[Aditya]

Thanks to Lohith Kumar for sending this letter to Skoda in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

Hello Team Skoda,

I am writing this email with extreme disappointment on buying a Skoda car. I wish no other customer goes through the pain and grief that I have felt over the past few weeks.

My father bought a Skoda Kushaq Ambition Automatic on 1 January 2022 from Kun Skoda, Perungudi, Chennai. Since the delivery of the car we faced all sorts of issues that a new car should never have faced.

Eg:
1. Car rattling noise
2. Driver side power window not working at all
3. Screeching noise when the brakes are released
4. High vibration when the engine is idling

We have gone to the Kun Skoda service center multiple times, yet some of these problems persist. What's more pathetic was yet to come. On 26 March 2023, we were travelling to a nearby temple to celebrate my sister-in-law's baby shower function. But we saw something very strange. We observed that all the warning lights had come on and they simply wouldn't go off. ABS, EPC, airbag, traction control, you name it - almost every possible sensor warnings had turned on.

We gave our car to the Kun Skoda service center, Perungudi, Chennai the very next day (27 March 2023). It took them almost 4 days to confirm that the ABS module was not working and they had to order it from Germany. With the emerging technology and improvements in the automobile industry, I wonder what made them take 4 days to figure out there was an issue with the ABS module. The team from Kun Skoda informed me that the ABS module would arrive at the Pune factory from Germany on 18 April. It would reach Kun Skoda chennai on 21 April 2023. They told me that I could expect my car to be up and running by 28 April 2023. I did not go to my office for those 4 days. I requested a loaner car for me to travel to my office and nearby places as I live in a very remote area where finding a cab is extremely difficult (almost impossible). Even for basic needs such as groceries and other stuff, I have to travel 3 - 4 km to reach a shop and the Skoda Kushaq was my only vehicle.

Finally, the customer relationship manager (Mr. Ramesh from Kun Skoda service center, Perungudi) promised me that I will receive a loaner car on 30 March 2023. They promised me that I would get a Skoda Kushaq Manual. Two days went by and there was no response from the manager and his team of Kun Skoda. Finally, when they answered my call, they told me that it would take another 2 days for me to receive it as they had already given it to another customer. I literally had to beg them on that day to give me a car. Finally, on 1 April 2023 at 10.30 pm, they handed me a Honda City which was in a pathetic condition. Just have a look at these images!

You have an extremely arrogant attitude to give us such a lame car. What made you think you can give a car, which is supposed to go to the scrapyard, to your customer owns a Skoda car? I was expecting at least a Skoda Rapid or Skoda Kushaq to be provided. That action of yours was unacceptable. The left headlight was not working, the left tail-light was not working, the car smelt like crap inside, the brakes were not working beyond a speed of 40 km/h and on top of that, you gave a car with Karnataka registration to a customer who lives in Tamil Nadu! You failed big time as a brand here and it shows how less you value your customer! What made you think you can give me a 12 year old Honda City? Are you trying to secretly promote the brand Honda?

Just when I thought Skoda couldn't stoop any lower, here is the worst thing that it has probably done to any customer in any part of the world, leave alone in India. This is the worst any car manufacturer could do and you have done unimaginable damage to our family! You have given us a car with an expired insurance. The insurance has expired on 28 February 2023. You have not given a damn about your customer's safety. Your 5 star ratings can go to hell. I constantly reminded you to renew the insurance and send us a copy, but you did not care. Here are the details of the expired insurance of the car.

On 16 April 2023, we had an emergency. We had to take my sister-in-law who is 8 months pregnant to Apollo Greams Road, Chennai in order to take scans. We had no other option but to take this crap Honda City as not one single cab accepted our request. Near Egmore, the traffic police had caught us as the number plate was from a different state and upon checking, it was revealed that the insurance had already expired. The traffic police booked a spot fine against my brother's driving license. We were left stranded on the road for almost one hour thanks to Skoda's carelessness and arrogant attitude. My brother, who has been driving for more than 10 years, had received a black mark in his license for the first time ever. But the traffic police over there were kind enough to give us a receipt and did not accept any fine from us. They asked us to send the receipt to Kun Skoda and asked them to pay the fine, which is still pending from their side.

After all the trouble Skoda has given us, here came a new one. The manager promised us that the ABS module would arrive at the Pune factory from Germany on April 18 and from there it would arrive at Kun Skoda on 21 April 2023. But the manager called me on 17 April 2023 and informed me that my Skoda Kushaq's ABS module had arrived from Germany and it would be quickly fitted and the car would be delivered on 18 April 2023. I highly doubt that the shipping from Germany would arrive a week before its expected delivery date. All these gimmicks by Skoda were futile.

We, as a family, have gone through a lot of pain in the last 3 weeks because of Skoda. We believed in the brand, but it failed us big time. It has caused mental trauma to me and my family. My work has been greatly affected. I was not able to travel anywhere out of the remote place where I live. Therefore, I demand that Skoda must take the responsibility and pay us an inconvinience fee of Rs. one lakh, which includes the cab fares and the auto fares as well and immediately pay off the traffic department's fine. We are fed up of owning a Skoda car and we are not interested to take back the car from the service center. We demand you to take back the car from the service center and give us back the money we have spent so far. We expect a reply within 48 hours of receiving this email, failng which, you will receive a legal notice from my advocate and we will see you in the consumer court.

Details of the car Skoda Kushaq:

Reg. No. : TN 13 X 1463
Model : Skoda Kushaq Ambition Automatic
Vehicle owner : KN Lakshmipathy

[krishnakarthik1]

I usually don't reply to Skoda/VW stories because somewhere inside I believe the owners should be prepared for those breakdowns to happen and be prepared to deal with horrible Skoda service but this loaner car issue is plain inhuman.

