[revsperminute]

My appalling experience with Skoda Service.

Car- 2015 Skoda Octavia

Service Centre- Dr. Auto Skoda, Navi Mumbai

Skoda has lied to me blatantly over and over again. False promises, backpedalling on their words and downright dishonesty, this has been my experience with Skoda.

Let me take you through my experience with a timeline-

Dec 2021- Decided to pamper my car and bring it back to mint condition. Among several parts, I also got both of my headlamps replaced at a cost of ~50k INR for both headlamps. Since DRLs going yellow has been a common issue with Octavia, I got a goodwill discount on the headlamp cost. INR 15,300 to be exact. Due to some communication problems at their end, my discount was honoured post paying the bill. I had to pay the complete amount on the 3rd of January despite giving several reminders to the person handling my concern. I was promised at the time that I could use the discount amount on anything, their customer relationship manager explicitly mentioned that the funds could be used as credit on any sort of service, parts, labour, service pack, accessory etc. I asked, again and again, to provide me with these details in writing but that request was never acknowledged.

Jan 2022- My car was in the workshop for a coolant couple piece replacement and the part (~INR 2k) was replaced using the funds from earlier. Again this time, I requested a breakdown of my funds and how much had been used.

OCT 2022- My car got into a minor accident and I sent it for repair. Details of their shoddy work can be found on the Octavia 3rd Gen review thread. Even if we keep that aside, at the time, I was assured that the remainder of the repair costs after Insurance liability will be covered by the credit I have with them. As it should be. Now, it looks like the person I was dealing with has left the company and they have lost all track of my credits. It took them days to find the 15300 amount itself. My SA is going on a completely different tangent now and is stating that the credit I have can only be used as a partial discount on parts I buy from their dealership and it has always been this way. I’m now waiting for the bill which is going to be sent to me.

Nov 11- I get the bill and I am again assured that the next visit will be carried out using credit. Honestly, I had let this whole thing go and paid the bill because I feel the amount of time and energy I am putting into this does not justify the outcome.

SURPRISE- I looked at the bill when I got home and I just noticed that they have billed me for a gift they handed to me. A car care kit worth 1299 rupees. THEY HAVE BILLED ME FOR A GIFT AFTER ALREADY TAKING ME FOR A RIDE ON THE WHOLE CREDIT DEBACLE. In fact, I got an email to collect a gift of my choice from their dealership. I tried to contact my SA through WhatsApp and phone calls but could not reach him. Now after escalating the issue to their CRM, I get the same response “We have billed you by mistake, we’ll add it as credit to be used in the future”.

I am 100% sure this “credit” will never be accepted as a form of payment when I need to settle a bill in the future. This kind of dishonesty does not suit a street vendor let alone a brand like Skoda.

Respected Forum members, do share your views on this topic.

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by revsperminute

I am 100% sure this “credit” will never be accepted as a form of payment when I need to settle a bill in the future. This kind of dishonesty does not suit a street vendor let alone a brand like Skoda.

Respected Forum members, do share your views on this topic.

Sorry to hear this, this is indeed disappointing. Looks like problem with this service center.
For me with Tafe Access Skoda, once I made an extra payment for some spares and the additional money they gave back to me in the form of a cheque. Honestly I wouldn't trust these dealers with credit for future expenses.

[shankar.balan]

I buy spares regularly from BMW Navnit. They typically open a credit debit account in your name as per your car VIN Number. Usually they give an estimate for the parts being ordered especially if the part in question isn't in stock and ask us to pay so that they can procure the part.

Once the part comes they adjust the cost against the prepayment. Sometimes one may indeed have made a higher prepayment so one is in credit with them. They’ve been very decent about their records and if there is a credit balance as described it is adjusted in the next bill.

The same process as above is also followed at Mahindra Sireesh Auto. And my experience is the same with them as well.

I am happy overall with my experience with these blokes.

[revsperminute]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

For me with Tafe Access Skoda, once I made an extra payment for some spares and the additional money they gave back to me in the form of a cheque. Honestly I wouldn't trust these dealers with credit for future expenses.

That’s honest and upfront on your dealer’s part. My dealer has told me repeatedly they don’t have a provision for refunds.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

They’ve been very decent about their records and if there is a credit balance as described it is adjusted in the next bill.

The same process as above is also followed at Mahindra Sireesh Auto.

Just the way it should be. In fact, this is the first time I’m being harassed like this by any service centre. I have not come across this kind of lack-lustre management anywhere else. I have experience maintaining everything from a humble Honda city to cars from luxury marques.