Australian Order Wait times & MY17 build spec rumours..

[copeboox]

Let Skoda Australia know your gripes. I did, after my thread in the Fabia forum - said how much those in NZ get all the good variants and options for Fabia, and Oz doesn't. Apparently, they have referred my complaint to the "relevant department" for future planning.

[2009fsi]

There is no real 'Skoda Australia' in my opinion, coopboox.

It's an after thought within VAG, staffed when required by the same VW people. I'd love to see what drives the management's salary & bonus structures because I'm certain it would be heavily biased towards VW sales KPIs. In times past, I've called 'Skoda Australia' & been greeted by 'Volkswagen Australia, so n so speaking'. On querying if I'm talking to the right place, I was told 'We do both'.

It has been interesting to have regularly gone past the HQ at Chullora in Sydney. When it d=first opened it carried a very large SKODA sign on the building. That was the only branding. Two or three months later, that was gone, replaced by one a third the size & flanked by one for VW, one for AUDI & later VW Commercial. AUDI is now gone as part of VAG's brand protect of it, post 'Dieiselgate'. When Skoda first launched, there were worker's Skodas everywhere around there. Over the last few years, I haven't seen one. Not parked on the street, the car park or driving in the surrounding streets. I think that tells you something about the priorities within the building.

The Italian Bistro at Birrong Sports Club has become a popular 'lunch room' for execs of various corporates based in industrial parks around Chullora & Regent's Park, including VAG. I can assure you, the only Skodas in the carpark will be mine, my sister's or my recently discovered fellow 206 neighbour from Sefton. Of course we are occasionally asked 'How do you like the Skoda?', by one of the execs about to get into his Audi or Sirocco. From time to time I run into someone further down the chain in Chullora & I've asked that person why we don't see any Skodas around Chullora anymore, someone I know who did drive an Octavia VRS for a while. The answer is along the lines of 'When in Rome ....'. The main man is VW, so get with the strength if you want to progress.

<ost big Skoda markets have the own Skoda entity, seperate from the greater VW group. We don't & I don't think we ever will. I get the distinct feeling Skoda is the product VAG really didn't want to have to sell. I have never understood VAG's marketing strategy; so many offerings compete with one another. None more so than Skoda models with their equivalents within VW's own line up. At times there has been sufficient differentiation to allow promotion, namely when Skoda released smaller SUVs. Superb has always been an alternate to Passat, never more so than with this NT seriers. I suspect these new Superbs are also now a threat to some within Audi's models. I for one looked at the Superb 206 & the closest Audi & other brands with AWD & questioned why a sane person would pay a minimum $20K more for a name. I look at the limited numbers of Superbs, particularly 206s brought in, their build dates & limited bleak colours & wonder if this is by accident, or planned. Just why is it we can't order a Superb in any of the colours offered from the factory. It is as nonsensical as so many other issues for Skoda owners. VAG profiteering is a major issue. EG: It is disgraceful that I can buy the same 19" alloy from E299.99 from Superskoda or the UK, pay E273 to have it airfreighted out to Australia & still be A$400 cheaper than buying at the price quoted by one of the biggest Skoda dealers in Sydney. Of course you can go to any tyre dealer & buy a 'nearest' lookalike alloy to the same spec, for just $250-$300.

I firmly believe this model Superb is so good & ticks so many boxes in the Australian market, they could be selling many more than they are. It has only been promoted around midnight during the Giro, yet there is no doubt it turns heads. All new models have a narrow window to exploit before other brands bring newer models to the market. A fickle market, with too many models already competing is all to often driven by 'the grass is greener syndrome', among buyers prepared to try another brand. I reckon VAG/Skoda have wasted a great opportunity to expand brand awareness & penetration. For all of us, that means we remain a niche model, with higher costs & faster depreciation.

[Alf01]

Well
Mine is on the boat and ETA to hit shore is now 14th July.
So end of July would be a good guess for handover.
That makes it 4 months from order to delivery.If it all works out then that is not too bad. 4 months from order to delivery.

[Enobar]

Well
Mine is on the boat and ETA to hit shore is now 14th July.
So end of July would be a good guess for handover.
That makes it 4 months from order to delivery.If it all works out then that is not too bad. 4 months from order to delivery.

Thats not bad. Actually I'll wait to see if it happens, but I was informed that mine will be an end of August delivery giving mine around a 4 month delivery time as well. I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the "9 month ETA" times that have been bandied around (which I was told as well) are the dealers trying to move their existing stock rather than having to order from the factory.. Which I don't think is very good from a brand marketing perspective.

Interestingly enough it turns out a friend of mine is actually very high in the VAG Australia group and when I mentioned to him the wait times I was initially quoted he was shocked and said it shouldn't be the case, so I do wonder where the outrageous wait times are coming from..

[blueSup]

If you haven't seen it on other sites, here are the colours for the ambient lighting in MY17.

Nye Å KODA Superb Stasjonsvogn - Design - Å KODA

[2009fsi]

A Fabi buyer I know has had his delivery date brought forward by 2 months. His dealer has procured a car of the same colour & spec he ordered from stock shipped. A stock swap deal done with another dealer who was to get the car as a demo.

Discussion with my dealer indicates nine months is still valid, if your order's build date falls after the summer holiday shut down in Europe. The backlog of orders from around the world will rebuild & delay deliveries. I was interested in when the 'Sportsline' would be released out here. Originally to be end this year, but that now likely to slip to end first quarter 2017.

With the exception of the bloke in Sefton picking up his grandchildren at the local school, I have yet to see another B8 Superb, let alone a 206, on the road. On a recent trip down to Ulladulla, I saw were a number Octavias along the way; all were white wagons, the previous model & generally pushing along about 20ks over the limit.

[Alf01]

It seems that the long delivery date all appear to be connected with the 206 engine.
Same with the beige interior that created long delivery times, while the black was fairly straight forward. Looks like the Superb is so popular that the parts Suppliers can't keep up, causing long delays, depending of what variation you have chosen.