Hi,

I am waiting on arrival of new 1.2 Style. It will be my first new car. Current car is a 1.6 diesel focus, which has cost me a fortune to fix over the last 5 years. Hence decision to pony up for a new car. However, I have been reading this forum to pass the wait, and notice some worrysome stories, such as clutch not covered beyond 6k/6 months. I thought 3 year warranty would apply to everything except tyres, brakes, and filters. What else is not covered by the 3 year warranty?

It would also be reassuring to hear if anyone has done decent mileage, and made it to the end of warranty without any issues? Forums tend to over-emphasise the bad luck cases.

Thanks.

My Octy 2 was 3 years old when I traded it for my Octy 3 and it is 3 years old in Sept. Not had any major issues and never had to use warranty. Some owners have had problems, but with mass produced things you will get problems from time to time.

You can download the handbook online and check what the warranty covers.

The life of a clutch is quite dependent on how the vehicle is driven, I've seen a clutch burnt out on a 1200 mile car on a 7 mile trip.  You can't warrant against poor driving or abuse of the vehicle.

 

 

Clutch defects can be caused by other components which will be covered under the warranty, clutch slipping due to a faulty oil seal and oil contamination will be covered, as will the operating mechanism, the only down side is in the oil contamination case, the cause wouldn't be known until the gear box is removed, which if it was a burnt out clutch would leave you with a bill for labour and a car in bits.

I would say as a forum regular for 2.5 years the Octavia seems a pretty robust car overall.

 

There are a few minor niggles (like boost pressure sensor for diesels) which are well known & should be quickly corrected by the dealer.

The water pump issue is probably the worst as it can cause major inconvenience if you get stuck somewhere (but I'm not sure if the same issue would affect the 1.2 TSI).

 

I reached 60k km in under 2-years without any problems (except for the boost pressure sensor problem which was corrected in 2hours by my dealership).

 

 

In terms of manufacturer warranty I think you'll find Skoda is no different to any other in terms of the warrenty conditions.

As you mention, The thread about the early clutch replacement is not representative of the majority of users & if a damaged component is seen to be causing it, I would expect Skoda to cover the costs.

 

The wait for a new car is a difficult time but I'm sure you will be more than happy with your new Octavia.

Hi,

I am waiting on arrival of new 1.2 Style. It will be my first new car. Current car is a 1.6 diesel focus, which has cost me a fortune to fix over the last 5 years. Hence decision to pony up for a new car. However, I have been reading this forum to pass the wait, and notice some worrysome stories, such as clutch not covered beyond 6k/6 months. I thought 3 year warranty would apply to everything except tyres, brakes, and filters. What else is not covered by the 3 year warranty?

It would also be reassuring to hear if anyone has done decent mileage, and made it to the end of warranty without any issues? Forums tend to over-emphasise the bad luck cases.

Thanks.

 

That's standard practise across most, if not all, manufactures. It's a wear and tear item, very similar to brakes, so won't be covered for very long at all because the most likely reason for replacement is wear and tear due to normal or heavy use (normal can vary); unless it can be proven beyond all doubt that it's a fault with that or another component that directly affects it, in which case you *might* get some money from the manufacturer/dealer towards the repair.

 

On the whole Skoda's are a very reliable vehicle; they are used in their thousands as taxis everwhere without major problems, and several emergency services have, and do, use a substantial fleet of them and they're abused something awful in terms of the way they are driven and still do not break all the time. Infact there's very little wrong with them, they tend to just take the abuse without issue.

On the whole Skoda's are a very reliable vehicle; they are used in their thousands as taxis everwhere without major problems, and several emergency services have, and do, use a substantial fleet of them and they're abused something awful in terms of the way they are driven and still do not break all the time. Infact there's very little wrong with them, they tend to just take the abuse without issue.

The only issues I've had which weren't covered was cr@p software causing the infotainment system to not work completely, an issue that the dealer couldn't sort without Skodas support (an issue Skoda couldn't give a f**k to sort even though they admitted it wasn't right) unfortunately my car has been in far too much.

Unfortunately the O3 seems to have had a very long list of "minor" issues which appear to have been either from a lack of care or time on development - however as the O3 is now a 3 year old model hopefully most of these have been resolved.

Edited 30 May, 201610 yr by gullyg

Mine is currently @ 37K on a '63 plate and has had the following fixed under warranty since new...

