Re: Skoda Yeti : Review, Price & Pictures Update on my Yeti, which may be of use to other owners.
On the return leg of a journey from Kochi to Kinnaur, we seemed to have run over something on the smooth highway outside Kolhapur. This was followed by a grating noise and a heavy judder from the rear - which basically told me "Haldex Clutch".
Sure enough we inspected the car and found that oil was leaking from the rear. It was around 7 pm and we were just outside the Toll from Kolhapur when this happened. Quick call to Skoda and they got in touch with their Kolhapur dealer and requested the service staff to stay back for an emergency situation.
Drove to Shrine Skoda @ Kolhapur (luckily just on the highway, about 15 km from where the incident occurred), put it up on the lift and my worst fears were confirmed. End of our long journey - after 6,000 km on the road from Kochi and going through the worst of non-existent roads in Himachal, here we were in Kolhapur, with an underbody hit on a smooth highway.
Much kudos to Skoda and their Regional Manager who co-ordinated everything very quickly. Within 2 hours of the incident the vehicle was on its way to Vinayak Skoda in Bangalore on a flatbed arranged by the dealership, while we continued on our way to RFC 2016 in Goa in a taxi also arranged by the dealership. No money was requested upfront - they said you can settle through NEFT at your convenience. (Note: Decided to get the work done in Bangalore as its closer to Kochi - getting the work done in Kolhapur would've meant some remote management in an unknown place).
The estimate from Vinayak came the next day - Rs.4,26,000 for a full replacement of the final drive assembly. Took me a while to digest this bit of news.
The Skoda RM stepped in again when I mentioned that I had to leave the country soon, and agreed to have the part shipped on priority from Aurangabad as soon as Vinayak placed an order. This process took some time as the insurance survey had to be done and a provisional approval and work order was to be issued by my insurance co, which could only be done after I got back to Kochi and filed a claim with the estimate.
Once back in Kochi the chaps @ United India were lightning fast, arranged for a survey to be done in Bangalore the next working day. Survey done and provisional approval given, I paid my advance (which works out to approx 20% of cost not covered by Insurance) and the order was placed on the 29th of Jul.
Again thanks to SAIPL Management, the part reached Bangalore yesterday (3rd) which is only 3 working days from order placement. Work has begun on the same today and is expected to be complete by tomorrow. Still a bit of paperwork to be done with United India but I'm keeping my fingers crossed & hoping everything will be complete before I leave.
Just a note to keep you guys informed that SAIPL and (selected) dealers can be EXTREMELY supportive if approached in the right spirit. What happened to us was totally unexpected, but they have worked hard to ensure that we are taken care of - so far.
Note: I am not regular on this board, & may not be replying to queries in a hurry. This is just a heads up for fellow Yeti-owners, and those who know me personally may contact directly.
Adding the map tracker of the trip from Bangalore (thanks to Mad Monkey for the tracker that he was testing out). Started 10 Jul from Kochi, went upto Chitkul in Kinnaur (was aiming for Kalpa & Nako, but went to Chitkul instead) ended prematurely on 21 Jul @ Kolhapur.
Last edited by Steeroid : 4th August 2016 at 13:18.
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