Need advice of unresponsive Skoda Dealership after purchase

[Guest001]

Yep, the purpose of the phone call is only to let them know you're sending an email and that the content will be about your next steps since the matter is not getting resolved. It's not to engage in a conversation. If they want to talk, tell them they will need to make an offer/response via email first and then you can talk if it looks appropriate.

The Sales Manager is not the Dealer Prinicipal. The DP is the one with a financial interest in the business, Sales Manager is an employee. Getting the DP involved often gets movement as they don't want their business to get embroiled in problems.

Dead right Talk to the head of the horse Not the tail

[omega31]

Ok a quick update,

Called Skoda and they informed me it is good feed back to have but as it is not a manufacture fault I should call the dealer Principal, so i did, Just got off the phone with his office and was informed he is on leave for the next week and they will have the best person to call me back. to be continued

[zei20t]

when you speak to them. ask WHEN someone will be calling you back. note down all phone calls, who you spoke to, date and time, what was said etc. just remember youre not allowed to record any conversations without their permission.

hopefully everything gets sorted out. but if **** hits the fan, youll need evidence to back you up.

i cant believe a dealer would attempt to sell it, if the car is indeed damaged and/or faulty. how did they think they would get away with it??

anyway, good luck with it all!

[Ocy_RS_TDi_Kombi]

Oh dear - that is definately not right - my Octavia vRS wagon is lower than your model and I then lowered by 20mm again - no problem with two adults in the rear - you will have to pursue that issue for sure

I've got the Best Bar towbar on my Ocy RS. Its the chain mounts/brackets which are the lowest points on the towbar and these are part of the towbar structure which is bolted to the car. So there is no way of getting away with this. It's a combination of a long rear overhang and a towbar design which comes from underneath the car not out of the bumper.

The Hayman Reese bar looks a little better as they cut a bit of the bumper out to fit it.

My advice is to drive over driveway's, etc slowly as the towbar does hit. The only other option is to remove the towbar.

[omega31]

WOW, That was quick. The dealer manager just gave me a call and told me he did not get any emails from me......... He sounded quite angry that I did not call to communicate and put in a complaint but this does not give them any excuse for not replying as I used the same email addresses when inquiring about the car and verified with the business card I have.

1. He has requested I resent the email to have it fully reviewed.
2. He indicated the car is brand new and the CarHistory Report is incorrect, Informed me he has all Vicroads paperwork to prove it.
Contacted Car History and they are reviewing the report with 'glass' but it can take some time before I get an update, they did indicate they might be a an issue with it.
3. He has indicated the dents on hood and roof of the car will be fully fixed as new , the car has been stored on the roof of the dealership with the other stock and it is only very small paint less fix.
4. Tow bar will be looked at and reviewed with workshop.
5. The warranty comes through Skoda main office and not from them, they will review it internally and see why I only got 1.8 years.
6. Payment receipt also come from head office and will be reviewed.
7. computer firmware and maps will be checked.

So, contacting the dealer Principal definitely got thing moving,THANK YOU, The only thing I am worried about the the dents, even though the fix is simple, they are very small and can be seen only under certain lighting I just wonder if there is more too it that was not disclosed.

I am aware that new cars can come with some damage that dealers agree to fix but if it is actually hail damage I might have to leave with it as asking for a new car will not pass for a few dents and I'll have to go back for services in the future.

1. follow up with an email to dealer.
2. Schedule to bring the car in to the dealer.

[BluChris]

I wouldn't be at all concerned about the anger, ignore it. It is just as likely to be put on, to get you on the back foot. You know, 'it's not us, it's you. We would have sorted it if only we'd known'. The telling bit is his acknowledgement of a complaint (presumably your contact with Skoda).

Yes, they should have replied to you, and regardless should never have supplied you with a damaged "new" car. As for "new", the build date you have (if correct) makes it a very "old" car to be sold as new and old enough to have been caught in the Christmas 2011 hailstorms. They should have known it was damaged in that case and sent it for an insurance repair - I think anyone in Melbourne who had a car outside during those storms would have given the vehicle a close examination. Regardless, pre-delivery should have picked up the damage and sent it to be fixed unless it was explicitly sold to you as damaged with an instruction to ignore anything they found.

Paintless dent removal is fine if done well, just make sure Skoda will honour the warranty fully and any body repairs will not void the paint or corrosion cover. Ditto for the rust you mentioned - as someone else said, there should be none at all. If it is dirt or the sealer manufacturers coat cars with to ship them this should all be removed. If it is rust then something is definitely wrong. I sold my Octavia at 4 years old with no corrosion at all and I would not expect to see any Octavias with rust unless the paint has been damaged.

[omega31]

I wouldn't be at all concerned about the anger, ignore it. It is just as likely to be put on, to get you on the back foot. You know, 'it's not us, it's you. We would have sorted it if only we'd known'. The telling bit is his acknowledgement of a complaint (presumably your contact with Skoda).

Yes, they should have replied to you, and regardless should never have supplied you with a damaged "new" car. As for "new", the build date you have (if correct) makes it a very "old" car to be sold as new and old enough to have been caught in the Christmas 2011 hailstorms. They should have known it was damaged in that case and sent it for an insurance repair - I think anyone in Melbourne who had a car outside during those storms would have given the vehicle a close examination. Regardless, pre-delivery should have picked up the damage and sent it to be fixed unless it was explicitly sold to you as damaged with an instruction to ignore anything they found.

