First time post guys, so be gentle with me....(this is going to be a long post BTW)

After a LOT and I mean a LOT of visiting garages, I recently ordered a Yeti 140 DSG Elegance in Muscovado, with Columbus , Park Assist, 12 spkr hi fi, heated windscreen, rough road pack, TPM, Annapurna Alloys, spare wheel, floor mats.

I currently drive a Ford Focus CMax 1,6TDi LX and its been a great car. Had it since new, for five years, never had any problems, great engine, bit rubbish at cornering (dont know technical term), wee bit plain inside and the aircon's rubbish. Absolutely no complaints, would thoroughly recommend.

However, after a recent hospital visit, I decided I'd treat myself to a 'quality car'.

I decided I'd like to try a 'proper ' car, not an MPV as I wanted something that was really comfy, drove well and wasnt an MPV

I decided to start reading What Car and Honest John's and Parkers and Auto Express and Autocar, trying to get a feel for the best cars, based on the reviews , both from the professionals and the readers. I had always dreamt about owning a cabriolet, so I headed off down to the BMW dealers(according to all the reviews, defo the best). Couldnt get a demo and the salesmen looked at me with my 5yo Cmax as if I was invisible. Managed to get a demo in an automatic Coupe and I loved it. Only problem was it was black and I had to limbo dance in and out of it (I have a longstanding back problem). Fair play to the BMW dealer, they gave me loads of test drives, a 320D Saloon, a 320D Coupe, a 318 Saloon, a 530D saloon and an X1. I liked the 318 Petrol, but they didnt really try & sell it to me and I thought the X1 was really rough, didnt like it at all'

I thought I would try a Mercedes soft top, so I asked for a demo via their website: No reply.

Called the number on the website, they apologised and said someone would defo be in touch: They never did!

Drove the Volvo XC60 Manual and Auto, really liked it, IMHO , a quality car, but I just didnt feel I could justify spending 30K on it and also the fuel consumption and emissions werent great either.

Made an appointment to demo a Toyota Avensis, two visits to the dealership and despite actually making an appointment the car wasnt there, so told them to stuff it.

The biggest fiasco was probably with VW. Called into one of their dealerships in town and the conversation went like this:

ME: Do you have an Golf Plus Auto I can test drive?

Salesman: Nope

MW: Do you have any coming in?

SM: Nope

ME: How do you sell them then?

SM: People just come in and buy them

ME: What, without a demo?

SM: Yup, do you want a brochure?

ME(escaping): err no thanks

So I thought I'd go on to the VW website, looked for a GolfPlus demo and according to them the other branch in town actually had one available. I called them, they told me someone in the Office had one, so I made an appointment with the salesman for a Thursday afternoon at 3pm to pop in and drive a Golf Plus and a normal Golf(still hankering after a 'normal car'). On the morning of Thursday, I had to call to tell the salesmen I would be a bit late, only to find out it was his day off and he wasnt in !!!!

I drove a Citroen C4 Picasso, brilliant 2.0 Diesel Engine, but the EGS box was very jerky. I tried to arrange a demo in a C5 Diesel 160PS saloon as I'd spotted a few pre-reg ones online for about £15K but the best the local dealer could manage was a demo in a second hand 140PS(despite the fact I'd made the appointment in advance), so I declined. "The Sales Manager has taken our Demo away for the weekend" DOH!

I drove the Ford Mondeo, really liked that, just a bit underpowered I thought and Ford dont have a reputation for Auto boxes( I was flexible about manual/auto but the 320 BMW made me hanker after an auto). Drove the Kuga, really liked that, but it felt the same as my CMax and I wanted something different.

Went to the Audi garage to test drive an auto A4 saloon, but it was the service department loan car and wasnt in. I left my details, still waiting....

I test drove the Diesel Nissan Qaschki, but it was a second hand one and the engine was rougher than my Cmax. Pat on the back though to my local Nissan Garage, they were the only garage to hose down my car whilst I was away driving theirs. They also followed me up with no pressure, would certainly think about buying from them in future.

At the beginning of my quest I had driven a 170PS DSG Superb at the Skoda dealer and was very impressed with it. I thought I could hear a fan or something kicking in on the Automatic box but as usual the salesman said "No I dont hear anything" Might have been an idea to get his Service Manager to listen to it? Having said that, they were very good about demos. I got to drive a Superb and an Octavia and the Superb was near the top of my list as every review seemed to give it 5*. I dont really need the room in the back though and my back was playing up again, so I asked for a demo in an Octavia Scout Estate as I thought it would have a higher ground clearance and would be easier to get in and out of , although I didnt really need an estate .

