Hi as you can guess but the caps lock i'm in urgent need of advice!

My 2007 vrs fabia se started to grind when going into 4th! I took it to my local dealer who I bought the car off and they agreed with me that 4th gear syncro had failed,

this was back in December, it was agreed it would be done under warrenty and i'd have a courtsy car for a couple days..

I walked away feeling safe in the knowlage something would be done about it.

Now comes the bad bits!! They rung me a couple days later to say a seal was on back order for the gearbox and I'd have to wait til it came, not happy with this as the

grinding wasn't just getting annoying it was getting worse so a quick trip to my local tps found that all parts for the job are avalible!!!

This was back in late december!! I waited for a phone call from the dealer for a date and nothing... I called them

2 weeks ago and they told me all the parts in stock and had it in 2 days later with agreed courtsy car, I know I can't really moan about this to anyone however i think the next part in this story will raise a few eye brows! On Friday night I was out with friends enjoying having my car back when I went to start it and the starter just started clicking! A quick tap on the side

sorted that problem until last night ( Saturday) my car no matter how many times we tried wouldn't start and the starter was sparking and smoking! I called skoda assist and sent out a extremely helpful recovery man who found the main power cable to the starter was finger loose!! Causing lights to come onto the dash and starter to fail,

i'm now very worried to use the car as I need to bump start it everytime and it's left my worrying what else is loose!,

so really I just need to know where i stand when I go in tomorrow? My tracking was dangerously out when I got my car back aswell and haven't had the time to put it right,

I'm hoping skoda will redo the tracking and tighten the bolt whch the rac man struggled to get to becuase of the battery and maybe replace the starter?? Please help as i don't want to be flogged off by them again,

thanks for Reading and sorry it's was so long but it's the only way of getting my point across

many thanks Simon

2007 fabia vrs special edition 587

I'd think that your Skoda assist provided recovery man failed quite a bit if he gave up on sorting out the loose lead on the starter motor - was he getting money for old rope. I know that this sounds like the dealer messed up in quite a few areas and they do need to sort that out. I would not think that the motor will now be faulty though - just needs the lead and its contact points cleaned up. The tracking not being set up right after the gearbox has been out is just that someone at your dealer is lazy and incompenant, it seems that lots of VAG dealers think that nothing will affect the alignment of these nasty little cars - and it does as you have alsdo found out. Really what is done is done and you should let your dealer sort thinks out and regain your confidance, if they then give you the impression that they can't be bothered with making you feel that they have put their hands up and apologised, then by all means "roast" them and name and shame them - at least by doing that you are making sure that the word does get out when they mess up. On a general "what are garages all about" note, a friend at work has had a slight problem with his wife's 14 month old Fiat Punto Grande - it is putting on its "engine fault" light. The dealer has replaced lots of bits and now says that the engine needs retimed but they do not have the kit to do this and the kit is on long term back-order!! Mean time they think that theycan keep him happy with loaning him a Kia box with trolley wheels - and they feel that he has nothing to complain about even though this has been going on for about a month and he can't always get into the Kia trolley car that he can get into the Punto - and obviously if he really did think that a Kia box with trolley wheels would satisfy all his needs then he would have bought his wife one of them instead! Some main dealers just do not get it - and still find that customers are people that they could well do without!

By the way, I've had the "can't get the correct bits" from a Ford dealer after he fitted the wrong plugs then tried claiming there was a TSB changing the type used (there was not), I checked their parts dept and they had none in stock, then checked their service station outside - and they had a lot in stock! Sometimes its just lie after lie after lie - that is business I suppose, but it does make you a bit angry when you avoid that way of working in your personal life.

Edited 28 February, 201016 yr by rum4mo

Victim of the all too common issue of poor workmanship by a garage. I wouldn't worry though, as both problems are easily sorted, provided the garage can find the mechanic with a brain. God knows how they screwed up the tracking doing the gearbox. The driveshafts are disconnected at the drive flanges at the gearbox, so unless they dropped the subframe down to get the box out, they must have failed to re-align it correctly.

I think the Skoda Assist guy could have made a bit more effort to tighten up the loose lead - if the battery was in the way it isn't the most difficult job in the world to remove it (even Halfords can manage that ).

With regards to the errors and ommissions made by the garage I think you have every right to expect them to rectify them at the minimum of inconvenience to yourself. It's only fair to give them the opportunity to correct their errors. If you're still not satisfied after that I would contact Skoda Customer Services and tell them what has happened and what, if anything, still needs to be resolved - then insist on using another dealership as you've lost confidence in your dealer. Not all dealers are bad. Ours is excellent.

...it seems that lots of VAG dealers think that nothing will affect the alignment of these nasty little cars ...

That's a bit harsh! What, in your opinion, is so nasty about them compared to anything else in the same class and price range?

