bluckaneyr

I bought my Skoda Fabia Combi from Pat O'Neill in January 2011 and Annesley Williams have done all the service work on the car since then. I took the car in for a full service last week and got a courtesy car for the day. However, shortly before I was due to collect my own car again, Sarah from the Services Desk rang to tell me that the mechanic was not happy with the sound of the car when he test drove it at the end of the service and suspected that there just might be an issue with the timing chain. Sarah suggested I leave the car overnight and the mechanics would test it again in the morning when it would have cooled down. I could retain the courtesy car in the interim. The next morning confirmed the timing chain required replacement and of course not doing so could lead to major engine damage at some stage. Sarah explained that the cost of the replacement kit and the labour would be 700 euro. However given I had all servicing done at Annesley Williams, the garage were now going to ask Skoda Ireland to offer a goodwill payment against my bill. Sarah came back later to tell me that Skoda Ireland had agreed to the following. 1) They would pay 100% of the cost of the kit. 2) Skoda Ireland would pay 70% of the labour cost. That meant my bill was not the original 700 euro BUT was now 180 euro instead. Now in the interim I had researched the Briscoda site and had seen goodwill payments for similar issues ranging from 35 to 50%. My offer was significantly better than anything I had seen others get, so I assure you I jumped at this offer, thank you very much... I collected my car last night and am delighted that the issue that I hadn't known about has been put right at such a discounted cost. I can only thank the mechanic that detected timing chain problem while servicing the car. Would an independent garage have had the experience and specialist knowledge to do so? I wonder! Thanks also to Sarah, to Ken and to Stephen from the Service team for representing me so effectively to Skoda Ireland and for obtaining such a large goodwill gesture. Stephen, Ken and Sarah all pointed out that the excellent goodwill payment Skoda Ireland had made in my case was based on my buying the car at a main dealer and going back to the dealer for ALL SERVICING AS SCHEDULED. Each appeal is judged on its own merits by Skoda Ireland and my record had been the key to the goodwill package I had been given. I will be going back to Pat O'Neill at Annesley Willliams for a new car next year, as everything I have experienced at Annesley Williams has been totally positive and that trust level is so valuable and reassuring. Finally I recommend everyone to take your car back to your Skoda dealer for routine servicing to get the benefit of the knowledge and specialist experience of the best Skoda mechanics. In my case a routine service resulted in a vital issue being accurately diagnosed and that could have saved me from major engine damage. You might save a small amount by going elsewhere for you servicing, but you are not getting the same quality of service and if something turns up like I experienced, you will be in a far weaker position indeed. Many thanks again to Sarah, to Ken, to Stephen and that very sharp mechanic at Annesley Williams and therefore I'll be talking to Pat O'Neill at Annesley Williams next year about my new car..

lol wrote- It is a bit far for you in Dublin to go up to the six counties to buy fuel. It always use to amuse me have Loyalist taxi drivers going to buy fuel in the South, even filling barrels with the cheaper Diesel. Thanks for the response, lol. Any day now fuel will be as plentiful as water around here. Then it will be all about bigger cars and more speed....... otherwise we will be up to our knees in fuel. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0126/1224310758814.html http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Natural-Gas-find-in-Leitrim-hills-could-be-worth-up-to-55billion-138472574.html

Many thanks to Aubrey, BigV, Can, lol, gjlb and Estate Man for your informative responses. Here in Ireland I don't think we get the benefit of a 10% margin of forgiveness. We seem to get a flat margin of 3km/p/hr, so you could be equally at risk going at either 33 km per hr in a 30 limit or going over 103 km/per/hr where the limit is 100. As for the comments on the level of taxation that has been introduced onto our petrol prices, I fear there's worse to come. The government know the motorist is a sitting duck target for mugging.

