REAR DOOR PROTECTIVE FILM FITTED FOR FREE

[Llanigraham]

Just booked mine in for it's first service and foil fitting. I've already submitted one photo but they say they will need to send a couple more to SUK before it can be authorised and then they will want the car for 3 or 4 days.

I wonder why they don't use one of the "chipsaway" type people and then fit the foils? Job could be done in 2 days then.

Does anyone have a copy of the Tech Bulletin they could copy me?

Edited 12 April, 2011 by Llanigraham

[AHarrold]

Just been up to my dealer to check on my order of mudflaps. Met another Yeti owner who was in to get stone chipping on the sills sorted and foils fitted. parked next to my car with foils fitted we noticed the stone chipping area goes much further up the door (about 2-3") than is protected by the foils! Plus his car already had mudflaps fitted from new. Is this something that will be more notecable on 17" rims than on 16" rims? Just a bit concerned now the foils wont do a complete job where required.

[rockhopper]

Just been up to my dealer to check on my order of mudflaps. Met another Yeti owner who was in to get stone chipping on the sills sorted and foils fitted. parked next to my car with foils fitted we noticed the stone chipping area goes much further up the door (about 2-3") than is protected by the foils! Plus his car already had mudflaps fitted from new. Is this something that will be more notecable on 17" rims than on 16" rims? Just a bit concerned now the foils wont do a complete job where required.

I wouldn't have thought that the rim size would make a difference, but the Greenline is lower and has smaller tyres....In my book that makes you better off....

[Auchreddie]

Just been up to my dealer to check on my order of mudflaps. Met another Yeti owner who was in to get stone chipping on the sills sorted and foils fitted. parked next to my car with foils fitted we noticed the stone chipping area goes much further up the door (about 2-3") than is protected by the foils! Plus his car already had mudflaps fitted from new. Is this something that will be more notecable on 17" rims than on 16" rims? Just a bit concerned now the foils wont do a complete job where required.

[Auchreddie]

My December 2009 Yeti had stone chipping to both front and back doors after 3 months in spite of mudflaps from new. Eventually Skoda agreed to repair paintwork and fit foils, but after discussion with Victoria Garage, Maud, clear film was fitted below the rubbing strip on all doors, extending up the back doors over the wheelarches. After the second winter, there is no new damage. This is probably the definitive solution to what is really a design problem.

[rockhopper]

Somebody mentioned wrapping the car in clear film. should then keep all the pesky stones away........

[jamboboy]

What I am having difficulty understanding is why you have to wait until the paintwork has actually been damaged before you can have that repaired and the film fitted under warranty. So you have to go in, get the car photographed, wait for approval, then go back for a resprat and fitting.

Why not act before there is any damage....?

[speedsport]

What I am having difficulty understanding is why you have to wait until the paintwork has actually been damaged before you can have that repaired and the film fitted under warranty. So you have to go in, get the car photographed, wait for approval, then go back for a resprat and fitting.

Why not act before there is any damage....?

See my post No 118.

Claybank Manchester fitted them without hassle.

[jamboboy]

See my post No 118.

Claybank Manchester fitted them without hassle.

That's the sensible option - pity Chathams in Edinburgh don't seem to see it that way.

[900000]

That's the sensible option - pity Chathams in Edinburgh don't seem to see it that way.

Nor did SUK. I sent many an email to them regarding this (before I knew my car would have them as standard) and they refused to even consider doing it BEFORE the damage is done. I explained that surely it will be easier to fit two £30 foils than to respray both doors completey! Their reply:

Each case that we investigate is appraised on its own merits and the decision to award goodwill or not is made by the

casehandler.

In this case, there is no evidence suggesting that your vehicle would have the similar issues to the people you have made

reference to.

If you wish to have these parts fitted to your vehicle I would advise you to contact Marlbrough Skoda to enquire as to the costs.

They would not be able to be fitted as part of the PDI as this is a series of checks to make sure the vehicle has arrived as

specified on the order sheet.

Thank you once again for taking the time to contact Skoda UK.

