Unacceptable practice by Skoda

[Tomo1971]

To the OP........... until this is sorted out one way or another, if you do end up at the side of the road, especially at nightdue to a flat tyre then call Skoda Assistance if you think that the TyreWeld is not suitable.

At least having the thought to be able to do this can give you some piece of mind while travelling out and about.

There are of course disadvantages of having a full size alloy spare.......

1. If never used for 5 years you are recommended to change it as the rubber can perish over time

2.Again, if the alloy is never used, it could look odd against the remaining 3 if it is used forcing you to swap the old alloy back again, possibly at extra cost

3.You may over time, change tyre brand. The brand that you have on as a spare may not be suitable for use for an extended time with the new brand you have on, so would you change the spare at the same time?

And i do agree that you have made an appropriate demand of Skoda, the dealer should of least replied to you to say that they were looking into a resolution.

Steve

[jonnycatbiscuit]

I thought it was illegal not to have a spare wheel/tyre? after all it does come under scrutiny at MOT time so I dont understand how they can be suppy a car without spare wheel+tyre?

No mate, it's not illegal. Neither is it inspected at MOT time.

It's not even illegal to have a completely bald spare tyre (although it WOULD become illegal the second you fitted that bald spare tyre).

To the OP, is the car being fitted with runflat tyres? (and for the record, I agree with your course of action as you appear to have been polite but firm, as indeed I was when corresponding with Monsieur Gary at Custom Tuning...who incidentally has gone very quiet...)

[fordfan]

Thread and replies from the Introduce Yourself section moved and merged with this one. Some replies may seem out of context/chronological order as a result.

What does the owners handbook say about using the tyre foam? On the Rover 25s/45s, the instructions recommended that for best results there was no weight on the tyre, i.e. the car was jacked up. They came without a jack and wheel brace as well. If for best results with the tyre foam, the recommendation is to jack the car up, then you'll have an extra point in your favour.

Edited 8 July, 2009 by fordfan
On topic stuff added after the moderation stuf.

[monkster]

I agree, I have a 55 reg Octavia estate with full size alloy spare. This is just a penny pinching exercise by Skoda .Stick to your guns as I know you will, I have in the past with a positive result. Regards David.

[Burnsey]

Yes it's bad that you've got a problem, but try not to allow it to ruin your purchase, and put it into perspective. I'm sure your dealer will sort you out, but really how many times have you had a tyre shred in your last 40 years of driving. On average I've had a puncture each time 1 every 20,000 miles.

In addition - you mention vulnerable groups of people. How many of them could actually change a tyre in the first place. Call skoda assist if you get a puncture, that's what all the BMW and Mini drivers do.

best of luck with this small item

[sparky2]

:thumbdwn:I have ordered a new facelift scout and noticed that it says a spare is no longer suppied ! but you can order a spacesaver (rated at 50mph) or a full sized metal spare so I have asked for the full sized wheel and am having to pay £50 for it, I am going to tow a caravan so I don't fancy having a flat late at night when its peeing down. I believe that the gunk you spray in is only to be a get you home at 50mph and then you have to scrap the tyre anyway instead of repairing it. :mad:

[PumpeDuse]

:thumbdwn:I have ordered a new facelift scout and noticed that it says a spare is no longer suppied ! but you can order a spacesaver (rated at 50mph) or a full sized metal spare so I have asked for the full sized wheel and am having to pay £50 for it, I am going to tow a caravan so I don't fancy having a flat late at night when its peeing down. I believe that the gunk you spray in is only to be a get you home at 50mph and then you have to scrap the tyre anyway instead of repairing it. :mad:

I'd be tempted to get the dealer to throw the full sized wheel in as part of the deal, or I'd walk. :rotz:

[cheezemonkhai]

Well i posted something but it must have got lost in the thread merge.

Basically it's going to cost something around £200 retail, and less ot them, to give you a wheel and bits and I can't believe they will run the risk over that. If they do you could always reject the car as not specified.

[Jigger72]

Good luck Martechnology.

I can imagine how frustrating it must feel after committing a large chunk of money to what probably, at the moment, seems like a bit of a cheap con, but in the long run it's a simple thing that will get sorted.