Look at that car, horrible condition with no insurance and different state. Who knows it could have been a stolen car.

I don't think you will get your lakh or a new car. They will repair it and give it back and you can sell it off for a loss and move on with life.

Or if you really go the legal route you will win, but it will take time. Skoda folks will not turn up for hearings till the time the judge warns them that he will issue a NBW. So, how do I know all this, because my uncle (Vento car) had a 4 year experience with those fellows.

One more point if you go legal get that Honda City checked in Karnataka database for stolen vehicles. If it is stolen, it will take the case into a whole new level.

[Sk8r]

Originally Posted by krishnakarthik1

I usually don't reply to Skoda/VW stories because somewhere inside I believe the owners should be prepared for those breakdowns to happen

Absolutely, totally mirror your thoughts. I was astonished at people queuing up to buy cars from their famed Skoda 2.0 onslaught led by Zac Hollis.

I mean you can do all the marketing gimmicks to get customers lined up. But, remember - “Culture can eat strategy for breakfast”

[kpkeerthi]

Atrocious to say the least. Stories like these constantly remind me to stay away from certain brands no matter how hard they try to sell and dupe customers with marketing gimmicks. I really feel sorry for the poor owner.

[Geo_Ipe]

Classic case of technology - competence mismatch. Indian dealers and service centers are not competent enough to handle complicated European machinery, neither do they have the desire to. Maybe the ABS module is an expensive part which the dealer might not wish to have on his inventory, bit not having one in the entire country!? Pathetic!

[anshumandun]

Skoda had to import the ABS module for Kushaq from Germany?? That is just pure BS from the service manager. These moros just try to fool people who don't know much about cars. These cars are manufactured under VW India 2.0 or whatever they call it and are almost 90% localized (except the TSI engine I believe).

Since the dealer could convince the customer with the Germany import story, he knew that the customer was not very well versed with the knowledge on cars and took the liberty of giving such a horrible loaner car.

Knowledge is power when dealing with such pathetic dealers.

[darkfantasy]

What's with VW/Skoda and ABS modules? My BIL's 2018 Polo has ABS modules replaced thrice within a span of 3 years and it failed again. So he ignored that for some time and then one fine morning almost all of the lights lit up just like OP's case. Service center says all the warning lights are lit because of ABS module only and wants to replace all 4 modules. What kind of QC do they do for these modules?

[pandabear]

With all these nightmarish stories I read, I still wonder why a section of the crowd vouch for German cars/engineering? Honestly, I am not sarcastic.

[Raghu M]

Actually, am getting tired of such stories. I have no idea as to what is wrong with Skoda. There are people who praise the engines and say that the dealers are bad and Skoda is actually a top class car. The engine vibrates and the power windows don't work, is that supposed to be the USP of a EU brand? Just unbelievable.

[Shome]

Skoda issue or dealership issue? What responses from Skoda?

Atrocious condition of the loaner, man! people should be put behind bars!

[r4jt]

I really feel sorry for you but you are not going to get any money back for your car. No matter how hard you fight, at the end they are going to repair your car and give it back to you. Also i won't suggest you to go through the legal route simply because it is going to cause more trouble than you think and is very time consuming. You can demand a compensation for your inconveniences but demanding a new car or money is unreasonable. You have already suffered a lot, get the car repaired, use it or sell it, your choice and move on with your life.
Reading/hearing about such incidents make me wonder if i am ever gonna buy a german car.

[nakul0888]

There is something petrol heads should know before splurging on VW/Skoda products. When you buy from this company, its never going to be a case of blissfull driving for 51 weeks in a year and then a down time of 1 week where the car stays at the workshop for repairs, and then rinse and repeat for the rest of the ownership period. It is never as simple as that. If that were the case I wouldn't even think much less look at Hondas or Toyotas. What's going to happen when things go wrong is, there are going to be issues and regardless of whether you have got your warranty or not, its going to be prolonged by the absolutely woeful attitudes and service from both the dealership and the apathetic manufacturer who built these cars. Its going to stretch out for weeks if not months with multiple visits to and fro from the dealership to the point that car stops being a utility and as a car lover you will be driven to pulling your hair out with rage seeing your beloved car being abused by the people who promised to take care of it.

[Lalvaz]

While I abhor Skoda's malpractices especially in Harish's infamous case, here I think that the customer is barking up the wrong tree.

The issue with the warning lights seems to be a normal technical issue. Every automobile may have issues and as long as the manufacturer rectifies it satisfactorily, its fine. IF every time a part fails, the customer expects a new car, it seems very unreasonable.

Also the problem with the expired insurance seems to be a dealer fault, and not Skoda's fault. So in this case, I do not think its Skoda's fault at all.

[gururajrv]

Best solution - get it repaired and just SELL it off. No point sticking to a company or the car that's causing more pain than any comfort. Buy a preowned car next and make do with the depreciation or any sort of losses you may have occurred.

First loss to take care of is that PEACE OF MIND! Relax for few days with a preowned car and then hunt for a car that comes close to both your mind and heart. Theres no point fighting with dealership / OEM as they care very least. All the best!

[ketan007]

After reading about such horrific experiences, I think there exist bad dealers and bad cars (somehow passed the QA test). So nowadays, it depends on luck to get a good product and a dealer, which is sad.

I was so excited when Skoda launched the Ambition 1.5 TSI variant. Now, I need to think twice before buying one or pray it won't happen to me.