Ray Walker

It seems naive to assume that Skoda UK are not aware of this site, and are not monitoring it, so why have they not made a definitive statement as to the position? On the basis of the information I was given all UK cars not already built will come with folding mirrors but others seem to have been given different information. An obvious course of action is a letter to the dealer pointing out that it is believed that some Elegances have been delivered without electric folding mirrors so that you wish to emphasise that fitment is essential to the performanvce of your contract. Now, suppoing the dealer responds that he is sorry but your car will come without the mirrors what do you do then? If you are happy, under that circumstance to cancel the contract writing might be the best thing to do. If not, saying nothing and seeing what gets delivered might be best. There is a good chance that your car will come as ordered and you will be content. If not, you are in a stronger legal position. Incidently, there seems to be an assumption that the Skoda offer represents their dealers' legal liability. Time may tell, but I think the offer probably falls well short of that.

I have a feeling that this may not be the end of this matter. If you are completely satisfied I am pleased for you. If not, what ever you decide to do I suggest that you consider putting in writing that you are not satisfied with the position and you accept the offer under protest and without prejudice to your right to seek further compensation. You might also wish to put the facts in your case to [email protected]. That is Consumer Direct South East. If Skoda get away with an inadequate offer in this case others will also suffer in future.

Yes, GroundHog, that is my present intention. I am awaiting a letter from the dealer setting out his proposals. I think he is going to want the Octavia back as soon as practicable but what I might be prepared to accept in the interim depends on how quickly a new car can be obtained. It is claimed the problem was caused by the factory so it seems reasonable to expect Skoda to make an early slot to build a replacement.

I think you can be confident that will get a tyre on your spare wheel! Presumably £50 extra? Certainly I did. However, it will be a steel wheel, not a matching alloy and you will not get the emergency repair kit. Yes, you are correct, Touchscreen Bolero 6CD radio is standard on the SE and Elegance according to the brochure and my Elegance certainly came with that . Just the electric folding mirrors missing! I am told that all UK Elegances coming out of the factory are now being fitted with them again, just a mistake affecting the unfortunate few.

I received a telephone call from Skoda Customer Services this morning. I was told that Skoda had now arrived at a policy, although I gathered that it might vary according to the circumstances. I was offered £180, presumably in cash, or I could return the car and another would be manufactured with folding mirrors. In the meantime the dealer would provide a courtesy car. I enquired what had gone wrong and was told the factory had not told Skoda UK about the manufacturing changes. Where a customer opts to replace the car the costs will be borne by the factory.

When talking to Skoda Customer Services I pressed them to say why folding mirrors could not be fitted retrospectively to my Elegance. They said that the wiring loom and electronics were different. Most mass production cars used to be fitted with a standard loom with wires for any features not fitted just folded back and I am doubtful about a car where all the ECUs cannot easily be changed. Whilst mentally questioning the the response a thought did occur to me. Manufacturers now rely increasingly on selling extras where profit margins are substantial. They would therefore wish to discourage purchasers from retro fitting OEM extras at a much lower cost. Are they deliberately making retrofitting more difficult or are they just claiming that it is to try to support factory fitted sales? A Skoda engineer probably knows the answer.

Many thanks for that update. I have not had a response to my letter of rejection yet, but it was only sent yesterday. The only unfortunate thing is that I Autoglymed mine before I realized the omission!

The fact that folding wing mirrors are no longer standard on the Elegance does not necessarily mean they are not available on the Elegance. As of last night the Skoda web site was still showing the January 2010 specification and price list for the new Octavia with folding mirrors as standard. Closing that and looking instead at Octavia Standard and optional features shows as an optional feature priced at £565 "Electric memory driver seat and electrically adjustable heated and foldable mirrors with auto dimming and memory function". There are other changes such as front fog lamps which now seem standard on all models of Octavia but the website is in such chaos that I could not check on headlight washers etc. The contract is with the dealer, not Skoda, so I have now written to the dealer rejecting the car as not in accordance with the specification they had contracted to supply and requesting the supply of a car with the seat function but otherwise to the same specification. Of course, I expect to pay no more and to retain the use of the existing car, or an equivalent, until the new car is provided. Hard on a perfectly decent dealer but I assume all the costs will eventually fall on Skoda. I have also lodged a complaint about Skoda's conduct with www.consumerdirect.gov.uk. I am not a solicitor but I am reasonably familiar with the law of contract. If I had accepted a tank of petrol in recompense for the folding wing mirrors that I really valued I think I would first check that folding wing mirrors are currently available on the Elegance with the above package. Then talk to the dealer as soon as possible to see if he is prepared to co-operate and rescind the deal. If not, I would visit Citizens' Advice in the first instance, unless I knew a friendly solicitor. I would point out that I had been induced to enter into an unfair arrangement by being given misleading and incomplete information, albeit possibly in good faith. I would enquire what the chances are of getting it set aside opening the possibility of arriving at a fairer settlement. That is what I would do. It is not advice.