Time for a second opinion from another dealership methinks!

Credit to them for putting their position down in writing. Tone is very much to make you sound like a nutter. Not sure how you get round that one other than by staying reasonable.

You could ask for the alingnment check print outs, also not sure of relevance of drive shaft length, need someone like Estateman to help on that one.

I suppose with such a glowing reference on the car they should offer you a reasonable amount of cash for it. Get a settlement figure from VW finance and go find another brand. May be your only option on this one.

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Edited 18 August, 201114 yr by adamc260

The UK's roads are wrecked :( Unless you are going to spend mega-money there won't be a single car I can think of that won't produce some kind of rattle going across a poor surface. I have come to accept that, so as long as the car doesn't rattle on a decent surface, I can't be bothered fixing it. If I used the dealer that was just round the corner from work, I'd have had my door rattle sorted, but I can't be bothered with a 70 mile round trip for my dealer to attempt it. They are however opening a new branch just round the corner from me .....

I guess they are digging their heels in because they can find no mechanical fault, nothing compromising safety, you have some rattles. As far as they are concerned, the car is not faulty. Although 90mins + of driving and only 15 miles?? Sounds like they've been out in it once and then left it.... :(

In their response letter, they state that the car has unequal length driveshafts. Which they do. That generates torque steer, but it is not going to cause a drift left on a flat surface at a steady speed. Bear in mind that the lower the tyre profile, the more it will want to follow cambers in the road (tramlining).

If it wants to go left on a flat surface, either the suspension is not aligned (rear beam axle may be out of line/bent) or it's a tyre defect. If you have a road with a decent surface, straddle the centre of the road. Does it still pull left?

Lastly, if the door rattle is a very sharp sound and sounds like something is loose in the door, have them check the door catches. I went through 3 sets of them on my first Octy.

Edited 10 August, 201114 yr by Mike Wrightson

Dear Adam, please take a look at the links below. I had many of your problems and i found out some solutions. My car is a Roomster 1.2Tsi 77KW (105 hp) 13 months old with 21.000 km on clock.

Steering issue - Pulling to the left.

Roomster pulls to the left posts 8 and 15 are mine

A vote for pulling left i voted yes.

A/C issue

My link Still if you hear a "hhhhh" sound it may be the evaporator.

Rattling and cracking issues.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/195174-drivers-and-passengers-window-rattles/ I think posts 7, 9 and 13 will give you a clue.

Rattling coming from passenger's airbag place is a common issue for VAG 1.2Tsi cars (speaking for left handed drives) and its from a/c tubes vibrating. Nothing serious.

Hope I helped you. At least there is another car (Roomster) having issues like yours. Regards, Stratos.

Adam,

Thanks for the email from your dealer. I have now printed it, shredded it and used it on my roses. Best fertiliser ever!

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Edited 18 August, 201114 yr by adamc260

Independent means not part of the same dealer group/company. A vw dealer service dept won't be aware/concerned with it being a vag group car.

You should be careful too about posting dealership responses on an open forum - at least until this is resolved to your satisfaction. I am on an iPhone so can't type in detail but trust me it's not a very good idea if this does end up going legal.

I know this may seem harsh, but your justification for rejecting the vehicle is weak, and as hard as it might be to swallow your best form or attack is trying to be the reasonable party and playing the nice guy.

The 'wrong wheels' situation shouldn't have happened but it's a non issue. It was essentially a cosmetic issue as wheel/tyre dimensions are the same on the monte/vrs.

The SOG act pertains to products being fit for purpose - I.e. Does the product fulfil the role for which it was designed. In this instance I would say the car does - everything works (bar the window which maybe has been fixed) - so what you are actually arguing about is merchantable quality which is a far more vague and subjective issue.

By that I mean one man's annoyance is another man's feature - Simplified but there you go. You don't find the rattle acceptable but that doesn't mean the xar is not fit for purpose.

You are doing the right thing by giving the dealership opportunities to fix the faults. You need to document their attempts and responses (which it seems you are). However, if the dealership accept the rejection then it will cost them as skoda will not contribute any money so it is no surprise that they will make you work hard to achieve it.

