[GTO]

Gosh, Looking around Team-BHP from actual user experiences makes me wonder if it makes sense to buy a Skoda at all?

1. The Spare parts are FRIGHTENINGLY expensive. Case is point is the Octavia whose spares are priced way above its competitors. Some of them are actually on par with cars priced at 20 lakh rupees and higher. Also, over 50,000 kms, an Octavia costs Rs.55,000 to service while a Corolla will set you back by Rs. 9,000.

2. The after-sales support - atleast in Mumbai - is downright pathetic. 90 % of dealership experiences I have heard about firsthand are filled with disgust. Complaints range from inethical business practices, lack of service knowledge, overcharging for services to shoddy job levels.

3. And now, you have Skoda selling two generations of the same car side by side (a la Maruti) and with a whopping 50% price differential.

I wouldnt think Skoda India exercises any control over its dealerships for quality of service and ethics. Just reading about Karthiks case - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ghlight=skoda- gives me the jitters. There is a limit to how low manufacturer service stations can stoop.

The question is - Is it worth it?

GTO

[west]

i had first hand experience of a skoda on issues like safety, mileage and power. i grade it a steal for its price.in btw ar you comparing rs or tdi for running costs GTO??

[goldie_malhotra]

Yes, it most surely does

1. For that wonderful 1.9 diesel engine, which gives you great drivability in the city and though underpowered, is most refined. And not to forget the mileage.
Ditto for that mindblowing TC 1.8 vRS as well.

2. For that legendary build quality, it will hold its own for years on to come, with the doors shutting with the same "click" as they do when new.

3. For the very few amount of quality issues faced, in the brand new model, as well as over the years.

4. For the safety features, like the solid heavy-duty steel, the indestructible feel and the ABS and airbags.

Maybe some people have faced ASS issues, but a few owners I know have very good experience regd maintainence & servicing, though they do scream about the high pricing.

[Boom Shiva]

Nah. Skoda's not worth the hassle. The cars are good, but the company needs a cold bucket of water splashed on its face.

[Rtech]

Tough one this. On one hand, the cars themselves are great. But, after getting a close look at their dealers, spare part prices and actual service itself, I'm going to have to say NO!

Not until they have trained staff, reasonably priced spare parts and improve their customer service.

However, the car itself is great, and if you don't bother with their service and do it privately as I have been doing, then it is a great ownership experience. Just hope that you never have to start changing parts!!

[BUSA]

I dont think its worth by a Skoda. The Built Quality maybe good but still needs to buck up. Forget the service and spares the car itself is not worth it or upto the mark.

Read my Experience with a L n K
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/new-ca...-ripped-2.html

[Steeroid]

Never been, if you look at the price you have always had to pay for the extras that you get over other cars (talking Diesel here, not the RS). Other than 'build quality' and 'driving pleasure' there was nothing in favour of the diesel Octavia. Power, space, features and everything else the Elantra CRDi is a much better car.

As far as petrols are concerned, there is currently no substitute for the RS in terms of power and driving pleasure, though they say the new Sonata is faster and offeres more of everything else except perhaps image.

[jat]

The build quality is good, but the amount of complaints we hear about services and cost of spares etc, it is not worth buying.
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[SIZE=2]RK[/SIZE]

[tsk1979]

I guess people are misreading this post as "Skoda is bad quality". If skoda had the best quality car in the world, even then it would be expensive to maintain. The reason, parts have a life. After 50000kms lots of parts reach end of life with no warranty remaining. At that point spending 55000 in service is a lot. A person who spends 25 lakh on a car purchase can afford that amount. But a person whi spends 12 lakhs?
Also people think a 3 year old well maintained skoda at 8 lakhs is a steal. they forget that if all you can afford is a 8 lakh car, all you can afford to service is a 4000rs service not a 55000.
Add to that the potential looming insurance costs. Imaging spending 1 lakh per year on insuring your 4 year old skoda.
If the parts were actually expensive, lets say made of gold or some high tech, it would be justified. but the same bosch alternator which costs 18000 in open market(After paying dutys and levies) costs 48000 in a skoda spares shop.
Skoda policy, keep dealer margins low and ensure they earn enough from non free repairs!

