Potential Octavia owners beware !!

[R1 Crasher]

Just to put a slight dampener on what is a great car. I have a Mint low K's 2012 Octavia RS Wagon diesel in best colour Race Blue with update interior. I have recently been looking at a change, simply because of towing our caravan ,nothing at all will the car itself. Anyhow the Trade in Prices I have been offered are just terrible. About the best is 20K. These things are BAD NEWS. Even Skoda dealers don't want them. Skoda dealers seem only interested in selling new or Demo. Just a warning to be careful. Very poorly rated in the TRADE.

[Gerrycan]

I have never been offered what I would call a good trade in price on any car from a dealer. They have to make a living too I guess.

Always ended up doing much better selling privately.

[Umai Naa!!]

Just sell it private.

If it's in good condition with a complete service history, you'll get a good price for it.

[sports racer]

It's standard practice to offer you crap, no matter what car you have.

Always has been, always will be.

Nothing "special" about having a Skoda.

[chriskan]

Trade prices are generally low ball. As others have said, private sale or take the hit and move on. The second hand market is tough all round, with the current discounting at dealers to move existing new stock + low finance rates.

[Antiplastix]

I got $20 K trade in for my 2009 RS wagon last year on a new Mk.3. I was happy with a $20 K loss over 5 years.

[Aztech]

I had a 2012 90TSI Golf that I sold at the beginning of the year for $13,500 privately after being offered $10K on a trade, so percentage wise probably worse than the Skoda, and that car was mint condition with 60K on the clock and had never been used to tow. I think if you were offered that for trade and you could potentially get an extra 5 or so selling it yourself that's pretty good for a euro.

This is why I won't buy new again, let someone else take the hit in the first 3 years.

[Martin]

It's standard practice to offer you crap, no matter what car you have.

Always has been, always will be.

Nothing "special" about having a Skoda.

Agreed - and the first three years are the worst time to sell, it's when the biggest value hits occur

Generally you're doing well if the cars resale value is over 50% at the 3 year mark
That's resale value - not trade in value

[Tuan]

Cars that aren't used in company fleets and not heavily discounted when new usually hold their values well i.e. Subaru, Honda

Trade ins are tough ... sometimes it may look like you are getting a GREAT trade in - but it's generally loaded up into the price of the car you're purchasing.

Skoda .. well, it's just not a household brand in Australia hence the demand for these cars second hand (and new!) are low .. which is the main reason its resale value it's hurt so badly. Owners know how good their Skodas are but there just isn't enough marketing done to promote how good these cars are to the general Holden Commodore, Toyota Camry driving public.

I also read that new car prices are also dropping so that's **** news for trade ins (but great if you are buying new!).

[brad]

The actual trade-in price is irrelevant. The change-over is what counts. If you want a big trade-in then pay full retail.

I think Australians have expected quite inflated trade-in prices in the past. I don't think they realised that Holden / Ford / Toyota have a huge margin between fleet prices & RRP (it's about 30%).


Tuan: Subaru have been on the NSW State fleet list for a fair while now. Even Renault & Fiat are on the fleet list now.

[Tuan]

The actual trade-in price is irrelevant. The change-over is what counts. If you want a big trade-in then pay full retail.

I think Australians have expected quite inflated trade-in prices in the past. I don't think they realised that Holden / Ford / Toyota have a huge margin between fleet prices & RRP (it's about 30%).


Tuan: Subaru have been on the NSW State fleet list for a fair while now. Even Renault & Fiat are on the fleet list now.

How about Honda ? The last time I looked into purchasing a Subaru vehicle was many moons ago and they sure kept their values and it's due to the fact - how are their resale values fairing now ? Surely their fleet sales do not match those of Holden/Ford/Toyota though ?

[bobski]

I've never been to a dealer where they didn't offer you a trade worth laughing at regardless of brand. As Brad says, most people over-pay on retail to get a good trade or out of finance. Either way, there's a margin at both ends there somewhere. By trading, you are paying for the convenience of not selling privately.

I just sold my nearly 5 year old vRS privately and was happy enough with the result. I live regionally, had I lived in a city, I'd have expected a few $k more - but it worked out at about 37% of what I paid originally (but it needed new front tyres ). At dealers, the first up trades all started at $10k. I was able to get one up to $13k, but of course the room to move on the Superb we were buying was heading in the other direction. Net result of going through the pain of the selling privately was a difference of about $6k. Worth the hassle I suppose.

If anything, the RS at least, is a brilliant and popular second hand buy and the small numbers in the country mean there are enough buyers around.

[woofy]

Once you hit the end of the std 3 yr warranty you are in trouble as well. The OP hasn't stated that, but looking at the age it could well be. $20k is actually not bad for what could be a 3 yr old car.

[Aztech]

Once you hit the end of the std 3 yr warranty you are in trouble as well. The OP hasn't stated that, but looking at the age it could well be. $20k is actually not bad for what could be a 3 yr old car.

That's right, you've really got to ask if a 3 year warranty is really worth $20K though when you look at depreciation. I'm happy with picking up a slightly used skoda for a bargain price and if something goes wrong with it I can just pay out of pocket.

[woofy]

I was meaning more that when the 3yrs is up cars drop a far bit more, as people like the little insurance. 4 yrs is a good amount as lots of cars turn over at the 3 yr mark and you can get one with some warranty left if you find any niggles. Watching the ads for Kias 7 yr warranty you really have to ask why at least Skoda being the bargain VAG brand isn't offering 5 standard. People are scared of Euro reliability so that would go a hell of a way to getting people into them. That and actually having stock.