Now before i begin, i need to make it clear that though im british, this story is about Taiwan..... its also 100% true. :(

Skoda recently launched its new facelift models in Taiwan (octavia and superb) when i heard of this i got very excited and headed straight down to the local dealer as i was planning on buying a new car... perfect timing.

When i got there i was very upset by the fact that the octavias on offer were the most basic spec imaginable (not a thing, plain taxi spec as i like to call it) the dealers would not order a custom one and to make matters worse.......the sales guy tried to scam us with a higher price, the car is advetised at 999,000nt dollar, he said it is this price but you need to pay for the airbags and wheels which brought it to 1,120,000nt..... thats like £2800 more, it was a scam by the sales guy, a very old trick user in Taiwan usually by 2nd hand car dealers.

I expressed my anger at the ludicrous sales technique and awful spec, they didnt seem to care and that was that... no skoda for me! :'(

I got hold of the guy in charge of asia at skoda (michael krtek) i emailed and even called the guy on his mobile phone about the shady tactics and insane pricing, i got an email back from the Taiwan importers instead, reasuring me...... well nothing really, they didnt address my complaint at all, but i had the local importers email......

So about a month later my elder brother back in the uk was raving on and on about this new Yeti, he said the 1.2tsi was an awesome little car, he got me so hyped up about it i hesitantly headed back to the dealer (about a month ago now) and asked them when this car was coming in.

They said it was coming in soon and the price was actually reasonable!!!!!!

I was very happy and asked if they knew what spec they were going to get, they (sales staff) didnt know, quite frustrating but no big deal, i had the email for the head of sales and the assistant general manager, so i sent them an email asking if they knew.

At first i got a rather vague email that said it was coming.... and that was that, so i asked again about the spec and i got a rather rude email saying that they cannot discuss cars that havent been released........ despite the car being released for almost a year now in other countrys :|

Eventually i got an email from a sales guy (ricky), seems the big wigs didnt want to deal with me and just passed me on........ not exactly polite but i didnt care as the sales guy confirms that they will get the 1.2tsi with DSG gearbox and 16'' alloy wheels, it would also arrive in october.

He also said that they would have a press car (test car) at my local dealer over the weekend (one just gone) and i can come along and try it, even though its not road legal..... so great, i feel like im being treated nicely now, the guy even left his mobile number if i had any questions

Saturday arrives and im at the dealers at 10AM as agreed and the yeti was there, i was very excited and very impressed with what i found...... i wont go into details about how much i liked the car, in short....... i wanted it!.

Now the car they had was base spec, no arm rest, no interior trim (just black) door handles were black....... it was pretty awful and (ricky) he insisted that the models that were coming in were better spec'd.

Took it for a drive, had a nice chat with the sales guy (ricky) he also brought along the octavia with the ABT remap for me to drive, i did and didnt like it as much as the yeti......... he tried a bit too much to push the octavia on to me, it was obvious that they are desperate to get rid of them... anyway..

I told him i want it, please let me know the final spec, soon as i know you will have my deposit for october delivery.

2 days later i send Ricky an email, i will show it here:

Hi Ricky,

So im just waiting on you guys now, just need to make sure of the final spec and also what options i can add to the car which skoda can give in time for october delivery.

So heres a list:

3 spoke steering wheel (not such a big deal as i found this for sale new from skoda UK for £110 new, but not sure if the old airbag fits inside)

interior seat colours (dont mind really, i can pay a local guy $15,000-20,000nt to make me whatever i want)

Interior trim (this is important, the sample car was so plain, i need to make sure it has the chrome door handles and silver trim around the dash)

17'' wheels (i would love the annapurna wheels, if not i can happily take the 16'' wheels you offered!)

Xenon lights (Dont care about the bulbs, i just prefer the look of the fisheye lights to the stock ones, again not a big deal!)

Extended warranty (you mentioned this and i hope i can get it, this is quite a big deal for me!)

Servicing (you mentioned you could include free servicing upto XXX amount of kilometers, would be nice to have the car serviced by Skoda and not a local betal nut chewing guy!)

lastly i want to make sure the boot comes without the spare wheel and with the parcel shelf to seperate the boot from the back seats......... my children love to climb about and this would save that from happening!.

Car colour choice is candy white......... i have no second choices!.

Ok thats it, not much of a request really, soon as i have confirmation i will leave a deposit at the dealer.

My wife wanted to ask about the sale, she wasn't happy with the salesmen at jung-he, they really ****ed her off with the price scamming on the octavia....... so who gets the commision on the sale?.

Thanks for the test drive, my wife came along yesterday and agreed its a good choice, so its looking like i will be your first customer in Taiwan!.

Thanks,

So about a day later i get this reply back, nothing unsual until the bottom (junghe is the location of the dealer):

Dear Daniel,

Sorry for the late reply. I got flu and badly sick these 2 days. I give you quick ideas as follows,

1. 3 spokes wheel, I’ll check the pricing for both plain 3 spokes and the one with multi-command function (wondering this one is factory optional for 1.2 TSI).

2. Interior trimming, this one is big as this varied by different factory trim line settings (my colleague can’t find it from 1.2TSI optional list, then judge it as trim-line spec difference). Maybe involves with local homologation issue, and also the cost might be big different.

3. Extended warranty? I will follow up Skoda policy; however I should be able to offer you DSG with 4 years or 150Km warranty, like VW.

4. 30Km regular service free complimentary for you.

5. I’ll leave leather seat, 17†A/W and Xenon headlight at your own account. Because you’ll find favorite ones by sales person or somewhere. Be care about Xenon light for which is legally regulated and unable to pass the traffic inspection if it’s not factory equipped.

