Hello,

           I  thought  I simply had to share this latest example on the part of Skoda UK that shows they just "dont get it" with coronavirus upsetting everything. I have an approved used warranty with my  17 plate Fabia tsi SEL estate. Before anyone laughs I know these are not always uniformly  great(!)  but they are better than nothing at all and have probably helped some Skoda owners.

     

           I contacted Skoda customer services to  check that they were doing what I thought they were doing. Silly me, I Should have known better. I like to think of myself as a rational person and with the Skoda dealerships closed due to coronavirus    I thought Skoda would extend all the warranties, new and used by the length of time the dealerships had been closed The warranties were going to be as much use as a chocolate teapot as no one could put their cars in to be  investigated and diagnosed. Instead of agreeing with me Skoda UK are saying you need to contact customer services  endorsing your email with "warranty claim" and thnumber from your warranty. That serves as a receipt and when the Skoda garages reopen you are expected to contact your local Skoda garage to get your job booked in.

 

                    The logistics and the problems with this are simply staggering.    What if you have more than one fault to be investigated during your warranty?  I know the cynical among us will think the  likelihood of more than one fault occurring  on any Skoda in one or more years is high  but even leaving that aside the following has got to be true?  Skoda havent thought about the logistics. If you only have two faults  when the garages are closed and you have reported these to customer services will you be able to get both investigated at the same time? Will you heck! The garages will be snowed under for sure and they will insist that you get them done one at a time. Have three or more? Chaos with the Skoda policy. The negative effects of this on Skoda customers is very easy to predict. Even if  fellow Briskodians disagree with my analysis analysis the surely undeniable fact is that the Skoda UK policy is very cumbersome, very bureaucratic, very time consuming? If Skoda UK had seen fit to inform their customers what they were doing it might not have been so bad:  but they didnt, it took a question from a customer to get the policy unearthed. 

 

      In  my opinion Skoda UK have well and truly shot themselves in the foot. At a time when they could have informed their customers they preferred to keep it dark. They have their customer databases so they could have a mass email or a mass mailshot but they didnt. They could have opted for a simple fair and logical policy but they havent. 

 

                   What do you think?

 

                   

 

 

Sounds reasonable to me, if you have a fault you must notify them within the warranty period, once registered they will take care of it when they are allowed to and able to.

 

If you have a second fault you do the same, 3rd fault same again.............................;

 

It really isn't any different to having a fault appear just before the end of a warranty when you are unable to present the car to the dealership in time or they cant give you an appointment in time.

 

Most staff will already have stopped working especially if they have school age children, at least you can still contact someone. In the midst of what is happening all around you is it really such an issue or have I missed something?

 

Personally I am getting fed up with mass E-mailings re COVID 19 that dont concern me in the slightest, its getting worse than the spam which thankfully has eased off, their procedure seems logical to me, in what way do you think its unfair?

Edited 30 March, 20206 yr by J.R.

JR,  You are clearly offended by my words, That was not my intention. Rather than get involved in a "war of words" which  could  offend you still more  I am not going to engage in any correspondence with you. I stand by what I posted, I would not have written it otherwise but we should agree to disagree like civiliised human beings. Stay safe.

I have never heard of a garage saying will only fix one fault per visit as a policy.
 

Of course if you have booked a short job and ask them to add another job later they might not be able to accommodate the extra work same time if already booked with other customers.

 

Once a repair is requested, and booked, doesn’t matter if warranty expires and only actually fixed few days after expiry.   

Surrey      John, , If you have a warranty fault you must get a diagnosis first before anything can happen. If the diagnosis says its a warranty fault then you need to book the car in again to have it fixed for free. Thats two separate visits to the dealer to get one fault fixed. Its my understanding that the diagnostic tool used can be used to give a complete diagnosis but in practice it is used to identify one particular problem.

@hetty1 If you have a warranty claim, are you entitled to a courtesy car???

Hi Hetty, if you cannot contact your dealer at all, which is surprising then email customer services with a list of your current issues. I would also email your dealer. I don't work at a Skoda dealer but I have a Skoda Fabia and work for a VW dealer. I have my car booked in with my Skoda dealer in a few weeks and I asked them to raise a Diss report when I booked it in which is standard procedure. This Diss report is dated so will show the booking was made whilst in the warranty period. My warranty expires at the beginning of May so if I cannot physically attend the dealership before the warranty expires then I have proof of booking. This of course does not confirm its a repair covered by warranty. This can only be confirmed once diagnosed. 

7 minutes ago, Tilt said:

@hetty1 If you have a warranty claim, are you entitled to a courtesy car???

The warranty guidelines state a replacement vehicle is not an  entitlement but most dealers and importers will provide one

Edited 30 March, 20206 yr by Andymod

@hetty1

?