Bunch of fools running that place sometimes. Or people that have no idea how much it costs to respray a door vs the cost of just fitting the foils...

[AHarrold]

Nor did SUK. I sent many an email to them regarding this (before I knew my car would have them as standard) and they refused to even consider doing it BEFORE the damage is done. I explained that surely it will be easier to fit two £30 foils than to respray both doors completey! Their reply:

Each case that we investigate is appraised on its own merits and the decision to award goodwill or not is made by the

casehandler.

In this case, there is no evidence suggesting that your vehicle would have the similar issues to the people you have made

reference to.

If you wish to have these parts fitted to your vehicle I would advise you to contact Marlbrough Skoda to enquire as to the costs.

They would not be able to be fitted as part of the PDI as this is a series of checks to make sure the vehicle has arrived as

specified on the order sheet.

Thank you once again for taking the time to contact Skoda UK.

Bunch of fools running that place sometimes. Or people that have no idea how much it costs to respray a door vs the cost of just fitting the foils...

Thats a bit stupid of SkodaUK. Why do Yeti's now come with clear foils fitted as standard? Maybe copy this email to Skoda CZ [email protected] asking why they are now fitted as standard to Yeti's?

[Trevorminor]

This is all a bit of a joke, or it would be if I was not now totally fed up with the mess up of the appearance of my Yeti courtsey of my dealer and the supposed body shop experts that they have subbed the work to.

My car is probably one of the first to have been sold in the UK. I was perfectly happy until the dealer spotted a few tiny chips ahead of both rear wheel arches. They were so tiny (you could feel them rather than actually see them) that I was prepared to ignore them and perhaps only 'claim' if they became noticeable. But I was told that as Skoda were now aware of the problem, that it must be fixed or I would probably lose any future right to claim (doubtful but I stupidly accepted their reasoning).

The car went in for a bottom half respray (total overkill) last Tuesday and I picked it up last thing on Thursday with new foils fitted. They looked bad then but I was assured that within a couple of days they would smooth out and look fine.

I deliberately left the car all of yesterday but took a look this morning. What a b....y mess! My 11 year old son could have done it better. I think that the adhesive on the foils must have reacted with the paint as it looks to have blistered underneath. I pride myself on running a car that always looks clean and tidy and now it looks a right bodge up.

I can't understand why Skoda won't sanction the use of a setup like 'Chipaway' or 'Dentmaster' and then, when the repair is definitely fixed arrange for the foils to be fitted - as someone else has suggested.

Now my formerly immaculate SM looks like a DIY disaster and it's got to go back when time and workshop availability allows it to be 'fixed' again. I quite enjoy driving a loan car 1.2 Fabia but actually bought a Yeti and would prefer to drive that to and from work!

I'm sorely tempted to remove the foils myself, get someone else to fix any paint damage and send the bill to Skoda - using the small claims court if needed. The evidence of other posts on this thread would no doubt make good reading in court.

My car is also due to have the Xenon modules replaced and I'm very worried that these might get bodged too. They throw up failures when it's really cold and I start the car with the lights on Auto. But I can and easily do live with it. The dealer is using a similar argument that he now has £500+ of parts that he can't claim for sitting on his shelves.

So if you are doubtful about putting a claim in for the lack of foils (or the lights), I'd try to hold fire until the paintwork becomes really bad and justifies all of the fiddling about that you will apparently face to get it sorted.

[bohmer]

This is all a bit of a joke, or it would be if I was not now totally fed up with the mess up of the appearance of my Yeti courtsey of my dealer and the supposed body shop experts that they have subbed the work to.

My car is probably one of the first to have been sold in the UK. I was perfectly happy until the dealer spotted a few tiny chips ahead of both rear wheel arches. They were so tiny (you could feel them rather than actually see them) that I was prepared to ignore them and perhaps only 'claim' if they became noticeable. But I was told that as Skoda were now aware of the problem, that it must be fixed or I would probably lose any future right to claim (doubtful but I stupidly accepted their reasoning).

