[inreverse]

@vinmaz: I'm a happy Skoda Laura L&K 2007 customer. I'm not going to be biased with Skoda since I have also had a fair share of AC problems. A few options...

1. Sell off the car once you get it fixed under the Goodwill Warranty. You may still get around 9-10 lacs for it. Keeping in mind you owe the bank 8 lacs which would now be around 5.9 lacs in terms of repayment.

2. Settle the bank loan and get a trusted car in the same range. Toyota, Honda etc.


It is the "Omen" thing with Skoda (nee German) cars. One piece works flawlessly and one just refuses to work no matter what you do.

[Cesc]

Originally Posted by liner4u

Well I am a bit apprehensive to give it someone outside. But should do it i guess. Thanks for your input. The part has to be ordered from Bombay which will again take 20 days.

Yes one the service managers suggested that I do it outside as it might be some debris that's causing the noise. But I don't think I can do it myself because to get access to the fan part of the dashboard must be removed.

The dealership prices for Skoda spares are insane. Depending on the dealership alone for spares/service does not work in case of Skoda.

There are plenty of good mechanics/independent garages where you can get the car serviced or repaired in case of any problems. At the end of the day it is a mechanic doing a job that needs doing - it does not make a difference if he is doing it in an authorised service centre wearing fancy overalls or in an outside garage. Try somebody good in your area and you will be pleasently surprised.

Even if you need parts - every big city has a car parts market and you will find at least a handful of shops in the market for genuine car parts - for ANY car. I suggest you explore that market in your city and I am sure you will get what you want.

Both of these are going to take more efort on your part as opposed to just dealing with A.** . If you are willing to put in the required effort, I am sure you will come away satisified and save yourself a decent amount of money as well.

I stopped going to Skoda long time back. Even if you stand there on top of their heads they will find some way to cheat you. In my case - the dealership put in Shell Helix Super (Mineral oil) and billed me for Shell Helix Ultra (Synthetic Oil). This when the oil was changed in front of my eyes. I had insisted on the synthetic variety and since they have a drum (and not a can) you have no way of knowing what they are putting in. I realized the difference after driving for a while. Now I buy all genuine stuff myself - from engine oil to filters to any part that I need - go to a good garage and get everything done while sitting in front of the mechanic. I save at least 3-4k per service and have the satisfaction of putting in only quality stuff in my car. Once you get out of the mental block of going only to Skoda A.** that will be it - you will never go back again.

[liner4u]

Originally Posted by kadri007

Hi

I booked Skoda Fabia 1.2 Petrol Classic atlast. I know its a big suprise. But the car no doubt has a excellent safety features and good road handling. Vinayaka Skoda Dealer in Bangalore seems to be very good since its a new dealership.

I am very very surprised at your decision Kadri007 !! As i had mentioned earlier the car is good but its the A.s.s that disappoints. Fabia is not a value for money car, its a luxury hatchback and luxury it provides a lot.

Originally Posted by Cesc

I stopped going to Skoda long time back. Even if you stand there on top of their heads they will find some way to cheat you. In my case - the dealership put in Shell Helix Super (Mineral oil) and billed me for Shell Helix Ultra (Synthetic Oil). This when the oil was changed in front of my eyes. I had insisted on the synthetic variety and since they have a drum (and not a can) you have no way of knowing what they are putting in. I realized the difference after driving for a while. Now I buy all genuine stuff myself - from engine oil to filters to any part that I need - go to a good garage and get everything done while sitting in front of the mechanic. I save at least 3-4k per service and have the satisfaction of putting in only quality stuff in my car. Once you get out of the mental block of going only to Skoda A.** that will be it - you will never go back again.

I went to the dealer because for the initial two years most of the parts are covered under warranty. If they find out that you haven't been servicing you car regularly with them, the warranty will be void. I had changed my compressor under warranty and it was no goodwill because it caused problems in one and half years. The cost of that part with the dealer is 45k !! Even if I had bought from outside I wont get it at half the price right ?? Now since my warranty is over I can give it outside. But I doubt you will get original skoda parts outside. You will get only 1st quality.

[kadri007]

Originally Posted by liner4u

I am very very surprised at your decision Kadri007 !! As i had mentioned earlier the car is good but its the A.s.s that disappoints. Fabia is not a value for money car, its a luxury hatchback and luxury it provides a lot..

