Potential Octavia owners beware !!

[Tuan]

The actual trade-in price is irrelevant. The change-over is what counts. If you want a big trade-in then pay full retail.

I think Australians have expected quite inflated trade-in prices in the past. I don't think they realised that Holden / Ford / Toyota have a huge margin between fleet prices & RRP (it's about 30%).


Tuan: Subaru have been on the NSW State fleet list for a fair while now. Even Renault & Fiat are on the fleet list now.

How about Honda ? The last time I looked into purchasing a Subaru vehicle was many moons ago and they sure kept their values and it's due to the fact - how are their resale values fairing now ? Surely their fleet sales do not match those of Holden/Ford/Toyota though ?

[bobski]

I've never been to a dealer where they didn't offer you a trade worth laughing at regardless of brand. As Brad says, most people over-pay on retail to get a good trade or out of finance. Either way, there's a margin at both ends there somewhere. By trading, you are paying for the convenience of not selling privately.

I just sold my nearly 5 year old vRS privately and was happy enough with the result. I live regionally, had I lived in a city, I'd have expected a few $k more - but it worked out at about 37% of what I paid originally (but it needed new front tyres ). At dealers, the first up trades all started at $10k. I was able to get one up to $13k, but of course the room to move on the Superb we were buying was heading in the other direction. Net result of going through the pain of the selling privately was a difference of about $6k. Worth the hassle I suppose.

If anything, the RS at least, is a brilliant and popular second hand buy and the small numbers in the country mean there are enough buyers around.

[woofy]

Once you hit the end of the std 3 yr warranty you are in trouble as well. The OP hasn't stated that, but looking at the age it could well be. $20k is actually not bad for what could be a 3 yr old car.

[Aztech]

Once you hit the end of the std 3 yr warranty you are in trouble as well. The OP hasn't stated that, but looking at the age it could well be. $20k is actually not bad for what could be a 3 yr old car.

That's right, you've really got to ask if a 3 year warranty is really worth $20K though when you look at depreciation. I'm happy with picking up a slightly used skoda for a bargain price and if something goes wrong with it I can just pay out of pocket.

[woofy]

I was meaning more that when the 3yrs is up cars drop a far bit more, as people like the little insurance. 4 yrs is a good amount as lots of cars turn over at the 3 yr mark and you can get one with some warranty left if you find any niggles. Watching the ads for Kias 7 yr warranty you really have to ask why at least Skoda being the bargain VAG brand isn't offering 5 standard. People are scared of Euro reliability so that would go a hell of a way to getting people into them. That and actually having stock.

[bobski]

I agree with you woofy. Perhaps the extended warranty is too attractive. Upfront cash versus possibly selling more cars. There's no doubt a balance sheet that says its more lucrative to stick with the extended warranty.

[Timbris93]

Cars are not an investment, you are certain to lose your money in the end.

[brad]

Cars are not an investment, you are certain to lose your money in the end.

Unless you can afford to keep them for 30+years

First car I owned was $800 (69 Torana 1200) . THey sell for $10k+ now.
2nd car was an $800 XT Falcon - now worth $15k+
72 Ford Capri 1600 ($2.5k) now $15k+
ZD Fairlane 302 ($400) now $10k+

I've owned so many cars that were cheap back then & now worth a fortune.

My BILs BIL has a Phase 2 GTHO that he's owned since new. AT one point he was offered $450k but the market has fallen -it's only worth $250k now

I have a mate that is looking at buying the last of the HSV Clubsports & storing it as his retirement fund.

Somehow I can't see that happening with a SKoda - maybe with a Golf GTI but not the Octy.

[aslsw]

When I bought my Skoda, I deliberately avoided the issue about resale value - people told me that Skoda was an unknown brand, people would steer clear because of DSG problems, the massive depreciation hit in the first few years, etc. I bought it because for me, the value of the car is not just in the price and ultimate resale value but also in use ie. I'm going to drive it everyday, go on long trips with it, I want it to be the car I want. So I went ahead and bought it, and loved driving it every time I got behind the wheel.

Now, I know that I have reached a point in life where I can be like this - certainly, when we were younger with less income and also with kids the decisions about cars were a lot harder. But if you can, I think you need to look beyond the raw numbers.

I had to sell my car before the end of the lease period (overseas job) and definitely took a hit - just under $3,000. The accountant in me was sad, but then I realised that this worked out to be less than 3c a km. I think even the memories of driving that great car were worth it!

[tigger73]

To be honest the lower resale did put me off purchasing a new Skoda. There are often some pretty keen deals getting done on old stock/models. This obviously doesn't help the resale price when cars are getting discount $10-15k off the sticker price to shift them when the new model comes through. This is the same thing Hyundai used to do (massive discounts on old models) and it killed resale.

Having said that when I was looking around for a new work car a couple of months back it seemed the diesel RS's didn't seem to have nearly as good a resale as the petrol variants. It must be some sort of Skoda RS anomaly that the diesels depreciate quicker. Usually it's the other way around.