May 04, 2010 10:12 PM
17310 Views
If you still want to buy a Skoda car after reading my experience then you must either be a masochist or you don’t care enough for your life and money. I own the fully loaded & Automatic Skoda Laura L&K (Black Magic Colour) car no. MH41-C-3030. I bought this misery in the August of 2007 for a whopping Rs. 18.28 Lacs (outside Octroi).
Presently I am driving an Oven. My car ambient temperature indication shows 54-55 degrees Celcius during the Day (photographs available) and 44 degree Celsius during the nights. Did you know that Skoda gave you a Sauna system free in its Car! I did not know!
The world and its mother know how lousy an air conditioner the Laura has. As it is, a normally functional Skoda AC does not cool unless you set the temperature to 16-17 degree Celsius. Moreover amongst hundreds of warranty failures of the Skoda ACs reported, my car AC decided to give up the day warranty ended. The replacement cost is approximately Rs. 95000
This was after 3 various earlier warranty claims that I had availed in the first 2 years of buying this misery. Once for an electronic gadget (approx Rs. 45000) that always kept the emission alarm on and put the car in safe mode, next for the steering gear which locked the steering (approx Rs. 65000 + life risk) and 3rd for the Turbo replacement (approx Rs. 120000).
If you think our Government is slow then you have surely not met Skoda warranty Service. In my 3rd warranty claim of the Turbo I was without a car for 1.5 months. If I put together the time my car remained at Skoda service centres for warranty problems, it totals up to 2.5 months in 2 years. As my bank loan is only 8 lacs with an instalment of Rs. 26000 per month, I have paid Rs. 65000 to the bank when I had no vehicle in my hand. At the same time I had to pay approximately Rs. 50000 to rent out another car in those 2.5 months. Be warned, these losses are not covered by warranty.
On one occasion my car smoked in the middle of the Kasara Ghats (between Nasik and Mumbai). I thought I would soon be barbequed so I jumped out of the car. Fortunately the car was only smoking and not on fire. I had to catch a flight from Mumbai but I was instead peddling my way down the Ghats of Kasara. The Skoda Toeing service (from JMD) picked up the car and fixed some problem which they said was with the AC.
In short SKODA has given me a totally defective piece with repetitive manufacturing defects burning my time, money and heart. I am not the only one here! If you still want some more proof, just google “skoda complains” or “skoda problems” and there are over 300 complaints on government website, apart from team bhp etc.
If you still want to buy a SKODA you are one of the following:
1) Suicidal
2) Fatally Masochist
3) Have a hefty life insurance
4) Like drilling holes in your own pocket
5) Have more money that one can spend
6) Time has no value
7) Love banging head on the wall
8) Share holder of SKODA AUTO
9) Clueless with no information gathering capability
10) Got a “friend (??)” or a “well-wisher (??)” (you know what I mean!)
If you have recently bought a Skoda you have an option to quickly get rid of it or test your patience like me but please don’t misguide your friend to buy one. A friend told me, “the meaning of word SKODA in Czechoslovakian means “BAD.” Now what more hints do you need?
