So, just a reminder to everyone what an excellent brand Skoda is! I'm guessing most of us don't need this reminder...lol. Understandably, sometimes some folks feel hard done by if they have a serious issue and it takes some time to sort out, which can give a false impression of what the brand is like. Overwhelmingly, most folks with Skoda's are not on this board and never get an issue. It's only us enthusiasts and folks with an issue looking for advice that tend to sign up. Discussion invited of course!

 

So what happened with Audi?

 

(No error bars either. I'll have to read up on what these numbers really mean.)

Funny how 4 out of 5 of the bottom ranked makes are so called "prestige" marks. I'd let Dacia off as they are cheap and cheerful, but it's unforgiveable of the others. 

Joe Public is obviosly not getting what he paid for.  Not good.

Edited 23 August, 20178 yr by Trev2

Not defending any marque but there could be an element owners expecting, (rightly), higher quality from more expensive cars. So something that, in a £16k Skoda etc might be accepted as a minor inconvenience might well be regarded as b****y unacceptable in a £40k Audi or whatever.  However, on that basis, Dacia must be awful....or people have bought cheap and expected much better.

 

let's be honest...put Audi, BMW or Merc badges on a Superb and very few would guess it wasn't one of those. We'd know, of course, 'cos we's smart, but joe public probably wouldnt. On the other hand, put Seat badges on a Merc and you'd be a laughing stock.

Or, is JD Power Inc not a bit like Michelin in as much as if you presented the Michelin (Star) inspector with a handful of cash/food, he/she would shuffle away and confirm that "your place" was "top notch"?

 

I remember back when I owned Ford Orions, that Ford Escort was considered complete sh**e - and the equivalent Ford Orion was simply marvelous in terms of reliability, but both cars were built on the same lines using the same parts, for me, that said it all - though it is true that M-B, BMW, Audi, Jaguar and it is said Infiniti are either sitting back, or just having a laugh.

 

The crazy thing when you compare Skoda/SEAT/VW/Audi, is that the main source of trouble in a car tends to be the powertrain - and quite a lot of these marques share powertrains, a bit like my Ford Escort/Ford Orion comments above?

 

I've been conned into taking part in car surveys in the past, but when it drags on and all they seem to want to know is what soap powder you use, when are you changing your car, and then there is the  Auto Express ones with special questions about which Citroen Pug or Renault (forgotten which brand AE is always pushing), I just give up - balanced view, my bottom.

J.D Power is the one big study that the car trade takes notice of all over the world as it has a reputation for being very thorough. It doesn't just go by what owners say, but also examines very closely the manufacturers warranty claims. It has access to the trade, as well as owners. It's staff are multi disciplinary and are based all over the world. JD is the one everyone tries to get to the top of. Skoda have been there a long time or at second place, voted manufacturer of the year a few times now. Interestly, the bro in law has just bought a top of the range Audi Estate car because "he'd never be seen dead in a Skoda"!  I asked him to open the bonnet and I showed him the stamp on the side of the engine. It said 'Skoda'. He fell backwards!! Audi are not doing so well in the study because of numerous niggling faults not connected with the engines or boxes. It's mostly electrical and finish problems along with the odd electrical breakdown.

1 minute ago, Estate Man said:

Audi are not doing so well in the study because of numerous niggling faults not connected with the engines or boxes. It's mostly electrical and finish problems along with the odd electrical breakdown.

 

So it's not Audi drivers constantly breaking the things, then?

Almost every year when the results get posted i post a thread asking who on Briskoda filled in a JD Power Survey, or a 'Which' or a Auto Express and back comes silence pretty much.

Nobody did or wants to say they did or can be bothered to answer, just like those that do fill in surveys and we never know if they actually have vehicle because no need to give a Registration Number.

(No Skoda Customer Services or Dealership Employees would have loose time while at work to complete surveys, that would just be ridiculous, 

just like the German Automobile Club that had the VW Golf winning and being so far ahead of a Dacia, and the figures were fixed, 

never happened.....)

 

Seeing as Skoda maybe first registered under 80,000 new cars in the UK in 2016 it would be good if there is a number how many Skoda owners or Keepers responded to the JD Power Survey.

 

PS.

Different matter.

'What goes in a VW Document stays with VW, even if it is to do with VW Group France, and all was not as it seemed...'

VW's French unit reported false delivery figures since 2010 - Autoblog.mhtml

 

Edited 23 August, 20178 yr by Awayoffski

9 hours ago, ettlz said:

 

So it's not Audi drivers constantly breaking the things, then?

Yeah, that too...lol.

