[Closed] Skoda UK

At our place test drives are organised via the leasing companies

djglover - Member
At our place test drives are organised via the leasing companies

We tend to chose then the Fleet Manager gets quotes in from the various suppliers and goes with the cheapest.

If you get that kind of support before buying forget it.
Get an Audi. Much better cars and I had no trouble in getting a test drive. I then went on to buy one.

If we want test drives then it's normally left to us to sort it out.

Seen as the salesmen can probably tell you don't want to buy from them I can see why they're not doing the leg work for you. Did you tell them it's for a lease or pretend to be a customer?

I had a similar experience with our yeti.

Me: "I'd like to test drive a yeti with this spec <xyz spec>. Do you know of a dealer who has one?"
Replicant: "no, you'll have to go to a dealer and ask them to find one."

On buying a yeti:
Me: "do you know if there's a dealer who has a yeti with this spec in their showroom or if there is one being built like this?"
Replicant: "you'll have to go to a dealer and ask them to do a search"

That said, the dealers are really helpful. What are you interested in? New octy vrs looks stunning.

Get an Audi. Much better cars

Not strictly true. Depends what cars you're comparing. The Superb is highly respected and offers a heck of a lot of car when put up against an A4 or A6.

What are you interested in? New octy vrs looks stunning.

Yes a VRS estate. 🙂

How has your after sales experience been?

somouk - Member
If we want test drives then it's normally left to us to sort it out.

Seen as the salesmen can probably tell you don't want to buy from them I can see why they're not doing the leg work for you. Did you tell them it's for a lease or pretend to be a customer?

I told them it was a company car, I was asked so didn't lie.

We may well buy it outright, so the dealer would get a chance to quote.

The wife used to work for Skoda fleet UK and left after 6 months as it was the worst place she'd ever worked and her boss was a sexist bully. Shame as the cars were really nice.

Her bosses reputation was so bad that at HQ someone once asked her if she was new and which department she was in, on hearing Fleet, they replied 'Oh, I'm so sorry, maybe you can change department?'.

Also, after being there a month she found out she was the 3rd person in that role that year, all the others had quit. HR hadn't mentioned that at the interview....

What about the Seat Exeo? Effectively a B7 A4 s-line for less money?

It's a more common issue in the motor trade than you'd think. As Somouk stated, if the dealer isn't looking at a sale the extent of 'service' you'll often get is, at best, low.

In addition, there has also been a noticable change in attitude form dearlers when it comes to servicing work too - if you bought the car from them it's great, if you didn't it's far from it.

Got quite a few clients in the industry & they have all taken some tough decisions through the recession - one of which is to concentrate their staff on what they see as 'tier 1' customers (mostly retail sales).

I guess I was lucky that I tested a VRS from one of my clients but ultimately didn't buy it. He was satisfied that I'd been fair though as I didn't then go & get one elsewhere, it just wasn't the car I expected it to be. Same with a few other brands too.

I've had great service from the Skoda dealer in Epsom - bought a new one and serviced with them. Well except that there was a mix up with the colour so when it arrived it wasn't what I thought I was getting but luckily I was happy with it and they gave me a little discount.

Dealers are far and away better than Skoda UK.

What about the Seat Exeo? Effectively a [s]B7 A4 s-line for less[/s] car Audi stopped making in 2008 for more money?

FTFY

I've had lease cars for about 6 years now, VW and Audi. Both have bent over backwards to help me, Audi couldn't do enough to help me when I called in for test drive, I even explained when I went in I would be getting one on a lease so wasn't after a sale. They let me look at loads and offered test drives of a few and gave me coffee and biscuits.

Dealers are far and away better than Skoda UK

That wouldn't be hard....

A few VW owners I know of have been taking their cars to Skoda dealers for servicing; better pricing AND customer service. Also heard of one that took her Q7 along!

scottyjohn - Member
What about the Seat Exeo? Effectively a B7 A4 s-line for less money?

Not currently shown as one of their models?

A few VW owners I know of have been taking their cars to Skoda dealers for servicing; better pricing AND customer service. Also heard of one that took her Q7 along!

You can take any car anywhere you want for a service.

You can take any car anywhere you want for a service.

Thanks to the EU, as long as the garage follows the manufacturer's service spec, they have to accept 3rd party services as OK for the warranty.

You can take any car anywhere you want for a service.
Thanks to the EU, as long as the garage follows the manufacturer's service spec, they have to accept 3rd party services as OK for the warranty.

For mechanical warranty yes, for paint/corrosion afaik there is nothing to stop them insisting on a inspection by a franchised dealer.

Not got the yeti yet, it's being built this week. Hopefully should be with us in early November.

I think the Exeo has been dropped now in favour of a booted Leon, which would mate it a Jetta?

In addition, there has also been a noticable change in attitude form dearlers when it comes to servicing work too - if you bought the car from them it's great, if you didn't it's far from it.

