Skoda Warranty

[usd]

Hi Guys

New to this site and to Skoda cars.

Has anyone had trouble getting work done under the new car warranty?

I have an Octavia estate 1.9tdi, six months old and last week I was travelling along at about 60 when there was a lot of banging and noise from underneath. On investgation I found that the plastic n/s protection tray had dropped from the floor pan and disintegrated.

I took the car into my dealer who inspected it and said that because the fixing bolts were still in place then the tray must have suffered a high impact damage under the car and said this was not covered. Despite me pointing out that the point of the tray is to protect the underside and should be able to withstand something hitting it.

But they were adament that it was not covered. Strangely enough the tech.said he had never seen one break before, which makes me wonder if mine was faulty to start off.

I then took my complaint to Skoda customer service who took the same view as dealer and thus I am no further forward with getting this resolved unless I pay for it myself.

Quiite frankly I am beginning to wish I had never bought the car given that this is the 4th time I have had a problem and had to take it to the dealer in six months.

Given this record Skoda have failed in this case to manufacture this happy driver

[moley]

The warranty for your car covers manufacturing defects, the dealer has checked the car and the securing screws are in place, so as far as he is concerned whatever caused the damage was not a manufacturing defect. If a stone went through the radiator the dealer wouldn't replace it under warranty.

I have had three Skodas from three different dealers and any warranty issues have been faily minor and all three dealers have rectified them without a quible. Thats about 130000 miles of driving in total.

[Tomo1971]

Sorry to hear your trouble USD but Im with the dealer here, thats basically accident damage. You had an accident with a moving object and damage resulted. Even if you could prove that the object was tiny and you were at a slow speed, proving that the resulting damage was not acceptable would be even harder.

What are the other 3 issues you have had?

Steve

[cheezemonkhai]

There could have been a manufacturing defect in the plastic which meant a stress crack developed in in and due to the force from travelling at speed it broke.

What I would say is that if the car was under 6 months old it would have been up to the supplying dealer to prove it was not at fault, but after 6 months it is up to the consumer to show it was.

I don't personally think you'll get very far here and I think your best bet might be to see what the dealer will do on a discount off a new one.

The plastic ones can be obtained from breakers yards, and to be ho;nest are more to protect from road spray and provide aerodynamics.

If you want impact protection you probably need a metal undertray. Skoda did one for the MK I, ,but I'm not sure if they do for the MK II.

[usd]

Thanx for the replies.

I forgot to add that even when I suggested to Skoda CS that as it was difficult for either party to prove if it was defective or if it had been broken by a 'high impact damage' that we share the cost 50/50. something that Skoda were not interested in. The line is that what the tech says is correct and thats all they are interested in.

Tomo, the other problems were a knocking noise from the front wheels when the car reversed, which they changed a coouple of rods back in Jan, but that has now returned intermittently and the engine cutting out for no reason when driving away from a standing start, which can be quite scarey when turning accross a junction and it cuts out in the middle of the road. They have not been able to offer a solution to that problem because it doesn't show up on the computer.

All in all a most disappointing car and customer service.

Will not buy another.

[scoobynut]

remove the bolts and take it to another dealer....:holmes:

[usd]

thanx Scooby thought of that but it is logged on Skodas system as a complaint so I dont think Ill get away with it

[Tomo1971]

Tomo, the other problems were a knocking noise from the front wheels when the car reversed, which they changed a coouple of rods back in Jan, but that has now returned intermittently and the engine cutting out for no reason when driving away from a standing start, which can be quite scarey when turning accross a junction and it cuts out in the middle of the road. They have not been able to offer a solution to that problem because it doesn't show up on the computer.

All in all a most disappointing car and customer service.

Will not buy another.

Cant really defend the dealer on the other issues but would suggest that you start a new thread in the right section, describing in full both faults and what work has been done to cure them so far.

There are bad (or maybe not so good) cars in every range, as a whole Skodas do seem to be more reliable than others but you could by another car and get even worse problems.

A dealer change may help too, get a second opinion.

Steve

[riph72]

Something else worth considering; assuming for a moment that the tray does offer some protection and it was some object collision that did damage the tray... imagine what damage might have occured if the tray hadn't done it's job?

You might not like the fact that Skoda say this isn't covered by warranty, but what if something much more expensive had been damaged and that hadn't been covered by warranty either?

Given the situation, I'd be thankful you're just short of a protective tray

[riph72]

Despite me pointing out that the point of the tray is to protect the underside and should be able to withstand something hitting it.

