I've previously posted about my 12 plate vrs going into main dealers for an issue about seat pad wear/damage and the lumbar support not working in the drivers seat not working. Well I took it in on Tuesday and was given a courtesy car and told it would take two days. I duly returned this morning to be informed that the seat pad would not be considered under warranty and that if I disagreed I could return to the dealer that I had brought the car from. I was then informed that the lumbar support was not faulty and that all vrs seat were the same- I pointed out that there was no action on the drivers seat but that the passenger seat worked fine- again told that I can return to the dealer that I brought the car from if I disagreed. I was then informed that while they had the vehicle they noticed that I had a small crack in the window screen behind the mirror. Without seeing the car I stated that there was no damage when I dropped the car off and that I was confident of this as I had spent hours at the weekend polishing the car. The service guy then said to me that he doubted I would have seen it as it was behind the mirror in the black cross hatching. I was then taken out to the car and presented with this

I again stated that it had not been there when I left the car and that it looked as though the mirror had been hit causing the damage. I was then informed that there was no way this would have happened!!! I went inside and started arguing and the service manager came over asking me what the problem was, I then summarized;

I brought my car in for repair to the seat of which I am being told there is no damage and that I should go else where with my work and then on top of that the car is damaged and yet I am to believe that it was caused before dropping off the car.

He then attempted to talk me down ( was not going to happen!!) and then asked me what my insurance excess is?! He ensured me that he would not accept liability for the damage without investigating further but would contact his area manager to see if they could help! He ensured me that he would contact me today.

I have not heard anything and I'm livid. There is no way I am going to return for other work but I am not going to pay for the damage they have caused. They claim the crack is caused by a stone chip and would have happened anyway- there is no obvious stone chip and there is no way it was there before- I would have noticed when checking my mirror!

Thoughts and ideas?

Write a strongly worded letter/email to Skoda UK.

Skip the monkey and go straight to the organ grinder.

Looks to me that they've twunted the mirror getting the seat out of the car.

Probably with the headrest as it (the seat) was tilted forward to remove it from the car.

Look for tooling marks on the seat fixings and photograph them if there is.

If the other side was fine and wasn't disturbed there ought not be any tooling

marks that side to compare against.Then you can argue about how it happened.

Which dealers was this at? Literally just reported issues with my dealer:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/270604-wind-noise-problems/

I've just looked into my insurance- if I make a claim it will pause my no claims bonus. So I won't lose my no claims but would lose out on my next years renewal! I've never known this to be the case before but t here is now no way I am going to use my insurance and let them pay! Im not keen on broadcasting the dealers name untill I am aware of how they are going to respond- I'm going to visit tomorrow morning!!

Fair enough, I can understand that Good luck, hope it all gets sorted for you!

I doubt the mirror hitting the windscreen caused that (could be wrong though)

A windscreen claim shouldn't lose you any no claims - but it might cost you £50 to £100. You'd also have to declare it which always leaves the nagging doubt as to whether the price would have been better without it.

Best of luck mate, SUK wont accept liability i could bet my house on it.

I would not lose my no claims but it would be paused and not "grow" next year- something I am unhappy having to do as its not my fault. The excess is £65 as well

No chips at the top of the screen?

Looks like that to me, likely pressure washing or cleaning made it crack if so.

I don't think it was the mirror hitting the window more the mirror being hit and the force being transferred to the window- I'm only guessing as Im obviously not going to be told the truth

I think they have lifted the seat out and whacked the mirror into the screen and its cracked.

No chips at the top at all and the car was not cleaned by them ( at my request as I was not going to let them anywhere near my car with a broom as they were to others!) I did use a pressure washer on Sunday but went on to polish and wax the car after, drive to work Monday and onto the dealers on Tuesday morning, reversing into a parking space- there is no way I did not notice this before!

- get an independent written report on the nature and extent of the damage and confirmation of the lack of stone chips on the windscreen

- investigate the garage's official complaints / arbitration procedure (i.e., do your homework!)

- Be prepared to consider, if necessary, taking it to the Small Claims Court. Don't worry, this is straightforward if you have clear evidence, costs very little (nothing if you win) and does not involve solicitors or any of that malarky.

