No offski, we have only dealt with the dealership so far. That is who we are meeting with this afternoon. If they remain fixed in their view, we’ll escalate quickly as you suggest 

My advice, from experience, West End experience.

 

Phone Skoda UK CS now, and email.  Tell them all now.

http://skoda.co.uk/about-us/contact-us

 

 

Have your mobile in your pocket this afternoon at 3pm.   See how things go,  if they take a stance that is ridiculous, ask them to excuse you while you make a call, 

and step aside and call Skoda UK CS or walk out the office into the Showroom and make the call.

 

Vorsprung Durch Technik.   Advancement through technology.     

& a 2nd phone on record is handy, maybe in the pocket of the witness you take with you

Edited 12 October, 20187 yr by Offski

PS 

A few years back a West End employee not in Stirling at that time, was on Briskoda bigging up the service they received.

They never let on they were a Director as well as an employeee.

 

Hopefully someone in Stirling is reading this thread today.

Thanks offski. I should reiterate we bought the yeti from west end garage in Dunfermline. That was my slip in the first post referring to Stirling which I corrected. 

My husband had just returned from Stirling and it was on my mind at the time.

Dunfermline has been getting quite good reviews from customers,  hopefully they will act 'Simply Clever' and do the right thing.

 

You should not need to ask again about who put the first 3,600 miles on your Yeti since they have already told you the answer to that one, 

maybe better that the Dealer Principal puts that in writing though and signs that.

 

I will just leave this here again for others.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/446646-clutch-failure

 

Edited 12 October, 20187 yr by Offski

This thread might be worth a read for the OP:

He eventually 'won' but had one hell of a battle. Yours should be easier hopefully!

 

I would be in contact with the dealer you bought it from. Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act are with them and not Skoda or another dealer. They can try to wriggle out of a warranty claim all they like, but they can't wriggle out of the CRA. You should be entitled to have the car repaired FOC - a 1 year old low mileage car should not be suffering a clutch failure. Stick to your guns, and don't accept anything less than having it repaired FOC.

I understood that when a car is sold second hand by Skoda, wear items like tyres, brakes etc should have at least 5k life yet. We bought a second hand Fabia years ago. Failed the mot a year later on brake disc wear, but we argued it had only done 4k in the year and the Skoda dealer met most of the costs. (by then a 4 year old car with 44k on the clock)

 

I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles, and never worn out a clutch, so if one went on me that would be an argument I would present as part of a claim through the courts if neccessary.

Garages like this one give the Skoda brand a bad name by trying to weasel out of their warranty.

Having read through the thread with interest I see a meeting was due last Friday at 3pm and that an update would follow.

 

It's Monday evening .... have I missed something?

No oldstan, apologies but as might be familiar to many of you, what was scheduled as one meeting turned into an omni-meeting. For those of you who weren't at the start of this thread, in August 2018 we bought a Yeti from Skoda West End in Dunfermline at mileage 3,600 and were told it had only previously been driven by a Skoda salesman's mother before we bought it. We have owned it for two months and being pretty much retired and only using it to drive up to Inverness a couple of times etc, have been pleased with it but at 4,990 miles the clutch suddenly, without warning, totally collapsed. We hadn't done anything out of the ordinary with it or towed anything etc but Skoda has insisted this was due to driver error (?) and it is not covered by a warranty.

We were told it would cost us £784.90 to repair it ( I assume this was almost cost?). After discussions, the local dealership reduced this to £586.93 and today, Skoda UK offered us a £250 voucher towards the cost. It has left us with a bill of £336.93 including VAT. 

WE hope to have another discussion with Skoda on Thursday. Although we were happy with the garage service when we bought it, it was still a considerable investment and for something as fundamental as this to happen, (and to be told it was our fault when we were, as we have been for 50 years, driving responsibly and with normal consideration for the car), has been traumatic, hugely time consuming and still pretty costly, although now half of what it was going to be at the outset.

We've been terribly grateful for the support from contributors to this forum. Your advice and insights have been invaluable in helping us through the process which, without your support, would've felt pretty bleak. Sincere thanks to you all. 

 

 

You are not accepting this offer i hope. A gesture contribution when the car actually should be getting covered under warranty, West End have had their Tax Break already using the car as a courtesy car or what ever then selling it.

Did Skoda West End confirm the car was used only by the Salespersons Mother while they had it as a Demonstrator?

Was this because she was waiting on a car she had ordered and she is not an employee of West End Skoda?

Some points to consider when negotiating with Skoda and the dealer.

 

If considering paying part of the bill, you must first confirm you get a full 2 year parts and labour warranty with no get out wear and tear clauses.

 

If Skoda UK / dealer cover 100% there is normally no extension beyond the existing car's warranty, which in this case may be interpreted as no warranty at all as they may claim 6 month/6500 miles original warranty has expired.