Yes its a big suprise. Till Saturday afternoon I was considering Fiat Punto 1.2 Emotion. But Unfortunatly the Fiat dealer was going on postponing the TD giving excuses. The first dealer did the same and the second dealer was almost the same as first dealer. And on Monday even after telling I will look for someother car if you dont get it in on Monday morning. Nothing worked.

Till afternoon I waited so that If now atleast I would have got the car for TD I can change my decission after TD. But nothing happened. So atlast had to go with Fabia.

Reasons for going with Skoda:

Safety was a big priority and Fabia matches it well. Saftey features especially Airbags in base model. Parents also insisted on a safe car due to some accidents in family. So I also thought it will keep them less worried when I do long drives between Bangalore and Mangalore. It will keep my parents happy.

It came into my budget of Rs 6.13 on road in Bangalore.

Looks of the car and driving comfort. My better half was not able to see the road in Punto since 1.2 Emotion doesnt come with seat adjustment. She took the TD of Fabia on saturday and She also liked it. It was very easy for her to handle. She liked the car more than Polo also.

My Test drive experience was just great. Did a TD in bad roads with 5 people on board. Driving is just comfortable. Went in zig zag roads which has small slopes and ups. Fabia is just easy to handel and doesnt make you feel its going out of control in turnings. No doubt people call it a tank. It just sticks to the raod.

Didnt feel the engine is underpowered. It easily climbs in 3rd gear. I was expecting engine noise as it was mentioned in reviews. So offed the AC and did on low gears. The 1.2 is absoulty smooth. No noise. The sales guy told me the earlier 1.4 verison had this probem and diesel version also has higher noise levels.

The engine is absolutly smooth and the steering is very light. The quality is better than Polo also. Now I know why the engine oil price is so high.

Ground clearence is very good. It doesnt bump up and down while going over a hump or in bad roads. Very comfortable with sufficient leg space. Rear AC went. The gear shifts, cluth, etc are very smooth.

Got at a good Interest rate and got a extended warraty of 3 years. 2 years warraty free. Also will be taking a Skoda Insurance additional package to decrease my worries about service cost.

And Vinayaka Skoda is a new dealer and seems to be good. The sales experience was been great. Also Skoda was responsive in attending my questions.

Also got some good feedback from my friends about Vinayaka Skoda and also from Fabia owners in Bangalore.

I know its a big risk which I took. Sometime must take it for keeping family family and loved ones happy. Then its left to how God wants. I always believe everything happens for a reason and for the good. So keeping my fingers crossed.

[Cesc]

Originally Posted by liner4u

II went to the dealer because for the initial two years most of the parts are covered under warranty. If they find out that you haven't been servicing you car regularly with them, the warranty will be void. I had changed my compressor under warranty and it was no goodwill because it caused problems in one and half years. The cost of that part with the dealer is 45k !! Even if I had bought from outside I wont get it at half the price right ?? Now since my warranty is over I can give it outside. But I doubt you will get original skoda parts outside. You will get only 1st quality.

Most of the general spares you can get for about half the price if you know the right source - yup you read that right.

Regarding genuine Skoda parts. Skoda (or for that matter any car company) sources almost everything from vendors. More often that not you will find at least 2 vendors of comparable quality making one part. One of those two can easily supply to the replacement market. You can definitely get spares of equal if not beter quality than Skoda outside as well. Just go out and explore. I have done enough of that for Skoda spares here in Delhi. I know of a very good spare parts dealer who imports spares directly from Germany and the difference from Skoda A.** spare prices that I have seen is more than 50% in most cases. And I have personally authenticated the brands he has supplied to me - most of those vendors are OEM for VW. Plus that guy is dad's friend and a very genuine person so I am sure I am getting the best spares out there. I, and some of my friends, who own Skodas have saved at least 50k+ in spares in last one year alone. None of us go to the a** anymore.

[liner4u]

Originally Posted by Cesc

Most of the general spares you can get for about half the price if you know the right source - yup you read that right.

