No more Skoda dealers in WA

[indulis]

I think selling the Skoda's alongside the VW's is actually better, provided the salespeople aren't "anti-Skoda". Most people I speak to have no idea what a Skoda is, and wouldn't bother looking if they haven't already heard about it. If it's right there, then it's easy - but yeah, they didn't really give it much of a go.

They (AHG I am guessing) have let the Skoda dealership go- when the cars in stock are gone they wont be selling any more. The in stock cars are getting a bit long in the tooth with new model Octavias available over east, and new VRS manufacturing due to start in June.

I put in an offer on the blue VRS slightly below their "sale price" in the AHG 3 day sale 3 weeks ago, but they weren't willing to take it. They were stuck on "what the car owed them". I showed them low km demos (some really optioned up) on carsales for around $30k, and said it is about the value to me not the cost to them. Old model, been in stock for 6 months, no more dealership.

Oh well, I will patiently wait for the new VRS to be released on Oz and buy it from over east, or may take a 1.8 petrol DSG Octavia earlier, as from all accounts the new 1.8 L 118 KW engine with the new dry 7 speed DSG is pretty nice and gives the 125 KW diesel a run for its money for torque, with similar fuel economy and performance.

[mrx]

The Red Skoda RS wagon they used to have as a demo when we bought ours was passed in at auction for $30k, and then sold the week later privately. Sounds to me like someone picked up the bargain of the century. The trim was a little scuffed inside, but I'm sure it could have been fixed with the $15k saved on the regular drive away price!

[gregozedobe]

..... from all accounts the new 1.8 L 118 KW engine with the new dry 7 speed DSG is pretty nice and gives the 125 KW diesel a run for its money for torque, with similar fuel economy and performance.

IIRC the 1.8 TSI engine has its maximum torque at only 1,500rpm, which is significantly earlier than the TDI engines. Mind you, the CR version has less turbo lag than the previous PD 125Kw TDI (they were a bit "nothing, nothing, something, whack ! "

[davidh]

Now the Skoda website has dropped the Osborne Park dealership and the closest dealer by post code is South Australia - 2/3 the way across the country- 2700km away.

It would be nice to get someone who knows what is going on. I phoned Skoda, speaking to someone at the information centre, and they said "they would like to have a new dealer, but times are tough and not many want to invest right now."

That doesn't bode well for a car manufacturer that has pulled the pin on Australia before, and only returned at the height of the economic boom.

I have been waiting for the Superb. So now, to spend $50k on a car, I have to additionally travel interstate to test drive the car, then again to pick it up, pay freight, and have a very complicated warranty repair process.

[MJKooLio]

Spoke to Osbourne Prk VW earlier today this is what he wrote:

* Golf GTi should be here at the end of the year (we are hoping for November)

* The new Polo is expected to reach Australia’s shores around the same time – there was a big write up in Saturdays & Sundays newspapers – that’s where we get our info from; no details have been released as of yet.

* SKODA is going to be handled by the DVG Group.

[indulis]

Servicing in WA is still OK

I have been waiting for the Superb. So now, to spend $50k on a car, I have to additionally travel interstate to test drive the car, then again to pick it up, pay freight, and have a very complicated warranty repair process.

The warranty process should be straight forward- I asked VW Osborne Park when I was test driving one of their last Skodas and they confirmed what it says on the Oz Skoda web site FAQ page
http://www.skoda.com.au/faq.aspx

Can any Volkswagen dealer carry out servicing of Škoda vehicle?

As Volkswagen and Škoda are part of the same family – Volkswagen Group – and are sharing many technologies, any Volkswagen franchised dealer is qualified to service Škoda vehicles. Should you be unable to visit an official Škoda service centre, we do recommend a Volkswagen service centre as your next choice before taking your Škoda to any other service provider.

Just rang Skoda and any warranty repairs for Skoda are done by a VW dealer exactly as if the car was a VW, no additional processes required.

Skoda confirmed that there is a dealership prob opening in Perth late June or early July.

