[blacksport]

I think most Skoda owners are very much happy with their vehicles, as long as it keeps running. Only when something goes wrong, all hell breaks loose.

And I have a theory too. The parts cost. If something conks off in a Honda or a Toyota most likely they are going to cost a few thousand rupees. So after paying a 10K bill, the owner is happy to be back at the drivers seat. Now, with a VW or a Skoda the part invariably costs anything above half a lakh and could run to several lakhs if you are plain unlucky. Now, if I am asked to shell out a lakh for a seemingly small component at 4th year of ownership, I am going to freak out.

VW and Skoda shares parts with Audi and they are expensive.

Service center workers and managers are the same everywhere. There is no reason to believe that Skoda and VW recruits only the unscrupulous ones.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I think most Skoda owners are very much happy with their vehicles, as long as it keeps running. Only when something goes wrong, all hell breaks loose.

Well, err... yes! But the point is that all hell shouldn't break loose. And the point is that completely unscrupulous behaviour is completely unacceptable. And that manufacturers should take some responsibility and behave with some decency.

Service center workers and managers are the same everywhere.

It's something of a reviled industry, world-wide.

There is no reason to believe that Skoda and VW recruits only the unscrupulous ones.

There is no reason to believe that at all. Nor is there is any reason to believe that all Skoda service/sales agencies are unscrupulous.

But, on the other hand: do you think this, and related threads are just some sort of dream?

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

But, on the other hand: do you think this, and related threads are just some sort of dream?

No. Every car breaks down. As I said in my earlier post, when a Honda or a Toyota have a problem, the owner gets a 10K bill, which he happily pays and gets on with his life. With Skoda/VW he is asked to shell half a lakh and a fight ensues.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by blacksport

I think most Skoda owners are very much happy with their vehicles, as long as it keeps running.

That part is really true. On the positive side, the Skoda cars look tempting, astoundingly beautiful reeking of high quality build and must run like a dream. Slightly OT, but honestly speaking, I have never driven a Skoda, neither driven around in one but I am believing it to be close to the VWs in most aspects, and also going by the TBHPians words, the build is of high quality.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by blacksport

No. Every car breaks down. As I said in my earlier post, when a Honda or a Toyota have a problem, the owner gets a 10K bill, which he happily pays and gets on with his life. With Skoda/VW he is asked to shell half a lakh and a fight ensues.

I don't know how you could post like this, unless you are entirely new to these stories. The wrongdoing is long since established beyond any argument. Far, far too long since.

Skoda do make great cars. Sometimes I think I'd die for a Yeti! Really, really great vehicle, and yes, almost everybody here who has purchased one is very happy.

Please familiarise yourself with Harish's experience. Even if it is a one off, it is absolutely unacceptable. You are five or six years too late with the no-big-deal argument. It wouldn't have had much merit then: it has none at all now.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I don't know how you could post like this, unless you are entirely new to these stories. The wrongdoing is long since established beyond any argument. Far, far too long since.

Skoda do make great cars. Sometimes I think I'd die for a Yeti! Really, really great vehicle, and yes, almost everybody here who has purchased one is very happy.

Please familiarise yourself with Harish's experience. Even if it is a one off, it is absolutely unacceptable. You are five or six years too late with the no-big-deal argument. It wouldn't have had much merit then: it has none at all now.

Every manufacturer has cases in consumer courts against them. Wearing off the plaintiffs by dragging the case forever is a common strategy employed by the defense. I am not condoning the act, though. Harish's is a peculiar case, and I too would like to find out why Skoda would go through so much of bad press than settle it out of court.

My response stemmed out of saket77's survey where most owners seemed to look happy with their Skodas.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by blacksport

Every manufacturer has cases in consumer courts against them. Wearing off the plaintiffs by dragging the case forever is a common strategy employed by the defense. I am not condoning the act, though. Harish's is a peculiar case, and I too would like to find out why Skoda would go through so much of bad press than settle it out of court.

My response stemmed out of saket77's survey where most owners seemed to look happy with their Skodas.

Every manufacturer may have cases against them in the courts. Question is what is the percentage of those cases per thousand cars sold. Please find out why Skoda would not or can not satisfy few customers and let us know too.

You may also refer to JD Power Survey too for more insight.

I personally am not against Skoda cars. Its their attitude towards after sales and service that does not inspire any confidence to buy one.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by blacksport

My response stemmed out of saket77's survey where most owners seemed to look happy with their Skodas.

That thread seems to have disappeared - I can't find it after I saw a link to it.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

That thread seems to have disappeared - I can't find it after I saw a link to it.

That thread has been merged with an existing thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post3340571

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by graaja

That thread has been merged with an existing thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post3340571

That's strange placement.

[shibujp]

There will be car companies with rubbish service and a lack of a desire to fix it. There will be companies that take customers for a ride.