The car went in for a bottom half respray (total overkill) last Tuesday and I picked it up last thing on Thursday with new foils fitted. They looked bad then but I was assured that within a couple of days they would smooth out and look fine.

I deliberately left the car all of yesterday but took a look this morning. What a b....y mess! My 11 year old son could have done it better. I think that the adhesive on the foils must have reacted with the paint as it looks to have blistered underneath. I pride myself on running a car that always looks clean and tidy and now it looks a right bodge up.

I can't understand why Skoda won't sanction the use of a setup like 'Chipaway' or 'Dentmaster' and then, when the repair is definitely fixed arrange for the foils to be fitted - as someone else has suggested.

Now my formerly immaculate SM looks like a DIY disaster and it's got to go back when time and workshop availability allows it to be 'fixed' again. I quite enjoy driving a loan car 1.2 Fabia but actually bought a Yeti and would prefer to drive that to and from work!

I'm sorely tempted to remove the foils myself, get someone else to fix any paint damage and send the bill to Skoda - using the small claims court if needed. The evidence of other posts on this thread would no doubt make good reading in court.

My car is also due to have the Xenon modules replaced and I'm very worried that these might get bodged too. They throw up failures when it's really cold and I start the car with the lights on Auto. But I can and easily do live with it. The dealer is using a similar argument that he now has £500+ of parts that he can't claim for sitting on his shelves.

So if you are doubtful about putting a claim in for the lack of foils (or the lights), I'd try to hold fire until the paintwork becomes really bad and justifies all of the fiddling about that you will apparently face to get it sorted.

We got our Yeti last year, before SUK admitted it was a problem, and after reading a posting from someone(can't remember who) that fitted their own, with the aid of soapy water and a hair dryer, I decided to order some and have a go myself while the car was still new. I am no DIY expert, but it was not difficult. Can't understand why dealers make so many bodge-ups of this, unless they are sticking it onto fresh paint that has not fully hardened. Mine has been on for almost a year now with no problems.

[My_Yeti]

This is all a bit of a joke, or it would be if I was not now totally fed up with the mess up of the appearance of my Yeti courtsey of my dealer and the supposed body shop experts that they have subbed the work to.

My car is probably one of the first to have been sold in the UK. I was perfectly happy until the dealer spotted a few tiny chips ahead of both rear wheel arches. They were so tiny (you could feel them rather than actually see them) that I was prepared to ignore them and perhaps only 'claim' if they became noticeable. But I was told that as Skoda were now aware of the problem, that it must be fixed or I would probably lose any future right to claim (doubtful but I stupidly accepted their reasoning).

The car went in for a bottom half respray (total overkill) last Tuesday and I picked it up last thing on Thursday with new foils fitted. They looked bad then but I was assured that within a couple of days they would smooth out and look fine.

I deliberately left the car all of yesterday but took a look this morning. What a b....y mess! My 11 year old son could have done it better. I think that the adhesive on the foils must have reacted with the paint as it looks to have blistered underneath. I pride myself on running a car that always looks clean and tidy and now it looks a right bodge up.

I can't understand why Skoda won't sanction the use of a setup like 'Chipaway' or 'Dentmaster' and then, when the repair is definitely fixed arrange for the foils to be fitted - as someone else has suggested.

Now my formerly immaculate SM looks like a DIY disaster and it's got to go back when time and workshop availability allows it to be 'fixed' again. I quite enjoy driving a loan car 1.2 Fabia but actually bought a Yeti and would prefer to drive that to and from work!

I'm sorely tempted to remove the foils myself, get someone else to fix any paint damage and send the bill to Skoda - using the small claims court if needed. The evidence of other posts on this thread would no doubt make good reading in court.

My car is also due to have the Xenon modules replaced and I'm very worried that these might get bodged too. They throw up failures when it's really cold and I start the car with the lights on Auto. But I can and easily do live with it. The dealer is using a similar argument that he now has £500+ of parts that he can't claim for sitting on his shelves.