[davidh]

I contacted DVG Online, and their Online Coordinator gave me the most honest answer yet, compared with AHG and Skoda. He said there is basic approval for DVG to pick up the Skoda dealership, but they are yet to make a final decision. And he said if it does go through, it would be 2-3 months before they could supply a vehicle.
I will be keeping my eye on the DVG and Skoda websites for an announcement.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a clearer plan, made public, rather than clandestine, effort-driven research by potential buyers?

[mrx]

Since DVG don't have any VW group dealerships hopefully they will be making a decent effort to sell some Skoda's & look after them properly?!

[gh172]

Update, new Skoda dealer in Melville opens next month!

[Jake02]

Yep, it opens on July 1st. Great news for the Skoda owners in WA, as well as Skoda Aus - means that they are possibly making money!

I was discussing sales a few months back with my dealer; apparently WA is number one in terms of sales! Despite Sydney having the most dealers...

[woofy]

Hmm I had a feeling the Bayford guys in Preston in Melb were, they were one of the first, and when I rang Skoda/VW HQ, he said they were the number one dealer still in Feb. I didn't get mine from there as a new one opened right near my work.

[gh172]

Yep, it opens on July 1st. Great news for the Skoda owners in WA, as well as Skoda Aus - means that they are possibly making money!

I was discussing sales a few months back with my dealer; apparently WA is number one in terms of sales! Despite Sydney having the most dealers...

Salesman at Volkswagen in Osborne Park told me they were struggling to move their stock. Probably might have something to do with the fact that they have not been advertising their cars here. Ironically I've seen more skoda press since Volkswagen closed Skoda than in the whole time they owned the dealership.

[indulis]

Salesman at Volkswagen in Osborne Park told me they were struggling to move their stock. Probably might have something to do with the fact that they have not been advertising their cars here.

Yeah, that or the fact that they tried to sell me the vRS on what "it owed them" rather than the reality of selling 6 month old stock, last year's model. They wanted to stick to $40K for the vRS wagon (diesel) that they had in stock ($27K changeover cost).

I've ended up with a demo 2008 2.0L diesel turbo (103 kw) sedan with DSG, xenons and sunroof, 5000 Km Sydney dealer demo for $27K delivered to WA ($14K-$15K changeover cost, half that of the local vRS changeover cost). It'll keep me going for a year or two and then I'll order my "ideal car" which is probably not a vRS, but a 1.8L turbo petrol DSG wagon with xenons and sunroof. The extra $ for diesel is marginal with the 1.8 being such a good engine when coupled with the new DSG, and as for the extra $ for the vRS 2009... well we'll just have to wait and see the price to see if it is worth it. With a local WA dealer at least there will be somewhere to trade in Skodas

I'll probably do a "cheap chip" for my new car to boost it up a bit in power and economy as discussed on the TDI forums

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=12165&page=23

[indulis]

New WA dealer about to open up

It looks likely that DVG in Melville is about to open their Skoda franchise (between Ford and Toyota?).

Had to drop my father off to repair his car, and spotted some Skodas in "lockup" on an empty lot in the backstreets.

Some Octavias, and also some very nice Superbs. The Superbs really look impressive, apart from the back, with the letters S...U...P...E...R...B spread out over the boot. Really tacky, looks more like a Hyundai back end with that cheap lettering.

My car is about 1 week away, on a train now. Can't wait! Well, I expect I'll have to!!!

[davidh]

It looks likely that DVG in Melville is about to open their Skoda franchise (between Ford and Toyota?).

Had to drop my father off to repair his car, and spotted some Skodas in "lockup" on an empty lot in the backstreets.

I had a test drive of a Superb today, and was very happy. I placed an order. Apparently it was the first Superb that DVG have sold, but they have only had them for a couple of days.

For those who tried to deal with the old AHG dealership, the DVG guys are more pleasant and have a vision of where Skoda is heading.

The DVG dealership is operating out of the Peugot show room for a few weeks, while they prepare to move the neighbouring Hyundai dealership. Then Skoda will be located next door to Peugot.