BUT Skoda is the only company that threatened an emerging car forum in India for daring to entertain an independent, fact based post of their irresponsible treatment of a customer.

It then proceeded to drag the customer through bureaucracy as if to warn other customers not to cross them. When approached they say the matter is "sub judice." Yeah, right!

Skoda knew/knows the useless and time consuming nature of Indian courts and has no second thoughts about dragging Harish through the courts when they can bring closure to this by simply saying "we're sorry" and replacing his car.

The forum that they threatened has gone from strength to strength on the basis of the principles that it stood for. And where is Skoda - still playing catch up and being overtaken everyday by newer players on the block. From being a leader with the Skoda they disappeared off the charts.

It left a bad taste for Skoda in me for life and as a member who joined this forum in 2005 for what it stood for, I will not let up speaking against them till they bring justice to Harish. The passage of time does not bring justice to history. Period.

Their cars are great.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[MADMAX111]

Great cars or Great Showpieces

A number of members have made this remark on this forum. Do we take it that runnability (as in winnability in politics) has no part in qualifying for a great car. So Skoda is good car if it runs. However, jap cars have minor problems relating to build quality (read non critical body parts). They rarely if ever suffer gearbox failures, complete ac failures, fuel systems failing etc. Skodas on the other hand directly suffer from problems equivalent to heart attacks and paralytic attacks in humans, making them invalid without any warning.

That to me is very scary and does not qualify for a great car tag. Because I can enjoy that greatness only if the car runs reliably for a reasonable period of time. Otherwise it is a very expensive showpiece.

It also poses a big question mark on the supposed build quality when critical and main components like gearbox, engines /ac fail repeatedly which are supposed to log lacs of kilometres.

So let's stop calling them great cars.

[arjab]

Historically speaking, Skoda as a marque was never considered to be a top rung OEM in Europe.

Before VW acquired Skoda's ailing Czech factory and put in superhuman efforts to turn it around, Skoda, as a car manufacturer was the butt of all car jokes in mainland Europe & UK.
Their cars were known to be honest, down to earth vehicles, capable of ferrying you from point A to point B in relative comfort.

Skoda's (prior to VW takeover) were viewed by Europeans as a manufacturer of vehicles from the erstwhile Communist Eastern bloc, cars which broke down often, had outdated technology and cars which generally turned into rust buckets after a decade of ownership.
In fact in UK, France and elsewhere "Skoda jokes" on college campuses and English pubs were a norm !
Things started improving when , (i do not remember exactly which year it was), but most probably somewhere around 1987-88, when Autocar UK featured a road test of the rear engined Skoda Rapid, (136 Coupe), and mentioned that it was one of the cheapest cars available in UK, and that too rear engined (like a Porsche 911), with which you can have loads of fun when cornering - if one is looking for "motoring on a shoestring budget" . This was just before the VW takeover of Skoda.

In the early 90's after VW took over - it took a long, long time for the mandarins at Wolfsburg to position Skoda in Europe as a reliable, safe family brand. Actually it was the Fabia which actually helped Skoda climb the rungs of social acceptability and credo in mainstream European society. As far as i recall, VW also did a management case study on the Skoda turnaround titled : "How to turn a brand from Hell into One Hell'uva Brand!"

In India Skoda came in at a time when competition in the D-segment was non existent. Relative inexposure of the indian car buying populace to the history of global OEM's , allowed the company to position themselves as a "premium marque" . In fact in the 2000's , many skoda customers i spoke to actually thought the 1st gen Octavia was a German car !

Also Skoda's own in-house R&D in India is negligible to say the least. Almost all product development happens with VW or at Skoda HQ in europe; from where it is impossible to understand the nuances or the vagaries of operating a vehicle in a hot, humid and dusty country like India. I am not even mentioning the general abuse which people inflict on their cars in our country.

Skoda must put together a strong product team in India and start off their in-house "indian r&d" in earnest. Once it understands the indian operating conditions, only then it will be able to put together cars that are reliable and trouble free.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by blacksport

My response stemmed out of saket77's survey where most owners seemed to look happy with their Skodas.

Sorry but neither did I start the survey, nor took part in it since I don't own a Skoda. Hope there is no confusion about it.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by arjab

In the early 90's after VW took over - it took a long, long time for the mandarins at Wolfsburg to position Skoda in Europe as a reliable, safe family brand. Actually it was the Fabia which actually helped Skoda climb the rungs of social acceptability and credo in mainstream European society. As far as i recall, VW also did a management case study on the Skoda turnaround titled : "How to turn a brand from Hell into One Hell'uva Brand!"

Some more interesting survey results - 2 Skodas (Superb and Yeti) topped the Whatcar? - JD Power Satisfaction survey in 2013:

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/full-results/1206903

http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/news...action-survey/