Disappointed

[181ce]

So as per title confidence in car deeply dented.

Given it's a new car I have determinedly ignored any active investigations by myself,heard a wheel bearing noise so back to dealer,BOTH front wheel bearings shot BOTH front shocks leaking,and it's already had a boot door lock under warranty.

All this at 39000 km.

I have never in 34 years driving experienced this level of failure in either the sh#tboxes I've chosen to drive,or the less "premium" brands I've had 

I.e Citroen, Renault, Alfa Romeo.

The only things that have come close have been my BMW's.

I'll also point out I'm a time served mechanic hence the ignore the new car attitude.

I seriously question whether I'd buy another Skoda after this .......

[Ads230]

15 minutes ago, 181ce said:

I seriously question whether I'd buy another Skoda after this .......

 

As a time-served mechanic, I'm sure you'd be familiar with the lemons that some cars just naturally are from the factory, e.g. when put together on a bad day - from the sounds of it, seems like you got a particularly bad one! 

 

I'd ask what year, where purchased, service history etc.? I've heard of less reports from the VRS range (mine's had very little /no issues whatsoever and is +1000km on top of yours), but definitely these types of issues are happening more regularly in previous gen Skodas than recently (MQB platform cars). 

 

Hope you manage to get all issues fixed and/or grab a better deal when you can! 

[181ce]

Everythings being done under warranty obviously,nice man suggested in a roundabout fashion that I my be an "enthusiastic" driver,I'll not get into the repressions from that comment.I don't subscribe to the Lemon outlook ,what it is is taking the eye completely off of the quality control ball,bottom line is this does not bode will for ownership outside of warranty,double it if I were paying someone else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Golfmk56]

I'm confused. OP says they'd question buying another Skoda, that they don't subscribe to the lemon outlook and has never suffered this level of failure in a Citroen, Renault or Alfa.

 

Have no reason to doubt that statement but given those latter car manufacturer's results in reliability surveys, plenty of other owners have experienced failures. And just one look at any of their relevant forums will confirm that. Components fail in even the most reliable car manufacturer's products.

 

But what I can't understand is OP says  "given it's a new car"  and then goes on to say the car has covered "39000km" ?   39000km is not a new car, anything could have happened within that timescale. As for quality control - are these shocks and wheel bearings manufactured by Skoda or will they be OEM?  Do those other manufacturers who use the same shocks not suffer similar failures?   And how can those manufacturers tell if a shock or wheel bearing is going to fail at 39000km when they're assembling the car?

 

If this were a common problem then yes I too would question whether or not I'd buy another Skoda, but if it's a rare problem then I can't see where the OP is coming from. Nothing is 100% reliable isn't that why we buy warranties?     

[J.R.]

OP has had a boot lock replaced, they know he is a meccano and that he know his onions, one wheel bearing is rumbling, they know better than to try and get away with replacing it alone so have told him they are both shagged.

 

They notice misting on the shocks, they are told to tell all customers that its a characteristic and that the damping is not affected, no warranty replacements, they know better than to try this with the OP so tell him that both are shagged, no need for the exaggerating but the service receptionist will have worked for Kwikfit before

 

I think he is getting good service from the current Skoda regime, like it used to be a decade ago but not any more, many people would consider 2 problems (because they would never know about the damper misting/leak) fixed under warranty during 39000 kms as pretty good going.

[181ce]

2 hours ago, J.R. said:

OP has had a boot lock replaced, they know he is a meccano and that he know his onions, one wheel bearing is rumbling, they know better than to try and get away with replacing it alone so have told him they are both shagged.

 

They notice misting on the shocks, they are told to tell all customers that its a characteristic and that the damping is not affected, no warranty replacements, they know better than to try this with the OP so tell him that both are shagged, no need for the exaggerating but the service receptionist will have worked for Kwikfit before

 

I think he is getting good service from the current Skoda regime, like it used to be a decade ago but not any more, many people would consider 2 problems (because they would never know about the damper misting/leak) fixed under warranty during 39000 kms as pretty good going.

Spot on that man,I despair when people recon 39000 km is not a new car however,I would consider a pair of front shocks  and a pair of front wheel bearings excessive in a 10 year old **** box all at the same time however is nothing short of catastrophically bad.

Re inferior brands,it's all a lots of cobblers if one is even remotely in tune/sympathetic to particular foibles they're as good as everything else.

