Should i be worried?

[woofy]

Dob them in to Skoda, I did with FT gully. What's the point of trying to establish a new brand when they are half assed. Skoda Richmond always line up a car for me, and its been good, I've had an new Scout, and old Scout, a 2l TDi leather Octavia with DSG, a DSG RS TDi FL and pre FL. They charge the Audi guys a fee though for the same cars which is funny.

[Frufru]

More dealers

I checked out Skoda Australia website and there seems to be more dealers listed than before. I do not know whether they are current but the list appears to be longer. I think, here in Perth, the Skoda previous dealership must have handed over their franchise as it had moved south of the river. But this happened about a year ago.

There is still only one dealership in Perth but I do see a lot of Skodas now, especially in western suburbs. Otherwise I would love to be worried about the resale value - I cant afford a trade up regardless!! I wish I had money to go and buy new Octavia vRS

[Spook]

Has VWA just put a knife in the back of Skoda?

VW today announced the release of the Golf wagon and the new re-alignment of the Passat range. I have not gone through the specs comparing Skoda to VW spec for spec so these are looking at the basic price for each model range only.

Passat

The numbers speak for themselves. Comparing like models, the Passat is now cheaper than the Skoda equivalent. Looking at the sedans (since the Superb wagon is not out yet):

Passat 118TSI $38,990
Superb 1.8TSI Ambition $39,990

Passat 125TDI Highline $43,990 (now standard with Napa leather)
Superb 2.0TDI Elegance $47,990

Passat V6 FSI 4Motion $55,990
Superb V6 4x4 $55,990

There is no way a Skoda can compete with VW with that kind of pricing. Unless someone really wants the Twindoor, that means Skoda will have to adjust their pricing, or I can't see how they can make it work. I think the general feel on this forum is that VWA did not make Skoda competitive relative to VW products, and now this absurd situation has developed where the Superb costs more than the equivalent Passat.


Golf Wagon

Again, the numbers speak for themselves.

Golf Wagon 90TSI Trendline (m) $26,990
Octavia Wagon 1.6 (m) $26,990

Golf Wagon 90TSI Trendline DSG $29,490
Octavia Wagon 1.6 (a) $29,290

Golf Wagon 118TSI comfortline $33,990
Octavia Wagon 1.8 TSI DSG $35,290

Golf Wagon 103TDI comfortline $36,490
Octavia Wagon 2.0 TDI DSG $37,790

The Skoda prices were just dropped in mid-Jan too, so unless a further drop is going to come, I really do not see how Skoda can hope to compete in the Australian market. Someone need to have a real hard look at Skoda's business plan and its ability to stay in the long term.

[K1W1]

The Skoda prices were just dropped in mid-Jan too, so unless a further drop is going to come, I really do not see how Skoda can hope to compete in the Australian market. Someone need to have a real hard look at Skoda's business plan and its ability to stay in the long term.

That's your opinion. My reality is that I would not have purchased a Golf regardless of price, in fact I haven't even been into a VW dealer for several years.
They are different brands with different features and benefits and a different target market. Sure Skoda may not sell in the same numbers as VW but they are having difficulty supporting the sales they are making now so I doubt that they would want to sell VW numbers in the near future at least.
To give you some historical perspective look at the numbers of Mazda 626 vehicles that were sold in the 1980's when the way cheaper and virtually identical Ford Telstar / TX5 was on the market, same applies for the Mazda 323 / Ford Laser or the Holden Astra / Toyota Corolla or Nissan Pulsar.

[Jake02]

I have to say that this worried me too, but then I looked at it from an outsiders perspective. The Passat is considered a Premium Medium-sized car (comparing to Laguna, 159, 407 etc) whereas the Superb is considered a Premium Large-sized car (like upmarket versions of the Commodore, Falcon, Aurion etc) and is priced appropriately more than the Passat because of the extra space and equipment as standard. The notion that the Superb should be cheaper than the Passat 'because it's a Skoda' is crap, because you get a bigger car!

