Skoda misery (: - not a happy Skoda owner

[thinline1]

Hi

 

This my tale of a Skoda customer care nightmare after I hit a pot hole. The pothole had a raised man hole cover that slashed a 6 inch hole in the front tyre and stuffed the alloy, and cut the rear tyre 

 

Intital costs from Skoda dealer after there initial assessment; 

> x1 alloy wheel @ £400

>x2 tyres @ £130 each, but ended doing 4 as would have ended up odd treads on all corners so £520

> x1alignment (quoted £35 for this but as I not an expert it turned out to be tracking only)

 

so I trust this is all I need to do and decide to suck it up and not claim on my car insurance. My first mistake (: 

 

at this point I was car-less for a couple of days as Skoda assist would not supply a loan car for punctures, nevemind the car could not be driven as the pothole took out two wheels (one totally and the second slashed with a massive bulge in it)  and I failed when I brought the car to buy 2 spare wheels...silly me 

 

Intailly they could not get the replacement wheel for 2 weeks but this was cut down to a week. They lent me car but needed it back ASAP so magically my car was ready. So they returned the car to me after no test drive or anything, and then the car pulled to the left and there was a wobble in the steering wheel. Turns out Friday is corner cutting day and now what is meant by a “Friday afternoon car”

 

So took it back first thing the following morning, waited around for a few hours and then got it returned. Took it away as there is no way they would have not have fixed it on the second try, again they did not test drive it but wanted to go home tbh. Within first mile could tell it was not right and nothing had been fixed. So I thought I would give it a few days in case it was me and the new tyres just felt different. After a few days I Decided something was clearly wrong and called again to get it booked in. So booked the car in But had  to wait a further week as all techs are were on holiday

 

So took it back today as agreed and got the call. “You will need an alignment”, no **** as I had asked you twice to do it and every time you did the tracking only! Then got the even better news that as part of the alignment the acc radar requires a calibration...great I thought and then it got better as it turns out my dealer doesn’t have the equipment to do it and no Skoda dealer has the equipment locally,  and now we have to charge you more (originally quoted £350) 

 

So my dealer contacts the local vw garage, as they have the equipment, and they can fit me the next day and they will do it cheaper than Skoda quoted (now £250) great I think. So I pop over to the vw garage before I pick up my car just to check all is good as I needed to take the car there myself in the morning. This is self service after all 

 

Glad I did as it turns out they know nothing about me and they are fully booked for the next 3 weeks, oh and the £250 Skoda advised me is now £400. 

 

Return to skoda and say wtf is going on!

 

Several phone calls later and it turns out the vw person they contact does not talk to the vw garage that does the work. At which point I was advised there was nothing Skoda could do and I would have to sort it out myself. So a big thank you there Skoda 

 

take the car home and then call Skoda customer care. After waiting 15 minutes to talk to someone they cut me off and have to wait another 10 mins with some wonderful hold music to talk to someone. After I explain everything the customer agent agrees to call me back with a solution as they agree it’s not ideal to drive a car with problems and damage my lovely new tyres. 

 

Not sure why Skoda sell cars they cannot repair but hey ho...and explained I was not happy with the dealers service, additionally if they had worked out when I asked what the cost would be I likely would have claimed on my car insurance, tbh I am pretty sure I can’t retro claim on my insurance so have been stuffed there! A big thanks again there Skoda 

 

So get the call back and get told there’ is good news and bad news....bad news first please I say; 

> bad news is that the nearest place with any slots is in Cambridge (35 miles from me) and you have to wait 2 weeks. So 2 weeks without a car 

> good news is that what we can do is get Skoda assist to recover the car and take to the vw garage and give you a loan car, which point they request I call Skoda assist and arrange collection. If they do it this way the car gets priority and should be fixed quicker so  I ask for a reference number and get told the car reg is all I will need. I thank the lady for working an additional 5 mins after 1730.

