Hi all,

After the helpful advice on this forum i decided to go with a 2l tdi manual octavia estate. The car was located 150 miles away and so i talked with the dealership who advised car was clean full service history etc. i paid the deposit last friday and was advised car would be valeted, serviced, mot and any imperfections touched up with a pen so expecting a small number of stone chips.

I had health issues on saturday so went on bank holiday monday instead.

I am not naming and shaming at least until i have had contact with dealership. Stupidly i took the car in desperate situation and stressful past month with my car had a few issues which i was completely honest about and accepted a lower part ex compared to other dealers which im fine with. We are single car family and i rely on it for a large commute but these are the issues im facing:

1. Car was previous contract hire which i was aware of. However no infomayion was provided to have this settled formally on collection and should of been done 2 days priorI got a signed statement just in case advised by a friend who previously worked for VAG.

2. I was not provided MPC check despite asking on multiple occasions. Dealer said they dont do this until car is ready for collection. I get they dont want to waste MOT time but MPC for point of sale is different. Apparently details of this and the service undertaken hadnt been uploaded due to bank holiday and was assured this was to be provided the following day along with point 1 above. I have yet to recieve a response to this and point 3 below after contacting the dealer the following day.

3. Brake issue. Not apparent on test drive but i decided to take the car home. The front discs look new rear do not. When driving home at high speed i noticed brake pedal judder following which pedal now feels spongy so potentially air in the lines at least.

4. Car was not valeted clean inside but outside was not what i expected. He said it was done on Saturday but it was covered in dust/dirt but i found this hard to believe in terms of build up over 48 hours which obscured a-lot of stone chips, surface spot rusts and also a number of dings that had either been badly touched up. We agreed any cosmetic issues would be touched up prior to collection which obviously hasnt been done but he did say they would only use a touch up pen for stone chips. There is one large paint scrape about the length/width of my finger under the bumper where its been knocked (i noticed this later) and a few smaller chips/dints in the body work basically noticing more each day. I spent a long time going over the car which is smeared with finger marks trying to assess the body work as best i could

5. Was informed car was full service history which is one of the reasons i selected this car over the other they had and had sight of previous work. However ive since realised it appears no extended scope was undertaken on the car. Last service was 39.5k in january under previous ownership and car was just over 40k on purchase. I expected service to be undertaken given mileage for warranty and was verbally agreed but i have no evidence of this. Promised next day which it hasnt.

6. Infotainment fine albeit somewhat buggy but software hasnt been updated looks like its running 1804.

7. Insurance was told i could just drive it nothing required for 5 days. Later i found i needed a pin to access so ive driven uninsured! Thats sorted now but concerns over potential penalty/points if anythings flagged.

With the exception of the brakes the car does drive well but i am disappointed in the service i got (myself more so for not trusting my gut) lack of information over things which is the sole reason i went for an approved car and also body work condition generally.

What is my recourse in this? I contacted the dealership via email the following day and have had no response. I have since contacted skoda who has put me on to the executive team who advised they would be contacting me today.

Given i saw the vehicle where do i stand in terms of rejecting it? given the lack of information that should of been provided at point of sale and unable to make a thorough inspection of the bodywork.

I do like the car and the expereince has certaintly left a sour taste. My issue is that i either reject and quickly try to find another one although there are only around 16 cars available at this spec or get the issues sorted like they should of been in the first place. However, i certaintly do not trust this garage as its unclear if any of the work was done and due to distance would prefer a third party to do the work at my local skoda.

Any advice would be appreciated.

That is appalling service by the dealer and clearly does not meet the standards for an approved used car. The system should have been updated to the latest s/ware version, for example. If they haven’t done the the things they committed to, then they should.

Do you have those commitments in writing? That will help your cause.

Škoda UK Exec Office could well be your ally. From my experience they funded a loan car whilst mine was sorted (but that was a Škoda ‘factory’ issue not a dealer issue). They will (ought to) want it sorted without tarnishing the brand.

I suggest phone the dealer sales manager and lay it all before them, referring to their commitments and your email. Have photos of bodywork to send if need be. Insist they remedy it and provide a loan car (insured) whilst the work is done. If neither dealer nor Škoda UK will get it sorted then reject it.

You’d need to be careful with timing though, and they may play that game, procrastinating till rejection time window is up.

How you balance that with the distance to the dealer, your time, and single car is not really for me to say; tricky one!

Hopefully others on here with more experience of dealer issues than I can advise further.

Good luck…

Thank you. Im hoping executive team is actually good and not just a ‘noddy line’ for customer services to appease customer complaints.

I do plan on calling the sales manager today hopefully after speaking to the executive team as time is not on my side really.

My issue is that i dont trust the garage to do the work to begin with. Issue with the distance im not afraid to drive down and demand refund on the spot but given the braking issue its not something i particularly want to do on a 150 mile trip (although my part ex is an issue potentially if they still have it in terms of return journey).

Unfortunatly agreements were verbal but regardless should of been addressed and what messages i do have were on whatsapp. Which is why i am doing emails to keep a chain of events.

I accept my own stupidity in the matter i should of just walked but have been under immense pressure over the car and several other things of late that has just broke me down. regardless the level of issues show that it clearly hasnt gone through checks and i dont know if they can back date on their systems to say it has been. I could actually buy a superb from a non main dealer a 5 minute walk from me at the same price point in better condition but wanted the checks/warranty.

Points I can help with......

Not sure about the dust on the car issue..... Without seeing the amount of dust it's hard to say but with the recent dry weather with the odd shower of rain and southerly winds from the North African coast it is quite possible a newly cleaned car can be covered in a layer of dust after only a couple of days. (I speak from experience from this last few weeks when my own car has had a layer of dust on it within two days of having spent a full day cleaning it).

