Hi All,

 

Lurked on here for a while, but never posted. It's a real shame that i'm now posting for the first time with a massive chip on my shoulder, and seriously disillusioned with Skoda UK.

 

I ordered a Octavia VRS Estate TSI back in October 2013. It's a company car and was ordered with a delivery date to coincide with the return of my current car (leased), so April 15th 2014. I had read about delays so as it got closer to delivery date I wasn't surprised to be told that the car would be delayed, due to dealer quota or something.

 

I was told that the car now had an allocated build date week commencing 14th April, and this would mean a mid May delivery.

 

I've just been told that that allocated build week was 'taken away' (WTF????) and they now have no idea when the car will be built and no idea when I can expect delivery.

 

I'm furious, and really considering cancelling the order and not going near Skoda ever again. If I have to wait another 7 months, my current car will have done around 125,000 miles. Not good when I have a 100 mile a day commute.

 

Unbelievable really.

 

Car was ordered via a dealer, through an agency that our comapny uses, so I've no idea who the dealer was. The agency are normally very good.

 

Really quite cross. I have booked a holiday on the basis of being able to drive a large estate car to the Alps, full of bikes and mates, this is now not possible.

It is really frustrating. Make sure you raise the issue with Skoda UK Customer Services too. They seem to be in denial about these issues.

I doubt it will be another 7-months though. Just because car hasn't got an aloocated BW doesn't mean it starts again.

To make it worse if you read around on here you will find people ordering cars December/January are receiving VRS Estates before you!

You at least can probably lease something else if you wanted to but as yet I've found nothing for the PCP deal I got that matches and at least I can keep my Mk2 VRS until then.

I thought that SUK were supplying equivalent hire cars in cases like this?  Doesn't help when you're going through another party or two and, as you say, don't even know where the car is coming from.

Id have thought the lease company your going through can supply a temp car of equivalent size while you wait. Especially if its a hard date for your current car to be returned. Mine did no problem. 

Had similar issues with my previous Octavia ordered in 2010 and didn't see it until well into 2011 after having various build dates move forwards, backwards and disappear, they do have a compensation scheme which from memory comes from their warranty department? I got £350 which I spent on accessories also some time after I got my car I also got a cheque for the added depreciation on my trade in and running costs etc etc......

Latest news is that the car was taken off the system due to the MY14/MY15 change over. I've already been promised a mid April delivery, then an end of April delivery due to "delays", then a mid May delivery....and now nothing.

 

I have no idea how they are alloacted now, and unless it's going to arrive within 6 weeks or so, I'm going to cancel.

 

The frustrating thing is, that I feel the dealer has been dishonest with their timescales and possible didn't have quota for the car. If I had received a little honesty from the get go, I'd be more inclined to be patient.

I  know its no consolation, it appears that SUK have NO idea & never learn from past experience about how to gauge the sales of a new model.

 

They seem to roll out the same excuse, ' we didnt relaise how popular this model would be so underestimated the allocation', It happened for the Mk1 Fabia vRS, MK2 Octavia vRS ( diesel version),  MK2 FL ( DSG version), Yeti,  & now the MK3 vRS.

 

The thing that REALLY makes this look even more of a stupid cockup, was at the launch of the MK3 vRS @ Goodwood one of the directors of Skoda was proudly announcing how the UK sales of the vRS are such a high overall % of all vRS sales , you came away thinking - OK if they know this then they have planned for it as part of release. Obvioulsy not & compound the whole thing by putting them on 0% PCP.

 

I had to wait for my MK1 Fabia vRS, & 6 months for my FL Octy vRS, i was lucky with my 1st 2 Mk1 Octy's as they were just std ones, & the Yeti ordered this time has not been a long wait. ( 4 weeks from order to build - sitting at Emeden for over 10 days waiting for a boat, & at Grimsby for a week for delivery to dealer).

 

My next & probably last new car I buy will most likely NOT be a Skoda even though I really do like them once they eventually arrive, & everyone that waits says the same.

 

Just before you cancel, harass your lease company & ask for the order number allocated, if they give you one then contact SUK Customer services direct & make enquiries.  

If the cannot give you one then I personally would be sniffing round for the strong smell of BS, as it would strongly suggest the car was not put on order at original request and late enquiries have resulted in panic with them suddenly placing an order.

Ask what they mean by -  'Taken off the system' Kick up a stink, if they cannot get you the car by the time you want it then as a customer you have every right to go elsewhere.

 

Good Luck.

Agreed. There doesn't seem to be any transparency to the process, unless you kick up a stink and demand information. You'd expect with something of this high value that you'd have some sort of written confirmation, of order placed, build week allocation etc etc rather than the dealer just phoning you up and giving you a load of crap over the telephone.

 

Skoda UK have dropped the ball here, but the most frustrating thing is looking at all the people on here who have had to wait, but a lot less than me and are now happily driving around in their new cars.

