[Axe77]

Originally Posted by ACM

PS:
1) Met an owner of a new Model Skoda Laura at the service centre - Ac Compressor failure.
2) Myself have been recommended to get the Flywheel replaced. - Cost Rs. 4000 including labour for the Auto L&K Laura.

So some woes do continue as well.

Do you know whether the compressor failure was satisfactorily covered by the warranty? This is quite a major failure for a new car.

[aaggoswami]

About the parts from Audi/VW bin, I think they are not durble and long lasting in Indian operating conditions. This is not the first time I am hearing of AC compressor failure, Alternator issues, flywheel issues. I think why are all these components needed to be replaced so fast. I have seen cars with more than one lakh kms without replacement of alternator, AC compressor or Flywheel replacement.

Certainly there are more than one issue with Skoda.

Suppose they find a part defective in one car A. For testing that part, they have put in part from car B. This means after its confirmed that part in car A is bad, they must properly put back the part in car B and replace the defective part in car A.

In case of Skoda, the dealer has actually put in fake parts. This is crime. This is not deeply related with part being taken out from other customer's car.

Originally Posted by discoverwild

Now, to verify whether a particular item is faulty, they cannot use a new spare from the store, as it would have to be billed to the customer, the moment it moves out of the store. This part may or may not solve the issue, so the customer will have to bear an unnecessary expense. To avoid this, they do use that particular part from another customer's vehicle that is having a longer repair schedule (accident, etc) to check if it solves the complaint.

I have heard this too. Actually there is some challan system that is more cumbersome to the servicemen and dealer that is not followed. Around a month ago, I did talk about the same at Kiran motors. He stated that everytime it not necessary to remove one part from a car only to put that specific part in another car for testing. The system that is currently in place allows the service center to avoid this part exchange for testing. Didnt go in details for verification.

But if what you have stated is true, then this case must be brought up by almost all car owner.

[throttleking]

Originally Posted by ACM

5) Had an accident requiring replacement of front bumper and the cost came to less than that which a colleague of my incurred on the Optra for a similar front bumper accident. (actually my cost came to just about 50%)

How much did that cost you on your Octy? i changed the front bumper on my Optra Magnum, it costed Rs. 2300, Rs 3500 for Paint.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Sahil

This news couldn't come at a better time, getting delivery of a Superb this week and my only glitch was A.S.S ( sigh of relief )
let's give the devil it's due, atleast skoda is making an attempt to improve certain issues so let's not convert this into a Skoda bashing thread. We as it is have a lot of those thread

Which dealer have you bought it from? Was the sales experience at the very least of an acceptable standard? Would be great to hear your initial ownership experiences as well at some point.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Sahil

This news couldn't come at a better time, getting delivery of a Superb this week and my only glitch was A.S.S ( sigh of relief )

The Superb is an excellnt car and offers great VFM. I too am eyeing this car (or the 4 cyl Accord) as a replacement to my Octy but have decided to wait a while to give Skoda time to fix their A.S.S. for all customers.

Point of Note:
Currently I do get good A.S.S. from Autobahn-Skoda but that might well be becuase:
1. I have met their management
2. they now know that I am an active member on TBHP
3. the person who I contact is quite proactive

I need to see evidence that their SYSTEMS and PROCESSES have changed which will mean that even if I am not a TBHPian or that the particualr person I contact at Autobahn is not there I can still expect the same degree of service.

Originally Posted by ACM

As per the Dealer JMD, skoda had been keeping an eye on how the cars performed with the earlier intervals, and with people sometimes overshooting the intervals, plus basis todays fuel quality, plus basis the same engines being used in VW cars today and they service intervals, they have concluded the new interval is safe.

I would not worry so much about service intervals. Yes some of us who live in urban India (metros like Mumbai and Bangalore) might use our brakes and clutch more than normally expected (by the car manufacturer) but really if you are a sensible driver most cars should give you good serivce for 7 years/100,000 km (unless you are unlucky).

Originally Posted by ajmat

On the other hand, I am being harassed to service my skoda, on the day i give it in and again two weeks after i gave it in!

Honda does that to me too. Funny.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Do you know whether the compressor failure was satisfactorily covered by the warranty? This is quite a major failure for a new car.

Don't know the owner of that car, except that he was aware of TBHP and seemed quite cool (and was smiling rather than serious) while mentioning the fault. I guess he was ok with the coverage under warranty.

