First problem arises with my new skoda laura (it's just 2 weeks old!)

sumitdongerkery · 1st March 2007, 15:37

I get bugged when I go through some article like these... and I have observed that most of the issues are with SKoda only... I had got my octavia's 2nd service done last week... It was a free service but was charged Rs 6990/-.... I was surprised but the company rep told me that this is what they generally charge for 2nd free service and for the paid services it will another additional Rs 950/- which are their labour charges.... Apart from the regular maintainance there was no other work in my car.... But I guess this is how it is with big cars...

You just cannot stop from paying if you want to take your car... Neither can you fight with them since you have to return back to the same place for future servicing of the car.... I actually wonder can something be really done about all this.

Cheers

paras211 · 1st March 2007, 16:30

dont go to the service station unless u want some parts changed
get theoil changed before ur eyes by the local mech
get a wash at the petrol pump where they lift ur car n clean it
the service centre guys make you sign the i am satisfied thingy even before u see the car ***

hydrashok · 1st March 2007, 17:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumitdongerkery

I get bugged when I go through some article like these... and I have observed that most of the issues are with SKoda only... I had got my octavia's 2nd service done last week... It was a free service but was charged Rs 6990/-.... I was surprised but the company rep told me that this is what they generally charge for 2nd free service and for the paid services it will another additional Rs 950/- which are their labour charges.... Apart from the regular maintainance there was no other work in my car.... But I guess this is how it is with big cars...

Ok, so what part of free is free? They say its a free service, and charge you 7 grand. Unbelievable.

suman · 1st March 2007, 17:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by hydrashok

Ok, so what part of free is free? They say its a free service, and charge you 7 grand. Unbelievable.

Its normally the "labour" that is free in these services; if there are any consumables to be changed as per service schedule, they will always charge you for it.....

Though, charging for a so-called belt resetting in a two week old car is unethical & downright highway robbery. Stick_shift, have you spoken to the top guys in the dealership yet? You need to get that refund AND a free replacement of the moth-eaten (sorry "rat" eaten

) belt.

Technocrat · 1st March 2007, 18:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by hydrashok

Ok, so what part of free is free? They say its a free service, and charge you 7 grand. Unbelievable.

Yeah even I have heard this but from what I know The service stations fill up Skoda's with Fully synthetic oil & the oil needed in Skoda's is also more than the normal(I could be wrong) & hence around 7 grands are charged & almost all of it is for this *special* oil

drpullockaran · 1st March 2007, 23:19

Stick Shift you must be born with a silver spoon to hand over cash to those guys who should be skinned alive for even asking you money to pay for their PDI folly. Bye and wear your seat belts.

elf · 2nd March 2007, 00:41

@stick shift:

Q: Where's your homework?
A: The dog ate it.

Q: Where's your alternator belt?
A: The rat moved it.

Methinks the first explanation is more plausible.

stick_shift · 2nd March 2007, 16:44

Today i got a call from autobahn, they wanted to know whether i was satisfied with the service by and is the car working fine. I told them
the following:
1. i feel cheated, how can they charge Rs. 1235 for refitting a belt that takes approx. 5 mins!

2. i also told them that there is no way that a rat could have caused the belt to shift as it is steel reinforced and is under so much tension that it is not not possible to move it without using tools.

Thier response to the price was that its set by Skoda and they have to charge according to those set rates!

About the rats they said that they have received numerous such cars where rats have caused problems. I told the person that if it were some chewed wiring than its believable it could be rats but a steel reinforced cable.. no-way!

The person said that they would get back to me after talking to thier people at the service center.

and no drpullockaran i was not born with a silver spoon, i have bought this car with my hard earned money. i realize that i made a mistake by accepting their explanation and paying them.

Vid6639 · 2nd March 2007, 18:45

stick_shift till you wait for a reply from autobahn, mail skoda india and ask them whether they charge rs.1235 for replacing a belt in a 2 week old car.

Also tell them about the steel reinforced belt.

narayan · 2nd March 2007, 18:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Let me get this straight. A Skoda certified mechanic told you, that a rat moved moved the highly tensioned belt that turns the pulley of youe alternatior???

And then left ONE hair there??

This I'm gonna remember. Thanks for making this a fun morning.

Unfortunately, as everybody has already told you, that's a really stupid lie. Ask this mechanic, that if a rat could move it (assuming, safely that this rat had no tools), could your mechanic move the belt with no tools either?

What hurts is that they lied to you, repaired a 2 month old car and then charged you. I suggest you write a letter to Skoda India, explaining what happened. I am sure you will get a refund and an apology.

from all the posts its clear that a rat cant do it...i suggest u give ur car a good wash bcos i wonder from where the HAIR was planted ?!!

Jaggu · 2nd March 2007, 19:29

hey stop piling on him..

he already feels bad for what he went through, my suggestion try to talk to the service manager or the dealer manager and see if they can atleast give you an option to recover the cost, tell them that you really feel cheated and maybe cant do nothing much but surely at the end of the day have got themselves a unsatisfied customer.

again try to inform skoda company direct.

vivekiny2k · 2nd March 2007, 19:55

just wondering, why we have so many cases of auto co.s/dealerships giving such a bad treatment to customers.

I mean, it can't be TINA (there is no alternative). There always could be somebody who could beat them with good service.

or is it because all shops in india have margins too low to absorb this kind of problems. Second, only third grade engineers/mechanics opting to work in a auto shop.

Rudra Sen · 2nd March 2007, 21:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by stick_shift

and no drpullockaran i was not born with a silver spoon, i have bought this car with my hard earned money. i realize that i made a mistake by accepting their explanation and paying them.

