[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by njh

Skoda and VW Passenger Cars are two totally different companies ........

How is that when the platforms are shared, engine specs are similar and in fact share parts from the same bin?

Team BHP owners have reported that many parts inside Skoda cars have an Audi logo.

So isn't it logical to assume that if Skoda cars have proven to be relatively less reliable then so will VW cars be?

The possibility of VW being more reliable than Skoda is in the cars (Polo and Vento) largely made here vs. imported kits for similar Skoda cars.

As a prospective customer for VW and a cheated ex-customer for Skoda I feel they are the same unless proven otherwise.

Cheers,

[KiloAlpha]

My own personal analysis of the VW group's operations in India - they "just don't get it" when it comes to keeping customers happy in India. Skoda dealers in Europe are a nice bunch, and score quite highly in customer satisfaction surveys. Why on earth can't they replicate the same in India?

[carboy]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

Skoda dealers in Europe are a nice bunch, and score quite highly in customer satisfaction surveys. Why on earth can't they replicate the same in India?

It's probably because Skoda dealers in Europe started off with Skoda as a bad brand & they had to work to sell the cars. Skoda had the reputation of being a bad quality brand before it was purchased by VW. After VW improved the quality, their initial ad campaign went along the lines of "This car is so good that you won't believe it's a Skoda". So the Skoda dealers in Europe probably had to work their butt off to build a market for Skoda. Whereas in India, they didn't start with any bad reputation & the dealers didn't have to do much to sell the cars. Even now it's more or less the same - the cars sell themselves.

Also in India, Skoda is percieved as an European car, whereas in Europe is precieved as an East European brand, I think.

[SILVERWOOD]

[quote=carboy:It's probably because Skoda dealers in Europe started off with Skoda as a bad brand & they had to work to sell the cars. Skoda had the reputation of being a bad quality brand before it was purchased by VW. After VW improved the quality, their initial ad campaign went along the lines of "This car is so good that you won't believe it's a Skoda". So the Skoda dealers in Europe probably had to work their butt off to build a market for Skoda. Whereas in India, they didn't start with any bad reputation & the dealers didn't have to do much to sell the cars. Even now it's more or less the same - the cars sell themselves.

Also in India, Skoda is percieved as an European car, whereas in Europe is precieved as an East European brand, I think.[/quote]

Bingo.Spot on carboy.

The problem here was the overwhelming response skoda got from the Indian market, which i am sure they never expected.Easy success and the VW tag made the dealers complacent.Imagine a dealer salesman at bangalore telling a customer when he was about to make the full payment.
"We are NOT responsible for the car after we sell it"

[njh]

Originally Posted by diffsoft

How is that when the platforms are shared, engine specs are similar and in fact share parts from the same bin?

Team BHP owners have reported that many parts inside Skoda cars have an Audi logo.

So isn't it logical to assume that if Skoda cars have proven to be relatively less reliable then so will VW cars be?

The possibility of VW being more reliable than Skoda is in the cars (Polo and Vento) largely made here vs. imported kits for similar Skoda cars.

As a prospective customer for VW and a cheated ex-customer for Skoda I feel they are the same unless proven otherwise.

Cheers,

I feel for you being an ex-Skoda client. I would probably have said the same thing if I were in your place. However, I own a Passat, had it for 2 years, and I can proudly say that I have had nothing but Brilliant service from VW. I cannot speak of Skoda service, because I have never owned a Skoda, nor do I intend to. Hence, I consider VW Passenger Cars as a brand very different from Skoda.

I do not know if you know that 'VW Passenger Cars' is also a 'Brand' of VW like 'Skoda'.
Parts inside a Skoda may have an Audi or VW logo or both on them, because these are common parts. eg. Oil filters, fuel filters etc.

From what I have heard about Skoda, they are very lax when it comes to service.

When I said that the two VW and Skoda are different, I was referring to their operating policies. I was not referring to the cars themselves.

[kadanaJ]

After reading this thread, forget Skoda, I wouldnt trust anything from Volkswagen group. Someone in this thread said that Skoda, VW and Audi share a lot of parts, which in my opinion makes them all equally unreliable.
Coupled with my Dad's horrible past experience with his old Mercedes E220 CDI, looks like BMW is the only luxury car maker that can be trusted.