 

Replacement parts warranty
All ŠKODA Original replacement parts carry a parts warranty for a period 
of 2 years/unlimited mileage, from the date of purchase. Items with 
warranties in excess of 2 years will be advised to you at the time of 
purchase. The 2 year parts warranty does not apply to parts fitted under 
the terms of the vehicle warranty, which are warranted for the remaining 
period of the vehicle warranty

 

It seems that clutches are/were covered under the simply fixed price maintenance scheme at £539 for a Yeti so no its not cost price or even full retail but more!!

 

http://citygate.co.uk/news/202/skoda-fixed-price-service-and-maintenance

 

Clutch	Citigo/Fabia Other models 4x4	£459 £539 £659

 

Do not forget this car is also covered by the Consumer Rights act as a second hand purchase where it is the responsibility of the seller to prove the clutch did not have a fault when they sold it, and no, that doesn't mean the car drove around the parking lot ok, it means a proper technical examination and analysis of the failure.

 

Was it sold as a SKODA APPROVED USED CAR?  If it was, there are additional warranty benefits and promises under that scheme.

 

Finally when the clutch is removed, are Skoda willing for you to examine it / have it examined for a manufacturing defect? (At the very least take photos of all parts removed). And what will they do when that is shown to be the case? (Normally in such cases parts are whipped away without customers being able to examine).

 

Can't believe how petty this skoda dealer is.

 

Remind them of small claims court as well.

 

And do grill them about the history, dealer ownership and the strange arrangement where a non employee is the main driver.

 

 

Edited 16 October, 20187 yr by xman

Thank you so much xman. You've given us so much useful ammo. My husband paid the bill yesterday as he just wanted to get the car back but I am speaking to Skoda UK tomorrow. I will report back.

 

Paid them up front as well??? 

What???? I can't believe what I'm reading....

You've been had. 

 

As @xman said - within 6 months of purchase it's up to the seller to prove the fault didn't exist at the time of sale. Something they're not going to be able to do. A clutch does not fail after such little time/mileage under normal use unless there is an inherent fault.

 

Get onto the supplying dealer and put pressure on them to do the right thing and refund you whatever you have paid to get it fixed. Communicate in writing and follow up with phone calls.

Edited 17 October, 20187 yr by petrolbloke

I respect the original poster's decision to pay what was the revised offer. Even the fittest and most robust can be worn down by these situations.

 

Having said that, the original poster has now demonstrated his willingness to mitigate the circumstances by paying the revised bill and getting back on the road. This does not preclude them following this up with suitable agencies (the Consumers Rights Act seems the best bet).

 

I have now bought 4 Skoda's from West End Motors (Dunfermline) (saving a heap of cash in the process over the offers from A Clark Inverness).

 

These were 2 near new Yeti's (including my current L&K Yeti) one new Citigo and its replacement my wife's 6 month old Fabia DSG.

 

The Fabia was described as the car used by the garage's accountant's father (as they explained this was a perk available to staff) (sounding a bit familiar now). But I had confidence in the salesman after many years of contact that this was fact. I had to wait until the vehicle was six months old before it would become available and that at a little over 2,000 miles I was pleased with the deal.

 

Being ex-motor industry I am now very sceptical about what I am told by anyone in the Motor Trade. As my experience as a customer out-with the network, I am dismayed at the very poor quality of service provided (it wouldn't have happened in my day!). Trust me when I say that in my dealings with West End I do not roll over as a past customer. On the contrary I play hard-ball to get the best deal and am quite willing to walk if necessary.

 

Naturally, the measure of a good relationship is how you are treated when something goes wrong - this I'm afraid does not scan well.

 

To rhamscallion, if you have the stomach for it do not let this go. Pursue it until you are satisfied with the outcome. There is also the SMTA (Scottish Motor Trade Association) to consider.

 

I hope this works out well for you.

 

Bill 

HMRC will be interested in how the 'Dealership Demonstrators' are being used, as so should Rod McLeod the head of Skoda UK and Paul Willis CEO of VW UK.

VIT56600 - VAT Input Tax - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK.mhtml

Administrative agreements with trade bodies (VAT Notice 700_57) - GOV.UK.mhtml

Edited 18 October, 20187 yr by Offski

Skoda customer service  2018. (Post diesel gate)somebody has to pay ,let it be the CUSTOMER,.

Edited 18 October, 20187 yr by Sad555

1 hour ago, Offski said:

HMRC will be interested in how the 'Dealership Demonstrators' are being used, as so should Rod McLeod the head of Skoda UK and Paul Willis CEO of VW UK.

VIT56600 - VAT Input Tax - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK.mhtml

Administrative agreements with trade bodies (VAT Notice 700_57) - GOV.UK.mhtml

 

Sadly those individuals and indeed Skoda UK will probably not be interested in how their franchisee's  run their businesses. Just the quarterly sales performance and warranty spend.

 

The OP could make a confidential report here

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/reporting-tax-evasion

Edited 18 October, 20187 yr by xman

Come into our showroom sir ,bend over,this might hurt a little,and you will be a little sore and financially deficient when we’ve finished with you but we call it Skoda customer service and we don’t feel anything except except a warm financial satisfaction,so just get used to it SIR/Madam.

@rhamscallion,  Any update on how you got on?

Yes I'm sorry I should have followed up. We had to pay  £336.93 for the replacement clutch, reduced to this figure because Skoda UK gave us a £150 voucher towards the cost. It was my choice to buy the car rather than my husband's so I felt terrible for him and wrote to the garage saying how unfair I thought this was. This was the main part of their response. We have tried to put it down to experience because to go on fighting it would be counterproductive if you price your time, but it was a horrible episode and Im afraid we'd never buy another Skoda. Again I want to thank everyone on this forum for showing their support. It really was appreciated.

kind regards

 

 

 

 

·         We did not refuse to honour the warranty on the vehicle, the warranty, any warranty, covers the replacement of broken or faulty parts, not worn or in this case damaged. We do not choose to refuse warranty, it is our job to assess and then submit claims to Skoda UK, we do not choose or decide if a job is warranty or not.

·         The vehicle scheme is available to all members of staff, the car was used as a brand new car by XXXX's Mother, this is not a benefit in kind or HMRC question. The way in which the vehicle is supplied or paid for is irrelevant. The vehicle was used as with her previous 3 vehicles as a private car supplied by West End Garage on a Staff Car scheme.

·         The vehicle as with all Approved used vehicles was checked by our workshop prior to you collecting the car and we have vehicle check sheets to prove the working of the clutch, we do not and no garage would remove the gearbox to inspect a clutch prior to sale, these are checks based on gear engagement and clutch feel. Both yourself and (your husband) test drove the car and had covered 1500 fault free miles since purchase, the clutch was in correct working order. I can not provide eveidence that the clutch had or had not been fundamentally abused, this is not something that I can or can not prove other than referring to your test drives and subsequent 1500 fault free miles covered since purchase.

·         Our Master Technician who worked on your car confirmed the damage caused to the clutch was not a manufacturing defect, the parts are in Edinburgh and are available for a 3^rd party inspection should you wish to arrange this. 

·         The price quoted and mentiond relating to the Skoda Fixed price and maintenance schedule is for vehicles over 3 years old up to 10 years old and is supported nationally by Skoda UK for older vehicles. The price quoted is and was the correct quote and price for the time, parts and labour to assess, identify and rectify the vehicle.

I appreciate that in your previous cars and mileages covered that you have not expereinced any clutch issues, in our opinion the damage and resulting clutch failure was due to  driver error rather than mechanical failure of any kind.

The warranty on friction materials is 6000 miles or 6 months. A clutch can be burnt out with the car going nowhere so the journey distance is not entirely relevant here. The clutch could be worn out in a single attempt to do a hill start, moving away from a junction or the driver unknowingly resting their left foot on the pedal. Driver error does not insinuate bad driving it simply refers to the fault being driver provoked ”unintentionally” rather than mechanical failure.

 

 

What a load of old boIIux from this dealer. Wouldn't stand up in court. Damage a clutch moving out of a junction, HA! It was clearly worn out (or damaged as they prefer to call it) by previous keeper(s).

 

A staff car scheme supplying cars for employees relatives to use exclusively, perhaps the employee has his own too, I'm sure HMRC would like to check the employees P11D for all the BIK and class 1 NIC calculations on each car he is fronting.

 

They are clearly a bunch of cowboys.

 

Edited 21 November, 20187 yr by xman

Well I ruined a clutch in my dads car trying to pull out of a junction on a hill whilst learning to drive 45 years ago.

Cabin filled with burning smell and clutch completely failed a few days later. Car had done about 8k so it is possible to ruin a clutch very quickly

12 hours ago, xman said:

What a load of old boIIux from this dealer. Wouldn't stand up in court. Damage a clutch moving out of a junction, HA! It was clearly worn out (or damaged as they prefer to call it) by previous keeper(s).

 

A staff car scheme supplying cars for employees relatives to use exclusively, perhaps the employee has his own too, I'm sure HMRC would like to check the employees P11D for all the BIK and class 1 NIC calculations on each car he is fronting.

 

They are clearly a bunch of cowboys.

 

And of course you know that because you saw the car, saw the clutch when it was taken out and are an expert in these matters?
Read Ken's comments above!