Paintless dent removal is fine if done well, just make sure Skoda will honour the warranty fully and any body repairs will not void the paint or corrosion cover. Ditto for the rust you mentioned - as someone else said, there should be none at all. If it is dirt or the sealer manufacturers coat cars with to ship them this should all be removed. If it is rust then something is definitely wrong. I sold my Octavia at 4 years old with no corrosion at all and I would not expect to see any Octavias with rust unless the paint has been damaged.

Thank you for the information,

If Skoda proves to me the car is new and my report is wrong, I will have to accept the repair but will defiantly make sure Skoda will honour the warranty fully and any body repairs will not void the paint or corrosion cover.

I would expect more damage if the car was caught in the Christmas 2011 hailstorms. would an inspection prove anything ? they can still claim they are fixing the damage out of good will as they said I did inspect the car before taking it.

[BluChris]

From what I saw, the hail damage varied enormously. I have seen everything from cars that looked like golfballs through to ones that were barely touched. It sounds like you have only had the car a few weeks and it hasn't exactly rained let alone hailed in Melbourne so they would be hard pressed to argue hail type dents could have been caused so quickly and in hot dry weather.

Even if the dents were caused by transport, by being stored so long or by flocks of birds holding parties on the roof it makes no difference - they have to sell a new car undamaged or disclose, not let you find out later. You have already indicated the light made it impossible to see small dents, and given the hot sunny weather we have had that would be true if you inspected it outside.

[omega31]

From what I saw, the hail damage varied enormously. I have seen everything from cars that looked like golfballs through to ones that were barely touched. It sounds like you have only had the car a few weeks and it hasn't exactly rained let alone hailed in Melbourne so they would be hard pressed to argue hail type dents could have been caused so quickly and in hot dry weather.

Even if the dents were caused by transport, by being stored so long or by flocks of birds holding parties on the roof it makes no difference - they have to sell a new car undamaged or disclose, not let you find out later. You have already indicated the light made it impossible to see small dents, and given the hot sunny weather we have had that would be true if you inspected it outside.

SO, from what I understand I should peruse the car to be replaced and not accept any repair
I'll see what they say

[omega31]

Not a happy camper

Called the Dealer Manager and informed him I am not happy with a simple repair as it does not take away the fact that the car has been hail damaged and it was not disclosed on sale.

So Basically he told me, all I can do is repair the damage, he did not and probably will not give me any assurances in writing or via email, all his replies to my emails were 'please call me'.

If I am not happy with this I must wait for the dealer Principal to come back from holiday to deal with him.

so far:
very bad service.
very bad communication to non existent.
Not willing to assist moving forward and resolving the issue to my satisfaction.

I have a choice - accept the repair and live with the fact Or go all war with the skoda dealership.
As much as I love skoda cars, The lack of service and especially the communication has driven me far far away.

At least it was an expensive lesson in buying a new car, I would have never expect a used car salesman treatment from Skoda or any other major dealership.

[Guest001]

Not a happy camper

Called the Dealer Manager and informed him I am not happy with a simple repair as it does not take away the fact that the car has been hail damaged and it was not disclosed on sale.

So Basically he told me, all I can do is repair the damage, he did not and probably will not give me any assurances in writing or via email, all his replies to my emails were 'please call me'.

If I am not happy with this I must wait for the dealer Principal to come back from holiday to deal with him.

so far:
very bad service.
very bad communication to non existent.
Not willing to assist moving forward and resolving the issue to my satisfaction.

I have a choice - accept the repair and live with the fact Or go all war with the skoda dealership.
As much as I love skoda cars, The lack of service and especially the communication has driven me far far away.

At least it was an expensive lesson in buying a new car, I would have never expect a used car salesman treatment from Skoda or any other major dealership.

Wait till the boss comes back its nearly next week anyway.

[BluChris]

I agree with Hillbilly - wait and talk with the Dealer Principal. You may find a more positive attitude.

As for insisting on a replacement? Depends how much damage there is. As I said before paintless dent removal can be very effective. If it isn't much then repair is probably OK, but no-one on the forum can really offer you professional advice, especially sight unseen. If you feel the damage is significant take it to a panel beater for an opinion on how damaged it is, how realistic a full repair is and what the likely cause is. That way you have some independent advice behind you when you negotiate with the DP.

[pologti18t]

The probable reason why your warranty has evaporated is that the dealership has registered the car as a demo and sent the paperwork to Skoda... that sets the warranty countdown going.

You also have to decide if this prior damage affects your comprehensive insurance....

I'd be asking for a replacement car... full stop

[omega31]

Thank you everyone,

I guess I will wait for the Dealer Principal to come back and see as I keep finding more and more dents or what looks like repaired dents.

The most annoying thing about this whole transaction is the lack of response and that nothing is responded via emails.

To be continued

[roshea]

On the surface, it sounds like you didn't get what you thought you were getting - misrepresentation of goods?

False or misleading representations - Consumer Affairs Victoria