You ordered from a lease company - who will either have their own quota direct with SUK, or will order through one large dealership chain, and will then be subject to their quotas.

 

You need to be asking more questions of your lease company, it may not necessarily be SUK at fault. 

IMHO it's not the dealers that are at fault in most cases. They are given estimated lead times on all models on a monthly basis. That is the only info they have. When they put the car on the system it's is allocated an estimated BW. From there on it is random to what happens. Dealers do not have a quota of cars they can have waiting, BUT they do have a quota of orders per month, so if ordering at end of month they may wait to put it on until following month. That is all the control they have.

ALL orders without confirmed BW went 'off the system' this week to allow them to replay for 2015 models. They should be back on this week hopefully.

My November order was place in November and given BW8. This was always optimistic and indeed went out to BW18 for a while before now not having an allocated BW. This is what I find frustrating. I surely can be given an estimate. If there are 20 people waiting then they surely get the next 20 slots on e line. But no, I've seen on here people ordering cars in December and January with similar specs getting cars built before me. SUK can't tell me why this is.

It's definitely tainted my view of the brand and I came close to cancelling but my dealer has been very good. They will honour the trade in equity and have MOTd my current VRS. Skoda finance have extended my PCP and I just keep paying until the new one arrives. SUK have told me they will offer some form of compensation. My only worry is I won't have the new car before my trip to LeMans classic in July. I've told the dealer they will be lending me their VRS demo or a Superb estate at least!

I keep looking at alternatives. I guess Skoda have to hope I don't find one.

Get back on to the Lease Company and get them to chase. I had a similar experience (though not quite as long). Lease was up in March, Ordered in late October to give them plenty of time to sort everything. I was told of delays with the paint (Metallic Grey) in December and eventually got the car in April. It took a bit of chasing to get an anticipated delivery date, as they (lease company)rarely updated their website, They let me keep the Mk2 until the Mk3 arrived. 

What a ball-ache. Mine was about 4 weeks late but I was trading in my Fabia vRS and had a fixed price regardless of date so it didn't bother me so much.  

 

The trouble is if you cancel you're then going to have to start again with another manufacturer/model and the wait could be longer than the delay on this order.  As others have said, kick up a stink with SUK and your lease company and see if one or the other will give you a temporary equivalent car to use until the Octy arrives.

 

On the plus side you will most likely benefit from the updates on the 15 model for free

What a ball-ache. Mine was about 4 weeks late but I was trading in my Fabia vRS and had a fixed price regardless of date so it didn't bother me so much.  

 

The trouble is if you cancel you're then going to have to start again with another manufacturer/model and the wait could be longer than the delay on this order.  As others have said, kick up a stink with SUK and your lease company and see if one or the other will give you a temporary equivalent car to use until the Octy arrives.

 

On the plus side you will most likely benefit from the updates on the 15 model for free

 

l'd be very surprised if you get much joy from the leasing company. They generally work on minimal margins and any deviation from the package will affect their bottom line.

 

To be fair, the agency probably acted in good faith following a discussion with Skoda. The mess with delivery times lies firmly with Skoda's inability to predict customer demand followed by it's continued failure to respond to that demand even when it smacks them in the face on a daily basis.

Dealers do not have a quota of cars they can have waiting, BUT they do have a quota of orders per month, so if ordering at end of month they may wait to put it on until following month. That is all the control they have.

 

Quite, but having worked in a dealership for almost a decade (albeit quite a while ago), you would not believe what goes on behind the scenes.

 

For instance, perhaps the dealer is getting a quota of 20 vRS a month. So, a company lease deal is placed close to the end of a month. These are very low margin for the dealer, as the lease companies will nail them to the floor on the price. Dealer has already sold all of the vRS orders trhey can place on the factory this month, so they roll it over to next month along with another 3 or 4 orders from private customers, who are going to get their servicing and warranty work done at this dealer. So, at the start of the next month, the 4 private orders are placed on the factory. The Sales Manager knows he is going to sell another 10 vRS easily this month, and the lease order isn't needed for 5 to 6 months, so the next 6 private sales get placed on the factory (higher margin, servicing & warranty work etc.) and the lease order gets rolled over again. At this point the sales manager thinks that he better get this lease order on the system, and as he does the waiting times go from 20 weeks to 30 weeks due to increased demand, and span the change of a model year so now all bets are off!!!

 

I've seen very similar things happen! Dealers exist to make money - they are a business. They make very little when all is said and done on new car sales - they make loads on used car sales so want the part exchanges that they can retail, and the icing on the cake is the servicing and warranty work. So 1 lease car that they are unlikely to ever see again sold at not far above cost is a very low priority for them in the grand scheme of things.

I don't doubt that andyvee. I'm sure there are financial pressures affecting their orders. BUT it still makes no sense of the lottery of when the car gets built. There should not be orders after mine getting built before mine.

