Hi All,

New to the forum, I hope that some fellow forum members may be able to advise...

I own a skoda superb L&K, 07 plate - what I thought to be a good and reliable car..I have serviced it regularly. Mileage is 41K as I use the car for work.

I had a repair to power steering done in August, the repair was done under warranty - it was deemed a temporary repair, that would last 6-7 months...that was what I was told. I do not know what exactly was repaired, as it was done under warranty they do not provide detail!

Went on hols for 2 weeks, came back, and then had an accident, due to my power steering failing completely - on turning, the wheel locked and would not return. I was going 5-10 pmh - I crashed into an island because the car would not stop immediately, causing approx 3K damage.

I took the car back to the garage (RAC) and the dealer still has the car.

It has supposedly been assessed by Skoda, but - they still can't say whether the accident happened as a result of the temporary repair being rubbish, or whether some other cause..I can't believe that it would take 2 weeks to assess?

If there is anyone out there that has suffered a similar problem, any advice on how to deal with this situation would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance..

Wow - sounds like you had a lucky one there!

Not aware of any problems like this, but I'm sure some of the longer standing forum members can let us know if there is. Lummox?

I'd certainly want to know exactly what the "repair" was!

What engine do you have?

Make sure you keep us updated on developments and good luck.

cheers:thumbup:

Why was the repair only temporary - I would not have accepted this and insisted that the repair was carried out properly and fully - or have I missed something. Please keep us posted on your outcome eventually.

regards

john

Skoda strikes again, you won't get them to hold their hand up mate, it's been proven they will wiggle at every opp, best bet is to get your insurance company to send an assessor to view the car and see if he thinks the failure caused the accident, but again there's not a lot to see cos the rack is hidden in the bulkhead, but it looks like the long road of suing Skoda for you right now, but what you have to prove is, is if Skoda or their dealer are to blame, sounds like the rack snapped or a steering arm went south from what you say, good luck getting a resolution to it.

Very scary, golden rules, do not mess with steering or brakes they can save your life and it seems to me you had a very very lucky escape!!:eek:

Establishing cause and effect may not be that difficult. Why was there a need to effect a repair on the steering in a car so young? Following the temporary repair it clearly failed almost costing you your life.

I would not hesitate to send a letter by recorded delivery to Skoda UK and also advise them you are paying for an AA assessment as to probable cause. You may also be entitled to a free legal consultation as part pf your household insurance. A letter from a solicitor should make them sit up and take notice.

Good luck

Thanks to all who have posted back..

Skoda say that they may need to send parts to Czech for analysis, so this could go on months, worst case scenario - Skoda are saying that a temporary hose was fitted to the power steering so not sure how this is going to go...

Either way, grief and hassle on top of nearly losing my life.

I have looked after the car well, servicing regularly - this happened out of the blue, after the repair in August. Not sure whether the repair was bad, or whether the car had a problem all along..

I will post back with any useful info..

Get the car assessed before Skoda start taking things away, once they have them they can say anything later.

This is terrible to read and i wish you luck

Get the car assessed before Skoda start taking things away, once they have them they can say anything later.

Well, I have been told I am not 'allowed' to get the car indepently assessed, until Skoda UK check it out with their own assessor - the dealer is stating this, even though Skoda UK said it would be fine!

No one I have spoken to can believe this situation. It is truly amazing that to get to the route of this problem may take months.

Skoda UK did say the the 'temp repair' was a temporary hose fitted to the power steering (the dealer did not tell me this!!) - it was a pin size hole in the hose supposedly causing the original problem with the power steering. But, supposedly, the dealer also fitted a new pump (again not aware of this!) - oh, and they also thought it was the rack...?!

Very bad and frustrating situation.

Thanks again for the good luck messages too - I am trawling through the flippin' internet to see if there has been anyone in a similar situation with a dealer/Skoda...

http://briskoda.net/octavia-ii/major-fault-engine-destruction-possibly-manufacturing-part-fault-please-read/81579/

Try that if you need a good read.

Thanks for the link Supurbia - very interesting.

Still waiting for some sort of report - I shall post back with an update as soon as I get an update!

