£85 quoted charge for warranty inspection

[fredgroves]

I'd suggest that like any brand that's entirely based on the dealership itself.

Some are much better at using the right words to describe problems in order to get vw to authorise warranty work.

Of course, it might also depend on what you perceived as a warranty issue.

What exactly did you try to get?

[colsay]

My positive experiences of Skoda are based on different dealers in very different locations (Scotland and South of England).
The VW issues were firstly software - the We Connect App. I drove from Scotland to England and it didn’t record the journey. I booked the car into a different branch of the VW main dealer from which I had purchased the car (6 month old ex demonstrator) to look at it. I was greeted with “why didn’t you take it back to where you bought it?”  Hardly encouraging as this VW dealer was part of the same group, i.e. same ownership. Having got past this and they started to look at it, they then inferred that I must have retrofitted the We Connect software and therefore it was not covered under warranty. No, I replied it was on the car when it was sold to me.  Reluctantly they got a Tech to look at it, he connected a laptop and upgraded the software. The details of the Scotland trip remain lost.
The other issue has been the diamond cut alloys. I knew one had been refurbished when I bought the car but after a year of ownership and more understanding via this forum and great help from forum members I could see two wheels had been refurbished. Poorly.
Both started to deteriorate in appearance. I was fobbed off during the Covid lockdowns (the only person who could check the wheels was permanently on furlough). I’ll skip the rest but they refused to do anything other than offer a second cheap refurb “at cost”with a 3 month warranty. I declined. 
Maybe I have been unlucky with the dealership group I purchased from and in another part of the country VW are fine. But I don’t intend finding out!

[Yusee]

I have always bought the car I want without giving a thought to customer service.

I doubt there are major differences between the major manufacturers, they all work with the same incentives.

I had BMWs before my current golf, i had moderately poor service from one dealership on 1 occasion, began using a one man independent and never looked back.

And there are big differences between the attitude and service given by one dealership and the next.

[fredgroves]

It my mere 35 years of car "ownership" (most actually were leases)  I've had all sorts of marques at intervals of 3 years.... and I can honestly say that every single one has been a tale of sub par main dealer events.

Not one has been perfect, the best seems to be my current VW main dealer and even they can be dissapointing at times.

They are nothing like as bad as the worst though and far better than my recent experience with BMW (well Mini) either, who I rate as the most shocking price gouging I have seen in 35 years.

[colsay]

I have always bought the car I want without giving a thought to customer service.

I doubt there are major differences between the major manufacturers, they all work with the same incentives.

I had BMWs before my current golf, i had moderately poor service from one dealership on 1 occasion, began using a one man independent and never looked back.

And there are big differences between the attitude and service given by one dealership and the next.

Totally agree. I had a Land Rover once, after 3 years of main dealer excess went Independent for the next 5 years and had excellent service at competitive prices.