Right, I'm going to have a rant at Skoda now. (and I hope to GOD they read this!!)

as some of you may know, my car has been suffering from a creak recently, so I took it into Telfords of Carlisle to be investigated today.

Apparently both console arm bushes are badly split, and N/S has excess movement. Telfords advise both console arms be replaced, (even though you can buy the bushes for

I could have told you that

the suspension components cant cope with the weight of the engine.. end of story - why do you think the Ibiza cupra has uprated items?

When i went to the dealer (they insisted on looking at my car when i asked how much to change bushes) they said it needed new wishbones, front ARB and new console bushes - they also said "the car has been driven hard" which is utter bull****! it gets driven hard occasionally... maybe once a month when im driving somewhere that isnt to or from work

its just a case of they dont realise that these will be serious "wear points" on this car.... try going to a seat dealer and ask how many sets of wishbone bushes thyeve done on ibiza sport TDIs :thumbdwn::thumbdwn:

When my mum and dad had problems they sorted it no problem for free after a call. Think my mum's was out of warranty too

and they gave me a free first service for turning my car out like a bag of sh!ite had too much oil put in it and everything!

Press them on the matter. I'm sure skoda uk ended up fixing my brother's Octavia gearbox under warranty, even though it had loads more miles and was noticably older than your Fabia...

might be some negligence on the part of the dealer because the worn/split bushes weren't picked up at the 60k service , when the vehicle was in warranty , i seem to remember that you spent quite a bit of money then also , timing belt replacement iirc , i would deffo push them for a goodwill gesture , especially as it wont take too much time to fit 2 bushes

it does look unreasonable that Skoda seem to have washed there hands of our car without giving it too much thought to customer relations

isnt there something in the sale of goods , that states that something should last a reasonable time i.e. in your case longer than 20 months

Yet my dealer happily replaced my bushes under warranty even though i have modified suspension :confused: :confused:

I had always believed that standard UK warranty on cars was 3 years / 60k miles, whichever comes sooner. The fact that you're now over 60k seems sufficient, despite the car being only 20 months old.

I had always believed that standard UK warranty on cars was 3 years / 60k miles, whichever comes sooner. The fact that you're now over 60k seems sufficient, despite the car being only 20 months old.

not true, two years unlimited mileage, three years if it has less than 60k on it.....

but your statement may as well be true if they are not going to fix it above 60k anyway.... skoda are blatantly lying about two years unlimited mileage (and unlike Emily, my suspention is NOT modified...) :thumbdwn: and 60k sufficiant? no chance, I expect every modern car to last 100k. this is my main reason for complaint. I buy a new car every two years (except one I kept for three) and none of them have ever had the suspension die and not be fixed under warranty. I really couldn't believe anyone would buy a £12k car and expect the components to last only 20 months, the milege is irrelevent if it's been properly serviced and looked after (as per the terms of the warranty) and my car spends most of it's life gently cruising around at 30 mph!

edit: and yes, ric , I spend over £300 three weeks ago on that service, to be told my car is in top condition, then to be told three weeks later the suspention has died! I simply don't have £300 for every three weeks of motoring to keep the car afloat! I will really push this, I am on the waiting list at two skoda dealers for the special 'race blue' run-out vRS.... not buying it now. I'm already arranging test drives..... this car will be gone asap in the new year (and this customer will be gone) if skoda don't pull their finger out...

*sigh....... tries to calm down... where's the wine?

maybe I should go to Emily's dealer.....

Sounds about right for Skoda.

I could have told you that

the suspension components cant cope with the weight of the engine.. end of story - why do you think the Ibiza cupra has uprated items?

When i went to the dealer (they insisted on looking at my car when i asked how much to change bushes) they said it needed new wishbones, front ARB and new console bushes - they also said "the car has been driven hard" which is utter bull****! it gets driven hard occasionally... maybe once a month when im driving somewhere that isnt to or from work

its just a case of they dont realise that these will be serious "wear points" on this car.... try going to a seat dealer and ask how many sets of wishbone bushes thyeve done on ibiza sport TDIs :thumbdwn::thumbdwn:

Hi Neo

Are the Seat items a direct replacement for the koda ones?

Chris

Hi Neo

Are the Seat items a direct replacement for the Skoda ones?

Chris

Yes.

Steve

Hi I had one of these bushes replaced at 16K as it had split. Ok the warrenty side of things was not an issue due to the low miles but if this is a real problem that a lot of people are suffering from then perhaps we could collect numbers and see if we can get Skoda t do a recall or uprate the bushes.

