JTA

[Bobby]

I'll be going to the showroom again to choose the leather seat colour. If they can't meet my requirements, then I will most likely cancel my booking. I don't think I will want to compromise further.

[DoctorDrake]

Nah, the leather seats are locally fitted. By Jackspeed. Generally OK, except that the concave parts of the door panel inserts are lifting. Going to get them re-done.

[DoctorDrake]

Well, they definitely didn't use fine napa leather!

 

It wasn't so much the quality of the leather than the fact that the panel inserts are pulling away from the door panel in the parts where the contour is concave.

[Qtm550]

Hello Bobby,

 

i think better cancel booking... don't you get a bit scared after reading all the stuff abt JTA. what we want is just to drive a car and not to worry abt it braking down or giving problems... certainly not within the next 6-9 months.

why don't you try Opel Astra, they are having a promotion this weekend? i think also b4 cny , abt 73k , check out http://forums.delphiforums.com/sgOpel/start.

[Fabiaman]

Doc, Sky and fellow Skodians, saw the Life section today in ST?

 

Looks like JTA will really need to go.... and if they really need to, pls do it quickly and not let the current owners and the Skoda brand suffer. Komoco, are you interested?

[Turbobrick]

Jackspeed's workmanship seems to be suffering like JTA too

 

I think my friend's sunny is done by Jackspeed for Tan Chong and the fit also not that good and leather feels like vinyl, tough like hell.

[Roadblock]

Wonder if any current buyers (put deposit and havent collect car) will suffer in JTA's downfall? ie. like macham AutoAsia for KIA cars.

 

Also , with the STimes report, JTA might as well fold up since I bet no interesting new car buyers will be keen on Skoda after what they hear in the papers and in this forum the awful condition of JTA.

[DoctorDrake]

I'd rather see them try to trade out of their difficulties. And I think they can stabilise things within this calendar year if they make the necessary reductions to their operating expenses. Yes, they have screwed up in the past, but I have had pretty long chats with their new management and I am encouraged. I am not an apologist for JTA, far from it. But I hope that we can all give them one last shot at it before writing them off. There are peoples' livelihoods at stake.

 

Doc, Sky and fellow Skodians, saw the Life section today in ST?

 

Looks like JTA will really need to go.... and if they really need to, pls do it quickly and not let the current owners and the Skoda brand suffer. Komoco, are you interested?

Edited January 26, 2002 by DoctorDrake

[DoctorDrake]

It turns out that my leather seats were not done by Jackspeed. They were done by Leather Etc. Not so hot.

 

Jackspeed's workmanship seems to be suffering like JTA too

 

I think my friend's sunny is done by Jackspeed for Tan Chong and the fit also not that good and leather feels like vinyl, tough like hell.

[Fabiaman]

That to me is cheating.

 

Jackspeed produces premium quality leather and its one of the selling point when the salesman introduces the car. If it turns out to be other type of leather from another installer other than Jackspeed... I feel is a blatant bluff.

[DoctorDrake]

Well, truth be told, my SE never said that the leather was done by Jackspeed. He just said that it is locally done. After I got the car back from the leather shop there was a "Thank You" tag from Leather Etc in my glove box. No misrepresentation from JTA.

 

That to me is cheating.

 

Jackspeed produces premium quality leather and its one of the selling point when the salesman introduces the car. If it turns out to be other type of leather from another installer other than Jackspeed... I feel is a blatant bluff.

[Fabiaman]

OIC, okay, well then there is no issue then.

 

When I first went to the JTA showroom, the SE showed me this and that. One of the features I was told was the bonnet heat insulation which the SE proudly presented. Well, when I collected my car, it came w/o and Tlim excuse was that this insulation is only available for auto versions. When I bought the Fabia, there was not a single auto version on display.

 

Peter lee, where are you. He is a victim of the leather upholstery as I think the 1st batch of Fabia owners (ie. me and peter and some others) were told by JTA that Jackspeed leather will be used to wrap the seats up (not free hor, have to pay $1.5k) ..,. turns out its TOMO instead.

 

Talk abt leather seats, Pointyewe, have you got yours?

[Bobby]

Hi Doctordrake and All,

 

Nice meeting you, Drdrake, at the showroom today. Your car colour and leather was indeed rather pleasant. I can see you're really a keen car enthusiast from your postings and I'm sure many have benefited from your as well as many others sharing in this forum.

 

Just to update on my encounter with JTA today. As I said I earlier I can compromise on the colour but not on the delivery date. After spending 2 hours in the showroom they still cannot give me a firm commitment to deliver the car on the date I requested (5th Feb). You see it is critical to me because I've made plans to drive up to KL on the 7th Feb for CNY and at the same time for short holiday with my families in KL. Nobody in the showroom has the authority to decide not even Donald the new Sales Manager who just joined JTA this month. I sympathised with the salesrep as he tried and tried calling the boss (I guess he is one of the Lim brothers from what I overheard) and finally disclosed that the boss can only be certain on the 9th Feb (BTW this is the last working day before CNY). I had a good chat with Donald but he cannot overrule what was told over the phone by the big boss.

 

There's no question on whether I like the car as even after all the -ve feedback I still find the car great at the showroom today. My feeling of JTA management is like someone who has dispensed considerable effort and finally managed to catch a bird in the hand but the cage is not ready so had to let the bird free. The most important process or challenging part of a business or organisation is bringing in the sales (the Sales Rep Edward who handles my car is a nice chap and has done a good job). The sales dept is also usually the driving force and normally accorded with authority. The normal thinking would be upon closing the sales the rest is operational matters to be ironed out internally. If JTA is thinking of improving this is the first aspect they must look at. How do you expect the sales staff to show confidence and morale when they've to worry about internal operational matters beyond their control.

