[anandpadhye]

Rtech,

Nice summary.

But some explanation for the clutch overhaul figures for Skoda running into 50K would be a nice addition to the summary.

[v1p3r]

Rt, I was going through ajmat's post. The actual repair of the car took twelve days (including holidays), and for an accident of that magnitude, I think that's reasonable. The rest was either insurance or waiting for various things like parts, which was similar to the Skoda.

The difference is, ajmat clearly says Honda does a good job in the end. Skoda, on the other hand, looks like they aim from a distance and spit paint onto the car. They refuse to wash the car sometimes, citing a power outage. I would not expect such service, were I to pay 11 odd lakhs for a car.

Let's be honest. A lot of us will anyway put expensive engine oil, better, more expensive clutches, brake pads, wheels, tyres. Being a community of enthusiasts, we do not grudge such things. But it is disconcerting to see how a lot of similar parts are almost double the price for the Skoda. Still, one can live with that. What is unpardonable is the absolutely cavalier attitude of Tafe Access, specifically in Bangalore, and some other Skoda dealerships across the country.

And let me tell you, it's not just the dealerships. The parent company is similar in its arrogance. Three mails to them went unreplied to, when I asked about the Fabia. I've known friends who wanted to start dealerships, but could not elicit responses from the company. But Tata and Maruti are so easily accessible. Why is that?

[shuvc]

While your summarisation is pretty spot on, a couple of things that struck me in that writeup.

The statistics on the number of Honda and Skoda links probably should not be considered to arrive at any conclusion. Quite a few of those links relate to Honda City incidents. There a loads more City owners on the forum than Skodas.

However, as you said, it's true that dealerships of most auto companies leave a lot to be desired.

Originally Posted by Rtech

But then we rarely look beyond the next large payment and conclude that since I have to pay Rs.4000 instead of Rs.10,000, the car must be cheaper to own. Its what you call failing to look at the bigger picture!

I might be sounding like a broken record here - but why is it then that the higher price of the Octy wrt the Civic, never being considered in your calculations?

[anandpadhye]

Also Rtech, regarding localization - you seem to agree that this should be done but the examples you gave are airbags and stuff.

What became of the headlights? 11K for each??? And that too most of the owners had to change after 2 years???

Why should headlights be so expensive if the car is not a CBU and sold here for more than 5 years now?

[BUSA]

I mean why would be buy a 68hp diesel when he could have got a better equipped petrol model for the same price, which was freer revving and had more power?

Firstly Rtech, the diesel is 75bhp, secondly i have planned Petes Box, that makes it around 95bhp now, more powerful then the petrol. So the Swift Diesel has more power. However when comparing Skoda Octavia against Civic, there is a huge difference of 40bhp between the two. All thats fine.

How would this type of comparo sound.

Skoda Octavia vRS(150bhp) & Chevrolet Optra Diesel.

Now even if the Skoda costs less to service then the Chevvy, the Chevvy is surely going to win on accounts of cost of diesel wrt petrol and better mileage.

Plus the Swifts Petrol engine is nothing to talk home about, wheras the Honda Civic's engine is a marvel in its own right.

Yes. That is really cheap to maintain. But it’s sad that if you go to sell this car in today’s market, you would be hard pressed to get anything over 4 lakhs for it. So the loss in depreciation and fuel costs over the period of ownership would make this a white elephant.

I just for the car valued by a dealer, he said 6 Lakhs, ok what ever it is, GM cars do have lesser resale but Honda cars which cost cheaper then a equivalent Octy, is cheaper to maintain buttt is a petrol. What your comaprig is a petrol with a diesel and let the Toyota Corolla D4D come and then we can put all this to rest, or better still can Toyota D4D owners put down their service costs and then we are talking about a fair comparo.

