What is the difference between the build quality of a new Skoda in comparison to a new Audi/VW?

Take 4 cars from 4 manufacturers within the same group. You use common platforms, running gear and electronics. Two less known/accepted manufacturers are at the lower end of the price range, one at the middle and the other one towards the premium price range.

The question is:

As a manufacturer, what price do you pay for these common components?

The answer is that you pay the lowest, as you don't want to be making a loss on the lower priced cars.

Build quality is perception, no one wants to think that they have paid over the odds for anything. As they are paying a higher price for the the same parts in the middle and premium price range they perceive that it has been built better with more care. In reality they may have got a better grade of interior plastic or a proper carpet.

If anything Skodas may have been better put together as the factories are newer and more up to date, and the work force more conscientious (sp?).

The short answer to your question is none.

Some people say that the Czech's love the cars that they are working on and make a special effort to put them together correctly. But, considering most of the work is done by robots and stuff, I suspect that the answer to your question is, as fordfan suggests, none. If you're choosing a car for build quality, save yourself some cash and buy a Skoda!

A work mate has just spent £30,000 on an Audi S3 whereas I spent £12,000 on a Skoda Estate 2, and I was winding him up that the same man built the pair of them but he replied that Audi are better built. Having had time to think about it I am not convinced and your replies support my feelings.

A work mate has just spent £30,000 on an Audi S3 whereas I spent £12,000 on a Skoda Estate 2, and I was winding him up that the same man built the pair of them but he replied that Audi are better built. Having had time to think about it I am not convinced and your replies support my feelings.

He spent over twice as much money on a more upmarket car. If I was him I would expect the build quality to be much better than that of the Skoda. Even if it is much better, why let it bother you? You spent 18k less for christ's sake!

The same man didnt build a Skoda and an Audi, they aint even built in the same plant. But having now worked for all four brands i'd say they are all pretty much of a muchness these days. I did less rattle repairs etc on Skodas than any others, but is that down to a superior product or just lower perceptions of the purchaser?

Or luck

As they are paying a higher price for the the same parts in the middle and premium price range they perceive that it has been built better with more care. In reality they may have got a better grade of interior plastic or a proper carpet.

I'd say that's true, but the better carpet/plastic makes the car feel better built.

The other thing I'd say, having owned many VWs, one Seat, one Skoda, and one Audi, was that panel fit best on the Audi. Everything lines up. Also, the trim fits extraordinarily well, and comes apart and goes back together well.

As far as the mechanical & electrical bits? No difference at all.

I say keep winding him up!!!!

TBH even Skodas arent as cheap as they used to be!!!

They are cheaper than some rivals and sister cars but that doesnt mean they are any less well made.

Looking at the question from a different perspective, a Skoda or Seat owner is not going to accept trim rattles and a lower standard of fit and finish any more than a VW or Audi owner, just because they have purchased at the 'lower' end of the market. They all have to be built to a standard where the warranty costs are acceptable.

VW are being quite clever, in that as their reputation grows, they are gradually pushing Skoda and Seat up the pricing range, whilst keeping a brand distinction between the four brands. Also bear in mind that a proportion of each cars price has an element of cost for advertising and marketing built into it.

That is why Skoda owners are so canny as to see through VWs hype and see the product for what it really is.

I was just about to start a thread on this very same thing, I had the chance to get a lift the other night in a VW Polo on which the Mark one fabia is based on, and I can honestly say the Fabia from the inside is a much nicer car.

The polo dashboard looks quite cheap and plasticky compared to the Fabia which I think has more quality about it, the VW seemed to be quite tinny as well, If I had a shot to drive it I would have to compare but to be honest I would take the Skoda over the VW, the VW.

Skodaboy, I'd have to agree. A guy at work has the '03 Polo and it's horrid inside. Everything looks more plasticky than in even the entry level classic fabias

If I said I currently wouldn't buy anything from the VAG marque that would sum up my feelings on build quality within the group.

You pays your money ......

With any increase in quality, there is generally a law of diminishing return, and increased expectations.

They all offer value for money, since depn rates are broadly comparable, and hit slightly different markets. Starting at Octavia, about a grand more gets you a golf, which has less room but imho a slightly classier finish, and much more options. At the superb / passat / a6 the difference is even bigger if you spec them the same. I saw some interesting articles iirc comparing the superb/a6/phaeton recently and you couldn't point to where the extra £15k/£35k had gone.

I would think (and I'm sure a dealer will be able to help here) you get many more octavia and superbs with standard trim and maybe one or two options, whereas the audis you can and likely will spec an option list the length of your arm, adding a good £5k-£10k to the price of some models. This adds to the overall cost, since there is more variance in production

Build quality is maybe a different term. It undoubtable that if you sit in the a3 it will be nicer than an octavia or golf, but in terms of build quality, since to have quality you need a benchmark, and that for the audi will be higher than an entry level skoda. I used to think the audi's were overpriced then got to drive an a4 cabrio, and been driven around in a sporty A3. I'd say they were worth the money, but I wouldn't be prepared to pay the premium at this point in time.

. . . .

The other thing I'd say, having owned many VWs, one Seat, one Skoda, and one Audi, was that panel fit best on the Audi. Everything lines up. Also, the trim fits extraordinarily well, and comes apart and goes back together well.

