[Rotorhead]

well Flyram, what more can i say but welcome to the gang of people made to suffer by skoda. You have lots of company in this forum.

[tanwaramit]

where do these skoda dealers gets fake parts ? this is getting scarier day by day, Skoda India even ignoring customers complaints saying that they are a repitition, what do they expect, customer to come back with new problems every time !!

I really feel sorry for the troubles that you have undergone and glad that you got a new car. Pls look for independent garages to get your car serviced or go by the recommendation by BHPians here.

Skoda dealers are cheats out there, be EXTRA careful.

[amit_mechengg]

this is a news to me. i thought acumen was shut down as they were fraud.

but it seems skoda itself is a fraud. guys why dont we plan a big strike.
can we get along a meet in every city and decide some few days we will stand in a group outside skoda showrooms and circulate pamphlets of the scary experiences to the customers going in the showroom.

the showroom people will ring up and send notices to skoda india against this.
may be we can also call all media people. anyways they need masala stories.

we will be heard and strongly heard. also we will park couple of skodas with slogans written on them.

what say guys. harish also qualifies for a new car.

[McLaren Rulez]

Can someone tell me if this problem of service centers fitting spurious parts instead of Skoda originals is only in some Mumbai dealerships or has it happened in other service centres and other cities too? I know Skoda's all over India have had poor reliability and costly spares but it is this particular grey market issue that is of more worry than the others.

[Gany]

Call them white collared crookes! Good that I decided against buying a Skoda!

[narayan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Honestly, Skoda horror stories don't really surprise / shock me anymore. Skoda & its dealers are running a SCAM. It's what I naturally expect of the brand. And it's only the customer who loses.

I'm glad you were one of the luckier customers who was finally able to get a replacement car, Flyram.

P.S. How about an ownership report of your 530D?

inspite of this, why arent these horror stories spilling into the conventional press ? I can imagine some of our auto mags not publishing these stories because they might be surviving on ad spend bones thrown at them by SKODA but what about certain other guys like say TOI who in my view generally put up such news without much of a problem?

[jaygeetee]

Yeah, I agree that it's come to a point now where a Skoda car isn't even an option. I had done a TD of the Fabia and loved the car before I read the horror stories on the umpteen threads here.

I hope you don't get into any more accidents, Flyram. Get rid of the car ASAP and buy another car and sleep well at night.

[CarsPG]

Glad to hear that you were able to get a new car Flyram. Keep a good watch if you send it to Skoda for A.S.S. Might be a better idea to start taking the car elsewhere for servicing right from the beggining!

[Flyram]

Originally Posted by mjothi

Man, whats happening. It starts to rain complaints on Skoda delaers. After the initial thread (harishv) I thought there would be some improvement. But seems itsonly going worse. After investing so much of money on the vehicle, they rip the customers like this. Too bad.

Hope they learn soon.

Thanks for your words. I hope they do learn soon cos if Skoda India dont pull up their socks its going to be a very grim situation for them in the long run.

Originally Posted by Pashin

Hey Flyram,

Ur lucky to get a brand new SODA even if it means after 19 months. i think we need to take up this issue up with some Vigilance Dept who can conduct a raid simultaneously on these SODA dealerships. Its very clear now that the Co is also involved to some extent with these shady dealers.

By the way please avoid further issues and get the new car serviced outside the dealership.

ALL ThE BEST

Thanks Pashin,

Ill tell you this, the hassle and the inconvenience caused was horrible. Their strategy was to get the customer so frustrated that in the end you JUST DON'T CARE! But not me and Harish no. We don't tire easily.

Cheers

Originally Posted by kbk_75

Yup, this is what causes serious apprehensions any time I begin to think about buying a Skoda. The cars may be good from the factory, but clearly, there are a lot of bad apples in the organisation (both in the company and in their dealers) who have a system-wide scam going on!

It's bad enough that their charges are exorbitant. When you couple the exorbitant charges with being scammed into running cars with fake parts, I believe it amounts to grounds for a class action criminal suit. Criminal because using fake parts on crucial components such as brakes / suspension / steering could easily cause an accident for which people will simply assume that the driver was being rash or negligent.

Rant over!

Thanks KBK,

Did I also mention that the windscreen was a defective piece.

So prior to any of the crucial running parts like brakes etc failing my eyesight would probably get blury first.

Jokes apart its pathetic. I mean were paying nothing less than 8 Lacs for a car. The least you'd expect is that when you send your car in for service, they wouldn't pinch good parts from your car and charge the person who's car they put them in the FULL PRICE!! and in some cases 20 - 30% more than the MRP.

[sridharps]

Originally Posted by narayan

inspite of this, why arent these horror stories spilling into the conventional press ?

Or,for that matter, our forever news hungry and sensationalist TV channels who are always looking for an 'exclusive scam'?
I see a strong story on corporate arrogance building up here.

On a different note though, while I have seen a lot of enthusiasm from the conventional press and TV channels in unearthing govt dept scams, there seems to be markedly less enthusiasm in exposing corporates.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by narayan

inspite of this, why arent these horror stories spilling into the conventional press ?

To their credit, you will see subtle mentions of Skoda's monster after-sales in tv shows & magazine reviews.

