[sukrit7]

@skoda- Now toh you're gone

[theMAG]

This is one company that deserves to be taken to the gallows in India. For what is an extremely ordinary brand in its home market, for what is essentially a hand-me-down brand that relies entirely on its parent company's technical parts bin, a brand that the Indian consumer was always fooled into thinking as a luxury marque, with the worst-possible after-sales service in current memory of this country, they have the nerve to even remotely think that India's largest unbiased automotive community will pay heed to their insecurities.

If this brand had operated such in a developed country where consumer rights are strong, they would have had multi-million dollar class-action lawsuits slapped against their sorry face.

[kapiljolly79]

All Team Bhpians from Delhi. I request you to take a drive down to Mathura road and just drop in at the COntinental Motors Dealership and see for yourself the state the dealership is in. I agree it could be due to reasons known to them and them only. But if Skoda has no problems with the dealership running in shambles, then no wonder they have no problems with their customers being taken for a ride too. And yes, they don't really care what you think of their products because they are only interested in the buck. The rest for them just chucks.

Oh yeah, and make sure you tell them that you're a visitor from Team Bhp.

[somubj]

Watch out what you say Skoda corporate/Meghna. This forum is not a group of kids discussing cars, but of potential buyers and car lovers. You will find car owners from 800 to BMWs/Mercs/Lamborghinis on this forum. (Think about the losses in your car sale counts - you are spoiling your image in front of potential buyers)

Not to mention, if you google something about any car in Indian market, Team-bhp link comes on the first page! (People who read reviews, etc will not buy Skodas for sure)

See this thred itself, within 2 days, there are more than 280 responses and 12000+ views and trust me, all these 12000+ people who went through this thread will never recommend Skoda to anyone, forget about buying one.

To the PRs' at Skoda: learn some good PR skills. You are selling your products in the market and you need to me humble, empathetic and modest enough to make a good reputation.

To the marketing guys at Skoda: please go back to your B-schools and get a refresher on the basics.

Harish: best of luck on your case with Skoda!

To the person who voted for a "no" in the poll: (If you are not Meghna?) Please get over with the "chalta hai" attitude.

Thanks!

(Go green - say no to Skoda, this will prevent you from wasting cash, which will save some trees eventually :-))

[anilkalvani]

Originally Posted by theMAG

If this brand had operated such in a developed country where consumer rights are strong, they would have had multi-million dollar class-action lawsuits slapped against their sorry face.

Exactly. If this happened in the US, they would be sued left, right and centre till their last penny. Its just so sad that everybody takes advantage of our legal system. But, the more this thread is viewed and the more people are made aware about brand Skoda, automatically it would bring them to their end in India. The truth is out there... oops here!!!

[CaliAtenza]

im really surprised that there is no "lemon law" in india: Lemon law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia like there is in the US. Its a Federal Law designed to protect everyone in all states. I know of many cases back home where the car manufacturer or dealer has just simply bought back the car and given the owner a new car. I know my sister's Acura TSX has had a few problems, but every time they have been fixed timely and promptly..and we get a loaner car to boot. Its all well and good to come down hard on skoda..but more than that, we should be demanding the govt to enact a federal "lemon law"..so that this kind of thing doesnt happen again.

[SkyWalker]

Originally Posted by abk

Dear feedspeed,
It is interesting you voted against Team-BHP not standing up for its right to the freedom of speech & the TRUTH. Of course you are not required, but if you could elaborate on the rational behind your vote, shall certainly help enlightening the rest of the folks.

Originally Posted by sukrit7

@abk- feedspeed has made 0 posts till date and has been a member since sep2007, it's unlikely that we hear from him.
@feedspeed- if you do read this i would like to tell us about your divergent views

Originally Posted by pranavt

No reason I think, just someone having a bit of fun.

just let him/her be folks. He/she too has a freedom of speech and opinion after all, and he doesn't need to explain it. And 399 and counting is a major number

Admins - this would probably be the fastest growing thread in the history of tbhp. comments?

