Who thinks Ive got a genuine greivance, and who thinks im being petty?

The situation:

When I picked up my brand new Octy vRS the drivers footwell was dirty, there were two scratches on the front sills, one chip on edge of passenger door and deep scuffs under the bumper from not being taken off the transporter carefully enough.

What could be blamed on the alarm fitter, was.

I was assured that of course all this would be sorted out, and naturally I assumed it would.

After eventually finding an agreable date for the repairs, taking time out of my day off, I took it in and asked also for front mudflaps to be fitted.

The courtesy car I had for 3 days was a Fabia estate with a wonky petrol gauge. Is it reasonable to expect a courtesy car that bears some resemblance to your car, bearing in mind the problems being fixed were the dealers fault? or is this petty?

I drove round on my (meager) lunchbreak to be told the car wasnt ready at the agreed time, and someone would drop it around to work sometime later, which they did.

No invoice was given to me and I assumed they had performed a top class customer relations job, transforming me from pretty-pizzled-off to fantastically happy with their level of service and happy to tell all my friends about it.

Then.... about 2 weeks later I get a brusque phonecall asking why I hadnt paid the invoice (that I had never received) for the mudflaps and fitting.

Whilst on one hand, I asked for the mudflaps, of course I should have to pay for them.

On the other hand, I have been messed about and lost hours of free time sorting things out.

Have I been mistreated? Should I complain to Skoda UK? Am I being a whinger?

Your opinions Gentlemen (and Gentleladies)?

Jono

Have I been mistreated?

Yes. I would feel pretty hacked off.

Should I complain to Skoda UK?

I don't know. Would it make you feel better?

Am I being a whinger?

Are we allowed to "name and shame" this dealer?

I only have experience with one local dealer and I'd kinda like to know which one is causing the problem.

The courtesy car I had for 3 days was a Fabia estate with a wonky petrol gauge. Is it reasonable to expect a courtesy car that bears some resemblance to your car' date=' bearing in mind the problems being fixed were the dealers fault? or is this petty?[/quote']

Well,

When I had my vRS serviced the courtesy car I was given was a Felicia with a top speed of about 50 downhill with a following wind. The dealer only has 3 loan cars and as I was last there (albeit at 8.30) that was all that was left. I was not very happy but I guess it's unreasonable to expect a dealer to keep a fleet of top of the range courtesy cars just in case - especially bearing in mind that most of their customers are unused to powerful cars like the Octy vRS !

As for the rest of it, your dealer certainly lacks any comprehension of customer relations. When I picked up my car it was perfect, If it had been in the same state as yours I think my dealer would probably have sorted me out with a decent car whilst it was being repaired.

I think they should have let you know it wasn't going to be ready when they said it would be though. If you can use another dealer in future then I would complain, if they are the only practical one for you then I would drop it.

I hope this hasn't marred your enjoyment of the car !

Jane

What really ticked me off was:

I originally expected to get charged for the Mudflaps, then when no bill was forthcoming I thought "Cool, im actually pretty happy with how they have sorted me out"

Now Ive gone from happy, to double how annoyed I was to start with!

When I phoned, practically in the same breath, the boss talked about how tight the business was, how little money was made, and his brand new 54K car he himself had bought!

He was even trying to suggest that as I had done my homework and got a really good price to start with that they couldnt afford to write off the cost of this work! Might suggest to some that to get super-service you have to be overcharged in the first place.

Besides I dont believe for a second that I got such a good deal they were practically doing me a favour, all down to sales targets and all that.

Shame really, I dont Want to fall out with them.

Jono

Personally i would be really angry if i bought a new car that had scratches on it.

But I think your being petty over the courtesy car, dealers are limited to what they can loan out.

As for the mudflaps, i would have expected them to offer it free of charges as a gesture of goodwill, however i guess that's down to the dealer.

your not the only one who isnt impressed with skoda dealers though!

...I guess it's unreasonable to expect a dealer to keep a fleet of top of the range courtesy cars just in case...

No, but it's not unreasonable to expect courtesy cars that are at least decent. You know, one with a radio and working switches. One that has been cleaned within the last 6 months and which doesn't have a mouldy sandwich in the glove compartment. One that does 0-60, never mind in how many seconds.

As for this ropey dealer - sack 'em off and find somewhere else.

My dealer has Fabia 1.4's and 1.9TDi's as courtesy cars, always clean and reliable, and I quite enjoy driving the 1.4 (not quick but eminently chuckable).

That said, last two times I've borrowed:

a) Fabia RS

Service managers Octavia TDi90

So can't complain, they are friendly yet efficient, and will always do everything in their power to address any issue.

Horners!

With my dealer you generally get a courtesy car of the same model as you drive.

I get a std Fabia and wife generally has a diesel Octy.

Mind you last time I had a Superb.

Personally, I wouldn't have accepted the car in the first place. Once they have your money you are in a much weaker position.

Sure, they don't want you to be dis-satisifed but imgaine if they hadn't sorted the problems properly... all the while your money is in their bank account.

Better/higher quality courtesy cars means higher prices! Simple.

