TerryinDorset

I have to say that this company is the worst I have ever experienced. Here's why: I bought a Octavia 1.6 Greenline in August 2013 here. It had been registered in Sept. 2012 & had done 10.500 miles. The salesman told me it had been an ex-Skoda manager's car but I soon discovered it was an ex-hire company car. Alarm bells began to ring too late. During the first week I found the AC wasn't working so took it back for repairs....this on a car that had had the much vaunted ŠKODA APPROVED multi-point vehicle inspection check..... I was in Cumbria in October when I experienced the first rainfall of the year & discovered that the wipers would wipe but the washer didn't wash. Driving with a smeared windscreen is no fun & Border Cars diagnosed a dud washer motor. I took the car to Meadens on my return to Dorset & got a frosty reception. The saleman asked why I hadn't tested the washer/wipe before I went to Cumbria? Why in hot sunny weather, I asked, & Why didn't you? but got no reply. The workshop tested the system but found nothing wrong....remember the wipers wiped but the washer didin't.....? During the intervening weeks I asked Skoda Customer Care for help & must thank Maxine to getting the problem solved eventually. Before this though, the motor was replaced but that wasn't the answer as no water jetted out. At this point I was told all Skodas were like this & I'd have to put up with it.... My solicitor told me safety was an issue & they MUST fix it & I relayed this to Meadens. Another saleman asked what I wanted on one visit - I described the problem & he said "I don't believe you" thus accusing me of being liar. When I took the car back for the last workshop visit I felt I was being punished when told they didn't have a courtesy car, so I was transported back & forth in a small, uncomfortable van. Eventually the problem was fixed by the wiring to the motor being reversed......I must ask why a car having had a multi-point vehicle inspection check, Meadens hadn't discovered these faults instead of me? More to the point, why didn't treat me with more care? The words 'You'll have to put up with it' & 'I don't belive you' are what I remember most about tangling with Meadens......I have told Skoda & will never go to Meadens again. Border Cars near Workington seem a different lot. They replaced the compressor under warranty last month, though Lillyhall is not the best spot to hang around for an hour or two. So far this Octavia has been returned to the workshop 3 times in the 11 months I've had it. This is 3 times more than any other car I've owned. The one thing I do like about the 1.6 diesel engine is getting 65 MPG. It's just had it's first service at my local garage & the wheels came off for the brakes to be checked now I can stop on a 6 pence.

Thank you all. Blandford is indeed on my doorstep. I take a 89 yr old friend (WW2 ex-tank driver) in Tisbury to the Shaftsbury shops on Wednesdays & sometimes return home along that Pimperne road.

Thanks Harvey.....I'd have bought the car without the lie. Oddly, I went to a dealer in Bournemouth but they treated me as though I'd crawled in from the gutter so I found myself in the New Forest & spotted this Octavia. Thank goodness my local garage is A1 just in case I should need one when the 2 yr warranty runs out......

Hello. I bought my first Skoda (a 2012 Octavia Greenline 1.6 TDI with 10,500 miles on the clock) in August this year. It had been valeted & looked immaculate. I asked about the 10.500 miles in 11 months, & the dealer said it had been a Skoda car. The V5C however, has the previous registered keeper as Europcar, which I have just discovered is a car hire company....so the man lied to me. This is a pity because I now don't trust the dealer at all. The car drives well & is the first diesel engined car I've owned, & appears to be doing 65 mpg or so. It was supposed to have undergone a thorough check before I drove it away, but I soon found the air con., didn't work so it went back to be fixed. I now find the automatic screenwash doesn't function as the handbook says it should, & I'm wiping a dry screen before any wash appears. I'll post a forum question about this. I must say the cruise control is great for long journeys, & am surprised at how quiet is it on the move, & the ride is nice. I hope I'm still pleased with it this time next year! I'm looking forwards to surfing the forums here.