In all fairness to the recovery man he did his very best to sort the problem as on trying to bend a spanner to fit and cutting his hands to shreds, if you look at the bolt itself you'll see that the battery needs to be removed and he said he'd rather not do it where he was which is fair enough as he spent an hour trying every tool in his box. I've already sent a email to rac praising him up becuase without him I'd be stuck, he also did a full system check which took ages and found loads of systems I never knew I had!!

All I can say is that I've tried to bump start it this morning down a hill and now it's stuck so day off work and early morning recovery call is needed :( atleast it will have more impact on skoda than just me turning up saying the problem, the only problem

with using another skoda garage is is its owned by the same company so will have to look further a field,

many thanks for your replys and I'll keep you posted on how it goes

Simon

07 fabia vrs se 587

Didn't think you could really bump start a diesel... although I guess if the glow plugs are on then it should be possible.

I'd have sorted the loose starter connection myself rather than be so inconvenienced!

I find it unbelievable the RCA tech couldn't fix the loose starter wire. Pulling the battery and battery box is a ten minute job.

i work for mercedes and i would recommend kicking off i know it sounds rash but if we ever make a small mistake and a customer kicks off we put everything down and give exceptional service... dont go over the top but show enough emotion to make them worry... every garage worries about their reputation so they wont tell you to go away.

never know if they really care they make offer compensation in a shape of a free service lol

tell them all about the inconvienience they have caused you... time off work calling out recovery etc...

Edited 28 February, 201016 yr by AJ-VRS

I think I have to explain we were in a petrol station at 11 at night, tbh I have no complaints becuase I got home and thats what I needed, i tried myslelf to do it up but no joy either, I'd rather have skoda sort out there mistake, but rest a sure if it's not sorted I'll be posting a warning on here and writing to skoda, the ironic thing is that my skoda assistence runs out on the 5th of march!! Can only praise rac although others disagree

Ive too just brought a fabia srs non se from dealer. ive got no problems but It sounds like youve got a really good temper because i would of gone mad! is it a dealership?? A lot of dealerships will do alot to protect their reputation and go to some wierd lengths to do so. That in mind kick up stink. If the first person dosent help you ask to go higher up the chain up to manager, threaten to name and shame them on websites and forums, then every area has a main dealership aka headquaters, i live in cornwall and mine is newtonabbot. Thats where the big bosses are threaten to ring them aswell. This is not on, youve just spent a large amount of your money? have you brought it on finance or out right? If on finance threaten to stop payments even if you wont it will kick them up the arse!! Another words get angry!

I've just had so much other stuff going on in my life that either laugh or cry and I've decided to get on with it and wait for tomorrow,

the thing is I used to work for the company but they're vw dealership so as much as I wanna kick up a fuss I will find it hard as they're my friends!! But I'll do

my best and it might help my case, yeah I did buy it on finance and from a main dealer for £9500 :( the finance however is paid off now and I'm rather tempted to sell it now for a polo or golf Gti, Ill be calling skoda help line if it's not sorted,

....If on finance threaten to stop payments even if you wont it will kick them up the arse!!

How does this work? What protection do you get if you're still paying off finance? Surely the dealer had already been paid - wouldn't you just end up with a credit blacklisting and threats of repossession? Or do you take your complaint through the finance company like you might do with a credit card transaction? So many questions.......

I think saying that would put me in the wrong! My finance was with black horse not skoda so would be hurting myself not them

I believe finance companies can have some sort of weight with dealers on faults with cars, as they technically own the car so it's in their interest for it to be in good working condition.

Edited 28 February, 201016 yr by anewman

How does this work?

It doesn't - you get sued by the credit/finance company for not paying. You cannot stop finance payments because the dealer screwed up.

What protection do you get if you're still paying off finance?

The credit company is jointly and severally liable for the vehicle, exactly as if it were a credit card purchase (it's still s75 Consumer Credit Act 1974).

Edited 1 March, 201016 yr by martinch

Get it sign-writen and park it in their car park?

Status update!!

Car failed to start this morning (unsuprisingly) so called skoda assistence who sent rac to try to start but starter started smoking!! Got recoverd to skoda and they gave me full valet, 4 wheel alighnment, oil change and of course new starter motor under warrently plus a courtsy car

plus 4 very worried looking skoda techs crowded round my car shaking and scratching heads!! Got pushed into workshop :/ was a sad sight seeing it on the back of a van, pics will be posted soon of the upsetting sight,

many thanks for your help

Result, nice one.

