17-02-2014, 01:10 PM
Since I started running my own car in 1975 I’ve only had 12 cars, 7 owned by me and 5 by my wife. 5 of the cars have been Fords, with 2 Volvos, a mini (my first car) and then 4 Skodas. Of these the most reliable have been the Skodas followed by an Escort estate which had significantly fewer problems than the Volvos which were both pre Ford ownership of the company.
I have had a petrol Octavia estate 4x4 followed by a diesel estate both of which were reliable but the petrol 4x4 was a little thirsty averaging 27mpg over the 7 years I had it. The diesel Octavia was front wheel drive as in time I had the 4x4 I only really needed the 4x4 capability about 4 times to help me get home as all roads to our area are up hill. After changing it for a 2WD Octavia we had two of the worst winters and the car struggled despite having traction control goodies fitted. In 2012 I changed it to a 4x4 diesel Yeti and in the winter of 2012/13 it didn’t put a wheel wrong. I even ended up giving lifts to people at work so they could get home!
The Octavia is an excellent car, around here there are many being used as taxis, but the Yeti is probably the best car I’ve ever had. So far there have been no problems with it and there were very few problems with my previous Skodas or my wife’s Fabia.
We are about to replace the Ford KA that my son and daughter both use as it’s now starting to become unreliable. We’ve just had to spend a bit on getting it through its MOT then the alternator failed last week. That car was 4 years old when bought from a Ford main dealer and has had a string of faults probably costing more than we paid for the car to put right.
In our dealings with the dealers, Skoda and Volvo have been good, Ford have improved but their customer relations are nowhere near those of the other two, falling to an all time low for me during our recent MOT. Needless to say we are not looking at a Ford car to replace the KA. Looking at the J.D.Powers survey both Skoda and Volkswagen are in the top 10 as are Volvo but Ford are down in 18th place. That must say something about the customer service.
For me reliability and customer service are important and so far Skoda have scored well on both counts. We are now looking to replace the KA with the current favourite being a VW Polo. When we visited the local VW dealer the customer service was impressive so in all probability we’ll be returning soon.
Keith
I have had a petrol Octavia estate 4x4 followed by a diesel estate both of which were reliable but the petrol 4x4 was a little thirsty averaging 27mpg over the 7 years I had it. The diesel Octavia was front wheel drive as in time I had the 4x4 I only really needed the 4x4 capability about 4 times to help me get home as all roads to our area are up hill. After changing it for a 2WD Octavia we had two of the worst winters and the car struggled despite having traction control goodies fitted. In 2012 I changed it to a 4x4 diesel Yeti and in the winter of 2012/13 it didn’t put a wheel wrong. I even ended up giving lifts to people at work so they could get home!
The Octavia is an excellent car, around here there are many being used as taxis, but the Yeti is probably the best car I’ve ever had. So far there have been no problems with it and there were very few problems with my previous Skodas or my wife’s Fabia.
We are about to replace the Ford KA that my son and daughter both use as it’s now starting to become unreliable. We’ve just had to spend a bit on getting it through its MOT then the alternator failed last week. That car was 4 years old when bought from a Ford main dealer and has had a string of faults probably costing more than we paid for the car to put right.
In our dealings with the dealers, Skoda and Volvo have been good, Ford have improved but their customer relations are nowhere near those of the other two, falling to an all time low for me during our recent MOT. Needless to say we are not looking at a Ford car to replace the KA. Looking at the J.D.Powers survey both Skoda and Volkswagen are in the top 10 as are Volvo but Ford are down in 18th place. That must say something about the customer service.
For me reliability and customer service are important and so far Skoda have scored well on both counts. We are now looking to replace the KA with the current favourite being a VW Polo. When we visited the local VW dealer the customer service was impressive so in all probability we’ll be returning soon.
Keith