Any chance you could just say what the issues are that you think are warranty issues and that you have become aware of in the past 2 weeks and not before that?

 Andymod, My usual Skoda dealership might provide a courtesy car, might not be able to, depends on supply and demand. You might have to pay £12  for insurance unless they are satisfied that your own insurance covers their loan car. You have to bring it down with you for them to look at. Roottootemblowinootsoot, not sure what you mean.  A warranty issue to me is anything that stops working on the car and you have a warranty so you make contact with the Skoda garage.  If thats not what you mean, sorry, do let me know.

@hetty1

'Simple words then in a question'.   'What is wrong with your car?'   

 

Do you have a 12 month 'Skoda Approved Used Car warranty' ? 

So plenty time for any Warranty diagnostics to be done.

 

 

Edited 30 March, 20206 yr by Roottootemblowinootsoot

5 minutes ago, hetty1 said:

 Andymod, My usual Skoda dealership might provide a courtesy car, might not be able to, depends on supply and demand. You might have to pay £12  for insurance unless they are satisfied that your own insurance covers their loan car. You have to bring it down with you for them to look at. Roottootemblowinootsoot, not sure what you mean.  A warranty issue to me is anything that stops working on the car and you have a warranty so you make contact with the Skoda garage.  If thats not what you mean, sorry, do let me know.

I see you have an extended warranty which is slightly different from manufacturers warranty.  I have come across dealers which charge for loan cars or the insurance on them, but that a decision made by the dealer group or owners. 

When I am at work, we look at all different types of warranty jobs, everyone is assed on its own merits and decisions are made according to warranty guidelines. There can be some instances with extended warranty where an accessor is sent out to evaluate and then the decision is made outside of the dealership. How long have you had the car?. Most dealers should help you out if the car is a recent purchase and has developed a problem. It's difficult to be specific without knowing the issues you have. 

 

My my best advice would be to email Skoda CS and your dealer with your issues and follow up once they reopen. These are unprecidentented times and dealers and importers are adapting policies and practices as best as possible to deal with an ever changing situation

The Manufacturers Warranty will be valid to June if the car was first registered in June 2017.  The Used car warranty will cover the time until a year after purchased.

 

I would not be taking the car to get a Oil Change Service even at a VAT registered establishment with OEM parts if there are possible Warranty Claims coming up now.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/475994-correct-oil-for-a-17-plate-fabia-tsi

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/477038-possible-premature-clutch-wear-on-a-fabia-tsi

 

 

Edited 30 March, 20206 yr by Roottootemblowinootsoot

The brakes are  grinding. I do have a 12month approved used warranty. I dont want to email it to customer services simply  because its the brakes and they have got to work properly   either and the Skoda garages could be closed for ages, its certainly going to be a couple of weeks minimum. I dont think brakes can be left for weeks, maybe months even with my mileage being so low at the moment due to the coronavirus.  No garages are open round here including my normal independent. I would normally get a pal round and we would have a look but cant do that either  because of social distancing   So I will have to have  a look at it myself and take it from there. Maybe it will be something easy like something  from the road stuck in the disc    but surely not both wheels? I could call the AA out but the 2 metres rule still applies so that wont be a piece of cake. either. I will go out to the car tomorrow and have a look.

Brakes can grind from lack of use, maybe because nearly 3 years old.

Just recently you asked if the car had rear discs, is the noise new?

 

It is quite normal to have to use the brakes a bit to clean off cosmetic rust, and pull the parking brake on a little as well once moving to clean the rears.

 

?

Are there no tyre and exhaust centres near that could look see for you.

Many places have them open and even offering NHS staff discounts.

 

PS

Mobile Mechanics might still be active in your area.

Even if you had brand new discs and pads fitted they could get cosmetic corrosion over the next weeks and months of inactivity.

I was always under the impression that the warranty covered manufacturing defects. Brakes and clutches etc usually fall into that grey area of 'wear and tear'

^^^ Correct.

& 'Full Main Dealer Service History', and a Workshop Inspection before sale as an Approved Used Car might well show the brakes have never had any servicing other than looked at a couple of times just incase the Dealership could then advise replacing..

Have you checked your local dealers website?

 

From the outside, all dealers look closed, this is definitely the case for car sales, however Government guidelines allow the garage trade to remain open if they choose to.

 

As a result our local Skoda dealer is maintaining a skeleton staff within the service department with the sole purpose of maintaining key workers vehicles.

 

Of course, if you're not a key worker then none of us should really be using our cars except for essential travel.

 

Given the exceptional circumstances we're all going to have to be a little more flexible. If the fault is serious, you're not a key worker and you need use of your car then I would be ringing around local VAT-registered garages that are trading and have them repair your car, using genuine Skoda parts. Ask for a detailed receipt.

