Youb have every right to be absolutely incandescent. You should be praised for your patience. I keep coming back to this post with interest to see how you are getting on. Everyone's full of advice but for me maybe see how much an independent evaluation is and then get the free 30 minutes consultation with a solicitor to see if you have a case and go after them. Keep your records of all costs (I'm sure You are anyway). Be interesting to see if they even turned up at small claims to contest it.

As a new to the brand owner (although I've had VAG cars in the past and kind of know what the group can be like) this is disappointing to read.

All the best mate, I'm hoping you get these lot where it hurts.

The advice I have been given is to allow Skoda every opportunity to settle the problem, to take a record of every contact, and to allow them leave to dig themselves a bigger hole. Failing an amicable response from Skoda, Small Claims will offer the highest chance of success at the lowest cost risk to myself. The delays and Skoda's lack of CS are irritating, but I have all of the time in the world and my wife will not let me drop this. She is making my life hell for buying a Skoda tin-can.

Edited 26 May, 201610 yr by Orville

Good on you, I understand your resentment. Have you had lots of bother with the car other than this or is it just the clutch? I had loads of small issues with my last car but it never gave me something serious to work with and I hated it for it, mainly because the dealer kept getting away with it. Your frustration must be through the roof. You do have all the time you need though and youb have your head screwed on so I'm optimistic for you. Can't wait to finally see a positive post about this one!

Good on you, I understand your resentment. Have you had lots of bother with the car other than this or is it just the clutch? I had loads of small issues with my last car but it never gave me something serious to work with and I hated it for it, mainly because the dealer kept getting away with it. Your frustration must be through the roof. You do have all the time you need though and youb have your head screwed on so I'm optimistic for you. Can't wait to finally see a positive post about this one!

The car had a few issues within it's early months but my original Dealer (Preston Motors who have since closed down) resolved them without issue. The water-pump had to be replaced twice (common problem), the sound generator rattled and had to be turned-down, and the drivers seat would sometimes jump one-notch out of it's position whilst driving (still happens occasionally). I appreciate that new cars have problems but Dealer response makes all of the difference, and up until recently I was satisfied with the car. If I knew that the clutch would need replacement after 17,000 normally-driven miles, and that Skoda would do everything possible to wiggle out of a legitimate warranty claim, I would never have purchased it. You live and you learn...

 

edit: One other thing rattled my cage during March this year. After my old Dealer closed, Essex Auto Group refused to honor the "3-years free servicing" promotion I was given upon purchasing my VRS. They said that it was a "Dealer Offer", and as they were not the original Dealer I would have to pay for the cars second annual service. I pointed out that the "3-years free servicing" was an official Skoda promotion, but they still refused. After talking with Customer Services, who then put Essex Auto Group straight, they relented and serviced my car for free. I should have realised then to steer clear of them. I guess they make more money out of charging customers for servicing than they do when claiming from Skoda. Perhaps the same applies for "warranty work"?

Edited 26 May, 201610 yr by Orville

You're at the same stage I was with my Leon. I wish I had never went near it. 17k is unacceptable as is the way youb have been treated. I'm imagining your plan is to get shot of it and move on to something else?

You're at the same stage I was with my Leon. I wish I had never went near it. 17k is unacceptable as is the way youb have been treated. I'm imagining your plan is to get shot of it and move on to something else?

The wife would like a Mazda CX-5 or an Evoque. I quite like the idea of a C350E Estate, but I chose the Octavia last time around and there is no way on Earth she will let me select the next car now. The Octavia is actually a very nice car, and without the Dealer & Customer Services silliness I may even have been tempted by another Skoda or VAG model. As soon as the PCP expires I will hand it back and take my business elsewhere.

Edited 26 May, 201610 yr by Orville

Automatic transmission maybe?

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My wife dislikes autos, but perhaps she will relent after experiencing a Skoda manual .

 

I just called CS again. They say that my case has gone to the "Executive Team", and that they should have called me yesterday. CS will chase and I should definitely receive a call from a higher-authority during today.

Edited 27 May, 201610 yr by Orville

This is such poor service... surely it should be up to Skoda to prove to you that the parts were not defective, it shouldn't have to be your job to chase them and have to prove that they were in fact defective

I just received a call from Skoda Executive Team. They explained that slippage was caused by worn flywheel which shows signs of heat damage. They also said that my pressure appears blue and contains heat spots. My questions back to them were, why then did the Dealer tell me that the flywheel was perfectly fine?, why was it the only item not replaced?, and why can I not see a blue heat-spotted pressure-plate within the pictures below? I again asked them to clarify with Techs why only half of my pressure-plate and disc show wear, as this obviously indicated improper contact. Skoda appears to have switched the wear & tear  blame on to the flywheel - the only part I cannot inspect or tale photos of without pulling the car apart again. They will check with Techs again and get back to me.

 

 

I guess the cutting question is: What was the cause of such uneven contact? There certainly does not appear to be enough heat damage to have caused it, and the unevenness must have been there from very very early in life because of almost zero wear within the centre. 

Edited 27 May, 201610 yr by Orville

Let's get on the Skoda merry go round.

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I ask repeatedly for their Technical Experts to call me or provide a full a written explanation of their assessment, but they do not want to do it. I ask the same questions over and over again, and get given generic one-sentence replies, that side-step direct questions. If they are sure that this is a straight forward wear & tear (or abuse) case, why not explain exactly how they come to that conclusion, and tell me how and why only half of my disc & plate shows wear? I have provided them with enough information to warrant a full and consistent response.

Edited 27 May, 201610 yr by Orville

As an observer, it looks like Skoda have really contradicted themselves and dug deeper into a big hole.  I hope they will see that need to apologise, give clear answers and if they are at fault refund you.   

