Skoda dealer shows me a Slavia for PDI and sells me a different one

I want to thank Zac Hollis for his help in resolving the issue. His involvement made a big difference. I also appreciate the dealership team for admitting their mistake and compensating me.

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In 2018, I bought a pre-owned Skoda Rapid MT 1.6 MPI with only 3000 kms on the odometer. Although it was a good car, I wasn't entirely satisfied with the mediocre 1.6 MPI engine. However, it served our family well until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. After the pandemic, when we moved back to our hometown, the car remained unused for a year. Since I wasn't satisfied with the engine and it had been idle for a year, I decided to sell it in 2021, considering switching to an automatic car.

In early 2022, when I was asked to return to Bengaluru for hybrid work, I began searching seriously for an automatic car within a budget of 15 lakhs. After test-driving a few vehicles in that budget, I finalized and bought the Skoda Slavia Ambition 1.0 AT on June 1st, 2022.

Around the 1st week of May 2022, I booked the Skoda Slavia Ambition 1.0 AT in Bengaluru, and the waiting period was around 1 to 2 months. In the last week of May 2022, I heard the news that the 10-inch infotainment system would not be available and that there would be a price hike after May 2022. So, I would be getting an 8-inch infotainment system with a price hike if I wait for another 1 to 2 months. And, I thought to check the availability in Mysuru since I was in my hometown due to WFH.

The following events happened:

• On May 24th, 2022, I called the sales executive of the Skoda dealership in Mysuru to inquire about the availability of the Ambition AT with a 10-inch infotainment system. He informed me the same day that there were no vehicles available.
• Later, on May 30th, which was a Monday, around 12:10 PM, the sales executive contacted me again, stating that they had one Slavia Ambition AT in White Candy colour available for immediate delivery. He mentioned that if I was interested, they could deliver the vehicle before the price hike scheduled for May 31st.
• I expressed my interest but made it clear that I needed to PDI the vehicle in the stockyard before making any payment. The sales executive agreed, and I was asked to visit the stockyard on the same day.
• Around 4:30 PM on the same day, I drove from Hunsur, approximately 45 kms away, to the showroom in Mysuru, where I met with the sales executive. Together, we proceeded to the stockyard to check the vehicle in person.
• At the stockyard, the sales executive showed the car to me. I spent approximately 10 to 20 minutes examining the car and took photos under his supervision. I could not figure out how to check the odometer reading and asked him. Eventually, I learnt that there is a button on the cruise control stick that needs to be pushed to access the odometer reading, which showed 8 kms. He literally said in Kannada that "Sir, ella cleanagi nodkolli ide nimma car" ( English translation: Sir, check everything carefully; this will be your car).
• Satisfied with the car, I noted the VIN number and proceeded to settle the payment on May 31st, around 10:30 AM.

The car was invoiced on May 31st and officially registered with the RTO on June 3rd, the same day it was delivered to me. When I checked the car on delivery, the odometer showed 28 kms, which confused me because during the pre-delivery inspection, it showed only 8 kms. When I asked about the difference, the salesperson said they had tested the car before delivery, but I wasn't entirely convinced. However, I didn't want to spoil the delivery experience for my family, so I let it go.

Issue #1: FASTag

When I received the car, the delivery checklist booklet said the FASTag had been delivered, but it wasn't there. I noticed this after driving 45 kms home. I called the sales executive and was told to visit the showroom the next day to collect it.

On June 4th, I called again before leaving home to check, I was asked to visit the showroom. I also expressed interest in purchasing an SMP and extended warranty.

Please note that I called them before leaving home (45 kms away from the showroom). When I got to the showroom, I was asked to wait as the staff was busy with other customers. After waiting for about 20 to 30 minutes, I was informed that they only had one FASTag, which was corrupted, and they would courier a new one to me later. I then inquired about purchasing the SMP and extended warranty and was told to expect a payment link the following working day, June 6th. In total, I did a round trip of 90 kms only to reach home empty-handed.

Finally, I received the FASTag on June 9th, a week after taking delivery of the car.

Issue #2: Purchase of SMP and Extended Warranty

As they promised to send the payment link for the SMP and extended warranty on June 6th, but I never received it. When I called them on June 7th, they said they couldn't send the link to my phone and I had to revisit the showroom to pay.

On June 11th, I visited the showroom again, calling the sales executive before leaving home. When I got to the showroom, they asked for 32399 Rs for the SMP instead of the agreed-upon 24449 Rs. I was perplexed because there were two pricing slabs for the SMP and Extended Warranty; if purchased within a month, the SMP price was 24449 Rs, otherwise, it was 32399 Rs. I questioned why I should pay the higher price when we had agreed on the lower one. I also wondered why the system showed a higher price. This led me to question whether the car had been delivered over a month ago. They argued with me until I showed them the price list I had received earlier, proving the agreed-upon price. They then asked me to go home and promised to send the correct payment link to my phone.

Again, I made the 90 kms round trip and still did not buy the SMP. In total, they made me visit twice, driving about 200 kms, and I still could not buy it.

Issue #3: Number plate

After a few weeks, they called me and said they had my car's number plate ready, asking me to visit the Mysuru showroom. However, I had already moved to Bengaluru. I drove all the way to Mysuru (~140 kms), only to find out that the number plate hadn't arrived yet. Disappointed, I returned home empty-handed.

Issue #4: The wrong car was delivered; it was not the one I inspected during the PDI.

