Dealer made mistake when ordering

[rocktheroad]

Instead of being one of luckiest new owners of Kodiaq, I am going through hell. Yesterday they called me to see my Kodiaq, and I was shocked to discover it came in black leather instead in beige. I have no idea what to do now. They are sorry for mistake, they will order another one, but I sold my car already. Nobody knows wait time for Kodiaq, they didn’t know for this one either. On contract they always say up to 6 months.

 

Do you think it’s possible to get beige seats and beige interior trim and replace it? The whole car is exactly what I have specified. If that is option, do you think I should go for it?

 

I can’t wait long as I don’t have car for longer trips. Wife’s car is not sold yet, it will cover me in next weeks, but I have to sell it before April. I guess that’s the limit when I need to get new car.

 

 

[exFiesta]

If they made a mistake - I’d ask for a car until a new one in the correct spec is provided, or if you can live with the dark interior, a discount.

[Gizmo]

^^^ This

 

changing the interior will cost far too much, if you can’t live with black then get in touch with SUK regarding getting a car on loan until the replacement arrives. 

[Danny 57]

34 minutes ago, Gizmo said:

^^^ This

 

changing the interior will cost far too much, if you can’t live with black then get in touch with SUK regarding getting a car on loan until the replacement arrives. 

 

Plus 1 as well.

[DaveMiller]

Not sure about SUK - rocktheroad is in Serbia.

[Gizmo]

3 minutes ago, DaveMiller said:

Not sure about SUK - rocktheroad is in Serbia.

 

Fairy snuff, on my mobile so couldn’t see a location. 

[rocktheroad]

They are OK with placing a new correct order, but nobody can commit to a delivery date. It might be 2-6 months or even longer. Initial build week will be known week after placing an order. The main problem is that I am without a car, as I sold mine as soon as this one arrived at the dealership. I've asked for a car on loan, but not sure what are Skoda policies, as this one is not broken or that anything is faulty with them. I am still waiting for them to get back to me with some idea how to solve this. Even if they offer small Fabia, it's ruined summer vacation as I need a much bigger car for my family. I sold Superb estate, which was fully loaded with the biggest Thule, full trunk, two kayaks, two kids and a dog... I was just hoping that someone had similar experience so he could help with an idea how to cope with this...

[exFiesta]

You will need to be strong with them on it, but, it is a problem they created by ordering the wrong car spec.  

 

Some people have had similar issues.   I have seen some examples where people have negotiated driving the car that was wrong, until the new (correct) one arrives, and where they've been provided with an equivalent size loan car - or when trading in continuing to drive it without a reduction in agreed trade-in price.

 

Unless they are very serious about customer service, and forward thinking, I doubt they'd offer that without you being somewhat awkward.   Raising to Skoda main would probably also help if you don't get far with the dealer.

Edited 6 March, 2018 by exFiesta

[silver1011]

The dealer made a mistake, these things happen, it's called life, however it is their job to rectify their mistake to your satisfaction.

 

I would be explaining to them that you've already sold your car, and that you need another large car to keep you on the road until a replacement Kodiaq to the correct specification is ordered, built and delivered.

 

The dealer / Skoda Serbia have two options...

 

1) Put you in the Kodiaq with the wrong interior to use for free until the replacement car arrives.

2) Put you in one of their courtesy / loan / mangers cars of a suitable size until the replacement car arrives.

 

I wouldn't settle for anything less.

 

Good luck!

[jasoncmiles]

Sold one of my past cars with beige leather. Lovely to look at when new but functionally impractical for me. I was careful with it but in a short time it looked dirty. When I sold it the blue stain from my jeans was made the seats look tatty. Personally I would take the mistake as a gift however appreciate you have set your heart on it and hopefully never wear jeans.

[rocktheroad]

Guys thanks for the information, it does help me to set my expectation. I have discovered that dealership made mistake, I have placed a correct order, importer and factory did everything right. Unfortunately, there were no possibilities to change the interior, ordering new parts was extremely expensive. I got additional 2% discount if I want to take delivered Kodiaq with black interior or to place a new order with original terms, without a courtesy car or any suggestion what to do until replacement Kodiaq arrive.