[islero]

Hmmm I was not aware of ther high cost of spare parts and service......it has come as a surprise to me.
I certainly would not put my money on a Skoda if they have all these problems.

[manaa45]

i have definately changed my mind about buying skoda for my dad specially after reading karthik's thread. agreed that we know things about the cars and it might be difficult to fool us but thinking about those poor chaps who end up paying what is asked for.

especially when i see some of the rubber parts and their prices skoda charges, i know the real cost price to the manufacturer of the part and it is sometimes in the range of 20 times more then the manufacturing cost.

any manufacturer will charge may be 60 to 80 % profit and sell it to the dealer/OEM at around 35% discount. imagine the OEM hiking it to unreasonable levels.

skoda is one of them who thinks they can sustain this strategy of theirs, they are in for a ***T future. any ways i have ,made up my mind and m not going in for a skoda for my dad, my choices would be either crdi accent or a optra 1.8L DTEC , ( thks busa for correcting me , it was a typo error)

definately not a skoda.

shubbhi

[jat]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I guess people are misreading this post as "Skoda is bad quality". If skoda had the best quality car in the world, even then it would be expensive to maintain. The reason, parts have a life. After 50000kms lots of parts reach end of life with no warranty remaining. At that point spending 55000 in service is a lot. A person who spends 25 lakh on a car purchase can afford that amount. But a person whi spends 12 lakhs?
Also people think a 3 year old well maintained skoda at 8 lakhs is a steal. they forget that if all you can afford is a 8 lakh car, all you can afford to service is a 4000rs service not a 55000.
Add to that the potential looming insurance costs. Imaging spending 1 lakh per year on insuring your 4 year old skoda.
If the parts were actually expensive, lets say made of gold or some high tech, it would be justified. but the same bosch alternator which costs 18000 in open market(After paying dutys and levies) costs 48000 in a skoda spares shop.
Skoda policy, keep dealer margins low and ensure they earn enough from non free repairs!

On the example of alternator - While other makers try to reduce the total cost by manufactering alternator in parts, skoda manufacter it as complete unit. So if any part of alternator is damaged, you have to replace the whole unit and hence the cost.

As far as the service is concerned, almost all over india, they show lukewarm response to faults reported by owners. At least one example of very cold repsonse you can find by reading the link in post #1.

Almost everybody is mentioning the quality is good, but it is the service and spares that is putting off people. Remember about the FIAT case. Everybody agreed on quality, but other factors led to its downfall.

RK

[BUSA]

Originally Posted by manaa45

skoda is one of them who thinks they can sustain this strategy of theirs, they are in for a ***T future. any ways i have ,made uo my mind and m not going in for a skoda for my dad, my choices would be either crdi accent or a optra 1.9

The Optra does not come in 1.9 form nor in diesel. Only two petrol Version 1.8L DTEC and 1.6L ETEC VGIS Petrol.

[DCEite]

I remember first time i travelled in my friend's Octavia TDi, i was asking myself.. why the hell the engine is so silent.. even my petrol car makes more noise than this.. (ofcourse sitting inside)..

The torque available throughout each gear, the acceleration, the Turbo whistle, the Tank like build quality.. everything is so addicting about this car. One can only imagine how good a product Skoda Superb is.
BUT.. as GTO pointed out, the spare parts are a big problem cost wise. Certainly this is a big drawback.. and to answer the question, i would say, NO! its not worth buying a Skoda anymore.

[BUSA]

I remember first time i travelled in my friend's Octavia TDi, i was asking myself.. why the hell the engine is so silent.. even my petrol car makes more noise than this.. (ofcourse sitting inside)..

You sure it was a TDI. The Octavis diesels are one of the most noisest vehicles around. Infact NVH even in the Laura is pathetic.