Calamity!

[Frenchtone]

Around Vannes the weekend, a meet with my nephew, thought we wouldn't make it as on a roundabout i stalled it, and the engine wouldn't fire up.

Oh ****, pushed the car into a layby nearby, sorted out the Assistance booklet, found and called the French rescue number, a very pleasant sounding French lady responded, immeadiately detected my Anglo saxon origin and carried on in english. Car still under warranty, Normal info taken, told rescue would arrive within 45 mins, thought here we go having read other missives, however, he arrived in 25 mins. He proceeded to check the lump and connectors etc - no joy, attacked his toolbox and produced an adjustable grip, he then started tapping various bitsand asking me to crank the engine. I thought, here we go, another joker, but in the front of the engine, half way across is an electro/mechanical piece, 2 taps on that and a crank, the engine burst into life. took him up the road started /stopped a few times no further probs, car ran well the rest of the weekend!

visited Skoda Quimper this morning, they diagosed the system, a relay had played up, replaced it. Ok so far, they then started f*rting about over the warranty period, France 24 months, explained Skoda UK give an extra 12 mnths, they called Head Office France, result had to pay 54€ bill and need to reclaim from Skoda UK!

Last piece just fgor info/warning! - No quibbles about any of the breakdown service though, thankfully, I have no need to go out and buy a small 'toffee' hammer to cure the problem in the future should it recur!

[nomdeplume]

The word "warranty" in France causes lots of suppliers to have sleepless nights. We have bought various faulty goods here over the years and when you take stuff back they don't want to know. I'd be keen to hear how you get on with Skoda UK over the 54€.

[Defenderben]

Spain are the same, they do not understand warranty at all. Things are a real struggle sometimes!

We really do not know how good we have it here compared to other so called equal countries, as in not third world.

At least it is all sorted

Edited 26 August, 2013 by Defenderben

[mannyo]

The third year of warranty is underwritten directly with Skoda UK. All the importers have no relationship, other than buying their cars from the same source.

 

If you breakdown abroad in the last year of your UK warranty then you'll have to pay the local dealer and reclaim from Skoda UK, just the same as with any other third party.

[gadgetman]

Did you call the skoda assistance number for France?

[Frenchtone]

Yeap, had my folder with all the bumff! The call out lady queried the Warranty period, but no mention by the recovery guy, nor any request for payment, just to visit a local dealership asap this week for diagnostic check!

Quimper, my local dealership, know me well as i use them to buy various bits of 'bolt on' stuff for other UK Skoda owners, cheaper here in France, prices are approx £=€

They also reset the airbag warning light after I had triggered it when fitting towbar electrics(no bag deployment fortunately) some time ago!

[FlintstoneR1]

Reminds me of the James Bond movie. Not 100% sure which one? Could have been "The Living Daylights"?. Where Bond's American friend uses a 10lb sledge hammer to "tap" his rear engined Trabant/Skoda (can't remember which of those either?) into life.

 

It used be a common "problem" with 1960's & early 70's Morris 1000's. The fuel pump used to just stop. Pop the bonnet open, hit the fuel pump with a hammer, just the once was usually enough. Hey, presto! Off you go again till the next time.........

[Llanigraham]

The starter motor on my Series 3 LR used to be like that!!

[eccleshill]

It used be a common "problem" with 1960's & early 70's Morris 1000's. The fuel pump used to just stop. Pop the bonnet open, hit the fuel pump with a hammer, just the once was usually enough. Hey, presto! Off you go again till the next time.........

Thanks for that.  Brought back some happy memories of motoring in a 10yr old 1958 Morris Oxford Traveller.  My dad always carried a hammer for that very purpose.  Once stopped in Blackpool while driving down the illuminations.  Stopped at the north end where the tram tracks cross over the road.  One very unhappy tramdriver hurling abuse at my poor old dad until he leapt out hammer in hand...

[g6zru]

Reminds me of the James Bond movie. Not 100% sure which one? Could have been "The Living Daylights"?. Where Bond's American friend uses a 10lb sledge hammer to "tap" his rear engined Trabant/Skoda (can't remember which of those either?) into life.

 

It used be a common "problem" with 1960's & early 70's Morris 1000's. The fuel pump used to just stop. Pop the bonnet open, hit the fuel pump with a hammer, just the once was usually enough. Hey, presto! Off you go again till the next time.........

 

 

Would have been Skoda, Trabant was front engined.

 

I used to carry a hammer in a 1973 Opel Cadet estate with a steering column gearchange. The gear linkages were so worn that it used to have more neutrals than gears. When it happened I used to lean out of the car (when stopped!) and reach underneath and whack the linkage back into place. On one occasion it stuck solid apparently with reverse and first gear selected at the same time.

 

Fred