oh my goodness! this whole thread need to be renamed "I love to hate skoda!" I guess!
never knew that there are so many upset and tired customers of skoda. actually there are much much more scared potential customers than actual upset customers I believe. people have heard some horror skoda stories and start hating the brand and then they by the word of mouth caution other potential buyers, which is not wrong but I only think that people should stop being judgementle. because even though there are many skoda horror stories, there are also those x 100 or maybe even 1000 satisfied customer stories I am sure.
there cannot be so many skoda's seen on road otherwise.
and now someone who said that skoda is a inferior brand and used as taxi's in many countries... the only reason its being used as taxi's in those countries is not that they cant find a cheaper car but they think its reliable for extreme heavy use. do you know that the octavia used as taxi's in those countries have crossed 4-5 lac kms! I had seen a article in some auto magazine sometime back on this. the reporter was stunned as he saw most taxi octavia's had done 4-5 lac kms and when inquired he came to know that its common for a taxi there and also he reported that even after 4-5 lac kms the car was in pretty good shape and running as usual just like a car with 30-40k kms would!
they had also shown the picture of the odometre with that insane milage done! now do you even expect a honda or a toyota to perform that well after 4-5 lac kms?! and again If I am not mistaken, it came in ACI or OD maybe 1-1.5 yrs back!
and what about the tank like built of the skoda's? I had seen a accident infront of me once and I was stunned. a old honda city banged a octy from behind and it made a big sound. the city was badly damaged and the bonnet was pushed inside, bumper destroyed. then the skoda owner came out and was about to shout but then he saw his car, and there was NOT EVEN A SCRATCH! and the city was badly damaged so he just took pity on the city driver and left without saying anything!
and I had also seen a horror story with honda which made me really think that nothing can be taken for granted. not even a honda! had seen a defected last-gen accord fully loaded with all steering controls malfunctioning since the day it was bought! the owner complained the dealer and the company several times but in vain. he did not get any proper answer and nothing was done to rectify the problem and so he was getting it done himself at a local garage! but it was not working even though they were trying for hours! the garage guy told that the owner is so tired of honda and he was also sueing the company for 10 lakhs for giving him a defective car! poor chap was fighting for almost a year and after paying 17-18 lakhs got sleepless nights! and mind you, I really think Honda Accord is a great car and the V6 had been my dream daily-car for quite long!
and its not that I hate honda or toyota. infact I love honda and would buy a Altis eyes closed in the 12 lac budget! but I also like skoda. all these brands have their pros and cons. and a few cars are bound to have issues when they are producing thousands of cars. skoda is high on maintenance but also high on performance and satisfaction! honda and toyota are worry free machines mostly and easy on pocket. and despite of all these horror stories, generally skoda and VW owners are the ones who make the decission with their heart!
I like the high revving honda's, Toyota reliability and jack of all nature, but I like the tank like built and DSG and all the amazing features that come with the skoda a little more. and do remember that the 2.0L RS octavia was judged the car of the year in UK and also its 2.0L, 200 BHP engine was judged as the engine of the year in 1.8-2.0L segment, both for 2 years straight! and I dont believe that honda and toyota badge has more snob value than skoda! no ways.. they are almost all on par, or maybe the skoda a little ahead if anything here in India! do you know that in US Honda's and Toyota's are considered cheap cars and VW has a better image. a honda has this boy-racer kinda image, toyota has a family guy's car image and the skoda has kind of a bad boy image!