I have noticed that there is always a difference between the speed information I'm getting from my Skoda Fabia Combi speedometer and the readings from my Garmin Nuvi 1490. Typical examples would be- 1) Fabia speedo - 80 km/p/hr - Garmin 77 km/p/hr 2) Fabia speedo - 120 km/p/hr - Garmin 116 km/p/hr. Can anyone advise on which information is the most accurate, please.

Took my Fabia back to Annesley Williams for its first service, which came free as part of the Skoda 3 yr free service scheme. Pat O'Neill made all the arrangements and I had a choice of either A)Arriving at 9am for an immediate service and waiting for my car or else B)Dropping off the car, leaving it there and collecting a courtesy replacement car. I went for option A. The service took 90 minutes and I spent that time seated in a comfortable waiting area set up with free coffee or tea, reading material and television. When the car was ready, I was delighted to see it not only had been serviced but was also all shiny and polished too. I also got an insulated Skoda mug and a Skoda windscreen scraper. With Annesley Williams, it's the little things that make the difference. Well done Annesley Williams, the service department and to Pat O'Neill.

Thanks for your answers. The flickering light I got was the yellow one, following which I added the extra Litre of oil. Obviously the red warning light must be triggered by a drop in oil pressure, not good news if that happens. But do you know what actually triggers the more common yellow light? If it's not related to oil pressure, there must surely be a wired sensor somewhere in the system that picks up a drop in the level of oil. Do you know where that sensor is?

My Fabia 1.2 TSI is now 9 months old and has just under 11,000km on the clock. I have checked the oil with the dipstick occasionally and it seemed not to be going down that much, if any. However, a few days ago when nearing home I noticed the yellow coloured oil warning light flick on and off a few times, so I drove on about 3 km to the nearby Skoda garage and there I added 1L of Gulf GVX 5w-30 fully synthetic engine oil, as recommended for the car. After adding the litre, the oil level is now a little over half way up the marked section of the dip-stick again. I'm due a service in 3 months and I'm going to monitor the oil level more regularly now, as I don't want to rely on warning lights! Now perhaps someone could tell me what actually triggers the flicker of the yellow warning light in the Fabia, does the sensor pick up a drop in the actual level (height) of the oil in the system or is it picking up a drop in the pressure (which I presume is much more serious). Also, is there a "red" version of the warning light also?

I bought a new Skoda Fabia Combi from Annesley Williams in Dublin and was delighted with it until, with less than 3,000 km on the clock, I was rear-ended by a taxi driver. The other party accepted liability and after much haggling with the other insurance company involved, I was given choice of repairer. I went back to Annesley Williams and got them to do all the repair work. My original salesman, Pat O'Neill coordinated everything for me and issued me with a courtesy car. I collected the Fabia again a week ago, it's as new and it looks and drives perfectly. Now it would be far better not to have been rear-ended at all, of course and I do have a fair share of pain still as a result, but Annesley Williams did make my situation more bearable on the car front at least. By the way, I was contacted by a customer research agency since then, who wanted to know if I was satisfied or dissatisfied with the service I received from Annesley Williams. I had no difficulty in saying I was very happy and isn't it nice to know Annesley Williams are interested in getting feedback from customers of their service department. Full marks to Annesley Williams and to Pat in particular.

I can now vouch for the Service Dept at Annesley Williams, it's excellent. Now my Skoda Fabia Combi, bought from Annesley Williams, was only 2 months old when I was rear-ended. I was naturally very upset, even though the other party accepted liability and gave me my choice of repairer. I then chose Annesley Williams to do all the work for me. I was given a courtesy car and when I collected my Fabia Combi again, I was delighted with the quality of the repair. It was as new. My original salesman, Pat O'Neill, handled all the arrangements for me and his communication with me throughout was excellent. Very pleased I bought from Annesley Williams and that I went back there for repairs.