On June 12th, while reviewing the photos I had taken during the PDI, I noticed a VIN number mismatch. I realised that I had received a different car than the one I inspected during the PDI. Additionally, this discrepancy explained why the odometer read 28 kms at delivery when it showed 8 kms during the PDI.

I immediately called the sales executive and explained the VIN number mismatch to him. However, he was not willing to agree over the phone, insisting that he would investigate and provide an explanation by the next day, June 13th. Following the call, I sent the email with all the details to the Sales team.

After he called on the next day, June 13th, he claimed that they had indeed delivered the car assigned to me. He insisted that during the stockyard visit, he had shown me the Ambition variant for my reference only. I expressed my frustration at his dishonesty and ended the call.

Following the call, I sent the email below to clarify from my end.

After a few hours, I received a call from the 'Customer Delight Manager' who apologised and acknowledged their mistake. Additionally, he assured me that he would resolve the payment issue for the SMP package. Following the call, he sent me the email below.

On the same day, they sent an email requesting a transfer of 24,499 to the dealership's account via NEFT to purchase the SMP package.

After 11 days of back-and-forth, I finally transferred the money to their account and purchased the SMP package.

Issue #5: Incorrect Service Due, SMP Package, and Extended Warranty Date in MySkoda App

I registered my car in the MySkoda app on June 12th and noticed that the service due date was listed as April 30th, 2023, and the default warranty end date was April 29th, 2026. However, it should have been May 30th, 2026, since my car was invoiced on May 31st, 2022.

I contacted the sales executive again to report this issue. He said he would check and update the record accordingly, but there was no resolution from him. Every time I called, he informed me that the issue had been reported to the concerned team and that he was following up with them. He did not provide any explanation for why the wrong dates were showing.

On July 5th, 2022, I called Skoda's customer care executive to inquire about the date mismatch in their app since I was clueless about this issue. The customer care executive informed me that the car had been billed/invoiced on April 29th, 2022, according to Skoda's records. Therefore, the app was showing the service due date as "April 29th, 2023" in the MySkoda App.

I called the sales executive again, asking these questions: Why was this vehicle billed on April 29th? Why was this not corrected before delivery? Why was this not told to me before?

I then immediately sent an email to Zac Hollis and the Sales teams, explaining the complete details of the issue and asking them for the following resolution:

• As I see, there are some hidden details on the sale of this car to me. Please check thoroughly and give me the justification for the date mismatch and multiple invoiced dates, as well as any other disparities that I am not aware of. I feel that I have been cheated here for trusting Skoda again.
• And, I want the correct date “31st May/3rd June” to be updated in Skoda’s system as the invoice/sell date of this car to me and the updated date should be displayed in the MySkoda App.
• Please make sure your dealership will not engage in this kind of cheating in the future with any other prospective customers and teach them to be transparent in their sales process. People are spending their hard-earned money.

There was no response over the phone or email for a few days. I reached out to Zac Hollis again, this time through Facebook and Twitter. He responded immediately and assured me that he would talk to the dealership to resolve this issue. After a few hours, I received a call from the Customer Delight Manager and the Head of Sales. They informed me that they couldn't change the invoice date in the MySkoda app. Both of them accepted their mistake and offered me a waiver of the extended warranty or 40,000 Rs worth of seat covers or any accessories. However, I declined this offer and instead requested the following:

• Waiver of extended warranty and SMP.
• Provide me with the transaction details of this car and an apology.

After the phone call, there was no communication from them for the next 7 days. I reached out to Zac Hollis again, and he immediately responded, stating that he would talk to the dealership. Eventually, I received the following email from the dealership, stating that they could only compensate for the extended warranty from their end.

At last, I agreed to accept only the waiver of the extended warranty and sent the following email to close the email thread. I received the 24499 Rs refund to my bank account on July 21st.

To conclude, I acknowledge the mistakes made during this ordeal.

• Reaching out to the Mysuru dealership in hopes of securing the 10-inch infotainment version before a price hike led to unnecessary complications and added expenses. Instead, Waiting for the initial booking from Bengaluru could have been a more prudent decision, potentially saving time and money.
• Failing to cross-check the VIN number on the delivery day was a critical oversight. Even if I had checked, given that the car was already registered, they might not have offered any compensation.

I want to thank Zac Hollis for his help in resolving the issue. His involvement made a big difference, and I doubt I would have gotten the warranty waiver without him. I also appreciate the dealership team for admitting their mistake and compensating me.

Despite the bad dealership experience, there is no issue with the car, and it excels in most aspects, serving my needs well. As of today, it has been two years since I purchased it, and it has clocked 17,000 kms. Touchwood, there hasn't been a single issue with it so far, and it continues to run smoothly.

Fast forward to March 25, 2024:

I installed the MySkoda Plus app on my new iPhone. When I tried to register my car in the app using the VIN, it said that an OTP should have been sent to my registered mobile number, but I never received it. I tried multiple times.

I then called Skoda’s customer care and Tafe Service Center at Kudlu Gate (where I had my last car service). They informed me that the owner's name in their system is listed as Manjunath/Santosh and the mobile number is different from mine.

This discrepancy was concerning. It has been two years since I acquired this car, and it is disappointing that my details are not accurately recorded in their system. It appears that my details have not been updated in Skoda's system, as it still reflects the details of the initial invoiced owner. Such oversights are not in line with the expected standards of Skoda.

After following up for 13 days, they were able to update my phone number in their system, and I could register my car in the MySkoda Plus app. However, they still have not updated my address. It still shows the address of the initial invoiced owner in the app. I followed up with them for a few more days, but eventually, I gave up.

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