I get a bit p'd off when some garages get smart and will not hand over any information on what they have done to fix a failure during the warranty period. They just don't get it that they are working on your property and that you will probably continue to own it after the warranty period, we can't complain about the non-return of any replaced parts as clearly they then become the property of the warranty company and the fitted parts become your property. I just can't believe that a temporary repair would have been carried out - without an explanation of why this was in the interests of both parties - and an explanation as to when the correct repair would take place - that's a bit worrying. The crazy thing is that if the car is still under the initial new car warranty period, then all repair work will have been documented and as such is normally available on request from any of that manufacturer's service point - well it was in the case of my daughter's Ibiza - no cover up attempted at all!

I am incredulous and speechless that for such a vital component was given a temporary repair with the agreement of Skoda Uk and the Dealership. What would the situation have been if the accident had happened on the Motorway at 70 MPH.......and with a possible loss of life as a result :eek: Finally why accept a repair under warranty that was deemed to last for 6 to 7 months or am I missing something?:confused: I certainly would not have accepted a repair of this nature on such a critical system of the vehicle be it under warranty or not.:(

I am incredulous and speechless that for such a vital component was given a temporary repair with the agreement of Skoda Uk and the Dealership. What would the situation have been if the accident had happened on the Motorway at 70 MPH.......and with a possible loss of life as a result :eek: Finally why accept a repair under warranty that was deemed to last for 6 to 7 months or am I missing something?:confused: I certainly would not have accepted a repair of this nature on such a critical system of the vehicle be it under warranty or not.:(

It's because they never stock any parts, ime dealing with Skoda is like buying a DFS sofa, you pay and wait and wait for it to be built and then shipped and finally delivered, I still haven't had a call to say my paid for pinch bolt is in yet, even though I got one from VW on the day.

Another good luck message from me, hope it all works out for you. Looks like you're in for the long haul!

I'm interested about the fact that they won't let you have an independent assessment done... surely as it's your property you have an entitlement to do so?

Additionally if you have had the vehicle for more than six months it's technically your responsibility to prove them at fault; not the other way around.

I would be asking for a brand new car at no cost to you, as of today no more having to wait on tom **** or harry making up there minds, I think that if this went to court thats what you would get plus compo

I would be asking for a brand new car at no cost to you, as of today no more having to wait on tom **** or harry making up there minds, I think that if this went to court thats what you would get plus compo

IMHO I'll have to disagree with that - they're not legally obliged to give a new car, just a repair. They effectively have to put the customer back in the position they were in before the "repair" took place. That's if it even gets to court... SUK, as most other companies, will probably settle out of court.

Agreed about the compensation though, and of course there's no harm in asking

The repair must be completed within as reasonable time though and not cause you significant inconvenience!...and this sounds like it could drag! Have they given you a courtesy car at least??

When a mobile phone I had went wrong, it went away for repair. It came back after 14 days and when I got home, the same fault occured. I took it back, and was told it had to go away again. Off it went, and I contacted Trading Standards. As soon as I mentioned TS to the network, I was offered a free upgrade to any handset in the range due to the inconvenience caused. Result

When a mobile phone I had went wrong, it went away for repair. It came back after 14 days and when I got home, the same fault occured. I took it back, and was told it had to go away again. Off it went, and I contacted Trading Standards. As soon as I mentioned TS to the network, I was offered a free upgrade to any handset in the range due to the inconvenience caused. Result

Hm, TS threats don't scare everyone. The majority of firms wait to see if there's any contact from them first before acting.

I suppose mobile phone networks (as with supermarkets and I guess banks/credit cards in this climate) are more prone to responding to this threat as they don't want to loose custom. Plus an "upgrade" in real terms only gains them money

I don't think Skoda will be scared by trading standards unless they actually write them a letter.

BTW, Kaystar - any updates on this? How's the battle going?

Hi all - referred to the hands of my solicitor! so will update when poss....

Hi all - referred to the hands of my solicitor! so will update when poss....

Brave move! It's all or nothing now, baby!

All the best of luck, hope it works out well for you! Looking forward to the updates

Any update and what is happening?

The car has been repaired by another dealer, and so I hope to have my car back shortly - I am resigned to the fact that this is going to take some time to sort out legally, but I am determined to see this through to the end. The dealer is test driving the car regarding steering etc, so I will update shortly... in any case, it is clear that a temporary repair should never have been carried out to steering, of all things.

I will update shortly!