I'd be asking them to define "within tolerance levels"....do they have some machinery/equipment for measuring rattles? If so, what equipment and what are the limits of the tolerance?

Edited 11 August, 201114 yr by fletch555

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Edited 18 August, 201114 yr by adamc260

My Mrs £15K Citroen DS3 has a single tiny dashboard rattle - you can put your finger on it (literally) and it stops.

Other than that, there are no rattles or anything. It's a very nicely put together car.

For that kind of money I'd expect the same from a Fabia, but I don't think that is the case - My vRS has little rattles everywhere.

If I'd bought a Polo GTI then I'd probably not have these.. however I'd be several thousand pounds poorer

That's why I am saying you should ask them as it sounds to me like they are just arbitrarily saying that it is acceptable. Saying it is within tolerance levels implies that they have measured the rattle against some scale and it falls within what Skoda deem acceptable.

least they havent used the old ' its a characteristic or quirk of the car ' well not YET anyways

sorry i dont mean to take the pi$$, im just messin

yes indeed,

I had a similar case with a £60,000 Toyota Landcruiser V8 - in the UK the FM radio doesn't work and Toyota's response was it was a feature of the vehicle and customers should be told by dealers. That vehicle also had rattles behind the dash...

I would have resorted to parking the car locked outside the dealers on a Saturday with signs all over it listing the faults & the dealers reluctance to be helpful, along with a BIG quote that this dealer doesnt manufacture a happy driver, possibly getting local press involved .

Congrats on your patience.

My Mrs £15K Citroen DS3 has a single tiny dashboard rattle - you can put your finger on it (literally) and it stops.

Other than that, there are no rattles or anything. It's a very nicely put together car.

For that kind of money I'd expect the same from a Fabia, but I don't think that is the case - My vRS has little rattles everywhere.

If I'd bought a Polo GTI then I'd probably not have these.. however I'd be several thousand pounds poorer

they still rattle

my parcel shelf bounces ive rattles from the dash an buzzing sounds i expect my loose change would rattle if i had any left

even the a1 rattles quite alot

Edited 11 August, 201114 yr by daydotz

I've had my Roomster for nearly 3 years from new with no rattles or buzzes etc. There is no pulling to the left or right and I wouldnt have expected there to be. Seems like I have been lucky rather than Adam being unlucky. I would reject a new car on the steering fault alone.

You have given the dealer the opportunity to rectify the fault without success so Skoda Uk should put it right and if they say its a characteristic of the car then they don't deserve to sell them.

Skodas are cheaper than VW but they are not the same car with a different badge although some people do fool themselves and try to claim that people pay a higher price just for "badge snobbery".

they still rattle

my parcel shelf bounces ive rattles from the dash an buzzing sounds i expect my loose change would rattle if i had any left

even the a1 rattles quite alot

Oh dear! And they wonder why VW and Audi are so far down the satisfaction rankings. If I was paying through the nose for an A1, I would not tolerate it rattling. Paying for the badge NFTW

on any decent road, mine does not rattle. It needs to be pretty rough to get rattles out of it, so the car is built well. The Hyundai Coupe that I had was an £18k car if bought new. It was brilliant, loved it to bits. It rattled on rough roads and the rear spoiler rattled in the winter until the shell warmed up.

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Edited 18 August, 201114 yr by adamc260

Lets face it cars just arent built like they used to be. I remember the days when the 90's Audi 80 felt like it was carved from granite. My brother in law bought a nearly 20 year old one a couple of years ago and other than being a bit noisy and the ABS being broken there wasnt a thing wrong with it, loads of miles on it too.

I've had a few VAG group cars now, all apart from the Fabia being VW's and every single one has had to have warranty work. My MK6 Golf has been in two or three times for broken trim/rattling issues in the early days though has to be said its been a peach since.

I feel sorry for you Adam, buying a new car should be a nice experience and it definitely looks to me like you've got yourself a proper Friday afternoon car, a real shame. I do think however given you've driven away from the dealers in it and have had it a few weeks now you'll really struggle to reject the car, its effectivey used now, not new. If you're prepared to take legal action fair enough but not sure I'd want to be going down that path just for the sake of a car.

