aholloway21

Had the new car a little over a week. First impressions - it's a great car. Engine is great, lots of grunt and goes a lot better than the VRS did, even with the tuning box on it. Power delivery is very linear, doesn't kick you the ass but the numbers rack up pretty damn quickly. Chasis is incredible, very flat in the twisty stuff, it's running on pilot supersports as standard and the two combined means the car doesn't even move an inch in the twisty stuff. But at the same time it's a hell of a lot more comfortable than the VRS was with it's lowering springs. The dampening is just top notch. Gearbox - this was my initial worry given slate reviews of the original 200 edc. But to be honest, I have no issues with the revised box in the 220 trophy. In auto mode it's fine, little bit dim witted at times compared to the DSG box, but it's fine in general. In race mode the gearbox is great. A hell of a lot faster that the DSG is and very smooth. Sounds great - has a nice exhaust note and pops on full throttle shifts every time. In general, I can't fault it. I loved my VRS but this is a much more engaging/ fun hot hatch to me, you can throw it down a backroad with some serious speed (not that I advocate it!). It's already booked in for some development work with a tuning company that I know. I'm going the box route to start off with and keep the warranty as in tact as I can, they are estimating somewhere between 250-260bhp once they have finished. So means I should have Megane RS output, in a smaller/ lighter car.

As the title says, I'm saying goodbye to the VRS. It's been a truly great car. I bought it 18 months ago on a bit of a whim to fill an immediate need for a 5 door with a bit of poke. I really didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I have done. It's being traded in for a 65 plate Renaultsport Clio 220 Trophy. Having had two rs clios in the past I have a bit of a soft spot for them and after test driving one yesterday I have taken the plunge. So, if anyones looking for a good VRS, it's being traded in to Renault in Slough, reg is LF14 FSA. The car's been perfect, hasn't used a drop of oil. No issues mechanically. The only issues I have had are cosmetic ones with my wheels. I'm getting rid of it for two reasons. Firstly, I fancied a change. Secondly, I have had a few run ins with Skoda customer services/ dealerships recently that have pushed me to the point that I don't want to spend another penny with them. Thanks for being an awesome community. -Adam