 

I really don't understand what's the problem and why it has to take so long since the car is already in Singapore. Registration and financing can be arrange within a day or two. The rest is polishing, leather seat, minor fittings and testing and so on. Theres about 2 weeks to do this upon confirmation after the COE bidding. JTA sold 10 cars in Dec so should not have capacity issue.

 

I strongly feel that if they cannot even meet this then definitely there are bigger issues that I worried about. I feel sad for JTA because I too like many here would like to see them strong and efficient (if I'm going to be a Skoda owner, now a 50/50 chance). Let's hope they can come back with something +ve.......

 

Bobby

[Turbobrick]

Hi Bobby,

 

Good luck in getting your Octavia, hope U can get it for CNY!

 

We should have Volvo/Skoda joint meetup too, will be fun to share.

 

Doc, Skoda Man, Fabiaman, Pointy, Sky and the Skoda gang, what say U guys?

[Bobby]

Initially after reading all the problems that Skoda owners suffered I was worried and angry as I thought my turn would surely come. Like I say despite these potential problems I'm still willing to go ahead as I still maintained it is a great car (price/performance wise) and would stick to my part of the contract. But if JTA cannot keep their part of the deal then I'm also happy to give it a miss.

 

The feeling is like this. I was halfway thru ordering a cup of delicious ice cream, then met a friend who happen to be passing by. Before we parted he relayed to me all the -ve aspect of eating ice cream - the sugar, cholesterol and so on. More over his uncle has just been hospitalised for heart problem due to eating too much ice cream. Just then the ice cream counter lady apologized that my preffered flavour was out of stock. Although inside I still wanted my cup of ice cream but I'm also quite happy parting instead for a cup of yogurt instead.

 

If I get the car I think I'll still enjoy driving it as that is the main reason I opted for it but I'll certainlly would not enjoy going back to JTA workshop unnecessary.

[DoctorDrake]

Hi Bobby,

 

It was great to bump into you and your other half at the showroom!

 

The biggest problem is cash flow. Their cash flow situation was made worse when they decided to get COEs for as many people as possible in the month or two after the freak $101 COE in the middle of last year, or so I'm told. It would have cost them a large 6-figure sum!

 

JTA was ill-equipped to handle the sudden rush of interest in Skoda cars. One mistake they made early in the piece was to put off getting processes in place, probably because they underestimated the level of interest in the cars, or perhaps Donald's predecessor and the Lim brothers didn't appreciate the need to or maybe even how to get the various parts of the operation properly interlocked before the rush. Running a car rental business is defintely NOT the same as running a car agency! Anyway, that's all water under the bridge now. What's important from here on in is what they can and are doing to turn the situation around. They've got to stop running the business like a provision shop. (Say, how many of you are old enough to remember when provision shops used to keep their daily cash in a couple of containers suspended from the ceiling on pulleys!)

 

As for car preparation time, one probable explanation for why it takes JTA longer than we'd expect is because they are understaffed in the workshop. They also have to queue up for service at the various sub-cons handling things like leather upholstery, power windows, car audio, etc. And it takes their polisher one whole day to do a single car. Another factor could perhaps be time it takes to do the paperwork to get a car out of port. And of course, if the taxes etc must be paid before a car can be released from the port then if I were JTA and I was cash-strapped, I wouldn't take a car out of port until the sale is closed! I'm only guessing here though.

 

The SE serving you is the same one who handled my purchase. And yes, he's great. I've talked to almost all of the SEs, some of whom joined JTA only in the last couple of months. They believe in the product and aren't bailing out yet despite all the crap that they've had to shovel.

 

As for Donald Wee, his long experience in the car trade will be useful to JTA. I only hope that it isn't too late. Donald was previously with Audi, and before that spent many years with Performance Motors, and before that with Cycle & Carriage. He understands what needs to be done. One good thing that he started immediately is twice-weekly sales training sessions for the SEs.

 

I'm glad you still like the car. So perhaps not all is lost yet! I was back at the showroom at about 7:15pm and suggested that perhaps JTA should have provided you with a car out of their rental fleet, maybe even a showroom car, to tide you over for the CNY period. You might want to explore those possibilities if you are still keen on the car. I don't know if a Singapore rental car can be driven in Malaysia or not.

 

OK, OK. I can almost hear some forum members shouting at me: "YOU FOOL!" So, for the record, I don't have any affiliation with JTA in any shape or form other than as a customer. Heck, I haven't even met any of the Lim brothers personally, even though we walk past each other and give each other wierd looks. And even though I refer to Jimmy in the first person, all my interaction with him has been filtered through Walter, Edward, and Donald, and via written correspondence.

Edited January 26, 2002 by DoctorDrake

[DoctorDrake]

Oh yes! Then we can swap horror stories!

 

Hi Bobby,

 

Good luck in getting your Octavia, hope U can get it for CNY!

 

We should have Volvo/Skoda joint meetup too, will be fun to share.

 

Doc, Skoda Man, Fabiaman, Pointy, Sky and the Skoda gang, what say U guys?

[DoctorDrake]

Well put!

 

As for the workshop, don't worry too much about it. (I hope these aren't famous last words!) So far for me patient persistence has paid off.

 

The feeling is like this. I was halfway thru ordering a cup of delicious ice cream, then met a friend who happen to be passing by. Before we parted he relayed to me all the -ve aspect of eating ice cream - the sugar, cholesterol and so on. More over his uncle has just been hospitalised for heart problem due to eating too much ice cream. Just then the ice cream counter lady apologized that my preffered flavour was out of stock. Although inside I still wanted my cup of ice cream but I'm also quite happy parting instead for a cup of yogurt instead.

 

If I get the car I think I'll still enjoy driving it as that is the main reason I opted for it but I'll certainlly would not enjoy going back to JTA workshop unnecessary.