Unacceptable practice by Skoda

[Aspman]

Are you serious :confused:

I think Watchdog might be going a little bit too far. It's not like he's been sold a car with razor blades in the seat trim, he just hasn't got a spare wheel

OTT yes, but the threat of it can work. It did with me and Jungle.com back-in-the-day.

Retail Motor Industry Federation Automotive Retailers' Champion might be worth a call.

[Car 67]

and if you plan to keep the car after Skoda assist runs out, what do you suggest then?

For £145 you can extend your Skoda Assist with ALL benefits for 2 YEARS, including european cover and hire cars etc etc.

Unlike warranty, Skoda Assist has NO mileage limitations and is half the price of any comparable AA or RAC cover.

Stop the nice friendly man in the Silver Roadside Assistance and ask him for details.:thumbup:

[Car 67]

I think you're wrong on the Roadside Assist spare wheel front...

ALL Silver Roadside Assistance vans carry a spacesaver wheel that fits All VW Golf based cars, Skoda Octavia and Audi A3 and TT models EXACTLY for this scenario and will escort you to the nearest tyre depot to have your tyre replaced, so no need for a recovery truck. Even if the Silver boys can't get to you all of the RAC vans (Skoda Assist back up) carry multi fit spare wheels for the same purpose.

Hope this clears up any confusion on Skoda Assist part.

My vRS is a steel rim spare too - and rated to 50mph, even though it's full size!

For what it's worth, I have a can of tyre weld under the seat of the bike (nowhere to put a spare on that) and have had cause to use it once. It's carp.

I would always specify the spare, for peace of mind as much as anything else. If you have a blow out which is anything other than minor then you'll be calling roadside assist. And realistically, they won't be able to do anything other than recover you to a garage (because they won't carry a spare wheel, and even if they did, they wouldn't give it to you!) so you're always walking the knife edge.

Poor from Skoda. Fair enough to change the supplied details of the car, but I think as a matter of good grace they should have contacted all those awaiting orders and told them, or alternatively offered them the optional spare wheel out of goodwill. It's not a minor change in spec, and a lot of people would have ordered it as an option given the choice, if they had realised that they had to.

And to the OP - let us know the outcome. And :wavey: welcome to Briskoda!

[darrenw]

What happens at 3 in the morning? I know my local slo-fit isn't open then.

[skomaz]

I don;t think I've ever used a spare wheel in anger in 23 years of driving! The only time they get used is to support the car when I'm doing something else with a normal wheel or have had a a slow puncture that I've taken in for repair.

Now I'm not saying that you don;t want one just that is it really that much of an issue. It may be a principle thing for the OP but as the brochures say - specs can (and do!) change and SUK may not be helpful given the brochure disclaimer and the OP's atttude.

[Car 67]

What happens at 3 in the morning? I know my local slo-fit isn't open then.

You would still be escorted home and the issue would be resolved in the following morning when tyres depots are open.

[Pud]

I think this must be british thing by skoda, have just looked at the updated french site and all fabias,roomsters ,octavias and superbs have a full sized steel wheel as a spare. The cars with the bigger section tyres ie L&K have a reduced size wheel but not a gallette. I dont know about the scout and vrs as they have not been updated on the site yet ,but I would think the same would apply. I suspect the yeti will be the same as the vw tiguin ie does not have a wheel well and therefore will come with a bottle of gunk plus compressor. I've heard that a spare wheel will be a no cost option but will have to fit in the boot, making a small boot even smaller! When I had Volvos in the uk I was always told that the spare wheel played a part in the crash resistance of the rear end of the car, so I have to say this seems a bad move by skoda and all the other manufacturers who are going to follow on. The other day i lost a sidewall in the middle of nowwhere at night so i was very glad i had a spare to use!

[Aspman]

I think this must be british thing by skoda,

Probably due to our particularly punitive VED tax where dropping 1g of CO2 per mile can reduce VED bills by a lot of money and therefore make the cars more appealing to buyers private or fleet.

[Tom_vRS]

The act of changing a wheel at the side of the road is hideously dangerous in any account, especially using the hopeless jack supplied for the task. I wouldn't change a wheel at the roadside, and would call my roadside cover provider, who inevitably carries a suitable spare.