The Octavia wagon is a little harder. The base model has less engine than the Golf, but has more equipment and space. The manual transmission is available on the 118TSI/103TDI versions of the Octavia but not the Golf, offering an advantage for those who like to shift by themselves. I might add that you have to spend an extra $2000 on the Comfort Package (fogs, rain/light sensor, dual-zone climate-control etc) to get to Octavia spec and then there are things that the Octavia has which you can't get on the Golf (electric folding mirrors, the massive boot etc)!

The final advantage is the Octavia RS. There isn't a Golf GTI wagon or anything near as sporty as the RS in the Golf Wagon lineup, and that makes the RS a truly unique product, hence being Skoda's best-selling car! So, I'm not worried, I know that Skoda are going for a non-Volkswagen unique Market (which is what they said at my house filming the Convince Your Better Half advertisements) so why would they worry about them? Thanks

[Frufru]

Pricing

...So, I'm not worried, I know that Skoda are going for a non-Volkswagen unique Market (which is what they said at my house filming the Convince Your Better Half advertisements) so why would they worry about them? Thanks

Are you gonna be in a TV ad? That sounds good. I havent seen many Skoda ads lately.

Nevertheless, VW pricing may be somewhat deceiving. Take Tiguan price of $33,900 for example. When you have it with what you want, it is at 50 grands range as my friends found out. Also, you can get a good discount at Skoda dealer while VW does not want to bargain and hits you with higher dealer delivery charges and so on.

[Spook]

Are you gonna be in a TV ad? That sounds good. I havent seen many Skoda ads lately.

It's an online campaign. I can't see the link from the Skoda website, but here it is: http://www.convinceyourbetterhalf.com.au/betterhalf/

The final advantage is the Octavia RS. There isn't a Golf GTI wagon or anything near as sporty as the RS in the Golf Wagon lineup, and that makes the RS a truly unique product

Agreed. I do like the RS. Some people say the styling is bland, but I don't mind it. It truely is the "GTI wagon".

[woofy]

I think Skoda must be gearing up for a price cut, yes they are different but they aren't that close any other country, time to drop the pretence and sell them.....We'll all take a hit with resales, but next time around they will be cheaper as well.

Unless as someone said the accessories make the VW a lot more $$$ certainly the Tiguan was very deceptive, if not verging on dishonest when it was advertised around the 32k mark...just getting it on the road added thousands and when I looked at them VW were not budging on the price.

[onyertod]

The reputation of Skoda has been on the up and up since they became part of VAG.

We have now reached a point, in Europe at least, where many people in the industry, (including many in the motoring press) would choose a Skoda over a similar VW product.

You could say that having come from a position of being the poor mans VW, Skoda is now the thinking mans VW.


So from the point of view of Skoda Australia why should their cars be any cheaper than those of VW?

[K1W1]

I think Skoda must be gearing up for a price cut, yes they are different but they aren't that close any other country,

But you have to remember that in other countries like the UK for example EVERYTHING is an extra. The features that we get standard here on the vRS for example that are optional extra cost items in the UK include, Maxidot display, auto wipers and dimming mirror, heated seats, dual zone AC, rear parking sensors, spare wheel and jack. Just looking at base prices is not the whole picture.

[selurs]

As I've mentioned elsewhere on this board, VWA stated when they first brought Škoda back that they are positioning this brand against non-European competition, however even against the other VAG cars, as others have pointed out, the raw numbers do not tell the whole story.

From personal experience, before deciding on the RS, one of the options I looked at was the (on paper, similarly priced) Jetta 147. Along with a couple of other features, the heated seats stood out for me on the RS, as my other half is perpetually cold, and the thought of not having to resort to shorts and T-shirts in the car in winter time just so I'm not baking to death was sufficient to convince me of their usefulness. To get heated seats on the Jetta, however, required optioning the full leather pack - at $3000! Plus you only get 17" alloys, and no DRLs (not even an option). It was easy to rule the Jetta out at that point. So the "VW is cheaper AND better" line of thought doesn't hold out when you look a little closer.

