Without going into particulars...

Would you put it pass a dealer to not bother trying too hard to claim a replacement part from the manufacturers warranty so they can charge you three times. I.e. an initial inspection fee, the price of the parts and then labour to fit said parts.

I wouldn't

wouldn't surprise me ,

i know the dealership i work for would not do it , we do our utmost to get stuff through on warranty

which manufacturer are you thinking about ?

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They couldn't even be bothered to speak to the manufacturer, just looked and decided its not covered. Despite me explaining that it has been covered under warranty on many (several) vehicles before, they just didn't want to know :(

Can't knock DM Keith (for once) they diagnosed several issues on my 3rd years service and volunteered which items where covered by warranty (drop links and leaking EGR (which when renewed as caused a worse stutter but not their fault I Suppose)

Just to clarify I'm not making a sweeping statement about all dealers, far from it! I have had some fantastic service from dealers elsewhere, just unfortunately not this time

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They couldn't even be bothered to speak to the manufacturer, just looked and decided its not covered. Despite me explaining that it has been covered under warranty on many (several) vehicles before, they just didn't want to know :(

Then it's time to go to another dealer.

I'm sure some dealers would do just as you suggest , but not the majority of them.

Just to clarify I'm not making a sweeping statement about all dealers, far from it! I have had some fantastic service from dealers elsewhere, just unfortunately not this time

What was the item??

It may even be worth dropping a note to SUK (can we still call them that?) in case the dealer is being a little underhand

TBH in general I have always found Skoda dealers to be very good with warranty claims (even got a new exhaust, after 2 years :eek::eek:, on a favorit)

First time I've used their servicing department Zoidberg, and trust me I won't bother going back. A review and full story will be posted once it has be resolved satisfactorily.

Postman: Skoda CS department have been contacted. I don't want to go into too many detail in case their spies are reading :really:

The issue with Wty claims is that if the dealer chooses to replace an item it is initially at their own cost and then it's claimed back from the manufacturer and hence if they were not 100% sure they'd get paid on a job they won't do it.

That may be the case Stu, but surely if they were unsure they could of took advise from SUK and not try and charge the customer twice as the first option.

Never mind, I'm sure we'll come to a compromise at some point

Just to update a little.

I've just spoken to SUK and they are accepting the dealers explanation and are therefore not prepared to put anything through as warranty work. They are applying to the factory for a 'gesture of goodwill' to see if they can contribute towards the part / labour. Baring in mind the part costs under £2 and labour is less than one hour. To be honest I wish I just bought it and fitted it myself, this is hassle I can't be bothered with!

I suppose we're getting somewhere, but I still have a unpaid invoice from the garage for the initial inspection costs..!

Final update

No goodwill is being offered by Skoda UK.

I have ordered the broken part (costing £1.16) and will fit it myself. 10 minutes to remove the old part, and 5 minutes to fit the new one.

Me and the dealer have come to a compromise regarding the initial inspection charge, and I believe both parties are relatively happy

What part???

Rear seat release handle broke in half as I tried to lower the backrests. Other people have managed to claim of their warranty for the same fault, but not me :(

Edit: oh and sorry, I missed it the first time you asked

Don't think I have heard of one breaking before tbh, I can't say I am surprised though, whilst Skoda and the dealers have been brilliant with me for bigger and more 'car' orientated items, we did get charged a couple of quid for a new tweeter cover in the passenger door handle when the original kept falling out :confused:

I've read of at least five similar stories on this site. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

The broken piece is pretty poorly made and it broke where the stem means the handle. You can even see small air bubbles within the plastic where it broke...

. You can even see small air bubbles within the plastic where it broke...

a manufacturing defect then

Hi boyz I have had 7 or 8 skodas from my dealer and has always been fantastic never any problems and if no warranty cover on certain items if he thought it was a bad product he would never charge for this now the franchise has been passed to another person not to sure how this will continue:confused:

a manufacturing defect then

I'd say so. But to be honest its not worth pursuing any further

Rear seat release handle broke in half as I tried to lower the backrests. Other people have managed to claim of their warranty for the same fault, but not me :(

Edit: oh and sorry, I missed it the first time you asked

This has happened to me on the drivers side.

Do you have a part number?

I've been meaning to get it fixed, but if its that cheap to buy and easy to replace, i'll do it myself.

This has happened to me on the drivers side.

Do you have a part number?

I've been meaning to get it fixed, but if its that cheap to buy and easy to replace, i'll do it myself.

I quoted the part number from the old part and the dealer couldn't find it... However the new part is with them waiting for me to collect it, so once I have it I'll post the part number. Nearside and offside may be different part numbers through.

Hardest bit is releasing the catch to lower the seat in the first place, after that its pretty obvious what to pull to get the old bit out

Just came across this thread. Must say that's rather petty from SUK and the dealer to try to deflect that one.

Just came back from a long trip a week after taking delivery of my car. During said trip I noticed a plastic part was broken, something I didn't notice on delivery. I bought a pre-reg showroom car, so presumably some punter broke it while in the showroom and kept mum. But it could just as equally have been me breaking it and acting in bad faith.

Went back to the dealer, someone looked at it, replaced under warranty no quibbles, so superb handling there. Plus I think the plastic part I'm referring to would probably amount to slightly more than £2.

So far, the whole buying experience and my first after-sales contact has been incredibly good, so even if they footed this themselves, they'll certainly get it back when I keep taking my car there for servicing and parts over its life.

I would never go back to a dealer that acted so petty over something so small, especially with visible air bubbles in the plastic

I agree Puma, this whole situation is petty and nobody comes out of it looking good, the dealer, SUK and to a lesser extents myself.

The car will be going back to the same dealers, but it'll be last time its seen within the Skoda network so they have pretty much shot themselves in the foot!

Do you have a part number?

6Q0 885 643 Seat catch handle

These are left or right handed, so the part number will be different for the offside one. Total cost was £1.16 inc VAT, and took ten minutes to get the old one out (most of that spent trying to lower the seat), and two minutes to fit the new part in place.

All sorted

That dealer must be run by a total "accountant", they know the price of everything and the value of nothing. I trust you'll be putting a suitable review in the dealer review section!