I will shortly be moving to Brisbane and having owned a RS wagon in Scotland and finding it to be a superb machine and perfect for my needs I was wondering if the Australian RS owners could giveme their unbiased opinion on the following questions:-

1. How are Skoda sales in Australia (my worry is that if they don't catch on VW will pull the brand and that would not be good for aftercare and resale)

2. How will residual values stack up against the established brands over there eg Subaru, Toyota, Mitsubishi?

3. What other cars did you look at before plumping for the RS i.e. what are the direct competitors in the land of the SUV? I had thought about a Forester XT and also the Holden Commodore Sportwagon SV6 but neither of these pair have the same all round abilities.

Thanks

Brycem

Any Aussies home from work and logged in yet?

Skoda in Australia? Well it is a bit of a leap of faith, but VW seem to be a lot more serious about the brand compared with their ill-fated effort with SEAT. In fact, there appears to be a bit of an advertising blitz for the new Octavia at the moment. Skodas have only been around for a few years here in VAG form, but the model line up has now been rationalized (at the expense of AWD offerings) and might be less confusing. Resale? Won't be great at the moment.

I bought a Scout after VWs and an Audi because the car offered the spec level I wanted at a reasonable price and quality level. Subarus are held in high regard here. A Holden Sportswagon? If nothing else, it is a lot of car for the money and personally, I reckon it is a handsome car.

Maybe have a poke around at Audi, VW water cooled forum, Australia. Golf, Passat, Bora, vans. A3, A4, A6, TT. , Used Cars & New Cars for Sale | Car Sales | Car Reviews | www.drive.com.au , Wheels - Wheels Magazine - Car Reviews - Road Tests | Wheelsmag to find out what's happening in the Antipodes.

Cheers and good luck,

Ivars

I think I read somewhere that Skoda are doing alright over there. There are a few Aussie members on here.

I agree with IBN, Skoda is still to take off in Australia, but it has only been a couple of years now, so it is early days yet.

There has been plenty of positive media reviews, particularly for the RS. They are struggling to sell any Roomsters, but the Octavia seems to be keeping the bean counters happy.

I am not worried by after sales service, with the VW family connections, there will allways be parts available if Skoda should pull out.

Resale might be a downside, but less so on the Scout or the RS.

Before opting for an RS wagon, we looked at the Subaru Forrester and decided that the new model was a step backwards, it seems cheap on the inside, and it has grown too big on the outside.

The new Mazda6 looks good, but the wagon is only available in 2 variants, Petrol Auto or Diesel Manual, and no choice of creature comforts.

We might have gone for a Mondeo wagon, only Ford don't bring them here...

The Sportswagon looks great, we were looking at the SV6 too, but we found the RS to be better value, and we could spec a car to our liking

The wait time for a new RS seems to be about 14 weeks, but you will find the pre-facelifted version discounted and ready to drive if you don't mind going for a demonstrator.

Good Luck

Garry

Why not "do a Rob" and ship your octy out there with you? It's a RHD car so should be legal on the roads out there, and have Skoda backup still?

I

1. How are Skoda sales in Australia (my worry is that if they don't catch on VW will pull the brand and that would not be good for aftercare and resale)

2. How will residual values stack up against the established brands over there eg Subaru, Toyota, Mitsubishi?

3. What other cars did you look at before plumping for the RS i.e. what are the direct competitors in the land of the SUV? I had thought about a Forester XT and also the Holden Commodore Sportwagon SV6 but neither of these pair have the same all round abilities.

1) 50-80 a month. Better than SAAB but slow none-the-less. They came in at a bad time & I'm not sure that they know who their target market is (they won't get the fleet sales like they do in the UK).

2) Too Early to tell but they aren't really in competition against the Japanese makers.

Toyota is a car for fleet buyers & people that want a reliable A to B car that is cheap to service (Toyota are doing fixed service prices for X years after purchase).

Mitsubishi are trying to re-establish themselves after the magna/380 debacle. Their biggest sedan is the Lancer (?) and the now defunct magnas/380s have terrible depreciation.

Subaru seem to have lost the plot. They have had service/warranty issues (oil usage springs to mind) that have lost them a few repeat customers (I had a Liberty previously.)

I don't think Skoda will hold it's value down here - nobody knows what they are. Then again, the whole market is down so you will lose on anything. may as well just get a fun car to drive.

3) I didn't buy an RS - bought a 1.8TSI Elegance.