Before everyone gets to happy i'd like to mention that I had to take the day off work becuase they couldn't locate a loan car so had to call skoda assist for a hire car only to be told I wasn't old enough but they did offer me me if I found a company who would they would pay the bill, still no luck so went back and they managed to find one but could only have it for a day, I've been left stressed out by all this and will be selling the vrs as I test drove the amazing new seat Ibiza cupra bocanegra with the 1.4 tsi 180bhp engine!! Order will be placed asap

Its a shame youve has these problems i dont blame you for changing your car, but as i said ive just brought one and it is the most fun ive had driving, but on top of that its a really nice drive too.

Yeah I know, I love driving it and am really going to miss it but looking around today I walked into the seat garage and it caught my eye straight away and wow!! Just got to wait 2 months for it if I decide to get one so 2/3 months of fabia fun

That's a bit harsh! What, in your opinion, is so nasty about them compared to anything else in the same class and price range?

I'm referring to personal experiences of paying for someone to fix "bits" and for me to buy and fix lots of expensive "bits" on my wife's 2003MY Polo, also far too many stories from work mates who have also been bitten by Fabia, Polo 9N and Ibiza 6L, its one thing to read stories on forums, but when you have personal experience and actually share actual problems from others round about you, then you start to think that the cat is out of the bag for this VAG platform. Its obvious that each VAG marque will get its followers and they will try to stand up for what they have bought and run, but as far as I am concerned, round about the time that my wife said that she would like a Polo as her next car, VW were shouting from every available bill poster that the new Polo was as tough as an elephant in every aspect - that was just lies even when you take marketing hype into consideration. These cars were not cheap low budget cars at that time and they are still not that, so I think that buyers of these cars, when they are new, have a right to expect that what they had spent their money on would give "good service" - and when they fail to do this, then VAG would help out when things went wrong. Now I know that few middle of the road priced cars will last for an extended period without needing some bits replaced, but the early ARB failures, caused by a design error that even Ford corrected back in the days of the early Sierras, quickly followed by front road spring failure, quickly followed by TCA rear bush failure - another design error, followed by a fractured exhaust flexi section, all lead to serious labour charges each time followed twice by trashed front tyres due to these cars being a bit tricky to get back into "good" alignment - then you could add in another well documented problem coils and Lambda probe failures. I'm sure that VAG is now trying to correct quite a few of these errors in newer models, but it does leave a bad tast in the mouths of those who expected a better car. I've said before, that even with its many design errors, my old 2000MY Passat B5 is a good car only because it is actually made up of lots of old Audi parts - I am not proud to say that and its not what I had expected to find when joining the VAG family of owners. VAG is I think improving - the only way is up - and it needs to head in that direction as VAG garages do know how to charge for repair work. Oh and yes I know lots of happy Ford owners, the odd VX owner and quite a few S**tron and "Eastern marques" owners. Frequent and especially early life failures are one thing, but when they also cost a fortune relative to the competition to sort out - then some one is having a laugh.

Remember one thing when quoting "same class and price range" - for private motorists like me its the "ownership life cost" that is what really matters - most car manufacturers have not sussed that out yet, though I hope more and more owners do try to collect up all their costs and consider that before buying again.

Edited 1 March, 201016 yr by rum4mo

Yeah I know, I love driving it and am really going to miss it but looking around today I walked into the seat garage and it caught my eye straight away and wow!! Just got to wait 2 months for it if I decide to get one so 2/3 months of fabia fun

Ah well www.seatcupra.net here you come!

By the way, the guy at work who was having problems with his 14 month old Punta Grande, has had his loaner car (small Kia shopping trolley) replaced with a Bravo that has strange front lights habits - but at least it has road tax so is legal in some areas. When he pressed again about delays in fixing his Punta the dealer confirmed that "timing pins" are still on back order, he answered "some you are waiting for service tools" they said yes and that they must have lost the originals when they moved sites - a couple of years ago - good old Uncle Arnold, same old tricks just different words!

Edited 1 March, 201016 yr by rum4mo

I have been biting my tounge for too long now and have come to the end of my tether! It's time to tell you what's been going on the last week!!

Skoda promised oil change, wheel alighnment, valet, i have had NON of it!! When my car came back from the gearbox trouble the steering wheel wasn't straight, they said they must if not out it on straight when they removed it, does anyone know why they had to remove the steering wheel to take the gear box off? All they did to sort this was move the steering wheel around abit which is making it pull to the left badly!! They said they couldn't do the tracking because they don't have the equipment and the garage who they used (owned by same company) has been taken over by another company and told me to go somewhere else to get it done for £25 (I know that doesn't sound like much but my steering was perfect before) also no oil change or valet!!

I've come to the point where I am going to tell you who they are!!

LODERS SKODA YEOVIL!!

If anyone else have had problems with them please let me know

Sound like a cracking bunch! I wouldn't let them put you off the car though mate, maybe just use a different dealer if you can.

Soon as you get that door etc done the car will be to good to get shot of