100,000 miles of poor reliability in a Skoda Yeti 1.2TSi

[RapidPaul]

The depreciation on some of the Renaults is utterly ruinous, with the Espace and Scenic being particularly bad. Something like 50% of total value lost after just a year.

[marcusthehat]

Which should, surely, then make them a "no brainer" buy?

 

Ah Might needa look at the Espace afresh then!

 

Sigh.

[RapidPaul]

As a used buy? Maybe. I guess not too many folk will buy them brand new, unless they're alergic to money. There is a guy with a Scenic regularly parked outside my son's school at drop off time. The offside passenger door is sealed shut with gaffa tape even though the car is less than four years old. Certainly gives you pause for thought.

[VAGCF]

A friend of mine has a top of the range 4x4 Dusty Bin. He loves it and to be fair, as an ex demo car it was a bargain for what it is. However, you don't have to scratch to deep to see that they are built down to a cost and I suspect the interior trim won't age that well. You notice how flimsy it is as soon as you touch the door handle. However, the running gear is solid and relatively up to date. I personally wouldn't buy one, but can fully understand why people do.

We had a Dacia Sandero as a hire car in Montenegro last year and I was considering one as a cheap runabout. Trim etc. is cheap obviously, but it does the job, and the hire companies must have faith in it standing up to hire car use and abuse.

 

Would probably have gone for a Duster but the 0% deal came up so that was that!

Edited 5 April, 2016 by VAGCF

[Rooted]

If anyone is going to know about depreciation on cars over 3 years old, or even newer it will be those that bought a Skoda Rapid.

(They are about as bad as many SEAT unless they are being traded back to the brands Franchised Dealerships.)

 

Dacia at £10,000 - £14,000 are maybe going to lose £2,000 a year for 5 years and then still be worth a couple of grand or more, 

probably still be running at 10 year old, now that is cheap motoring if someone wants to buy a Keeper.

[marcusthehat]

Ere!

Only when I got home and walked in the back door past the parked up 1998 Steyr Daimler Puch Van,

did I realize it had less rust than yer mans Yeti.

Despite ZERO maint and literally sitting in a field of grass for 3 years, after which it passed our strict NI Govt. run MOT, with nowt but a new battery, an oil seal to the steering box at £3.69, 'n a wee wash.

Only 2 owners being Automotive Technique who ran it from new as a commercial service vehicle, and myself, who has essentially neglected it since

Marcus

[Ryeman]

^^^^ love to see THOSE discs after 3 years in wet Irish grass.

[Abominable]

I am waiting for a response from the garage as to whether any of the corrosion will be covered under the Skoda bodywork warranty.

If not I'll be selling it quick (maybe trade it back to my old friends at Arnold Clark! :-/ ) then I'll buy anything that doesn't have a Skoda badge, maybe a 1998 Steyr Daimler Puch Van....

If it is fixed up I'll be keeping it and nursing as many miles out of it as I possibly can in the hope it'll redeem itself over the next 100,000+ miles!

[freedie]

As a used buy? Maybe. I guess not too many folk will buy them brand new, unless they're alergic to money. There is a guy with a Scenic regularly parked outside my son's school at drop off time. The offside passenger door is sealed shut with gaffa tape even though the car is less than four years old. Certainly gives you pause for thought.

 

Possibly so that his child can't exit through that door...

[marcusthehat]

^^^^ love to see THOSE discs after 3 years in wet Irish grass.

Ryeman,

Quite seriously, parked up for 3 years, grass growing up, through and around,

towed out 25m or so with the tractor,

then freely pushed across the concrete, courtsey of my v creaky 57 year old knackered back.

NOWT seized!

That WAS Germanic engineering.

I topped up the empty power steering resovoir with Super Universal Tractor Oil, a matter of expediency to drive her the few miles to Wilies garage,

James allowed my use of Super Universal Tractor Oil " ud do rightly ",

the steering might be a trifle heavier of a v cold morning but otherwise  .  .  .

 

quite unlike the Ford Galaxy, which had entirely seized up.(but then her were really a VW)

M

Edited 6 April, 2016 by dieseldogg

[Ryeman]

Oh my 70 year old back had much difficulty pushing my mollycoddled Yeti.........just getting it to budge!

[Duck_Pond]

Very common during winter. That was yesterday and easily passable, when it's not they close the snow gates. Unless the Council boys get really bored, and have nothing else to do, they don't grit it or plough it. It's one of those roads where two cars can just pass but being a quiet moor road there are always those that just go too fast. They end up in the peat, which slows then down pretty rapidly!

 

Utterly beautiful road, in a bleak kind of way.