[maglev]

Is there anything we as Team-Bhpian's can do, so as to attract the media's attention to this issue??

[Flyram]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Its gets even worse.... these guys really need to be taught a lesson. Are you guys still working on a class action suit?

Sorry guys since Im new to this forum I didnt know how to post replies and they were all over the place. Here Goes

@extreme Torque: Harish is working on it and is being as persistent as he can.

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

Damn man.
This is outrageous.
Something really needs to be done.
How about a group complaint to Skoda Auto Czech republic/ Skoda Auto India?

@gupta: Its water off a ducks back. Its messier than you think. Skoda knows this is happening but will protect their dealers in whatever way they can.

Originally Posted by nickatnite

Skoda seems to have got entangled with the "benami" business crowd, it seems. This is what happens when one deals with people with lotsa cash but no class. Most of the luxury/upmarket dealerships in India are owned by politicians/underworld business types and run by their shady satraps.They do employ a few shiny middle class educated types in the showroom floor to create the ambience of respectability, that's all. How they must laugh at an individual customer who pays his hard earned cash for a luxury car he wants to enjoy and experience?. Expecting on-the-level business practices from such a crowd is like expecting the impossible.Haven't you noticed that most of the luxury cars that should be self driven here are actually driven by hired drivers?. I can vouch that more than half the owners are not even aware of the worth of the cars they own. There are exceptions, but the exceptions only prove the norm.I say buy a luxury car in India as long as you don't spend your hard earned cash for it, and don't really care what it costs to maintain. They don't cater to the conscious buyer here. Caveat Emptor.

@nickatnite: I couldnt agree more. Youve hit the nail on the head. They dont laugh when you buy the car but they laugh when you take the car in for service (As the first service is free, Labor only)

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001

I still dont see how people get courage to buy a SKODA after such horror stories and callous attitude of SKODA.

At least i will never buy anything from SKODA nor i will let anybody from my family to buy.

This is outrageous how SKODA and its dealers are taking customers for a ride and the result is lowest Ethics i have even seen by a Car company.

@sunny well the truth of the matter is that they really arent bad cars, of corse they are once they are sent for service/ repairs. Sad part is they are decently priced for what you get.

You can buy a skoda but NEVER send it in to ANY of their authorised dealers for repairs. I know I will NEVER.

Unfortunately there are other manufacturers out there that are doing this but honestly not to this extent.

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

What's more intriguing is the (seemingly plentiful) availability of spurious spare parts of Skoda. It seems that making duplicate parts of Skoda is more than a cottage industry..:

@nickatnite While I partially agree with you, it must be remembered that many of those who buy MB and BMW (though maybe poorly-educated) are all extremely well-informed and highly-demanding and yes they do keep track of every rupee they spend. If you ask me, I will certainly think thrice before putting a duplicate radiator assembly in of their cars.

IMO Skoda's problems are unique, maybe someone is running a parallel business thats been run from the same office?

@sandeepmdas: You say maybe someone is running a parallel business, there is no maybe in this situation, they are doing so.

Their margins on these parts are well over the norm and therefore what these dealers are doing is making a pretty penny on the service of the cars.

Originally Posted by gemithomas

Since you have got a replacement car can you really take this up in court to save other customers? The very fact that they agreed to give you a new car means that skoda has agreed that there was a wrong doing somewhere and they wanted to settle it out of court.

I mean can the customer join with t-bhp or any automotive magazine / SIAM to teach skoda a lesson on how not to replicate this elsewhere on some poor soul.

Where are the lawyers?

@gemithomas: Well I wont comment on what I can or cant do, but I know Harishv has done so already and there are many, many more to join him in his cause for justice. I think this forum is publicity enough for a start.

Originally Posted by shuvc

Man! This gets worse by the day.

Are these spurious parts freely available in auto parts shops? Or are Skoda dealers the primary consumer? There must be a big enough market for them to be manufactured.

@shuvc: Oh believe me they have a huge market.

Originally Posted by ashish22

This is shocking to say the least!!!
time for me to find a permanent and reliable garage for my skoda. I'm not stepping a foot in skoda's workshop even if they offer me free service for life.
And yes my next car is definately NOT going to be a skoda.

@ashish: Smart man!.

Originally Posted by diffsoft

@ flyram: This is totally absurd! I am glad you got out of this and that Harish helped you out. It seems like my forgery of an old Octavia was a minor scar compared to all the bad bashing you have taken.

Oh Skoda you get to a new low everyday! When will this end? Where is the holier than thou Skoda_Corporate?

@diffsoft: Harish helping me out is an understatement. He was genuinely dedicated to my cause and letting Skoda India know that customers cant be treated this way. Whether this will stop, your guess is as good as mine, but ill say this a Leapord seldom changes its spots.

Originally Posted by toiingg

Thieves. Thats just the right word for them.

@toiingg: Your being very polite, I choose to hold back my choisest of words to conform to the rules of this forum.

Originally Posted by rupinder

Man you are scarring the daylights out of me ,cos the time i heard that yeti may be coming to india i have postponed my car purchase and will wait for that ,but after hearing such horror stories i might be dissuaded as i have a small heart and not too much cash to throw around

@rupinder: I heard the yeti is coming as well. Not sure if they will price it right, but hold on for now.