Car only 5 months old - starter motor running continuously even with ignition off. Danger of fire - and the house if it was in the garage.

As if that's not bad enough - no starter motors in UK - on factory back-order - no car until next year.

Third and last new Skoda.

No new cars are free from faults.

To say this is your last Skoda due to a faulty starter motor is a little bit of an over reaction.

Why not try Toyota, oh, no hang on...

It's not due to a faulty starter motor but it is to do with their spares policy. A starter motor should be a spare that is held at dealers not one that is subject to factory back- order.

My serviceable vehicle is a Honda - made in UK and parts stocked in UK.

It's not due to a faulty starter motor but it is to do with their spares policy. A starter motor should be a spare that is held at dealers not one that is subject to factory back- order.

My serviceable vehicle is a Honda - made in UK and parts stocked in UK.

Brake pads, should be held on stock, what happens if theysell them all and have to order them in...... no more skoda?

Air Filter, should be held on stock, what happens if theysell them all and have to order them in...... no more skoda?

No Bulbs, No Skoda?

Starter motors - they would not be able to justify keeping on stock.

It's not due to a faulty starter motor but it is to do with their spares policy. A starter motor should be a spare that is held at dealers not one that is subject to factory back- order.

My serviceable vehicle is a Honda - made in UK and parts stocked in UK.

It is probably the fact that there is a known fault with them which has caused the stock shortage.

I would imagine most dealers would stock one or two starter motors, but if they are subject to a recall or are in high demand it is to be expected that they will run out.

If the problem has resulted in your car being unusable I would hope that you have been given a courtesy / loan / rental car?

For me the attitude and ability of the dealer means more to me than where in the world my car or its parts are manufactured.

Keep smiling, be polite but firm and let them know how much of an inconvenience this is to you and I'm sure they'll look after you.

Brake pads, should be held on stock, what happens if theysell them all and have to order them in...... no more skoda?

Air Filter, should be held on stock, what happens if theysell them all and have to order them in...... no more skoda?

No Bulbs, No Skoda?

Starter motors - they would not be able to justify keeping on stock.

Has nobody heard of stock control?

It's not rocket science - they are simply cutting their overheads to the bone and stock is one of the cuts they've made.

I would rather they looked after their customers likely needs.

If you don't look after your customers someone else will.

If you don't look after your customers someone else will.

Not having stock does not necessarily constitute bad customer service.

It's how they deal with the problem and work to minimise the inconvenience to you that would determine how interested in keeping my business they are.

Trust me the grass is rarely greener on the other side!

Not having stock does not necessarily constitute bad customer service.

It's how they deal with the problem and work to minimise the inconvenience to you that would determine how interested in keeping my business they are.

Trust me the grass is rarely greener on the other side!

Not holding stock items such as starter motors in my book is likely to inconvenience customers - and it has.

Not holding stock items such as starter motors in my book is likely to inconvenience customers - and it has.

Only because it was an item you need.

You really are just a customer arent you? have you ever experianced someone like you from the other side of the counter?

Seriously! lighten up?

Are they charging you to do it?

Have they given you a loan car?

Have they apologiesd on behalf of the dealership 'we are sorry your starter motor has gone wrong, let us fix that for you'?

I'd be well chuffed to have my 5 month old car off the road during the weather we are having and driving somebody elses Joking aside I agree, its how the dealer handles things and not how long it takes for a fix. Have you had similar problems with you previous Skodas? If you really want problems buy a Vauxhall

Edited 22 December, 201015 yr by robzer

Only because it was an item you need.

You really are just a customer arent you? have you ever experianced someone like you from the other side of the counter?

Seriously! lighten up?

Are they charging you to do it?

Have they given you a loan car?

Have they apologiesd on behalf of the dealership 'we are sorry your starter motor has gone wrong, let us fix that for you'?

At the moment, yes, I'm a customer but not for long.

I've been on both sides of the counter.

Of course they're not charging me - the car is only 5 months old.

No, I do not have a loan car and none was offered.

No they have not apologsed and I had to extract the information from them - they didn't bother to contact me to explain.

Edited 22 December, 201015 yr by Flying

Not holding stock items such as starter motors in my book is likely to inconvenience customers - and it has.

How many starter motors should they hold in stock though? You could have been the 6th person that day and if 5 had been in stock (which should be more than enough as starter motors don't go that often) you'd still be out of luck...

At the end of the day there is a finite amount of space in the dealerships so they're only going to hold commonly required parts in stock

At the moment, yes, I'm a customer but not for long.

I've been on both sides of the counter.

If you have been on both sides of the counter you should know customers with your attitude dont help the situation.

if it bothers you that much then give me your car?

At the moment, yes, I'm a customer but not for long.

I've been on both sides of the counter.

Of course they're not charging me - the car is only 5 months old.

No, I do not have a loan car and none was offered.

No they have not apologsed and I had to extract the information from them - they didn't bother to contact me to explain.

Thats different then, but sounds like its a dealer problem rather than Skoda. That said I'd be pretty p*****d off if I were in your shoes too

Thats different then, but sounds like its a dealer problem rather than Skoda. That said I'd be pretty p*****d off if I were in your shoes too

The other reason I'm livid, of course, and one that has been ignored by the very loyal-to-Skoda comments so far, is that the defect was so dangerous.