. . . . .

I also think the Audi paint finish is better (or it was on my A4). The VW (mk 4 golf) was worst, but the interior very good and current Skoda Octavia II vRS sits somewhere between them on paint finish and below both of them on interior.

current Skoda Octavia II vRS sits ... below both of them on interior.

I'd agree - interior on skoda is somewhat behind the vw/audi, however the octy should probably last just as long and perhaps be more hard wearing - it's almost washable inside which is great for muddy mountain biking and dog walking... If I'd spent audi money on it I'd be much more careful about dog, bikes and muddy boots etc...

:eek: The inside of a MK II Octy elegance is IMHO a much nicer place to be than of a similar spec level or a GT TDI golf MK V.

It depends what you mean when you say 'build quality' really. Do you mean how well the car is screwed together compared to other manufacturers cars, or that the interior trim and interior fixtures and fittings are better?

Generally, build quality tends to mean how well the car is screwed together - are there any squeaks and rattles? Do things line-up properly? Are there any gaps between different parts of the interior trim? Whereas quality usually means how nice the interior looks overall.

As an example, the Lada I once owned was bolted together pretty well, but the interior was dreadful. By contrast the Lancia Delta I'd owned previously was very badly assembled, but the quality of the interior was leagues ahead of most other cars of the same age. So overall the Lada had much better build quality than the Lancia, but the Lancia was a nicer place to sit in even though it squeaked more and rattled more than the Lada and bits of trim kept falling off it.

Another example is the changes Ford made to the interior and trim on the Escort between the K/L-plate models and the M/N-plate ones. The difference in the quality of the trim is substantial and makes the cars much nicer to be in, even though they were probably still assembled on the same production lines by the same workers. (They were still cr@p though!)

I suspect that on the majority of VAG group cars the build quality is probably very close, but as you go higher up the price range - especially on the VW's and Audi's - it's the quality of the interior trim, switches and such like where a little bit more money has been spent, along with other non-visible things such as sound deadening etc. which make the perceived quality seem better than the Skoda's.

Skodaboy, I'd have to agree. A guy at work has the '03 Polo and it's horrid inside. Everything looks more plasticky than in even the entry level classic fabias

Its even worse in a Seat Ibiza, really cheap looking plastics everywhere.:thumbdwn:.

Its no wonder the Fabia beat its 'in-house relatives' (and all its other rivals) in all the group tests:)

:eek: The inside of a MK II Octy elegance is IMHO a much nicer place to be than of a similar spec level or a GT TDI golf MK V.

I tried a golf GT TDI 140 before the Octy and was very underwhelmed by the interior. I found the vrs Octy a nicer place to be.

Working on value for money I think Skoda wins over VW.

Certainly my Father-in-Law has had problems with his new A3 and I've had none with the Octy.

Remember---you are buying a car 1st---a badge 2nd!!!

Having owned a VW golf R32 mk5, an audi a4, a skoda fabia vrs, a skoda octavia petrol vrs and a skoda octavia tdi vrs the Skoda definatley is the best choice for build quality and value for money....

Put an audi badge on the octavia vrs.....put the price up £8000 just for the image concious people!!!! Losers!!

What is the difference between the build quality of a new Skoda in comparison to a new Audi/VW?

Remember---you are buying a car 1st---a badge 2nd!!!

Having owned a VW golf R32 mk5, an audi a4, a skoda fabia vrs, a skoda octavia petrol vrs and a skoda octavia tdi vrs the Skoda definatley is the best choice for build quality and value for money....

Put an audi badge on the octavia vrs.....put the price up £8000 just for the image concious people!!!! Losers!!

Totally agree..

I read somewhere a few months ago that even VW themselves admitted that Skodas are the better built cars out of all the VAG products.

Skoda/SEAT/VW are all much of a muchness...

I've noticed that Audi paint seems better, and that the interiors are vastly superior!

Its even worse in a Seat Ibiza, really cheap looking plastics everywhere.:thumbdwn:.

Its no wonder the Fabia beat its 'in-house relatives' (and all its other rivals) in all the group tests:)

:rolleyes:Interestingly enough it's the Ibiza that didn't suffer from water ingress...

I think the answer to the quality of Skoda compared to Audi/VW is quite straight forward. And it isn't a subjective thing either it's factual. VW is listed quite low down the manufacturers ranking on the JD Power Survey and has been for many years. As is it's cars. At one point being almost the lowest ranking manufacturer for quality, service & reliability etc etc, even falling below Landrover! Yet Skoda remained very high and is now ranked SECOND only to LEXUS (the number one), with Toyota and Honda tin 3rd & 4th places respectively. Skoda cars are also very high in the ranking for cars with at least two or three cars consistently showing in the top ten of JD Power.

The reason is simple...VW nearly went bust at the turn of the century and economised on the way it put cars together and on the parts it used. Skoda escaped the economies and continued to develop and flourish. VW cars became more unreliable (I speak form experience of several VW's with water leaks and rust etc) and Skoda continued to put right any niggles that customers were experiencing and build cars better and better. VW have now moved off the bottom line of JD Power and is continuing to recover, but are a long way behind Skoda for quality, service, reliability etc etc.