[woofy]

I was looking at the 147 Jetta as well, but it came only in DSG and the tiny boot opening wrote it off straight away. Also a few people I knew with them complained about the crappy suspension setup and how rough it was.

[RSwag]

Seriously doubt I will proceed with my order on the RS wagon. For VW to price there vehicles the same as Skoda or cheaper, the only country literally in the world to have this scenario I have serious doubts the brand is on any long term agenda for VGA. My dealer also hinted that the release date for the Yeti has not been confirmed as they are unsure whether it will even make it here............said in general conversation but really put me off.

I hate to say it in this forum but I will be going for the 118tsi with sport pack in the golf wagon, not the same but it doesn't come with stress and doubt the RS will

[dodgey]

Best of luck with the golf wagon. I am sure it will be a fine car.

On the whole, Skoda has the same process as VW. If you ask VW about the release date of the Golf R, you will find a similar answer as the release date of the Yeti.

My previous car was a VW Golf GTI, and I'm not too sure what my next car will be as yet, but I am sure I wont be getting another VW, but whether it is still a VAG car remains to be seen. The supposedly diminished amount of stress and doubt buying a VW never appeared and in the long run increased for me. (For me, it was 2 recalls, 1 A/C compressor and various other issues) That said, maybe you might get lucky. I had a whole heap less issues from my old 8yr old Rav4. My friend just bought a Passat CC late last year, and I'm afraid to say that VW has had the car for longer than he has... Unfortunate, as it is a nice car... But for every one of these stories you hear, I'm sure there are 10s of feel good stories.

The Skoda looks like a good deal in that it is cheaper than a VW (RS vs GTI) and yet has enough of the shared engineering from within the VAG group. I don't know about the short term resale, or if the bugs from being a VAG car are still there, or even the quality of servicing of the car, but it is looking like a good compromise. (To put things in perspective, the only Skoda dealers I have spoken to are the NorthShore group. They did mention that they have already taken a deposit on a Yeti and are expecting delivery earliest mid this year)

If you really want less stress and doubt, I don't know if Euro cars are the way to go... They definitely do provide a greater sense of safety, and development...

my 2c

[Spook]

Seriously doubt I will proceed with my order on the RS wagon. For VW to price there vehicles the same as Skoda or cheaper, the only country literally in the world to have this scenario I have serious doubts the brand is on any long term agenda for VGA. My dealer also hinted that the release date for the Yeti has not been confirmed as they are unsure whether it will even make it here............said in general conversation but really put me off.

I hate to say it in this forum but I will be going for the 118tsi with sport pack in the golf wagon, not the same but it doesn't come with stress and doubt the RS will

I think the Octavia RS is the best of the bunch - there is no VW equivalent so I wouldn't discount it just yet.

To gauge the level of features between Octavia and Golf Wagon, I had a look the Octavia 1.8TSI ($35,290 DSG) vs the 118TSI Comfortline ($33,990 DSG). The main features are pretty much the same - similar engine output (Golf down 10 Nm in torque, but uses the 1.4L twincharged engine vs the 1.8L in the Octavia), 6 airbags, 16" alloys, dual zone climate control etc. The main difference I can see is that the Octavia comes with the RCD510 standard. Its advantage will be in the option prices - eg $2,830 vs $3,300 for leather seats; plus it has options simply not available on the Golf, like Xenon headlights and driver electric seat with memory (the latter not available on the RS also, sadly ).

So I suppose to be fair, anyone researching their next car should take all their desired options and costs into account. But as the base spec level of the above 2 models I looked at (which is not poverty packed by any means), the Golf Wagon certainly has the advantage both in dollar terms and brand cachet.

Also need to add that I would not have any qualms buying a Skoda. It has so much VAG components that spare parts, servicing etc will not be an issue even in the event that Skoda Aust no longer exists. And I think the RS will have such a niche market that its value will hold up well.