Yep it's a common problem. Skoda uk have been absolutely useless, as have skoda in Reading. Bottom line I won't be buying another skoda which is a shame as I was looking at the new Octavia vrs as my next car. I took mine to a local well known tyre and wheel specialist. They couldn't believe that skoda didn't want to know about the problem given that my car is only 2 years old. I'm going to try going back to the dealership in Guildford I purchased my car from, see what they say. Just a shame customers even have to go to these lengths to get issues rectified. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Does it make this noise every shift from first to second? Or just the firs time you start up? DSG boxes are fairly noisy to be honest, they have a lot of clunks and rattles. It's all pretty normal. When you first pull away in the morning you will also have the abs self check that will make a clunk noise if you listen carefully enough for it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So my first response is below. I'm going to keep this thread up to date with all communication. This is not as a skoda bashing but more as education for the briskoda community on how Skoda conduct themselves towards their consumers. They get away with far too much and it's a joke. "Hi Asmah, Apologies for my delay in response, it's been rather busy since I got back to the UK. I would really like to reiterate again my absolute disgust with the level of service Skoda and your dealership are providing in this matter, it's disgraceful. This issue is a warranty issue, there is no doubt about it. This white spider effect issue is a known problem with the Gigaro wheels as the lacquer used on them from factory is substandard. Skoda also know this to be an issue as they have replaced countless amounts of them under warranty. I am an active member of the Briskoda community and have read and come up against this issue with other members on multiple occasions. All of them have had the same outcome concluding that if there is no deliberate kerbing damage, the issue is fixed under warranty. Your current assessment of "stone chip" damage is absolute garbage. There is no visible damage, no kerbing, nothing. If this has been caused by stone chips allowing moisture under the lacquer then this has happened within normal driving conditions as the product (wheels) are intended for. My car is two years old and has covered 20,000 miles. That is nothing in the life of a car, and your current response is basically saying that your product is not fit for purpose and you don't care about it. That response is not acceptable. I purchased a car from Skoda with my hard earned money. That car has been used within normal driving conditions and something has gone wrong. It is your responsibility to me as a consumer to fix that issue under the warranty provided to me. As a first point of action, I am requesting a full copy of the report made including pictures from the Service manager at Skoda Reading that has rejected this claim. As a second point of action I am requesting an inspection by a warranty manager that I will be present for. I would like to reiterate that I will not let this matter drop, too many times I have come across other Skoda owners that have also received a poor and misleading level of service from Skoda and have walked away out of pocket, I am not one of those people. This issue is being documented on the Briskoda site in full to make others owners aware of the level of service they can expect. I look forward to hearing from you with an appropriate response this time. Kind Regards, Adam" Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Finally had a reply from skoda customer services, about a week since I put it in. Response is below, again livid. "Dear Mr Holloway Thank you for your recent correspondence with ŠKODA UK. Please accept my apologies for the delay in my response. I appreciate that your expectations of reliability and build quality are high when you purchase a ŠKODA vehicle and any fault is most disappointing. However, there is always a possibility that a component may fail during its lifetime. It is for this reason all new ŠKODA vehicles are supplied with a comprehensive three years or 60,000 miles warranty, whichever arrives first providing the fault is a manufacturing defect. I have now investigated your concerns by liaising with Samantha Pearce, Service Manager at Ridgway ŠKODA. She has confirmed the peeling of the lacquer on your alloy wheel is not warrantable as it has been caused by an external influence. She has explained that the blistering has been caused by stone chips. This decision is that of the Warranty Administrator at Ridgway ŠKODA and they have stated that this has not been caused by a manufacturing defect. Under ŠKODA’s warranty guidelines, items where the lifetime of the component is influenced by driving style or external factors, will only be considered under the terms of the warranty for a period of six months or 6,500 miles, whichever arrives first. Beyond this limit, any failure is considered by ŠKODA to be normal wear and tear or external influence. Customer Care cannot overturn this decision, it is final. Whilst I appreciate that you want to have the vehicle repaired under warranty, this is not possible due to the fault not being caused by a manufacturing defect which Ridgway ŠKODA have confirmed after thorough investigation. I apologise that this is not the outcome you were hoping for; however, this is our final position on the matter. Unless there is any new information you are able to provide, there is no need to respond to this email. Should I not receive any correspondence from you in the next three days, the case file will be closed down. Kind regards Asmah Hussain Customer Relations Manager ŠKODA UK | Selectapost 34 | Sheffield | S97 3FA Tel: +44 (0)333 0037 504 [email protected] | www.skoda.co.uk | www.skoda-auto.com" Any advice on next steps? I'm not letting this go it's absolutely shocking how skoda treat these matters. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm down in Reading. If you can't find anyone closer your welcome to come down to me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I will keep you all updated, if anyone has any advice to add, it's always appreciated. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep, there is no damage to the wheels. They are claiming stone chip micro abrasions have caused moisture to get underneath. If I had a big kerb mark on the wheel, I would accept responsibility for it l, but they don't. I don't think a warranty manager has seen it, they said it was the master tech who said this. I'm in the process of emailing skoda Uk atm. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So my local skoda dealership in reading rejected the claim. They said that it is caused by small stone chips allowing oxidisation underneath the lacquer.... Least to say I was livid. My wheels have zero damage on them (curbed etc). The service girl even said she didn't understand it as I clearly look after my car. So basically they are saying a 2 year old car with no caused damage can have defects as big as this (3 wheels affected) by normal driving wear that falls outside of a faulty product/ not fit for purpose. Absolute joke Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm sure I have read some threads before about corrosion issues under the lacquer on the gigaro wheels. I have this corrosion on 3 of my wheels on a 14 plate vrs. The cars booked in for a service next week so I mentioned the issue and asked to look at it and fix/ replace. They said they will look at it but "it doesn't sound like a warranty issue". Just being preemptive. Who has had these issues before and was it settled under warranty? To me it's a clear warranty issue with a defective item. Pics below: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's factory fit I believe. I got the car about 6 months old, it was a company car for someone at Skoda and it was in there when I got it. Although there is a chance it was fitted at the dealer? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Ok so has a look through the telephone controller, and no option in the adaptations to disable. I also can't see the module under either of my front seats to try a hard disconnect. Pic attached of the module details, anyone have an idea? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a new head unit with CarPlay so the module is no longer needed. And Oem module is interfering with the swc as its superseding the CarPlay controls. Unplugging means removing the passengers seat, just a lot easier to switch it off through vcds if I can and leave it in place. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk