This an email I have just sent to the Skoda dealer I have left my car in to, in order for a leak to be rectified.

Has anyone any thoughts on what I should say or do when I leave it in on Monday?

I would appreciate it if you could look into a situation that has arisen with the work being carried out on my car.

On Jan 12th 2012 I took delivery of a new Superb estate. Within 3 weeks I had noticed that the carpets in the near side footwell inside the car were wet, so I contacted yourselves to see why this was happening.

The car was left in on 13 Feb and was told that the water was coming in through the windscreen,(only the windscreen was mentioned, nothing else) as there was a problem with the seal. This would be done under warranty, and they would order in the parts. Great.

On 21st Feb the car was left in to get fixed at which time I was told it MIGHT take 2 days, as it was a big job. That wasn't a problem as they had provided me with a courtesy car.

I collected my car the next day but was told that they were unable to do all the work it required, as some of the parts they received came without the seal. I was told that a rear quarter panel had been replaced, but they would have to reorder the windscreen. (This was the first time that a window, other than the windscreen, had been mentioned to me.) They said that they didn't know when the windscreen would arrive, as it was on back order. That's fair enough.

I was contacted by them a week later to say that the windscreen had arrived and booked me in for 12 March for the work to be completed.

On 5th March I discovered a crack on my windscreen which looks as if it had been caused by a stone, not related to the ongoing problem with the leak, so I phoned to ask them if that would cause a problem with the warranty work being done, and was told it wouldnt, but they would phone me back straight away to confirm.

Today I eventually received a phone call from them saying that it was another rear quarter panel that was being replaced, not the windscreen. How has it suddenly changed from being a leaking windscreen to 2 rear quarter panels? There is no water in the boot, or under the rear seats, so how can it be the rear q panel? The vents in the bottom of the rear door are on the outside of the seal, so how can water get in there? How can it be a big job and take more than 1 day to replace 2 rear q panels?

I understand that mistakes can be made and that there can be confusion sometimes, but I specifically asked which window was leaking on each of my visits and was told the windscreen, every time.

I beleive that your company are using the fact that the windscreen has since been damaged as an excuse to not carry out the work that the car needs under the manufacturers warranty, and that I will just get it fixed under my insurance. Thats not going to happen.

I hope that when I leave the car in again (12th March), That I will be able to talk to the head of your servicing dept to rectify the situation.

It looks like your dealer needs a new service manager and parts manager URGENTLY!!

I assume that they keep ordering the wrong parts and lying to you to cover their mistake.

They seem to assume we are all fools sometime, even though we keep them in a job.

I too had a very similar issue on my Superb estate last summer.

It started when I noticed that the front left footwell was damp. The dealer said it was a leaky windscreen - there is a Skoda service bulletin detailing problems with a windscreen seal if the windscreen has ever been replaced - mine hadn't, but they still insisted that this was the problem. They then said that they couldn't just remove the original windscreen because it had a chip right on the edge in the black band so a new windscreen had to be fitted. The chip was not visible from inside the car and no cracks had developed. Autoglass duly fitted a new screen and the Skoda dealer did whatever they had to do with the seal. It made no difference and even driving in the dry one could see a line of drips on the carpet.

Back it went to the dealer and they agreed it was a problem still. It went in again and then they found the real cause of the problem - a twisted air con drain hose. The air con condensate was ending up in the car. Because of the amount of water in the car they had to strip out all the interior and centre console and replace all the carpets and underlay. They said they had never seen a car so wet on the inside. Now it's fine but the point remains that the windscreen was originally blamed and replaced for no real reason - it's a heated one so was quite expensive and the lines on the after-market replacement are not as fine as the original.

It's a lease car so I didn't have to pay any windscreen excess or anything like that and I had a loan car - a battered old Octavia with 100,000 + miles! However somebody paid for an incompetent dealer...be very careful they are making a correct diagnosis.

Same problem happend to my dads 1998 Passat, the drain hose come loose and water was dripping on the carpet.

It´s a known issue

Any news on this?

Yes, was just waiting on them getting back to me before I updated.

Yesterday I dropped the car in to the dealer and had a lengthy conversation with the service manager. He couldnt understand why I was told it was the windscreen, when all the paperwork from the workshop said it was a problem with the door window seals. Obviously there was a mix up in communication between the workshop, receptionist and myself. Thats ok.

I asked him to explain to me how it could be anything to do with the window seals they had diagnosed, when these seals arent designed to keep the water out. They are designed to let the water run down the window and drain out of the 2 holes in the bottom of the door, on the outside of the door seal. He couldnt explain why the workshop diagnosed it that way.

An hour ago I received a call from him to explain what they think it might be. It turns out that there is a seam in the bulkhead that is leaking. So now I have to leave the car back in again, as they have to leave the car into a bodyshop in another dealer to have the seam welded and repainted.

i think i would be asking them to replace the car .i would not want my brand new car to have the seems welded and painted thanks. i would like a replacement thank you .

bill

i think i would be asking them to replace the car .i would not want my brand new car to have the seems welded and painted thanks. i would like a replacement thank you .

bill

A BIG PLUS ONE!!!

You are quite within your rights to reject the car. If the bulkhead need welding and painting then this is a failure during build. Its not a mechanical that has failed.

The car was not fit for purpose at the begining if the bulkhead was the problem.

You have various options depending on how you paid for the car?

I've had experience of rejecting a new car and also a new caravan for a full refund on both occasions - even though the caravan took 2 years to get a refund !

Just left the car in. Now they are telling me that the seam doesnt need an actual "weld", it needs a sealant they call a "seam weld", which is just a glorified mastic.

What do I have to do to get these people to just tell me in plain english what has caused the leak and how they plan to remedy it? When I asked where the leak was exactly, I was told it was behind the plastic wheel arch lining, between the front wing and the bulkhead. They dont offer me the information, I have to keep asking them.

You can bet your life that when I get the car back I'm going to take that lining off and check behind it for signs of any recent work.

Have you asked them to change the car for a new one ?