[sans_80]

Yes it's a given that they are closing or at lets say that their relationship with Skoda is hitting an end. Now the reason behind this is still unknown. As a consumer, having just one service center for the whole of Bangalore is a challenge. For somebody like me its easily a two hour drive one way to reach tafe service center.

Will this said, there have been rumours about a new dealer being setup. There is no official communication from Skoda on this yet. If any of you are aware, please let us know.

[iTNerd]

Reminds me of Nawab Motors, Noida who was also terminated from dealership because of lot of flak and complaints in 2018. I personally, got rip off on multiple ocassions on bogus spare replacements. The good thing is, there is a new Skoda dealership coming up in Noida sector 6 called 'Brite Auto Wheels' and should be operational by Feb 2020.

[ameaa]

I am using Vinayak skoda from 2011 for two of my cars and was pretty happy with their service. I never had any issues expect for some part availability which was not very frequent. I heard they will continue service for next six months but sales have been put on hold. But keeping one dealer in a city is not good.

[low_rider]

Message to Guys unhappy with Vinayak- Good move by Company, although too late.

Message to Guys happy with Vinayak - Don't worry. They will be back in business soon, albeit with some other new entrant (Kia, MG, etc.), as most of them find new brands to associate with.

[Sunil2307]

Lets hope Skoda comes up with a new dealership/ service center in Bangalore. I dont know how much can TAFE handle on their own.

[srikrishna717]

All,
I received this Deccan herald notice image from a friend of mine yesterday.
In fact I panicked as yesterday morning itself I had given my Octavia for service ( it is still with them ). All, appointment booking, discussions about issues have all been normal so far.
I was concerned, and I did call Skoda Customer care number to find out about this. He said, This is NOT true and Vinayak continues to be their partner and if there was any such information, customers would be directly intimated ..

I don't recall seeing this news in any other paper either. If this is indeed official, All customers ( at least those who bought from Vinayak ) should be intimated right?

[BeigeDemon]

Originally Posted by saisree

I have no experience with this dealer so cannot comment on their sales/service. Looking into the posts here, Vinayak skoda has both positive and negative reviews and something has gone up to Skoda and hence the action.

Coming to the point of my post, Skoda says they have severed the ties with the Dealer and they have absolutely NO interest on any booking amounts or any other sale dealings that has happened recently and it’s the customer who has to run to pillar and post to get back his money. Feel sorry if someone has already invested his money there

This is incorrect. As I've posted earlier in this thread, Skoda stepped in and transferred around 20 pending bookings (including mine) to Tafe. The ASM Pradeep personally called and coordinated with me, honoured Vinayaka's discounts, and made sure I'm happy with the car I'm getting. I did my PDI the day before yesterday at Tafe - the sales guy Mr. Prasath was extremely patient and proactive and took personal care of me just as if I had originally been a Tafe customer. Now awaiting registration next week and delivery after the 15th. I understand that even the 'good' sales folks at Vinayaka have been interviewed at Tafe and will likely join there. Skoda seems to have organised the transition well (at least based on my personal experience and information).

[saisree]

Thanks for the update. May I would have missed reading this update.

Originally Posted by BeigeDemon

Skoda stepped in and transferred around 20 pending bookings (including mine) to Tafe. The ASM Pradeep personally called and coordinated with me

This is really heartening to read and is a very important step from Skoda to gain customer confidence. The next step is to have a constant check on the dealers and their services and keep up the reputation.

After all Dealers are the faces of the company and they have to present a pleasant and trustworthy face to public in general.

[kovilkalai]

I owned a Skoda Laura that I purchased from Vinayak. Unpleasant ownership experience. My car almost always came back with a couple of issues after a service. When asked why my power windows weren't working after the service (on one occasion), their reply was that I had given them car in that condition. This happened a few times.

What took the cake was when I had to replace my wing mirror on the passenger side. They installed a mirror which was a plane mirror. Since the car was delivered home when I was at work, I didn't catch it until I came home. When I called them up, they insisted that they had installed an original part only. They refused to send someone to check it out. They refused to acknowledge the problem even when I took my car to the service centre. I tried escalating to the dealer head of service and then to Skoda India. It finally took a nasty post on Skoda Global's Facebook page for them to come back and replace the faulty mirror.