Mine only lasted 22k Dave - so its not that bad.

It is however TOTALLY unreasonable that they have not changed them under warranty, pathetic.

The SEAT ones are an ideal replacment.

There is also a method to fit them without removing the console which saves a lot of labour.

How do you know if these bushes are knackered? I've got an 05 plate Ibiza TDi FR with 24k on the clock and obviously this has worried me slightly!

I had always believed that standard UK warranty on cars was 3 years / 60k miles, whichever comes sooner. The fact that you're now over 60k seems sufficient, despite the car being only 20 months old.

Do you mean on all cars or just skodas? Hyundai do a 5 years unlimited mileage warranty IIRC

on stu's post of skoda blurb, where it quotes "wear out" items, it lists many things, but not suspension arms, this is a major mechanical component.... they should replace them.... thanks for all you support so far people, I hope Skoda are reading this...... I'm still waiting to hear from customer services....

my next tack is, even if thei INSIST that they will not be done after 60k, my car was serviced by Telfords three weeks earlier, at less than 60k, at which point, they should have been picked up and replaced under warranty, telfords said my suspention was perfect, and they had my front wheels off replacing the brake discs and pads! if they then subsequently fell apart in three weeks of normal driving, then there is a manufacturing defect (as seems to be the case anyway due to comments of the more experienced people on here, who state that the bushes can't handle the engine weight) so I don't see how they can possibly not do them under warranty. :(

I had nothing but sh*te service from my Skoda dealer when I had the superb, fortunately for me I know the laws around warrantys etc as I worked in retail for many years so always told them when they were bullsh*tting me and they always gave in, but I shouldn't have had to do that.

If it says unlimited for 2 years then thats what you damn well expect and you dont expect to have to argue about it.

Our Jaguar dealer has been fantastic by contrast, and despite the X-Type Sport missing almost all of it's services by a good few thousand miles, and almost completetly missing one they still replaced the turbo under warranty at 120k the other week, no argument, just picked it up and they said "oh, we changed the turbo too as seemed to have excess play in it"!!

Can you imagine a Skoda dealer even checking to see if the turbo has play in it when the car is just in for a service?

I had nothing but sh*te service from my Skoda dealer when I had the superb, fortunately for me I know the laws around warrantys etc as I worked in retail for many years so always told them when they were bullsh*tting me and they always gave in, but I shouldn't have had to do that.

If it says unlimited for 2 years then thats what you damn well expect and you dont expect to have to argue about it.

Our Jaguar dealer has been fantastic by contrast, and despite the X-Type Sport missing almost all of it's services by a good few thousand miles, and almost completetly missing one they still replaced the turbo under warranty at 120k the other week, no argument, just picked it up and they said "oh, we changed the turbo too as seemed to have excess play in it"!!

Can you imagine a Skoda dealer even checking to see if the turbo has play in it when the car is just in for a service?

agreed, some manufacturers are much better, as I previously stated, afriend of mine rund a merc a-class, and his rear suspension was knocking, so mercedes replaced EVERYTHING on the rear suspension, as it was under warranty... his car had 117,000 miles on at the time. skoda's attitude to this?

Playing devils advocate I can see both sides of the story.

I would class the bush as a wear item, whether is should have worn before 60k is open to debate but to be honest I would say that's reasonable.

By contrast I believe that you have a full Skoda service history on your car and have spent a good few ££ keeping that up. You could also argue that had the wear been spotted earlier during one of your routine services it may well have been a more realistic warranty claim.

I short if it were me I would buy my own PD160 bushes from SEAT and look for a 50% contribution on the labour charge.

With regard to the Hyundai Warranty period I believe it is 5 years for the manufacturer/dealer however my brother works for a dealer who sell an additional 5 year policy on top for circa £100!!

With regard to the Hyundai Warranty period I believe it is 5 years for the manufacturer/dealer however my brother works for a dealer who sell an additional 5 year policy on top for circa

In short if it were me I would buy my own PD160 bushes from SEAT and look for a 50% contribution on the labour charge.

would a Skoda dealer actually be allowed to fit those bushes as they are a none standard part that were never fitted to a Skoda Fabia

i know there will never be a problem with them but if there was the dealer could be on dodgy ground wouldn't they ?

Playing devils advocate I can see both sides of the story.

I would class the bush as a wear item, whether is should have worn before 60k is open to debate but to be honest I would say that's reasonable.

By contrast I believe that you have a full Skoda service history on your car and have spent a good few