 

 

Looked like that the last time I was on it, though the side-wind was so strong it blew my Yeti across the road. I love the drive down to and around Lochindorb. Red grouse country, and the divers should be back now too. Oh to be back there again...

[Abominable]

Warranty/rework #24: Corrosion on tailgate and offside rear wing repaired and resprayed (making that the second time the tailgate has been repaired / resprayed)

 

All four doors are still rusting though and no word from the dealer 2 months on. Corrosion particularly bad around all four door handles, rear wheel arches and lower lips. Would have had better luck if I'd bought a vintage Alfa.

[Silly Old Hector]

Warranty/rework #24: Corrosion on tailgate and offside rear wing repaired and resprayed (making that the second time the tailgate has been repaired / resprayed)

 

All four doors are still rusting though and no word from the dealer 2 months on. Corrosion particularly bad around all four door handles, rear wheel arches and lower lips. Would have had better luck if I'd bought a vintage Alfa.

You need to buy a Lotus - plastic body :-)

[Abominable]

Or an Ariel Noma?

Or a 3yo Jungle Green with one previous owner!

[Silly Old Hector]

Or an Ariel Noma?

Or a 3yo Jungle Green with one previous owner!

Only 10k miles in 2 yrs - leaves you 90k miles of life left ..... (Plus a full set of 215/60-16 winters)

Nomad would suit your lifestyle ...

Edited 18 June, 2016 by Silly Old Hector

[Abominable]

Only 10k miles in 2 yrs - leaves you 90k miles of life left ..... (Plus a full set of 215/60-16 winters)

Nomad would suit your lifestyle ...

10k in 2 years! I've done that in 2 months. Keep the Jungle polished for me then. :-)

[Abominable]

I appear to have another wheel bearing gone, and I think it was the one replaced just last year (off side rear, I think). 

 

Also, coming home tonight the amber ABS and ESC lights came on. Now the green 'downhill control' light is on at start up despite it being a 2WD without this option. Could all be related to the duff wheel bearing I guess, so going into the garage (yet again) on Monday.

 

The corrosion issue on the doors is still ongoing and is becoming farcical. I can't say more for legal reasons, but just to shame Skoda again, here is the roll call of faults from new:

 

1. ABS warning harness failure
2. Turbo shim error
3. Turbo error (Turbo shim recall done incorrectly)
4. 'White worm' on badges
5. Near side front wheel bearing failure
6. HT 3 Lead failure
7. HT Leads melted to manifold (incorrectly fitted replacements)
8. Drivers seat trim worked loose
9. Respray of side sills / doors due to paint chipping (tech bulletin)
10. Drivers door hinge worked loose
11. Bulb blown warning error despite bulb ok
12. Off side front wheel bearing failure (two of these may have failed, the dealer never disclosed details)
13. Brake pad wear plug broken (dealer servicing error)
14. Near side drop bar link failure
15. Warped front brake discs (due to length of time dealer failed to diagnose broken wheel bearing)
16. Corrosion on 16" alloys (replaced)
17. Respray of rear boot due to pain blistering
18. Head light levellers moving of own accord (never been fixed!)
19. Timing chain failure (tech bulletin)
20. Throttle air intake clogged
21. Near side front brake calipers worn loose
22. Off side front brake calipers worn loose
23. Horn failed
24. Offside rear wheel bearing failure
25. Rear tailgate corrosion

26. Offside rear wheel arch corrosion

[ernieb]

@Abominable, how many miles has the car done in total, cars age?  That is quite a list of issues I'd be crawling up the wall by now.

[Abominable]

@Abominable, how many miles has the car done in total, cars age?  That is quite a list of issues I'd be crawling up the wall by now.

 

6 1/2 yrs and 110k miles. Car owned from new and driven only by me always to my Advanced Driver training standard.

 

~90% of those faults occurred in the first 70k

 

The ongoing issue with the bodywork corrosion has become farcical....

[Clive]

Ahhh, that was a bog-eye, the F/L's are much more reliable.

 

I sure hope so 

[Ryeman]

The first of that engine version had many issues from the start but we're not subject to an official 'recall' but an inhouse service campaign for PR purposes it seems.

[Abominable]

The first Yeti's were still in R&D it seems.

A truly appaling brand management strategy.

[Ryeman]

It's common for new vehicles to be torture tested on the corrugated dusty roads of outback Australia in summer prior to going on sale.

I can't recall a single VW vehicle being put through any sort of endurance testing out here........

[docc]

I sure hope so 

It's not at all unusual for early versions of new cars to be effectively tested out on 'early adopters'.  By the time the FL came along, most of the early faults had been ironed out, so it's likely to be less problematic.  The more cautious will never buy a new model until it's been available for a couple of years for the early faults to have shown up and been eradicated.

Edited 28 August, 2016 by docc