[JojyKerala]

Originally Posted by amitgupta

Till now I've not considered Skoda as I've heard too many horror stories of folk who have been swindled or left high & dry by the company & it's dealers.

Has this changed now? Is it worth considering Skoda?

I live in Delhi. How is the after sales service?

I am not sure about Delhi but my experience with Skoda service in TVM has been good so far. I am out of warranty for many years and still take it to Skoda authorised service. The service advisors have been around for years and I've established a rapport with them.

After shifting residences, the main issue I face is the distance (1.5 hours) to the service centre from my house. Hope they set up more service centres in South Kerala because I plan to hold on to my Rapid for some more years.

[Altocumulus]

This is my second Skoda, and the initial experience in Bangalore with Vinayak was appalling to say the least. Some of the service advisors there had less knowledge than roadside garage helpers i think. Thank god they have been taken off the rolls. Experience in Kolkata with Global Skoda was very good.

However since I love the brand so much, bought a Rapid Tsi after I shifted to NCR as the second car. The experience is superb. Be it with Jai Auto, Sarita Vihar or with Brite Skoda, Noida. The experience even after cancelling a booking is fantastic.

[TheCarLover]

Being an owner of an Octy (Bought it just before the lock down was announced in Mar 2020) for the past 2 years, I would say Yes and No.

There are some dealers who really do well and some are still worse. I personally have started driving 350Kms from Chennai to get my car serviced.

Apart from that, not sure if it is a particular batch, as mine is Sep 2019 manufactured car, there seems some quality issues (headlight assembly cracks, breaking of steering mounted controls, AC vents air flow handle breaking) that is not being properly addressed even under warranty.

More than the dealer, I think Skoda's customer service is still a lot to be desired.

[abhii176]

Following this thread very closely as i am very seriously considering the Slavia as my next car. If it wasn't for the horror service stories, I wouldn't have been sitting on the fence till now, cos I really like what Skoda has done with the Slavia.

[Ramukaka]

I have ownership experience of three Skoda Cars.
Fabia 1.2 MPI: Used for 7 years: Not a single breakdown. Only Oil & Filter changed. Always serviced at TAFE access, Bangalore. No complaints at all.
Laura 1.8 TSI: Brought in 2012: Water pump & Fuel pump changed. Odo 57K. Got good service again from TAFE
Octy mark 3.5 TSI: OCt 2017: Water pump & A/C repair. In warranty. No issues whatsoever of service. Odo 54K

My only observation/complaint is they order stock from central stock point, which add a day or two delay. Otherwise happy with the services provided & the performance of all three beauties.

[TheCarLover]

Originally Posted by TheCarLover

Being an owner of an Octy (Bought it just before the lock down was announced in Mar 2020) for the past 2 years, I would say Yes and No.
======
More than the dealer, I think Skoda's customer service is still a lot to be desired.

Just to add, I have a huge mail chain with Skoda especially for the headlight assembly issue and it has recurred again after a year of changing. Will start a separate thread on the same. It could surely be helpful to others and probably be an eye-opener if any of you are facing similar problems with the headlights in Octavia.

Moderators - have had to put another post as I was not able to edit the previous one. If this is not as per policy, this post can be discarded.

[Neelavi]

With the extended warranty covering up to 6 years, one can be covered on the cost front. The only challenge is the long time it takes for warranty approvals and shipping of parts from the central warehouse. Currently my Superb has been lying in the workshop for 10 days and waiting for parts after issues with AC and a oil leak. Second time dealing with such long shipping times in 4.5 years. Otherwise the experience is fine with regular servicing and responsiveness of staff. The way I look at it Skoda makes great cars that you can really enjoy for 51 weeks a year!!

[Annibaddh]

They're bad. Things are better than before but be absolutely sure of one thing: it takes desire to own a SVW and geniuine love for their cars for you to get through the experience. Remember the following.

1. Shit WILL hit the fan.
2. The fan that wasn't working till before (like their radiator fans on old diesels), WILL become a wind-tunnel, when it sees the proverbial shit in a homing projectile.
3. Their combination WILL leave you red-faced with anguish (if you're lucky), or worse leave you stranded on a highway shoulder in UP (it happened - small mercy, mine could still limp home).
4. While all of the above is not hapenning, you'll love your car.

