[bosporus]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

You must be sharing a great rapport with your service managers buddy, the VW service centre in Delhi will not even wipe the car's exteriors for free, leave apart dry cleaning. You may have got a great dealer but honestly Volkswagen India's customer support is down right pathetic.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I appreciate your views, but I wasn't angry when I wrote this. Frustrated? A fair amount. I have actually been thinking about writing this thread for a while, perhaps a month or more but held back. I have been pushed beyond my tolerance which is why I decided to finally pen this down.

Akshay, I'm sorry if my post was a bit of a rant, but this is the last time I'll post on this thread, so bear with me please.
- I don't dispute that we'll easily find stories of incompetence of all three VAG brands. But we'll also find them for virtually any brand in India, and abroad. We'll find stories of cars burnt & smashed and used as trash cans by unhappy customers for virtually every brand, across the world.
- Your stories are the very definition of anecdotal data - do you really have statistical data to say VW / Skoda are worse off than others?
- Is it possible that VW / Skoda are more represented on this forum, so we see more of their stories?
- Isn't it the case that happy customers are happy in silence but unhappy ones share their unhappiness for all to hear. So, is it possible VAG actually has a lot of happy costumers, but we just don't hear them here.
- With the absence of a scientific basis to such posts, in my mind, there are really just rants: they may be cathartic, and you may feel happy that you may be causing real damage to their business, but what this really is, is mob justice and a public lynching.
- If you think I'm being harsh, consider this: basis your recent unhappiness with Skoda, this post emerged. Now, at the Frankfurt Motor Show this year, a customer smashed his BMW 6-Series to bits, in front of world press. Imagine you had been that customer. Would you post have been about BMW instead? And if you think BMW's issues are not so severe, I can personally narrate a dozen stories from friends and relatives - which begs the question: do I have those stores simply because my friend base is over-represented with BMW owners. So, basically, the same point: do a set of bad experiences justify this kind of a public shaming, which may or may not be justified AND, unlike the bulk of posts on this forum, is not fundamentally remedial or useful.
- Should you, the OP, feel a responsibility for the consequences of such posts; of the damage we could be causing to the brand & to their bottomline? Should the forum bear responsibility? Or, are we just seeking blood, so it's all good?

Mind you, if the forum post was: Issues with VAG cars, it would be perfectly fine. But the title wasn't that. It was a judgement passed on VAG, with anecdotal data. Hence, just not ok, in my book.


P.S.: If you think I've just been lucky to get a car with no issues, here are the problems I've faced this date with my 2011 Vento TDI:
- steering column replaced under warranty
- brake pads replaced under warranty at ~9,000km
- brake discs replaced under warranty at ~15000km. Service station did it out of goodwill, because the 9k brake pads problem was actually a brake disc problem to begin with. Didn't have to fight for it. Just mentioned the context, and it was done.
- engine mounts replaced under warranty. SA drove the car, said he felt too much vibration, so he got the rubber mounts replaced with hydraulic mounts.
- clutch pipe replaced under warranty (problem specific to late 2011 models)
- injectors replaced under warranty: an overenthusiastic SA charged me for the VAG diagnostics, but was refunded, thanks to coolboy's inputs, where he had not been charged for the same job.
- Body shop visit 1: minor driver side door job; While everything was done on schedule, the finish was shoddy and I had to stand for an hour to get the fixes done.
- Body shop visit 2: an A4 banged into my two passenger side doors. Car was not ready at at the appointed time and one minor job had been missed, and finish was again shoddy. Drove from the body shop to the service station where the GM sits, expressed my disappointment. He asked for one day, said he'll personally look at it and deliver the car at the service station instead of the body shop, since that's closer to my place. The next day, I was called half an hour before the appointed hour to tell me the car was the. I reached to see the car in immaculate shape, plus they'd done a free polish & dry-clean.

Apart from injectors, where I got the MFMA applied in the fourth year, all the warranty issues happened in the first year, after which my car has been faultless till date. The 2014 Vento TSI, thankfully, has had no issues so far.

So, I've not really been lucky, so to speak. An immaculate car that needs only service support will keep anyone happy. My car has had issues, and I'm happy because of the way they were handled. I've been unhappy quite a few times, but the way they responded is what makes me a satisfied customer. And yes, I'm very glad that my dealer is responsive and makes an effort.

