Skoda announces Prepaid Maintenance Packages, a new 4-year Standard Warranty & more

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

2017 will see 4 new products from Skoda"

1) Octavia vRS (and it should be the 2.0 in a respectable state of tune too!)
2) Kodiaq (Skoda's 7-seater SUV. Expect a preliminary report from moderator Ajmat soon! Worldwide unveil on 1st September)
3) Undisclosed
4) Undisclosed

One of those undisclosed upcoming model is most likely to be the C/SUV based on Fabia. A 2018 launch is what can be expected.

[Yamahead]

Originally Posted by motorworks

T Secondly, some of the parts are abnormally expensive. The turbo costs nearly 1.5 lakh and the EGR costs some 40k, this is nearly 3 times of what these parts cost in Maruti / Honda / Toyota etc.

Sir this is what is wrong with Skoda. The VW group turbos are in the range of 42K per piece out of the box. Any other excess is purely cost of labour, pipes, small parts which are not provided by the OEM. Last week during my routine service at Kashyap Fiat I enquired about the price of a new turbo and SA mentioned 20K including fitting ( OEM price- 13K, so a margin of 7K for labour and minor parts,giving example as pure illustration), so now you know the uphill task Skoda faces to get customers to trust their product over a period of 5-6 years when they are keen to charge 3X prices for very routine parts replacement works.Changing turbo is not akin to fueling a Mars rover that you need a PhD in automobile engineering to get the work done. Skoda has to improve their service experience one dealer at a time for us to trust them with our hard earned money on a consistent basis.

[mathuranuj]

Hello Narayan

I am looking out for a car and am interested in Octavia 1.8 TSI. Would you say that the service at the Skoda service centers has improved now?

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

I have been a Skoda customer for 10 years covering 2 cars and around 2.5 lakhs kms +. Excellent products - both my Laura and Superb were/are MT. However I have seen their service deteriorate downhill with determination. It has not been easy but the dealer has worked hard at it. Their new Superb is a product I would consider buying once it comes in a hybrid model. Till then unless they re-train and change (at least some) employees at their service centres I don't see this programme succeeding they way Skoda wishes it to. The customer experiences the car and the OEM through the hands and skills of the sales person and the service engineer. Till Skoda can change their attitudes and skills and put the fear of the OEM into the employees of the dealer their best efforts will yield only limited fruit.

The Manager of the centre I frequent is usually a demotivated harried soul who tries to hide behind his PC instead of being on the shop floor and with his customers. In a decade I have seen 7 managers rotate through.The so called 'customer relations manager' is someone who would fit perfectly as the P.R. officer of the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam Board - literally that's how bad they are. And I say this after 10 years of dealing with them and watching them. My best wishes to Skoda. I shall watch the reality change at ground zero.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by mathuranuj

Hello Narayan

I am looking out for a car and am interested in Octavia 1.8 TSI. Would you say that the service at the Skoda service centers has improved now?

I sold my Superb a year ago and regret I cannot provide you with any up to date information. I believe there have been cosmetic changes in the decor and looks but do not know if customer service itself has improved or not. Sorry I cannot be of more help than this.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by mathuranuj

Hello Narayan

I am looking out for a car and am interested in Octavia 1.8 TSI. Would you say that the service at the Skoda service centers has improved now?

Forget the service, Skoda Dealers are notorious to not even provide the car the customer paid for.

Search for the ordeal a Bangalore bhp member is facing.
The callous attitude of Skoda towards its dealers is very evident.
Still if you are inclined with Skoda, then good luck.

[mathuranuj]

Thanks buddy!!

It is very unfortunate that such good cars are being let down by the dealers

I really love Octavia and don't think there is a equivalent car in that bracket. Any suggestions?

I tried Elantra, but did not find it to measure upto Octavia. Let's hope there's not too much of a compromise.

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Forget the service, Skoda Dealers are notorious to not even provide the car the customer paid for.

Search for the ordeal a Bangalore bhp member is facing.
The callous attitude of Skoda towards its dealers is very evident.
Still if you are inclined with Skoda, then good luck.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by mathuranuj

Thanks buddy!!

It is very unfortunate that such good cars are being let down by the dealers

I really love Octavia and don't think there is a equivalent car in that bracket. Any suggestions?

I tried Elantra, but did not find it to measure upto Octavia. Let's hope there's not too much of a compromise.

That's the problem, the cars are good. Only to be let down by Skoda India and it's dealers.
I always say, with cars, the relationship starts from the time we drive out of the showroom. It is not a white good appliance that Skoda is selling, that they can forget about the customer once the car is sold.
I had made up my mind to upgrade to Octavia RS this year, but I have cancelled my plan and looking for an alternative.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by mathuranuj

Thanks buddy!!

It is very unfortunate that such good cars are being let down by the dealers

I really love Octavia and don't think there is a equivalent car in that bracket. Any suggestions?

I tried Elantra, but did not find it to measure upto Octavia. Let's hope there's not too much of a compromise.

I feel you can take a chance with the Octavia. Yes there is a bit of risk but it's worth it if you prefer a driver's car. You get 4 year warranty and even if you consider the worst case of DSG packing up later, they just replace 1L worth of component, it's not like the entire DSG needs to be replaced. Very often you are also given some goodwill benefits during such repairs.

I am not trying to be overly optimistic but one can take a calculated risk with Octavia given the lack of other options. If you are somewhat flexible with cost of ownership, then you won't regret it.

[mathuranuj]

Originally Posted by androdev

If you are somewhat flexible with cost of ownership, then you won't regret it.

How much flexibility are we talking about here?

I have heard horror stories regarding service costs too. Just wanted to confirm whether these are, well... 'Just Stories' or is there any truth in them...

[androdev]

Originally Posted by mathuranuj

How much flexibility are we talking about here?

I have heard horror stories regarding service costs too. Just wanted to confirm whether these are, well... 'Just Stories' or is there any truth in them...

If you are willing to buy Jio smartphone instead of an iPhone so you can pay for a 50K worth paint protection, then you can consider yourself flexible

Jokes apart, regular service cost should be 25-30K per year. Some people absolutely detest reliability issues and poor customer support above all else. Some people detest a car that's not fun to drive. You have to be honest about what type of person you are.

Beyond the frustration of dealing with mediocre customer service and a bit of possible downtime, I feel owning a Skoda is manageable. Think of it as a pet. If you like to keep things simple, get a goldfish with automatic food dispenser. If you want more excitement, get a dog but be prepared to take care of it. One thing I must warn you. If you get a dog, you will forever be a dog person.