 

I've contacted Skoda to ask about global policy for cases like this, and they told me to contact local Skoda representatives as they don't have that information. Looks like you have great customer care in UK, too bad you are driving on the wrong side of the road as I would buy one from UK  I'll contact local Skoda Serbia to see if they can help, browsing rent-a-car options and trying to check with Nissan to extend lease a bit for wife's car and help me in meanwhile. 

 

BTW Beige leather is demanding and difficult for maintenance in the first year. If you are careful during that period, and you are applying recommended care products regularly, it does become more resilient and resistant later. After 7 years of beige leather in Superb, it's like a new without the single dent, discoloration, stain, etc... with 2 kids 3-10 years, dog, summer sea&salt, winter, campings etc... But forget about wearing dark jeans without having leather wipes during run-in period   For me it is worth of effort as I do pay a lot of attention to car care anyway.

[BoxerBoy]

Live with it.

 

With a significant contribution from the dealer for extras and/or future servicing.

 

You will enjoy driving it right away rather than live with the pain of waiting for a replacement.

 

It could have been worse. The outside colour could have been wrong.

 

My dealer had a panic a year ago when he discovered that Quartz Grey was darker than Business Grey.

 

I'd ordered Quartz as I knew the correct colour even when he didn't.

 

Enjoy.

[silver1011]

2 hours ago, rocktheroad said:

I've contacted Skoda to ask about global policy for cases like this, and they told me to contact local Skoda representatives as they don't have that information. Looks like you have great customer care in UK, too bad you are driving on the wrong side of the road as I would buy one from UK  I'll contact local Skoda Serbia to see if they can help, browsing rent-a-car options and trying to check with Nissan to extend lease a bit for wife's car and help me in meanwhile. 

 

You are far more understanding than me. Renting a car at your cost, extending the wife's lease at your expense? No way!

 

Like I said earlier, we all make mistakes, but the responsibility here lies firmly at the feet of both the dealer and Skoda Serbia.

 

The dealer screwed up, and unfortunately for them that means this time instead of making a profit they're going to have to absorb it as a loss. They need to put it down to experience and ensure their staff are properly trained to prevent them incorrectly processing orders in the future.

 

No one wants to lose money if they can avoid it, the dealer is playing hard ball in the hope you'll roll over and go away.

 

You're at a fork in the road, one direction is to accept the situation for what it is, keep calm and move on.

 

The other is to dig-in, don't take no for an answer, get what you've ordered as well as some recompense for the hassle and inconvenience they've caused you.

 

Tell the dealer and Skoda Serbia you aren't going away until this is resolved to your satisfaction. Use social media to spread the word. Stand in the showroom and explain to other prospective customers how the dealer they're in has treated you. You might be quite surprised how quickly things change.

 

If you haven't already guessed, I'd be taking the second fork in the road 

 

 

 

 

Edited 7 March, 2018 by silver1011

[Guest]

On 07/03/2018 at 20:30, silver1011 said:

Like I said earlier, we all make mistakes, but the responsibility here lies firmly at the feet of both the dealer and Skoda Serbia.

 

The other is to dig-in, don't take no for an answer

 

On 07/03/2018 at 20:30, silver1011 said:

 

What would you do if the dealer says no? Can't speak for other countries but there's no UK law for the dealer to compensate. The worst that can happen is the dealer looses a sale and is lumbered with another Kodiaq to sell. But why Skoda Serbia? What did Skoda Serbia do wrong? They provided the car that was ordered.

 

Just having a look at this thread - it answers a question someone asked on our Octavia forum - should a person buy a brand new car or be somehow disappointed with a nearly new car already in stock?  As the OP has dicovered, even buying new cars doesn't come without it's hazards - it's always preferable to see a car before committing.

 

Circumstance here is unfortunate - any ordering mistakes is usually down to oversight by the customer, it's rare for the dealer to make the mistake.

 

But there are a few misconceptions being talked about, especially when the OP mentions we in the UK are somehow better.

 

1: Skoda Uk or whoever. Why contact Skoda? Skoda are 100% innocent, they provided the requested product. The fault is with the dealer. You'd get sympathy from Skoda UK but I'm not sure what they could do about it (other than search out a similar spec showroom car that may be with another dealer).

