[sgiitk]

The situation in mofussil towns is worse. In most metros you have good independents as an option.

[guns666]

not only has sko'duh' lost new customers, my friend is unable to sell her fabia. 3 months now.

its brand new (oct 08) and only done 3.5k kms.

any of the 6 who voted tbhp shouldn't bother fighting want a fabia 1.4?

mods: hope the joke (almost) about the sale pitch isn't a violation

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by ranjithbalan

...Finally we have decided to go to consumer court and we are filing the case in a matter of days...

I support what you are doing Ranjith - wish you all the very best. Deeds like yours will bring a wayward car maker drive straight with customers.

Skoda's attitude overall is quite condescending to say the least. Reminded me of Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden" - The White Man's Burden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Rudyard Kipling, The White Man's Burden

Cheers,

[GTO]

[quote=harishv;1293023]the last para[/quote

That is an outstanding post by Dipen, Harish. I'm going to quote three parts from it here (due to relevance):

Originally Posted by dipen

3. A nut in Octy costs 5 literally times more than the competition. And its not a fact that it lasts 5 times longer. This is just for saying and not an exact theory.

...............

Company attitude towards the owners or the Indian population on the whole. They forgot that we are the smart people hence most work is outsourced here. We are not a under-developed nation but a developing nation where people have real brains to think, analyse or everything cannot be taken at face value. We, like others need reasons to justify things. How difficult it is for the company to settle things outside court in the case of an owner whose car hasnt been returned since more than a year. Forget facts, right or wrong, imagine the positive publicity they would gain from this action. This is the cheapest way of gaining lost confidence of prospective buyers. They still don't do it inspite of the fact that this story is spreading like waves.

Overall, it offers a lot more than the competition but where it falls short big time is PEACEFUL OWNERSHIP EXPERIENCE. You don't want to live in fear everytime the car goes for service or everytime some repairs need to be carried out just in case. Owners ask or worry about how expensive is the 60k or the major service just for a Skoda. Have we seen any Accord, Corolla, Civic owners worry or ask about the service cost. Just goes to show the peaceful mental state that these cars offer. Enthusiasts (though in limited numbers) are afraid to even put on a free flow or a filter (forget touching any of the internals) on the car worrying about warranty. This was/is usually the case with MB/Bimmers/Audis which are in a different segment altogether.

Well-put, Dipen!

Originally Posted by idea1979

Given a chance , I would have certainly bought it.

But this is a scary picture. I am sure to it is going to be a tough decision for me to be a skoda owner now.

Tell me about it, I would have bought the 3.6 AWD Superb if it weren't for Skoda's misdeeds. Now, I am not willing to touch a Skoda with a barge pole!

Originally Posted by sgiitk

The situation in mofussil towns is worse. In most metros you have good independents as an option.

Valid point. Atleast Skoda owners from the metros have a backup in independent specialists. Where would someone from Nasik or a smaller town go?

Originally Posted by guns666

my friend is unable to sell her fabia. 3 months now.

its brand new (oct 08) and only done 3.5k kms.

any of the 6 who voted tbhp shouldn't bother fighting want a fabia 1.4?

The Fabia 1.4 petrol is a lemon. It has a problematic engine that was recalled by Skoda themselves. Neither is it quick, nor fuel efficient, or too refined. No wonder that it has been labelled as a DUD!

[harishv]

GTO - Thoroughly agree with You. We expected a lot from them in 2004 and and they dashed our hopes by 2009.

[toiingg]

Harish, my heart goes out to you man.

Now whenever I come across any skoda on the road, the thought 'poor sod' invariably flashes across my mind.

[Lancer.ized]

Originally Posted by toiingg

Harish, my heart goes out to you man.

Now whenever I come across any skoda on the road, the thought 'poor sod' invariably flashes across my mind.

i second you bro i happened to pass skoda yesterday and thats exactly what i thought

[navin]

Originally Posted by Lancer.ized

i second you bro i happened to pass skoda yesterday and thats exactly what i thought

Actually it is not that bad.
1. Many of their cars (the Octy 1.9Tdi, 1.8 Tpi, Superb 1.8Tsi, 3.5 V6, etcc) are excellent cars. Just compare the 1.8Tsi Superb to a similarly priced Honda Accord (20L). And guys for under 15/12L there was no sweeter car than the vRS/1.8Tpi Rider.

2. When you buy a Skoda you must keep in mind 2-3 things.
a) Maintainance will be higher than a Civic, Corolla, Accord, Camry and most other Jap cars in their price range. Budget double.
b) You might need to know a well reputed independant garage that has lots of expereience with European cars (Merc, Beemers, Audi, etc..).
c) You keep the car for atleast 7 years so that resale value does not become an issue. No Skoda will hold the resale value of a similar model year Corolla, Civic or Accord even with half the miles on the Odo.

3. Lastly there seem to flickers of hope that Skoda might well be changing the way they look at service. However this is going to a long ardurous road so it will take a lot of effort (on the part of Skoda dealers and Skoda themselves) and some time. While a few of us have experienced better service of late still there has been no movement (or responsibility taken) on big problems cases like Harishs', Evo's, etc..

[ash7678]

i hope that these 1700 hundred odd posts have served as an eye-opener for Skoda India and they cut their losses before it is too late.

Harish: Kudos to you for your perseverance and resilience. You have been a stellar example to all of us to stand up and fight injustice irrespective of size and standing.

