Quote:
Originally Posted by TurboTorque The issue was that the spring that holds the wiper blade was scratching the windshield glass. |
The disappointing service experience continues with Skoda. They took six days to fix the trivial wiper blade issue and delivered the vehicle with a big scratch on the dashboard and a couple of personal items missing. On Nov 30th, I dropped my car off at the service station (Tafe Access in Kudlu, Bengaluru) to address the above issue where the bottom of the wiper blade arm is touching the windshield. My request was simple: fix the wiper by either removing the bend or replacing the wiper arm. I never requested a windshield replacement.
Scratch on the bottom of the windshield:
While I was near my car in the parking area, a mechanic and another individual inspected it. The mechanic mentioned that it seemed like a new issue and said they’d need about 30 minutes to investigate to confirm whether they could fix the wiper issue today or not. He also mentioned trying for a warranty claim but didn’t specify that it would include the windshield. I had only asked for the wiper arm to be repaired or replaced. After an hour, he informed me they needed more time and that the car would only be ready on Monday, December 2.
On December 2nd, I called service advisor at around 12:30 PM to check on the car's status. He said they were awaiting warranty claim approval from Skoda but didn’t mention anything about claiming a warranty for the windshield. When I called again that evening, he said the approval was still pending.
On December 3rd, I followed up with service advisor again around 12:30 PM. This time, he mentioned that the warranty claim had been rejected and they were now attempting a goodwill warranty from the dealer. At this point, I told him that it had already been three days and requested him to repair the wiper issue and no need of warranty claim. It was then that he revealed the windshield had already been removed and later confirmed it is not removed and they were claiming a warranty for that as well. I had never requested a windshield replacement. He explained that the windshield was scratched, and since it’s a new car, they were trying to replace it under warranty for my benefit.
I told him that if it was taking so long, I just wanted the wiper issue resolved and the car returned. He then mentioned that the wiper arm was out of stock and would take two more days to arrive. This was extremely disappointing. How could it take five days to realise that the part wasn’t in stock? I asked him to return the car in its current state and I would bring it back once the part was available. However, a few minutes later, he called back, saying the wiper arm was actually in stock but hadn’t been showing up in their system. This sudden change made me suspicious. How could the part suddenly be available? I suspected they were stalling, possibly because the windshield had already been removed.
I asked him to have the wiper arm repaired and return the car the next day. I also told him to forget about the warranty claim for the wiper arm. I simply wanted the wiper issue fixed and the car returned without further delay.
On December 4th, I called again around 12:30 PM. Service advisor said he’d check and call me back. A few minutes later, he informed me that a goodwill warranty had been approved for 70% of the cost of both the windshield and the wiper arm. He recommended replacing both, as they were now available in stock. He also justified replacing the windshield, saying that the scratches might eventually cause it to crack. When I asked about the remaining 30%, he estimated it would cost me about 5k, including labor charges. I refused, as this was clearly not my fault. It was a defective part from Skoda. After some discussion and already having waited four days, I reluctantly agreed to have both the windshield and wiper arm replaced. This decision was made purely to avoid further delays, but I want to emphasise that I never requested the windshield replacement from the start.
On December 5th, I called Service advisor at around 12 PM, and he assured me the car would be ready by 4 PM. Since I was working from home, I planned my schedule to pick up the car. I reached the service station at 3:50 PM and called him, who confirmed that the car was ready. However, after waiting until 4:40 PM, the person who initially inspected my car finally informed me that the issue was still unresolved. While the windshield had been replaced, the new wiper arm was still scratching it. They hadn’t identified the root cause yet. This was utterly unacceptable. After five days, not only was the car still not repaired, but the root cause of the original issue had not been identified. To make matters worse, they asked me to come and pick up the car, only to send me back empty-handed. I ended up wasting three hours of my time that day, along with the added inconvenience of traveling back home without the car.
After reaching home, I was extremely disappointed with the following issues and called the escalation manager to express my concerns. She said she will take care and deliver the car next day without a miss.
- They had the car for five days but still haven’t identified the root cause of a relatively simple issue.
- I never asked for a windshield replacement, yet they pushed me into accepting it by Day 4th.
- When I asked the manager why the windshield was replaced, he casually said it was free, only to later admit I’d still need to pay 30%. If they think it’s free, cover the 30% as well.
- They asked me to come to the service station, wasted my time, and didn’t even arrange for a cab when I had to return without the car.
On Dec 6th, I called Service advisor again at around 12.30 PM and he said car is almost ready and he will confirm by 2 PM. He sent me a video at around 2PM about wiper working without touching the windshield and called me to inform I can come at 4PM to pick up the car.
I reached the service station at 4:50 PM and waited another hour by sitting there. When he asked me to pay the bill, I asked to show me the car. He got the car to the parking area. When I inspected, It was not cleaned at all and they made more dirty inside.
After checking the dashboard area, I found a big scratch on left side dashboard. I was really angry and informed to service advisor. He was saying scratch might be there and checked the photos that he took on 1st day. They did this while replacing the windshield.
I told them I do not pay until you fix this. They kept telling me that they would remove the scratch and were killing time. I then met the manager to whom I had spoken on the 5th day. I told her my overall concerns and asked her the following questions:
- Why did it take 6 days to fix a trivial issue, and why was the windshield removed without informing me?
- Why did you ask me to come and then send me back without a car?
- Why was there no update from the service advisor? He only updated me after I called him. Why didn’t he inform me about the windshield?
- When the car was ready for pickup at 2 p.m., why was it still not cleaned even at 5:45 p.m.?
- The dashboard was scratched while replacing the windshield. Please remove that scratch. I will not take the car until you remove the scratch.
After a lot of back-and-forth discussion, she offered the following compensation:
- Labour charge waiver (around 2k+)
- 3M interior and exterior cleaning package worth 8k.
It was already 7:15 PM and I agreed, paid the remaining 3.5k, and took the car. After reaching home, I found that my Bluetooth speaker and Skoda’s gear hoodie were missing. They were inside the hand-rest storage box. I was really disappointed with the experience.
Lost this hoodie:
