Marwood

Dave you are right. There is a clear distinction to be made between hand polishing and machine polishing. In the context of my problem it is a vital one. My original hologram marks were caused by a machine, and as you correctly state, Mitchells were certain they don't use a machine on new cars. I am grateful to you for this post, as I needed reminding too! Steve, My son wants to reassure you that his boiled sweet collection never touched your lovely race blue paintwork. However, I did see him with a selection of '3M 5 inch buffing pads' and a bottle of 'T Cut' in his sticky paws shortly after our inspection of you car. Paul.

Don't think I'll every know and I suppose it is better to look at the positives at this stage rather than go over well trodden ground dstev2000, I hope you really enjoy your car. I am sure it will be great! Thanks, Paul

Sorry about the double post, putting this thread on page one again, but something came back to me today, and I can't think why I haven't mentioned it before! :confused: After Kennedy was assassinated the Warren Comission made a right dog's breakfast of the whole thing, leaving the way open for countless conspiracy theories to run rife through the whole thing. Was there a 'smoking gun' on the Grassy Knol? About two weeks after I picked up my vRS, I noticed a mark, about 3 inches long running along the edge of the bonet; visible through the front screen when driving. I remember remarking to SWMBO that I hoped it wasn't a mark left by the car being washed at the dealership with the wipers moved away and out from the windscreen. I remembered reading on here that if you do this and accidently knock the wipers 'on' from going into the cockpit at some point the wipers will graze the edge of your bonet, removing paint. One Sunday morning, two weeks after pick up, I pulled into the Halfrauds car park in St. Helens and checked. I was delighted to find that the paint was fine and that it was only a thin white line of polish that had been left behind. A thin white line of polish.........this is what came back to me today as I drove to Sealand in Chester. Who did polish my car and when was it done? :( This is the smoking gun. The 'official enquiry' stated that new cars are not polished at the dealers. Independant and very reliable testemony confirmed this when I asked. Cars are steamed, then washed, that's it. But surely this would remove any polish Skoda had applied at the factory, the official cause of the original hologram mark........and a guy who worked for Ford told me they did polish new cars at the dealership, which was interesting. A magic bullet theory? So if Oswald didn't do the polishing, who did? Oliver Stone, if he were a car detailer could have a field day with this. I wonder? Paul. Incidently, the Kennedy case is a 'Case Closed'. Oswald did it, no question. I researched this to death. I used to think it was a conspiracy, but sadly, it really isn't!

Fixed, and looks stunning mate !!!

My Mark ll mists up less than my old Golf GTi and my Dad's BMW. It does mist up, but the air con sorts it....UNLESS you have the rear nearside passenger window obsured by a Skoda part sunshade. Geting out of a junction and seeing past parked cars for on comming traffic was IMPOSSIBLE this evening....had to hope for the best after an educated judgement. Paul

Yep no pics, but congratulations. For me the boot is on the other foot. SWMBO has a Civic and has asked many times as to the exact date she has been penciled in to drive 'our' new family car. Given her driving style (nervous boy racer and former handbreak turn expert in a VTR) it appears she wont be getting a go in the near future. Alex is on the insurance, but that is merely a token gesture! Sexist?...I got a 2:1 in this particular area of my psychology minor, so i'd say common sense! Paul

Two months........you are into the 'grey area'. To reject a car or have it replaced it needs to go back, ideally within two weeks. The dealer is also obliged to act, once a fault has been reported, within a reasonable period of time. When did you report the defect to the dealer? My fault was reported and the car was initially inspected on the 4th of May after being handed over on the 23rd March. I reported the original fault plus the dealer's mess up in sorting it out on the 22nd of June. I had carefully washed the car 3 times by then. This was the first time I had put it in writing. Previously I had spoken to the Service Manager who had seen pictures and 'researched' the issue. Using the CleanYourCar site I had posted pics before and after first washing the car in April. To be fair to myself I didn't know what I was looking at in my paint and the 'hurley burley' of new parenthood delayed my action. The lesson for anyone else reading....report the fault in writing asap! HOWEVER, with the paint being affected on your roof it is not a simple case of correction. I would contact trading standards, but in your case I think you have a stronger 'not fit for purpose' case than I did. My dealer told me that my fault was repareable so a replacement would not be authorised by Skoda. If a panel can be replaced and sprayed they will opt for that. But the roof may be different. My dealer told me if a car has a crease in its roof it can be replaced as it is not a simple case of just ordering a replacement. This argument/advice, from a respected Skoda dealer, coupled with the warrenty factor may mean you have a stronger case in saying you want a replacement car. Still it is all in a 'grey area' and it could take some time to resolve the matter. As I say contact Trading Standards and Skoda UK direct. Also PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING AND TAKE PICTURES. Can you post some? You could consider a second independant opinion. I did. It will be worth it for peace of mind and also to establish your position with greater confidence. A little spent now could facilitate a more 'resonable' solution, especially if a partial refund becomes your choice of 'remedy' I am not sure how a Refinisher or a Detailer could make good your paint if it is damaged to the extent I imagine. We may be talking at least a respray here and that throws up questions about who does it and quality control. Skoda do have access to Bentley's 'White Light Room' so they can, if they wish, really examine your paint work properly, Skoda UK have warrenty assessors they call upon to look at problems as assess Skoda's response. The 'White Light' was offered to me. If the paint finish can not be made good and to your satisfaction, then you have the option to press for a partial refund. Not really what you want but you do have options, especially as the paint seems clearly to have been damaged at the factory and could be open to corrosion. Not fit for purpose in my opinion, but it is only my opinion at this stage. My paint may well have been damaged at the factory but it is not a corrosion issue, mine is asthetic. (Well it is at the moment, unless I can establish from PD readings that it 's long term integrity has been shafted after what will be three corrections....then it may be a partial refund issue after all. Iain is going to do before and after readings, and I have the ones before Morris had a crack at it too!) If you want to ask me anything at all, please PM me if you think I can help. Wardy helped me with the paperwork and so I can help you there, if you need to. Keep the dealer onside and be as nice as possible. They will want to help you, but are going to need Skoda UK to "come to the party" (my dealer's words). No dealer wants negative publicity, and the bottom line is they will want you to leave them alone.....sorry........to achive 'customer satisfaction'! Nothing cynical there! Ahem! In the meantime I wish you the very best, will be rooting for you. Don't hesitate to ask. Paul.

Baffling....if they can't get the part who can? A bit like Fluffy's engine coils that the RAC had, but the dealer coludn't get at the time. Still at least you got something for the inconvienience. Hope you vRS runs ok now! Paul,

Blimey Nick, This is turning into another episode of 'Eldorado'. Having read the thread so far I see no rational reason for the dealer not to be able to supply the wheels you want. Although, I reckon you would struggle to get a jumbo box on a vRS without the other 'pieces' of the options jigsaw, the wheels on your car should be a simple switch over. Still what is rational about buying a new car these days, a minefield of possibilities which in the end mean that you opt for a trusted local dealership for perceived peace of mind. The money issue is fully understood at my end as I had to forego the Jumbo Pack myself, due to my new son and master! I would agree dealers do compete to get your cash, I talked to a dealer in Liverpool who offered to beat my Mitchells deal. I am sure they would have done, but by how much. 50 quid? My inclination would be to confirm what other people have suggested. Tell your dealer you are going to walk and go to another one if they can not deliver the car they agreed they could. Put it in writing as this can help focus the mind too! If you are unsure you can contact the CAB or Trading Standards re your agreement. I suppose I am stating the obvious but, for crying out loud, are they are so inflexable that it results in the loss of a sale?? I would defo speak to Skoda Uk to clarify exactly why it is such a problem, and hear it from the horse's mouth. (oh, sorry you already have!) I have every sympathy, it should be so hard to stump up the right amount of cash and get what you asked for in the first place. 'It's so depressing', as Marvin the Paranoid Android might have noted as he shuffled of to view a selection of alloy wheels at Halfrauds. Good luck and best wishes, Paul.

.....or strong direct sunlight!

Bob, Thanks for your post mate! I wouldn't say I now had any expertise, but I would be quite prepared to have a gander at your lovely new vRS if you wanted me to I can spot them holograms easy peasy in the right light and the same is true with bad swirls. However, if you inspect your car in the handover area, at the front of the showroon I doubt we would will see much. Direct sunlight or the or a gently 'wafted' hand held halogen light are the best things for showing up the blighters. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing the look on Richard's face if I showed up! Sorry Richard. Anyway, there are shed loads of Skodas supplied by Mitchells that are perfect, so you will be very very unluck to experience what I have had. Mitchells has a very good reputation and were excellent with me when I purchased my car, check my review on the forum! The date for sorting out my paint by Iain was confirmed by the dealer today so I can now see 'the light at the end of the tunnel'! Thanks again, Paul.

Oh yes, I'm made up that we are reaching the end of this. The whole thing hasn't quite ruined the experience of getting my first new car but without everyone's help on here, it could have done. Thank you all again! My main reservations are that this should not have happened in the firat place and the fact that my paintwork should not have lost so many microns of clear coat at this stage of its life!! I was starting to think that all my posts would start to become irritating the longer this went on, however I have learned a heck of al ot and I think all this should be compulsive reading for anyone buying any new car, especially if it is a black one! I am chuffed to little mint balls that one of the best detailers in the country will be working on my car. I have been really impressed with Iain's work....I did check him out carefully before I asked him to do my car.....it would be foolish not to. In the detailing world Iain seems to be getting the reputation as 'the detailer's detailer'. He is very modest, easy to get on with (treats you like a mate he has known for years), yet is uttlerly confident in his ability. It won't be dead easy for him either as he will have to work really carefully to correct the damage already caused by others with the minimum of further stress to the paintwork. However, I know my car is going to look super stunning and I can't wait. I will try to do a full write up with pictures when it is done! Paul.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE....... ........Richard kindly rang me yesterday evening. Skoda have approved the work to be done by Iain which is excellent news I can have the work done at home or Richard will free up a 'bay' for the whole day at the dealership if I prefer this or the weather is bad. This is excellent work on the part of Richard the sales manager and I am very grateful to him for the cosiderable time he has clearly had to spend on all this and his speedy action. It is fair to mention that Skoda took the view that, regardless of exact cause of the fault, they wanted me as a customer to be satisfied with my car. This was very pleasing to hear!!! Iain spoke to me at lenght again yesterday even though he appeared to be involved in some sort of 'equestrian show jumping event' at the time of my call. He has also spent some considerable time on this, over and above the call of duty! We both thought it would be cool to use the Skoda dealership for the work....for several reasons. anyway It is now just a case of when Iain can fit the vRS into his really hectic schedual. we are looking at a weekday around the end of the month. Thank you Richard and Skoda for agreeing to what I wanted. And thank you to Iain for working so well with me and the dealership. Back 'o' the net! Paul.

I will certainly try to do a write up with pics. Yes Tom, the Dealer seems to have been very good indeed from what I have said so far. It's all about people and relationships. Individual people in the front line make or break the reputation of the larger corporate entity. I used to be a bank cashier in London and a sales person in retail. It was true there and it is also true in teaching. People make the difference to the positive or negative experience of others. Thanks for the support gents, Paul.

May I suggest the following. Works well on my Mkll vRS 18s. Sonus Rim Bright Alloy Wheel Cleaner Black Wheel ShMitt Paul

Just a little update..... Monday I phone the Dealer as per my last post. I waited till Thursday, then phoned them back. Richard had spoken to Chris Daniels from Customer Service at Skoda UK. He was keen to get Chris to authorise any 3rd party work. In addition Richard felt this was important as he told me that even if another external attempt to correct my paint went wrong (which it wont!) I would still have some comeback with Skoda as the original marks were present at the time the car was supplied. I was rather pleased about this and I understand, from Richard's point, of view why he needs Skoda to "Come to the Party". Anyway Chris would need a full report to authorise the work, he needed to establish for Skoda Uk that the problem was a genuine problem with the paint and not just a picky customer. Richard also wanted Iain's phone number. Richard said he would telephone me within the next 24 hours. I made it clear I wanted Iain to do the work. Morris was not mentioned. I spoke to Iain after this conversation who gave me lots of advice. I told him I had contacted 3M regarding 'Ultrafina' and the possibility that it could contain 'fillers'. He had a Google while I was on the phone to him and we both concluded there was a strong possibility it does. I am still waiting for 3M to get back to me. Iain was very kind and offered to 'ride shotgun' with me should my car require an assessor to view it. Iain, really has gone the extra mile with me over this. He is practical and down to earth, exactly what anyone in this situation needs! Richard rang me at ten to six last night and left a message. I was in the pub with my work mates and it would not have been sensible of me to try and talk to him at that point! The message asked me to meet him and Morris at Morris' place tomorrow morning (Sat). This was an odd situation as Morris needed to see the new damage to my car for himself and given his relationship with the dealer he was to confirm that the car was suitable for Skoda UK to authorise a third part to correct my paint. It should be pointed out that Richard trusts Morris and he has done loads of cars for the dealership, including Lexus. There have never been any problems with his work and I was the first customer to have not been satisfied. I met Richard at Midday. The sun was shinning, but I had my laptop and photographs with me just in case. Before we met Morris there was the opportunity for me to show Richard the marks on the nearside door pillars, rear quarter and bonnet. I drove Richard to Roberts' Refinishing. He's a nice chap Richard and we do both want the samething. He needs to jump through a couple of Skoda 'hoops' but he does want to see me happy. I know he has no personal objection to me using Iain, in the interest of my happiness. I don't want to go into alot of detail about my meeting with Morris. Understandably he didn't say alot. He asked me if the car had been polished in any way since his lads had worked on it. I confirmed it hadn't even been washed. Moris took a polishing cloth to remove some smears and viewed the holograms, I pointed them out as we viewed the offside in the sunlight. I appologised to him for me bringing it to him. I know this sounds odd but, he was really really pi***d off and this seemed the only thing I could say. He didn't reply to my apology as the three of us walked from the car to his office. We viewed the photos on my laptop. It wasn't the greatest of experiences. Morris will be giving someone a massive 'telling off' on Monday. As an ex manager myself I know how it feels when you have to deal at the sharp end with another persons errors. Morris was very fair about the matter and it isnt his personal fault that someone he employs has made such a **** up. As I say it has never happened before. Morris thought it was appropriate for a detailer to have a go. He said this to Richard as we left. Richard reassured me and said he would be contacting Chris Daniels on Monday. He would get back to me as soon as he could. Cheers, Paul.

From what I remember the handbook does suggest the use of a 'higher' RON/ I have always used V Power, so can't compare. I intend to keep using it and will only switch to normal unleaded in an emergency I think that it has been argued that using the more expensive product helps to return a higher MPG, however this is offset against my heavy right foot and lots of short journeys through traffic. I'm not exactly losing sleep over it but it is working out more costly to run given my choice of fuel and the nature of the journeys I make. It is only on longer runs to my parents in St. Helens at the weekend that I return a decent figure, however, I compremise this by playing with the fun pedal. As a younger man in my G40, the St.Helens Link Road could be fun and it appears that connection in my brain has not disappeared. Anyone tried chip fat? Paul

