Are we going to see a turnaround in Skoda/VW servicing?

[wai]

Sadly, VW is a good car range spoiled by the worst service I have come across in 35 years of owning vehicles.

It is the ONLY car company that tells its customers that "they have done everything they can, and if the problem persists, then it is standard for that type of vehicle". I have been told this, and so has the wife of a work colleague at an unrelated dealership across Sydney.

It is the ONLY car company that expects the sales reps to continue to smooth things over with the customer years after the sale has been concluded.

No, it is not the dealerships fault that this mentality has been created. Car companies train dealership customer service representatives,so the attitudes shown by CSR's are simply a reflection of the car company's attitude.

On surveys, I completed one where I received an e-mail invitation on behalf of VW Australia. These and other points were raised in that survey, but woosh, right over their heads as they duck. On another survey where I got a written invitation from the dealer, the vehicle shown was wrong (remember, this was the selling dealer), so I tried to correct it and it shut down because as far as VW were concerned they wanted comment on the incorrect vehicle! Great way to deflect adverse comment.

The strange thing is that pricing is good, and their sales reps are probably some of the most helpful I have come across, just that once the sale has been concluded, it is the sales reps who are required to smooth things over with the customer because of pathetic service.

These attitudes are very difficult to change once they become entrenched. It will take something major for VW and its associated brands to change how they treat their customers. They fail to realise that they are successful only because they have customers. Just look at Ford and Holden where buyers are staying away in droves.

[BluChris]

I'm hoping VW will call me, given I indicated to the survey company that I would appreciate the opportunity. Hasn't happened so far though, which is disappointing. Genuine concern for customer satisfaction would see them on the phone to someone like me straight away, since they have just lost me to the brand.

I do wonder about the 'something major' you talk about Wai. I suspect VW repeat business is nowhere near where they want it to be, entirely based on customer satisfaction. If you feel you have been messed around, that it has cost you plenty of time and money, and that the dealer network can't competently maintain a vehicle that in some cases is on the fragile side, would you come back again?

[Transporter]

This is a very interesting thread. I call it, the trail without the jury.

There are many VW/Skoda car owners that are very happy with the car and the service they receive. Of course they will not post about it as often as someone who is complaining.

The internet just concentrates few of those that aren't happy - and every other brand has those believe me, or you can try a different brand, maybe you'll be lucky, maybe not.

Sadly, VW is a good car range spoiled by the worst service I have come across in 35 years of owning vehicles.

It is the ONLY car company that tells its customers that "they have done everything they can, and if the problem persists, then it is standard for that type of vehicle". I have been told this, and so has the wife of a work colleague at an unrelated dealership across Sydney.

The Jeep dealer was telling me 5 years ago “this problem is on most of these Jeeps, so it is a characteristic of that car”, and I heard the same from the MB dealer 10 years ago. So, wai you should fix your statement, because it’s wrong.


I think it’s time to move on.


As far as the higher cost of servicing goes, I’ve never in my life bought a car (new or secondhand) without checking first how much it costs to service it. Usually it’s easy to go to spare parts department and ask, how much are the filters, fluids, brake parts and the timing belt. Simple like that, of course you will need to add the labour cost to it. Then make the decision to buy that car you want, or not.

[woofy]

I do that transporter, unfortunately, my dealer saw fit to jack up the prices repeatedly within a short period of timepoints. I can accept rising costs, but it sometimes has gone up 2-3 times a year for no real reason. It was originally under the cost of a GTi Golf which is on par with other countries but has since surpassed in Melbourne here. There is no excuse for that one. I suspect if VW dealers were to service all Skodas that problem of non competition that has developed here locally would go away. That was the original intention and information I was given when I first bought and seems to be for the most part a fallacy except for some sparse regional centres.

If VW Camberwell next door to me would operate as a dedicated SKoda service centre (they have the ex Bayford Skoda mechs) then Richmond would suddenly come back to earth I suspect.

[BluChris]

I have to disagree to an extent Transporter. I completely agree all brands have problem cars and I know I'm taking a risk in changing. I did check the servicing costs, but in real life they have (a) gone up significantly (b) never played out in real life. Example? This year I was up for a minor service, about $450 from Skoda here. But, I have paid $2,500 in maintenance in 2012. Part of this was optional so fair enough (preventive work), one was a window regulator mounting that gave way ($700), one a small air leak in an intake pipe ($450), plus a few other things. Even more important, $900 of these costs shouldn't have happened. One was misdiagnosis of the leak, never fixed properly and no refund, one was about the same $ for other work I explicitly told them I didn't want done but they did anyway. Refund? Don't make me laugh.

This on the back of a long history of not resolving even very simple issues is what killed it for me. God help those who've had the big issues.

The Internet also brings out the die hard loyalists who find it hard to acknowledge a genuine issue. I have never ever, across multiple brands and vehicles, received service as poor as that offered by Skoda dealers. And that was unknowable when I bought mine several years ago.

I have moved on, literally...

