[Carpainter]

Originally Posted by rki2007

It is a serious let down for potential buyers like me. Now I think I have to re-examine the decision of buying Skoda Rapid.

It is practically not possible for me to take time out of my official hours all the time running around for the spares and get it done in a local garage. Further I don not have great technical knowledge about the cars and do not want to get screwed with the local garage guys as well.

Once in a while visiting a local garage is ok but not on a regular basis.

Really do not know which car manufacturer is cheap on A.S.S. It is definitely not Hyundai, because I have experience with them for my i10. So who else, our great Maruti is the only left over option!!!.

So far I know, Toyota aftersales and spares are relatively cheaper than that of skoda and the likes. But since your choice of vehicle is Rapid, they don't have any car in that segment. Usually europeans cost more to service and maintain than their asian counterparts. But may be some exceptions are there.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Cesc

I myself imported a turbo for my Laura from Garrett (the OE vendor for Laura's turbo) in Germany. Landed part cost with all taxes paid plus shipping was 42k. Skoda A** was quoting 1.2 lakhs for the part alone. Labor and VAT extra.

Ridiculous - 65% margin!
I think this is a clear indication that Skoda India has lost its plot.
After market service is always the goose that lays the golden eggs. But Skoda's strategy seems to be that of the farmer who rips apart the goose to find the source of gold.

And this echoes with their policy of exiting the 'mass consumer' vehicles and existing only in 'luxury' domain. Nonetheless, the owner of 18 lakh vehicle will surely get a jolt by repairs of 23 lakhs! Luxury or not.

[ILTDrive]

I try to get OE as much as possible, but sometimes you are forced to chose a non OE as well. One of my fog lamps in the Indica broke due to a minor impact, and I had to buy it as a set with the OE supplier and not a single unit. I did not want to spend so much, so got my self a non OE product for approximately 1/10th of the cost. The fog light still works, as the person whom I sold the car to has been using it for the last two years.
However, when the brake booster failed, I ensured that I got the original set with warranty but replaced again at a FNG. Same with the glow plugs, A*S*S was quoting Rs.800 per glow plug plus labor charges. Got the 4 of them changed to Bosch ones for Rs.1500 at a FN-Electrician.

[Reinhard]

For now I voted for "YES Genuine spares only". But then, I drive a TATA and the genuine spares are already so cheap that I don't think anybody will be manufacturing any non-OE parts .


But this decision may be a bit of a variable based on what part we are talking about. For critical components - power-train / rolling stock including brakes / safety components - yes I'll always stick with genuine spares (yes even if I end up with a Skoda some day (impossibility)). But lets say its some minor part. Like a boot hatch strut, window roller and similar stuff then I may as well pick the non-OE part if the price difference is a lot. As some times the companies actually rip-off on such unimportant parts a lot.

[Fabiaous]

Originally Posted by Cesc

Just that you have to know precisely what is on the car and invest time in finding the right OE vendor. While finding the right source for the turbo I found that Europe itself is flooded with parts of Chinese make.

Bulk of the spares in Skoda India are made in China,exception engine parts, oil pumps, etc. With Skoda doing well in China is well known. But whats the reliabilty of these Chinese spares, these are sold in Bangalore openly , for example AC compressors , condensor and Radiator fans are available at 50% than that sold by Skoda

[Max]

Originally Posted by theMAG

You should have made this a public poll. It'd be interesting to see who chose non-authentic spares - for any reason. I feel sorry for their cars.

Of course, I'm a company-branded guy - the 8.5K rear spoiler order from SGA / Maruti is a study-in-motion. Never have/never will look at spurious spares; for me my car is a living, breathing entity that has feelings.

By your last choice, I presume you're implying those cases where the car model has been discontinued since a long time and company spares are certified to have stopped ?

I am the one who voted NO. I own Honda Cities since last 12 years and running them with 0 problems till date with other parts. I don't buy honda genuine parts because HONDA don't sell spare parts outside their dealer network and their authorized dealer are 3 times expensive then outside garages.

Most of the regular maintenance parts are available from very reputable manufacturers like, Bosch, Pureleter etc., there is virtually no need for genuine spare parts. Car companies sources most of there parts from these manufacturers anyway and just label them their own and sell it for twice/thrice the price.

I think Maruti is a different story, as their parts are available over the counter and don't cost twice / thrice like honda.