The fact of the matter is Rtech and you should agree on this, Skoda is taking Indian customers for a ride for the following reasons : -

• Selling us a outdated car(Octy was born in 1996, not sold anywhere else)
• Giving us outdated engines, the 1.8T in the RS is outdated, replaced by the 2.0T, the 1.9TDi is outdated replaced by the 2.0TDi
• Pricing cars at premium, Laura is a example, 105bhp for a 19Lacs car is totally crazy.
• Higher spares prices, 11k for a headlamp, 75k for a clutc, even F1 cars must be having cheaper clutches
• Poor dealer attitude wrt servicing or offering TD vehicles.
• Offering only 2 years warranty, where the norm in the industrt is 2+2(extended)

[mclaren1885]

I have to agree with Roak Star that Honda does take their customers for a ride too. The competition seems to be tough between Honda & Skoda, with Skoda just an arm and a leg away from Honda.

But, I still think that if you can afford to buy a car you should be able to afford maintaining it as well. And if you think you can't, its not wise of you not to have done your homework to find out how expensive it is to maintain a Octy before buying one.

Also the main point of discussion here seems to be the servicing costs. Ok, Skoda charges 9k? But say if one is to use Synthetic Oil in a accord too that would bring the Accord servicing costs to 4k (oil)+3k (labour, parts etc). While Skoda charges 4.5k (oil?) + 4-5k (service). Thats just about 1.5k higher than Honda with synthetic oil. For a person that spends 11L to buy a car 1.5k on each service shouldn't be that hard on the pockets.

When it comes to expensive spares the story is a whole lot different. Some parts of a OHC, baleno, accord are REALLY expensive. I can vouch for that. Specially the AC condensors costing in the region of 20k. But for the same component I am safe to assume that the Skoda will cost twice as much to an accord?

The point I am trying to make is that, if CERTAIN parts are exorbitantly priced (like AC condensor, compressor, O2 sensor etc) while the rest are moderately priced (bumpers, doors, bonnet, windshield etc) the owners might not feel the pinch. But if EACH & EVERY part is exorbitantly priced that must be quite harsh on the pockets.

But like someone mentioned earlier, its best to buy a brand new Skoda, keep it till the warranty expires and sell it off. But the money lost due to depreciation is worth it? Perhaps yes, because one feels much safe in a car such as the Octy. Surprisingly, I think its ONLY those who don't OWN an octy that complain about the expensive parts. Those who own it are quite satisfied. Which is what matters most in the end.

I think what Rush is trying to say is that, if Mobil 1 is available in the free market for 650 bucks. Skoda being a company that buys in bulk must be getting it at a much lower rate. Assume around 550 bucks? But they charge 1k for it? Well that again depends on company policy. M800 costs peanuts to make as well, but does Maruti sell it for 1L? NO! Everybody is out there to make a profit and so they shall. Though GTO point might be true for all parts as well. Skoda might have double the profit margins on EVERYTHING they sell. As long as the customer care matches it no one should complain. As long as owners are happy with it, no one should complain at all.

Robeen, I didn't know you could write such long posts .

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

But say if one is to use Synthetic Oil in a accord too that would bring the Accord servicing costs to 4k (oil)+3k (labour, parts etc). While Skoda charges 4.5k (oil?) + 4-5k (service). Thats just about 1.5k higher than Honda with synthetic oil. For a person that spends 11L to buy a car 1.5k on each service shouldn't be that hard on the pockets.

I think someone has mentioned an Accord service costs 2k or something, all inclusive. Even factoring in oil, it will still be 6.5k. And I think the Accord is more expensive than the 1.9 Octy.

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Some parts of a OHC, baleno, accord are REALLY expensive. I can vouch for that. Specially the AC condensors costing in the region of 20k.

Are you sure? I think it's more like 11-13k.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Surprisingly, I think its ONLY those who don't OWN an octy that complain about the expensive parts. Those who own it are quite satisfied. Which is what matters most in the end.

The reason behind the birth of this thread is a Skoda owner's thread narrating his dissatisfaction.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

I think someone has mentioned an Accord service costs 2k or something, all inclusive. Even factoring in oil, it will still be 6.5k. And I think the Accord is more expensive than the 1.9 Octy.

That would also depend on which service that is being talked about. I guess the best possible analysis would be to compare prices of services for the same time/km interval.

Are you sure? I think it's more like 11-13k.

Yup, baleno condensor assembly costs 22k. The only reason why my car is running without AC for the last 10 months. OHC's is in the region of 18k or so.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

The reason behind the birth of this thread is a Skoda owner's thread narrating his dissatisfaction.

