Consumer Court To Skoda Dealer: Refund Customer Rs. 17 Lakh For Faulty Kushaq

We have lately come across several videos and reports where customers have faced issues with their newly bought cars. Many of them have realized that they can actually approach consumer courts for such issues and receive a resolution. One such customer, who allegedly bought a Skoda Kushaq with defects, did the same. The Chennai North District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Skoda India and its dealer, Gurudev Motors, to refund ₹16.73 lakh with interest.

The customer, T.S. Rajamohan, had bought a brand-new Skoda Kushaq SUV from Gurudev Motors back in March 2023. Just 35 days after buying the car, he started experiencing issues with the vehicle. He noticed that the clutch on his vehicle was unusually hard, causing inconvenience and pain in his leg during use.

The AC in his car malfunctioned, and the car made loud noises while driving. Similarly, the power windows were also excessively noisy during operation. After noticing multiple issues with his vehicle, the customer wrote an email to Skoda India and the dealer who sold him the car. The manufacturer responded and redirected the matter to the dealer.

The dealer looked into the issue and asked for time to fix the problems permanently. However, the customer was never informed about the exact issues with the vehicle or how they planned to resolve them. The customer trusted the process; however, the problems remained unresolved.

Despite multiple visits to the service center, the car still had issues. Apart from this, a driver sent by the dealer to pick up the vehicle from the customer drove it rashly and damaged it further. The customer realized that the vehicle still had defects and that the service center was not handling the vehicles properly.

The dealer admitted that the cars were designed for European conditions and that they were still looking for solutions to some of the issues. The customer then took the matter to court and filed a complaint. Commission members D. Gopinath, Kavitha Kannan, and V. Ramamurthy held both Skoda India and Gurudev Motors responsible. They noted that the problems appeared within three months of purchase and during the warranty period. According to the Commission, appropriate remedies should have been provided promptly instead of offering vague explanations about European design differences.

The court asked the dealer to take the vehicle back and refund the full amount of ₹16.73 lakh to the customer within 30 days. The refund should also include 9 percent annual interest calculated from the date of the original purchase. In addition to the refund, the Commission awarded ₹25,000 to cover mental agony and losses caused during the long dispute. A further ₹5,000 was ordered as reimbursement of litigation costs.

The Skoda Kushaq is one of the popular SUVs in its segment and is available with two turbocharged petrol engine options — a 1.0 TSI and a 1.5 TSI. Both these engines are offered with manual and automatic transmission options. Skoda is currently working on the facelift for the Kushaq, which is likely to be launched next year.