Looked at Golf GT Sport (TSI & TDI), Golf GTI, Jetta 2.0T, Hyundai i30 diesel, Mazda 3, Commodore SS (better package than SV6), Ford Focus XR5, Ford Fiesta XR3, Fiat Punto, Renault hothatch, Citroen C4 and some others. I didn't even bother looking at Toyota, Nissan or Mitsubishi. Toyota don't have enough gadgets, Nissan are just a shadow of their former selves, Mitsubishi didn't have a suitable hatch or wagon at the time.

VWwatercooled have an Aussie Skoda section - might be worth asking there?

Thanks for all your advice.

My vRS has been sold so taking it with me isn't an option sadly.

I reckon what I need to do is to shortlist five or so cars and drive them all - the RS Wagon will be on that list although having just looked at the VWwatercooled forum I am worried for the long term future of the brand in Oz particularly if the current WA situation is anything to go by. I noticed from the Skoda website that the Skoda dealer franchise in Brisbane has already changed hands - it was Zupps who are pretty big in SE QLD but now Prestige Motors in Albion - doesn't bode well!

Slightly off topic but I loved the Aussie Skoda sand advert and think it deserves another mention....

although having just looked at the VWwatercooled forum I am worried for the long term future of the brand in Oz particularly if the current WA situation is anything to go by. I noticed from the Skoda website that the Skoda dealer franchise in Brisbane has already changed hands - it was Zupps who are pretty big in SE QLD but now Prestige Motors in Albion - doesn't bode well!

Have you got kids, need to tow or any special requirements like that? 1-2 year old Commodore SS or Falcon XR6T are outstanding value if you like a car with acreage. I'd have one myself if swmbo didn't get a company car.

As somebody else said, VW have committed to supporting the brand via the VW dealership network.

Zupps and other big dealers have all moved fairly quickly to offload non-performing assets. Also the 2 major floor stock financiers pulled out of the market too - this caused some problems.

WRT depreciation. I bought my Dec 07 build Elegance in July 08 for $30k +ORC. According to the insurance renewal I received today, the market value is now $22.5k. Lease payout in July next year is $18k

Brad,

very interesting.

I have 2 kids and am a keen cyclist so need a car with plenty of boot space and roof rails and generally prefer wagons to saloons.

In your opinion what performs best in residual value terms on Oz?

Cheers

Brycem

Brad,

very interesting.

I have 2 kids and am a keen cyclist so need a car with plenty of boot space and roof rails and generally prefer wagons to saloons.

In your opinion what performs best in residual value terms on Oz?

Cheers

Brycem

3series bimmers, Small Mercedes, Corollas, Subarus & Mazdas IIRC.

Wife works for Local Council. Generally (5 years back), the managers car park was full of big Commodores, Fords & Toyotas. They didn't buy Mitsubishi because they were dropping 50% off RRP in 12 months. The Fleet Manager put forward a report that proved they would be better off if they bought Mercedes 190s but it was quashed because they knew the ratepayers would revolt.

Keep in mind that Gov't & large Fleet buyers get 35% discount off RRP so most of the Gov't fleet gets turned over at 15,000km-40,000km and there are plenty of cars about.

As I said, swmbo gets a Mitsubishi Outlander as a company drive & we use that for family trips so I only need a small(ish) car. If she didn't have the heavy metal I would have just bought a 12 month old Falcon or Commodore at auction for about 60% of the RRP. The homegrown product is a bit rough around the edges but great value for money.

For a better idea of values Car Prices - Search Car Prices & Values Online - Red Book

not read the other threads as yet - i am in your boat. there are a couple of aussie dealers around brissy, the gold coast and up on the sunny coast too! they are loving the scout versions of both the octy and the roomster- but i think the roomster is a bit more of a niche car. there are plenty over here in germany

not sure about the values business. cars in the uk are dirt cheap at the moment - check out the octy prices on

Used Cars & New Cars for Sale | Car Sales | Car Reviews | www.drive.com.au and you will see just how mega the price differentials are. let me know what you are getting quoted on shipping charges over there and then look at the registration and tax costs associated with the car as an imported vehicle. i drive the mark 1 superb and i am trying to decide whether to take it ...

the other thing - have you owned the car for a full year. this is another stipulation for import. residuals on imported cars are not great - i think that is the same globally. my wife has just sold her hyundai siii coupe which was first registered on german plates (as a military demonstrator car for german tax free sales, right hand drive) at a discounted rate in the uk - no pink log book the prob in spite of it having 3 years uk warranty left

if you can- take it, take it. take it!!!!

philkef my old Skoda has been sold - I just reckoned a UK car would be a nightmare to shift on in Oz!

I don't know about Aus, but in NZ the Mk2 Octavia comes with all of the options fitted - so local ones would most likely be higher spec than yours was.

