Silver LittleBigFoot

So after all that rigmarole I got the dealer to pick up my Yeti and re-procure these Fender Extenders and re-affix them. I was travelling much of May and a part of June so all this got done while I was away. When I got back, to my irritation I still found that there was a minor gap in the installation! As you can imagine I was livid and blasted the living daylights out of my Dealer Workshop chaps. They apologised most profusely, came running, drove the Yeti away again and finally returned it after 2 days with the fender extenders re-fitted yet again. Now, finally, it looks like a proper job done. They know very well that if these fall off again, they are the ones that will be liable, because while Im always fair in giving them plenty of time and a long rope, I am equally demanding as their customer and they know that they can't get away with a laissez faire attitude, with me. Anyway Im now hoping for long service from these fender extenders! So here are the pics of the defective second fitment which was done between Mid-May and early June when I was away on work. And the final re-fitment which happened only the day before yesterday.

Thank you so much The inputs are really helpful. I m going to create a ruckus until I receive the service that my Yeti deserves. And yes, Im not going to pay anything to the dealer for this until I am 100% satisfied that the arch extensions don't fall off again!

So the second "weak" section of the fender extender fell off somewhere on my 6 kilometre commute to office this morning. As I said, my dealer is making arrangements for a replacement of these parts and I have not yet paid the bill anyway. I will give them your feedback about properly prepping the surface etc so as to ensure the urethane bonding works. Lets hope Round 2 is more successful than Round 1 and lets also hope the parts come soon from Skoda.

Yes. I'll take your point. I ve already raised it with the dealer and am expecting resolution soon. Saying that, it is a fact that these glues which work perfectly well in the relatively temperate climatic conditions of Europe, sometimes fail here in India owing to excessively harsh heat, sunlight and dusty conditions. Lets see what the dealer does. Will keep the forum posted.

Ha Ha! So I counted my blighted chickens too soon. Today, almost exactly a week/ten days since these were fitted, while I was driving around town somewhere, one of the pieces has fallen off. I have no idea where. So I have of course raised it with the dealership, with whom I have a good relationship and I am awaiting resolution. Frankly the Glue that is supplied with these fender extenders isn't of that great quality - especially given the harsh, hot and dusty conditions of India. Anyway, it is up to the dealership to figure out a solution - and happily I haven't yet paid for the part nor the installation either, so in some sense, I am safe until they create a solution for me, as one of their "valued customers"!

This is a common problem for new Yeti Owners. In India where we usually have "help" to clean the vehicle of dust and muck, the "car cleaner" attendant always makes this mistake and consequently the wiper arms rub off a little paint from the rear lip of the bonnet. Most irritating.

So what Ive now done additionally is have these Wheel Arch Extenders installed. These are an OEM Skoda Product. Ordered with Vinayak Skoda here in Bangalore, India, who in turn ordered them from Skoda India HQ in Aurangabad, who then brought them in from Skoda Czechoslovakia and had them sent in to my dealer along with the special glue as well. While I was travelling the whole of last week, the vehicle was picked up from home and these were fitted nicely on the arches. The total cost, including the product, the fitment, pick and drop service etc came to the equivalent of 18500 Rupees which is about 185 Pounds. Not bad at all, considering! They do look good, seem nice and solid and I do sincerely hope that they last and give me good service against minor dings and scratches etc!

My Yeti 4x4 Elegance 2 Litre TDi 103KW (140BHP) Manual Transmission vehicle is 4.5 years old now. So far it is going strong. I ve changed the original battery around 9 months ago. I ve changed the OEM Goodyear Excellence Tyres which were 215/60/16 size, to one size up - I ve got Falken Wildpeak HT01 Tyres on now and the size is 215/65/16. This results in a 5mm difference in sidewall height which help us, especially with our bad roads here. Additionally, I ve added in a set of 4 Rogerab suspension dampers, to help further with the ride quality so that the vehicle feels much more comfortable over pot holes and speed breaker bumps. In India owing to crazy traffic, the propensity to suffer dings and scratches on the wheel arches is very high. So far, I ve been relatively safe except for minor ones. I ve seen these Wider Fender Arch extensions on SuperSkoda and 179 Euro + 40 Euro shipping to India. This equals around 15-16000 Rupees (our currency) I went to my local Skoda Service Centre last week and asked them too. Apparently they have these available (Original Skoda ones) and are happy to fit them for me. The cost differential is not too much, Around 20% more when compared to SuperSkoda, including fitting, and I think this is well worth the investment, especially if they are Skoda Original parts and if they can be fitted by the proper Skoda Service Centre. Ive ordered these fender arch extensions and am looking forward to getting them onto my Yeti.

I have a silver Yeti with Gobi Interiors. These are the only ones sold in India on account of our countrymen's apparent fondness for beige. Personally I would have preferred Onyx as it suits a silver or white car much better. Gobi is tough to maintain as I am finding out, especially after taking my dogs out in the yeti and despite all sorts of precautions like a cloth over the seats, rubber mats in the boot etc. one really has to take a lot of care of these beige interiors and I use these Armorall leather wipes on them each week to keep the seats clean, supple and nice smelling. I assume I would have done the same with Onyx had I had these, but overall I would say beige shows up dirt and dust a lot more!