The bodyshop rang with an update this morning as promised... The shock absorber required is on backorder with no known date for becoming available. She'll ring on Friday to check in but it's not looking good. Brilliant(!)...     

The bodyshop rang with an update this morning as promised... The shock absorber required is on backorder with no known date for becoming available. She'll ring on Friday to check in but it's not looking good. Brilliant(!)...     

 

Crazy !!

Crazy !!

 

Yup. At this rate I'll be without the car for far longer than I originally had it. Bloody annoying. The Mondeo I have in the meantime is a decent steer actually, just ruined by one of the harshest dag-dags I've ever endured. It's not even good on fuel, averaging just 6mpg more than the TSI this week which considering it's (1) diesel and (2) has 100hp less is pretty dismal. Fingers crossed I'm not waiting months.

Sorry to hear that Derv....Skoda Simply Not Clever 

Has the bodyshop gone to Skoda for the part? or are they able to try the OEMs directly, like Bilstein? They make loads of the factory spec shockers that VAG use.

 

VW and Skoda are probably hoovering up all of these parts to satisfy demand at the factory. You've been sold your car, so you're now at the bottom of the food chain   

Has the bodyshop gone to Skoda for the part? or are they able to try the OEMs directly, like Bilstein? They make loads of the factory spec shockers that VAG use.

VW and Skoda are probably hoovering up all of these parts to satisfy demand at the factory. You've been sold your car, so you're now at the bottom of the food chain

That would appear to be the case, yes. :( I'll call them back and ask about going direct. I never thought of that mate, cheers. What a sorry tale. It's certainly taken the shine off having a new car. Still, it could have been much worse I'm sure...

Yup. At this rate I'll be without the car for far longer than I originally had it. Bloody annoying. The Mondeo I have in the meantime is a decent steer actually, just ruined by one of the harshest dag-dags I've ever endured. It's not even good on fuel, averaging just 6mpg more than the TSI this week which considering it's (1) diesel and (2) has 100hp less is pretty dismal. Fingers crossed I'm not waiting months.

`dag-dags`...new one on me?

It's a long shot but I would not be happy just to accept this without trying something. I would look for the nearest cctv cameras in each direction, both private and public. Your blue paintwork on a white vehicle should be easy to spot. If you can narrow down the timeframe a private cctv owner might help you out. If there are public cameras nearby the police should help you out, given the many thousands of pounds worth of damage. Worth a try? If you find the vehicle and a reg number,  the dvla have to provide the owners details, I understand, in these circumstances

`dag-dags`...new one on me?

 

A diesel engine mate. Think of the sound... "dag-dag-dag-dag-dag-dag".....

It's a long shot but I would not be happy just to accept this without trying something. I would look for the nearest cctv cameras in each direction, both private and public. Your blue paintwork on a white vehicle should be easy to spot. If you can narrow down the timeframe a private cctv owner might help you out. If there are public cameras nearby the police should help you out, given the many thousands of pounds worth of damage. Worth a try? If you find the vehicle and a reg number,  the dvla have to provide the owners details, I understand, in these circumstances

 

Unfortunately because of where we live there is none for quite some distance (maybe a mile or so), and even then only covers one minor road. Far more likely our perp left on one of the half dozen arterial routes which isn't covered by any kind of CCTV.

Hi,

If they can not supply parts how long before cars " disappear" to be broken for spares, just saying....................

Also try Superskoda for the part. I bet you can get then in Czech Rep no problem. Delivery from Czech, probably £20 tops.

Basically they've tried their supplier, they said back order, and they've given up.....great.

Edited 11 May, 201610 yr by glosrich

I feel your pain waiting for parts, I had to wait over a month for the parts as they were on back order before they could change my locks and keys after one was stolen from my house... Thankfully I could keep the car out of the way at my parents house!

Sorry to hear this Derv and glad that it's not as serious as first feared. Did they mention why the car might have been difficult to get out of park when you drove it? The first thing I thought of when you mentioned that and the knocking (as someone mentioned above) was that the gearbox would've been knackered due to movement of the vehicle when the park bolt was going through it. Delighted for you if that's not the case mind!

 

I do wish people wouldn't just bugger off without as much as a 'by your leave' after hitting someone's car. How would they feel if they were on the receiving end? Hope it's not too long before the parts come in.

​try skospares.com they may have some parts they are closing in 6 weeks parts are cheaper than normal

Thanks so much for all the suggestions and whatnot guys.   Sorry I haven't been back for a while but tbh it was just winding me up and making me miss the car more. The Mondeo 2.0 TDCI has served us well and despite being gruff it is a pleasure to drive (chassis, steering feel etc) - more so than the S3 in some ways. I'd definitely look at Ford next time around, though likely with the 240ps 2.0 turbo petrol or maybe even the new 210ps 2.0 bi turbo diesel (or maybe not ).

 

As for the repairs, unfortunately 'third party' parts like direct from an OEM, or even Audi/VW/Seat parts, were specifically not allowed as it was an insurance job. They said they'd only accept 'Skoda parts with Skoda parts numbers'. Ironic considering the oil filter says Audi and has four rings on it.   After two weeks of no news the body shop just called. They've managed to secure a shock absorber and the car is going into the workshop today for bodywork prep and the suspension fixing and re-aligning. Then it'll be painted and baked off over the weekend and I should have it back by Monday.   Fingers crossed it's a case of being right first time, as I couldn't bear to knock back the repair (paint quality, steering or whatever) and have to go through all this again. Suffice to say we have workmen extending the driveway as I type, and CCTV and dashcams are being fitted on Monday!