Regarding genuine Skoda parts. Skoda (or for that matter any car company) sources almost everything from vendors. More often that not you will find at least 2 vendors of comparable quality making one part. One of those two can easily supply to the replacement market. You can definitely get spares of equal if not beter quality than Skoda outside as well. Just go out and explore. I have done enough of that for Skoda spares here in Delhi. I know of a very good spare parts dealer who imports spares directly from Germany and the difference from Skoda A.** spare prices that I have seen is more than 50% in most cases. And I have personally authenticated the brands he has supplied to me - most of those vendors are OEM for VW. Plus that guy is dad's friend and a very genuine person so I am sure I am getting the best spares out there. I, and some of my friends, who own Skodas have saved at least 50k+ in spares in last one year alone. None of us go to the a** anymore.

Like i said earlier Cesc I went to the dealer only because of warranty. Now since the warranty is over I will have to start searching for reliable spare part dealers like you said. Might have to take some effort in doing so but now I guess I have no other choice.

Delhi & Bombay are industrial hubs so I am sure there will be a lot of dealers who supply to skoda and VW. But I don't think chennai will be like that. But we do have a spares parts market here and its quite famous. Will try there.
Thanks a lot for the input

[SinghBHP]

One more Dissatisfied Skoda Customer added to a list of millions. I am sure that SKODA people are following Team-BHP from long long time and it's hard to belive that even avfter so much of dissatisfaction among people on this forum they are not taking any corrective measures.
How come VW people expect to make their Journey a success in India after all this ? If VW owns most of the SKODA then it means that soon we may hear such Horror stories coming from VW owners.

[vinmaz]

Originally Posted by inreverse

I have also had a fair share of AC problems.

It is the "Omen" thing with Skoda (nee German) cars. One piece works flawlessly and one just refuses to work no matter what you do.

1) It is your luck that you had just one problem and wish you dont tempt your faith. But why even that one? Cant they recall all their Lauras and replace the compressors and end the issue? They can borrow the AC's from Tatas! (And haven't you replaced the Horn yet?)

2) German Engineering is a symbol of relability world over, this "Omen" thing is OK for an Indian car - don't you think so?

3) Having lived and worked in Germany for a few years as an Executive Director of a German company, let me tell you that no customer in Germany will tolerate this. German courts will quickly swing into action - you must be aware of the hefty compensation that VW had to pay a customer because his foot was too big to fit on the accelerator pedal!!

In India these companies can take us for a ride because of the snail's pace of our legal system and the meagre compensations that the courts reward.

[vinmaz]

Originally Posted by kadri007

Reasons for going with Skoda:

Safety was a big priority and Fabia matches it well. Saftey features especially Airbags in base model. Parents also insisted on a safe car due to some accidents in family. So I also thought it will keep them less worried when I do long drives between Bangalore and Mangalore. It will keep my parents happy.

I know its a big risk which I took. Sometime must take it for keeping family family and loved ones happy. Then its left to how God wants. I always believe everything happens for a reason and for the good. So keeping my fingers crossed.

Dear Kadri,
Have you read about the Mumbai Fabia accident where a boy lost his life on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (around 6 months back) because his air bags did not open? The question is not what Skoda has sold you - the question is whether it works when you want it to. When all is well, a skoda car is beautiful but when its not so well, you don't know what price you have to pay - sadly, the boy had to pay with his life. Its learnt that his father has slapped a multi-crore case on Skoda - lets see what happens.

All I can say is: Skoda owner? - Inshaallah!!

[vinmaz]

Originally Posted by kadri007

Reasons for going with Skoda:

Safety was a big priority and Fabia matches it well. Saftey features especially Airbags in base model. Parents also insisted on a safe car due to some accidents in family. So I also thought it will keep them less worried when I do long drives between Bangalore and Mangalore. It will keep my parents happy.

Dear Kadri,
Please find below the link to the news article about the boy who lost his life in a Fabia. The investigations revealed that the air bag of the Fabia did not open.
Teen killed in sea link mishap - dnaindia.com
This is just to request you to be cautious enough while driving though you have air bags in your FABIA.

[kadri007]

Originally Posted by vinmaz

Dear Kadri,
Have you read about the Mumbai Fabia accident where a boy lost his life on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (around 6 months back) because his air bags did not open? The question is not what Skoda has sold you - the question is whether it works when you want it to. When all is well, a skoda car is beautiful but when its not so well, you don't know what price you have to pay - sadly, the boy had to pay with his life. Its learnt that his father has slapped a multi-crore case on Skoda - lets see what happens.