But again, as I've mentioned earlier, this isn't about my experiences, or the experiences of 10 of my friends. This is about personal frustrations and anecdotal data being used to cause public harm. Not cool.

P.P.S.: I don't this such threads are productive. I've said my piece, and now I'm off it. You may respond, but I don't think I'll respond back. But I'd appreciate if you at least dwell on what I've said with a cool mind.

[V.Narayan]

Brother BHPians, if I may offer a slightly different perspective. Please do not take my philosophy to mean I don't consider the challenges you have faced as trivial. Far from it. Here goes - I have been an owner & driver of two VAG cars for a decade now - a Laura M/T and a Superb M/T. Laura was sold off after well over 1 lakh kms. Superb still in the stable with over 1 lakh on the odometer. In the middle of the last decade I experienced Skoda's service as a positive improvement over Opel/GM that I had touched in the years just past but not as great as Maruti's. Over the last 6 years Skoda's service has deteriorated to perilous levels. Through this time I solved my A.S.S. challenge by befriending one engineer at a time and using the time tested methods of pats on the back and words of appreciation to the manager to get my work done. It has worked well. Of late the turnover of engineers has been rather rapid making even this route less efficacious. At the end of the day these engineers and mechanics are also some mother's child and all humans respond to a nice touch - even though we may be angry and justifiably so. Of course all this effort is needed due to what seems a complete breakdown at the Skoda workshop I frequent two or three times a year. Life has so many components to it of which mobility is but one. Within mobility the car is but one resource. Within the car the maintenance is again but one of a few pieces. Having said this I think Skoda India's leverage with its dealers is nil because the cars don't sell enough and the dealers are probably struggling with their cash flows. Which means buying the new Superb, when it comes, as a replacement for my existing ride seems like a big risk even though the car meets all my needs.

[faraz]

What are the alternatives available to VAG owners to have their cars serviced ? I have not come across any specialist garages atleast in Mumbai that can service these cars and have all the required expertise and parts. We all agree the A.S.S for VAG group are not up to the mark. It's worth identifying alternatives to the dealer service stations so we can keep these beauties running trouble free. Anyone had good experience ordering the spares online ? If that is easily doable then it's a matter of identifying a specialist garage that can service these cars and keep them running.

[Gannu_1]

I've personally had excellent support from the VW service center here in Navsari since the last year when I moved in here. Completed two scheduled services (with the car delivered in less than 5 hours, cleaned and washed on both the occasions), three repair jobs (1 - front windshield replacement, 2 - front fender denting and painting, 3 - bonnet painting, the car was delivered in less than 2 days on all the occasions) and one quick pre-long trip checkup (< 1 hour for an air filter swap and fluid level check). Absolutely no complaints so far.

I know all the guys here personally - right from the service advisors to the young technicians who attend to the jobs, the store in-charge, the security chaps and the boy who serves tea to the customers. They all have two things in common - an extremely friendly attitude towards the customer and ensuring that the customer drives off from their premises smiling. From what I see, I haven't got them much business with my humble Polo (there are customers who drive in Passats and Beetles) but they have always ensured that I am satisfied with whatever work they've done on my car. I also make it a point to meet the technicians who worked on my car, thank them profusely and appreciate them for the work they've done. In any line of work, I've always felt appreciation sometimes goes a long way.

And compare this with the service center in Surat which is a busier one, my experience was bad, a lot bad in fact. I feel glad I moved out of Surat to Navsari for this reason! For the 7500 km/6 month free checkup which was ideally a 10-minute job to check the fluid levels and the overall condition of the car, they delayed it for over 4 hours and we were waiting at the lounge due to their incompetence. For the 15k service, we got back the car on the same day but it wasn't washed or cleaned and I gave them an overall feedback of 8 (on a scale of 10). After the feedback call from VW, I told them about this and a few days later, the service center wanted to send a few guys to our apartment for cleaning the car which, I had politely declined.

VW, if you're reading this, your other service centers could probably learn a thing or two from this one.

[hajaar]

I have had a similar experience with my CRV. Its been 25 days since I gave it for a regular service. There was an issue with power steering that I made the mistake of telling them to fix. They are clueless - the only thing that makes it somewhat bearable is that I got a loaner car a couple of days back. Never going to buy a honda again.

[gungax]

Another thread with another unhappy Skoda customer.

Over the last ten years. I have driven many VAG cars, from the Polo to the Audi TT and even the Bentley Continental GT. Unfortunately I could never muster the courage to own one.

