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View Poll Results: Should Team-BHP stand up for its right to the freedom of speech? For the TRUTH?
YES 3192 99.35%
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Old 13th December 2010, 19:02   #2341
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

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Originally Posted by psbali View Post
There goes one more potential customer..
Quote:
Originally Posted by nik_kapur View Post
Sometimes i wonder is it really that bad ?Also a relative had to sell his Laura after keeping it for 6 months because it was prone to breaking down. I just dont seem to get whats the issue with this company and there cars. The Laura is by far the best built car in the category with the highest quality interiors and great features.
It is not at all that bad. The Laura continues to sell well and the Superb is doing very well. Yes, there were/are a few ASCs which were not competent enough and hence the initial impressions of a few customers was not good, nay, it was horrible.
But things have changed, for the better.
In fact, you have 3 Laura owners on this forum; Raveeendra, Anshuman who is a moderator, and one more from Kerala who are extremely happy from their Skoda Lauras apart from a few Octavia owners as well. And yes, our fav travelogue writer Sam Kapasi, bought a Superb and is enjoying it day in and out.

In fact, if you have a Skoda and are facing any issues in Bangalore, please feel free to PM me. I know a few people here and can assist you.

OT: I do not work for or have any commercial interest in Skoda.
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Old 13th December 2010, 21:26   #2342
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

I was very smitten by the Skoda brand and wanted to own one at some point. But over the time, last 1 year, having seen all this and more by advises from many, I even as a second hand car buyer I got myself a corolla, happy me, I even paid much less
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Old 20th December 2010, 18:37   #2343
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

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Originally Posted by n.devdath View Post
It is not at all that bad. The Laura continues to sell well and the Superb is doing very well. Yes, there were/are a few ASCs which were not competent enough and hence the initial impressions of a few customers was not good, nay, it was horrible.
But things have changed, for the better.
In fact, you have 3 Laura owners on this forum; Raveeendra, Anshuman who is a moderator, and one more from Kerala who are extremely happy from their Skoda Lauras apart from a few Octavia owners as well. And yes, our fav travelogue writer Sam Kapasi, bought a Superb and is enjoying it day in and out.

In fact, if you have a Skoda and are facing any issues in Bangalore, please feel free to PM me. I know a few people here and can assist you.

OT: I do not work for or have any commercial interest in Skoda.



Dont get me wrong - Skodas are fantastic cars - the best for the money that they are available for -- but what if you are one of those few whose car doesnt work?

I have been a happy Skoda owner, and now I am a hapless customer who can do little but keep sending emails to the company begging for help. They have fixed my car for now, but they claim to have done so in the past -- so lets see how long this lasts.

@N.Devdath It cant be doubted that there are Skoda owners who are happy - I was one for 10 years.

It can't even be argued that there are a few ASCs and only a few cars that have the problems.

But what I think is a universal theme, is that when there is a serious problem with the car, which has happened to quite a few of us (even if its <1% of cars that have a problem - buying a 25L car that just doesnt work is a big deal - you cant sell it, you cant use it - and you're 25L down), then the company completely ignores it.

I have written nice, polite emails to senior management of the company for 3 years about my Superb that was defective coming out of the showroom -- no response.

You also have to ask yourself why they dropped the Superb and the Laura one full price bracket down. The sales of the old superb had tapered down, so had the Laura. Only a matter of time before sales taper down at this price level, as Skoda loyalists such as myself (having owned 4 Skodas) turn away from the company.
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Old 20th December 2010, 20:33   #2344
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

IMHO, Skoda Auto are under estimating the power of 'word of mouth' in India. It does not take time for news to spread, and this may very well spell the deathknell for the brand itself in India. The relevant dealers/ managers at Skoda however are most likely to get away scot free!
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Old 20th December 2010, 20:51   #2345
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

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Originally Posted by mudittandon View Post
but what if you are one of those few whose car doesnt work? They have fixed my car for now, but they claim to have done so in the past -- so lets see how long this lasts.

@N.Devdath It cant be doubted that there are Skoda owners who are happy - I was one for 10 years.

It can't even be argued that there are a few ASCs and only a few cars that have the problems.
Which is exactly what I m saying. I turn the M&M dealership upside down if I m not satisfied with their service for Hariya costing 10 lac INR and completely understand your situation after having purchased a car costing twice as much.

But, like you said, the number of satisfied owners on the roads outnumber the unlucky ones by a huge margin so let us not call the entire brand a lemon. Morover, like I always say, when in doubt, look at the bigger world outside.

Skoda sells and sells decently well. I silence my voice with that.
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Old 21st December 2010, 14:13   #2346
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

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Originally Posted by bkbkr1212 View Post
@Chetan_rao,
All the markets are driven by perception aren't they?
Adjectives like "Great" are very very debatable. That means all the Fiat cars are great, aren't t Then why do Honda and Vento sell much more than that? For that matter, even in your terms lowly Maruti and Hyundai sells much more than that?

We have had lots of ownership and 1st hand reviews etc etc.

But buying a car is one thing and getting hassle free maintenance is a totally different ball game. In this Fiat jacks up big time.


Last month or so, I remember reading VW has only 57 service centers all over India. Still check out the sale of Polo and Vento.

With Fiat having the wide network of Tata, how many vehicles do they manage to sell? (Now we see lots of ads too in TV and print media)

Just having a Fiat badge doesn't make it a great car. Let's be honest, the Fiat variant sucks, else I am 100% sure people would be buying it without any hesitation. These days buyers are very mature to understand quality. They may not be knowing all the technical aspects, but most of them will be taking help of people who know about cars..

