Skoda - how risky?

[Jayse]

Hi all,

I am looking at leasing a new vehicle and have had a Golf V and really like it very much however I need a wagon and was keen on a Skoda Octavia RS wagon however when I discussed this with a car consultant he was very negative about it.

Canyonman brings up a good point though.
When my brother was looking at cars 2 months ago, he asked his association what Corp discount they can do on the vRS and the guy he spoke to automatically talked down the Skoda and everything Skoda. He came back to me totally off the idea, which i put him on (he was also looking at new Liberty 2.5i sports & Honda Accord Euro Luxury) but i showed him some reviews of the car and the bang for your buck specs of the car and he was back on. Unfortunately the dealer we went to lived up to some of the criticisms of the car broker he spoke to and it totally turned him off on it. Well actually i think the 4 month wait was the real killer, but the service he got didn't help. I should've sent him to you Chris.

My long winded point is that i think quite a few uninformed buyers will be turned off the Skoda brand by the ill informed "opinions" and, thats all they are, opinions, of the car brokers out there. Maybe Skoda needs to address that, plus getting the positive vibe of Skoda out there!

Cheers,

Jayse.

p.s. Canyonman, go the vRS..as a wagon you can't do much better for the $$$!!!

[onyertod]

I can understand people who don’t care about cars giving Skoda a miss.
The “Whitegoods on Wheels crowd” will stick with Toyota Corollas, Camry's etc.
Given the ease of access to information which the internet provides, its sad that more people don’t do a wee bit of research on the Skoda brand.
Some of the facts are astounding., e.g. Skoda have sold 2 million Octavias.
The Superb and Yeti are winning awards all over the place.
If you go to Europe and get run over by a Taxi, chances are it will be a diesel Octavia.
In the Times newspaper Jeremy Clarkson recently reviewed the Audi Allroad 3.0 TDI Quattro and concluded “Not as good as a Skoda (Octavia Scout)”.
I have every confidence in the future of Skoda in Australia because the product really is good. If the likes of Renault, Citroen, Peugeot, Ssangyong, and even Great Wall FFS, can sell cars here then Skoda has a bright future.

[Antiplastix]

Isn t it woeful that the members on here can do a better job of dragging up facts and figures and selling a good product than VW Aust. can! The only thing I can think of is that they are meeting their expected "sales targets" so couldn t be bother advertising and getting the brand out there and accepted. Most people dont even know what a Skoda is when I tell them I bought one.

[Manaz]

To buy the equivilent specd. Passat wagon is going to cost you $7k more ($10-11 if your good at negotiating on the Octavia) and even more on a Audi A4 wagon, so you are in front all ready.

Octavia to Passat isn't a fair comparison.

[woofy]

I sometimes park near the GC Skoda when I go there for work. It seems fairly well setup. The only dealership here that gave up on it was the FT Gully guys, and well, the average person off the street could have sold one better. If they were going to not even try and sell them, then they met their own expectations.

I have had a few people buy them based off my experience, and that happened when I bought my Mazda 6 as well. I really think it is crucial to keep the existing owners very happy at this stage, as they are the best advertisements.

[Golf Loon]

Octavia to Passat isn't a fair comparison.

It pretty much is. Lots of the same parts.

[gregozedobe]

Octavia to Passat isn't a fair comparison.

I wouldn't say that, it depends on what criteria you want to compare - try comparing luggage space volume and usability for example

I certainly looked at a Passat wagon before I purchased my Octy RS wagon

[spellbound]

Interseting the comments about dealers in the eastern states , there is only one dealer in adelaide , large organisation , running vw , audi , skoda, jaguar , land rover ,volvo, aston martin all exclusive except vw .

Their mass gave them a very professional look which was very important when purchasing my skoda .

They were right on the ball , top showroom , one central service centre for all brands , knowledge in their product .

The weakness for skoda could be the dealer network which may need to be rehashed in the east .

I feel quite confident in the brand continuing into the future , iam most satisfied with the product , well built, performs well , reliable , which is what we all want , they just need to build on these points , it is a long term exercise , just as it was with audi in the early 90's .

[Plicata]

I think the broker referred to by the OP was just being sensibly cautious. He’s not interested in driving qualities or whether you love the car, he is just looking at the numbers. Recommending a Mazda or Honda is a safe bet in this market (if he was in the UK, he would be recommending Skoda and being cautious about Mazda or Subaru). We all hope that Skoda stays in Aus but there are no guarantees. My uncle and aunt just bought a 2 year old Octavia for $21,000 which cost $42,000 on the road when new. The broker is right to be cautious about resale values when advising a client. There are no issues with the quality or reliability of the car so it’s just a question of whether you can afford the potential depreciation.

[canyonman]

Thanks Plicata for your response and yes the consultant was concerned about depreciation however that did not really concern me too much as I had planned to buy the RS out at the end of the lease and turn it into the family run around.

What did concern me was his assertion that "Skoda won't be around in Australia too much longer" - his seemingly confident claim was that dealers were taking a bath and would cut and run very soon.

Hence my concerns - I like the car but don't like the idea of being "dealer-less"??