[AMP]

WoW! that's a good new and I am happy hearing it. Congratulations!

I really admire your perseverance. The settlement is 'fair' and 'satisfactory' is the most important part of this long fought war.

All's Well That Ends Well!! Congratulations once again!

[Max]

Originally Posted by harishv

No way. 1,30,000 kms and still a rock star. Will replace the aging Esteem after six months.

Harish,

I am very happy to know you are finally out of this mess and have got some compensation for this tragedy. You are the man !!

I am also very happy to see new leadership @ Skoda India is taking positive approach towards Indian consumers. Skoda India is definitely moving in the right direction and this is the first step Skoda is taking towards improving their brand image.

I want to take this opportunity to convey my message to skoda India leadership (I know you are reading this), it was in 2002, I was hunting for new car, my favorite car at the time was Skoda Octavia and I was seriously thinking about buying it, and it was my friends who stopped me from making this decision and told me I will have to sell my house to maintain skoda, my friend told me disk breaks will cost me 60,000 for repair, changing break pads will cost me 14,000 - 16000 and suspension overhaul more then 1 lakh! Now, numbers may not be true but you can get the idea how people talk, the message was skoda's are super expensive to maintain - stay away.

It wasn't team-bhp or news channel / news paper or car garage expert who gave me this information, it was my friend who don't even had a car but knew somebody who had Skoda. People listen, People talk, don't take your customers for ride, don't harass your customers to the point where they have to share there bad experiences with others and come online to fight with companies like yours.

I hope Skoda India will keep working with this positive attitude in this decade and will become number 1 premium car brand in India by 2020.

Best of luck to Harish and Skoda.

ps: I like Skoda Rapid allot but I don't have time for downtime.

[Neil Roy]

Originally Posted by harishv

Hi Folks

Just to let you know that I reached a fair and satisfactory settlement with Skoda Auto India today......

I saw your updated thread only today and read each and every post from the time you announced the news of your settlement. I am so happy for you. You were our voice and dared to stand firm in your convictions against incredible resistance.
Secondly, my faith is reaffirmed in our forum. There is a reason why we are called as team-bhp. GTO, thanks a ton for being who you are and getting Harishv closure.
Thirdly, Skoda, thank you for extending the courtesy of being willing to listen to Harishv's grievance. We at team-bhp are a passionate lot when it comes to anything on wheels and for that sake at least, I appreciate your effort in making us move on. You really have no idea how much it means to us when you settled. Thank you.
What a way to start my monday.

[torquing_points]

If only Skoda India would hire an MBA type to parse through these forums and make a list of those who passionately supported Skoda until they swore never to buy one because of nightmarish AsS, they'd sell like 50 cars right here!

I for one am very happy for Harish, but don't think I'll buy one. Harishs case may have got a lot of attention and forced Skoda to listen... But I'm still personally not sure about other cases which didn't garner such attention.

All the best to Harish, and also to Skoda.

[pgsagar]

It is strange to see some people thanking Skoda for resolving the problem. Skoda took 5 full years to resolve the issue and put Harish through hell and here are some thanking Skoda. Very strange indeed.

[Kratos453]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

I saw your updated thread only today and read each and every post from the time you announced the news of your settlement. I am so happy for you. You were our voice and dared to stand firm in your convictions against incredible resistance.
Secondly, my faith is reaffirmed in our forum. There is a reason why we are called as team-bhp. GTO, thanks a ton for being who you are and getting Harishv closure.
Thirdly, Skoda, thank you for extending the courtesy of being willing to listen to Harishv's grievance. We at team-bhp are a passionate lot when it comes to anything on wheels and for that sake at least, I appreciate your effort in making us move on. You really have no idea how much it means to us when you settled. Thank you.
What a way to start my monday.

Sorry to sound rude but was that supposed to be for real or were you trying to be sarcastic?

[Neil Roy]

Not to start an argument here, but we have to give credit where it is due.I personally believe Skoda took the initiative to settle as it was the "amicable" logical way forward. The other "egoistical,unaccountable" logical way aka "ostrich head in the sand" way forward is to see the matter out legally until it's very end. Legal Victory will eventually be harishv's but there will always be a very bitter taste.
This initiative of Skoda itself is commendable as it is implied that they settle because they admit they are wrong and want to move forward and provide Harishv the relief/closure that he deserved. The fact that GTO was actively involved gives us a positive feeling that henceforth Skoda is going to take it's customers seriously. We cant always dwell in the past failures. When Skoda is sending out positive vibes we must thank/motivate/encourage them that we will accept their initiative albeit cautiously, instead of being critical of their past shortcomings.
Besides, I am still so happy for Harishv that even the most harshest of criticism for thanking Skoda (even if it is deserved) is not enough to wipe the smile of my face. So yeah..... thank you Skoda. Way to go.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

as it was the "amicable" logical way forward. The other "egoistical,unaccountable" logical way aka "ostrich head in the sand" way forward is to see the matter out legally until it's very end. Legal Victory will eventually be harishv's but there will always be a very bitter taste.

Agreed.