By the way I had by turbo intercooler and CD changer unit - costing totally in excess of Rs. 2L under warranty satisfactorily.

Originally Posted by throttleking

How much did that cost you on your Octy? i changed the front bumper on my Optra Magnum, it costed Rs. 2300, Rs 3500 for Paint.

Mine is a Laura - It was done under warranty and the cost of painting hence does not matter as it was covered entirely. The bumper cost was Rs. 9.3K. The Optra Magnum bumper is cheaper but the earlier Optra royal bumber is double the cost of the magnum Bumper.

Originally Posted by navin

The Superb is an excellnt car and offers great VFM. I too am eyeing this car (or the 4 cyl Accord) as a replacement to my Octy but have decided to wait a while to give Skoda time to fix their A.S.S. for all customers.

Point of Note:
Currently I do get good A.S.S. from Autobahn-Skoda but that might well be becuase:
1. I have met their management
2. they now know that I am an active member on TBHP
3. the person who I contact is quite proactive

I would not worry so much about service intervals. Yes some of us who live in urban India (metros like Mumbai and Bangalore) might use our brakes and clutch more than normally expected (by the car manufacturer) but really if you are a sensible driver most cars should give you good serivce for 7 years/100,000 km (unless you are unlucky).


>>>The Guys at JMD must also know that I am a member at TBPH - thanks to the Live Cars, Love Cars sticker TBHP sticker across the Drivers Door.
>>>
.

[throttleking]

Originally Posted by ACM

Mine is a Laura - It was done under warranty and the cost of painting hence does not matter as it was covered entirely. The bumper cost was Rs. 9.3K. The Optra Magnum bumper is cheaper but the earlier Optra royal bumber is double the cost of the magnum Bumper.

Apparently it looks like rather GM is improving, they are reducing the cost of spares for sure.

[GTO]

Umm, so Skoda increases the service intervals and lowers the price of some spares. It is a step in the right direction, no doubt.

Buttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt how exactly is that improving the quality of service? There are far more complains of shoddy / fraudulent service, than on the cost of ownership. Thus, the pertinent questions are:

1. Has Skoda overhauled its customer service department, including a new manager (or team of) heading the department?

2. Has Skoda gotten rid of all of its rotten dealers, and replaced them with new customer-centric ones?

3. Has Skoda put a new customer feedback system in place and, more importantly, a correction mechanism for when things go wrong?

4. Is Skoda realistically calculating its customer satisfaction rates, or is the management still rolling in the joy of its JD Power rankings?

I'm sorry, Skoda is going to need much more than just extended service intervals to become a worthy player in the Indian car market. The only positive I see of this situation is that Skoda owners have to visit the rotten service centers that much less. This move is more counter-VW than anything else.

[himanshugoswami]

i sincerely hope that Skoda improves its service. Their cars are pretty competent and the upcoming Yeti, if priced around the 10- 12 L mark, would be a very tempting proposition. So if they get their service dept. in order by the time the Yeti launches, I will have a long hard look at one!

[ACM]

Originally Posted by GTO

Umm, so Skoda increases the service intervals and lowers the price of some spares. It is a step in the right direction, no doubt.

Buttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt how exactly is that improving the quality of service? There are far more complains of shoddy / fraudulent service, than on the cost of ownership. Thus, the pertinent questions are:

1. Has Skoda overhauled its customer service department, including a new manager (or team of) heading the department?

2. Has Skoda gotten rid of all of its rotten dealers, and replaced them with new customer-centric ones?

3. Has Skoda put a new customer feedback system in place and, more importantly, a correction mechanism for when things go wrong?

4. Is Skoda realistically calculating its customer satisfaction rates, or is the management still rolling in the joy of its JD Power rankings?

I'm sorry, Skoda is going to need much more than just extended service intervals to become a worthy player in the Indian car market. The only positive I see of this situation is that Skoda owners have to visit the rotten service centers that much less. This move is more counter-VW than anything else.

Yep GTO, rightly pointed out the Skoda owners need to visit the service centres less and ofcourse would save on the fuel plus synthetic oil costs, so far a car doing 30,000 kms a year (needing 4 services earlier the new reduced oil prices plus reduced number of services would imply a saving of Rs. 18,000 per year at least.

A MAJOR OBSERVATION;

Tried to check out roadworx for the skoda service.

First observation: Nummereins which was the CHEAT service centre is a part of their network. Also am told that their are led by the Ex MD from Skoda.

