New Octavia ....when? How Much?

[Stiv]

Just catching up after a weekend away and Stiv's comments about comparing with a BMW reminded me of something...

One of the BMW dealers here in Geneva do special, tax-free rates for UN officials (like me). A friend of mine has just got a new 4-series at a great rate. But here's the extra sweetener... this friend tells me that you can get the special rate even if you're at the end of your term (I finish in May next year), and the dealer will arrange for the car to be built to Australian specifications and delivered to Australia.

So now I'm wondering how close the price of a BMW bought in Geneva will be to my ultimate Skoda? If the BMW comes with seat-warmers, it might seal the deal (at least for my wife - she can't stand the thought of a new Skoda without them).

Damn! I thought my life was easy - order a new Skoda in the new year, have it waiting for me when I return to Australia.

The bmw does come with heated seats. Good luck, I always love getting special deals.

[readerr0r]

Just catching up after a weekend away and Stiv's comments about comparing with a BMW reminded me of something...

One of the BMW dealers here in Geneva do special, tax-free rates for UN officials (like me). A friend of mine has just got a new 4-series at a great rate. But here's the extra sweetener... this friend tells me that you can get the special rate even if you're at the end of your term (I finish in May next year), and the dealer will arrange for the car to be built to Australian specifications and delivered to Australia.

So now I'm wondering how close the price of a BMW bought in Geneva will be to my ultimate Skoda? If the BMW comes with seat-warmers, it might seal the deal (at least for my wife - she can't stand the thought of a new Skoda without them).

Damn! I thought my life was easy - order a new Skoda in the new year, have it waiting for me when I return to Australia.

If I could do that with VAG, I'd have a 3-door GTI with Discover Pro here so fast

[GeeMatt]

I thought you were going to ask how long he was planning on keeping the kids!

Agree a wagon is infinitely more practical and marginally poorer handling.

My kids are supposed to be keeping me ! All that happens is they get my cars and seem to drink my beer !

[Stiv]

Went to the dealers to try another sedan rs today, unfortunately there was only a wagon there. Tried it anyhow. Loved it, no such feeling of nausea this time and ears didn't suffer from equalisation issues. My decision is final, the octavia rs is the car for us, it's just so good at so many things. Now as I still want the sedan, not the hatch. Do I place an order and hope it doesn't make me feel like the other sedan did, or just place the order? Or maybe try one more sedan somewhere to help make a decision. The dealer today did say that he had the issue with 2 other sedans and had the shocks replaced and issue was solved.

[Benmac]

Shock replaced at the dealer or he is saying the factory has revised the shock part number on all production? We will have a sedan/hatch in 3 weeks. So I am hoping it has all been resolved in production for MY15.

[barfarina]

everything but leather and sunroof which I didn't want. Vs the skoda rs 42400, pretty close.

Your pricing there is making me feel a bit ripped off with our order. Paid about $2k more if you add costs of our extras without option of the free extended warranty you mentioned earlier - they wouldn't even entertain the cheaper price at $1200 or so someone else got it for. Needless to say we've gone without for the time being.


While i'm thinking about our order i'm going crazy (not really) trying to make the decision to stick with the DSG RS or get it changed to manual before we get given an build date.

Will the DSG costs recoup themselves or will most second-hand RS buyers in the future prefer the manual option?
Will having my hands on the wheel taking corners be more beneficial than driving our preferred transmission type and feeling more in control at other times?
Will i learn to love the DSG only to pay more in maintenance costs?

Normally we would only ever consider a manual, but the DSG was quite good really. Though, i'm not sure we'll have many other chances to get a manual car in the future if things keep going towards auto-only models...

Any advice?

[brad]

Now as I still want the sedan, not the hatch. .

Good luck finding a sedan without a hatch. Maybe never open the back & you won't be disappointed?

[aslsw]

Will the DSG costs recoup themselves or will most second-hand RS buyers in the future prefer the manual option?
Will having my hands on the wheel taking corners be more beneficial than driving our preferred transmission type and feeling more in control at other times?
Will i learn to love the DSG only to pay more in maintenance costs?