But I think you should understand that bitterness among the law abiding citizens of this country. What prevents Skoda from doing this again to another unsuspecting customer? Perhaps it was because of TBHP pressure. Perhaps it was because of this incident catching the wind. Perhaps if it was me instead of Harish I would be still running from pillar to post.

The irony is that settlement took place only after dragging the crooks to court, wherein the crooks tried all their tactics to delay!

The amazing fact is that today I am confident that anyone in this country can break law without having any moral dilemma. A Civil case in our courts usually take nothing less than 10 years to reach a resolution. In the meantime you can always offer a "compensatory" settlement to the victim!

... gives us a positive feeling that henceforth Skoda is going to take it's customers seriously.

I think we may be speaking to soon.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Never ascribe to malice that which can adequately be explained by incompetence

Here's a new saying for the world: never ascribe to decency that which can adequately be explained by hard-headed management.

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

This initiative of Skoda itself is commendable as it is implied that they settle because they admit they are wrong and want to move forward

It was obvious to all except Skoda that they were shooting themselves in both feet with this. A new manager must have wanted out. Damage limitation.

Of course, from the management point of view, it was exactly right, if far too late, to take this course. Nothing but ongoing damage to Skoda could have happened otherwise. Some very stubborn heads must have been knocked together by the new MD.

But that would not have happened without it being obvious that Harish was not going to give up.

~

[raja_ys]

Congrats Harish for your patience on this case and shame on Skoda to drag it for such a long tenure.

[invidious]

Perhaps Skoda realized that the writing was on the wall and they could not inordinately delay the inevitable - that their authorized service center knowingly fleeced a customer and that ultimately, it was the firm which was responsible. An out-of-court settlement if reached within the first 6 months would have been much more appreciated. However. all's well that end's well I guess.

[shibujp]

This is great news!! Hats off to you Harish for your determination in seeing this through. I am sure you realize it but it is a great achievement in terms of standing up for customer rights. So THANK YOU!

Far from losing face Skoda has actually grown in stature by this initiative.

I think Skoda though late has shown the resolve to climb down and address fundamentals. So deserves credit for this initiative. Their initiative to provide an online service calculator was the first step but this sends a much stronger message on how serious they are.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

..... thank you Skoda. Way to go.

What way to go? You sound like a huuuuuge Skoda fan-boy. They took 5 years and unrelenting follow-up on part of Harish to resolve this issue and you say "thank you"? It is because fo people like you that some brands take us for granted. Skoda is not doing any favour. They should have done this years ago. It is their duty to oblige.

I always wondered with this kinda attitude, how they are selling any cars in India. Now I know. I may be hauled over coals here by fan-boys but it is my personal opnion that Germans cars are substandard cars hidden behind halo-ed logos ( at least in India ). I'm sure there will be and is a world of difference between what they sell here and what they do in Europe/US. Will it change? Never, as long as we worship their badges more than the cars per se.

[azeemhafiz]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

What way to go? You sound like a huuuuuge Skoda fan-boy. They took 5 years and unrelenting follow-up on part of Harish to resolve this issue and you say "thank you"? It is because fo people like you that some brands take us for granted. Skoda is not doing any favour. They should have done this years ago. It is their duty to oblige.

I always wondered with this kinda attitude, how they are selling any cars in India. Now I know. I may be hauled over coals here by fan-boys but it is my personal opnion that Germans cars are substandard cars hidden behind halo-ed logos ( at least in India ). Will it change? Never, as long as we worship their badges more than the cars per se.

Agreed. Similar to your personal opinion, some may have their personal opinion to thank or even worship the brand, that opinion is strictly theirs.

While after sales service is definitely an important aspect, its hardly a deterrent for enthusiasts to make their decision. It remains and should be an important aspect for general consumers to make their purchase decisions.

But for us enthusiasts, after sales service though important is usually ignored when the purchase decision looms. Its one of those fallouts when heart wins the battle over brains.

Originally Posted by pgsagar

I'm sure there will be and is a world of difference between what they sell here and what they do in Europe/US.

Not sure how you base this statement on, but on the contrary most of the germans get into trouble because they sell their product almost similar to Europe / NA specs in India without preparing the car for India spec.

That aside - Harish, congratulations on settling this matter. It dragged on for far too long. But your perseverance is definitely commendable.

[dozer]

Originally Posted by harishv

True that. Totally attest it.

He has been meeting people randomly and taking feedback and more importantly acting on them. I hope he gets the time frame and the support to keep going.

Considering the utter dross they've been serving up in the name of A.S.S. and considering your case, would you now discourage your friends/relatives from buying Skoda cars? I know you like the new MD. I'll be surprised, nay shocked, if your answer is a NO.

The damage has been done. I was looking for a car a couple of years ago and the Skoda Rapid was my preferred choice. The Skoda and VW sales reps were the best in following up and answering questions.
After reading all the feedback including yours I decided to book the City instead for a much higher cost. Couldn't be happier (so far, don't want to jinx it).

Regarding the new MD's feedback, I don't believe it. How can a philosophy (w.r.t. A.S.S) which was built and followed over a decade suddenly change overnight? I'd rather see the company down and buried considering our legal system is so slow for whatever reasons.