Personally, I stick to the manufactures recommendations. I did (well just about! ) I didn't want a situation where they start to plug the engine managment thingy into something and then tell me I have driven it too hard early on, if I needed to put in a warrenty claim for something big. Not sure exactly what a dealer can tell from a laptop and the right software, in fact I could be wrong totally, but someone told me that the car can record all sorts of thing like when the ABS is used etc. Being naturally cautious I didn't hammer it until it got close to 1500 miles. I have heared the argument regarding driving it it hard from the off, but It just seemed 'wrong' to me. Just a suggestion for when you pick it up, especially if it's a black one.......get it out in direct sunlight if you can and check the paintwork. You ARE getting a great car I love mine, but if there is something you are not happy about reject the bugger! Not really what you want to hear, but I suppose my experience has altered the precautions I will take in the future when buying any new car! However, I will say again, it is a wonderful car and you will enjoy it, especially when you give it some stick later on. Oh yeah it has a great boot too. Congratulations in advance, Paul.

Thanks for that tip bahnstormer vrs, Have seen that stuff, so I will give it a go! Paul

Nothing wrong with it, only pulling your leg! Wouldn't say I was a Bon Jovi fan though! Classical if fine, have been listening to alot of this since my son was born. He incidently, seems unimpressed with the vRS and fails to understand the it can all be his one day. Now what lad wouldn't be proud to own an eighteen year old Skoda with just a few careful polishes?! Paul

Well, I can bang on about road safety issues all day, taking the high moral ground, but I'm no angel. I find it so hard to keep my foot away from the pedal sometimes. I would struggle to resist temptation if in Germany, I know I would. Would love a go on a track one day.....not sure about the choice of music though Mater. This for me is the real crime here! Perhaps we should start a thread on what track is most 'inspirational' whilst driving a vRS. At the moment I am strangely drawn to LCD Soundsystem's 'I'm losing my edge' and that new Jazzy Jeff album. Paul

Paint work excluded, I am proud to drive my Skoda. I love it and if people don't get why I bought it they clearly no nothing about cars at the moment. The looks of the car grow on me every day. This was brought into sharp focus when I saw my vRS next to a new BMW 318 owned by my mate. Sorry Ian, it looks naff! s3akr, My mate's ex bought a black Leon 1.9 Tdi on a 56 plate, well she has put a deposit on it. They both really like it and chose it over the looks of an Alfa. Nice car. Paul.

A question I had a panic over after I ordered. I was assured that the seats ( bolsters) were leather. There isnt much of a leather wiff I'll admit. Opening the door to a Ltd Ed Fabia vRS with full leather and Owning a golf lV Gti with full leather recaros certainly provideds a more reassuring pong. Paul

Surprisingly, mine seems fine, well I say that, I have had a rattle but I put this down to a sunblind on the rear offside passenger window. Perhaps, I should run some tests.....then again, perhaps I'll live with it and keep reassuring myself it's only the blind. Still it has onlky happened at certain speeds on some roads. Paul