 

Amazing i think so call Skoda assist, explain the problem and what Skoda customer care said they need to do. Which point get told they need a case number. Clearly I am not worried as Skoda cc told me all I need is the reg. No sir you must have a case number as this is an emergency only number. I ask them to contact Skoda cc And they say they will not do that, thanks so much

 

i then make a call to Skoda cc and clearly they are closed by now so can’t do anything...back to square one till the morning 

 

I take a break as I have had enough by this stage, but give it a final go with Skoda assist and finally they agree to do something. Talked to a amazing guy who sorted out recovery and a loan car and hopefully will get the car to the nearest vw dealer tomorrow. 

 

so fingers crossed and if you still reading this, thank you. Any advice about compensation etc would be gratefully received and if you believe this is poor service. I will be making a complaint and am so disappointed with a brand and dealer that has been so good for the last 6 or 7 years

 

I have not named the dealer as I will give them a chance to come good 

 

cheers 

 

 

[kevberlin]

Sorry to read your experiences and I hope you get it satisfactorily resolved.

Sadly it does not surprise me in the slightest.

Post sale customer service is appalling in many car dealerships, including Skoda.

[IJWS15]

Hitting a pothole so hard that you damaged two tyres and an alloy wheel shows a lack of attention, slowing down reduced the risk of damage and gives you more chance of going around it.  The wheel and tyre damage is self inflicted so you can't really blame Skoda for not having a wheel in stock or having matching tyres, if they carried everything then we would be paying more for the cars.

 

I would expect it to need an alignment check and would have made sure it was done before picking up the car (Last alignment check I had done was free but you paid for any work necessary - it was being done because I knew work was necessary). Most tyre places will do alignment, probably quicker and cheaper than a dealer.

 

Don't see why hitting a pothole affected the ACC?

 

My experience of Skoda customer service is that they are just below Honda and way above VW and Audi.

[thinline1]

Thanks 

 

Was not just a pothole as stated, was a raised man hole cover and the street lighting was also broken, hit it below the speed limit so maybe 20 mph give or take.

 

TBH how i did is not relevant, but when you ask for a service and this is not provided or cannot be provided this is not great, also the time involved with completing routine work 

 

3 weeks to keep returning the car not correct is not great and unsafe, fundamentally not having the equipment to fix something you sell is also not great

 

Also as I NOT an expert, thats why i go to the main dealer. 

 

Also an FYI - The ACC (According to skoda) requires re-calibrating after a 4 wheel alignment as it will fail so also just advising people in case they are not aware

 

 

[wg100]

Was it raised due to being faulty or because it was an unadapted road awaiting tarmac? If it was a faulty manhole cover, you could try to claim from the local council as people successfully do,if they hit a pothole? Assume you took pictures...

[penguin17]

26 minutes ago, thinline1 said:

 

 

Also an FYI - The ACC (According to skoda) requires re-calibrating after a 4 wheel alignment as it will fail so also just advising people in case they are not aware

 

 

I've had two cars with ACC and both had alignment/tracking issues when new so both were taken back to be sorted (pi55 poor PDI).  Neither dealer mentioned anything about the ACC and I really can't see how it would need recalibrating.

 

[S00perb]

11 minutes ago, wg100 said:

Was it raised due to being faulty or because it was an unadapted road awaiting tarmac? If it was a faulty manhole cover, you could try to claim from the local council as people successfully do,if they hit a pothole? Assume you took pictures...

I have had plenty of tyre and wheel damage over the years and always sent the bill to the county council - they always pay (in the end or right away) - in the past few years, round my way,  they seems to have decided that a better policy will be to improve the roads rather than pay compensation. Win win - better roads and less damage.

Tips: take pictures, carry a small ruler - take picture of it in the hole, take pictures of damage to car, get 2 quotes, the nuke that always gets them is to ask for a FOI on the history of the road checks - these have to be done regularly and if they havn't done them recently, they loose the case and if they have done them recently - you can show they were not done properly due to the pothole etc.. Threaten them with small claims court and local paper and they pay quick (they don't want people realising they have rights, so they like it kept out of the paper)

If the road is still bad - go back to take the pictures now (the council may have lost the letter you sent them when the incident happened - silly them - more bad marks)

[thinline1]

It was the tarmac that had broken down at the edge of the man hole cover

 

Effectively a knife through the rubber

 

Have loads of pic and even dashcam footage, which also shows the other 7 or 8 cars also lined up with slashed wheels

 

I am in the process of recovering costs with the council, luckily I have not sent the claim through yet as the initial cost as escalated 

 

I even sacrificed my warning triangle to warn other drivers, then some sod nicked it wen I went to get it back.

