Expectations Of a Reasonable Person

[Guest]

Evening,

 

I am currently involved with Skoda UK over my disatisfaction with the number of failed components/defects I have experienced with my 2010 2.0PD TDi Scout.  The amount of paperwork I have sent them listing and showing these failures/defects brings me out in Guilt Sweat whenever I hear about the deforestation of the Amazon.

 

Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 Ch54 Section 14 Implied Terms about Quality or Fitness it states ;

 

For the purpose of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory....

 

And that is the crux of this post.  Am I being reasonable in expecting my vehicle not to suffer the following;

 

November 2010                  Nearside Parking sensor replaced due to being faulty

September 2011                 4 x Proteus Alloys replaced due to delamination

August 2012                       Rear centre arm rest replaced due to faulty mechanism 

                                           Drivers seat base replaced due to 'collapsing'

                                           Drivers seat cover replaced due to premature wear and tear; 'bobbling' 

                                           Both  front doors realigned due to water ingress and 'whistling' above 50mph.  Due to them being                                              re-aligned they no longer seal properly thus outside noise enters the cabin.

June 2013                          Rear differential replaced due to leaking.

                                          Underside of front grill repainted due to rusting

                                          Number plate lamp unit replaced due to rusting

                                          Skoda bonnet and boot badges repaced due to delamination (minor, I know)

July 2013                           DMF replaced due to failing.  This was defective since purchased new, and had been through 4 Skoda                                dealer services and had just been through its MoT when I asked the Tech to have a look at it .  He was able                                    to diagnose it as having failed within seconds, yet every service passed it without even giving it an advisory.           

September 2013                'Scout' cladding detaching above drivers side rear wheel arch

                                          Drivers side headlight retaining bolt sheared - unable to remove headlight to replace bulbs

                                           All 4 replacement Proteus alloys are delaminating.   

                                           All 4 Skoda wheel badges are delaminating - minor I know, but with all the above, just another defect (or                                      four) to add           

 

Within a few days of purchasing the car I noticed the plastic flap that covers the lock mechanism in the boot was lying under the netting system at the rear of the boot.  The windscreen has (minor) delamination around the bottom of the screen, and there were four scratches on the drivers side window switch panel.  I asked for the boot flap plastic to be replaced under warranty but was informed there is no way it would have left the factory like that and I must have broken it.  Just like the DMF, I suppose???   

 

All bar the replacement Proteus alloys, plastic boot flap, Skoda wheel badges and delaminated windscreen have been replaced under warranty.  As a consequence of the above I have taken out a 3 year extended warranty with Warranty Wise at a cost of £840.

 

Further background info;  the vehicle has done approximately 52k, the vast majority of which is motorway, it has a full Skoda dealer service history, serviced every 10,000, has everything replaced as per the service booklet, air con, brake fluid, haldex, etc.

 

Fin

[dobbey]

Sounds like your car was built on a Friday afternoon :(

[silver1011]

Some of your complaints are unfortunately common amongst all Scouts / Mk II Octavia's.

 

The Proteus alloy wheels are a known weak point. I've yet to see a Scout over three years old with intact alloys.

 

The windscreens start to turn milky white under the wiper blades. Both my Scout and vRS did the same although it has now stopped.

 

The old style Skoda badges suffer from 'whiteworm' and is another regular complaint.

 

Number plate lights regularly corrode, only on the estate for some reason, it is only usually noticed when you try and replace a blown bulb.

 

The seats and rusty bonnet are unusual, however having the DMF and diff fail so early would have set alarm bells ringing for me.

[yknot]

I don't think you are being unreasonable at all! However, from my experience purchasing a 3 year old 'so-called' APPROVED used Scout, your anger and frustration with Skoda will fall on deaf ears. I am finding it difficult to understand why these cars get the reputation for build quality and reliability that they enjoy?

 

For the sake of the rainforest trees and your blood pressure put all this aggravation in the 'life's experience' box and accept that there is no such thing as customer service in the modern world!!! 

[Aspman]

I believe the definition for 'a reasonable person' is about 130yr old. It's something like

 

"What would appear reasonable to a gentleman traveling on a tram in central London" circa 1880.

 

which means effectively saying something is "reasonable" is arguable for both sides.

 

Most of your issues are cosmetic or inconvenient rather than something which was a risk to your life which makes your argument harder.

 

I agree with the other poster that your car just sounds like a Friday afternoon / Monday morning car. A lemon in the US.

 

Might be easier to cut your losses and seek an agreed trade in amount.

[Blackline Stu]

Haha so you've got a Friday afternoon car where the whole factory were pre drinking like mine I feel your pain :( I phoned SUK about my car being of an extremely poor quality and the ammount of inconvinience that it has caused me, having to take days off work (its been in the garage 21 days and that is about to go up again....) and a 150 mile round trip to the dealers every time it needs to be fixed. It helps a lot when the service girls all know you by your first name and greet you as if you're an old friend when they see you come in to the dealership because SUK phone the dealership to see just how bad your car has been and then make a decision from there. I know that in my case the service girls hepled me out a lot because they sympathise with me that my car is such a dog and the told SUK straight that it was a piece of ****. Its amazing where a bit of flirting in can get you and just being civilised with them no matter how ****ed off you are with your car (I'm not saying that you're not civilised when you're in the garage) It took about 3 weeks to sort it out with SUK and they agreed with me and the garage that the car was of poor quality and agreed that it did not meet expectations (I did mention that I bought it because it was better value than a VW but I didn't expect that quality would be compromised and explained that I understood that they needed to save money somewhere to sell them cheaper that VW's but not to the extent that the car breaks on avaerage every month). They compenstated me for the fuel that I would have used taking the car backwards and forwards to the dealers and gave me some more on top as an apology for the car being so poor.

 

BTW I have nothing but praise for the way that SUK have handled me the 2 times that I have had to deal with them :yes:

 

My car is a Oct 12 registered Octavia vRS if you are viewing on your phone.

 

HTH

[London Les]

The alloys on my scout are fine.

[marko]

I've never had that much trouble with any car used or new and would be well fed up if it were me and would of got rid and swapped brands a long time ago!

 

and I'm a reasonable man!

[silver1011]

The alloys on my scout are fine.

 

That's because it's only just three years old. Give it another 12 months!

[Nomads]

That's because it's only just three years old. Give it another 12 months!

Mine isn't even a year old and has the dreaded white threading beginning to appear....

Edited 27 February, 2014 by Nomads

[marko]

do Skoda actually change stuff like this on warranty? like centre wheel caps and the like? if they do I might wait until my car is almost out of warranty then get them changed

[dunc69]

Fin, I feel for you.

See my thread re my speedo needle on a 2010 vRS. Cr*p Chinese LEDs.

Out of warranty. Skoda prepared to pay 60% of a £1000 bill. They know that if they agreed to pay more, the floodgates would open as it seems this may be a major issue going forwards for lots of Octy and Superb owners.........

Got it fixed in the end for £100. But, still irritates that I had to pay anything - and drive two hours for the fix.

Good luck in your quest for what your deserve - SUK should really look after you with SO many issues!

PS 1969 was a great year!

Cheers,

Dunc

Edited 27 February, 2014 by dunc69

[Guest]

Guys,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I am in the process of writing to Skoda UK with what I am prepared to accept as a 'goodwill gesture'! Unfortunately, I have been unemployed since leaving the RN last year, so negotiating a trade in is not on the cards, otherwise I would have chopped the car in ages ago. I have raised the issue with SUK reference these defects (admittedly the majority are minor, but it is the sheer number of them) having an adverse effect at trade in time. The ratio of cost to repair/replace against the purchase price is fairly high. Of the 9 failures/defects where a cost was given came to £2025.44, that still leaves 21 faults/failures to be costed-including a complete set of Proteus alloys, which alone are approximately £1070.44.

I am proposing they pay for the refurb of my alloys (Silver I know you like the polished look, but I know after having TWO sets, I would be going through this palaver in about 18 months time!), pay in full for my extended warranty and as a goodwill gesture, pay for the cambelt/water pump which is due in June this year. I already have the next couple of services taken care of. Already I can hear the words Snowballs, in,Hell and chance ringing in my ears, but if you don't ask, you don't get.

Wish me luck!!

Fin

PS Who said anything about 69 being a year?

[dunc69]

Good luck, let us know how you get on!

[silver1011]

Hehe, yes I love the polished finish but I too am loathed to have them refurbed only to have to do them all again too soon.

 

Two of the full set I had replaced by Skoda are starting to go again so I'll be in a conundrum!

 

The two issues that worry me are the DMF and diff, the rest is annoying but not indictative of long term out-of-warranty expense.

 

On the bright side at least you know that theDMF and diff are now as they should have been when the car left the factory.

 

I think you've just been unlucky and that the worst is now behind you.

 

Don't give up on Skoda UK, keep pushing. Good luck.

[Guest]

Just an update.

 

SUK refunded my extended warranty costs and made a contribution towards the cambelt.  The wheels I am taking care off myself.  Silver, you better sit down, the polished look is long gone!!

 

Overall, I'm happy with the outcome, I basically got a six year warranty with the car.  Does that make it somewhat between a Hyundai and a Kia???

 

Best regards,

 

Fin

[Kiwibacon]

I got my wheels sand-blasted and powder coated in a sparkle grey with clear over.  Even living in a country where they don't salt the roads most of mine were looking rough at 4 years.  I'm very happy with the result, less bling and more purposeful looking.  I do keep second guessing myself on the colour choice though.  I would have gone a lot darker without the silver roof rails.

 

It seems, apart from the trim, seat and DMF, corrosion is causing a lot of your problems.

[skodacarman]

Fin 69, I salute your persistence & tenacity.  It just goes to show what you can achieve when as an individual you take on the might of the big companies.

[silver1011]

SUK refunded my extended warranty costs and made a contribution towards the cambelt.  The wheels I am taking care off myself.  Silver, you better sit down, the polished look is long gone!!

 

I went down the same route too :'(