[greenhorn]

heh, let the guy have his opinion. he is entitled to, after all. Reminds me of the scene in Monty Python's Life of brian

Brian: Look, you've got it all wrong! You don't need to follow me, you don't need to follow anybody! You've got to think for yourselves! You're all individuals!
The Crowd (in unison): Yes! We're all individuals!
Brian: You're all different!
The Crowd (in unison): Yes, we are all different!
Man in Crowd: I'm not...
The Crowd: Shhh!

A question. Apart from maintaining status quo till Skoda corporate gets back to us , what else are we doing to make our stand?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by somubj

See this thred itself, within 2 days, there are more than 280 responses and 12000+ views and trust me, all these 12000+ people who went through this thread will never recommend Skoda to anyone, forget about buying one.

What about the few million who have clicked on the link to this thread from a few thousand Facebook, Orkut and MySpace pages?

Skoda India is all over the net, and for the wrong reasons.

If they had any sense, they would want to become part of the community and not start threatening it - I think we are all open-minded enough to listen to their side of the story if they decided to come on board and TALK with us.

Instead, they start off by threatening us - which means the gloves were off from the beginning. If thats the way they want it, so be it - we will not disappoint them!

If any manufacturer is reading this (and I'm sure many will be following Skoda's story here) please note that we would really love it if you were part of the community, rather than against it. I'm sure the admin team will let them know, but there are no strings attached, no favours asked and as you can very well see - no quarter given therefore.

[navin]

Originally Posted by sukrit7

@skoda- Now toh you're gone

Guys I would like to see TBHP being proactive and being part of the solution. Statements like this do not help.

Originally Posted by anilkalvani

Exactly. If this happened in the US, they would be sued left, right and centre till their last penny. Its just so sad that everybody takes advantage of our legal system. But, the more this thread is viewed and the more people are made aware about brand Skoda, automatically it would bring them to their end in India. The truth is out there... oops here!!!

What India needs is car companies that will
1. produce good fun reliable cars to drive that appeal to the Indian customer
2. back it up with an attentive sales team
3. back that up with a efficient and economical after sales service (which includes maintainance, customer relation management, and a preventinve maintenance program).

Every car company has had it's share of lemons and PR disasters. This is one such PR disaster for Skoda. What Skoda needs to do is to pick up the pieces and move on.

1. Draft a smart letter to TBHP recognising the power of the internet and Skoda's folly in trying "to take it on".
2. Fix Harish's car and return the same to him with a 4/40 BUMPER to BUMPER warranty. After all that man has gone through he does need a car that will give him peace for 4 years.
3. Establish a process where they can monitor their dealers in an efficient way and be willing to take their dealers to task.

TBHP is a significant force and with this power comes a lot of responsibility. TBHP is a forum for people who are passionate about cars and just about anything automotive. If we take our passion and our power we can improve the product and service the Indian customer gets. Now that is what I would like to see.

Skoda, if you are reading this, I have (ever after reading Harish's thread) sent my car to your dealer (Autobahn) for service. Why? becuase if we all give up on Skoda then next we will all give up on Honda and then Tata and Fiat and very soon we will be left with only Maruti and maybe Hyundai.

Berating Skoda adinfinitum will solve anything. Lets be part of the solution instead of just part of the problem.

Skoda, if you are reading this and you should be, take the positives out of this thread and those out of Harish's. Work with us instead of against us. We need good realiable cars as much as you need good paying customers. It may look hard at first but putting processes in place is not that difficult; certainly not as difficult as trying to take on the power of the internet against a group of individuals that are knowledgable, passionate and are willing to 'fight to the last man/woman'. Think about the results. Even if you are able to and succeed at sueing every single TBHPian (leave alone a forum) what will be cost, will Skoda even survive in India after that, will any VW group company ever succeed?