Have you thought that maybe the tray is designed to absorb an impact by self-destructing? If the tray had been strong enough to remain intact during impact, the odds are it would have transferred more force to it's points of attachment?

Just something else to think about!

[patrolman]

the plastic under tray is'nt to protect the under side of the car from impact ,its there to help air flow through the engine bay, reduce noise, stop dirt ,water stones entering the engine bay, in the course of my work i must see this once twice a week , caused by not re fitted corectley or grounded out

[AwesomeSarah]

Hi

As has been said , that tray is not to protect the engine from damage from the road and within reason it is a plastic material , as if it was metal and a big enough damage , this could in some very slim cases cause more issues

As for the other faults , brake noise and reversing noise at the moment is very very common and could be down to the weather being extra cold and all the extra amount of gritting etc. that is happening

As for the cutting out , yes this is not good and does need sorting

If the tehnicians at the dealer has not managed to get this resolved skoda UK do have technical managers , and these are mobile

If you still have issues and the technicians still cannot offer any help , it may be worth asking to see if it is possible to get the area technical manager out , or even check to see if they have been on to tecnical support at the head office down in Milton Keynes

I did warranty claims for quite a few years

I did once have a lady with a Fabia when they was first launched and bless she had every fault known

She had her car back quite a few times to the dealers , but was fixed every time

The area technical manager came in while she was there and did explain that the reason why you have a warranty is because they cannot guarantee the car would not break or have issues

No manufacturer on anything can guarantee that there will be no issues with any product

That is why you have a warranty

Now that was not being funny and did not mean any malice

But that is why you get a warranty.....

Sarah

[usd]

Thanx for the comments and advise.

Today I spoke again to Skoda CS and that was quite interesting.

It would seem that the warranty that came with the car I purchased is from the dealer and not from Skoda. This because Skoda UK is only an importer of vehicles and not the manufacturer. So basically Skoda Importers do not want to know about any of the problems.

I have had numerous cars in my life (been driving some 40 years) from different manufacturers and have done hundreds of thousands of miles so yes I know that cars do go wrong. But by far this car has been the worst car it has been my misfortune to own and drive.

Do I think it is reliable?--------NO

Do I think the customer service is good?-------- NO

Would I reccomend a Skoda? ---------------NO

Would I buy another?--------------------------NO

To have a problem with a vehicle which averages out at 1 every 2 months is abysmal and backed by a 'could not care less' customer support speaks volumes for the brand.

[Sammycarp]

I'm not sure about the MkII Octy's, but I know that the plastic undertray was a known issue on MkI's. I haven't had trouble with mine (yet), despite the number of times I've grounded it on rough tracks.

[riph72]

Thanx for the comments and advise.

Today I spoke again to Skoda CS and that was quite interesting.

It would seem that the warranty that came with the car I purchased is from the dealer and not from Skoda. This because Skoda UK is only an importer of vehicles and not the manufacturer. So basically Skoda Importers do not want to know about any of the problems.

I have had numerous cars in my life (been driving some 40 years) from different manufacturers and have done hundreds of thousands of miles so yes I know that cars do go wrong. But by far this car has been the worst car it has been my misfortune to own and drive.

Do I think it is reliable?--------NO

Do I think the customer service is good?-------- NO

Would I reccomend a Skoda? ---------------NO

Would I buy another?--------------------------NO

To have a problem with a vehicle which averages out at 1 every 2 months is abysmal and backed by a 'could not care less' customer support speaks volumes for the brand.

If the car is only 6 months old then you are covered. SkodaAuto gives you a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty, SkodaAuto UK provides a further warranty on vehicles provided by them for an extra (3rd) year but this is mileage limited. This is from their warranty booklet!

Your statement seems contrary to this, are you 100% sure you've got it right?

Although this said, I still feel you haven't really got a claim. If the undertray has shattered, it seems more likely than not that you have impacted something, so I don't blame them for resisting.

As an impartial observer here, I think you've hit something and not realised. As someone else has pointed out, the plastic tray isn't really supposed to act as armour!

[usd]

My comment about who the warranty is with came straight from Skoda Customer Service (joke)

I was told by them that Skoda in the UK is [not a manufacturer. They are importers of cars and the dealer is a franchisee of the importers. Therefore as such the warranty is with the dealer not Skoda UK.

As regards the tray breaking. It cannot be proved either way if there was impact or not but neither the dealer or Skoda are prepared to meet me half way.

That in my book is poor customer service

[riph72]

My comment about who the warranty is with came straight from Skoda Customer Service (joke)

I was told by them that Skoda in the UK is [not a manufacturer. They are importers of cars and the dealer is a franchisee of the importers. Therefore as such the warranty is with the dealer not Skoda UK.