 

Honestly had no hope of seeing and then avoiding as it was pitch black with a black man hole cover on a black road,  

[thinline1]

43 minutes ago, penguin17 said:

I've had two cars with ACC and both had alignment/tracking issues when new so both were taken back to be sorted (pi55 poor PDI).  Neither dealer mentioned anything about the ACC and I really can't see how it would need recalibrating.

 

 

Hi

 

Its something to do with the rear of the car, maybe changes ride height?

 

The radar (according to Skoda) will present a fault and the AEB and the Adaptive will stop working? 

 

Sorry I am really not sure 

[penguin17]

I'm really not convinced it needs to be done (unless the ACC sensor itself was replaced)   I think at £350 they are having a laugh.   Ask them for a report to show that it's out of calibration first.  

[thinline1]

38 minutes ago, S00perb said:

I have had plenty of tyre and wheel damage over the years and always sent the bill to the county council - they always pay (in the end or right away) - in the past few years, round my way,  they seems to have decided that a better policy will be to improve the roads rather than pay compensation. Win win - better roads and less damage.

Tips: take pictures, carry a small ruler - take picture of it in the hole, take pictures of damage to car, get 2 quotes, the nuke that always gets them is to ask for a FOI on the history of the road checks - these have to be done regularly and if they havn't done them recently, they loose the case and if they have done them recently - you can show they were not done properly due to the pothole etc.. Threaten them with small claims court and local paper and they pay quick (they don't want people realising they have rights, so they like it kept out of the paper)

If the road is still bad - go back to take the pictures now (the council may have lost the letter you sent them when the incident happened - silly them - more bad marks)

Hi 

 

Thanks for that

 

Have requested all that info and have loads of pics, I have pics before and after and even chased them to repair when they could locate it. 

 

Went to check it later in the evening and get more pics and found another row of cars affected :(

[thinline1]

17 minutes ago, penguin17 said:

I'm really not convinced it needs to be done (unless the ACC sensor itself was replaced)   I think at £350 they are having a laugh.   Ask them for a report to show that it's out of calibration first.  

 

Thanks I will do 

 

Only problem is Skoda themselves cannot tell me that, hopefully VW will be able too

[langers2k]

Looking around online, it'll depend what adjustments are needed for the alignment. Namely that if the rear toe is changed then you'll need both ACC and lane assist recalibrating (where fitted).

 

Unless major adjustment is needed, I'd be surprised if it actually made much difference to either system but the official VAG stance is that both should be calibrated after alignment.

 

I'd probably just take the car to a decent tyre shop and have them align it and ignore the recalibration unless you have issues.

[thinline1]

5 minutes ago, langers2k said:

Looking around online, it'll depend what adjustments are needed for the alignment. Namely that if the rear toe is changed then you'll need both ACC and lane assist recalibrating (where fitted).

 

Unless major adjustment is needed, I'd be surprised if it actually made much difference to either system but the official VAG stance is that both should be calibrated after alignment.

 

I'd probably just take the car to a decent tyre shop and have them align it and ignore the recalibration unless you have issues.

 

Thanks for the info

 

If I am ever in this situation again I will go somewhere else TBH

 

I am kinda in to deep at the mo with Skoda so gonna have to weather it out

[skodarog]

i hit a pot hole 15 months back - car in front swerved to avoid, but i couldn't as it would have been unsafe. ( i could see half a mile down the road, just not the nearside tramline from where i was positioned).

hit the pot hole. 

tried the ACC 2 days after, and it was unavailable.

coincidentally i'd just fitted a towbar, so assumed it was connected to that, so i had to get it realligned at a cost of c.£250. i've read its quite common, and not covered under warranty. 

i halflike my Superb, but not enough to buy another. after 11 years of Volvo's i'll be going back there as soon as i am able to get out my current contract.