Not good, poor service and it took them 2 days to decide that the seats were not a warranty job.....crazy

If you were thinking of adding Auto Lights / Auto wipers now is a good time

Why now?

Phone skoda uk and complain. When my car was in the garage and they damaged it i phoned skoda uk and complained. End result, skoda uk put pressure on the garage and they admitted that they caused the damage and it is going in next month to be fixed free of charge. Whatever you do don't back down and fight your corner. I was fully prepared to go to the press about my car and i have made a timeline of events on my computer so i could email it to auto express etc and see if they would pick up the story. It didn't go that far but if it ever happens again i will do exactly the same thing again.

Hope this helps

stu

Phone skoda uk and complain. When my car was in the garage and they damaged it i phoned skoda uk and complained. End result, skoda uk put pressure on the garage and they admitted that they caused the damage and it is going in next month to be fixed free of charge. Whatever you do don't back down and fight your corner. I was fully prepared to go to the press about my car and i have made a timeline of events on my computer so i could email it to auto express etc and see if they would pick up the story. It didn't go that far but if it ever happens again i will do exactly the same thing again.

Hope this helps

stu

Shhhhh my car going on ont the 8th. Not what I wish to be reading lol.

Nothing worse than the mongs damaging our cars. Fight for all it's worth.

Might also be worth reminding them and SUK of the Skoda Customer Promise

http://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/customer-promise#.UXocgKK5Nuo

Specifically: ...

Treat you as a valued individual and respect and care for your property.

and

• Endeavour to diagnose a vehicle defect within 24 hours of the vehicle being presented to us
  

I had a service last week and the dealer was telling me this is what they are "marked" by SUK against.

Ive fallen fowl to this sort of thing before when I had a VW. The soft close on my MK5 Golfs glovebix broke....was possibly related to an accident Id had in the car prior. In any case they did fix the soft close but in doing do put a massive scratch in the lid, they were just careless about how they removed and stored the glovebox section.

I didnt bother complaining as it was a company car and it wasnt bad enough for me to raise merry hell but I probably would have done if it were my car.

If its any consolation its known for the lumbar supports on thw vRS to not be very effective, certainly on the drivers side of my 3 month old car it doesnt seem to do much noticible but the support seems good enough in any case.

However RE the windscreen, I doubt v much they caused that. Its more common than you think for screens to crack like that without warning; its possible something has struck the windscreen at the top, not left any damage but has weakened it and caused it to crack.

I wouldnt make your dealers life misery over this as its probably not their fault. Certainly they should be doing something about the bolster and lumbar under warranty though so id push SUK for some action there.

Edited 26 April, 201313 yr by pipsyp

was the damage noted when the car was dropped off? Did they walk round the car with you? you might need to go back to supplying dealer for claiming under SOGA. but dont involve skoda with the crack as legally its nothing to do with them.

No damage reported untill I collected the car. I'm not looking for an arguement but similarly don't expect to be out of pocket due to someone else's fault/mistake. I am going to see what they say today and see where I go with it- the example they used was that they had 3 vRS cars in at the time and all the seats were the same- I suggested that they may all be at fault considering the difference between passengers and drivers side.

The windscreen in my nearly new Clio split without a chip. I believe it was probably badly fitted when built but never pursued it.

I wonder if there is a way to tell from the crack where it started?

Are Skoda dealer suppose to do a cursory inspection of cars in for work i.e note existing damage so stop false claims?

If they've failed in their own procedures there you will have stronger case for proving the damage was caused by them. It's an argument I've against a body shop that caused more damage than they fixed.

Edited 26 April, 201313 yr by Aspman

Why now?

the most expensive part for adding Rain sensing wipers and autolights is a new windscreen

Shhhhh my car going on ont the 8th. Not what I wish to be reading lol.

Nothing worse than the mongs damaging our cars. Fight for all it's worth.

Mine was ment to be in that week as well to get fixed but i'll be out of the country as of wednesday next week for a month so i've had to re book it in for june. No doubt they will go over it with a fine tooth comb before they start any work on it when i drop it off.

I've managed to convince sarah not to give me the yellow citigo as well lol

What sort of cost is involved in rain sensing wipers?