I often wonder how much is fueled by hype ?consider my BMW coment

 

 

[logiclee]

I had wheel bearing failure at 26000 miles, then in the same year coolant pipe split dumping all coolant in the cabin, and three different DSG faults.

 

Luckily all under warranty. I was also getting front offside noises again when I sold it and a few cabin rattles. Still with only 39k miles.

 

My Mk3 never felt solid, never felt well built. 

 

After 15 years of VAG ownership and 13 family Skoda's the disappointing Mk3 has really put me off. 

 

Our Mk2 is still great and we've had that 7 years, everything feels solid, the ride is better and so is the noise at motorway speeds.

[Golfmk56]

Seems everyone is missing the point.  There will be many many Skoda owners who've happily covered 39000 miles error free, there will be others who've had far worse problems that shocks and wheel bearings.  So call your Skoda a ****box all you want but what about telling us what car you're going to replace it with, because the second you do that, I'll happily send you examples of what some owners think what a  ****box that car that is.
 

1 hour ago, 181ce said:

Spot on that man,I despair when people recon 39000 km is not a new car however, I would consider a pair of front shocks  and a pair of front wheel bearings excessive in a 10 year old **** box all at the same time however is nothing short of catastrophically bad.

 

 

 

Catastophically bad and decsribing a car that's covered 39000km as new? Good luck arguing that one. (Sounds a bit drama queen if you don't mind me saying).  But that aside I don't understand that sentance.  What age is your car - are you saying it's 10 years old?

[181ce]

The car is 13 months old,it has covered 39000km,

I.e. it's godamn new,I would expect nothing less than absolute perfection from any car with this little use.

I never called the car a sh1tbox btw,I compared it to others of that description that I've owned I respectfully suggest you reread my post.

Edited 26 April, 2019 by 181ce

[ExSEAT]

Im sure theres been a lot of instances of wheel bearings giving up prematurely on the mk3, certainly read a few accounts of it on here and at much fewer miles.

 

Ive been lucky, not had any issues like that. On balance, my managers dsg gearbox shat itself at 35k miles and that was on an RS4, a 60k car as opposed to a 22k one. These things happen.

[Beachy]

It aint new, sounds like it was a Skoda Motorsport Recce Car for last year's WRC.

[181ce]

Just now, Beachy said:

It aint new, sounds like it was a Skoda Motorsport Recce Car for last year's WRC.

Yeah you'd think wouldn't you .

[PetrolDave]

13 hours ago, 181ce said:

The car is 13 months old,it has covered 39000km,

I.e. it's godamn new.

39000km of use of all the mechanical components definitely makes them not "new" - that's typically more like 3 years worth of use. And that much distance in 13 months suggests regular possible hard use, so earlier than usual mechanical failures shouldn't be a surprise.

 

Used car values drop with mileage as well as age for a good reason...

 

BTW I bought my Octavia 1 year old with 15000 miles of use by a car hire company, and there's no way I would describe that as "new".

Edited 27 April, 2019 by PetrolDave

[cheezemonkhai]

39,000 km not miles, so about 24,000 miles.

 

if wheel bearings and suspension went at that mileage! I would be furious too.

 

yes, the car isn’t from the factory new, but it is a new/very young car, with a low mileage and poor quality.

 

i do agree that quality control seems to be lower, but then part of that is due to cost engineering. Eg building parts so they are just good enough rather than over engineered. That means anything that isn’t quite up to spec will fail, rather than still being plenty good enough.

 

 

[logiclee]

1 hour ago, cheezemonkhai said:

39,000 km not miles, so about 24,000 miles.

 

if wheel bearings and suspension went at that mileage! I would be furious too.

 

yes, the car isn’t from the factory new, but it is a new/very young car, with a low mileage and poor quality.

 

i do agree that quality control seems to be lower, but then part of that is due to cost engineering. Eg building parts so they are just good enough rather than over engineered. That means anything that isn’t quite up to spec will fail, rather than still being plenty good enough.

 

 

 

Yep agree.

 

Similar mileage to my wheel bearing failures and DSG issues

 

MQB maybe a technical marvel but the quest for lightness and cost cutting have been taken too far. For me it isn't just the issues people are having it's the light tinny doors, the ride and noise, the torsion beam suspension. The Mk2 felt an upgrade in quality over the Mk1, the Mk3 has the upgrade in technology but feels a cheaper build.

