Chance of a dealer in the SE suburbs..

[woofy]

I know it's been mentioned a few times and there is a concentration in Melb of Skodas in the SE area. My wife always hears me complain that there should be a dealer more central and Richmond & Brighton aren't really good locations, and Doncaster doesn't seem to be that crash hot a dealer.

So I emailed Penfolds who were very interested in my Skoda years back and I thought for sure probably have thought about it. I got an email back very quickly from the Audi PD that basically said that Burwood and beyond is deemed to be covered by Richmond/Brighton and more recently Doncaster and Skoda won't open up a new franchise area in the middle of those with the current Skoda sales in Melb.....ie Richmond spreading its wings and the Doncaster one, probably locked them out of it.

Here's hoping that the new Octy and Rapid boosts sales and they get some decent stock in, I'm partly wondering if they have delayed launch of both here locally to build stock levels up, they did the same thing on launch in 2007. They did say they would love to be selling them, so maybe biding their time waiting for the Doncaster one to close (or take over it, they have a 2nd Audi site nearby).

[candy_wagon]

There is another Skoda dealer in Frankston as part of the Peninsula VW operation in Wells Road. Seems very small though - maybe 6 or so cars in stock at any one time.

Also, the Brighton dealer is no longer affiliated with the Richmond dealer or Zagame group as it has recently been sold to what appears to be the owners of Brighton Mitsubishi. Much like Frankston, it is now a small outpost attached to a much larger brands showroom. I found this surprising just months after I bought mine (July 2012) and the phone number did not work.

Occasionally you will see VW dealers take bulk loads of 'Skoda Aust' exec driven stock and re-sell them. This is evident at the Barloworld dealer in Mulgrave who currently have at least 6 Octavia wagons in stock (most are VRS) as well as a few Fabias and a Superb.

I agree, as brand awareness and hopefully sales increase, there will be not only more dealers, but more stock on hand to compare.

[woofy]

Yeah I see regularly Skodas in Camberwell VW, mostly I assume they are a legacy from their Preston Dealership, such as shame they shutdown as they kept Richmond honest and were far more effective at selling them than anyone else here. I wouldn't be surprised if Bayfords pop up another one someday with the amounts they have still coming through their yard.

I didn't want to copy the Penfolds email verbatim, but it was pretty obvious they had their finger on the Skoda pulse. With their Audi section they could quite easily copy what Richmond Skoda did and I think they are a good mix, Skoda doesn't step on any Audi sales really whereas VW you would always have issues. I know in Toowoomba the VW/Mazda Dealer now also sell Audi and Skoda...talk about confusing....the Mazda/VW was always a balancing act, but to throw Skoda in the mix will make it hard. At least they should be pretty well up on VAG tech.

[VRS_Sleeper]

Hi guys,

I have been using Volkspower in Burwood all my servicing on both my car and my wife's golf. The guys are very knowledgable and helpful.

I found these guys after not being able to find a dealership in the south east.

Cheers...

[woofy]

I used to live near them, still not that far away. I work not far from Richmond Skoda so in that respect it's not so bad, but would like a dealer for next time I buy etc to be closer and not a Zagame owned dealer. I haven't really found things improved since they took over, rather the arrogance got worse.

[pwcar]

Lance Dixon in Doncaster relinquished their dealership at the end of March.
Ages ago, Burwin VW in Ferntree Gully told me they were trying to get a Skoda dealership, as far as I know they still haven't.
Richmond have too long a lead time, whenever I call to try and book a service, its months of waiting time.

[K1W1]

I have been using Volkspower in Burwood all my servicing on both my car and my wife's golf. The guys are very knowledgable and helpful.

Richmond have too long a lead time, whenever I call to try and book a service, its months of waiting time.

I use Volkspower as well but their lead times if you want a loan car are as long as Richmonds.

[roshea]

I didn't realise Dixons had dropped off the radar (they're still linked on the Skoda AU site) - fewer of them all the time!

I will be using VolksTech for service from now on - good reputation and I can walk to work from there.

[spud75]

There are a half dozen or so skodas at barloworld moorabbin now. Not sure where they are going with that.

I have used auto union deutch at oakleigh for 6+ years for my A4 and now my A3. They may get the RS too.

[K1W1]

There are a half dozen or so skodas at barloworld moorabbin now.

Skodas regularly pop up at VW dealers. They are generally either ex Skoda HQ fleet cars or ex renters from Europcar that have come through trade auctions. I'm not sure whether VW dealers are encouraged to buy them or whether they just see them as good value stock fillers.

[K1W1]

I didn't realise Dixons had dropped off the radar (

There has to be some real concern about the churn rate for Skoda dealerships. Dixons only lasted about a year or so officially. I can now think of 4 failed Melbourne Skoda dealerships and there may even be others.
We were all saying that there would be an initial period of churn and then things would settle down but nearly 6 years on it seem that having a Skoda dealership for 12 months qualifies you as some sort of elder statesman in the Skoda dealer network.
Until they can find a way of having committed long term dealership this brand is going nowhere in Australia a and will continue the backward trend it has been experiencing in terms of public awareness and brand recognition.

[woofy]

Lance Dixon in Doncaster relinquished their dealership at the end of March.
Ages ago, Burwin VW in Ferntree Gully told me they were trying to get a Skoda dealership, as far as I know they still haven't.
Richmond have too long a lead time, whenever I call to try and book a service, its months of waiting time.

Well that would be because there has already been one there up the road at the Holden place. It was a pretty half assed attempt at a Skoda dealership though with the flagship RS always off site in the accountants daughters hands.....I could reliably find it outside JB Hifi at Knox most Thursday nights with P plates and bogans all around it.

The Doncaster guys didn't exactly float anyones boat. I think if Bayford hadn't had their disagreements things would be very different here, Richmond Skoda were good pricing for their services and went the extra mile. None of that applies now, they bumped up the pricing so fast after Bayford went it wasn't funny.

Geelong are quite a good mob, the servicing there is really competitive and they throw in extra stuff with it.

[BluChris]

Time they bit the bullet, aligned their product strategy with overseas markets and merged the dealer networks. Sell Skodas cheaper with lower spec than VW but inexpensive options, spec up the VWs and price at a premium to Skoda. Sell both through one network. They can afford to do it - despite the negative press about VW reliability sales are strong and the badge carries some cachet. They can afford to ramp it up and create room underneath for Skoda.

Bet they won't though...

[woofy]

That model above works better with a combined Audi/Skoda strategy here as they don't step on each others toes as much. Too much confusion with VW in the mix. I'm wondering how the combined Mazda/VW dealer are doing with Skoda and Audi also in the same yards now in Toowoomba, talk about confusing...

[pwcar]

I've raised my concerns about the dealership churn/loss with Skoda as well as some other issues directly with Skoda. I've had initial contact from them but no follow up since Easter. The instability of the dealer and service network can't be good for the brand image or resale value of the vehicles.