I have purchased two cars in the last three years. On both occasions a VW car was my first choice. I ended up with a Ford and a Hyundai.

The service centres are not the only ones to blame. A relative ,who by profession is a lawyer, was able to navigate the fine print and got himself a new Polo engine free, even though it was the fault of his Kamikaze driver.

To run a good, customer centric service centre, when most others are not, takes a lot of effort.

The suggestion that I would like to bring forward is a new section in the forum where centres can be rated (not limited to VAG). Two or more bad experiences with proof should lower their rating and good experiences (again with proof) increase their rating.
This system will definitely help all readers of the forum and hopefully also help the parent company to identify those giving the whole group a bad name.

[behaln]

Truly written the horror after sale service stories. I do have similar experience with my Fabia and polo. My A4 Is still new so no such issue . Actually VAG group dealers take their customers for granted. I agree that they make fun to drive cars, but they should own up the responsibility of taking care of service aspect as well.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I think part of the problem is Autobahn's competence.

My Jetta went in yesterday as Bangalore has murdered the front suspension control arms.

They first did a check and found that not just the bushes but the entire control arms need to be replaced. This would take 10 days for the part to come by road. They were about to return the car but VW have offered to fly in the parts so I should get the car by Monday.

As a follow up. I rang on Friday and the advisor told me that the parts had not arrived still. I told him that I will sync up on saturday. Saturday late morning, he called me and told me the parts arrived, have just been fitted and cars is being test driven. I asked to pick up the car at 3 (he told me that as long as I did not need car to be washed, he could deliver on time.)

Arrived at 3, I was out of the workshop at 3.30PM.

Good service, reasonable charges

[Guess_who]

Originally Posted by RJ411

Perfectly depicted in single line . Whenever I get the thought of buying a new car, Vento comes to my mind.

The car has so many +ves like classic lines, clean design, one of the best diesel engines, solid build etc.,
Its just that fear of ASS which makes everyone to decide against them. I am pretty sure even within our forum (with highly informed team) lots of members would have avoided VAG for that very reason.

I have gut feeling that VAG is underestimating the buying power of Indian customers and considering our market as third world (Atleast for VW and Skoda).They should have learnt it from the sales of Polo which is very consistent and decent, considering the +ves offered by its segment competitors. Its better to merge all the Skoda outlets into VW's and start providing better ASS experiences.

Everybody do mistakes. Not learning from those mistakes is the biggest mistake.

I am about to buy the Vento in another 3 week time, and ASS still worries me. After having driven the sturdy, and ever reliable Swift VDi and having a competent MASS to keep her fine and rolling for 5 years, it's going to be a leap of faith. One can only hope that with volumes rising, their service keeps pace.
The only thing that's tipped my hand in Vento's favour is that sheer robustness, and clinical finish of the car. Understated, clean and classy. *Fingers Crossed.

[Simple_car]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I appreciate your views, but I wasn't angry when I wrote this. Frustrated? A fair amount. I have actually been thinking about writing this thread for a while, perhaps a month or more but held back. I have been pushed beyond my tolerance which is why I decided to finally pen this down.

Dear Akshay1234,

I would like to thank you for pointing out your experiences here, and I hope this will stir things a bit in VW to change the things in mumbai. I do agree with you on almost all points you have said, but you need to think from a different perspective, with a cool head, and ponder on @bosporus's points.

The title of this thread is misleading. The situation you have pointed out is specific to mumbai currently, and atleast going by this thread, more pertinent to skoda, and not the group. None of us (at least to my knowledge) have adequate data to say that the situation is better or worse in rest of the country.

A friends R8 V10+ whose DSG failed within 2 weeks of ownership. Despite having the most expensive Audi sold in India, they took over 2 weeks to fly the part down from Germany. Now for our normal vehicles that may be an acceptable time limit. But for someone who is paying over 3 crores that's pushing it. No apologies were offered or anything.

Point taken, but do you have any reason to believe that customers of high-end products from other manufacturers (say the i8 from BMW or the SLS from Benz or the Rolls royce) haven't been metted out a different treatment? If a rare to fail part does fail in these examples, do you know that the manufacturers went out of their way to pacify their customers?

