[faithless_1984]

Howdy,

We got the delivery of our Rapid last month and it has been a pleasant experience till now.This thread has really helped in understanding the car in a better way.
Ownership thread coming up soon after i make a few changes to the car.

[torque18]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

This is not true at all. Only logical argument against ext warranty can be if the car is not serviced at authorized workshop or any modification got done in the car outside the Skoda dealership.

Approach directly to Skoda, post the concern with full details of the car and the dealer on their Facebook page and you will get you extended warranty done.

Can you please direct me to their official facebook page? I had a talk with the customer care people and they said I nedd to talk to the dealer for this!

[torque18]

The customer this time says that it is indeed mandatory to take the first insurance through Skoda! However, I fail to see any such stipulation on their website in their Skoda shield section. Seems like the dealer and company are acting in collusion!

[ALSUDA]

torque> I think your dealer playing here. Warranty claims are different & Insurance claims are different. How can they refuse EW? Take it up seriously.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by torque18

Can you please direct me to their official facebook page?

Here it is : https://www.facebook.com/SkodaIndia?ref=ts&fref=ts

[torque18]

Originally Posted by ALSUDA

torque> I think your dealer playing here. Warranty claims are different & Insurance claims are different. How can they refuse EW? Take it up seriously.

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Here it is : https://www.facebook.com/SkodaIndia?ref=ts&fref=ts

Please tell me whom do I need to approach? I am willing to take this up! And I need to get it right quickly because the car complete a year next week!

[hrman]

Originally Posted by torque18

Please tell me whom do I need to approach? I am willing to take this up! And I need to get it right quickly because the car complete a year next week!

I faced the same problem. While purchasing the car, I bought the insurance from outside. When I tried to buy Extended warranty later and approached Skoda, they told me I need to buy insurance from them for the first year or EW cannot be bought.
Approach the Skoda dealership and tell that you need to renew insurance and are willing to purchase insurance from them, provided they allow you extended warranty. They would oblige.
It does seem ridiculous that they are linking insurance with EW. It seems when you purchase the car , the EW is provided by Bajaj Allianz for the first year. It is called some Skoda Shield which includes Insurance, Road side assistance and Extended warranty. Hence is sold as a bundle.

Customer support will sing the same tune. I did not have the time to escalate this matter to Skoda, since I was running short of time. You can try escalating and see if you get some results.

[torque18]

Originally Posted by hrman

I faced the same problem. While purchasing the car, I bought the insurance from outside. When I tried to buy Extended warranty later and approached Skoda, they told me I need to buy insurance from them for the first year or EW cannot be bought.
Approach the Skoda dealership and tell that you need to renew insurance and are willing to purchase insurance from them, provided they allow you extended warranty. They would oblige.
It does seem ridiculous that they are linking insurance with EW. It seems when you purchase the car , the EW is provided by Bajaj Allianz for the first year. It is called some Skoda Shield which includes Insurance, Road side assistance and Extended warranty. Hence is sold as a bundle.

Customer support will sing the same tune. I did not have the time to escalate this matter to Skoda, since I was running short of time. You can try escalating and see if you get some results.

hello

Ya I think its their policy only because in another thread dealing with skoda's EW, this thing has been specifically mentioned by many customers. But its really frustrating and irritating to come across such illogical terms put forth by manufacturers.

Anyway, I have been refused EW straightaway and the dealer is not ready to do me any favour. Its like 'ok you didn't take insurance from us and acted smart, now bear for it!'

And yes I have already paid the premium for my insurance renewal as I was not aware of this stupid logic. So now there is no question of surrendering it either.

[ALSUDA]

I was not aware of this dealers refusing EW if you don't buy insurance from them. I bought EW after one month of buying the car. My insurance was thru' them.

[allajunaki]

My guess would be that EW is actually provided by the Insurance company (And not the manufacturer themselves). Hence the stipulation.
EW must some sort of deal offered to the manufacturer by the insurance company, hence the stipulation.
However, when I took EW on my Honda CBR250R, (Called Honda Shield), they did not mention any such requirement.

[torque18]

So I did write to their customer care yesterday and received a mail in the morning that they will look into the grievance raised. Shortly thereafter I received a mail from my dealer saying that they will talk to their senior manager and get back to me. Though the HR girl from the showroom did not call or inform me anything, the SA at the service center, with whom i share a good rapport, called me to enquire about the mail. When I told him the issue, he explained it to me that the EW is actually provided by Bajaj Allianz and not by Skoda so it is indeed mandatory to take the first insurance from them.

I did not press any further as there was nothing that could be done at the dealer front when this was the policy formulated by the higher-ups! I still asked him to talk to his officials if they can still provide me the EW. Will take a follow up from him in a while but I am not hopeful.

[Nicky]

I have some good news for Skoda lovers. There will be addition of new features in Rapid.
1. New Steering wheel with controls on it. same as New Octavia. here is pic
2. New Speedo meter design more in line with New Octavia
3. New Music system. same as in current Vento with bluetooth
4. Projector headlamp for low beam and halogen for high beam.

Launch will be towards end of the August 2013.

[500ContyCruiser]

Originally Posted by Nicky

I have some good news for Skoda lovers. There will be addition of new features in Rapid.
1. New Steering wheel with controls on it. same as New Octavia. here is pic
2. New Speedo meter design more in line with New Octavia
3. New Music system. same as in current Vento with bluetooth
4. Projector headlamp for low beam and halogen for high beam.

Launch will be towards end of the August 2013.

Thanks! This is nice piece of news!!

Any news of these coming to existing Rapid as accessories?

[Bohemian Spirit]

Oops! I am getting delivery of my 'Prestige' this Sunday w/o any steering controls or USB access to the system.

Have always wondered why is it so difficult for the manufactures to add steering controls as stock offering.

Anyways - must say its a good news for all those chaps who have been on the fringe about owning a Rapid.

[Aceman82]

Originally Posted by Nicky

I have some good news for Skoda lovers. There will be addition of new features in Rapid.
1. New Steering wheel with controls on it. same as New Octavia. here is pic
2. New Speedo meter design more in line with New Octavia
3. New Music system. same as in current Vento with bluetooth
4. Projector headlamp for low beam and halogen for high beam.

Launch will be towards end of the August 2013.

Thanks this is excellent news. I was thinking of going for the prestige edition but now it makes sense to wait for the refreshed edition. Skoda does seem to keep moving fast to keep inline with the market trends.

One quick query, how reliable is this news ? Also what is the expected price changes due these new additions.