Having been generally pleased with how the car drives, i have no issue with the so called cheap torsion beam arrangement the car drives well enough, I am getting annoyed with the trickle faults so far from new. I have already had the centre airvent replaced (week 1 of ownership) and then noticing multiple paint defects now the centre airvent has broken again (the air direction fins have come away from the adjuster) and today I noticed oil streaks on the power tailgate struts. Not a good sign.

So not a happy skoda owner once more. I'm sure I'm odds on favourite to be the owner with the problematic car.

For £25k this is poor. If skoda wish to capture a certain element of luxury with the 'elegance' model they seriously need to go back to the drawing board. I would have given the benefit of the doubt but to many problems in such a short period is not right and mine is not an isolated case.

It would appear to me that the hassle free ownership of a new car is a myth with the brand. It's saving grace like I stated is that despite the critisms of its ride to quality in fairness i Find it acceptable and along with the engine and transmission(Dsg) it's easy and comfy to drive.

So more calls etc to the dealer and yet more time wasted. Is this normal with skoda? This is my first (and definitely last) skoda and I'm suprised by how the problems just keep coming. Has the Mkiii been rushed into production? Where is the quality? Was the quality 'there' in the first place.

I used to think vauxhalls were atrocious and still do but now I see skoda in the same light. Maybe it's just the Mkiii certainly by reading the topics on here there are issues/problems with many aspects of the car hence it appears the Mkiii may have been rushed into production?

So 7 months ownership a whoke list of issues and still awaiting my 'goodwill' gestures. I'm sure other car manufacturers and dealers have issues but it was skoda who of late were ranked highly for quality of product and customer service. I Cannot see how this is true, or since those good days things have declined?

This is not an isolated case either. A real pity as if the car was engineered better and manufacturing methods were improved it would be an excellent car.

In the meantime they can keep as taxis.

Edited 8 April, 201511 yr by octavianestate

If its the second air vent in the same hole, I'd say the hole is at fault and not the air vent which means you have a diagnostics issue.... have you considered trying a different dealer for your faults ?

First vent it was a trim fault on the vent unit. The silver edging was bend and was obvious. I now cannot adjust the air direction very well on the new unit i can see behind the 'fins' the director knob has come away.

I will try a different dealer when I can....maybe a ford dealer or a hyundai dealer...haha

I have had the complete opposite, my car (VRS TDI) arrived in December last year and I have only had a small issue with the Kessy system which is ok now.  Your car must have been built on a Friday afternoon when the workers where thinking about the weekend.

 

After saying this, I hope my car does not break down tomorrow and the have to eat my words.

I will try a different dealer when I can....maybe a ford dealer or a hyundai dealer...haha

Try that. When I had a Passat years ago, the local Hondadealer was the one with best knowledge and service. :p

When Skoda were establishing themselves under VW ownership they made considerable efforts to overcome their previous 'joke' reputation.

Thanks to good communist education, relatively low wages(poor communist economy), a lot of dedication, work and care, Skoda went onto 'embarrass' their VW owners by achieving impressively high levels of reliability and customer satisfaction (much higher than VW anyway).

My impression is that my Mk2 Octavia was 'over engineered' and probably would not be economic to make today, assuming that Czech wages are now achieving some sort of Euro parity.

There is now high demand for Skoda products they have struggled to meet especially with initial MQB platform production problems (VW were similarly affected).

The Mk3 was/is a brilliant brand new design with fewer teething problems than has been experienced from other manufacturers, but meeting high demand has caused some quality issues internally and from suppliers which can compound in individual cars (the lemons).

The only issues I have had are the dreaded B Pillar rattle which has now disappeared by itself (I believe it is common across VAG) and poor cold start jerkiness for the first 2 minutes which is annoying but not a big problem.

These things happen and when they do then the dealer and Skoda response will determine the customer level of satisfaction, and the response has reportedly varied considerably.

The OP has definitely had his fair share of issues but the problems have been addressed under warranty. Finding an alternate at a similar price and offering similar driving satisfaction and where owners have not reported similar issues may be a challenge.

Edited 9 April, 201511 yr by Gerrycan

Only real problem with mine was the cruise control dropping out which Skoda fixed with a new DSG s/w release very quickly.  Other than that it's fine (although I am pleased I turned off the start stop with VCDS as I didn't like VW's logic as to when it would cut the engine)

I got shot of my Mk3 VRS last week after 15 months of ownership I had no problems or concerns at all. I just didn't like it,the mk1 VRS was a cracking car the mk2 was again brilliant. I was hugely underwhelmed as I said I had no problems just quality issues like rubbish paint job gear knob worn ( after 12k miles) drivers seat fabric wearing out rather quickly, then it was noisy not in a nice way I thought the ride quality was rubbish.