You have had good experiences with BMW in mumbai haven't you? If I were to tell that I have had consistently bad experience from BMW in mumbai.. should I just assume that the BMW group has gone to the dogs? My experience with any premium delaerships in mumbai have been more or less the same (across brands), so I personally think that the reason must be lying elsewhere. However, that is a personal opinion.

Porsche and Lambo are niche in India, and they do provide good service no doubt.

Porsche and lambo aren't part of the same VAG group?

I agree that it is never usually about the group. But in this case it is. Its a common phenomenon across the VAG group companies in India.

I stand by what I say. And I respect your views, but mine are not going to change anytime soon. What I have written is based on me personally witnessing terrible service by the other brands in the group too.

Yes there are people who are happy with the service they get (I was one too), but when things go out of hand I am going to call it like it is.

As I have mentioned earlier, I do concur to most of your points, and in fact you should stand by your views, just don't try to put eyeball grabbing headlines on this forum, where atleast the more knowledgeable crowd gathers. Just mention about your experiences, and what you think may be the problem. Leave it to the others to make whatever they wish to.

I do speak from my own mistake. I have a 06 x-trail, which I have nursed for many years. I have probably been pretty outspoken about my experiences with the Nissan brand on this very forum. However, after I took my car to be serviced in other dealerships (in other states), I had to change my opinion. I have received really outstanding support from Nissan and some of their dealers, well above average compared to the rest of the brands. So, I have stopped commenting till I have a full picture. I plan to pen down my good experience about the dealerships, after a few months, when my car has completed its major services.

I hope you shall take this criticism constructively, and pen down your future experiences (which we all like to read... I do follow almost all your threads on this forum), and write your reasons why you think some things are the way they are; rather than make a blanket statement that 'this is how it is...'. If I think you are wrong, I will definitely argue, giving my reasons. Hopefully, either you or I (or both) shall gain a better perspective, and learn new things, and eventually share them for others benefits.

Thanks,
Simple_car

[Santoshbhat]

Have two VAG cars at home , the Laura TSI (4 .5 yrs ~ 80K kms) and the Polo GT TSI ( 1Y ~ 5K kms) . Luckily for me the cars have been reliable and I haven't really faced replacement situation for rare items. But given that cars like my Laura TSI weren't really best sellers, I'd forgive them if some rare TSI specific part were to fail and required replacement and if they did not have them in stock .

The problem the VW group, Skoda in particular is that their cars like the Octavia/ Laura / Yeti etc.. never sold in huge numbers. Numbers are so critical in any business.
1) It allows them to localise heavily, which surely is easier to manage Vs. importing parts from Europe
2) Numbers justify maintaining inventory and improving logistics.

I also agree with few other members that service quality and response is dealer specific. I have been a happy customer of Vinayak Skoda in the past 4 years. I've experienced service centres of various brands and haven't really found Vinayak any worse from the rest. Even with my Polo, I've found VW Palace Cross to be very organised and systematic.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by graaja

There are various factors that decide one's after sales experience.

1. The technician your car ends up with, the level of training, experience and how perfect he does his job.
2. Availability of spare parts.
3. Relationship management of the people at the workshop, how they interact with customers, how they set expectations, how they are willing to resolve problems etc.
4. The attitude of the management towards customer service and their willingness to help customers and resolve issues.

When #1, #2 and #3 are good, this results in a 5 star experience. When a combination or all of these are bad, #4 becomes the most important factor. If the management is pro-customer, though there may be dissatisfaction during service, the end will always be good. It is when all the four fail, the experience becomes disastrous. This can happen irrespective of the company. If the dealer is not good, you end up unhappy even with a Honda or Hyundai.

In the 18 months of owning the Jetta, it had to be sent to the workshop 5 times, a paint job on the left side door, 6 months free checkup, 15K service, front bumper and fender replacement because of a minor fender bender, and battery warranty replacement. With Polo GT TSi, it had to visit the workshop once for the recall related to hand brake and a small paint touch up job. My experience during each of these occasions:

Occasion - 1
Paint job - Excellent. 5 stars. They delivered the car in 36 hours as promised, with excellent workmanship.

Occasion - 2
6 months free service - Excellent, 5 stars. They delivered the car in 4 hours as promised, and in perfect condition.

Occasion - 3
15K service - Excellent, 5 stars. They delivered the car in 2 days as promised (took 2 days because I had asked for 3M paint protection work), in excellent condition.