If you think about it logically, you have Skoda Assist, who are surely duty-bound to rescue you if the tyre fails and there isn't a spare as standard (check this with the dealer), and how many blow-outs/shreds/total bursts have you suffered in your lifetime? Not many I bet, so get out there and enjoy what you’ve already admitted is a quality car.

And welcome to Briskoda by the way

[moox]

It isn't going to cost a lot to get this sorted by the dealer - as far as i can tell SUK haven't been contacted by the OP yet. What the OP has is a rubbish dealer who isn't do themselves any favours by not responding by return of post, or perhaps like a lot of businesses they send their mail 2nd class and it hasn't arrived yet?

I agree with the OPs grievance, however would have handled this differently and given those involved more of a chance to rectify before calling in the big guns.

Has the OP contacted BBC Watchdog?

[budgiebandolier]

THIS IS WHAT I PUT IN THE OTHER THREAD

''I ordered a SE 1.8TSI from the old brochure last month as they could not supply the SE 1.4TSI I really wanted and my dealer is supplying a steel spare and tool kit(?) at no cost to me as I said I would not drive anywhere without a spare......I did this today after careful study over the weekend of the new brochure.

I also pointed out that the 1.4TSI is now in the lower F band of car tax to the dealer which is also a change from the previous brochure........I try to be helpful!!''

I have it in writing that a spare/tools will be supplied and it will be the first thing I check for before getting in the car and before handing over the cheque!!

[Jigger72]

Has the OP contacted BBC Watchdog?

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

[PumpeDuse]

Good luck Martechnology.

I can imagine how frustrating it must feel after committing a large chunk of money to what probably, at the moment, seems like a bit of a cheap con, but in the long run it's a simple thing that will get sorted.

If you think about it logically, you have Skoda Assist, who are surely duty-bound to rescue you if the tyre fails and there isn't a spare as standard (check this with the dealer), and how many blow-outs/shreds/total bursts have you suffered in your lifetime? Not many I bet, so get out there and enjoy what you’ve already admitted is a quality car.

And welcome to Briskoda by the way

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

[gadgetman]

Do you have the brochure you ordered from?

What revision/valid dates are in it?

Did the dealer not advise you during the order waiting time that this had changed?

What is a factory order, or from stock?

It's been know since early this year when Makefish broke the news.

[Brimma]

I've every sympathy with the OP, but if he gets himself that worked up about it he's not going to be enjoying his car for very long.

If it was a vRS (and I know it's not) you could get an 18" Zenith brand new off ebay for probably £100 or less and fit a good quality tyre to it and still get change from £200.

Are people really going to reject a car for that.

Storms and teacups come to mind IMO.

[gadgetman]

Thing is people hold on to old brochures and assume things wont change.

[DKI]

So glad I ordered / taken delivery of my car before the "cut off point". The loosing of spare tyres in the name of emissions / economy is so prevalent these days. A friend of mine has a BMW 5 series with run flats therefore no toolkit, which really did not help him when on the M25 when he noticed a "noise" and it turned out there had been a attempt to steal his wheels and of course the more miles he covered the looser the wheels became! Anyway back to the topic I think the only way to have guaranteed to have got the spare wheel would have to have been refuse delivery of the car. Of course thats too late now. The trouble is is the "get out clause" in (Most) brochures:

"The information in this brochure is not binding and is subject to alteration".

My guess you will not have a leg to stand on with SUK because of this wording, but your dealer "sttting" on that information for 3 weeks without advising you could be a different story.

I really hope you get a satisfactory conclusion to this, please post here how you get on.

[Fen]

While I agree that the car should come with a spare if it was listed as having one when it was ordered I don't think it's a big issue and dramatising it and naming and shaming the dealer before they have had a chance to rectify the situation is not going to help. I'd have expected them to provide a spare as an optional accessory for free, but it will probably take them more than 4 days to try to get Skoda to cover the cost as they are no more in the wrong nor willing to foot the bill than the buyer is.