Porsche, VW and Skoda is in the business of making cars, selling them and servicing them. Stick to your kniting, do it well and you will see that TBHP (along with similar forums) and the internet will reward you for your efforts.

It does not matter to a car buyer what the nationality of the car company is as long as it produces good relaible cars and services them efficeintly. Japanese car manufacturers have been very successful in the US despite a deep hatred of anything Japanese by Americans not 60 years ago (WWII). We in India have always had a fondness for most things German but that does not mean we will tolerate buffalo kaka. The activity on this thread is testament to that fact.

Skoda, if you do not respond, to this post I dont care. I would rather see the time and energies used to make a response to this post used towards making a concerted effort in your sales and service teams and that of your dealers.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Harbir

I suggest a consumer activist website against Skoda' to be spread through out India and to Indian media.

For that we will need content. one case is not enough.

Sounds good, Harbir. There are more dissatisfied Skoda customers than we can keep a count of; you really should see the kind of support emails that Team-BHP gets. That, combined with so many unhappy Skoda owners on the board (search for older negative Skoda experiences) will get the anti-Skoda consumer activist website all the content it needs.

Originally Posted by navin

And yes from what I've been told Meghna Choskey used to work for Autobahn and now works for Skoda. I did not however know that she held both positions at the same time - a direct conflict of interest.

AFAIK, this particular PR person is the daughter of the owner of AutoBahn. She wasn't a mere employee there.

Lets assume (conservatively) that at the end of this ordeal Skoda looses orders for about 50 cars each valued at say an approximate value of 20L. That is Rs. 10,00,00,000 in sales not counting the bad publicity.

You are way too kind, Navin. Skoda's disregard for their customers, attitude and pathetic customer satisfaction record will cost them multiples of 10 crores in sales in the near future. I'm talking many multiples!

Originally Posted by aerohit

Some time ago, last year, there was an angry customer who had parked his Skoda on Brigade road with labels all over the car.

This pic is of the bonnet of Skoda

I spoke to a consumer activist lawyer (and a dear friend of a senior moderator) and he mentioned seeing the exact same car. In his words, that told him what Skoda is all about...in a nutshell.

Originally Posted by kapiljolly79

I request you to take a drive down to Mathura road and just drop in at the COntinental Motors Dealership and see for yourself the state the dealership is in.

How about some pictures, Kapil, for the rest of us who can't drive down such a long distance? I wouldn't be surprised to see a Skoda dealership in a shoddy state. Their first service station in Mumbai was powered by......get this.....a generator! They didn't even bother to get proper electric supply for that shed-like workshop. Talk about a lack of minimal standards.

As for the lone person who voted against our right to freedom of speech, I'd love to hear his reasoning. That said, everyone here is entitled to voicing their own opinion.

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

Admins - this would probably be the fastest growing thread in the history of tbhp. comments?

It is, actually. And we are still only on the weekend (which typically accounts for 20 - 30% lower traffic than on weekdays). All I can say is, wait for monday! This only shows how seriously we Indians value our right to the freedom of speech.

[vinayvtec]

I was checking on the Poll Results: Should Team-BHP stand up for its right to the freedom of speech? For the TRUTH? and only one person has told "No" who is that? Have they got any explanation for it?

[CaliAtenza]

i think like others have said already...car companies have realized that they can get away with a lot here in india, due to loopholes in laws, non exisistence of laws, etc. Its awsome that Team BHP is fighting back. But what we need to all do is to approach the government as well. If a strong lemon law..a federal law that covers all states, is enacted, then car and bike companies will realize that they cannot take us all for a ride anymore. Because this could all start tommorow with some other company and it may happen to someone that isnt on team-bhp.

[amit mohan]

Hello,

O.T. isnt Skoda motors owned by VW does that mean that VW has the same level of *** and are they responsible for what is happening here?

[kapiljolly79]

Sad but true. Our country has all the laws but no Justice.

I beleive if we can make a change, this is a good place to start from too.