Fiat cars are not so good as it is made out to be. As simple as that.

Welcome to all the fireworks
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

I think Fiat cars are great, but Maruti/Hyundai sell better because of their service network. You're saying the same thing, so what are you disagreeing with me on?

As for people being knowledgeable and researching their cars, I never deny that. But for every guy who buys the best thing available for his buck, there are hundreds who just buy whatever sells the highest numbers. That's the only reason Maruti is the market leader (purely my opinion).

India is a 'herd-mentality' market, and there are no two ways about it. As for Fiat being crap, I'd recommend you drive their cars and judge by yourself, rather than deciding they're crap just by looking at their sales numbers.
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Old 21st December 2010, 15:25   #2347
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

Today it is a cardinal sin to take the customer for granted. The days of Amby/Fiat are gone. If you do not care for the customer then you are DOOMED! Skoda does not seem to understand. Their service is very poor, and spare prices sky high. There is enough on the web to justify this comment. Also, I am told poor service complaints are across the Globe.
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Old 21st December 2010, 15:43   #2348
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

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Originally Posted by sgiitk View Post
Today it is a cardinal sin to take the customer for granted. The days of Amby/Fiat are gone. If you do not care for the customer then you are DOOMED!
Agree.

Quote:
Skoda does not seem to understand. Their service is very poor, and spare prices sky high. There is enough on the web to justify this comment. Also, I am told poor service complaints are across the Globe.
We can keep saying that as much as we want to, multiple times, on the same thread.. and Skoda sales charts will keep proving it is the other way around for them.

Where is the disconnect then ?

And - I dont understand the point of keeping this thread open anymore.

Harish's thread is fine, because his case is still open. This thread subject is way too stale, to keep beating the same pulp over and over again.
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Old 24th December 2010, 19:01   #2349
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

The merit of keeping this thread open is quite simple.

The company i.e. Skoda lacks integrity for one and when found out to be in the wrong, do their utmost to browbeat the customer into submission. Any responsible corporation would be contrite and make amends to the customer if it's representatives were found with their hands in the cookie jar so to speak and fire the jokers who sullied it's reputation. Simple! This company has no such desire, by persisting with the litigation with TBhp member HarishV they are sending the message - do not mess with us, we have deeper pockets. The thing that is galling is, the company's obduracy in the face of it having been proven to be in the wrong.

If after reading these facts someone choses to buy a Skoda product, "Caveat Emptor".

I do not believe the forum mods or the people on this thread hold any animus against the company per se.Therefore it is not their agenda to hurt Skoda's sales. Matter of fact, I personally think they make very nice looking cars and a few Skoda owners I know say their vehicles are a pleasure to drive. However what happens when misfortune strikes? You end up like HarishV?

This thread is only placing the facts before the reader. After reading this thread if someone someone buys a Skoda product, they have the benefit of knowledge of the company's past and have made a deliberated choice to ignore it.

So the connect that you are looking for did not exist , maybe?
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Old 25th December 2010, 11:54   #2350
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

Just happened to go through this thread - am absolutely shocked and appalled !!!!

The Fabia (especially after its recent minor face-lift and price cut) was in my consideration set for a new car ... but there's no way I'm stepping into a Skoda dealership to look at one, now. No point in buying a car where mental trauma is part of the package offered.

Thanks guys for this thread ... and sincerely, hope Skoda is able to resolve issues of existing owners.
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Old 25th December 2010, 19:48   #2351
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

Thanks a lot for enlightening new users. I will never ever buy a skoda-foda & will enlighten others too from the evils of buying a "foda-funsi"
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Old 8th February 2011, 11:30   #2352
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

Quote:
Originally Posted by jigbarai View Post
Agree.

We can keep saying that as much as we want to, multiple times, on the same thread.. and Skoda sales charts will keep proving it is the other way around for them.

Where is the disconnect then ?
I too keep wondering, why more and more Skoda cars (I'm concerned about New Fabia) are seen on Pune roads, nowadays? Did they improve as a result of all these complaints?

Quote:
Originally Posted by RS_DEL View Post

So the connect that you are looking for did not exist , maybe?
You are right, may be it does not exists since their January 2011 sales figures proved it - 51%

ŠkodaAuto India kick starts 2011 with 51 % sales growth in January
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Old 8th February 2011, 14:17   #2353
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Another act by a Skoda Dealer

Just came across this article on same temporary registration numbers given for two cars from the same dealer.

Skoda Dealers Struck again

Linky

Last edited by GTO : 9th February 2011 at 16:03. Reason: Correcting link
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Old 8th February 2011, 17:22   #2354
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

Quote:
And - I dont understand the point of keeping this thread open anymore.
Unless Skoda settles this down with Harish and Harish says he is happy with the final outcome, this thread should be kept open.

This is just another thread that made me not choose a Laura.

I am just asking the following to Skoda:-

- Accept the mistake
- Place the customer above anyone here and help Harish with a settlement or a complete replacement.
- Bear the extra cost which will go a long way to help build the reputation.


This is a starting point for Skoda to regain confidence from the public.
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Old 15th February 2011, 19:02   #2355
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Re: Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its us

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Originally Posted by VW2010 View Post


This is a starting point for Skoda to regain confidence from the public.
What justification is required , there are 10000's plus of happy Octavia /Fabia Owners.
I am giving a less estimate ,
Harish's case is a one off ,
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