Service history can be pulled and printed out for you by the dealership's service dept..... You can also get it once the car has been linked to you as the owner via the MySkoda app using the Digital Certificate option. (This also gives warranty work carried out).

The Approved Used scheme includes software updates to be carried out before collection of the vehicle so the car should have been updated to version 1985 which was released last December time before you collected it. For me this is a must have as the amount of bugs prior to version 1941 is huge.

The dust on the car issue was obviously hiding the level of paint work required (the car would look worse if it used a pen). Regardless there are larger cosmetic issues on the paint that werent addressed or just badly filled possibly by previous owners but i doubt its went through any inspection.

Thank you for the comment on the softeare thats really helpful. Im currently running 1804 how old is that?

Ive also received a call from executive team who was understanding and really trying to grasp whats happened. Hes tried contacting the sales manager and couldnt get through. However, i recieved a call soon after following this but sadly missed it! At least its started to allow for dicussions.

The salesman also called and got somewhat defensive. Given my issues i could feel myself going the same way and didnt want to be in a tit for tat situation so i said just tell the manager to ring.

14 minutes ago, Jmf68 said:

The dust on the car issue was obviously hiding the level of paint work required (the car would look worse if it used a pen). Regardless there are larger cosmetic issues on the paint that werent addressed or just badly filled possibly by previous owners but i doubt its went through any inspection.

Thank you for the comment on the softeare thats really helpful. Im currently running 1804 how old is that?

Version 1804 is one of the first releases so extremely old and very much out of date. Version 1941 sorted the vast majority of known issues and was released end of 2023/beginning of 2024, Version 1969 sorted a couple more issues and was released around this time last year and lastly version 1985 again sorted out a few bugs and was released November/December last year.

I have mislaid the 2 sheets of the Approved Used Cars Check lists that i pinched from a post by @Gaz

Maybe he can post them.

Get the Copies for the car you are getting and check what gets ticked even though not done...

That is great. On the MPC would it tell you any notes what has actuallh been done.

I.e would it note paint issues/brakes discs need changing etc? The one provided is just checked y to all so looks suspect

Get these from them.

For context im just going to start showing a few pictures

35 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

Get these from them.

Thanks for this. Recieved and highlighted relevant points back to them. One thing i noted its dated 3rd May for the collection day (sat). The interesting point is the next MOT date on my certificate is 2.5.26. The date on the mpc says 29/04/27 for the next MOT. Id get a digit out to user error its happened to me before but a completely different date is very suspect.

I must sound nuts but im very sceptical they actually carried out the work.

You’ve got plenty of facts to lay before Škoda UK exec team highlighting how bad the dealer is. Should add weight to your case with them, and hopefully pressure on a dealer to get it resolved.

Going back to the dust, mine got covered in dust over last weekend; looks awful. So yes, dust coming up from the Sahara dumped in southern Britain (happens several times a year).

One thing is ive only just bought it two days ago. Noticed halfords are running a free brake check? Is it worth getting this done and explain the situation to them?

4 minutes ago, Jmf68 said:

Noticed halfords are running a free brake check?

5 minutes ago, Jmf68 said:

s it worth getting this done

NO!

Thanks. AG Falco

14 minutes ago, AGFalco said:

NO!

Thanks. AG Falco

Can i ask why? Ive never used them before but my mechanic cant fit me in until 16th and we are away a few days later so time is not on my side really. I dont want to be in a position where they get the car and say nothing wrong with it were not accepting this given i have no trust with this dealership

3 minutes ago, Jmf68 said:

Can i ask why?

They can be a bit enthusiastic with the free checks.

They might suggest you need XYZ.

Then you have more complications to work out.

Have you had the full Skoda Service details?

Where are you based. approx county?

Thanks. AG Falco

Based in merseyside. yes they have now provided this, oil/pollen/brake fluid changed on saturday. Car has had oil changes each year. Find it strange though as no services were ever registered as RMIs as other skodas have either this or used mpc when ive done a vehicle search

Edited 8 May, 20251 yr by Jmf68

38 minutes ago, Jmf68 said:

One thing is ive only just bought it two days ago. Noticed halfords are running a free brake check? Is it worth getting this done and explain the situation to them?

If you are doing it for evidence to present to the supplying dealer, then it would be very easy for them to dismiss it as it isn't their or a Skoda trained technician's view. So not going to help much.

Ultimately you have a 30 day / 1000 mile exchange. If it's condition and your concerns means you won't ever bond with this car, get it changed for one you can.

Edited 8 May, 20251 yr by vfr

Thanks for clarifying rather not waste time. Condition is an issue but obvious reluctance to sort and maybe not my most important issue. Might sound strange but i have OCD not that it will matter to the dealership but safety is a big one for me if i loose trust in something its a constant panic attack and intrusive thoughts. Developed tourettes due to previous car accident (very rare this happens) which led me to buying a volvo purely out of safety spec.

As well as the messing about and complete lack of service and denying issues its just hacked me right off with no accountability when it should of been dealt with.

17 minutes ago, Jmf68 said:

Find it strange though as no services were ever registered as RMIs

Do you want me to look at what is on ERWIN for the car?

erWin is the Electronic Repair and Workshop Information service from Skoda Auto

Thanks. AG Falco

Thanks for the offer what actually does it do? New to skodas and the forum

1

14 hours ago, Jmf68 said:

Last service was 39.5k in

14 hours ago, Jmf68 said:

but i have no evidence of this.

If this ( and previous ) service records for the car were done by a Skoda Dealer it should be recorded on this site.

Any Skoda dealer should be able to do a print out for you.

Or I can check.

Thanks. AG Falco

The serice record was provided with 40kish last week. They said it wasnt logged due to bank holiday but might be worth checking as it was a scanned document from looks of things. Can you pm me your email address please?