Occasion - 4
Front bumper replacement - Very good, 4 stars. The insurance claim went very smooth, the car was returned in excellent condition, as good as new. The only issue was sourcing the part. The front bumper took a week to source, because of which the car had to spend 10 days in the workshop.

Occasion - 5
Battery replacement - Average, 3 stars. The guy who came to change the battery messed it up big time, and it took 2 days to get the car back. And I was not very happy with the condition the car was returned as well. Hadn't it been for the intervention of a senior executive, this experience could have been much worse.

Occasion - 6
Polo GT TSi recall, and paint job - Average, 3 stars. The hand brake recall was a 2 hours job, and I did not even have to go to the workshop. But due to overload at the paint shop, it took two days to get the car.

During the 5th and 6th occasions, #1, #2 and #3 failed. But #4 helped. On both these occasions, a senior executive, Mr Vibhu stepped in, set things right, and resolved the issues quickly. Because of this, though I was unhappy during the service, I ended up happy with the final results.

Summarizing, my experience with the Coimbatore VW dealership has been very good so far. When things failed at the workshop, the customer friendly attitude of the management saved the day.

I completely agree with your points. There are many factors which go in to making the full experience good. But in my case, at times all 4 have failed, and I have gone to Skoda itself - with no results.

Issues are certainly dealer specific, but its the companies responsibility to ensure a certain amount of compliance by the dealers.

As in occasions 1,2,3 with you - In my experience too regular services have been just fine. In fact I used to receive the vehicle back the same evening. It may not have been cleaned properly, but the fact that the mechanical work was done well and quickly was the main thing.

On your occasion 4 - Insurance may have gone smoothly, but the bumper still took 10 days to come. For the Jetta which is not a niche car for VW like a vRS is for Skoda. I find that unacceptable. These are moving parts and should not have taken that long.

After a bad experience or an unnecessary delay the management can do things to make the customer feel better. In this case I was even in touch with Skoda, and the area manager would just get the service manager to call me again without doing anything himself.

When I sent in the Yeti it was a different area manager, who was apologetic. But 2 days after the promised delivery date, he called me back to ask about the situation and said the Haldex oil had come. Turned out it still hadn't reached because I called the dealer again. It finally reached only the next afternoon which was Thursday.

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

There go my plans of getting the Octavia in the future.

Have you ever tried escalating beyond the regional managers ?
Have you ever received replies from the GM?
I hear there is another workshop, JMD? , in Vashi. It's supposed to be better. Have you tried that ?
Also, the flatbed everytime - how much does that cost? & who pays?

Yes I have been helped by a member who personally knows the MD, and he has forwarded an email for me. The first time wheels started rolling and parts were found. The second time it made no difference. Yet I cannot thank this member enough.

GM? Nope.

I haven't tried Vashi, but its quite far from where I stay. Though I may just look into trying this workshop next time.

Originally Posted by Aniruddha_Ch

Akshay if you don't mind, will you please share the odometer readings of your VRs as well as Yeti and cost incurred for above mentioned repairs.

The vRS is at around 61k kms now, and the Yeti is at 60k kms.

Shall go through the bills and post the exact amounts here.

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

Is it because the Service centers do not have to win customers? There is queue of anxious owners waiting on any given day and are at the mercy of the sole service center and there is no competition

Actually the service centres have to win customers because the dealership makes most money from servicing. They do not make much on selling new cars, but on the service they make their money.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Having said this I think Skoda India's leverage with its dealers is nil because the cars don't sell enough and the dealers are probably struggling with their cash flows. Which means buying the new Superb, when it comes, as a replacement for my existing ride seems like a big risk even though the car meets all my needs.

But even if the dealers are not causing the issue, they do not get support required from Skoda. It's more like the dealers are caught in between the angry customer and a non responsive Skoda.

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

I know all the guys here personally - right from the service advisors to the young technicians who attend to the jobs, the store in-charge, the security chaps and the boy who serves tea to the customers. They all have two things in common - an extremely friendly attitude towards the customer and ensuring that the customer drives off from their premises smiling. From what I see, I haven't got them much business with my humble Polo (there are customers who drive in Passats and Beetles) but they have always ensured that I am satisfied with whatever work they've done on my car. I also make it a point to meet the technicians who worked on my car, thank them profusely and appreciate them for the work they've done. In any line of work, I've always felt appreciation sometimes goes a long way.

Knowing the guys personally is certainly a big part of it with VAG. I know all the guys, just like you from the service advisors to the service managers to workshop floor supervisors and even some technicians. On a first name basis.