You will always have exceptions. There will always be those 100 souls out of a million who will be dissatisfied with any company from a Maruti - Bugatti. But most of the Skoda owners I have met seem not bothered about it. Three of my close friends had Skoda's. 1 RS and two Tdi's. One guy who had a Tdi went ahead and bought a Laura for himself (in lieu of a R1 that he couldn't ride everyday) and a Superb for his dad. Till date, I hear he has had no complaints.

[BUSA]

Also the main point of discussion here seems to be the servicing costs. Ok, Skoda charges 9k? But say if one is to use Synthetic Oil in a accord too that would bring the Accord servicing costs to 4k (oil)+3k (labour, parts etc). While Skoda charges 4.5k (oil?) + 4-5k (service). Thats just about 1.5k higher than Honda with synthetic oil. For a person that spends 11L to buy a car 1.5k on each service shouldn't be that hard on the pockets.

Skoda - 9k
Accord - 4k (2k service includes labour - 500 engine oil + 2.5k synthetic oil)

Why are you adding all of 3k for nothing?? the 2k service includes mineral oil & labour.

Still its 5k cheaper per service and considering a Octy starts at 11L - 16L and the Accord is a segment up on both the Octy and Laura. The Accord starts from 16L - 21L, so case in point is the bigger car is cheaper to maintain as well.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

I think its ONLY those who don't OWN an octy that complain about the expensive parts. Those who own it are quite satisfied. Which is what matters most in the end.

Really? Take a look around. Car crazy1400 and a bunch of others, including karthik247, and those are just the ones on this forum. And some of us base our purchasing decisions on such incidents. Which is why we won't buy them.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Really? Take a look around. Car crazy1400 and a bunch of others, including karthik247, and those are just the ones on this forum. And some of us base our purchasing decisions on such incidents. Which is why we won't buy them.

Read the last para of my previous post.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Three of my close friends had Skoda's. 1 RS and two Tdi's. One guy who had a Tdi went ahead and bought a Laura for himself (in lieu of a R1 that he couldn't ride everyday)

Totally OT, but please get them to track. Such machines deserve a track.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Totally OT, but please get them to track. Such machines deserve a track.

Sadly, not in touch with them. For quite a while now. And they are not the ones who will come to track .

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Rtech,

Nice summary.

But some explanation for the clutch overhaul figures for Skoda running into 50K would be a nice addition to the summary.

Originally Posted by BUSA

[*]Higher spares prices, 11k for a headlamp, 75k for a clutc, even F1 cars must be having cheaper clutches [*]Poor dealer attitude wrt servicing or offering TD vehicles.[*]Offering only 2 years warranty, where the norm in the industrt is 2+2(extended)[/list]

Anand and Busa ,

I have earlier explained on another thread that clutch replacement costs approx 15~17K. All those inflated cost you see and hear like 55K and 75K (according to busa) include fly wheel replacement.

And I have always had majorly good experiences with dealers. Nummer Eins were not upto the mark but JMD are right up there , out performers I would say. Heck even Acumen Auto in Pune gets rated highly by me. You can get more info from Moral who is in touch with them daily.

Industry norm is 2+2 ? All manufacturers offer this ? And this is not said in jest, I am seriously asking. And if they do - is it written down somewhere as a industry standard to offer 2+2 which Skoda ain't doing ?

Wow man ! I am going to place an order for a Mclaren F1 ( It has a cheaper clutch than my vRS) .

TAFE Skoda not offering a TD is a big crime - I agree.

Then what about Udit Motors (in Thane right?) a GM dealer who did this to me when I asked for TD of the SRV ?
They refused to send a car to Vashi from Thane when I asked them and asked me to come over to Thane. When I spoke to the manager - he said that since the driver did not report to work he could not send the car and promised to do so next day. After a couple of days when the TD car did not turn up, I called back and got the same reply - driver not reporting for duty ! All this when I was a prospective customer for their car that has done 2 digit sales till date from its launch (or has it ?)

And compare this to Nummer Eins - who sent the car from their Juhu showroom to my office. I spoke to them in the morning and they said the car would be there by 1 pm. It reached me at 3 pm.