These guys are one of the reasons why I will never buy a Skoda again.

Good riddance!

[kiranknair]

Personally, I am a bit saddened. My Skoda Rapid is almost 7 years old, bought it from Vinayak. During the initial years of my car ownership, Vinayak's reputation was much better than TAFE - that explains why i used to go to KR puram instead of Hosur road which is just 3kms from my home. I guess probably the last couple of years is where TAFE did better and Vinayak got into various controversies. My last service with TAFE did not go good and people there felt a bit clueless. In fact while servicing the front tire came off and fell into the ground (during the test drive) after the clutch replacement due to the wheel thread not able to hold the alloy bolts due to wear out (they alloys were using spacer too which reduced the depth with which bolt could be inserted). TAFE did the damage work free of cost as they did not tighten the bolts properly. Now, I was thinking of giving for re-threading in Vinayak, but now i am stuck with lack of options. Slightly off topic - Can someone pls tell where can i get the wheel threading done again?

[raihan]

Originally Posted by kiranknair

Can someone pls tell where can i get the wheel threading done again?

Try JC road, as soon as you enter it, pull to the left & slow down. There would be touts asking you what you are looking for. Tell them & they'd direct you to the place.

[Lambydude]

Something is definitely going on in Bangalore. Today i received a surprise call from Skoda customer care and they checked if my experience with my dealer Tafe was good and if I have any pending issues with them.
I bought my vehicle back in March and there is no need for such a call now.

[AlokSuman]

We are one of the many who have been affected because of this. We booked our second Superb from Vinayak Skoda on 16th Dec 2019. First Superb was purchased from Tafe and service was being done by Vinayak. As service was fine we booked from Vinayak this time. Booking has been transferred to Tafe and previous committed price is honored.
Well their is also a matter of the booking advance money to be resolved. Tafe of course said to sort out with Vinayak. Currently Vinayak is telling they will credit back the money to the account. Let's wait and see if Skoda India is actually interested in making sure all their customers get their money back or just washing off their hands. Will update.

[shinuak]

From the ordeal of Suhas, it was quite imperative that dealers who indulge in such malpractices should be penalised , there are no two ways about it. My own personal experience from Vinayak have been mixed. Sales experience in the first instance was bad, nobody even cared to do a call back or arrange a TD when I went in for Rapid sales inquiry, but I opted for Vinayak as it was closer home. I went there a second time for Octavia inquiry which was dealt very well, so sales experience have been a mixed bag for me and was mainly dependant on the sales executive who attended to me.

Now coming to service, I preferred the Mahadevapura service center only and only due to Mr. Pruthvi who have been incharge of service and is known for taking care of customers and addressing the concerns. My initial service experience sans Mr. Pruthvi was not that great though. With this center shut, my biggest concern is the drive to TAFE center at Hosur Road from north bangalore which is like going to another district . Hope they find a dealer + ASS somewhere in north bangalore as well.

The bright spot apparently is the current leadership team at Skoda India with Zac Hollis at the helm.Having met Zach Hollis and senior leadership of Skoda at a customer outreach event in bangalore, I am sure that Skoda is now serious in ensuring customer satisfaction and treading in the right direction. How often have we seen MDs of auto companies reaching out directly to the customer and trying to get to the root of the issue to ensure satisfaction. I hope Skoda continues in this direction and turn around all the bad press that they got in the past, so that more and more people can confidently buy their products which are world class otherwise.

[BeigeDemon]

Originally Posted by AlokSuman

Well their is also a matter of the booking advance money to be resolved. Tafe of course said to sort out with Vinayak. Currently Vinayak is telling they will credit back the money to the account.

This is very surprising. In my case, Skoda transferred the booking amount from Vinayaka to Tafe at the back end. I just had to show my Vinayaka booking receipt as proof. Taking delivery today. Haven't paid anything extra, nor do I have to get any money back from Vinayaka.