[Sideways]

I agree with you Rush, please read post # 90 and the example I have given.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Sideways

I sent the Scorpio for service... Description - 25,000 km service charge.

Since your Scorpio has done about the same km as my car can I ask how much you have spent on it's service not counting oil change, tyr rotation and other ruotine stuff.

I know that the Scorpio is not in the same segment as the Skoda but just for comparision.

[Sideways]

Originally Posted by navin

Since your Scorpio has done about the same km as my car can I ask how much you have spent on it's service not counting oil change, tyr rotation and other ruotine stuff.

I know that the Scorpio is not in the same segment as the Skoda but just for comparision.

Sure Navin - And the answer is NOTHING !!!! BUT, BIG BUT they have changed the following under warranty: -

1) Alternator Overhauled - I am still not happy, it still continues to make a grinding noise.
2) Clutch Cover assembly
3) Clutch Plate
4) Clutch Pedal box
5) Intermediate Steering Shaft
6) Gear shift lever boot cover
7) Oil pump - The whining noise though was narrowed down to the oil they use, the pump was ok, but was never the less replaced. I have shifted over to an after market oil. I couldnt do so earlier because of the warranty becoming void etc.
8) Power window switch
9) High pressure diesel fuel line - had a minor leak and was replaced
10) EGR pipe assembly
11) Engine bed - 2 numbers
12) Wiper motor
13) And the big daddy of them all - The entire gearbox.

- I know what you must be thinking.

I wasn't happy about the gearbox from day one and brought this to their notice everytime the jeep went for service. They agreed to replace all of the above after the customer care manager intervened. Infact, I only asked for item 1, 8, 9, 10 11, 12 & 13, but they found fault with all of the above and went ahead and changed everything.

She feels brand new now.

Cheers.

[iraghava]

Holy cow Farhan bhai, that is some list! Good to know she's doing well now though.

[sanjayatarizona]

Excellent details by Navin and Sideways, especially for all of us who used to view a Skoda as a potential vehicle and a great package at that(save for the A.S.S)..

My take after readig through this and a lot of other info on Skodas here and elsewhere: Skodas seem to be a great package,in terms of,a good combo of Engine, driving pleasure, gizmos etc(case in point the new Superb), but the owner pays for this initial benefit by being fleeced out of his/her skin by outrageous maintenance costs, short lived parts and a pathetic A.S.S.

Wow, a gurangutan minefield for potential owners..

[Raj1008]

Sideways,

I was wondering why you would say that changing a timing belt in 5 years is ok? We have some harsh climate up here in Canada, ranging from summers at 35C to winters -35C and the timing belt is recommended to be changed at 120,000kms or 7 years as a general rule of thumb. 5 years seems a bit of an overkill even considering the heat in India.

Also really surprised about the clutch. Sure Navin seemed like he wanted the feel to return of an original but arent these parts suppose to last longer? I believe EU spares cost more but last longer and Asian cars easier to fix but parts are not as sturdy. I am not going into the tangent of Skodas after sale service issues but just a general debate.

[ajmat]

As I see it, stronger diagnosis skills are required as evidece in the clutch issue

Timing belt - In the UK, I believe VW used to recommend 90000km or 5 years but the high incidence of cam belt failures meant that it needed to be downscaled to 60000 km and 4 years (am approximating). this message has not got through over here though.

I am planning a timing belt change during my next service at 40k.

Let me add, when I bought my Skoda, I knew fully well that parts would be expensive but I researched alternative sources.

Although aware of the weakpoints, I am disappointed about the radiator pump failure. Everything centres around the cooling system of the car

[phamilyman]

Farhan,

Holy cow. that's alot of parts changed for any car - i wonder how you trust your scorp for the raid after all this. In contrast, our mile-muncher HVKumar has been piling on the miles with MUCH less maintenance.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Sideways

they have changed the following under warranty: -
1) Alternator Overhauled ..
13) And the big daddy of them all - The entire gearbox.
- I know what you must be thinking.

You know what I am thinking. Next time I am going to ask you to negotiate my car's maintainance!

Originally Posted by sanjayatarizona

Skodas seem to be a great package...but the owner pays for this initial benefit by being fleeced out of his/her skin by outrageous maintenance costs, short lived parts and a pathetic A.S.S.