So if you are doubtful about putting a claim in for the lack of foils (or the lights), I'd try to hold fire until the paintwork becomes really bad and justifies all of the fiddling about that you will apparently face to get it sorted.

On the contrary, when I went to one of the dealers recommended by Skoda, they said it could not be photographed and I was told Skoda would just reject the claim. I only took mine in as a pre-cautionary action and I am more than happy for it not to be resprayed.

I would definitely insist that the job is done perfectly right, otherwise you would not take the car back. I am keeping hold of the copy of the email Skoda sent me and would continue to see whether it deteriorates, if it doesn't I will leave it.

On another note, I have the same colour as you and it seems to hold relatively against the chips. I was told the worst ones are red where the whole area was basically ripped apart?!?!

[Trevorminor]

We got our Yeti last year, before SUK admitted it was a problem, and after reading a posting from someone(can't remember who) that fitted their own, with the aid of soapy water and a hair dryer, I decided to order some and have a go myself while the car was still new. I am no DIY expert, but it was not difficult. Can't understand why dealers make so many bodge-ups of this, unless they are sticking it onto fresh paint that has not fully hardened. Mine has been on for almost a year now with no problems.

I'm tempted to follow your advice. The problem is that the paintwork now appears to be damaged. I've just taken another look and it looks worse than it did only this morning. There seems to be some sort of chemical reaction going on.

Dealer says that because the paint is baked on that this could not happen and he believes that the foils are fitted in the factory soon after painting and baking on. I reckon that the paintwork is able to harden for more than just the day that mine had last week.

I daren't try and remove the foils myself as then I'll be liable for the cost to put the paint right. BUT I will refuse to agree to the dealer/paintshop applying new foils once they have rectified the paint. I'll ask for the foils and then fit them myself a week or so later. I've put these things on cars like Metros and Minis in my youth and despite their colourful appearance, never had problems sorting out air bubbles!

I feel so annoyed and frustrated that what I considered to be a near perfect car, has been messed about in order to sort out a virtually invisible problem. All this seemingly to enable Skoda UK to spend more than £600 now, rather than stumping up £150 - £200 in a couple of years time paying for Chipsaway to tidy up any damage.

The idiot that decided to specify early UK cars without the foils that everyone else got from day one, should be shot. I can imagine the phone calls from Milton Keynes to the factory when they discussed the stupid decision to save a couple of quid per car by leaving them off.

Aaaaaargh....................

[DaveLees]

I'm tempted to follow your advice. The problem is that the paintwork now appears to be damaged. I've just taken another look and it looks worse than it did only this morning. There seems to be some sort of chemical reaction going on.

Dealer says that because the paint is baked on that this could not happen and he believes that the foils are fitted in the factory soon after painting and baking on. I reckon that the paintwork is able to harden for more than just the day that mine had last week.

I daren't try and remove the foils myself as then I'll be liable for the cost to put the paint right. BUT I will refuse to agree to the dealer/paintshop applying new foils once they have rectified the paint. I'll ask for the foils and then fit them myself a week or so later. I've put these things on cars like Metros and Minis in my youth and despite their colourful appearance, never had problems sorting out air bubbles!

I feel so annoyed and frustrated that what I considered to be a near perfect car, has been messed about in order to sort out a virtually invisible problem. All this seemingly to enable Skoda UK to spend more than £600 now, rather than stumping up £150 - £200 in a couple of years time paying for Chipsaway to tidy up any damage.

The idiot that decided to specify early UK cars without the foils that everyone else got from day one, should be shot. I can imagine the phone calls from Milton Keynes to the factory when they discussed the stupid decision to save a couple of quid per car by leaving them off.

Aaaaaargh....................

It took 3 attempts for the bodyshop to fit my foils correctly. The final time they had Scarlet from Monday until Friday to get the job done correctly, they state that there was a reaction with the adhesive if the paint has not had time to harden.