INTERPRETATION: NOT a reflection on SKODA but rather the entire premium car segement as ROADWORX is multibrand and services, GM. FORD, TOYOTA, HONDA, AUDI, VW, SKODA, BMW & MERC.

Now ALL OF THESE WILL HAVE DUPLICATE PARTS REPLACEMENT FACILITY through the same dealer NUMMEREINS

The VIRUS has spread to all auto companies now? How would a guy servicing his cars with Roadworx know about the Nummereins history. Even the auditiousness of going for the same disrepute name??

Yep this thread was about Skoda Improvements, but will the virus now affect all irrespective of company efforts?

Again is the standing of Roadwork chain as an authorized centre or independent? The Car manufacturers can always say that this is not one of their recommended centres. But they I believe they are authorized by Bosch? Lots of questions.

[navin]

Originally Posted by GTO

1. Has Skoda overhauled its customer service department, including a new manager (or team of) heading the department?

2. Has Skoda gotten rid of all of its rotten dealers, and replaced them with new customer-centric ones?

3. Has Skoda put a new customer feedback system in place and, more importantly, a correction mechanism for when things go wrong?

4. Is Skoda realistically calculating its customer satisfaction rates, or is the management still rolling in the joy of its JD Power rankings?

I'm sorry, Skoda is going to need much more than just extended service intervals to become a worthy player in the Indian car market.

1. No but.. there is evidence that they have asked some of their dealers to get better customer service managers. Autobahn for example got their customer service manager from Arya Honda. Not that Arya Honda was particularly known for a very high quality of service. I dont know how many dealers have complied some like TAFE and JIAH might not have.

2. Nummer Eins may be gone but many others like TAFE have still not been replaced or 'overhauled'

3. Skoda has still NOT put in place any system by which it can 'close the loop'. By this I mean that once a car is serviced the customer should be able to report directly to Skoda what their service experience was, either via the net (preferred as it leaves a trail) or via a phone call. To be fair neither does Honda have such a system in place.

4. A bit of both. THey tout and publiclly talka bout JD power ratings but they'd be stupid not to monitor what happens on forums like TBHP and take corrective action. GTO, you had on atleast 2 occasions detailed an action plan for Skoda on TBHP. All they really need to do is follow it. Even if they execute 50% of that action plan their service levels will improve dramatically.

In short there have been some significant steps taken by some Skoda dealers. However there is no evidence that these steps have been taken by ALL Skoda dealers for ALL customers (not just a select few customers like TBHPians etc...). The Road is Hard and Long. Let's atleast appreciate that.

Originally Posted by ACM

Tried to check out roadworx for the skoda service.

Again is the standing of Roadwork chain as an authorized centre or independent? The Car manufacturers can always say that this is not one of their recommended centres. But they I believe they are authorized by Bosch? Lots of questions.

Roadworx is NOT authorised by Skoda. This much we know.

Given their pedigree I would be apphrehensive about going to them for service. However 1-2 members have reproted good service from RoadWorx on this forum. In the end it is back to the famous maxim: Buyer Beware.

[diffsoft]

Skoda may be showing "signs" of improvements, but are they fundamental or are they fleeting?

For changes to be fundamental, Skoda India has to be fundamentally strong, i.e. have resources (atleast financial if not human resources). If it does not have even the financial resources then it will be loath to undertake initiatives that will drain its money now for benefits in the future.

A look at its financials tell me that Skoda India is very weak.

Skoda India's audited balance sheet for year ending Dec 08 (a public document from the MCA website) shows it incurred good losses for Jan - Dec 08 (about 65 crores as I could make out from the Balance Sheet). Their debt is far in excess of equity (160%), growing at 60% from 07. It can also be inferred that the loan also went to fund inventories, which grew by two and a half times. Too many unsold cars??

An Indian credit rating agency would have rated their debt to less than investment grade. i.e. junk.

Their loans are completely unsecured, which implies full funding from the parent. Recall the parent had said in a written note to the T-BHPian that they have nothing to do with Skoda India, so they can pull the plug or stop funding from tomorrow. Having worked in an MNC earlier I can testify that it is a real possibility if the MNC wants to protect its own resources during bad times.

+1 to Navin on highlighting the maxim - "Buyer beware"

[navin]

Originally Posted by diffsoft

+1 to Navin on highlighting the maxim - "Buyer beware"

Just to be clear my statement was more about RoadWorx than Skoda. Roadworx unlike Skoda does not have any financial support from a "Parent".

