Yeti - Are Skoda Australia nuts?

[PassatB6]

I'll give Skoda Australia a free tip.
People who go shopping for a Nissan Dualis or Toyota 2WD RAV4 would not in one hundred years contemplate buying a Skoda.
Why?
They want to buy now not in three or four months.
A Skoda is a European car therefore it will be expensive to maintain, spare parts will not be available, the resale value will be zero and without even checking they will know that the insurance costs will be astromical.
They will have to drive past 6 Nissan and 12 Toyota dealers to find one Skoda dealer.
There is no local Skoda dealer.
They are not going to buy a car that doesn't sponsor ACA or World of Sports or Masterchef and saturate their TV with ads.
Their friends at the Kinder, mothers goup, football club or school have never heard of Skoda (how do you pronounce that anyway?) and will advise them against it.
Wheels magazine will say that Yeti's are underpowered.
The SMH and Age will say that Yeti's are underpowered.

In 12 months time the 77kW Yeti will be having a run out just like the Roomster did. I hope I'm not correct but I fear I will be.

That was VW's story 10 years ago, now friends (long term Japanese car buyers) are talking about buying a Golf. It will happen for Skoda too maybe not straight away. People are taken by the 'cuteness' of the Yeti.

[RSwag]

Kiwi, I think you hit on the single most important focal area for Skoda and that is the cost if their servicing. To be among the Jap stuff they need to forget about allowing dealers to screw customers with massive servicing costs as VW do. My Golf Wagon is covered by work but my wifes Golf hatch isn't. 30k service is a tiny $530 which in my mind is enough incentive to move it on which we will do before the next to more major serviced are due.

I've been told the 60k service is a pathetic $1400 before tyres brakes or discs are thrown into the equation, for god sales it's a 1.6 naturally aspirated petrol it's not anything special.

Skoda need to realize that your point is valid and the overall ownership costs need to be in context to the market they are competing in which will be Jap territory.

[Transporter]

Some Japanese cars are as (or more) expensive to service than Skoda or VW.

[Jake02]

Some Japanese cars are as (or more) expensive to service than Skoda or VW.

That's too true, mainly because a lot of Jap cars have 6-month (as opposed to 12-month for most Euro cars) service intervals. That's one of the most enjoyable things about my RS coming from my Subaru, we're not at the dealer every five minutes (touch wood)!

[hooba]

That's too true, mainly because a lot of Jap cars have 6-month (as opposed to 12-month for most Euro cars) service intervals. That's one of the most enjoyable things about my RS coming from my Subaru, we're not at the dealer every five minutes (touch wood)!

Yup. My mazda, $220 every 6months or 10,000kms (I'd be lucky to do 5,000), not to mention the hassle of having to go in every 6 months.

[brad]

i've convinced a few mates to look at Skoda & 2 have bought after test driving. They are "car people" though. None of the "normal" punters will even seek out a dealership.

My Sister just bought an EOS after having 2x Accords, a tarago, a commodore & 2x Mazdas. She wouldn't even look inside my Skoda when it was parked in the driveway & has been shocked that the interiors are very similar....... (She also didn't know the EOS was a cabrio until the salesman showed her).

Acceptance of the FWD Yeti will be interesting. Might do OK if it's reasonably grunty off the lights & fuel efficient in stop/start traffic. Insurance will be an issue because it's turbo. Also, people will think a 1.2 can't cut it simply because it's a 1.2 - neither my Dad or my FIL will buy anything less than a 2.5L because "they carry passengers" - never mind that the throttle never gets beyond 30% and the old duffers only drive 8,000km a year. People constantly comment to me "Gee your Skoda goes well for a 2 litre." Which is when I remind them it's a 1.8 - people are too set in their ways & expectations.

I hope the Yeti does well but so far, the buying public keep dissapointing me.

[K1W1]

(She also didn't know the EOS was a cabrio until the salesman showed her).

Does she know that they are made in Portugal?
That's not a reflection on the quality at all just that I bet she thinks it's made in Germany.

[brad]

Does she know that they are made in Portugal?
That's not a reflection on the quality at all just that I bet she thinks it's made in Germany.

Pearls before swine. As long as the black paint highlights whatever she has chosen to wear that day, she's happy. It will be one of those chronic oil burners because she never exceeds half throttle & didn't believe me when I told her to "drive with a bit of vigor" for the first 1000km.

We had a wedding last month. Was a cheapo job so we used the family cars. Father & Bride had the EOS. They had the top down to drive out of the street while the neighbours watched; drove out of sight and put it back up for the 5km drive to the ceremony; then stopped 500m from the ceremony and dropped the roof again so everyone could see them arrive in a Cabrio.

I really miss my old Mk3.5 cabrio but it wasn't about the pose, more the wind in the hair & the noise of the engine.

[onyertod]

RE Servicing Costs. Why do we in Australia put up with this rip off?

Look at the VW UK deal:
From:Volkswagen offers fixed-price servicing package - Motoring News, Motoring - The Independent

Volkswagen is offering all buyers of its new cars a fixed-price deal that provides three years of routine servicing for a fee of £250. The price is the same for all models, so represents a particularly attractive offer for buyers of the company's more expensive and sophisticated models such as the Touareg 4x4 and the Phaeton luxury saloon. Coverage is restricted to the first 30,000 miles of the car's life.
The new plan builds on those which Volkswagen Finance has been offering on selected models since 2007, and is transferable to subsequent owners if a car is sold on during the coverage period. Existing Volkswagen owners and buyers of used Volkswagens won't miss out; they are being offered a separate fixed-price servicing plan priced at £299.

[K1W1]

Skoda also offer fixed price servicing in New Zealand.

For example:

Octavia vRS or Yeti 4 years / 60,000km - NZ$1950 or 6 years / 100,000km - NZ$4500.00

That's Aus$1500 and Aus$3500 at current exchange rates.

A Škoda Service Select package includes:
All scheduled maintenance up to the terms indicated
A set of brake pads is included in the 60,000 kilometre packages
A set of brake pads and discs is included in the 100,000 kilometre packages
A new set of front wiper blades at each service
Piece of mind in knowing that your vehicle is being serviced by trained technicians using genuine Škoda parts
Piece of mind in knowing how much your vehicle will cost to service
Protection from oil, parts and labour price increases

It's a very clever strategy because it totally locks owners into the Skoda network ensuring guaranteed business for the service departments and a chance to directly contact owners at the critical 60k and 100k times when many new car buyers trade their vehicles. If the policy is transferable (and there is no reason why it should not be) then it also adds to the resale value when you can sell a 50k or 60k car with a couple of years free servicing attached. Owner information will also always be up to date unlike many brands who know where the owner lived when they purchased the vehicle but who loose track of them fairly quickly after then.