Edited 27 April, 2019 by logiclee

[J.R.]

Looks like I hit the sweet spot moving from a MK1 to a MK2, I am very very doubtfull that it will be as reliable as the MK1 that I took to 325000 miles without any problems to speak of (I did replace on rumbling wheel bearing), so far it looks like the weak spot will be the plethora of capricious electronic systems. Its got some nice toys but none of them worth the grief that they might bring, if it remains reliable then fine, win-win, if it doesn't I would not hesitate to return to a MK1 if I could find a good enough example, I do miss it as a drivers car.

 

No way would I consider a MK3 from what I have read on here, there is no single widget that appeals to me, my priorities for a car are not Bluetooth and whether I can sync an i-phone whatever that means, and from all accounts in terms of quality feel NVH and reliability they are not worthy of the Skoda name or Octavia model name.

[SashaGrace]

Conversely my Octavia 3 has covered 107k miles over the last nearly 5 years and so far as I can see in the history has had no problems at all. Certainly in the last 17 months and 40k miles I’ve put on the car it’s needed nothing outside of a £50 DPF sensor and other than being a bit noisy it has been an excellent car. I am comparing this to my previous Audi, Volvo and Mercedes and although the Mercedes is much quieter and has thicker carpets the Skoda has been by far the most reliable car I’ve ever had. I have total faith in it and will continue to drive it for the foreseeable future. I see nothing in the Octavia’s price bracket that is any different and nothing in the price bracket above either. My next car is likely to be electric and I will be ready to accept the build quality shortcomings should I choose a Tesla, for example. If you are experiencing failures at a low mileage then yes, I wouldn’t be impressed either, but to generalise and assume that all of these cars are badly made is simply wrong. I, and many other O3 owners will show you that the majority experience no issues at all. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Skoda, and I would really like to change the Citigo for another Octavia 3, but my OH is having none of it and is set on a Fabia. With the exception of early DQ200 gearboxes which have been proven to have a higher than acceptable failure rate there is nothing that would stop me buying another Octavia.

[themanwithnoaim]

On 26/04/2019 at 12:51, 181ce said:

So as per title confidence in car deeply dented.

Given it's a new car I have determinedly ignored any active investigations by myself,heard a wheel bearing noise so back to dealer,BOTH front wheel bearings shot BOTH front shocks leaking,and it's already had a boot door lock under warranty.

All this at 39000 km.

I have never in 34 years driving experienced this level of failure in either the sh#tboxes I've chosen to drive,or the less "premium" brands I've had 

I.e Citroen, Renault, Alfa Romeo.

The only things that have come close have been my BMW's.

I'll also point out I'm a time served mechanic hence the ignore the new car attitude.

I seriously question whether I'd buy another Skoda after this .......

Did you buy this car brand new or Pre-loved!!!

 

Cos if you brought a 1 year old with higher than avg. mileage, did you not ask yourself why it was being sold at such a young age? I would have but, I don't buy cars, I choose to rent them for 3 years with warranty, services & breakdown cover.

 

Buying/owning cars is so 20th century, in the 21st century you just pay for the service of a car, if it stops or tells you it needs something fixing you just ring some MoFo & its sorted with a loan car in between.

 

What's not to like ? or are you determined to own a depreciating asset ? 

Edited 27 April, 2019 by themanwithnoaim

[teescom09]

I am of a similar opinion to op. I run 4 cars and the Octy VRS is the only one that has been back under warranty, and quite a bit. I have BMW, two Fords as well as VRs. Apart from iffy crap materials used here and there. I have had wing mirror glass fall out and smash. Window and seat electrics dodgy,  carpets holed , wheel corrosion, chronic disk hub rusting, turbo failed at 40k 34months, Front wheel bearing failed at 43k and 35months. The wheel bearings are a known problem. Cheap crap obviously. 

 

I have low confidence in long  term reliability of Skodas. Many and increasing numbers of parts are locally sourced. Mine is going in June and It will be my first and last Skoda. By no means a bad car, just most others are better making it a none option for me.