Better to buy when you get here than to ship it IMHO, having done the shipping thing myself.

Not that I regret doing it, I love my car!

there are a couple of aussie dealers around brissy, the gold coast and up on the sunny coast too! they are loving the scout versions of both the octy and the roomster- but i think the roomster is a bit more of a niche car. there are plenty over here in germany

I don't think Roomster comes in Scout version here. Is that AWD?

Roomster sells 5 units a month..... not popular at all. It's wrongly specced. The 1.6L petrol gets bad roadtests & the 1.9TDI looks gutless on paper. It needs remapping to 100kw & Aussies (mostly) aren't into mods. If it had come with the 103kw 2.0L I would have bought one instead of the Octy. Aussies are very conservative. They prefer sedans to hatchbacks & the Roomster is too "out there" for most people.

not sure about the values business. cars in the uk are dirt cheap at the moment - check out the octy prices on

Used Cars & New Cars for Sale | Car Sales | Car Reviews | www.drive.com.au and you will see just how mega the price differentials are.

Keep in mind, we don't get snow here & the roads aren't salted so cars keep there condition a bit better. Prices are all over the shop - look at the cost of Audis new (sky high) and the used value is less than a VW. Also a lot of people haven't realigned there prices to current demand - the cars aren't selling.

let me know what you are getting quoted on shipping charges over there and then look at the registration and tax costs associated with the car as an imported vehicle. i drive the mark 1 superb and i am trying to decide whether to take it ...

You would have the only one in Australia i think. Hope you love it because you would own it until you scrapped it

I just reckoned a UK car would be a nightmare to shift on in Oz!

unless it's something special.

many moons back I worked for the Atomic Energy Commision. SOme of the scientists used to go on secondment to the UK and would do a personal import back to Aus. In those days there were HUGE tariffs & import duties; plus long waiting lists at the Jaguar, Porsche & Mercedes dealers (BMW were crap at the time) so it was worthwhile to bring something home at the end of the secondment. If you brought back something upmarket, desirable & quick you'd have no problem onselling after a few years. Bring back something mass-market, pedestrian, common & you'd own it for life.

hey brad - the scout roomster is not in awd - just body kitted up to look at a bit macho and rugged - kind of like merv hughes running in and then dropping in some gentle long hops to bash to the boundary!

a couple of aussies i have spoken to recently have suggested the personal import thing is dead in the water now. prices have weakened however it is a funny old market. £6k in the uk can get you a great car, $12k over there will get me an 8 year old kia sedona ...

where is the sense in that.

plus, aussie stuff looks like crap ...don't know about the performance.

i can not wait to move across at the end of 2010 when we emigrate but i do not relish my first trip down to the car dealerships. my heart saying take something with me - my 2006 superb elegance (or a 5 year old passat/3 series tourer/A4 avant) but my head (and my wife) telling me that it is just a car. so i am destined to miss fine german beer, wonderful german cars, beautiful castles and forests - to be replaced with castlemaine, a mitsubishi magna and rugby in suncorp ....

prices have weakened however it is a funny old market. £6k in the uk can get you a great car, $12k over there will get me an 8 year old kia sedona ...

where is the sense in that.

GBP6000 will get you ~$13000. If you pay $13k for an 8 year old Kia then they saw you coming:thumbdwn:. generally dealers have several thousand in "fat" on their prices. Also, they have to provide a statutory warranty in many cases. Best value is Auctions.

plus, aussie stuff looks like crap ...don't know about the performance.

A matter of taste i guess. They fit in here but would look silly in Europe.

so i am destined to miss fine german beer, wonderful german cars, beautiful castles and forests - to be replaced with castlemaine, a mitsubishi magna and rugby in suncorp ....

Most beers are available here. Find the right bottleshop & imported is cheaper than local:confused:.

It sounds like you aren't real keen to come over. My FIL is from Weiz, Austria & MIL is from Munich - they emigrated to Australia in the early '50s; went back in the early '60s; came back late '60s. They still rave on about how good "the old country" was but get over that the moment they return for a visit. It's a different world down here - especially Brisbane.

I spent 8 weeks in Oz earlier this year, drove from Melbourne to Brisbane and back and only saw a handfull of dealerships and only 2 Skodas. both Octavia vRS estates, both in Black. could have ben the same car? They did get an excellent write up in the Sunday paper motoring section whilst I was staying in Brisbane.

I was in Brisbane for month of April and saw a black vRS wagon in Surfers Paradise (with surf boards on the roof) two days in a row but other than that no other Skodas. Seems they have taken off in certain states but not others with QLD falling into the latter category.