[allena]

Well, my proposal to have the third set of foils fitted by a specialist, has been met with a bullying attitude that I've experienced all along: "do that, and your warranty is void" - or words to that effect. The concessionaire and Skoda HQ have chosen this route of forcing me to have the dealer fit the foils again - even though the last time they cut them (badly) to avoid wrapping them around the edge of the door, and within weeks were coming 'unstuck'. There are a number of other warranty items outstanding - to be dealt with at the same time as the foils - and I have been very clearly told that if I chose to have the foils fitted by a third party specialist I'd get none of the other work carried out. Nice eh. :(

[rockhopper]

Well, my proposal to have the third set of foils fitted by a specialist, has been met with a bullying attitude that I've experienced all along: "do that, and your warranty is void" - or words to that effect. The concessionaire and Skoda HQ have chosen this route of forcing me to have the dealer fit the foils again - even though the last time they cut them (badly) to avoid wrapping them around the edge of the door, and within weeks were coming 'unstuck'. There are a number of other warranty items outstanding - to be dealt with at the same time as the foils - and I have been very clearly told that if I chose to have the foils fitted by a third party specialist I'd get none of the other work carried out. Nice eh. :(

My offside foil is unwrapping around the edge of the door under the door handle. Mine were fitted at the factory. If there are problems with factory fitted ones what chance a dealer?

How can a third party fitting a foil void your warranty? We would haul them over Trading Standards about that in the UK. It might void your warranty on the foil, but nothing else......

[Trevorminor]

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

Now my formerly immaculate SM looks like a DIY disaster and it's got to go back when time and workshop availability allows it to be 'fixed' again. I quite enjoy driving a loan car 1.2 Fabia but actually bought a Yeti and would prefer to drive that to and from work!

I'm sorely tempted to remove the foils myself, get someone else to fix any paint damage and send the bill to Skoda - using the small claims court if needed. The evidence of other posts on this thread would no doubt make good reading in court.

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

So if you are doubtful about putting a claim in for the lack of foils (or the lights), I'd try to hold fire until the paintwork becomes really bad and justifies all of the fiddling about that you will apparently face to get it sorted.

I've now got my Yeti back and the foils are absolutely spot on. The garage admitted that the last ones were fitted in a hurry by someone who'd never done them before. The successful fitting was done by someone who has now fitted several sets and they took their time.

Apparently it was not Skoda UK decision to not fit the foils initially to the car as the factory are apparently picking up the cost to rectify things.

Anyone faced with stone chipping and needing the foils fitting should insist that the person doing the job, should have experience of doing them and that they should be given a reasonable amount of time to complete it.

It's all the more annoying in that I was also caught by a mobile speed camera (37mph in a 30 mph) whilst driving the dealers dratted Fabia loan car whilst the foils were being fitted wrong the first time. My first ticket in 26 years! :'(

I now just want to forget the whole affair...... others be warned though!

[My_Yeti]

Trevorminor, I noticed you also have an aqua blue Yeti. I went to MSB (my closest Skoda dealer) once last November and the chips could not be picked up by the camera, and I went again last week, with more chips and one that look like a bubble, but again could not be picked up by a camera. How badly chip is yours? I spoke to the service manager and he said he hasn't doen't done any aqua blues, but he has done all the non-metallics.

It would be great if you have some photoes of the pre-installed (ie chipped) doors, so I could compare notes! Thanks!

[allena]

@ Trevorminor:

Anyone faced with stone chipping and needing the foils fitting should insist that the person doing the job, should have experience of doing them and that they should be given a reasonable amount of time to complete it.

I wish! Try doing that in France! Their attitude is quite unbelievable, and what has disheartened me even more, is that it is replicated by Skoda HQ... in as much as they don't seem to have any control over their concessionaire (or wish to have.) The excuse from the French concessionaire is that they are not a standard item in France ... this, not withstanding the fact that Skoda HQ especially sent the foils to France to be fitted to my car.

(If only I had stuck with James Rothwell of Allams, none of this would ever have happened! James was about to arrange to send me a set of foils in the post, when SkodaHQ told me they had already sent the foils to France, so I had to ask James to "stand down".)

