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Old 2nd May 2009, 04:50   #1636
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skoda complaints

After reading a lot about Skoda's bad service and problems, I did some googling, this is what I found out.

Indian Consumer Complaints Forum | skoda

and just imagine the state of this poor guy
skoda laura Complaints - falling down of engine
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Old 2nd May 2009, 09:55   #1637
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Quote:
Originally Posted by abhim23 View Post

and just imagine the state of this poor guy
skoda laura Complaints - falling down of engine
what the hell man, i mean just imagine what would have happened with the owner who in between of road driving through chandigarh city founds his skoda's engine falling down from the car and some how manages to hold on. Totally shocking.
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Old 2nd May 2009, 11:55   #1638
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vijaythacker View Post
what the hell man, i mean just imagine what would have happened with the owner who in between of road driving through chandigarh city founds his skoda's engine falling down from the car and some how manages to hold on. Totally shocking.
Even regular Skoda customers are losing faith
Skoda Complaints - skoda dealer behavior and business strategy ............

but the odd complaint was this one - the complaint date is 2009 the case is from 2006! and it involves Harish's favourite car dealer (ok ex-dealer).
NUMMERIENS MOTOR Complaints - SKODA KEY REMOTE
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Old 2nd May 2009, 11:55   #1639
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VW models to be preferred over Skoda

Fellas,

1. Do let me know if we need to stage a Dharna in Delhi somewhere to drill good sense into Skoda dealers. I will sponsor lassi and Nimbooz for all my bros who with me will be braving the Delhi heat.
2. Can I request GTO to REMOVE the offending red Skoda Octavia from the banner above?
3. The parent company has anyway decided to introduce new tech via VW models and not Skoda. For instance, Passat has the latest engine while Superb a dated one.

Good luck!
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Old 2nd May 2009, 12:49   #1640
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This one is ridiculous!

The dealership kept his Laura for repairs for 4+months (seems like they still have it) -- and used it for 3,000+km while it was in their possession!!!!! Amongst a host of other things...

Definitely worth a read!

Last edited by Rehaan : 2nd May 2009 at 12:50.
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Old 2nd May 2009, 12:55   #1641
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What an oppurtunity VW has to establish themselves in India. I just hope they grab it. They already have better cars then Skoda and just need to work on the after sales part.

If I was in the market to buy one of their cars, I would pick the Jetta over the Laura, Passat over Superb and Polo over Fabia.

Hopefully, we will see better reliablity in the Chakan built VW's.

VW's have a young aura around them compared to the oldish Skoda's.
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Old 2nd May 2009, 15:06   #1642
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vW is the owner of the Skoda brand.
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Old 2nd May 2009, 15:16   #1643
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR View Post
vW is the owner of the Skoda brand.
No offense, but I think most people here are quite aware of this fact.
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Old 2nd May 2009, 15:18   #1644
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR View Post
vW is the owner of the Skoda brand.
that doesnt mean they are indentical. VW are almost always one step up compared to Skoda which is a cheap VFM brand.
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Old 2nd May 2009, 17:13   #1645
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR View Post
vW is the owner of the Skoda brand.
That's why I said:

Quote:
What an oppurtunity VW has to establish themselves in India.
Think about it. Skoda's had an almost 10 year headstart ahead of VW but thanks to their pathetic after sales, VW has a fantastic oppurtunity to get ahead of their creation. Wouldn't it be just irritating for VW to find themsevles behind Skoda month after month knowing that Skoda's are nothing by rebadged VW's! In North America, VW is the cheapest way for anyone to get a Euro / German car. I am sure VW would love to be in the same situation in India too.

Quote:
that doesnt mean they are indentical.
Exactly. That's why I said

Quote:
VW's have a young aura around them compared to the oldish Skoda's.
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Old 2nd May 2009, 17:20   #1646
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I've already mentioned that, from the VAG group perspective, phasing out of Skoda and phasing in of VW is the perfect image-change chance.