My first impression was that Skoda dealer's need bettter diagnosis. After Sideway's post (my respect for Sideways grows everytime I talk to him) I realise that Skoda needs to rethink their parts cost.

Let's consider major parts:
Clutch, Cooling coil, Fuel gauge etc..

Skoda should bring these line line with Honda, Toyota etc. infact a bit less since Skoda parts seem to have a shorter life. This would include also what the dealer charges (labour chrages are set in concert with the manufacturer) for labour.

Originally Posted by ajmat

As I see it, stronger diagnosis skills are required as evidece in the clutch issue..high incidence of cam belt failures meant that it needed to be downscaled to 60000 km and 4 years (am approximating).

I am planning a timing belt change during my next service at 40k.

To be honest I was also planning to change the timing belt and get the service done at 40K then came Hairsh's poat and I was going to be out of town for a week so I figured what better time to report on Autobahn-Skoda's service.

Over the past 5 years I did only 30K becuase part of the load was being taken by a 1996 Opel Astra. After I sold the Astra (no place to park it now - the building I live in has now restricted parking to only 2 cars per family) the Skoda will see more regular duty.

[evo]

So 13.5K for the new coil, 2.5K for the AC expansion valve and 4.2K for the charging

Just some info:

Got a new coil, new fan and charging done at an AC specialist with VAG parts for 11 grand all in. With a so called 1 month warranty!

Would a fan would cost more than the valve or no?

[navin]

Originally Posted by ajmat

As I see it, stronger diagnosis skills are required as evidece in the clutch issue

Exactly. Skoda might offer better service if we do the diagnosis for them.

I drove the car on Saturday night and Sunday morning. The clutch is not as soft as original and the brakes need a bit of work too. I ran the car on a fairly even strech of road untill I found a patch where I could leave the steering and the car would not drift.

Then I drove over the same area a second time doing about 80kmph or so and slammed the brakes and the car did a very slight drift to the left lane. Took the wheels of at my regular garage and found that the machining on the discs was not of the same quality on both front discs.

Anyway I called Liyakat this morning and we told me that I can send the car in tomorrow for a check and adjustments to brake and clutch.

Also on the list is a new windsheild gasket (the old one has visible wear in 2 places, one place it is about 3" and cleaning the throttle body and a re-look at the anti roll bar and rear bushes.

So far the best I can say is that Autobahn (Liyakat) has atleast offered fullet cooperation on the service front.

Cost of spares & labour is a seperate matter. Skoda (and their dealers) eventually need to tackle that too.

Originally Posted by evo

[b]Would a fan would cost more than the valve or no?

The valve cost about 2.5K dont know what your fan costs.

[blacmagic]

Originally Posted by navin

Exactly. Skoda might offer better service if we do the diagnosis for them.

Navinji, isnt diagnosis their job?
the way I see it, unless somebody has the time, knowledge and patience to painstakingly diagnose what is wrong with his car, Skoda *** will take him for a nice ride. also, if you are doing the diagnosis for them, what are they charging you an arm and a leg for?
I once went with a friend whose Laura would begin to badly vibrate at low RPMs. something to do with the engine mounting I believe. the reply he got from the service center mechanic was "all Lauras are like this only saar" without even bothering to check once.

also Navinji, did Liyakat know that you are a tBHP heavyweight? if yes, I wonder how he would have acted had you gone as just an ordinary person.

[Jaggu]

This is my take:

1) Timing belt: I would give it to skoda, it was requested by customer and when they open its better to replace all the associated wear and tear parts.

2) AC: Pin hole leak i can understand, but it definitely has to be substantiated by leak test. No point in doing a test now since those thing are flimsy and even storing them without protection in car trunk is good enough to screw them up.

BUT why did they change the expansion valve?? and the charge cost is horrendous! Just coz its a premium brand in India??

3) Clutch: Apart from the chance of flood damage, i dont think the approach was the right one with diagnosis. If it was a cheap 2.5k grand unit i would also replace it along with all the associated parts. But this car has really expensive parts and if the life remaining is substantial (read as 40% or more) i would reuse the non defective part!