I have re-examined my pressure-plate from every angle and under different lighting conditions. The plate shows no blue tinge. There is obvious wear where contact has been made around the edges. There are signs of glazing around the edges but this is undoubtedly due to slippage caused by the reduced contact area. Glazing is minimal because slip only just started to occur, and was pretty minor. It is clear that the disc/plate only applied full contact pressure around the outer edges, with contact pressure reducing drastically towards the centre. The cetre shows almost no wear. As the disc shows no signs of overheating, the only possible causes for a concave plate and uneven contact must be manufacturing fault or faulty a SAC (which would result in reduced contact pressure, exacerbating wear on a concave pressure plate).

 

This picture was taken with a tripod and at low-ISO settings to obtain the most detail and provide truest colour representation. A colleague told me that LCD/LED screens use Blue light, so pictures will appear "bluer" than real-life if you have a non-calibrated screen. The forks are blue colour to begin with. A blue plate would indicate overheating, but the plate is not blue.

Edited 27 May, 201610 yr by Orville

Because I mentioned Small Claims to CS, Skoda Legal Team are now involved. I should receive an update from CS on Tuesday.

That's a brilliant photo Orville. Good work on the small claims, they realise that's going to start costing them money even just to represent and to administrate it (never mind any loss of loyalty, bad press etc) so things may move quicker.

Just a note, as you were originally against naming and shaming skoda for this, if you win in the court please send the story to all the motoring publications you can so that people can see what goes on and have hope if they are treated the same? There would be no chance of reprisals since You have a decision on your favour!

The wife would like a Mazda CX-5 or an Evoque. I quite like the idea of a C350E Estate, but I chose the Octavia last time around and there is no way on Earth she will let me select the next car now. The Octavia is actually a very nice car, and without the Dealer & Customer Services silliness I may even have been tempted by another Skoda or VAG model. As soon as the PCP expires I will hand it back and take my business elsewhere.

The problem with boycotting manufacturers is where does it end, all cars have issues, all what happens is your selection of cars goes down to a kia, and even those have issues. If it's the service support all have issues, I had loads of trouble years ago with Renault. And if you think an evoque is going to be reliable you have another thing coming,jlr group cars have shocking problems,. I'm not having a go, but seat, Audi, vw , skoda all use similar components some with the same part number, and I don't think vw group would have treated you any better. The reason for this is they don't need to, they have your money. I think what you have been experiencing is just a reflection of the worst of the car industry, I'm speaking from experience having had to pay for a replacment sunroof that was the best part of a grand while a neighbour 3 doors away had I'd done for free. I hope they give the the money back for the work, but if you don't get reimbursed for the stress and time you have taken, it won't be worth it only the satisfaction of getting the money back.

Can you email me a few of the best pics showing the wear and uneven plate to [email protected]

 

I will get onto a few clutch companies and see what they come back with.

The problem with boycotting manufacturers is where does it end, all cars have issues, all what happens is your selection of cars goes down to a kia, and even those have issues. If it's the service support all have issues, I had loads of trouble years ago with Renault. And if you think an evoque is going to be reliable you have another thing coming,jlr group cars have shocking problems,. I'm not having a go, but seat, Audi, vw , skoda all use similar components some with the same part number, and I don't think vw group would have treated you any better. The reason for this is they don't need to, they have your money. I think what you have been experiencing is just a reflection of the worst of the car industry, I'm speaking from experience having had to pay for a replacment sunroof that was the best part of a grand while a neighbour 3 doors away had I'd done for free. I hope they give the the money back for the work, but if you don't get reimbursed for the stress and time you have taken, it won't be worth it only the satisfaction of getting the money back.

It is not the faults that bother me. Most new cars I have owned have needed to go back to the Dealers for one issue or another. Skoda have provided by far the worst Customer Service I have ever experienced from a car manufacturer. It is not a case of sour grapes, I have been told so many different stories, promised updates and return-calls that never arrived, not had responses to direct questions, and have the feeling of being continually fobbed-off.

Can you email me a few of the best pics showing the wear and uneven plate to [email protected]

 

I will get onto a few clutch companies and see what they come back with.

Thanks for the offer of help. There are 30 or so high-res images available for download at the link below. The files are very large, and would require 15 emails to send.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=73A101F181693680!4294&authkey=!AAOIX3HgJhCrxqQ&ithint=folder%2Cjpg

 

Select the image, then select "view original" to see full size images.

Edited 28 May, 201610 yr by Orville

Do you think this issue could have something to do with your poor fuel economy ?

Do you think this issue could have something to do with your poor fuel economy ?

I doubt whether the clutch would make any real difference to economy. Slippage was extremely rare/slight and only occurred after ~15k miles. My cars mpg is probably due to the fact that we drive frequently in-town, rather than many motorway jaunts. I think that nearly 30mpg average is very good for a 220PS car, but then I have owned Subarus that barely managed 22mpg, and far less powerful cars than wouldn't do 30mpg.

Edited 28 May, 201610 yr by Orville

Showed my Mrs the photo, told her what it was and asked her what she thought. She said it looked like a thinner 'bit' of metal had been running round it but not touching all of it.

Not sure if that's admissible in the small claims court but definitely shows its easy to see what's been going wrong!!

Thanks ExSEAT. You should ask you missus to apply for a job at Skoda's Technical Department. She'd make Chief Engineer in no time whatsoever.

Edited 28 May, 201610 yr by Orville

Thanks ExSEAT. You should ask you missus to apply for a job at Skoda's Technical Department. She'd make Chief Engineer in no time whatsoever.

By the sounds of it, the Chuckle Brothers would do a better job!!