 

Be sure to let Skoda UK know in writing, and given the circumstances after this mess is finally behind us you might get a contribution towards the repair from Skoda.

 

Safety first. If you need to use your car and the fault is dangerous, then pay for it yourself for now, and pursue Skoda afterwards.

 

 

Edited 30 March, 20206 yr by silver1011

8 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

Have you checked your local dealers website?

From the skoda uk website. it wasn't too difficult

Quote

Warranty FAQs

1) If the work is not done during warranty because retailer can’t fit it in what happens?

Any issues that would normally be covered by your warranty will still be covered provided you have reported the fault to your retailer within the warranty period. If your retailer is closed due to COVID-19 and so you cannot report the fault, please email the Customer Services Centre here writing 'WARRANTY CLAIM' and your REGISTRATION NUMBER in the message. They will record your notification and give you a reference number which can be passed to your repairing retailer when they reopen to accept bookings. However, please note, existing warranty periods will not be extended.

https://www.skoda.co.uk/discover/coronavirus-covid-19-update

2 hours ago, hetty1 said:

Surrey      John, , If you have a warranty fault you must get a diagnosis first before anything can happen. If the diagnosis says its a warranty fault then you need to book the car in again to have it fixed for free. Thats two separate visits to the dealer to get one fault fixed. Its my understanding that the diagnostic tool used can be used to give a complete diagnosis but in practice it is used to identify one particular problem.

 

If the dealer is confident the claim would be successful when submitted to Skoda, the parts are in stock and they aren't exceptionally busy then a second visit is not always required. The good dealers will try their best to remedy the situation and avoid you having to come back.

 

Good dealers will also deduct the diagnosis fee if the fault is deemed to be a genuine warranty claim.

 

The diagnostics machine they use will read any fault codes stored on the vehicles ECU, the more faults there are then generally the more fault codes they'll be able to download.

Silver 1011, My Skoda garage is definitely completely closed. One of the managers picked up an email I sent just to try my luck, he picked it up on his i phone. The one the other side of the river is also completely closed. George, my local independent closed just this morning. I didnt know, I phoned and the person left to field phone calls told me. We lost our ATS a fair time ago and we dont have a local KwIk Fit,       Where I live is a garage desert!   I will have a look tomorrow.

22 minutes ago, hetty1 said:

Silver 1011, My Skoda garage is definitely completely closed. One of the managers picked up an email I sent just to try my luck, he picked it up on his i phone. The one the other side of the river is also completely closed. George, my local independent closed just this morning. I didnt know, I phoned and the person left to field phone calls told me. We lost our ATS a fair time ago and we dont have a local KwIk Fit,       Where I live is a garage desert!   I will have a look tomorrow.

Wirral Car Care on Clayhill Industrial Estate Neston, (and a sister company?) Discount VW Audi (Skoda/Seat) Carr Lane Industrial Estate in Hoylake, look professional from website, or Volkswirral in Wallasey look a bit more of an under the arches place (actually a back yard I think).

Know nothing about any of them but when my warranty runs out one of them will get my business.

 

Most cars sat without moving will get a haze of surface rust that will make a bit of noise until it's polished off by using the brakes.

6 hours ago, hetty1 said:

JR,  You are clearly offended by my words, That was not my intention. Rather than get involved in a "war of words" which  could  offend you still more  I am not going to engage in any correspondence with you. I stand by what I posted, I would not have written it otherwise but we should agree to disagree like civiliised human beings. Stay safe.

 

Offended, not me and of course I realise that would not have been your intention. You did ask "what do you think?"

 

Confused more like, less confused now you have given details.

 

You have squeaking brakes in the midst of a global pandemic which has closed all but essential businesses and confined the vast majority of the population to house arrest.

 

You think that Skoda are being unfair regarding your warranty because if you find that you have another fault during the confinement you will have to register it with them again.

 

I sincerely hope that is the worst problem that you or anyone else on this forum (and throughout the world) has to face during these troubled times.

 

As of 2 days ago 3024 deaths in my country and 1408 deaths in yours.

Edited 30 March, 20206 yr by J.R.

i think skoda are pretty reasonable given the circumstances - let us know you have a problem and we will fix it when we can.

 

i really think you over reacted to J.R.'s first post, you asked for opinions, he offered his and your response to basically say "you disagree with me, so i shall ignore you, by making it look like we are arguing" is a bit unnecessary.

You are being inconvenienced by a global pandemic that governments are trying to contain before thousands more potentially die...

just send the miltiple emails if you have to... itll take up a bit more of the time you probably have spare, and i doubt youre going to need to visit the dealer once per issue... once for a diagnosis and then a treatment plan.. just like the doctor.