Awayoffski, since BMW, MB's, and quite a few other car brands are all being brought to book over emissions cheating (rightly so), I'd argue the VAG group is no worse than any of the others, and they do build good cars too. Skoda in particular increased its size and sales by 50% in the worst economic downturn our country and the world has seen in decades, and it wasn't because they make cheap cars. The other manufacturers in this country struggled, actually losing sales. But anyway,  J. D. P. was initially partnered with TOP GEAR in this country until 2005, when WHAT CAR took over. They work closely together on the survey's. According to motor industry experts we can largely thank JDP for the general improvement of car quality and reliability over the last decade or so. The survey's seem to reflect quite accurately the positional trends of the car brands. This can be seen in some of the other studies too. I've always taken part in the JDP survey's for the 90 day initial reliability study after buying a new car, and the longer term separate study. 

 

Back in the ( pre-VW ) day, Skoda consistently came out top in customer satisfaction surveys.

On Saturdays, owners would flock to their dealers and drink coffee while their motors were nailed together - again!

23 hours ago, Trev2 said:

Funny how 4 out of 5 of the bottom ranked makes are so called "prestige" marks. I'd let Dacia off as they are cheap and cheerful, but it's unforgiveable of the others. 

Joe Public is obviosly not getting what he paid for.  Not good.

I disagree (to a certain extent) regarding Dacia.  The platforms and mechanicals are based on previous generation Renaults so their faults should all be snagged by now (though it is Renault )

Estate Man are you saying Skoda UK has increased from 2008--2017 the First Registrations by 50% to 80,000 or so, 

What were the First Registrations that Skoda UK were doing in 2008?   Any link to that?

Or is it in the past 5 years or so?

Edit. Below for links.

http://skoda.co.uk/news/skoda-posts-record-uk-sales-in-2016 

 

66,000 first registrations in 2014, up 30,000 from 2012 seems to be the figures given, and then to 80,000 in 2016.

http://skoda.co.uk/news/fourth-record-year-in-a-row 

All the Skoda models first registered in a year are still about 50% of just all Ford Fiesta First Registered in the UK in a year.

 

PS

First Registrations are not all New Car Sales as the Skoda / VW Group first register as Demonstrators and sell to themselves and then sell as USED / Management Cars 3 months / 3,000 miles on.

All Manufacturers may do it, but they are big volume sellers anyway, VW Group do it in a big way.....

 

Edited 24 August, 20178 yr by Awayoffski

15 hours ago, Estate Man said:

Yeah, that too...lol.

But, as with BMW also, very few warranty complaints about non-functioning indicators. After all, how would many of their drivers actually know?

Awayoffski, I'm saying the Skoda brand expanded both in sales and dealerships in the UK between 2009 and 2016. The report was carried last year in Auto Express and others of the motoring press. No doubt it's listed somewhere on the interweb. Quite an achievement when other major brands were contracting. And yes, all manufacturers register demonstrators and resell them as used cars, that's always been the case even when I started off in the trade in the 70's. It all counts. Are you going to remain Skodaless for the foreseeable future mate!

 

Yes staying Skodaless while i have a SEAT and probably will then get an Arona if the Cupra gets released, that is unless Skoda comes up with a smallish car with some  go and handling and appeal, even a Fugly one will do as long as it has 150ps or so and can seat 5 adults.

Edited 24 August, 20178 yr by Awayoffski

Yeah, SEAT have come a hell of a long way in the last few years. I want to see the proposed 1.5 litre VAG petrol engine that's being talked about. Now that could be very interesting. and just might lead to some interesting cars.

Got One of each.

Impression is that the difference mostly is found in how they wrinkled the bodywork.

 

The luxury brands typically have more snazzy technology to go wrong- for example, you're not going to have issues with your air suspension in a Fabia, but you might in an S-Class. New technology (apart from engines) also starts out on the high-end cars and then trickles down, becoming mass-market and also more reliable. There's little on even a top-end Kodiaq that you couldn't get on an Audi Q7 years ago, the only thing probably being SmartLink etc which is somewhat different as the technology there is driven by external forces (Apple and Google). Remember that this is measuring problems per 100 vehicles. This means that if you have a car with 50 features, all of which have the same chance of breaking, and a car with 100 features with the same chances of breaking, the second car is statistically going to have twice the faults. 

 

What I do find interesting is how differently Hyundai and Kia are performing. They're basically the same cars, with similar features for similar costs. I have no idea why one is doing so much better than the other!

A bit like why a Skoda should have more owners or keepers saying an under £20,000 or £30,000 vehicle from Skoda are more reliable than a VW or SEAT with the same drive train, or vise versa when built nearly side by side in a factory owned by the VW Group in the Czech Republic, Slovakia or Portugal, South Africa, India or where ever with shared parts that might or might not be shipped into those factories, sometimes from Germany..

 

Hyundai building cars in the Czech Republic with 96% staff from the Czech republic might just be doing something right with recruitment and then quality control at production and passing out, 

Czech Quality Control maybe better rather than VW Group Managed QA in various factories and countries.

http://www.hyundai-motor.cz/english.php 

http://skoda-auto.com/en/company/production-plants/slovakia 

Edited 30 August, 20178 yr by Awayoffski