a quick buck to meet targets.

Finally the arrogance part, arrogance runs in the blood of us north Indians. "Tu jaanta nahi mein kaun hoon" is the default attitude of everyone. Customer service/ basic courtesy does not mean a thing here. This is not only evident at car service centers but at other showrooms, shops, service centers etc. I am out of experience when I compare it to other parts of the country.

Rest this is my opinion and you are entitled to yours.

Please note: I am in no way connected to Skoda or VW. I am just one happy customer. And yes with background of a happy ownership experience, I recently bought a Skoda Rapid. So Fingers Crossed.

I am glad to hear your positive experience with Skoda A.S.S. But so was I when there were no major niggles and when the car does not visit often to service center for fixes. However, once the warranty lapse, and the moment you leave the car for a service or niggle fix, what I've experienced is they tend to target and diagnose those parts that have left a good running life span as faulty and needing replacements. For instance, if the water pump was faulty, they could have easily diagnose it in 3rd or 4th year service when the warranty was in place. But NO, as it would be replaced under warranty. It's only when it is out of warranty do they become so diligent and become pro-active in their search for parts for which they can rip off the unsuspecting owner, just to meet their monthly target. In my case, what really got me mad was when they insisted that CAN gateway part needs to be changed as they can't clear some faulty codes. I meant, how dumb or incompetent is their trained technicians?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by ferrarirules

I will say this whole service center experience thing is very subjective and based on person to person variation.
Please note: I am in no way connected to Skoda or VW. I am just one happy customer. And yes with background of a happy ownership experience, I recently bought a Skoda Rapid. So Fingers Crossed.

Happy to know that your experience has been good. Just to share, I have owned a Skoda Yeti and the Laura together for the past 6 years and am one of the very few people (including you!) Who owned two Skodas together. I sold my Yeti a few months back and got a Compass recently. With my Yeti I was quite happy with the build quality and it never gave me any premature failures. The clutch and suspension were perfect even after 100,000km of driving in 6 years. However with the Laura I had multiple failures in less than 5 years and 45000 kms.

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

I meant, how dumb or incompetent is their trained technicians?

As mentioned in my previous post, think of a mechanic working on at any service center as person who has been explained to do a specific procedure. If the procedure does not solve the problem, he will recommend a part replacement. He is not that "go getter" employee who will go through knowledge bases, talk to the customer to understand if anything has been changed. I know this is frustrating but then it is not his fault. He is paid as much to know how to apply his "step 123" knowledge. Any deviation from it will have him stumped?

What service centers need are a few enthusiasts or highly trained mechanics at lead levels who triage an issue by going through knowledge bases. As of today, this kind of support is provided by the manufacturer by sending specialist staff to the service center.

And the above problem is there in every industry, most employees will be the ones who will do as much as they are for. They will not go out of their way. It is responsibility of the leads to push and get the work done.

In your case, dealer should have referred the CANBUS problem to Skoda and asked their expert opinion on the same. I don't know why they shy at stuff like this or they try to make a quick buck.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

However with the Laura I had multiple failures in less than 5 years and 45000 kms.

It is good to know that you were a proud owner of two Skodas. Every time I send my Fabia for service, they come back with a list of fix if needed list. I usually go through it and provide approval if i see something which is going to impact the running. And specific reasons for some many problems with such a low mileage Laura. Was it chauffeur driven?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by ferrarirules

It is good to know that you were a proud owner of two Skodas. Every time I send my Fabia for service, they come back with a list of fix if needed list. I usually go through it and provide approval if i see something which is going to impact the running. And specific reasons for some many problems with such a low mileage Laura. Was it chauffeur driven?

Nope it was entirely self driven by me and my wife and we are both very careful drivers. The Yeti was also driven by both of us similarly. We love driving our cars ourselves and never keep drivers.

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Nope it was entirely self driven by me and my wife and we are both very careful drivers. The Yeti was also driven by both of us similarly. We love driving our cars ourselves and never keep drivers.

Given the fact that you and your wife drove the car. It is shocking that clutch needed a replacement so soon. Even timing overhaul is not needed so soon. You should have asked them to explain why all this was needed.
Did they show you the damage to the parts before going in for the repair?

[iTNerd]

My experience with Skoda @Nawab Motor continues to sour. Went there few days back to purchase a genuine VW G13 coolant concentrate from their counter, so that I can make my own coolant mixed with distilled water and top up from time to time. However, they plainly refused to sell and instead insisting of opening a job card and they will top up themselves and charge accordingly. I am totally surprised they can't sell consumables on the counter. Anyways, went to Jai Auto, Mathura Road and bought the G13 concentrate (1.5L) for 750 bucks from their counter. No drama, no question asked!

[smats]

Does anyone has any idea if Nawab Motors is still a authorized dealer of Skoda India. Skodas website does not has any mention of Nawab motors and during my last call to them for service booking they said that they are running short of spares hence will not be able to carry out any major repairs.
Also their sales office was closed on Sunday

Although they are still taking service bookings

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by smats

Does anyone has any idea if Nawab Motors is still a authorized dealer of Skoda India.

Nawab Motors is on the way out. Kindly avoid it. This time too I had asked for over the counter spares to service my Superb but was surprisingly directed towards Aryaveer Motors, Moti Nagar to procure the same and not Nawab.

Cheers...

[SpeedFanatic]

Gentlemen

Any trustworthy FNG in Noida that you could suggest for Skoda/VW cars especially for Skoda/Vento variants?

Need to get a routine service done for my Vento at 60k km mark (14k done since last service) but i am not willing to shell out a larger chunk of money to VW service centers.

The vehicle is in awesome condition as of now and do not show any signs of ageing or wear outs but still do not want to take chances and want to get the routine stuff like air filters, fuel injectors etc. checked by someone who is good at it.

Any pointers would be really appreciated.

[Nayan]

The easiest way of earning sufficient revenue to maintain the Skoda dealership expenses is to change spare parts unnecessarily and overcharge the unsuspecting customers. I think Skoda dealers are not even interested to decrease the trust deficit between them and customers. Who knows tomorrow Skoda will shut its shop in India just like GM due to poor sales numbers. And these dealers will loose all their investment.

The problem with the Skoda service centers is they continue to work with impunity. They are convinced that no adverse action will be taken by Skoda against them. One of the reasons can be the way these dealerships were/are allotted. For example, Vinayaka Skoda in Bangalore, Mahavir Skoda in Hyderabad and Gurudev Motors in Chennai belong to the same extended family members. These owners are closely related to each other. This was informed to me by one of the close relatives of owner of Vinayaka Skoda, Bangalore. (I can't guarantee that it is true, but the one who informed me, is their family member). One can easily understand the consequences of allotting the dealerships in the most important cities in South India (Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai) within the members of single extended family. If this is the way Skoda appoints dealerships, then what can we expect from Skoda? Also these dealership (not only Skoda but all the companies) try their best to prevent the company from appointing more dealers in their city, so that their existing business will not suffer. So there are no other options available to the customer and he has to bear high-handedness of such dealers.