My advice, keep your cool, accept the fact the car has its issues (our Fabia isnt perfect either, not even 3 months old and 1400 miles on the clock and has a broken handbrake lever and its fair share of rattles and noises).

I'm of the mind that whilst a Skoda is a VAG group product they aren't as well put together as a VW or Audi anyone who says so either hasnt owned a VW/Audi or are just kidding themselves. From my own experience I would say less care is taken on fit and finish...ours has some suspect scratches on the dash and centre console...makes sense given its a budget car built in Czech Republic by people probably paid alot less than their colleagues in Wolfsburg.

I would take the car to another reputable dealer (i'm sure someone on here can recommend someone) with a full list of the issues and get them sorted under warranty. Say to them you'll take it for a test drive and if you're not happy you'll be bringing it back and it will be staying with them until its sorted. Like others have said rattles generally arent that easily sorted and probably best left alone but the other things should be easy enough to resolve, Fabia's in pretty much every case do rattle to some degree. You've given your supplying dealership enough oportunity and they've failed. Take it elsewhere and i'm sure the stress of the situation will ease.

Edited 12 August, 201114 yr by pipsyp

My Mrs £15K Citroen DS3 has a single tiny dashboard rattle - you can put your finger on it (literally) and it stops.

.....wait for the electrics to start playing up. Thats a classic Citroen thing....well a french car thing if I have to be brutally honest. I like the DS3, smart looking but I'm not convinced they've reached German levels of build integrity.

Yeah I'm waiting for that too.

I'll never buy a French car personally, but my wife had two Saxo's many years ago and swore by the pair of them. One was a VTR too.

They aren't for me.

Wow!! Been ready this with much intrest as i have the same car from the same dealer!!!

They are a nighmare and i have already vowed never to go anywhere near there again regardless of the issue. Would invalidate the warranty before I use them.

Have to say my car has been superb however. Have the odd rattle and a very annoying central looking system but soemthing i have come to expect with all cars over the years, not soemthing i would ever expect to get sorted.

In general i also think people seem to expect too much from a warranty these days. The delaers make it such a point when selling the car that we all expect to get everything no matter how minor repaired FOC. Then are miffed when they cant solve a small issue. Not saying yours are small however as i have not seen or heared them.

Had a focus ST destroy 2 engines in a month from new and had these replaced under warranty, to me that is what your warranty is for not trying to chase problems around a car like rattles etc.

Hope you get it sorted and complain to Skoda Uk about the dealer. I did got my first service sorted FOC at a delaer of my choice.

My Fabia had a very loud rattle from the passenger airbag lid, the dealer fixed it easily. After that it had various buzzes and rattles all of which came and went depending on weather and road surface. I just loved with them, all cars rattle a bit. My new Roomster has creaky back doors for the first few miles, then they stop and different buzzes take over from the B pillar area. Again, Ill live with them.

It is dissapointing for a new car and I can honestly say my previous Fiats never rattled so early in life but I travel in loads of cars all the time. All of them bar an Audi A4 rattle, from Octavias, Piccasos, Passats, Avensis, Vectras etc all do it.

If your car had a dangerous pull to the left, Im sure any dealer would try and resolve it. Are you sure it isnt camber related? I ask because once you get a fault with a car, then any on top of that just make you angrier to the point of being a bit unreasonable. I speak from experiance, I had a Micra in 2003 which had minor rattles, little niggles like seat catches breaking and clonky suspension. I got so annoyed with the car I ended being paranoid and got very angry with CS and the dealer. In the end I sold it after just 10 months and bought a Panda which never rattled or broke once.... but it did come with badly resprayed panels

My advice would be to use another dealer, and get Skoda CS to contact that dealer on your behalf and go from there. You have minor issues, yes lots of them but minor still.

Had a focus ST destroy 2 engines in a month from new and had these replaced under warranty, to me that is what your warranty is for not trying to chase problems around a car like rattles etc.

Erm, that's beyond warranty for me, I would've rejected that car.

When buying a new car there shouldn't be any loose trim or rattles, so of course its a warranty fix.

Never had any issues with getting rattles sorted either, even if it takes 2/3 attempts and I've had 2 Citroens, a Honda Civic Type-R and an M3 from new.

My VRS will be going back in if I find any..

/David