No, but it's not unreasonable to expect courtesy cars that are at least decent. You know, one with a radio and working switches. One that has been cleaned within the last 6 months and which doesn't have a mouldy sandwich in the glove compartment. One that does 0-60, never mind in how many seconds.

I seem to recall a similar experience when having my car serviced.

After Ian's comments, i'll give Horners a try next time.

Mention Briskoda - 10% discount...

I dont think I would have wanted to take delivery of the car if its condition was that bad it needed remedial work already. Personally I would have told them to stick it and get another, the damage amount is immaterial in my mind, the fact it its damaged. Of course if they then failed to play ball, or come to some sort of arrangement then I would walk away.

My dealer has Fabia 1.4's and 1.9TDi's as courtesy cars, always clean and reliable, and I quite enjoy driving the 1.4 (not quick but eminently chuckable).

They have 1.2s in now...

A courtesy car is something which is a better alternative to walking or public transport, and as such shouldn't need to be new or powerful, and if you want it cleaned everytime it goes out then it will put the price of the servicing up - not something I'd want!

That said, if Horner's manage it, I don't see why every other dealer can't...

Rob.

(Edited in the interests of a lamented member) :(

Jono, I think similarly to others on this thread

1. You can't expect your courtesy car to be the same as your main car - the dealer would be saddled with a fleet of rapidly depreciating demonstrators.

2. You should get your mudflaps done for free especially given the way you've been treated now. That said, the dealer can't be expected to make up for the fact that your employer only gives you a short lunchbreak. That's not their fault. Mudflaps are cheap though

Skoda customer care is ****.

They sent a 'AREA TECHNICAL MANAGER' out to inspect my car {MR SKINNER},

his report was totally incorrect and baised.{He managed to shrink a 520mm

scrape on the underside of my car into 50mm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! }

The SPEEDO CLOCKING was denied,Skoda refused to believe this happens........

So im obviously a liar.

I asked for my case notes to be sent to me ,a week later i recieve HALF of them?

The half i got was a crock of ****.

UNTRUTH after UNTRUTH. How hard can it be to type what's been said?

{it would appear Skoda customer care play down everything you tell them and when you bring this to their attention they wont deal with you over the phone, you have to write in? To waste more time naturally...

So............Ive been F*CKED over by Skoda, i dont have 3-4k spare to take them to court so i cant do anything about it.

When i can be bothered i will give you all a proper account of the hassle i had with them, i'll even post the report etc if that helps.

If you buy a new Skoda, before you take delivery of it make sure NOTHING is WRONG WITH IT and REJECT the car if there is and dont SIGN ANYTHING.

As i know Skoda uk / Skoda customer care check this site out please feel free to reply to what i have said.

In disgust i've take off every SKODA badge on my car ,and that's just the beginning.

Horners are the dealers that i was regarding to. When i mentioned the issues i was concerned with such as brake squeal they were reluctant to have a look at it, even if it is just putting on some copper grease. Ill try horners manchester in the new year.

I've given up with Skoda Customer Services. As much use as a Chocolate Teapot.

I enjoy my car but, not as much as I would if I knew the after care service was there. I still don't know what happened to my car when it went in to be checked - that was 2 months ago. They assured me that they would stay in touch.

Steve,

Click here

Limit is more than

I'm none too pleased with my dealer either.

I put my Octy in on Saturday for two small warranty items, a broken seatbelt anchor and a squeaky pedal assembly. And I asked them to check the brake pads on the front.

The seatbelt was fixed, but they never touched the pedals. I also asked them to confirm the part number on the coil for me, so I'd know if it might need replacing as a precaution, since I regularly use my car for long work journeys, often in the middle of the night.

Note, I only asked them to tell me the part number, not change it there and then. I was firmly rebuked that "if there's nothing wrong with it, we're not going to fix it, are we?" and they refused to do it. I was then accused, when I collected the keys, of having "fiddled with the electrics" on the "coilpack etc" on my car, and of "disconnecting things"!, something thats not true. If the ECU threw a fault code relating to anything like this, then it's been there since the dealer sold me the car.

Oh, and they never checked the pads.

The upshot is that I took the car, my pride and joy, to a non-franchised garage this morning, and had the pedals sorted, pads checked etc at my own expense. And a dynatwist CAI kit fitted too ...

I'm seriously p****d off at the dealers attitude (one guy in particular really), and I have no intention of using them again if at all possible. Their stickers are coming off the car asap too ...

End of rant.

Chris

I'm none too pleased with my dealer either.

Chris, you could always post a review of them

Y'know: get it off your chest.....

Chris' date=' you could always post a review of them

Y'know: get it off your chest.....[/quote']

Not while I'm still as annoyed (and disappointed) as I am at the moment ... I might end up in court!

:cussing:

Chris

Not while I'm still as annoyed (and disappointed) as I am at the moment ... I might end up in court!

:cussing:

Chris

You can not be taken to court if you give a factual account of your experience... Now do that review

You can not be taken to court if you give a factual account of your experience... Now do that review

I had a letter from the dealer today, one of those "Welcome to the family" type thingies, so I'm going to reply over the Christmas period and tell them of my grievance, and then see what they do or say about it.

Then I'll post my review. It's the only fair way to do it, I think :p

Chris

:wave: Merry Christmas everyone.