6. Spare tyre less, this may affect the delivery date (parcel shelf is standard equipped.)

So above all, I will come back to you in few days after I find out the price and availability for #1, 2 and 6. And please be informed that such order means to us a customized order hence the delivery date couldn’t be assured until Factory approve the production. I am not sure Skoda factory can accept our order change by early Sep production now (or deliver to you by Oct), and the price will increase for additional chosen spec. Though, about 100 units of standard 1.2 TSI will be ready for delivery in Oct. And dealer will request at least 10% sale price deposit for customized order.

For God’s sake, Jung He sales didn’t make more commission from Octavia simple Octavia sale is on going. BTW while you discussing with me through these days, I have accumulated tens of order already. Thanks for bringing me the luck.

................................

I was hoping it was bad english, but its without a doubt a brush off and a gloat all in one sentance!. He also CC'd a bunch of people at the importer as if to show that hes brushed me off or to tell others to avoid me.... not sure, as its kind of odd.

I sent an email back if you want to read:

HI Ricky,

Sorry to hear about you being sick, i hope you are feeling better.

Not sure what to make of the last comment:

For God’s sake, Jung He sales didn’t make more commission from Octavia simple Octavia sale is on going. BTW while you discussing with me through these days, I have accumulated tens of order already. Thanks for bringing me the luck.

Must be a misunderstanding, simply they tried to charge 1.1million+ and denied that the 99.9 deal existed... thats all, which you can understand is a bit upsetting.

Your last bit sounded offensive and a bit insulting, as the sales manager you should be concearned what your sales staff are saying to customers, i was just trying to highlight this.

I was very excited about being 'ONE OF' your first customers and it sounds as if you dont want me to be?.

I really hope this was a bad translation or a misunderstanding.

As for the interior trim, i thought you said it would be better than the demo car, the sales guy on sunday said the same as well?.

Regards,

My wife tried to call him yesterday to try and see if it was indeed a language barrier issue.......... he didnt pick up, odd as he picked up the 2 times i called him before (when confirming the test drive) and i am pretty sure he saved my number so it was intentional.

SO WOW, this is how i get treated for asking a few questions before putting my money down!.

I was supposed to just order an unknown spec and just accept whatever arrived?

I am a polite person and i just cannot believe the way i have been treated...... TWICE, first with the potential scam on the price of the octavia and now with my trying to order the Yeti.

I really hope Skoda pull the deal with these guys, i just heard that the same importers used to bring in Audi up until 2 years ago, seems Audi were not happy with the way they ran their business.

If anybody has any leverage with skoda i plead for some help, i really want to buy the yeti......... :'(

-EDIT-

I forgot to mention that throughout this endevour, they repeatly requested a deposit..... alot.

Everytime i said sure let me know what im putting a deposit on, they dont even know what colours they are getting!!!!.

Edited 22 July, 201015 yr by smellybumlove

It sounds to me like you need to develop your Chinese negotiating technique some. I do not know what you are doing in Taiwan or how long you have been there, but relations work quite differently than in the West, and you have to adopt - coz you are not going to be succesfull in changing them. Confrontations when you do not have a long standing relationship with the people just does not work. It's like trying to push a wet noodle uphill.

It sounds to me like you need to develop your Chinese negotiating technique some. I do not know what you are doing in Taiwan or how long you have been there, but relations work quite differently than in the West, and you have to adopt - coz you are not going to be succesfull in changing them. Confrontations when you do not have a long standing relationship with the people just does not work. It's like trying to push a wet noodle uphill.

I have been here for years and yes the culture here is very strange for most foreigners.

But i can honestly say there was no culture clashing on this, it is exactly as written up!.

Only thing i can think of is that i ask questions and the locals do not, hence they dont like dealing with my case and make enough money to just not care

I travelled a lot to Taiwan back in the 1990's - The Yeti would be the perfect vehicle for a trip down the East coast from Hualin to Kaoshiung. That road is probably all paved by now, but it was only just opened for traffic all the way when I was there.

I travelled a lot to Taiwan back in the 1990's - The Yeti would be the perfect vehicle for a trip down the East coast from Hualin to Kaoshiung. That road is probably all paved by now, but it was only just opened for traffic all the way when I was there.

Nope its worse, its proabably one of the most dangerous roads in the world with mudslides (rock slides really) and crazy drivers with no visability at night!.

Anyway back on topic..

Well this isnt quite the response i was expecting........

Does anybody have more of skodas emails so i can forward this on?.

Mwéthinks it is difficult for the forum members in the EU to sensibly comment on your very specific Taiwan situation, hence not much commentary here.

Mwéthinks it is difficult for the forum members in the EU to sensibly comment on your very specific Taiwan situation, hence not much commentary here.

I thought of that but then Skoda is Skoda no matter where it is.

I was hoping people who actually worked for Skoda would frequent these forums.

Whoever is importing Skoda to Taiwan is damaging Skodas name :(

Skoda emailed the importers and i got a phone call from the salesguy.

Dont want to go into too many details as a mans job might be on the line, but he was very sorry about it and he said he never meant it to sound so strong.

So looks like i can still get my precious yeti

You do have a point around Skoda being Skoda no matter where in the world they are sold.

As for Skoda looking at this site, Yes Skoda UK do, but i dont think they would get involved in your issue, due to it not being in the UK.

I hope you do get the car, and I personally wouldnt feel sorry for any sales person that had such an attitude towards a customer the way they have with you.

It appears that there is something wrong within the dealership that either the manager doesnt know whats going on, or condones the attitude of the sales people that work there. I am unclear as to whether you had a choice about whether you could have gone elsewhere to buy the car, If not then you have done the right thing by making strong waves, as any change in dealer attitude , will not just benefit you in the future but could ave a knock on effect to future customers.

Good Luck