Edited 19 May, 201610 yr by Derv

Good news mate. We who are following your story I'm sure wish you well. For the Grace of God and all that

Good news mate. We who are following your story I'm sure wish you well. For the Grace of God and all that

 

Thanks Phil. Hopefully the car's back by Monday and I can hunt out someone with VCDS to do the Audi throttle mod and maybe a couple of other bits. I need to have a dig around in the sticky to see who's who now. Can't believe I'm getting my baby back.

Well true to form the body shop have done a p*** poor repair, as is so usual for insurance jobs. The car actually came back with more damage than it went in with!

 

* Incomplete paint job on the wheelarch. Primer showing in a 4" line.
* Multiple examples of grit and dirt clumped under the clearcoat (dirty environment / panel not cleaned).
* Overspray and/or damaged paintwork on lower edge of fuel filler flap - heavy ridge of paint then dropping to a bare valley at the last 3" of the edge.
* Long scrape / removed paint along about 10" of the swage line on the offside rear door. Scraped along post/wall?
* Very severe buffer trails / holograms on lower nearside rear door/cill where it's been poorly (and quickly) polished.
* Damaged laquer (or adhesive bonded?) on bonnet. Looks like something was left to eat through and it's now peeled. About the size of a 50p.
* Severe multi-directional straight marring and heavy swirls all round. Washed by a monkey with a brillo pad, it seems. :(

 

Suffice to say I refused to sign for it and told them to get it sorted, stat. I've also phoned the insurance and they've logged it as a complaint and said they'll ensure it gets done properly this time, with all the extra damage remedied. Goodness sake, another wait!....

 

Edited 23 May, 201610 yr by Derv

Well true to form the body shop have done a p*** poor repair, as is so usual for insurance jobs. The car actually came back with more damage than it went in with!

 

* Incomplete paint job on the wheelarch. Primer showing in a 4" line.

* Multiple examples of grit and dirt clumped under the clearcoat (dirty environment / panel not cleaned).

* Overspray and/or damaged paintwork on lower edge of fuel filler flap - heavy ridge of paint then dropping to a bare valley at the last 3" of the edge.

* Long scrape / removed paint along about 10" of the swage line on the offside rear door. Scraped along post/wall?

* Very severe buffer trails / holograms on lower nearside rear door/cill where it's been poorly (and quickly) polished.

* Damaged laquer (or adhesive bonded?) on bonnet. Looks like something was left to eat through and it's now peeled. About the size of a 50p.

* Severe multi-directional straight marring and heavy swirls all round. Washed by a monkey with a brillo pad, it seems. :(

 

Suffice to say I refused to sign for it and told them to get it sorted, stat. I've also phoned the insurance and they've logged it as a complaint and said they'll ensure it gets done properly this time, with all the extra damage remedied. Goodness sake, another wait!....

 

20160523_125540.jpg

 

 

Thats poor.. how can they allow that to leave looking at the photo!

Thats poor.. how can they allow that to leave looking at the photo!

 

My thoughts exactly! See the white band across the bottom edge of the wheel arch? That's not the sun reflecting, that's bare primer where they didn't even bother to paint to the edges!   The bodyshop's "QC manager" just called, telling me he was very sorry and he doesn't know why it was released in that state blah blah, never happened before, blah blah, they forgot to give it the final polish.... I asked him how a fine polish would have fixed the incomplete paintwork or account for the fact someone has clearly driven the car along a wall at some stage, and he just went quiet, said sorry again, and promised to have it fixed tomorrow or 'in the next few days, depending on whether it needs more paint'. ARGH. Talk about take the shine off a new car, I've been without it almost as long as I've had it and it's worse now than ever.

 

I did manage to poke my head into the cabin to get out some change I'd forgotten. Mmm still has that new car smell. Gotta laugh.

My thoughts exactly! See the white band across the bottom edge of the wheel arch? That's not the sun reflecting, that's bare primer where they didn't even bother to paint to the edges!   The bodyshop's "QC manager" just called, telling me he was very sorry and he doesn't know why it was released in that state blah blah, never happened before, blah blah, they forgot to give it the final polish.... I asked him how a fine polish would have fixed the incomplete paintwork or account for the fact someone has clearly driven the car along a wall at some stage, and he just went quiet, said sorry again, and promised to have it fixed tomorrow or 'in the next few days, depending on whether it needs more paint'. ARGH. Talk about take the shine off a new car, I've been without it almost as long as I've had it and it's worse now than ever.

 

I did manage to poke my head into the cabin to get out some change I'd forgotten. Mmm still has that new car smell. Gotta laugh.

So sorry to hear that, really feel for you, after what has happened to your car the last thing you need is for some useless incompetent baboons to **** things up like that....also, whoever did the job and whoever passed it should be sacked on the spot in my opinion! 

To$$ers.....

Jeez mate that's so crap. Looks like a paint job done with Halfrauds spray cans.

Jeez mate that's so crap. Looks like a paint job done with Halfrauds spray cans.

My thoughts exactly! Looks like they didn't even bother to do a panel wipe. Fingers crossed for better results tomorrow.