To pick up on philkef's point about used car prices in Oz I tend to agree - the used car market is much more stable and depreciation much slower - it kind of gets me round to thinking that there is little point in buying certain cars used as the value is in buying them new.

NZ is similar - 15 year old cars are still worth something - probably largely due to the fact that they don't rust so much.

NZ don't salt the roads in winter and a lot of Aus probably doesn't see frost at all.

I was in Brisbane for month of April and saw a black vRS wagon in Surfers Paradise (with surf boards on the roof) two days in a row but other than that no other Skodas. Seems they have taken off in certain states but not others with QLD falling into the latter category.

To pick up on philkef's point about used car prices in Oz I tend to agree - the used car market is much more stable and depreciation much slower - it kind of gets me round to thinking that there is little point in buying certain cars used as the value is in buying them new.

They haven't taken off in Sydney.

Melbourne & ACT seem to have a fair few. From my observations, both these areas have more spending money than most places & are willing to try something different. I remember a few years back I was considering some European marque (can't remember what) and there were none for sale in Sydney, 10 in Melbourne.

Depreciation is big in the first 2 years, after that, the curve flattens right out.

I think I mentioned before, the Octavia has dropped almost $10k (almost 30%) in the first 12 months.

Given that

a) the brand has not been in Australia very long, so none of the cars here will be more than a couple of years old, and;

the cars already sold are taking a big depreciation hit due to the GFC and the fact that the brand is an unknown quantity here,

have you considered a low mileage second hand car?

Such as Used SKODA OCTAVIA 1Z RS 2008 - Victoria - CarPoint Australia

Although at the moment the best new buy is probably the facelift 1.8TSI as its been introduced at a decent price to stir up interest in the brand.

Interesting discussion. I'm also more interested in the NZ side of things and last Friday after test driving a 2005 Golf 1.9TDI DSG with next to no toys I bought the lower mileage 2006 Octy 2.0 TDI DSG next to it for only a few hundred Dollars more. I don't know how it compares to UK models as it's just the Octavia here, but it has Audience with Sound System, cruise, MFSW, auto lights & wipers and dual zone climate.

A woman at work said (jokingly, but many a true word is spoken in jest all the same) that I "had gone down in her estimations" when she found out I had a Skoda, but I bet she'd be utterly blown away by every aspect of it if she were to drive it compared with the Jap crap she has been used to. I figure it will lose more money than the Billy-Basic Golf would have done purely as VW is prestige here (but then again anything European is prestige here, even Peugeot, Renault and Fiat, so who knows?). In the meantime it will be a far nicer car to own and as I drive 50,000km per year most Kiwis think I have two heads and would consider any car has been to the moon and back after I've had it for a while. All that said ANY nice condition and relatively new car here is going to be worth at least 2/3 what I paid for the Octy, and in a couple of years a 5 year old will still be quite new for most people in NZ. It could go either way basically, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it regardless.

When I came from the UK early last year I imported a 2004 Cooper S that was modified to 230bhp by GT Tuning and when I decided it wasn't getting used enough to justify keeping it it sold no problem at all, and for more than it would have been worth in the UK. It was the right colour (Dark Silver) and utterly loaded with options like navigaiton, heated everything, climate etc. so pretty much I had two young guys both desperate for it - they knew it was the only one in NZ like it. The import wasn't any hassle at all as we had too much stuff for a 20 foot container and plenty of room for a Mini in the 40 foot one. I now wish I'd brought the RS6 Avant I was driving before we left the UK as I could have sold that as easily the cheapest one ever in NZ and still got probably 10k Sterling more for it than it achieved in the UK when I sold it. You live and learn I guess...

There's a 2003 Bora 130 Sport TDI on Trademe right now which was imported from the UK. I have a feeling I may know the owner slightly through the UK Porsche community and I suspect that that might sell well; silver with all the toys and black leather Recaro interior. Then again the Kiwis think diesels are slow and smelly. More fool them in my view and I'm sure they will wake up to modern diesel engines soon. Same for Skoda really - look at the reputation it had in the UK even in the days of the Felicia, and how quickly it gained respect. I guess as someone said above a key difference here is that most fleet cars are Jap (Toyota in fact) and anything European will struggle to break into that market. That said there are a few VW fleet cars around and my Octy was owned by a company before me.

Last thing to consider is the number of us Poms. I could have had a brand new Corolla (Auris in the UK?) with the 2.0 D-4D and 6 speed manual for not a lot more than the Octy cost (well, possibly $7,000 - about 2.5k Sterling), but there was no way I was going to do that and ther will be others who think like me.