This really pi££es me off. It's been like that in motorcycles for years. M&S motorcycles in Newcastle are hugely guilty of this with service slots seemingly reserved for recent customers. If your going to operate a franchise then everyone should be treated equally. Otherwise you may as well be an independent dealer. It's not like they get paid any less.

Ring the Dealer Principle. Ask ONLY for him.

I imagine he'd be pissed off bigtime all the way up and down the foodchain

Yes a VRS estate.

I sat in a demo VRs Estate (new shape) in Bradford Skoda about 3 weeks ago. Give them a bell if you are near by.

I didnt drive it though because I dont see the point in the VRs when you can get a 1.4 with more toys for less money, and only fractionally slower.

Strangely we want a 1.4 estate and they are struggling to get us a demo version! (they do keep calling to say they are looking for one)

Exeo - has been dropped. Leon ST (estate) is out in January. Its not as big as the Octavia Estate, and we thought the materials are not quite up to Skodas quality

FunkyDunc - Member
Yes a VRS estate.
I sat in a demo VRs Estate (new shape) in Bradford Skoda about 3 weeks ago. Give them a bell if you are near by.

I didnt drive it though because I dont see the point in the VRs when you can get a 1.4 with more toys for less money, and only fractionally slower.

Strangely we want a 1.4 estate and they are struggling to get us a demo version! (they do keep calling to say they are looking for one)

Exeo - has been dropped. Leon ST (estate) is out in January. Its not as big as the Octavia Estate, and we thought the materials are not quite up to Skodas quality

I'll have a look at the 1.4 too.

Current car is a Golf GTI, so worried that I'll notice the difference. I essentially want a bigger version of my golf, and the VRS is close.

The vast majority of commission earning sales execs can't be bothered test driving fleet/lease customers if there's nowt in it for them. I am speaking from experience as previousley being one of those individuals. There are a small proportion who see the bigger picture; said fleet customer might buy a car privately in the future, might gain a referral blah blah blah. Finding them can be difficult.

My advice would be to visit a dealership, don't phone in advance and do this during one of their quieter periods (Tues/Wed/Thurs mid mornings). Ask for the test drive and I wouldn't bother hiding the fact you're a fleet customer. Some dealerships actually have a dedicated fleet sales exec who understands this.

If you're really struggling and don't mind a bit of travel (Glasgow), I can sort you out with a test drive. We have Skoda as one of our franshises and would just need a note of what you wanted to drive. Bring yer bike too and could also show you some crackin' local trails 🙂

Thanks strackbaz!

I'm down sarf though, so it would be a bit of a yomp.

I understand the whole fleet thing, but if we buy it outright, the dealer would be asked to quote, and we'd buy it from them if they were competitive.

You can take any car anywhere you want for a service.

You're missing my point. I was stating that VW owners (and the occasional Audi owner) are turning to Skoda dealers because they prefer not only the pricing but also the level of customer service.

I have just spoken with my colleague at Skoda. He tells me that Skoda has set the build allocation for the VRS Estate to approx 900 until the end of the year. The problem is , it's become hugely popular and Skoda have taken around 2100 orders to date. This means the waiting time (regardless of what dealer you buy from) is 4-5 months.

The organisation I work for also has one of the UK's largest Contract Hire divisions. They can source and deliver the car to you. If you want more info on this, please drop me an email (in profile) and I'll pass you the Skoda Fleet Specialist's contact details.

Who would want a girlyman 1.4?

Get a 2.0T

(I own a 1ltr but I'd rather have a 9inch cock than a 6inch one if I had a choice) 😉

You were honest (a good thing) but dealerships have no incentive to offer you a test drive, it's their time and money and no chance of a sale.

Companies are being very sensible about supply and demand, new car sales have been very slow so they've tailored production to suit. Having more demand than supply doesn't put you out of business, the other way can and does. We are perhaps too used to getting the car we want quickly, ie on demand. the last new car I bought had a 5 month wait.

BTW I take our (German) cars to Merc Mechanic in Old Woking - absolutely outstanding. Obviously Skoda would be franchised serviced initially but I cannot rate this outfit highly enough

OP, you asked about going from Golf to Octavia. That's what we did last year. Absolutely no regrets - although we are in the sprog hauling business, and GTIs are now well in mine and Mrs Udders' past.

We went from an 07 105 1.9 TDI Golf to an 09 Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSI. The Golf was bought on account of Mrs Udder doing lots of motorway miles as a commute, and we were very happy with it, despite coming close to being stung by Drift Bridge Garage in Epsom on the first service.

The most noticeable difference between the Golf and the Octy was the lack of creaky dashboard plastics on the Skoda and the cruise control switch on the stalk was reversed compared to the Golf. Other than that, you just got right in and it felt the same. Not surprising, really. Basically, they're the same car. An A3 also feels familiar. 😉

The 1.4 TSI was as rare as hen's teeth used when we bought the car just over a year ago - I'm guessing because fleet cars hadn't turned over. Ours has been great so far for hauling the Udderlets and lots of stuff, and my brother has bought the saloon version, and is similarly chuffed.