[Transporter]

The Internet also brings out the die hard loyalists who find it hard to acknowledge a genuine issue. I have never ever, across multiple brands and vehicles, received service as poor as that offered by Skoda dealers. And that was unknowable when I bought mine several years ago.

I have moved on, literally...

I'm not die hard loyalist, if I'd have 1/2 of the problems you had I would be swapping the brand and moving on, that's what I did with the Merc and the Jeep. I moved on and never went back to their forums.
I didn't feel the need to waste my time and try to change what I couldn't change.

[BluChris]

Still got the Skoda Transporter, so I figure I should still be here for now

I wasted my time trying to get results on my car, for sure. As a last gasp I made an effort for everyone who values Skoda (as I do) to improve things. That's why I answered the survey and later agreed to talk with the survey company. I had already put down the deposit so I won't benefit if anything comes of it. It wasn't payback either, because I suspect Richmond staff could cop a smack for this and that's not what I want.

I washed the Octy last night for the last time and can't tell you how sad I was that it turned out this way. The cars and their owners deserve better.

[Transporter]

Well, as I said earlier, every brand has lemons. Even I couldn't take anymore of the meaningless trips to the Jeep dealer and traded the KJ Jerokee on the Touareg in the hope that it would be a better experience and it is. It was the reliability of the automatic transmission that put me off from getting another Jeep, so it's complicated when it comes to time to replace the car you liked because you feel like everything alse is against you.
I wish you it works out for you. Sometimes the change is good.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[wai]

It is a case of people making views known because they have problems, but that is the issue.

Perceptions are everything. If someone sees your car and asks you what it is like, you are not going to say nice things about it if you have had problems and were fobbed off. It is one thing where problems are nothing to do with the manufacturer (like tyres or brakes even if they supply rubbish to start with). It is something else when the problems relate to their design or actions.

The problems I have reported and have been acknowledged relate to the transmission and safety.

On the transmission, if you stop uphill on a hill and then move off, the transmission will not change out of 2nd, even if you take the engine to the red line. This has nothing to do with whether the car is now on a hill or level ground. It can be 10 to 15 seconds (a long time) before it decides to change up unless you do it manually.

The other is the delay in the reverse clutch engaging. Stop on a hill facing down. Press the brake to engage hill hold. Engage reverse and then try to reverse up. As soon as the system senses a change in accelerator position, hill hold is released, but the transmission takes almost 1 second before the clutch engages. You roll downhill until the clutch engages and launches you backwards. You press the brake and it all happens again. The manual says that the release of the brake is supposed to be gradual, but it is instantaneous.

Both these issues have been reported, and acknowledged by the dealer, but they will not report the matter to VW because they have been told to tell the customer that it is standard for that type of vehicle.

On the safety side, it is the cigarette lighter powered up all the time. The Polo was subject to a recall on this with the grounds cited as "Fire". The design of the area of the lighter has not changed, but now VW will not rectify this. Essentially, if the lighter element gets stuck in, you have to try and find which fuse to remove, or locate a spanner (none provided in the tool kit) and disconnect the battery. All the while, the lighter is doing what it is designed to do, and that is heat up an element to a point where it will ignite something. The requirement for the cigarette lighter to operate with the ignition key in the on or accessory positionwas removed from ADR 42 was because manufacturers had all decided to make this operation standard, only VW broke ranks.

Once again dealers have been told to tell customers that this operation is standard for their type of vehicle.

If other manufacturers are also starting to use this to deflect complaints, then this does not legitimise things. It simply means that those manufacturers will eventually also feel a backlash.

This is not a case of VW bashing, after all, I paid over $40,000 for my car. The last thing I would want is for VW to fail. What VW need to understand is that there is an equally important part to the customer relationship, and that is service. How they respond to complaints is what sets them apart. This is where VW falls down. If VW don't want to hear this, then all they are doing is reinforcing a perception about them. Customers have paid large amounts of money for VW cars, but there are those who feel like they have been taken for a ride. I actually tried to talk my brother, a niece of mine and a friend to get a VW. Fortunately they decided on other vehicles otherwise it would have caused me issues with family members and a long term friend.

It is not the money side of things, but the attitude that is what needs to change. My servicing costs for my Hiace were much higher than for my Caddy Maxi Life (more than double AND service intervals were every 5,000 km), but the thing about the service I got was that any issues I had were properly addressed and I was never given a snow job.

Every car manufacturer will have problems, but it is how they respond to these problems that the public will judge them on.

[PassatB6]

You don't hear of too many problems with Skoda dealers because Skodas are well sorted vehicles anyway. VWs on the other hand contain a lot of new tech which their Dealerships cannot seem to cope with. Correct me if I'm wrong but in my opinion the problem lies not with the cars but the lack of well trained VW service techs in Dealerships and Salesman and Service managers who don't really comprehend the problems they are faced with. VWs are some of the most technically advanced cars on the road but their Dealerships are often not sophisticated enough to cope with the problems they face.