Any advice?

Many years ago, I fell in love with the DSG gearbox in my brother-in-law's R32 here in Switzerland. When I was shopping for a new car, I looked at VW but when the service was crap I suddenly remembered that SKoda also used the DSG - the Skoda dealer was a few hundred metres away, and the rest is history. In other words, it was the DSG gearbox alone that attracted me to Skoda in the first place.

I found no problem with selling my car when the time came - I got a little bit less than my lease residual but that was mainly because I had to sell earlier than planned due to the overseas opportunity. I certainly don't think it was anything to do with DSG - yes, there are well publicised issues but I think most people who set out to by the Skoda know the difference between the 6sp and 7sp DSG boxes.

In terms of driving, remember that this is a real gearbox. The feel and control is identical to a manual (in my opinion) once you put the gearbox into manual mode. Paddle shifts are awesome and I really miss them - the ability to instantly change gears through twisting roads, or even under heavy braking.

All just my opinion...

[brad]

Get the gearbox you want. Don't try & second guess the market going forward.

There will always be demand for a manual in a vehicle with sporty pretensions.

[Stiv]

Shock replaced at the dealer or he is saying the factory has revised the shock part number on all production? We will have a sedan/hatch in 3 weeks. So I am hoping it has all been resolved in production for MY15.

Factory has changed the shocks they were using, he said this was some time ago so I'm sure it will be fine. If not at least there's a solution.

[Stiv]

Good luck finding a sedan without a hatch. Maybe never open the back & you won't be disappointed?

hehe, wagon, you know what I meant. I like the hatch, just don't want the wagon

[Stiv]

Your pricing there is making me feel a bit ripped off with our order. Paid about $2k more if you add costs of our extras without option of the free extended warranty you mentioned earlier - they wouldn't even entertain the cheaper price at $1200 or so someone else got it for. Needless to say we've gone without for the time being.


While i'm thinking about our order i'm going crazy (not really) trying to make the decision to stick with the DSG RS or get it changed to manual before we get given an build date.

Will the DSG costs recoup themselves or will most second-hand RS buyers in the future prefer the manual option?
Will having my hands on the wheel taking corners be more beneficial than driving our preferred transmission type and feeling more in control at other times?
Will i learn to love the DSG only to pay more in maintenance costs?

Normally we would only ever consider a manual, but the DSG was quite good really. Though, i'm not sure we'll have many other chances to get a manual car in the future if things keep going towards auto-only models...

Any advice?

Always buy the gearbox you prefer to drive as you will be driving it. Even in a manual, your hands should be on the wheel in total control in the right gear prior to the corner, only rare occasions do you use one hand on the wheel changing gears in a corner. There will always be manual cars out there as we've had for over 100 years already, just be slightly less than today.

Don't feel ripped off, keep trying other dealers till your content with the price. I reckon that even at 46k it's a bargain of a car, you get so much bang for your buck. Speaking of bfyb, I noticed on stalkbook that motor magazine have an octovia rs in the picture, also a golf gti, wrx and a few others I've driven. Really interested to read what the think of em, especially the skoda....imagine it wins...then orders will take 2 years from deposit down hehe.

[barfarina]

I appreciate the comments guys. I've (and the missus has) always been a manual driver and honestly never considered the option of an automatic until i drove both the Octavia RS and the Audi S3. Needless to say i've reached an early mid-life crisis! The resale is only a side issue - unless one or the other was impossible to sell - my heart says manual, but my head, well... :S

Not sure if the .2 sec acceleration increase and .2l/100 km economy make much difference in the real world.

[GTR27]

Woooo.... Dealer called, build week has come forward a week to wk38. Car is now in frozen status, so that looks like the confirmed build week. Not much but 1 week earlier means it's more likely to get to me by Xmas.....

[OilBurna]

Awesome great news early Xmas present


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