It makes a big difference.

Originally Posted by ajmat

As a follow up. I rang on Friday and the advisor told me that the parts had not arrived still. I told him that I will sync up on saturday. Saturday late morning, he called me and told me the parts arrived, have just been fitted and cars is being test driven. I asked to pick up the car at 3 (he told me that as long as I did not need car to be washed, he could deliver on time.)

Arrived at 3, I was out of the workshop at 3.30PM.

Good service, reasonable charges

Thats nice to hear. I still haven't got a call back asking when I would like to bring the Yeti in for the Haldex oil change inspite of it finally arriving 4 days ago. I've still been the one following up.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

The problem the VW group, Skoda in particular is that their cars like the Octavia/ Laura / Yeti etc.. never sold in huge numbers. Numbers are so critical in any business.
1) It allows them to localise heavily, which surely is easier to manage Vs. importing parts from Europe
2) Numbers justify maintaining inventory and improving logistics.

Absolutely Santosh. But a month for a fuel pump, 2 weeks for a front bumper, 6 weeks for a cluster and head unit? Low numbers or not, these wait times are unacceptable for a place that is so close to their plants.

With Audi too, another friend had the RS7. And when it came to many parts the dealers claimed Audi had no stock and gave wait times from 2 weeks to a month. The parts were ordered from abroad and fitted outside within a week.

Like I mentioned earlier. There will be a handful of good dealers (due to which some members are vehemently defending the group), but the majority seem to be bad.

I too was one who was of the mindframe that others may just have a bad dealer, and that I'm keeping good relations with my dealership personnel so I'll be fine, blah blah. I had the exact same thoughts, and I hope those who have a good experience don't have to face what I have and continue to have a good experience.

I'm not complaining about the vehicle reliability (its a machine, things fail), I'm not complaining about the cost of parts. I'm complaining about the fact that the personnel are not trained well (stupid mistakes a made because protocol isn't followed), and that part availability is a huge issue (even for critical parts which sometimes leaves vehicles standing in the workshop parking for more than a month).

[AJITHAAA]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I highly disagree. If Germany maintained an iron grip on operations things would have changed a long time ago. And I don't think the Germans have gone soft. It doesn't take Skoda long to take decisions, even after that when a part is ordered everyone is just clueless as to when it will come.

Well, This is what I got to know from a very close friend. Micro managing every thing, not providing enough information, no independence to take decisions also stifles the people on the ground and ultimately quality suffers...

[etrast75]

I hope that someone in VW management realizes that potential sales they are losing due to negative feedback on their after sales service. My brother is in the market for a sedan and he would not even consider the Vento TSI even though it is technically superior to the city, ciaz and verna that are in his shortlist.
This, in spite of me owning a jetta and having a fairly niggle free 15 months with the car. I asked him to test drive the vento tsi hoping that the car would make him change the mind but he would not even test drive it.
My experience with jetta service has been a mixed bag. Regular service is ok even though the service part of the dealership looks like it is run by a kid. No professionalism, not much work ethic I can see. I have been witness to 2 SA's fighting with each other over moving a vehicle. The cleaning area looks like it is a war zone with people shouting, vehicles honking.
I had to replace a bumper and they broke the headlamp washer when removing the old bumper. The technician did not inform the manager about it and tried to cover it up. It was by sheer accident that I noticed it when the cover came off during inspection. To their credit, they at least copped to their mistake and replaced it within 2 days. But after that incident, I am not sure if I would trust them anymore.

[coolmel]

Originally Posted by RJ411

Perfectly depicted in single line . Whenever I get the thought of buying a new car, Vento comes to my mind.

The car has so many +ves like classic lines, clean design, one of the best diesel engines, solid build etc.,
Its just that fear of ASS which makes everyone to decide against them. I am pretty sure even within our forum (with highly informed team) lots of members would have avoided VAG for that very reason.

I have gut feeling that VAG is underestimating the buying power of Indian customers and considering our market as third world (Atleast for VW and Skoda).They should have learnt it from the sales of Polo which is very consistent and decent, considering the +ves offered by its segment competitors. Its better to merge all the Skoda outlets into VW's and start providing better ASS experiences.

Everybody do mistakes. Not learning from those mistakes is the biggest mistake.

And that is exactly the point! They've to really rise to the occasion now given the huge mess they're in.