So now I have a Superb 170 Elegance Estate with a mega amount of options on yes it's an old car now but it's still better than a mk3 Octavia. (Just my thoughts).

Well the saga continues and so does the goodwill bun fight. If anything the brand and it's corporate face are proving predictabLe.

Personally I think skoda are aiming to high with the product (most likely due a VAG directive). Are Seats just as poor?

At this rate my first year of ownership will be trying to resolve all of the problems I have faced with this car so that then leaves the remainder of the PCP to save up for that Dacia....

If the car has multiple faults that the dealer has failed to rectify then you should reject the car.

After years of owning different brands, you can get faults with many different new cars. If they are persistent though, something needs to happen.

I don't understand people getting so upset about a few minor niggles. Even if you buy an Aston Martin or a 911, you run the risk of having a few of these small annoyances in the beginning of ownership.  Something about a mountain and a molehill.

 

I recently saw a new M3 with orange peel paint so obvious even a blind man could spot it, but BMW's quality control guy obviously was still drunk from the party the evening before.  

Edited 10 April, 201511 yr by GatorLinearFade

Car was rejected by myself. Rejection refused by SUK and Skoda finance. After 4 months the dealer offered me a replacement black series but I don't like them so also offered a replacement elegance (like for like) but it would not have the options i originally specced up so I refused.

Since that i was offered a healthy goodwill gesture which i asked to be used to clear a considerable amount of the cars cost, but now the 'group' are stalling with payment.

And I have IMHO been indirectly verbally insulted. So all in all a rotten experience not only with the vehicle but also the dealer.

It has all been noted and complaints duly raised in good time. As i said I'm not blinkered by some misguided loyalty, i woukd not expect anyone to have to receive this level of service in any business line. I'm not asking for thr earth and all I did was to purchase a budget car. This is a great example of how a brand and dealer will lose reputation and future business.

Still like the engine and Dsg combo tho. It's the cars saving grace.

I don't understand people getting so upset about a few minor niggles. Even if you buy an Aston Martin or a 911, you run the risk of having a few of these small annoyances in the beginning of ownership. Something about a mountain and a molehill.

I recently saw a new M3 with orange peel paint so obvious even a blind man could spot it, but BMW's quality control guy obviously was still drunk from the party the evening before.

You are the ideal skoda punter. :-))

What was wrong with you Aston and 911?

Mate I'm having similar (although technically different) problems.  In 30 years of buying cars I've never had a worse experience.  This is definitely my first and last Skoda which is so disappointing having really, really looked forward to getting the car so much.

 

I've now had 9 months of every possible part of the Skoda organisation screwing up - 5 x dealers, Skoda UK, the factory and the Milton Keynes technical centre - and 6 weeks with a brand new car with no audio working anywhere.  

• Dealers: 2 messed up orders and delayed my order for an extra 4 months, 1 didn't carry out the required PDI checks, and 2 more don't have the ability to troubleshoot the dead audio system.
• Factory:  Just didn't build the car right.
• Milton Keynes technical centre:  Repeatedly unable to troubleshoot the fiber optics (let alone solve) the problem. 
• And Skoda UK have been absolutely no use whatsoever with any of the different problems I've had!  They must have called me 40-50 times now during the last 9 months to apologise but haven't changed or escalated a single thing.  It's like Groundhog Day when Maxine calls me each time!

I haven't had so much as a Mars bar in compensation or goodwill.

 

The main problem now is that there's still zero audio in the car but more worryingly no-one in the entire UK from Skoda's vast pool of resources appears capable of troubleshooting the Columbus/Canton/fiber optic cable combination.  One dealer admitted they were all learning on the job as the fiber optics were so new and they hadn't been trained!  I mean seriously!

 

I can't tell you how sick and tired I am of driving to and from Skoda repair shops to hear them 'try' something else only for it to fail.

 

Mine goes back in on Wednesday for the 5th time in 6 weeks.  This will be the 5th dealer I've dealt with and it'll be the last chance to see if anyone in this shoddy outfit has the faintest idea what they're doing.  After that I'll be done with Skoda.

 

If anyone else has this combo of audio system I'd seriously start praying nothing goes wrong with it otherwise you could be screwed!