Your profile says you have an Accord 3ltr. Let me add this Skoda also.

I was under impression that only TAFE in Bangalore has a bad name for Skoda service.

Quote:

The person said that they would get back to me after talking to thier people at the service center.

Your hard earned money doesn't deserve this for sure. Please pile on and get your money back.

stick_shift · 3rd March 2007, 00:02

My profile was not correct (sorry for that), i actually own a laura, scorpio and santro. I had put accord there because i had almost bought it, but when i found out its ICE does not play mp3's i changed my mind towards the laura. I have made the correction in my profile.

sumitdongerkery · 5th March 2007, 12:27

Hi Stick shift,

I suggest you get your car serviced at JMD in future. I get my car serviced at JMD Bhandup and am satisfied, atleast till now...

.

But again I guess they pay more attention to the cars purchased from them... atleast that is what I presume after interacting with the salesmen at their showrooms because during the delivery of the car he took my signatures on a job card which he said will be sent to the workshop for registering my vehicle there.. He said this is just to diffrentiate the JMD cars from others...

Cheers..

1st March 2007, 15:37	#31
sumitdongerkery BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 166 Thanked: 82 Times View My Garage	I get bugged when I go through some article like these... and I have observed that most of the issues are with SKoda only... I had got my octavia's 2nd service done last week... It was a free service but was charged Rs 6990/-.... I was surprised but the company rep told me that this is what they generally charge for 2nd free service and for the paid services it will another additional Rs 950/- which are their labour charges.... Apart from the regular maintainance there was no other work in my car.... But I guess this is how it is with big cars... You just cannot stop from paying if you want to take your car... Neither can you fight with them since you have to return back to the same place for future servicing of the car.... I actually wonder can something be really done about all this. Cheers
	() Thanks

1st March 2007, 16:30	#32
paras211 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 646 Thanked: 108 Times View My Garage	dont go to the service station unless u want some parts changed get theoil changed before ur eyes by the local mech get a wash at the petrol pump where they lift ur car n clean it the service centre guys make you sign the i am satisfied thingy even before u see the car ***
	() Thanks

1st March 2007, 23:19	#36
drpullockaran BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: ERNAKULAM Posts: 962 Thanked: 385 Times	Stick Shift you must be born with a silver spoon to hand over cash to those guys who should be skinned alive for even asking you money to pay for their PDI folly. Bye and wear your seat belts.
	() Thanks

2nd March 2007, 00:41	#37
elf BANNED Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,039 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	@stick shift: Q: Where's your homework? A: The dog ate it. Q: Where's your alternator belt? A: The rat moved it. Methinks the first explanation is more plausible.
	() Thanks

2nd March 2007, 16:44	#38
stick_shift Newbie Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 7 Thanked: 0 Times	Today i got a call from autobahn, they wanted to know whether i was satisfied with the service by and is the car working fine. I told them the following: 1. i feel cheated, how can they charge Rs. 1235 for refitting a belt that takes approx. 5 mins! 2. i also told them that there is no way that a rat could have caused the belt to shift as it is steel reinforced and is under so much tension that it is not not possible to move it without using tools. Thier response to the price was that its set by Skoda and they have to charge according to those set rates! About the rats they said that they have received numerous such cars where rats have caused problems. I told the person that if it were some chewed wiring than its believable it could be rats but a steel reinforced cable.. no-way! The person said that they would get back to me after talking to thier people at the service center. and no drpullockaran i was not born with a silver spoon, i have bought this car with my hard earned money. i realize that i made a mistake by accepting their explanation and paying them.
	() Thanks

2nd March 2007, 18:45	#39
Vid6639 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,730 Thanked: 43,471 Times View My Garage	stick_shift till you wait for a reply from autobahn, mail skoda india and ask them whether they charge rs.1235 for replacing a belt in a 2 week old car. Also tell them about the steel reinforced belt.
	() Thanks

2nd March 2007, 19:29	#41
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,906 Times	hey stop piling on him.. he already feels bad for what he went through, my suggestion try to talk to the service manager or the dealer manager and see if they can atleast give you an option to recover the cost, tell them that you really feel cheated and maybe cant do nothing much but surely at the end of the day have got themselves a unsatisfied customer. again try to inform skoda company direct.
	() Thanks

2nd March 2007, 19:55	#42
vivekiny2k Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: cincinnati, jabalpur,chennai Posts: 1,264 Thanked: 209 Times View My Garage	just wondering, why we have so many cases of auto co.s/dealerships giving such a bad treatment to customers. I mean, it can't be TINA (there is no alternative). There always could be somebody who could beat them with good service. or is it because all shops in india have margins too low to absorb this kind of problems. Second, only third grade engineers/mechanics opting to work in a auto shop.
	() Thanks

3rd March 2007, 00:02	#44
stick_shift Newbie Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 7 Thanked: 0 Times	My profile was not correct (sorry for that), i actually own a laura, scorpio and santro. I had put accord there because i had almost bought it, but when i found out its ICE does not play mp3's i changed my mind towards the laura. I have made the correction in my profile.
	() Thanks

5th March 2007, 12:27	#45
sumitdongerkery BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 166 Thanked: 82 Times View My Garage	Hi Stick shift, I suggest you get your car serviced at JMD in future. I get my car serviced at JMD Bhandup and am satisfied, atleast till now... . But again I guess they pay more attention to the cars purchased from them... atleast that is what I presume after interacting with the salesmen at their showrooms because during the delivery of the car he took my signatures on a job card which he said will be sent to the workshop for registering my vehicle there.. He said this is just to diffrentiate the JMD cars from others... Cheers..
	() Thanks