@Rockhopper:

I agree with you entirely. Particularly as (contrary to our wishes) the foils were not fitted to the car before it was delivered to us! However, there is not the slightest bit of doubt that this is Skoda's decision. The whole thing has become very acrimonious, with the concessionaire not even offering a word of regret for our inconvenience, wasted time, and loss; even insinuating that we have lied about the damage that was done in the garage when the carpet and the foils were replaced (required because we had that leak in the driver's footwell that is noted in this forum). My wife and I feel as though we have been despoiled (to put it politely!) Our Yeti is now just over 6 months old, and not for one single day of that period has it been in a condition that we would consider to be "new". What is worse is that quite clearly it never will be, since they dinged the bodywork when doing the carpets and are going to "touch up" the damaged paintwork - and refuse to negotiate on it.

It is lamentable, because we like the car. I would have said 'loved', but with all the hassle we've had, that is just no longer possible. There is just no way in hell that we will ever buy another Skoda.

[Trevorminor]

Trevorminor, I noticed you also have an aqua blue Yeti. I went to MSB (my closest Skoda dealer) once last November and the chips could not be picked up by the camera, and I went again last week, with more chips and one that look like a bubble, but again could not be picked up by a camera. How badly chip is yours? I spoke to the service manager and he said he hasn't doen't done any aqua blues, but he has done all the non-metallics.

It would be great if you have some photoes of the pre-installed (ie chipped) doors, so I could compare notes! Thanks!

I don't have pictures of the chipping. To be honest you could not see more than a few specks that looked like tar spots. They could be more felt than seen. However the dealer got photos sufficient to gain authorisation from Skoda for work that I am led to believe cost about £600. Apparently one of the chips had blistered enough to be showing a bit of rust.

I initially raised the query with the dealer to gain the foils being fitted FOC to prevent future damage. I wasn't after the half respray that escalated into quite a saga, culminating in 3 points on my licence

It's a shame that you are the opposite end of the country but Skoda UK have been involved with my tale of woe as I complained after the respraying and initial fitting of foils resulted in such a mess. The guy at Skoda UK suggested that I could take the car to any dealer for rectification, so it may be worth you trying somewhere else.

If you can see damage to the paintwork attributable to the non fitment of the foils then I would persist and complain to Skoda UK if your dealer can't see the obvious. I'm told that the entire cost of any work is down to Skoda in the Czech Republic so keep chipping away at the dealer

[My_Yeti]

I don't have pictures of the chipping. To be honest you could not see more than a few specks that looked like tar spots. They could be more felt than seen. However the dealer got photos sufficient to gain authorisation from Skoda for work that I am led to believe cost about £600. Apparently one of the chips had blistered enough to be showing a bit of rust.

I initially raised the query with the dealer to gain the foils being fitted FOC to prevent future damage. I wasn't after the half respray that escalated into quite a saga, culminating in 3 points on my licence

It's a shame that you are the opposite end of the country but Skoda UK have been involved with my tale of woe as I complained after the respraying and initial fitting of foils resulted in such a mess. The guy at Skoda UK suggested that I could take the car to any dealer for rectification, so it may be worth you trying somewhere else.

If you can see damage to the paintwork attributable to the non fitment of the foils then I would persist and complain to Skoda UK if your dealer can't see the obvious. I'm told that the entire cost of any work is down to Skoda in the Czech Republic so keep chipping away at the dealer

Thanks for that, mine only has a few tiny (less than 1mm) specks, like tar as you say.

I prefer not to have it resprayed if there isn't a need, but I would definitely chase up on the bubble. When I visited the dealer, he said it is likely to be one dust particle under the paint work when sprayed originally in the factory. :wonder:

I am only up north during term time, should be down in London and see what other dealers could do.

[Llanigraham]

Had a phone call from my dealer this afternoon that they have had permission from Skoda to proceed with the repair to mine, but it looks like I will have to take it to Shrewsbury and pay a deposit for the loan car.

Distance is not much different between the 2 but why should I pay the deposit? It's going to have to wait until we get back from holiday anyway.

[rockhopper]

This is what has happened to Elsie. Not checked the replacement yet though.