What's happening so far on the VW/Skoda price comparison front? Elsewhere, Skoda is the cheaper way to buy a VW, but here Skoda has projected itself into the VW market gap.
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Old 3rd May 2009, 00:50   #1647
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
I've already mentioned that, from the VAG group perspective, phasing out of Skoda and phasing in of VW is the perfect image-change chance..
Dear Gads,

I sincerly hope VAG does not see things this way. Most anyone knows that VW and Skoda are from the same company (VAG). If VAG decides to drop Skoda altogether and concentrate only on VW the message their customers will get is "if one of our brands get into hot water instead of fixing the problem we run away from it and start up a second brand".

So fast forward 10 years and VAG makes a mess of VWs India venture what next? SEAT?

Although Skoda, VW, Audi, SEAT are really independant companies all part of VAG (which BTW is controlled by Porsche SE) if one VAG brand is poorly managed it will affect the reputation of all VAG brands in the same segment (Skoda and VW in India do intend to eat into each other's market segments with the low end VWs being priced about the same as the Superb).
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Old 3rd May 2009, 02:30   #1648
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All good points, and I do agree.

I have also said that the worst thing thing for Skoda owners more would be for Skoda to go away, and what you say about running away is quite true.

What next: Seat? Well, I think that could be very good for us!!!
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Old 3rd May 2009, 08:47   #1649
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Quote:
Originally Posted by navin View Post
If VAG decides to drop Skoda altogether and concentrate only on VW the message their customers will get is "if one of our brands get into hot water instead of fixing the problem we run away from it and start up a second brand".
Isn't that what GM did with Opel and Chevy (although the cars are Chevy in nothing but name)? Seems to have worked for them?
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Old 3rd May 2009, 09:21   #1650
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MBA speak

I am looking at it from a "corporate governance" perspective.

If an entity is actively encouraging dishonest practices by its representatives (employees, managers, franchisees, dealers, whatever youcallit), what is rotten is not the employees or dealers or managers or whatever. What is rotten is the leadership. It is a bit like a cricket team. When player X performs poorly, he is removed. But when the team has a string of failures, it is coach / captian / manager (depending on the game) who is fired.

And here is another example (hope it does not become a flame bait).

Look at Satyam, the IT company.

People would gladly hire Satyam employees, right? Even the VPs, right? Anybody except (probably - and that is a big probability) one level below the board, right?

I would.

Why?

Because what was rotten was the management. The top may be 15 or 20 of them. were not clean. The rest are, and still continue to be honest citizens.

Ditto for the other group company, Maytas. But the top management would continue to be tainted, IMHO.

The top management of group companies would work in tandem, in close association. Skoda India is a fully owned subsidiary of Skoda Auto. And Skoda Auto is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AB. And significant numbers of Skoda offerings in India come from VW's assembly lines at Chakan, near Pune. Fabia is manufactured is at both Shendra and Chakan, going by news paper reports.

I am aware that significant part sharing, oursourcing, etc. happens within the auto industry. Skoda - VW tie up is different, because Skoda India is a fully owned subsidiary of VW, and top managers (at least at board level) of the two companies - VW India and Skoda India, seem to have too much in common. Just go through the press releases and note how the VW representatives speak for both VW and Skoda.

I will be optimistic, and rule out dishonesty. It probably is lack of what I will call "market intelligence" - not ensuring (or inability to ensure) that the feed back you get is genuine.

Edit I a'int an MBA, and I hope I have used the phrase "corporate governance" and "market intelligence" in the correct sense. ;-)

Edit2 - @navin, I 00% agree with you. But this is not just a "brand management" issue. "Brand management" for me is about pricing strategy, "positioning" (as in VFM, premium, midpriced, etc), creating an image, choosing target customers, etc. This is about giving to the customer what (s)he paid for. Yes, so much overlaps here.

Last edited by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR : 3rd May 2009 at 09:32.
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