 

2: Compensation from the dealer? The dealer was at fault and yes I'd expect them to compensate in some way. But hire a car for six months? loan car for six months? No way, you have to be realistic. The OP mentioned he sold his car. Well if he'd have kept his car for another 6 months, that car would have suffered depreciation. Or if he'd have collected his new Kodiaq it would have depreciated over the next six months.  In other words the next 6 months would not have been 'free' motoring. The garage could offer compensation for the inconvenience but I'd expect the OP to also contribute for the next mth motoring.

 

Can't speak for any other country but here in the UK the best you could hope for would be a goodwill gesture from the dealership. It's pretty rare for a dealer to make such a mistake but these things do happen. It's certainly not Skoda's fault tho - they didn't do anything wrong.

[silver1011]

Because life isn't always as black and white as we'd like it to be.

 

We could all follow the letter of the law and resign ourselves to poor customer service, or we can stand-up and be heard, and use the powers available to us to do just that.

 

Sure, the customers contract is with the dealer, not Skoda UK, but Skoda UK have a vested interest to ensure their franchised outlets are offering good customer service and strengthening, not damaging the brand.

 

Skoda UK are widely known to offer gestures of goodwill to cover instances that legally they wouldn't have to, so much so they employ a dedicated customer services team to cater for just that.

 

If they wanted the onus to be on their dealers and only their dealers then at that point Skoda UK would simply be the importers of their product and the lending arm of VAG financial services. They don't want this anymore than we do.

 

I've successfully leveraged both my main dealer and Skoda UK together in the past to achieve the desired outcome in situations where I've been unhappy with the diagnosis from the dealer or the policy of Skoda UK.

 

As I mentioned, either suck it up and accept what you're being told, or if you prefer not to roll over so easily then stand up for what you believe in. You don't have to be nasty about it, be firm but fair.

 

Over the years I've saved thousands of pounds through the use of courtesy cars, diagnostics, repairs and replacement parts, a good chunk of which I've had to fight for.

 

You pays your money and takes your choice.

 

 

Edited 19 March, 2018 by silver1011

[Yogi-Bear]

7 hours ago, Scot5 said:

2: Compensation from the dealer? The dealer was at fault and yes I'd expect them to compensate in some way. But hire a car for six months? loan car for six months? No way, you have to be realistic

 

My dad bought a Passat estate a couple of years ago, and the dealer forgot to add the Xenon headlight upgrade to the order. This was only noticed when my dad went to collect it (as it wasn't on the order, it didn't get picked up as missing during the PDI).

 

The solution was that the dealer let him drive off in it and keep it - on the promise that he looked after it and didn't do unreasonable mileage - until a replacement of the correct specification could be ordered and delivered. With a bit of help from VW UK, the replacement turned up in about 8 weeks (the original order took about 16!).

[silver1011]

Exactly how it should be done. Hopefully your Dad was able to reward this example of great customer service with his continued business with this dealer.

 

One dealer I visited took great pride in pointing out their trophy cabinet, apparently full of Skoda awards. I don't know for sure as I didn't bother to turn around and look at it.

 

How the dealer deals with their mistakes is my measure of great customer service, not one that follows the letter of their or their manufacturers T&C's but instead goes above and beyond to do the right thing.

[Shhhkoda]

Here is what I would do....

A change of trim and seating is a non starter I would have thought.

 

If you can't live with black leather and a discount, I would expect your dealer to provide a 'suitable' car until the replacement is ordered.  The 'suitable' car could be your existing car or another reasonable car they can offer which might not be a Skoda.  Either way it has to be fit for purpose, i.e. a runaround and a swap for something bigger when you need it.  Bottom line is the dealer screwed up but keep them sweet they could say take it or leave it and leave you high and dry.

[SurreyJohn]

Seems to me that the change is fundamental, it is not a minor item.

 

Why accept something you do not want for a tiny 2% discount, its something you wont be happy with,  and they are expecting to pay 98% (a lot of money) for something you don't like, the Dealer is dreaming.

 

If the dealer saved money by not training staff correctly, or running basic checks on orders, they have learnt the hard way that the error is expensive.

 

Get them to order the correct car, and provide a car in meantime (its only reasonable you meet the running cost),  they can still sell the incorrect car at full price in their showroom if you are not using it.  

 

The question of if the dealer should ask (or pay) Skoda to expedite the replacement is nothing to do with you, that's their own commercial decision, depending on how much they want to spend to protect their reputation.   If I was the dealer I would be scouring around to find if someone has an unsold one of the spec you require that they could get (or swap) for you