[Cesc]

Originally Posted by diffsoft

How is that when the platforms are shared, engine specs are similar and in fact share parts from the same bin?

Team BHP owners have reported that many parts inside Skoda cars have an Audi logo.

As a prospective customer for VW and a cheated ex-customer for Skoda I feel they are the same unless proven otherwise.

Cheers,

No doubt VAG and Skoda cars of comparable range are VERY similar. I being an Octy owner have personally seen the Audi logo on a number of parts. We recently went to a spare parts dealer to get a lot of stuff for my friend's Octy. Almost all the brands that we bought (LUK, PAGID etc.) were OEMs for VAG. The spare parts dealer told us that almost 80% of the internal parts of a Jetta and Octavia are same and almost 60% are common with the Audi A4.

Based on the evidence I have seen, I do not see any chance of them being proven different.

For people who know that VW and Skoda are part of the same parent company (VAG), VW really does not begin with a clean slate. Good corporate governance requires that you clean up any messes before you embark on goodwill hunting. Sadly VAG does not seem to follow that. We continue to hear horror stories relating to dealer behavior, 'lemons' being passed on to customers and continuing service issues from Skoda India customers. Although I am happy with my car, the entire setup leaves a lot to be desired. In my eyes the group that owns Skoda is equally guilty of not cleaning up the mess.

[ramkris]

In fact, VW fares/fared poorely in US(no skoda in US obviously) and also in the UK especially compared to Skoda in terms of reliability. The early 2000 VW/Audi's such as the Audi TT were unreliable and were difficult to maintain but the situation has improved vastly in the late 2000s.

Skoda's being used as taxis in the europe vouches for better reliability and also cheaper price compared to the VW.

I read about the maintenance factor somewhere of Skoda being better than VW somewhere probably in topgear but I dont recollect the source.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Although I have found (from one experience as a passenger) the Fabia to be a very disappointing car that I would not want, I have a very favourable view of Skoda cars.

Of course, having disliked the Polo (in UK) for its lack of comfort and its noise levels, I should have to be convinced that the Polo is sufficiently different.

NB: I am looking to buy, probably within the next few months, and am currently wavering between Polo and Micra --- with occasional swings of the pendulum as far as Jetta or Honda City.

How VW (which has long been a favourite company of mine: I drove a Golf for two years) makes me feel is a very important issue to me just now

By the way... How does Audi make its Indian customers feel? Or are there just not enough of them for this question to count?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by carboy

It's probably because Skoda dealers in Europe started off with Skoda as a bad brand & they had to work to sell the cars.

Yes, I think you are right.

Skoda had the reputation of being a bad quality brand before it was purchased by VW. After VW improved the quality, their initial ad campaign went along the lines of "This car is so good that you won't believe it's a Skoda".

I don't think it is very many years back that I saw the advert in which the newcomer to the production line brings the whole thing to a halt because he cannot believe that the car in front of him should have a "Skoda" badge stuck on it.

Eighties BBC sketch from a comedu series called Naked Video --- a couple are sitting in their car, wearing balaclavas (full face and head cover):

woman: "I just don't see why we have to dress like this"

man: "It's your fault; you insisted on buying a skoda. We don't want to be recognised!"

(I watched it on You-Tube just the other day)

Yep... It was that bad.

Also in India, Skoda is percieved as an European car, whereas in Europe is precieved as an East European brand, I think.

post vag, it is perceived as a value-for-money lower-status-symbol-value VW --- and yes, the companies are that closely allied in our minds.

Originally Posted by njh

... I own a Passat, had it for 2 years, and I can proudly say that I have had nothing but Brilliant service from VW.

That is what I want to hear!

I consider VW Passenger Cars as a brand very different from Skoda.

You are entitled to your perception too.

When I said that the two VW and Skoda are different, I was referring to their operating policies. I was not referring to the cars themselves.

This is what I want to believe

[rahul016]

I was planning to buy a new superb..but now i am in a dilemma.

[harishv]

Nummer Eins at it again.