I always walk around the car before any journey, so any puncture worthy of mention would be identified before heading off, and at least once a week I check my tyre pressures. Good practise like this should virtually eliminate tyre related roadside emergencies anyway, indeed I've not had to change a wheel at the roadside for the 7 years I've been driving (over 200k miles).

I'd still be pressing for the supply of a space saver in the OP's case, but it really is down to the good will of the dealer imho.

It won't be long and you won't be able to buy a car with a spare as standard I wouldn't think.

[cheezemonkhai]

It's not good will Tom.

Car was ordered with a full size spare and delivered with no spare but a repair kit.

Therefore the car is not as specified and so there is a breach of the contract for supply and as such it is up to the dealer to remedy or refund the other party to the contract.

Edited 9 July, 2009 by Tom_vRS
Keeping the peace ;oP

[Fellwalker]

I don;t think I've ever used a spare wheel in anger in 23 years of driving! The only time they get used is to support the car when I'm doing something else with a normal wheel or have had a a slow puncture that I've taken in for repair.

Now I'm not saying that you don;t want one just that is it really that much of an issue. It may be a principle thing for the OP but as the brochures say - specs can (and do!) change and SUK may not be helpful given the brochure disclaimer and the OP's atttude.

How lucky you are. I have had something like 3 tyres ruined and 3 punctures that stopped me, in addition to a couple of slow leaks.

[psycholist]

I've had one puncture in probably 12 years of driving. My car has a full sized 16" alloy spare, same as the other wheels on the car.

Based on the argument that the spare isn't used very often, car manufacturers could save themselves even more money by not fitting airbags - they get used even less...

[Burnsey]

What happens at 3 in the morning? I know my local slo-fit isn't open then.

Many towns have 24hour repair centres, and with Skoda Assist they will take you and your vehicle to your intended UK mainland destination (at least my AA cover will)

[cheezemonkhai]

If you're stuck in not particularly deep Dorest at 11pm on a Saturday night with a puncture, the chances are you'll not be getting a new tyre until Monday morning. There are not many places open Sundays outside of the larger towns.

I can perfectly understand why the OP wants the spare.

[sparky2]

Its a massive inconveniance to be without a spare ! what happens when you are out at night in the peeing rain or snow and you have a sidewall go, gunk wont fix it, say you cannot get a signal on your mobile and you are in a remote location ? with a spare you can be merrily on your way in half an hour and then sort out the tyre in your own time .

[skodakid]

To my knowledge, dealers were aware in May of the change and what build date would be affected. Its their responsibility to inform their customers and offer them the factory option of spare wheel - if they didnt, you have a good case to ask for a free wheel and jack (for orders placed before 1st July). If the order was placed before May, I think Skoda have a responsibilty to offer the spare wheel FOC

Spare wheel saga applies to all models, not just Octavia.

[Jigger72]

and if you plan to keep the car after Skoda assist runs out, what do you suggest then?

Err, breakdown insurance for £30 a year? My point was that the OP will have this sorted long before Skoda Assist runs out

[Jigger72]

I hope no one reads my post and thinks I'm being rude, I might have not chosen my words very well but hopefully you'll get the jist of it.

I'd be really suprised if the dealer wouldn't just put a wheel in the car, I didn't even question it with my people. It might be a different story if I told them at the time it comes with a inflation kit but I didn't so it was my problem that I had to sort out.

Sounded perfectly reasonable to me. The dealer should have sorted this straight away

[Jigger72]

OTT yes, but the threat of it can work. It did with me and Jungle.com back-in-the-day.

That's true. It's the same with e-bay skanks who make claims about their goods that don't reflect the reality, but a little nudge in the direction of the e-bay and PayPal dispute routes usually helps them see the light. Or you can gently point out that they've stuck their address on the back of the jiffy bag… and that you know some 'people'

In this instance, a calm and considered word with the dealer should have worked. I get the impression the OP steamed in with smoke coming out of his ears, which means the dealer would have been less than happy to help. Of course, I could be wrong

[alan.edon@homec]

Im sorry to hear your problem re your non spare wheel.

But if you look at the brochure it does state that brochure contents can be changed at any time. It is standard policy will ALL car makers re brochures.