Just to update you on the saga of my Fabia Combi TSI 1.2, originally ordered last August. Since the Irish Government extended the Scrappage Scheme until 30 June 2011, I opted not to collect the car in late December 2010, but collected it on January 6th 2011 instead. I am very pleased with my Fabia so far and I was looked after very well by Annesley Motors and by salesman Pat O'Neill in particular. Thanks to those who offered advice throughout, particularly to the Irish members who sent me private messages on the choice of dealer. I think I made the right decision in opting for Annesley Motors in the end and I found Pat O'Neill particularly helpful.

Last week I collected my new Skoda from Annesley Williams and can fully recommend this garage. Now before I made up my mind, I considered other garages much nearer to where I live, but am delighted that I opted for Annesley Williams because I got top-class service and a great deal. My salesman was Pat O'Neill, who is a gentleman. Pat listens to the customer and doesn't talk down to you. He knows the Skoda range very well and gives very solid advice. Pat kept in touch with me at all stages, always returns calls and I felt very reassured that he was looking after my interests throughout. On my first visit, Pat O'Neill showed me the impressive workshop service facilities. Annesley Williams seem to take customer relations very seriously and when I was collecting the car, I was introduced to Eugene O'Donnell, the Customer Service Manager, who wanted to hear if I had suggestions about how the service offered by Annesley Williams can be improved further. Annesley Williams clearly have no intention of resting on their laurels. Because of the positive experience I have had and the excellent deal I got, I will be going back to Pat O'Neill and Annesley Williams for my next car and for all my services.

Thanks Billy. Thanks also to the Irish Briskoda members who PM'ed me privately with many helpful suggestions. Your advice and information is appreciated. As a result I have spoken to Paul Connolly of Annesley Williams and appointed Paul to see the transaction to conclusion. As to the advice that I should obtain written commitment from Skoda Ireland that I won't suffer any financial consequences should Skoda fail to deliver the car in time for the scrappage deadline, I am afraid I must so far rely, not on a guarantee, but on their expressions of belief and hope that the car will arrive by 17th December or thereabouts. I will update on the outcome.

Just when I thought things were under control with my long-awaited Fabia - my Skoda dealer goes out of business!!!! Today I learned that, having ordered my new Fabia Combi on Aug 3rd, got a build week of Week 44, which became Week 46 and now Week 48, now I find that my garage, Phoenix Motors of Dublin, have lost the Skoda Dealership and my salesman is out of a job. I have been referred to Skoda Ireland, who tell me that the car WILL be build in week 48. They have also committed themselves to having it delivered to me in mid December, JUST in time for availing of the Irish scrappage scheme. If Skoda Ireland's latest commitment to me is honoured, my car will have taken 19 weeks from the order day to delivery. I raised the matter of the compensation scheme operated by Skoda UK for orders suffering long delays in delivery. Unfortunately Skoda Ireland say that no such scheme is operating here in The Republic of Ireland. As for my ongoing concerns about not meeting the scrappage deadline, I got oral promises from Skoda Ireland - but if they fail to meet the deadline and I can't avail of the 1,500 euro scrappage deal, what will be my situation? Since my original garage, Phoenix Motors is no longer an option, I must now select another dealer in Dublin and nominate them to Skoda Ireland as being the garage to receive my new car and conclude the deal with. I must select between Autostation and Annesley Williams. Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks.

Checked back with garage again today, September 21st to hear that the "build week" for my Fabia Combi has slipped back from Week 44 to Week 46. Any more slippage in the "Build Week" or delay in shipping/delivery could threaten the deadline for the scrappage scheme. On the other hand, the head of sales at the garage remains confident it will work out. I hope he's right as there is the matter of 1,500 euro hanging on it.

Skoda need to quickly come up with a system of loading the cars promptly in Emden. How daft is it to allow cars to sit quayside for weeks and at the same time to have Skoda UK Customer Services trying to deal with justifiable customer complaints and equally justifiable compensation claims based on those delays. Skoda need to get to Emden and sort out their loading and shipping procedures. Surely they know the cost of customer alienation. I hope your patience is not tested any further and that your car arrives very soon.