 

1. Rattling noise behind the dash with in sport mode (culprit was a poorly sized clip)

2. Engine warning light (known issue, damaged wiring at the connector)

3. Rear seat release handle (in boot) no longer works on the passenger side - Likely a slipped cable as only used about twice - Getting fixed on the 10th,

 

For a car that gets used regularly etc, Im happy with the above list.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Feeling much less worried now

The only issue I've had in just over a year was a broken floor mat clip and a creaky sunroof (which has just come back), both sorted without fuss. All in all it's been a fantastic car and I'm looking forward to many years motoring in her.

I dont know how things go over there, but here a lot of dealers include their own extended warranty which kicks in once the factory one ends, but is limited in what it covers.  I got burnt, I asked for an extended warranty and was given this instead of the factory warranty but not advised that was the deal until they handed me the keys at which time according to Skoda Aus was too late to add the factory warranty.  not very impressed.

 

In the 10 months of ownership i have had the manifold pressure sensor replaced, gear shifter replaced due to the chrome peeling off, and the center vents are being replaced due to the chrome surround 'blistering' all of which has/is being covered by warranty.

 

Fighting with the dealer over the electric tailgate struts which are leaking and the tailgate has dropped once opened causing bodily injury, they can't fault the struts.

I have had two mk2 Octavia's and 2 mk3 Octavia's and have only ever had need of warranty work on 1 which was for a faulty gps aerial. (in the first one)

 

I worked at a Renault dealer for a while some years back and although I believe they have much improved I still wouldn't have one now as I saw the amount of stuff including major components that we changed regularly under warranty.

 

I've seen some on the forum have had a car with many issues proper so called Friday afternoon cars, however as another person has stated as with all manufacturers sometime there will be issues, go to merc, audi, bmw, ford, Nissan, etc forums and there will be a few poor souls who have that car that spends more time in the air then an Airbus to Sydney. In the grand scheme a model that must now have 10's of thousands units globally there will sadly be a few runts, its sadly the quality or lack of at your dealers aftersales that will make the difference I am lucky I have what I think is a good one, others I have heard have not, check the dealer review bit of the site to see what people have said on yours.

 

 

 

I dont know how things go over there, but here a lot of dealers include their own extended warranty which kicks in once the factory one ends, but is limited in what it covers.  I got burnt, I asked for an extended warranty and was given this instead of the factory warranty but not advised that was the deal until they handed me the keys at which time according to Skoda Aus was too late to add the factory warranty.  not very impressed.

 

 

Wow really - I didn't know you could involuntarily "surrender" the Skoda 3 year warranty, regardless of any extra warranty you may take from the dealer?

 

That seems shady...

Just to echo the above really. All cars have issues. In my 12+ years of Skoda ownership I have found both the cars and dealers reliable.

Yes I've had a few niggles but nothing that you'd class as a major problem

Out of 24 months of ownership (approx 35,000 miles) mine has spent 2.5 months sat at the dealers being fixed for various issues. Put another way, for every ten days I have owned the car it has spent 1 day at the dealers.

 

Half of the warranty claims I have had to escalate the claim to Skoda UK because the dealership have argued against repair or not repaired to a satisfactory standard. For one claim I even had to start legal proceedings against Skoda UK before they admitted defeat.

 

From reading dealership reviews (which I didn't do before purchasing) I think mine is an exception to the rule but there is no way I will ever purchase another Skoda after having problems with the dealership and head office.

Wow really - I didn't know you could involuntarily "surrender" the Skoda 3 year warranty, regardless of any extra warranty you may take from the dealer?

 

That seems shady...

No still got the standard three year warranty, the dealer has provided their own warranty extension as opposed to the factory one, with the caveat that all servicing is to be done by them and no one else. I requested the factory extension which wasn't provided.

And on top of it the car was actually built on a Friday which might explain the problems I have been having

Warranty claims vs wear & tear for items such as brakes/clutches/gearboxes depend a lot upon the Dealers initial opinion. If the Dealer is professional and performs a thorough component inspection then they should make the correct call. If they cannot tell their ar*e from their elbow, or if they are lazy and cannot even be bothered to perform basic checks on the components then they can get things wrong. My experience of Skoda Dealerships is that they are all smiles and politeness up front, but quality of service and professionalism varies massively once the car reaches the workshop.

 

The Octavia is a reliable car. However when things go wrong it is the Dealer who makes the difference between a good or a poor ownership experience. A respectable Dealer will be able to tell the difference between wear & tear, abuse, manufacturing fault or assembly fault.

Edited 6 June, 201610 yr by Orville

I have had two mk2 Octavia's and 2 mk3 Octavia's and have only ever had need of warranty work on 1 which was for a faulty gps aerial. (in the first one)

I worked at a Renault dealer for a while some years back and although I believe they have much improved I still wouldn't have one now as I saw the amount of stuff including major components that we changed regularly under warranty.