[181ce]

To clarify, bought it new on PCP,

I don't care that I can f@#k it back an get it fixed for nowt for the warranty term,they're obviously fitting crap components,again it's 24k MILES,it's never been abused,it doesn't live in arduous conditions,it's disappointing END OF,point is it's getting replaced by a milk float at PCP end,now consider that there may be a Skoda electric option by then I won't be their guinea pig ,new to the electric game and with this predeliction for penny pinching ?

No thanks

Edited 27 April, 2019 by 181ce

[themanwithnoaim]

6 hours ago, 181ce said:

To clarify, bought it new on PCP,

I don't care that I can f@#k it back an get it fixed for nowt for the warranty term,they're obviously fitting crap components,again it's 24k MILES,it's never been abused,it doesn't live in arduous conditions,it's disappointing END OF,point is it's getting replaced by a milk float at PCP end,now consider that there may be a Skoda electric option by then I won't be their guinea pig ,new to the electric game and with this predeliction for penny pinching ?

No thanks

F@#k the car quality, how good is the the service provision  ? If other OEM's car don't have faults how'd you know how good their service is ?

[classic]

All manufacturers source parts such as bearings and shockers from component manufacturers. Skoda/Seat/VW, Merc, Renault, Vauxhall, Bentley, Dacia, the lot of them all get parts from a finite number of manufacturers.

A part fails on your car and is done under warranty. Skoda then claim their costs from whoever made the part. 

I used to deal with warranty claims at a VW/Audi dealer in a past life, and the thing they (VAG) wanted to know most was the manufacturers code on a failed part.

Disappointing to need stuff fixing but you can’t judge an entire model range on one vehicle. Even that individual vehicle can only be judged at the end of its life, it could be entirely trouble free for the next 100k.

If your PCPing and getting rid after 3 years anyway, then the warranty repairs are what you’re paying for the privilege of.

I have friends still in the trade working for Ford, Vauxhall, VW, BMW and Jag and trust me they all go wrong on a very regular basis.

My own Octavia 3 has done 50k miles, which is over 80000 km with nothing but routine services.

 

[classic]

9 hours ago, J.R. said:

Looks like I hit the sweet spot moving from a MK1 to a MK2, I am very very doubtfull that it will be as reliable as the MK1 that I took to 325000 miles without any problems to speak of (I did replace on rumbling wheel bearing), so far it looks like the weak spot will be the plethora of capricious electronic systems. Its got some nice toys but none of them worth the grief that they might bring, if it remains reliable then fine, win-win, if it doesn't I would not hesitate to return to a MK1 if I could find a good enough example, I do miss it as a drivers car.

 

No way would I consider a MK3 from what I have read on here, there is no single widget that appeals to me, my priorities for a car are not Bluetooth and whether I can sync an i-phone whatever that means, and from all accounts in terms of quality feel NVH and reliability they are not worthy of the Skoda name or Octavia model name.

Ah yes, the MK2 Octavia, also a known potential  eater of front wheel bearings, 2.0 tdi cylinder heads, turbos, injectors, aircon compressors, the list goes on.

Many have done hundreds of thousands of reliable miles as well.

Edited 27 April, 2019 by classic

[marko]

at the end of the day Skoda is the budget brand from VAG so I would expect things to fail faster? we had a Fiat 500 from brand new, by 25k miles it had all new brakes/discs/shoes and even brake cylinders, I was shocked to see them covered in brake fluid with such little mileage! by 30k miles it had had 4 new shockers, new thermostat housing and electric fan rebuilt. this is what you expect from an el-cheapo brand I guess.

[181ce]

3 hours ago, marko said:

at the end of the day Skoda is the budget brand from VAG so I would expect things to fail faster? we had a Fiat 500 from brand new, by 25k miles it had all new brakes/discs/shoes and even brake cylinders, I was shocked to see them covered in brake fluid with such little mileage! by 30k miles it had had 4 new shockers, new thermostat housing and electric fan rebuilt. this is what you expect from an el-cheapo brand I guess.

Utter boll@#ks

I would expect reliablity from any brand,I've owned/worked on enough of them to know

Is your Casio gonna blow up cos it  doesn't say Rolex ?

Budget is attained (or rather should be) via design,materials,fit and finish,complexity or lack thereof , labour costs,older tech that has recouped it's investment etc etc.

Re your fiat 500, that's looking no worse than this skoda,I actually forgot to mention it's has two new front calipers and pads also cos the originals were clattering like good things.