Dear Vinmaz,

Thanks for the news article. I had read this news long back. There are many factors to come out safely in case of a accident. In the above news the boy was not wearing the seat belts and was driving at high speeds. More than the airbags, seat belts have been very effective in saving life's. Most of the airbags open only when the impact is from front where the sensors are placed and rest all depends on god's wish.

And to that matter if anyone is driving a Audi, BWM or even a Merc at very high speeds rashly and crashes it, the chances of survival are limited. It all depends on how you risk your life while driving and how much you respect life of others on road. Most of the accidents are avoidable if you have good control and you are driving at reasonable speed.

But I also know of Fabia crashing into a truck in Bangalore - Hassan road and people walking out with minor scratches. The airbags had opened on time and all was well. People who saw the accident were suprised how the car survived even after hitting the truck which came at high speed. Here the only difference is the Fabia driver was not overspeeding and was in full control of the vehicle.

Here are some Skoda crash pics where airbags have opened. We just cant stop driving because accidents happen. We know the fact hence if we are carefull all will be well. So at the end of the day luck matters and always have faith in god.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1536282

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1190354

[inreverse]

Originally Posted by vinmaz

1) It is your luck that you had just one problem and wish you dont tempt your faith. But why even that one? Cant they recall all their Lauras and replace the compressors and end the issue? They can borrow the AC's from Tatas! (And haven't you replaced the Horn yet?)

2) German Engineering is a symbol of relability world over, this "Omen" thing is OK for an Indian car - don't you think so?

3) Having lived and worked in Germany for a few years as an Executive Director of a German company, let me tell you that no customer in Germany will tolerate this. German courts will quickly swing into action - you must be aware of the hefty compensation that VW had to pay a customer because his foot was too big to fit on the accelerator pedal!!

In India these companies can take us for a ride because of the snail's pace of our legal system and the meagre compensations that the courts reward.

I agree with you vinmaz the point you made about our system. I'm going to go slightly off topic for a bit.

I would like to share an experience penned by a Distinguished TBHPian on a different thread. Please go thru' it and you'll see the point I want to carry forward. I'm not trying to say that the things that happend with your car is sheer bad luck or bad omen or a case of bad engineering. But, I want to see this issue keeping myself in your boots. We all want to help you find a better way and to direct your energy to the right place.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post1881340


Coming back to our topic. There are so many Lauras and not all of the owners are on T-BHP, per say, out of which there may be worst case scenarios or stories of cars that will outrun the owners generation. If all Skoda Lauras have these bugs, there would be a major patch coming out from Skoda. I don't think the Germans believe in break-fix solutions. Germans can go wrong in meeting expectations, but they will never accept bad engineering.


Think about it. If Tata/Maruti/Mahindra indigeneously made such technologically advanced cars would it be niggle free? Or can they make one in the next 2-3 years? (No offense meant to other fellow TBHPians)


Here's a simple way to go into introspection.


1. Ask yourself, "Do I really want this car even if it was fixed?". If the answer is a straight YES go no further.

2. Calculate the Insurance Depreciated Value (IDV) of your car.

3. Call up a car dealer and get a price quote. You quote a little more than the IDV or until your mind is satisfied with the figure.

4. Add the extra moolah you spent to the get car to its sellable state. My guesswork says the figure is around 12.5-13.5 lacs net.

5. Checkout new cars at the price tag from Step 4, inclusive of all features your current car has from any manufacturer apart from Skoda.

6. Ask yourself question number 1.


Cheers!

[vinmaz]

After all the turmoil and heart burn my car finally had its AC replacement completed today, causing me a nominal dent of Rs. 8246. All is well that ends well.
Now hope nothing new comes up. "Duan Karo"

[kadri007]

I just started my ownership thread of my Skoda Fabia 1.2 Classic Petrol.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/81802-my-car-hunt-ended-skoda-fabia.html

[inreverse]

Originally Posted by vinmaz

After all the turmoil and heart burn my car finally had its AC replacement completed today, causing me a nominal dent of Rs. 8246. All is well that ends well.
Now hope nothing new comes up. "Duan Karo"

Touch wood and wishing you a better ride. Do post pictures of your car and a detailed report on the work done once you get some leisure time.


Cheers!