Skoda's parent has introduced 2 more brands in the country recently (VW and Audi). While neither of these investments have really panned out as expected (Audi is a distant third to BMW and Daimler, VW has not made any significant inroads into the D+ segment) it does give evidence that the parent is not yet willing to let the Indian market go. VW was very successful in China (2 decades ago) which might might be why they are still hopeful about India (Europeans and Americans fail to see that China and India are 2 very different markets).

That said, there is still little evidence that Skoda has put any dealer-wide or nation-wide systems or processes or taken any strong action against errant dealers.

The 'good reports' we are seeing today might well be becuase of a few good service maangers at various Skoda dealerships. Most car dealers have had a few cases which were not properly handled by the dealer but few have had so many extremely poor reports (in the past 2-3 years) or cases of outright cheating as Skoda. THis means that Skoda (if they still care about teh Indian customer) has to make more effort than most of their competiors (Honda, Toyota, etc..) to serve both,their exisitng customers and their new customers.

At VW they would should be even more concerned. It is commonly accepted (across any/all markets worldwide) that it easier to upsell a car than to cross-sell a car. Meaning that it is easier to convince a satisfied Skoda customer to upgrade to a VW than to expect a Honda customer to swtich loyalties. Currently VW is woefully short of SATISFIED Skoda customers - many of those that do qualify are those who got the 1.9Tdi when it was first introduced and in the frist few years when Skdoa did do many things right.

[GTO]

Agreed Navin. But at the end of the day, Skoda has to walk the talk. The only one thing that counts is SHEER RESULTS i.e. satisfied customers. Let me share an email with you, plenty of which are received by Team-BHP & the various car magazines on a daily basis.

> My car SKODA PETROL., less than five months old and run only 3100 Km
> was broken down on Haridwar-Delhi high way on 21 May 2009, with no petrol
> emission, while I was over-taking. I narrowly escaped an accident. The
> dealer (Sai Automobile, New Delhi) told me on the phone that Skoda Fabia
> petrol has this basic defect of heating up. I should wait for 2 hours for
> it to cool down and then drive back to Delhi. That means, they are selling
> the public cars with technical defect, which not only means financial loss
> but danger to life. The car suddenly loses its petrol emission while
> driving.
> Mr. Sanghania of Sai Automobile has told me to deal with the company
> directly and gave me a telephone number and email of the regional office
> in Gurgaon (0124 3351315). No body ever picks up this telephone. The local
> representative of SKODA, Mr. Agrawal wrote to me that the car stopped due
> to dirty petrol. What a ridiculous statement to hide the grave technical
> defect in the car!
> The workshop of the dealer located in Noida 'repaired' the car on 23 May
> and gave me back on the 24. They used up nearly 10 litres of petrol from
> the car and also refused to give me in writing what was wrong and what
> they have done to the car. On the paper they gave me from the workshop, it
> is written: 'Sublet Operation'. All these irregular practices are evidence
> by themselves that the SKODA company is trying to cover up something.
> Main company in Aurangabad has not replied to my several faxes and
> registered letter sent more than a month ago.
> The car heats up even after driving 10 Kilometers This is a KILLER CAR.
> Buyer beware, Do not buy SKODA unless you want to commit suicide.
> I want to bring to the attention of the GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, that such
> cheat companies should be thrown out of the country. They are here to
> cheat us and do not abide by the laws of the land by honouring Guarantee
> and responsibility of the product they are selling.
>
> To the attention of all Skoda troubled people, please complain immediately
> at the following address:
> Director General (Investigation & Registration)
> MRTPC
> Bikaner House Baracks
> Shahjahan Road
> New Delhi 110011
> Telephone: 011 xxxxxxxxxxx
> Fax: 011 2338 4965

Just one sample received today. Remember, its a cancer which is running through the length and breadth of Skoda. The company has been spoilt rotten by its own employees, dealerships and everyone in between. Verbal promises and a handful of new managers aren't going to solve anything. Skoda needs an overhaul. Nothing less will do, not at the least a mere extended service interval and price reduction of some parts.

[Thad E Ginathom]

GTO, I find that mail, in some ways, even more shocking than the experiences of fellow members such as Harish.

They have such a known fault, and have not even instigated a recall?

Is this a problem internationally, do you know? Or just affecting Indian models?