I've seen some on the forum have had a car with many issues proper so called Friday afternoon cars, however as another person has stated as with all manufacturers sometime there will be issues, go to merc, audi, bmw, ford, Nissan, etc forums and there will be a few poor souls who have that car that spends more time in the air then an Airbus to Sydney. In the grand scheme a model that must now have 10's of thousands units globally there will sadly be a few runts, its sadly the quality or lack of at your dealers aftersales that will make the difference I am lucky I have what I think is a good one, others I have heard have not, check the dealer review bit of the site to see what people have said on yours.

I agree with you on this but also believe the quality of cars coming off the line varies considerably and given the volumes in production, there are a lot of cars with 'issues', some minor sone major. I think that the factory don't really care about this and rely on the dealers to correct manufacturing issues and maintain positive customer relations.

Completely idiot method to adhere to quality standards but in my eyes I have seen it first hand.

Warranty claims vs wear & tear for items such as brakes/clutches/gearboxes depend a lot upon the Dealers initial opinion. If the Dealer is professional and performs a thorough component inspection then they should make the correct call. If they cannot tell their ar*e from their elbow, or if they are lazy and cannot even be bothered to perform basic checks on the components then they can get things wrong. My experience of Skoda Dealerships is that they are all smiles and politeness up front, but quality of service and professionalism varies massively once the car makes goes in to the workshop.

The Octavia is a reliable car. However when things go wrong it is the Dealer who makes the difference between a good or a poor ownership experience. A respectable Dealer will be able to tell the difference between wear & tear, abuse, manufacturing fault or assembly fault.

Good comments. Mines back to dealer this coming week for a (list) of issues one of which is the (fake) leather worn away from the seat bolster (8000miles car), so will be interesting how this plays out.

My Octavia has been returned to the Dealers for four warranty-related issues. The first three times it went to the place I purchased the car from (Preston Motors), and my problems were resolved without incident. For the final issue I made the huge mistake of taking the car to Essex Auto Group (because Preston Motors had closed down). After my Essex Auto Group experience I will neither be using them nor purchasing another Skoda again. Just check out the reviews on their Facebook page to see how unhappy many customers are.

https://www.facebook.com/essexautogroup/reviews

A funny thing that I noticed with Essex Auto Group is that you will receive a call from them several days after having any work performed. If you respond positively to this call then you will receive a Dealer survey request from Skoda UK. If you respond negatively then the Skoda survey mail will not arrive. It feels to me that they are cooking the books to achieve better service ratings from Skoda. Checkout local Dealer reviews before purchasing a car from them, or allowing them to work on your vehicle. I wish that I had checked this beforehand.

Edited 6 June, 201610 yr by Orville

Car back from 'warranty' jobs at dealer today.

Leather worn off seat base bolster (not a crease in the leather). Dealer says this is normal wear and tear.

(Another) leaky tailgate strut. Dealer cannot find fault with this.

Door trim rattle. Finally been acknowledged and fixed after 12 months.

Investigated why engine can crank up to 10 times to start. Nothing wrong found.

My 17K mile clutch failure has been confirmed as a Manufacturing Fault after Independent Inspection Report. Now I have to pursue Skoda for full-refund and costs. Oh the fun of dealing with VAG .

Edited 8 June, 201610 yr by Orville

My 17K mile clutch failure has been confirmed as a Manufacturing Fault after Independent Inspection Report. Now I have to pursue Skoda for full-refund and costs. Oh the fun of dealing with VAG .

 

Woohoo!

 

Well done for not letting it go mate. A tiresome rigmarole, but you got the right outcome through tenacity.

 

...they shouldn't make it that difficult though.

Fortunately we have Laws and Courts to protect us against such unscrupulous companies. Unfortunately these unscrupulous, profit-driven, immoral behemoths employ hordes of Lawyers to negate the rule of Law, and then to use it to their advantage. Big Business and decency are mutually exclusive. Hence tax avoidance, emissions scandals, cover-ups etc.. It's all about the :$$$: .

Unfortunately these unscrupulous, profit-driven, immoral behemoths employ hordes of Lawyers to negate the rule of Law, and then to use it to their advantage. Big Business and decency are mutually exclusive. Hence tax avoidance, emissions scandals, cover-ups etc.. It's all about the :$$$: .

 

Agreed - unfortunately it is prevalent in all industries and although you would be often hard pressed to find the individuals who drive this, the culture takes on a nefarious life of its own, motivated by all the things you listed.

 

Sadly, until we all live off grid in yurts and weave our own yoghurt, we are going to have to deal with this kind of thing to one degree or another!