Certainly a drama but not quite yet a crisis! Sorry another long and convoluted post. Mark's PA was very good and really wanted to help. She listened well and the action she promised to take was taken quickly. Thanks for that Julie. I didn't get to speak to Mark. Richard the sales manager called me back. Mark had been told what was going on and was apparently keeping an eye on the situation. Indeed, Mark had intended to ring me this week to check if I was happy or not. Richard was genuinely concerned about me being not happy. He spent considerable time trying to help me and I am grateful. Firstly, he asked me if I had noted the defects in the paint right away or if I had spotted them later on. I explained how I had seen some flaws but had intended to let them pass, taking the view that my car didn't need another polish until Iain detailed it for me. However, the full "horror" (in a Joseph Conrad stylee!) of the problem had not become apparent until the weekend: more of this later in the post. Richard explained that he would be going back to Morris as the correction had not been done to my satisfaction. Morris would also no doubt want to see the fresh holograms. I have no issue with this postmortem and anyone is free to come and have a gander. To coin a popular song title from the 'hit parade'.....'The Marks Don't Lie'. Incidently, as an aside to this, by chance a 56 reg Octavia Tdi parked in our school carpark today. It doesn't belong to a member of staff, but it was supplied by Michell Skoda and it had Black Magic Paint. I took the opportunity to inspect it. No, not a hologram in sight, a few swirls, but the paint was fine. I took a couple of pics of it to compare to mine if I need to. Hope the owner doesn't mind. Our school is an Arts College and sitting beside the car in a van were some stage techicians, supplying lighting rigs etc. I felt I had to explain what I was doing and two of the guys went to look at my car parked nearby. by chance one had worked for Ford........spraying paint! He clocked the holograms, commented on how bad they are, "Christ look they are all over the front wing too!" (Made me feel better!) and then correctly diagnosed the cause. I took more pictures on my N95, can't be bothered to post them, bad enough having to look at the car every bloody day! Sorry I digress. Anyway Richard was keen to have me as a happy customer and also keen to get Skoda UK involved. He had contacted them (well, they could help with costs). Richard told me that he had spoken to a warranty assessor who thought, because Bentley are a part of VW, he could get my car into Bentley's "White Light Room". This would expose all the flaws it seems. Indeed a number of Bently workers, who can gain VW discounts have put their Skodas into it. Well, can't blame em really. As much as I am fascinated by all this it could be this is the dealership looking to see if Skoda UK will fit the bill, if it could be established I have dodgy factory paintwork and I sort of don't see how this will help resolve the faults that can clearly be seen now. Another opperative would then be having a go at my paint with no assurance it will be right at the end of it. It comes down to who does it and how much care I know they will invest........... ...........time for Iain Brown to step forward and back to a reason the paint defects perhaps did not show right away. If Morris used any 'fillers', which don't hang around to long in the rain we have been getting, then this could mean spotting the holgram's full glory didn't occur till later. However, I have no evidence to suggest Morris did use fillers as he was asked not to in writing (via the dealer) and I do not doubt Morris' intention to restore my car back to perfect. They tried, it went wrong. I would prefer to think it was the lighting conditions, which have for periods been excellent here on Wirral. Iain has talked to me twice on the phone today for some considerable time. He had viewed the photos too. Iain is confident he can sort this and I am confident that he can do it. Iain explained exactly how he would go about it and the fact that he understood how careful he needed to be. The thing with Iain is that, talking to him, you get the odd feeling he has convinced himself that the car he is going to work on is actually his own car...which is nice. This is the only way I can quantify his passion and desire to help me. Iain has allowed me to have some feeling of control, well other than my excellent conversation with Trading Standards today. They were more than willing to check the whole matter out if I needed, but this would be highly impropper at this stage and counterproductive. I have asked Richard if he will consider allowing Iain to sort the car. In principal, he has no issue with this but I think, (understanably protecting the dealership's financial position) he wants Skoda UK to become aquainted with the details. The might right it off to some customer retention/goodwill account or something. Not my issue. Richard, is going to let me know tomorrow. I could have only one possible concern, raised by my Father and Richard: once I go third party, I have no comeback. Will check this all out tomorrow. However, and this is the key factor in all of this......I have spent time with Iain, I have seen his work and he is outstanding! Hence, my trust needs to go to what I know, rather to what I am told and to what I have no experience of. If Skoda have another crack there are no guarantees. I just want it right. When I stand back from this and look at how the dealership has treated me......I can't really complain. Well other than the obvious: selling me a duff car (they probably didn't notice it to be fair) and utterly cocking up the correction of the original Holograms. No they have tried to help and I thank them for this. However, I have reached a point where the best of intentions has failled to provide me with the car I spent my hard earned cash on. Thanks Iain for all your help today. No pressure on this one then mate One last thing, all this detailed posting is affecting my life/work balance a bit. So I am sorry if I haven't been posting on other threads where others have important issues. I did write a long reply to your car dent issue Mater, but the computer at work logged me out and I lost it TWICE. Surffice it to say that type of thing really gets my back up! Paul.