[toiingg]

Originally Posted by navin

Lastly there seem to flickers of hope that Skoda might well be changing the way they look at service. However this is going to a long ardurous road so it will take a lot of effort (on the part of Skoda dealers and Skoda themselves) and some time. While a few of us have experienced better service of late still there has been no movement (or responsibility taken) on big problems cases like Harishs', Evo's, etc..

evo's car is in the workshop getting a scrape + paint. lets see how it pans out. But honestly, for me, I would only believe that Skoda is serious about bringing a change if Harish's case is resolved. Till then, everything else seems to be hogwash.

[drkunaldas]

The only way is to teach SKODA a lesson. That is by not buying their products. I see now-a-days even the auto shows mention a word or two about Skoda service while evaluating their cars. (saw this on a UTVi Autocar show by renuka while evaluating the new Superb). if skoda does not change, its reputation will touch the Fiat's A*S*S. i hope the VW's officials are also looking at this, otherwise it will take them down too.

[ImmortalZ]

drkunaldas, Skoda A.S.S' reputation is not even close to FIAT A.S.S. FIAT was blasted for having no spare parts, pricing and all that. Skoda A.S.S is out to kill the customer. I wonder what kind of moral compass these monsters have when they go about replacing brake discs with spurious parts?

FIAT's A.S.S was, is and always will be an absolute angel compared to Skoda.

[janitha]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

drkunaldas, Skoda A.S.S' reputation is not even close to FIAT A.S.S. FIAT was blasted for having no spare parts, pricing and all that. Skoda A.S.S is out to kill the customer. I wonder what kind of moral compass these monsters have when they go about replacing brake discs with spurious parts?

FIAT's A.S.S was, is and always will be an absolute angel compared to Skoda.

Yes, For example even for Fiat Uno, original (Italian) spares are still available even at MyTVS (franchisee) workshops.

[randomgyan]

Originally Posted by GTO

My only questions to you, Dear BHPian, are these : Does Team-BHP stand for the truth and nothing else but the truth? Are we going to let giant corporations walk all over us? Does the Indian customer want to be so ill-treated? Do we want to be walked over by a profit-hungry Skoda that cares a damn about it's Indian customers? Are we willing to stand up for our rights? Do we want ANYONE to take away our right to freedom of speech?

Team-BHP is blessed with the best-wishes of 40,000 BHPians. the entire body of Indian car enthusiasts and lakhs of regular visitors. I know, that with YOUR SUPPORT, Team-BHP has what it takes to stand up for the TRUTH.

Let me also release a FIRM PUBLIC WARNING to Skoda Corporate : If you attempt to threaten ANY Team-BHPian, your account will receive a permanent BAN. And yes, if you want to sue me for speaking the truth, be my damn guest.

GTO - spot on.
I just came to research on Skoda in general for purchasing a Laura but after seeing this thread, for sure, not only am I not going to buy their stuff myself, I am going to point more of my friends here to make them aware.

Thanks for playing the role of our united voices and looking after our collective interests and rights.

[0-100@2.7sec]

Dear Customer,



In continuation to our earlier mail, with reference to your concern regarding the AC of the car, we are given to understand that the 50 % of the cost of Compressor has been approved under warranty as a good will as the car is out of warranty and the same has been informed to your good self. We regret to inform you that we cannot assist you further in this regard.

We request you to coordinate with our dealership to get the needful done accordingly.



Assuring our best services at all times.



Thanks & regards,

Syed Yaser | Customer Care
ŠKODA AUTO India Pvt. Ltd.

501, Wing A, Signature Towers, South City | Gurgaon- Haryana | India | Tel: +91 124 335 1314
yaser.syed@skoda-auto.co.in | Error | 500 ?koda Auto -






13/Mar/2009


4:05 PM





CUSTOMER INFORMED THAT SINCE FROM 2007 HE IS FACING PROBLEM WITH AC OF HIS CAR AND HE HAD GIVEN THE CAR TO KRISHNA SERVICE CENTER FOR SEVERAL TIMES BUT THE PROBLEM IS NOT SORTED OUT AND YESTERDAY ON 12TH MARCH CUSTOMER RECIEVED A CALL FROM SERVICE CENTER INFORMING THAT THERE IS PROBLEM IN THE AC COMPRESSOR WHICH NEEDS TO REPLACE .CUSTOMER WANTS TO REPLACE IT UNDER WARRANTY ,BUT SERVCE PERSON REFUSED TO DO SO AND OFFERD HIM 50% DISCOUNT ON THE PART BUT CUSTOMER IS NOT READY FOR IT AS ACCORDING TO HIM HE IS GIVING HIS CAR TO SERVICE CNETER SINCE 2007 BUT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM AND NOW WHEN THE WARRANTY PERIOD IS OVER THEY SUDDENELY RECTIFIED THE PROBLEM .HENCE CUSTOMER IS NOT SATISFIED AND WANTS ASSISTANCE FROM COMPANY OFFICIALS.(CAR IS IN THE NAME OF MS.GRAND LILLY MOTELS LTD.)( P.D-2006, KMR:-38000)





Thanks & regards,

Syed Yaser | Customer Care
ŠKODA AUTO India Pvt. Ltd.

501, Wing A, Signature Towers, South City | Gurgaon- Haryana | India | Tel: +91 124 335 1314
yaser.syed@skoda-auto.co.in | Homepage ?koda Auto - | Untitled Page[/quote]


This is what happens when you buy a SKODA product.

I will make sure non of my known people buy any skoda product.