In suggest dramatisation as I used to drive in the early hours more often than I suspect anyone goes on holiday. I have had a split sidewall blow out on the M4 in the early hours driving an Audi RS6 which has no spare. I got relayed to the hotel I was staying in and got a tyre in the morning - no biggie really and the AA were with me within 20 minutes of my calling them. The tyre was trashed anyway and I could have limped on at slow speed had I only had a few miles left to drive. Had I been in an Octavia with no spare they'd have been able to fit a tyre for me in the middle of the night to get me on my way as they have access to mainstream sizes (just not 265/35 19s etc. it would seem). I also one evening had a nail in the tyre of a Cooper S which again has no spare (and the hideous run-flats replaced with proper tyres). I limped that to a tyre fitter and had it replaced before they closed.

Skoda Assist will sort out any problems with being stranded and once that expires there are plenty of other roadside assistance services. I personally don't mind setting off in the middle of the night with no spare, but I wouldn't go any distance from home at any time of the day without a card in my wallet confirming someone will come to my assistance if any one of hundreds of breakdown scenarios evolve.

To put this into context - do you carry a spare alternator belt? Bulbs? Reasonably comprehensive tool kit? Exhaust system? There are any number of things that can go wrong with a car through hitting debris in the dark or just through wear and tear yet all most people carry is a spare wheel and the basic tools to change it that the manufacturer traditionally supplies. Back in the day tyres punctured more readily than today both because they wee of poorer design and because the roads were in poorer condition, hence the spare tyre was commonly carried. Today people drive hundreds of thousands of miles without ever using a spare wheel/tyre. I can totally see why Skoda are stopping supplying one; to do so is outdated, wasteful of fuel (extra weight to carry) and for the most part pointless. Sure you might be glad of it if you have a flat one day, and you might even curse Skoda for not supplying one if you haven't got one, but would you be so quick to be upset if the battery packed up? I'm thinking not - you don't expect a spare battery with a new car, so why a spare wheel?

Bottom line is still that they promised you one when you ordered so you should get one, however when the brochure reflects that there isn't one then it's not a big deal. When the Octavia III comes out my guess is that it won't even be an option as there won't be space provided for one.

[Kremmen]

This removal of a spare wheel is not only Skoda. I know that the Honda Civic and BMW 1 series also gives out these pathetic 'Tyre Repair Kits' now.

The last 2 puntures I had would certainly not have been repaired with a bit of gunk.

My main worry is that the normal AA/RAC etc patrols can't carry spare wheels for every car stud combination so you could be in for a long wait should it occur.

With UK roads being in the condition they are now a spare is essential (IMO).

Fancy not even supplying a jack though!

[brad1.8T]

The dealer must be crazy. Nothing more focussed than a recent retiree with a retirement present new car.

I thought the full size spare was only about 50quid extra? Surelty it's worth 50quid to the dealer to stop the grief?

Also, isn't the Elegance a steel rim spare? Mine is

[Sammycarp]

Also, isn't the Elegance a steel rim spare? Mine is

My Elegance (MY07) has an alloy spare

[Allams Skoda]

Being on the other side of the fence as it where, I can imagine you've probably got your dealers back up now with your agressive response to the spare wheel.

I had a couple who funnily enough also as a retirment present bought themselves a Fabia to replace an old Corsa, I told them the new car would have a spare wheel, it turned up without one and when we realised they said they thought it would come with one so I just took the spare wheel, jack and everything (apart from the locking wheel nut) out of an 09 demo.

If you want my advice or maybe you don't but I think you'd have a lot better response from the dealer if you phone him up and maybe just say you overreacted and that you would have really liked a spare wheel is there any chance he can just sort it out for you.

It's such a trivial thing I'm suprised the guy at the dealer didn't just do it for you on delivery.

[soapywalrus]

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!

[jonnycatbiscuit]

Being on the other side of the fence as it where, I can imagine you've probably got your dealers back up now with your agressive response to the spare wheel.

I had a couple who funnily enough also as a retirment present bought themselves a Fabia to replace an old Corsa, I told them the new car would have a spare wheel, it turned up without one and when we realised they said they thought it would come with one so I just took the spare wheel, jack and everything (apart from the locking wheel nut) out of an 09 demo.

If you want my advice or maybe you don't but I think you'd have a lot better response from the dealer if you phone him up and maybe just say you overreacted and that you would have really liked a spare wheel is there any chance he can just sort it out for you.

It's such a trivial thing I'm suprised the guy at the dealer didn't just do it for you on delivery.

Be nice first, and then if that doesn't work....

[Allams Skoda]

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.