So if you're a sucker for pain and have mild symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome. And also if you love being thrilled by brilliantly put together machines. Go on. Take a dive.

[techmotor]

As a Rapid owner for the last 10 years, my overall experience with Skoda after sales support was terrible. Compared to how it was back in, say 2013, things have improved in certain areas. Given the volumes they do YoY, I’d say there’s a lot more to improve and based on my experience till now, I’d never buy a Skoda but would happily drive one. Parts availability is a problem, frequent failures of certain components, expensive to maintain etc. are some things to be aware of.

[amitgupta]

Originally Posted by anujsd

As for the Kodiaq, they have already exhausted the stock for 2022. It was sold out within a week or so.

Oh that sucks!

Originally Posted by anujsd

check out the new VW Tiguan.

Doubtful. I don't like design on VW cars.

Originally Posted by GTO

Things are surely better now, but there are still too many complaints for a low volume brand like Skoda. Let me put it another way. Even Maruti - which sells 40 times more cars than Skoda - doesn't suffer as many dealer related complaints as Skoda. Clearly, a lot of work still to be done.

I don't think its impossible to discipline dealerships or service-centres. If they don't maintain quality standards, companies do terminate their franchise as a last resort.

But then I guess its not something a company like Skoda would do considering there aren't many lining up to get their dealership.

Originally Posted by GTO

If you want a "Maruti or Toyota" kind of ownership experience, Skoda isn't for you.

Never had either of them nor do I see myself get one of their "paper vehicles on wheels with an engine" in near future. I've had only Ford & Hyundai so far.

Originally Posted by GTO

Saying this as someone who's bought 4 German cars, including a Skoda Superb.

Curious - why do people say/think Skoda as a German car? Its a Czech car maker & they are still based out of Czechia. Not to mention, its the VW cars which use a lot of Skoda stuff from what I've read. Saying a Skoda is a German car is akin to calling a Lamborghini a German car (instead of an Italian car).

Originally Posted by ShivWason17

I visit their Noida Service centre from Dehradun every time for service or any other check up and I have never been disappointed.

That's a very long drive for car service.

[careind]

What I get from this thread is that older owners who bought Skoda products before 2015-16 are on an average on the unhappier side and the newer owners are on the happier side.
But overall I would say it strictly depends on the region as some dealers in Specific regions are REALLY bad apples and some are just great. Seems Delhi customers are happy with the ASS.
On the reliability part, I believe most of the mechatronics issues were with the Diesel engines. I don’t know we can project all the issues into the petrol engine era.

[RGK]

The fact that they have such a high complaint to volume ratio is the primary source of concern. I was on the verge of finishing my friend's 90k Rapid 1.6, but I decided against it due to unreliability. It also can't be serviced by a neighbourhood mechanic.

One of the reasons for Maruti and Hyundai's success in rural areas is their dependability.

[AnandB]

I have been lucky with my dealer. My Octavia has just completed 4 years and Kodiaq 2+. Not had any issues yet that needed either to go to workshop for long. Perfectly happy with my cars. I am also fine if a part takes at most 10-15 days to get fixed as i accounted for it buying these semi-luxury cars.

[heydj]

Frankly speaking I have not had bad experience with service station or staff for my Skoda Rapid TDi 2015 model. I go to Jai Auto Service Center Mathura Road.

They have given me back car on time and usually have done fine job of service.

However sometimes I feel they put less oil or other liquids and charge for full and have to be pointed out. But then this issue is there with Maruti too, service centres can't be trusted blindly.

Its another matter completely Skoda is selling products with so many issues like DSG etc that its quite scary to think of getting stuck with Skoda car in night time on a highway. Driving a Skoda is like playing Russian Roulette with ones life.

[evil_grin]

I've owned an Octavia for 2 years now and stayed during my two services fearing the horror stories of parts being swapped with old cars. But the Mahavir guys did a great job. Now we have another dealer in town so that's great for options.

However, my car isn't old enough to have issues and I've never had to get things repaired. I'm in Hyderabad.