[Animesh]

My my I never knew that Skoda sucks (SUCKS aloud) this bad. Personally I have never been a fan of any Skoda car and a Skoda would have been the last thing on my mind if I have to spend any tiny dime of my hard earned money.

I am curious about this bit though. What is there to say about the parent group Volkswagen group as a whole. I remembered recently that there was a huge NOTICE published in Times of India by Volkswagen group about one particular AUDI dealer. They apprarently had a bad fallout and this is one of the many such cases that have taken place in the past.

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...0100&AppName=1

[carboy]

Originally Posted by harishv

Thanks for the info buddy.

However, I feel the ultimate lesson to Skoda can not come from our Courts.

............ till the day comes when 3 more zero's are added to that score.

Good point. Huge Puntive Damages are the only way to rectify problems like these.

Consider the following simple example.
- Chap fixes his invoicing software to add Rs. 100 to every invoice.
- Out of every 100 customers, 10 notice, other 90 don't. Chap apologizes to the 10 chaps, refunds them double as part of apology - i.e. refunds them Rs. 200.
- Chap ends up Rs. 10000 - 2000 = Rs 8000 ahead. It's a calculated risk taken by the person.

Likewise if an auto dealer is cheating 10 customers & only one of them take him to court & he has to refund them something & even pay some cost etc, he will still be ahead. Punitive damages is the only deterrant for this.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by Animesh

I am curious about this bit though. What is there to say about the parent group Volkswagen group as a whole.

VW is fairly new in India, when it comes to volumes. It remains to be seen whether they are same or different from Skoda, in terms of reliability.

[Ranjan Sharma]

Originally Posted by harishv

Sorry for the delay. Neck deep in work. Skoda must be happy with that.

I have sacked my lawyer on the above date.

He tried to do a 'et tu brutus' on me. Kept dilly dallying everything. Smelt a rat long time ago.

Next date 12th April.

Any update after this? Read almost every post by harish in this thread today.

Who wants to buy a new skoda?

[DJANGO]

Harish:

Man oh man, you have my sympathy and full support. After forking out a fortune for a Skoda, these people, both the dealer and the manufacturer, have the gall to treat you like some irritant. Spurious parts, manufacturer's rep hand in glove with dealers, threats, court cases, I guess you can make a Hindi film on your case.

Skoda is not a well known car the world over. It does not compare with international marques such as Toyota, Honda, Merc or BMW. True, it is a fine car, but that is only part of the whole deal, the other part being pride of ownership, spares and service support, reliability, and resale value, apart from brand image. Unfortunately, in India, it is touted as a top of the heap car. All because it has some technology in its innards.

You are absolutely justified in what you are doing. More grease to your elbows. Ensure it hits them where it hurts. Publicity. Bad publicity. Keep on going to the press, go on television if you must. They would not dare treat a customer like this overseas. They think they can treat fellow Indians in a shoddy manner. Do they not realize that a guy who can pay 14 to 19 L for a car is no small joe in India?

Unless we stand up for our rights and forget the chalta hai attitude, such guys will never be brought to book. Keep on fighting the good fight man, its worth it. When you win the case, it will be a victory not just for you, but for all potential car customers.

Best of luck.

Ranzy

[harishv]

Thanx Ranzy. Will do my best.

Ranjan, next date - 14th June. God help India.

[sukrit7]

I must say,i'm quite amazed at the way skoda is handling this,do they not realise how much negative publicity this thread brings them?
on the basis of this thread alone,so many of us would never buy a skoda.

[Animesh]

Originally Posted by sbraj

VW is fairly new in India, when it comes to volumes. It remains to be seen whether they are same or different from Skoda, in terms of reliability.

Sbraj, VW might have only recently launched its own brand of cars; however Audi, Skoda, etc have been here for some time and the operations and the management behind are all from parent VW group. So they are essentially the same people running the show and thus makes me question their service quality. That said, I shouldn't be exactly generalizing a group's culture for few idiots who work for them.

Just for the facts on the engineering front: Some cars from Audi, Skoda and VW share the same platform and engine.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by sbraj

VW is fairly new in India, when it comes to volumes. It remains to be seen whether they are same or different from Skoda, in terms of reliability.

Originally Posted by Animesh

Sbraj, VW might have only recently launched its own brand of cars; however Audi, Skoda, etc have been here for some time and the operations and the management behind are all from parent VW group. So they are essentially the same people running the show and thus makes me question their service quality. That said, I shouldn't be exactly generalizing a group's culture for few idiots who work for them.

Just for the facts on the engineering front: Some cars from Audi, Skoda and VW share the same platform and engine.

See the bold highlighted portions in my post above. When it comes to selling in volumes, VW is indeed a new entrant. Having said that, I am not generalizing and saying VW is bad. All I am saying is, VW is yet to prove their reliability and after sales record (volume sales, of course) in India.

VW may or may not be different from Skoda. Only time will tell.

[Animesh]

VW will sell for sure. And from my experience in USA, China and in Japan, they surely have great customer service to top off brilliant German Engineered (for the most part). What has happened with Harish and others who have had a bad experience with with Skoda could have to do with just certain Skoda executives/dealers/customer service centers and that could well take the nine-pins down for them in India.

Lets get this straight as far as my personal opinion on the VW group goes. I am considering buying a Polo (because of its tastely looks and even if what is underneath is so medieval), but these rumours around Mahindra Thar are making me wait.

[Thad E Ginathom]

... I am not generalizing and saying VW is bad. All I am saying is, VW is yet to prove their reliability and after sales record

They begin with a handicap. I don't think it is unfair to expect them to prove that their way of business is not the same as Skoda. Same family, so we cannot see them as starting with a clean sheet, until they have shown it to be clean.

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

They begin with a handicap. I don't think it is unfair to expect them to prove that their way of business is not the same as Skoda. Same family, so we cannot see them as starting with a clean sheet, until they have shown it to be clean.

+1 to that as a prospective VW car buyer. I know their cars have great engineering, but too many doubts act as a hurdle. I am willing to live with slightly lower reliability than a Japanese or a Korean; but I am not sure if I can be assured they will not replace my original with fake parts, not forge my signatures (like Skoda did to me), keep my parts waiting just till warranty gets over and so on.

Only owners' experience over time ( 3+ years) will tell.

[njh]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

They begin with a handicap. I don't think it is unfair to expect them to prove that their way of business is not the same as Skoda. Same family, so we cannot see them as starting with a clean sheet, until they have shown it to be clean.

They do NOT begin with a handicap. VW does NOT need to prove their way of business. Skoda and VW Passenger Cars are two totally different companies with totally different policies and totally different people managing their respective companies. And, YES they do start with a clean sheet. Try learning the facts before making such statements.

[Thad E Ginathom]

The facts is how the customer feels.

I'm a customer (potential). it's how I feel. Not only me, but many others.

So... Fact Proven!

VAG might have been VASG if Skoda had not been one of there later acquisitions. I don't see them as totally different companies at all. Most British car buyers do not regard them as totally separate companies.

So I still feel just as I said before.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The facts is how the customer feels.

Very True; I love Skoda Octavia very much, infact I also love the Laura. Every time I see a Octavia, I sincerely wish I own one at any cost but for this incident. How VW could've changed its image was, when they cancelled the dealership, they could've simply replaced the car, saying they're sorry for what has happened.