Taken for a ride - Mumbai Mirror

Taken for a ride

Santacruz woman says service station minders have forcibly kept her car for a year, while repairers claim she has no money to pay the bill

Anand Holla

Posted On Wednesday, June 09, 2010 at 02:19:56 AM

A woman from Santacruz is locked in a massive struggle with a service station to get her Skoda back. The car is lying at the station for almost a year now, and cross complaints have been filed by both the owner, Fatema Bootwala, and the service station owners.



In her complaint, Bootwala, 47, claims the service station minders delayed the car’s delivery post repairs, gave some excuse or the other, used the vehicle for their personal travels, and finally, gave her an inflated bill of Rs 1.2 lakh, including Rs 75,000 as parking charges!

On his part, the service station manager, H S Vijan, has said that it was Bootwala who refused to take the car back as she was facing financial crunch. Bootwala had no intention of paying the repair charges, and that’s why she was trying to arm-twist the service station minders, Vijan has claimed.

In July last year, Bootwala’s red Skoda Octavia (registration number MH 04 BW 7768) developed engine problems while passing through the water-clogged Milan Subway. She sent the car for repairs at Andheri’s One Stone International Pvt Limited, which was then an authorised Skoda service centre under a different name.

Bootwala claims she was told the repairs would cost her Rs 40,000. She said, “My son Hussain and I visited the service station frequently, only to be told the car would be ready soon. The service station people kept buying time, they kept giving us excuses.

Then, Hussain was ill and we all got busy with an emergency in the family.” She further said by the time she followed up on her car with the service station minders, an amount of Rs 54,000 was demanded. She also claims she was never shown her car all these months.


Fatema Bootwala alleges that her Skoda was used at the garage as the car’s odometer indicated that it had travelled 8,000 km

Last month, Bootwala said she had had enough and stormed into the service station, demanding to see her car. “My heart sank,” she said, “The car was in a deplorable condition. The interiors were ripped apart, the stereo missing, side mirrors were cracked, tyres showed they were extensively used.

The car had dents and scratches which it didn’t have before. But the most astonishing part was that the car’s odometer (which indicates distance travelled by car), which showed somewhere around 64,000 km, whereas it has been clearly recorded at 54,000-km when we had given it for repairs.”

Bootwala further alleged that one of the employees at service station confided that the son of One Stone’s manager would drive the car around. In her non-cognisable complaint to the MIDC police, Bootwala has mentioned these points.

Vijan outrightly dismissed all allegations. “We have our own spare cars. Why would we use Bootwala’s car? Besides, we had sent her car to Taloja and Chembur yards for repairs, hence it shows to have run around 200 km more. But 8,000 km? She’s talking rubbish,” he said.

Vijan further said, “We repaired the car and pursued Bootwala to collect it. But she told us she had no money to pay us. We even agreed to give her a discount and settled the matter at Rs 89,000. Still, she is refusing to pay up. Hence, we have filed a complaint and have sent her a legal notice to settle the bills.”

Bootwala’s lawyer Mubin Solkar claims the service station minders are playing a dirty game. He said, “I will give their notice a fitting reply. I will also initiate criminal proceedings against them for harassing Bootwala for almost a year.”

They used my car for personal use and gave me an inflated bill of Rs 1.2 lakh - Fatema Bootwala, Car owner

[SILVERWOOD]

Oh my god.

What are these dealers up to.?

[Turbocharged-KC]

Hi friends.. I'm A marine engineer by profession and quite new here, nevertheless i have spent a lot of time reading through your forums. I really enjoy and appreciate the technical depth of your articles.
But The most shocking revelations have been about Skoda dealers and their malpractices. In fact i was reading the article in Mumbai Mirror that fellow BHPian Harishv has posted. Can u imagine the plight of someone who gets to know that his/her car has been driven 8000kms by the service centre...!!!!!!!!!!
I was seriously contemplating to go for the New Skoda Laura 2.0TDI A/T but now i have no doubts that i wont be getting into a Skoda showroom at all.
I mean these are amazingly engineered vehicles but No thank you. I'm not interested in getting ripped off.

[veyron_head]

My god! how did they even think they could get away with driving someone else's car for 8000 kms and charging the owner 75k as parking charges!!

Thank god I dont own a skoda!