A continuously running starter motor that is not engaged sounds similar to cooling fans running on and I had previously left it like that in my garage which is integral to my house.

Fortunately, it stopped before it caught fire but it left a burning smell.

At the dealers they got quite excited shouting for a 10 mil spanner to disconnect the battery - might be worth keeping one handy if this is the reason why Skoda are out of starter motors.

No, I do not have a loan car and none was offered.

Not that you should have to with a 5mth old car, but did you ask for one ?

Not sure if this has been said above (I'm short on time etc) but see if the VAG group have on or contact cust. svrvs at Skoda UK and ask them why they have put you in this position - if the pressure on them as well as the dealer.

Could also try eurocarparts.com, see if they have one and tey and get dealer/skoda to pay for it ...................................if not court action might follow.

Not sure if this has been said above (I'm short on time etc) but see if the VAG group have on or contact cust. svrvs at Skoda UK and ask them why they have put you in this position - if the pressure on them as well as the dealer.

Could also try eurocarparts.com, see if they have one and tey and get dealer/skoda to pay for it ...................................if not court action might follow.

Thanks for that advice - will try them.

VAG is a big group of companies and things like starter motors should really be held at a central warehouse, probably in Germany. Remember that it is probably sourced from an outside company so the same fault could occur on any car using that same type of starter motor. The key here, like most posters have said, is not the manufacture of car but the customer service. If your dealer was really keen to keep you a happy driver and no parts were available then I would have got one of the boys to go around the back and pinch one of another car to keep you going. This once happened to a tractor I was driving, the turbo oil feed pipe split, there was none in the country available so the dealer went to the importers head office and took one off one of the display models they had sitting out front. 3 hours after it started I was back going again. Now that is customer service!!

Ian

Think of how many models Skoda have, then how many different engines, then how many different gearboxes, with probably over 30 or so different start motor variants where the hell we going to keep them all?

As for being on back order well thats down to either group not holding stock or at least keeping stock or the manufacturer keeping up with demand.

Think off the current delay on octys

Think of how many models Skoda have, then how many different engines, then how many different gearboxes, with probably over 30 or so different start motor variants where the hell we going to keep them all?

As for being on back order well thats down to either group not holding stock or at least keeping stock or the manufacturer keeping up with demand.

But surely, designers would be able to accomodate using the same starter for a number of different engine/gearbox combinations if the engine block casting uses the same mounting positions and basic flywheel measurements. Like a 1.4 engine can be made into a 1.6 by putting a longer stroke crankshaft in it, different engines, same pistons and conrods. Also wouldn't a company the size of VAG have a central warehouse to hold these stocks, so like you say it is a case of the suppliers not keeping up with demand.

the vag warehouse is in dordon, staffordshire, this holds millions of different part numbers. i work for vag parts this is how i know. i can understand your frustration but i'm lucky and have a massive warehouse full of bits, your said dealership will have a tiny parts department so can only hold service items and common items, 95% of items can be got over night from dordon so there is no need to hold spurious parts such as starter motors etc. as you say your car is 5 months old and i'm sure skoda wouldnt have expected anything to go wrong with it yet as such all parts will be getting fitted to new build and not being used as spares. i can understand your frustration as i'd be miffed at not having my car but its not practical to hold stock for every single car. most dealers now hold very little stock as they can use our stock the same day, so we take the risk of having it on our shelves and if they do need one they get it same day without any of the hassle. if it isnt stocked at dordon then it has to come from Kassel in germany so you'd be looking 7-10 working days. if they have none then it has to come from the supplier which could be any amount of time

hope this explains it more clearly, if you drop me your reg i can see if any dealers in the uk are showing the part

The OP is NOT saying that his dealer doesn't keep stock (not many dealers keep stock of high-value items like starter motors, they order them in overnight from a UK warehouse). The OP is in fact saying that the starter motor is on factory back-order, which is quite a serious situation because that implies a potentially very lengthy delay in getting one. I would say that either there is a very common failure with these starter motors (and so Europe-wide stock is exhausted) or there is a problem at the manufacturers (Bosch??) which means that parts are not leaving their factory. It could even be due to some logistical reason (bad weather holding up shipments).

When a new model is launched it is not the case that all parts are used on new-builds. Normally, a little prior to launch, a whole 'pack' of spares is established in the respective country of sale. This would include common collision parts and all critical engine/electrical etc parts and so would include starters, alternators etc etc.

Take every single post on this thread and replace "Skoda" and "VAG" to "Mercedes" or "BMW".

This scenario is no different to any other manufacturer, automotive or otherwise.

The lack of stock shouldn't be the area of focus here as it can and does affect many different manufacturers and industries.

It should be how the dealer or Skoda deal with you, their customer.

Now the OP has finally added a little more detail which may suggest that his dealer has been less than helpful the advice should be to get on the phone and make it perfectly clear you aren't happy and something needs to be done today to keep you mobile, whether that be borrowing a component off a new car or getting you into a hire car pronto.

As I mentioned earlier, loosing your temper won't help. Be firm but polite and make it clear to them what you expect them to do to make this bad situation better.

Once you have a car on your driveway then you can pursue Skoda UK for an apology or compensation etc. etc.