As regards the tray breaking. It cannot be proved either way if there was impact or not but neither the dealer or Skoda are prepared to meet me half way.

That in my book is poor customer service

Well, my car is booked into a Skoda dealership in Swansea in a few weeks to try to hunt down a rattle. The car was bought back in November in Southampton from a Skoda dealership there, so as far as my experience suggests, my warranty is with Skoda (and/or UK), not the dealership I bought it from.

Neither the Swansea dealership nor Skoda UK (who I've contacted about getting this work done) has ever suggested I should take my car to Southampton to get it looked at!

As for the claim itself, you can argue the toss about what Skoda should do for good customer service, but as an impartial 3rd party, I'd say it's far more likely that you've hit something without knowing than the tray has just "failed".

That said mind, I don't know exactly how the tray is mounted. Without all the facts, it's hard to say.

[pastiche]

Was parking our car but did not notice when i pulled up that there was a rock on the side of the track stopping people going on the grass, i went forward and came to a crunch and could not move forward or back, our Elegance was 1 year old at the time and had to jack the car up to remove the rock,as the car is low i could not see how much damage i had done so when i got the chance to look i could not see anything so the engine cover must have took all the blow.

[runboy]

My personal experience is that Skoda will wriggle out of as much warranty work as possible, and the dealer will hide behind this, saying any issue has to be referred and approved by Skoda UK and has nothing to do with them (regardless of the fact you bought the car from them and therefore your contract is with the dealer). Just my experience and may not be that of others but my relationship with Skoda has been soured.

[riph72]

My personal experience is that Skoda will wriggle out of as much warranty work as possible, and the dealer will hide behind this, saying any issue has to be referred and approved by Skoda UK and has nothing to do with them (regardless of the fact you bought the car from them and therefore your contract is with the dealer). Just my experience and may not be that of others but my relationship with Skoda has been soured.

From reading different forums over the years, that's how I think just about all auto manufacturers are. I don't think Skoda are any worse or better than most/all of the others.

Very few (if any) manufacturers will easily hold their hands up to a possible issue that might result in a VERY expensive recall.

[EGC]

Hi

I'm ex-motor trade.

Basically as a car buyer you are covered by the Sale of Goods Act (from the supplying dealer) plus the warranty (with Skoda).

The warranty is a contract between the buyer and Skoda (the manufacturer) and is IN ADDITION to protection offered by the SOGA. Skoda UK is simply the UK national sales office of Skoda Auto CZ.

All Skodas sold in Europe have a two-year warranty from the factory - this is a legally binding contract (under EU law) between the customer and Skoda. All Skoda dealers in the EU are legally obligated to service and repair (under warranty, if applicable) any Skoda car sold in the EU. This is a requirement of their franchise under the Block Exemption Regulations.

What this basically means is that you if you have a Skoda under two years old (whether supplied by a UK dealer, broker or imported from elsewhere within the EU) than ANY dealer should do warranty work. UK-supplied Skoda's have an additional third year of warranty, but this is dealer-backed and is not a factory warranty, so can have different terms and conditions.

In my experience Skoda are very 'tight' on warranty work and are probably under the hammer to approve as little work as possible and fob-off customers wherever they can.

Having said all this it does sound like the OP's problem is 'accident damage' rather than product failure.

[gadgetman]

I found Ford in the past to shy away from warranty work and turn it to an art form. Especially with a certain dealership chain found in the London area....

As for the undertray here, I'd say the best you'd get is some sort of discount. Sounds more like you hit something, which, to do that you would have known about at the time.

[EGC]

I found Ford in the past to shy away from warranty work and turn it to an art form. Especially with a certain dealership chain found in the London area....

I worked for Pug at one time and we had visits from HQ telling us that warranty submissions were too high and we should be doing much less warranty work! Difficult to tell a customer with a £15k new car leaking coolant that there is nothing wrong with it and send him on his way!

Manufacturers also make life difficult for dealers by setting tight time limits on when claim data must be sent in, warranty labour rates are also way below retail rates and often the dealer will not get reimbursed if the fault is not rectified (this can make dealers very reluctant to tackle obscure or intermittant faults where the cause is not obvious). Also parts have to go back and will not be reimbursed if judged not defective 'enough' (things like sticking calipers etc can be a gray area). This is why you get the 'they all do that sir'. Dealers like straightforward warranty faults like blown alternator etc.

Jap manufacturers seemed generally to be the best (Subaru and Suzuki brilliant IME) - probably because they don't build in so many defects. Most VAG pretty crap attitude TBH.