I think Navin had given specific instruction to go ahead with changing whatever is required and the quality of work being the most important factor/deliverable. But what about others who are most of the times ignorant of what they are getting into and then land up with these exorbitant bill.

I have seen people crib on 5k bill for swifts (which according to me is ok), and i personally have told ajmat that 8k service charge for his Vrs was justified.

But come on 30k kms, 5 years and 60 grand bill. Its ridiculous for a mid segment car! 2 more of these repairs and you have blown your Tata Nano dreams over Skoda's joke on us poor indians :(

I still love the Vrs!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by navin

Exactly. Skoda might offer better service if we do the diagnosis for them.

What exactly are you paying them 60 grand for then?

Cost of spares & labour is a seperate matter. Skoda (and their dealers) eventually need to tackle that too.

They've been around for almost a decade now. The question is : WHEN? If a 13 year old car like the Octavia still takes Rs. 60,000 up for a single visit at 30K kms, we'd have to be overtly optimistic personalities to believe that Skoda will now do something about the cost of spares & labour. Your car's ONE SINGLE 30,000 km visit actually cost as much as that of THREE services of my Merc: at 10K kms (Rs. 14,078), 20K kms (Rs. 23,648) and 30K kms (Rs. 27,472). I used to think that the C220 is expensive to own, but the RS - at half the showroom price - costs MORE to own!

Now add to that the fact that up until 30,000 kms, that is ALL the money I spent on the Benz. While your RS has obviously seen other bills too. Net net, up until 30,000 kms, my Mercedes C220 has worked out cheaper to own than your Skoda RS!!

Butttttttttttttttttttt think of it from Skoda's point of view. In March, their dealers - on an average - sold 16 cars a month each. They gotta make some money somewhere right? Who else do they milk but their existing workshop-visiting customers. After all, someones gotta pay 'em damn bills right?

[navin]

Originally Posted by blacmagic

Navinji, isnt diagnosis their job?
also Navinji, did Liyakat know that you are a tBHP heavyweight?

The question is that are they capable of good diagnosis? Whenever I have givne my car to anyone be it the neighbourhood garage or honda or nationa garage (opel) or skoda I have spelled out what I think is wrong with the car yet left them room to prove me wrong. It saves me time. It tells the mechanic 2 things (a) helps him get to the problem areas faster (b) lets the mechanic know that he cannot feed me buaffalo kaka.

No I did not tell Liyakat that I was a member at TBHP. I figured it should not matter. I was a paying customer and that is what matters first. Right? in any case I never considered myself a "heavyweight". I am rarely considered even by TBHPians as someone who knows much about engine-vengines.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

1) Timing belt: I would give it to skoda
2) AC: Pin hole leak i can understand
BUT why did they change the expansion valve??

3) Clutch: Apart from the chance of flood damage

I think Navin had given specific instruction to go ahead with changing whatever is required and the quality of work being the most important factor/deliverable.

Yes I had given specific instrunctions about what I thought was wrong. My diagnosis, what I thought needs to be done, and even the expected cost of the parts (taken from Briskoda).

maybe I fed them a bit too much?

Originally Posted by GTO

What exactly are you paying them 60 grand for then?

They've been around for almost a decade now. The question is : WHEN?

Your car's ONE SINGLE 30,000 km visit actually cost as much as that of THREE services of my Merc: at 10K kms (Rs. 14,078), 20K kms (Rs. 23,648) and 30K kms (Rs. 27,472). I used to think that the C220 is expensive to own, but the RS - at half the showroom price - costs MORE to own!
Who else do they milk but their existing workshop-visiting customers. After all, someones gotta pay 'em damn bills right?

1. Point taken. But GTO these guys have proven to be dolts in the past. Remember the time when someone at Autobahn recomended me to change my Auto transmission when I got the ECU error. Suraj Bhalla at Team Motor workds borrowed a VAG and diagnosed the error. Then I had to convice Autobahn to send me the Air Bag controller and fit it in my car at my office. Skoda, the vRS has a manual transmission!

2. Again Point taken. Yes SKoda should have indigenised most parts by now. Skoda are you listening?

3. Absolutely. But does Skoda care? Will Skoda ever care? Skoda do you care?