This is Skoda's fault though, not dealer or even SUK.

I'm writing to the boss of SUK to ask why they can't answer the question of why nobody can give me a BW. Been told its a guy called Alistair Stewart.

I love my VRS but in the end it is a car...nothing else. I would not allow myself to get this frustrated/angered because of a long delivery time.

Have a look at the 'plan B' thread. People have cancelled their orders and got themselves some really nice alternatives.

It might be the way to go for you and will potentially save you the frustration going forward?

 

As for "writing to the boss of SUK"...I am unsure what you expect to happen but in all likelihood you will receive a response from the same Customer relations team who dealt with your query in the first place.

 

Keep us posted.

I'm writing to the boss of SUK to ask why they can't answer the question of why nobody can give me a BW. Been told its a guy called Alistair Stewart.

 

I realise it's frustrating but delays are well documented and if a quick car was needed, it probably wasn't the best idea to try to get the best selling model of the range.

 

Good luck with your letter but I predict a standard reply by week, erm, 26. Unless of course, Audi need the stamps. In which case,  the delay in manufacture of your letter is likely be very large indeed.

I ordered my Vrs diesel estate on 28th Decemeber, two weeks ago got told build week 35, end of August. The dealer quoted an 18 week wait so I emailed dealer threatening to cancel and guess what? I have a loan car from Skoda UK turning up tomorrow to use until mine is built! (At least I really hope so as I have sold my present car!)

Shows its worth a try, you don't get if you don't ask

 

 

 

 

I'm furious, and really considering cancelling the order and not going near Skoda ever again. If I have to wait another 7 months, my current car will have done around 125,000 miles. Not good when I have a 100 mile a day commute.

 

 

125000 on a 2011 Golf GTI you should have nothing to worry about if you have looked after it. I think you are overegging it. Annoying, yes but hardly the end of the world. It's only a car cancel your order and get something with a shorter delivery time,

I ordered my Vrs diesel estate on 28th Decemeber, two weeks ago got told build week 35, end of August. The dealer quoted an 18 week wait so I emailed dealer threatening to cancel and guess what? I have a loan car from Skoda UK turning up tomorrow to use until mine is built! (At least I really hope so as I have sold my present car!)

Shows its worth a try, you don't get if you don't ask

 Update, have a shiny new Elegance estate from SUK on my drive to use until my car is built its even the same colour as my VRS will be :)

125000 on a 2011 Golf GTI you should have nothing to worry about if you have looked after it. I think you are overegging it. Annoying, yes but hardly the end of the world. It's only a car cancel your order and get something with a shorter delivery time,

 

Current Golf has not been particularly relaible. I've already had a cam chain tensioner fail, and was without the car for 4 weeks while they fixed the engine. I've had a few electrical niggles, and 1 non starting event.

 

I ordered an estate because I need an estate, not a 3 door golf anymore. Family has expanded, and we're struggling.

 

I pay company car tax on the value of the car as new, so driving round in a 125,000 mile car makes the money I spend on tax a little hard to swallow.

 

HTH show why I might be a little miffed.

Have you harrased the lease company / dealer etc ?

Current Golf has not been particularly relaible. I've already had a cam chain tensioner fail, and was without the car for 4 weeks while they fixed the engine. I've had a few electrical niggles, and 1 non starting event.

 

I ordered an estate because I need an estate, not a 3 door golf anymore. Family has expanded, and we're struggling.

 

I pay company car tax on the value of the car as new, so driving round in a 125,000 mile car makes the money I spend on tax a little hard to swallow.

 

HTH show why I might be a little miffed.

See my post a couple above this, try fro a loan car ,

Hi,

 

I'm from Finland and we have same situation. I placed order of TDI DSG Combi, thru leasing Company, to dealer mid of december. I asked estimate begining of this week, reply was maybe end of August. That contains couple of weeks delivery time to Finland.

 

I started to browse internet, if same happens in other countries and did find this forum. Dealer told me that currently they give 10 months estimate for new VRS orders.

 

Mika U

I realise it's frustrating but delays are well documented and if a quick car was needed, it probably wasn't the best idea to try to get the best selling model of the range.

 

Good luck with your letter but I predict a standard reply by week, erm, 26. Unless of course, Audi need the stamps. In which case,  the delay in manufacture of your letter is likely be very large indeed.

 

Well I was expecting that too, BUT I now have a BW and an explanation of why I am waiting longer than expected. My dealer was taken over by another group. The factory cancelled and reapplied the orders at the end of January under the new dealer's name. This then put me behind the others as it was as if I ordered then and got a 28-week wait. SUK agree this was wrong but can't seem to do anything about it so my car will be built BW25 (w/c June 16th).

I have a new SUK contact from the Exec Support team too and will be getting some form of compensation plus a rental if they cant get my new VRS to me in time for my LeMans Classic trip.

So they do appear to be trying to help, but I still think its all BS!!