[Danny 57]

The Council (in my case did refund me, new alloy and tyre) will take the stipulated time, three months I believe to see if you follow it up! Be prepared to wait. Good luck (with the claim).

[daveo138]

It certainly sounds like they've given you the runaround.

 

I hit a pothole two days ago. I wasn't going fast, as I was driving on a country lane that I didn't know and it was raining. 

 

The fact that it was raining was why I didn't see it, as the road was wet and the pothole had water in it. 

 

There was an almighty BANG, which was so severe that it triggered the g-sensor on my dashcam - the camera moved, too. 

 

I can't see any obvious damage to the wheel or tyre. I'm hoping that it hasn't caused any other damage. 

 

A couple of years ago, I ran over a loading ramp from a recovery truck, which was lying across the outside lane of the M5. The car in front suffered two deflated tyres on the nearside and there was a queue of cars lined up on the hard shoulder. I couldn't detect anything initially, so I carried on a few miles to the next services. 

 

I couldn't see anything obvious, so carried on, but over the next couple of days I noticed some vibration through the steering. 

 

I went to the tyre centre that I usually used, in order to get the wheel balance checked. They balanced the wheels, but it wasn't any better. I had the front tyres replaced, but still no improvement.

 

After that, I went to the local VW dealer - it was a Passat - to see if they could sort it out. They couldn't. It went in numerous times over a period of about three months. Eventually, they said they would have it for a couple of weeks and gave me another Passat to drive while they had it. Six weeks later, I got it back, but it still had the vibration. Their Passat had an extra 7000 miles on it, as well!

 

It never did get fixed. I got another job and another car a couple of months later. 

 

Hopefully my Superb won't be going the same way, as I have it for another 15 months. 

[HotVRs]

On 9/27/2017 at 08:25, IJWS15 said:

Hitting a pothole so hard that you damaged two tyres and an alloy wheel shows a lack of attention, slowing down reduced the risk of damage and gives you more chance of going around it.  The wheel and tyre damage is self inflicted so you can't really blame Skoda for not having a wheel in stock or having matching tyres, if they carried everything then we would be paying more for the cars.

 

I would expect it to need an alignment check and would have made sure it was done before picking up the car (Last alignment check I had done was free but you paid for any work necessary - it was being done because I knew work was necessary). Most tyre places will do alignment, probably quicker and cheaper than a dealer.

 

Don't see why hitting a pothole affected the ACC?

 

My experience of Skoda customer service is that they are just below Honda and way above VW and Audi.

 

Interesting POV. I had a wheel and tyre destroyed by a hole in the M5. Right in front of one of the metal expansion joints at spaghetti Junction, so the wheel and tyre hit a metal beam. At 70 MPH and 10pm I was obviously showing a lack of attention at not seeing a hole in the motorway... Would have loved to have seen you avoid it.

Edited 30 September, 2017 by HotVRs

[Mike66]

I also had damage to offside front wheel, which resulted in needing a wheel alignment. This also resulted in ACC error, which needed to be corrected by VW garage in Preston, as the only garage that had the equipment. Luckily the insurance repair company took care of everything. The repair company claimed the car is put on rolling road and shown objects at different angles and distances, so it could learn how to behave! Sort of makes sense, as you wouldn't want any slight change in steering wheel angle to have the car do something not correct.

[blahde2]

If the council cover all costs of all repairs then happy days. As for the bad dealership and Skoda customer care / Skoda Assist etc, a carefully worded letter (stating hours lost at work for no service & multiple trips = lost pay as a result etc) to both them, and the AutoCar/Whatcar/Auto Express help pages would be my starting point. Auto Express are good (I think) so start there. They should be able to put the cat amongst the pigeons.

 

With the Magazines expertise in this area, their weight might be able to squeeze a free service, or voucher / cash value back from Skoda as a good will gesture. You said that dealership had served you well for many  years, they might just have to agree that your experience was s shameful and pay you back in other ways etc.

 

Best of luck anyway, this stuff just happens!