Yes it is nonsense in this day and age that we have to do without a spare (given the state off our roads!)

If when you ordered the car and it does state on your invoice that you request a full size spare, then the dealers are in breach.

Please do not let this stop your enjoyment of an excellent car.

[uncle bulgaria]

It won't be long and you won't be able to buy a car with a spare as standard I wouldn't think.

Hmmm you may have a point. My family live in Greece and neither of thier cars, Audi A3 S Line Quatro & Mini Cooper came with a spare.

It's also worth remembering that tyres have a "shelf life" so an un-used 3 year old spare could be a genuine danger. IIRC there was a recent road safety campaign trying to make it mandatory that even unused spares were replaced on a regular basis because of this.

Loads of information in Auto Express recently:

Tyre Wars - An Auto Express Safety Campaign | Car Group Tests | Car Reviews | Auto Express

However, this is about the OP's issue, which is about the terms of a contract. If he made it clear to the dealer/vendor that the condition of his purchasing the vehicle was that it came with a "full size alloy" as a spare then the dealer should honor the contract, however if this wasn't made expressly clear then the issue of "specification subject to change" comes into effect.

A friend of mine had a similar experience, where he ordered a car, based on the brochure specification, but the dealer had made him aware that the specification was subject to change. Here therefore insisted that the terms of his accepting the contract was that the dealer wrote on the order form the specification he would accept. When the vehicle turned up and wasn't as specified he had several options put to him, which included not accepting the vehicle, accepting the vehicle with financial recompense, or the dealer rectifying the issue, but then my friend does specialise in contract legislation!!!

Anyway I would have thought that a good dealer would be willing to compromise over this, if not offer a wheel with tyre as a gesture of good faith.

[Johndad]

Hi

i have no comment to make on the spare wheel issue.

if you have the stream MP3 radio you CAN get long wave on it. What you need to do is press the AM button to switch to medium wave then press the fast search button (double arrow / triangle) the radio will scan up or down the frequency and when it gets to the end it automaticaly searches on the long wave frequency, when it stops at 198LW press and hold the number 1 button when the radio beeps the station is stored. if you go back to MW the station is still stored and will be displayed as 198LW.all you do then is press AM to listen.

thats how mine is set.

Hope this helps.

By the way i run in excess of 50 cars and minibuses and we have had 2 punctures in the last 3 years!!.

John

Edited 9 July, 2009 by Johndad
spelling!

[lozparry]

I have just been thinking of the last time I had a puncture! it was the unused spare (16 in space saver)!!! noticed at MOT, who said they dont check them! valve was knackered.

[Fen]

It's not good will Tom.

Car was ordered with a full size spare and delivered with no spare but a repair kit.

Therefore the car is not as specified and so there is a breach of the contract for supply and as such it is up to the dealer to remedy or refund the other party to the contract.

Actually you don't know that. If the contract specifically stated a spare would be included then yes; breach if it doesn't have one. If on the other hand the buyer believed there would be a spare included because the spec in the brochure stated one would be, but the small print says the spec may change without prior notice, then it's actually good will. Regardless there is also the question of the 3 parties involved: OP purchased from the dealer, but they also purchased from Skoda (or were Skoda's agent in which case OP purchased direct through an agent).

As I alluded to and others have said more explicitly you get further with good will requests if you ask nicely and I think the OP's attitude from the off has been more aggressive than necessary which will be counter productive.

Overall I think the only dealer that has posted in this thread is absolutely right - it should ideally have been fixed by the dealer pre-delivery as a customer service thing, but maybe that wasn't possible or it was just overlooked and I can completely understand why they might be less than keen to do something they don't have to do if the OP came in with an attitude. There's no excuse for not treating people as you would like to be treated yourself regardless of the situation and I strongly suspect that that wasn't how this situation was addressed.

Last thing I would pick up is the ridiculous suggestion that because the spare wheel was part of the impact protection in a particular Volvo that an Octavia is somehow less safe without a wheel under the boot floor. There is no way that correlation can be made and to try to do so is just sensationalism.

Edited 10 July, 2009 by Fen

[cheezemonkhai]

The dealer got notice on their systems and I'm not sure that "may change with no notice" would be considered a fair contract term as is strongly biases the contract in the favour of one party.