The Scout was good, enjoyed driving it, wasnt that easy to get in and out and as I was leaving the garage a spotted a Yeti and thought "oh sod it, I might as well give it a go, I've driven just about everything else in the Skoda range, but I was thinking "I dont really want an MPV""

Well, Hally Blinking Looyah, at last an MPV type car that doesnt drive like an MPV, yeehaww. It drove just like a 'normal car' and was great for getting in and out of. At last I'd found a car I WANTED to buy.(although I probably would have preferred the 170PS)

I checked all the reviews, including this forum and decided to take the plunge. Disappointingly , I couldnt do business with the local dealers(I did give them a chance) and I ended up ordering one via DtD and I am now the proud expectant owner of a Snow Monster (week 41 build, join the club)

As regards colour, I always thought I'd buy a sky blue car if I had the choice but I saw the Muscovado with black interior in a showroom and just thought it looked terrific. So I logged on to the Internet and did the deed.

I added in virtually every extra I could (its a once in a lifetime purchase), except the 3 spoke steering wheel. I read this forum and I cant see the point of paying £155 for one less spoke, dont really understand that.

Overall, it was a fairly tough exercise, not really enjoyable.

Thanks to all those dealers who could and did arrange test drives for me, it was most appreciated. To Mercedes, Audi, VW , Citroen and Toyota, you really have an opportunity to improve........ Apologies to my local Skoda Dealers, in fairness, I did give you the opportunity to do business, I will do the same again, when it comes to servicing.

Now fingers crossed only about 10-11 weeks till I pick it up hopfully

As Autocar said this week buying a car should be made into an Olympic sport its so difficult at times.

When you say you could not do the deal with your local dealers,why is that?.Rubbish part Ex' or would not give you a discount perhaps?.

Your experience sounds similar to mine with dealers. Some of them just don't seem to want to sell any cars :-) That's partly why I've held on to my Octavia for so long - it was good to drive, reliable, and the prospect of battling with dealers was just so off-putting that I didn't bother looking to replace it until recently.

I hope you'll enjoy your new Yeti - the wait will be worth it, I'm sure!

To be honest the first Skoda dealer I visited was dreadful, or rather the salesman was. I read the forum and followed the recommendation of others to give James at Allams a try in Surrey. This made buying a Skoda very pleasant. May even return for first service even though they are 120 miles away. If they can lend me a new Fabia RS for a couple of hours though I'll make the trip for sure.....

I had a similar nightmare trying to order a Yeti - took me 3 wasted visits to my local dealer over 4 conveluted months before I gave up and travelled 126 miles to Allams to order a car.

I only looked at Skoda's.

Decided I didn't want to pay the premium for a Tiguan or an X1, Thought about a freelander, but in the end only tested Skoda's.

I was looking at the Superb estate, but decided against it for driving around London in and the extra £5K+ for similar spec. It is also the best part of 2 feet longer than the Yeti -600mm or so.

Found the superb great to drive, quiet, comfortable - I was driving it faster round the surrey lanes than my current car of the time, an octavia, as it inspired confidence.

It was when looking at costs I noticed the Yeti was available with DSG in 4x4, so I looked into it, test drove a few and placed the order with James @ Allams.

Roll on end Nov/Dec when it is due for delivery.

First time post guys, so be gentle with me....(this is going to be a long post BTW)

After a LOT and I mean a LOT of visiting garages, I recently ordered a Yeti 140 DSG Elegance in Muscovado, with Columbus , Park Assist, 12 spkr hi fi, heated windscreen, rough road pack, TPM, Annapurna Alloys, spare wheel, floor mats.

<snip>

Now fingers crossed only about 10-11 weeks till I pick it up hopfully

Brilliant post Russianout. It is reassuring that you came around to a Yeti after such a long search. Quite a contrast to my experience which went from first sighting to test drive to agreeing a deal in around 10 days. Mind you, from previous car purchases I can empathise with your dealer experiences, especially VW who must send their salesmen and service staff on anti-customer service training.

Unlike you Russianout,the only extra I ordered,[apart from the spare wheel & Annapurna alloys] ,was the 3 spoke steeringwheel.I didn't like the 4 spoke as I tend to drive long distance with hands at 20 past 8 on the wheel.The third and forth spokes got in the way.I'd have happily ticked the delete box though for several Elegance standard fitments .Especially the auto dipping mirror.....Hate them. :no:

i loved the auto dipping internal and exterior mirrors on my octavia...and prior to that on my BMW's. I drive a lot at night.

Mike

i loved the auto dipping internal and exterior mirrors on my octavia...and prior to that on my BMW's. I drive a lot at night.

Mike

I used to drive an awful lot in the dark or poor light.With auto dipping you could never go back to normal to see if the occasional lights were the Law.....

Edited 4 September, 201015 yr by bilun777

I used to drive an awful lot in the dark or poor light.With auto dipping you could never go back to normal to see if the occasional lights where the Law.....

The skoda ones can be turned off on the mirror.

Mike

First time post guys, so be gentle with me....(this is going to be a long post BTW)

After a LOT and I mean a LOT of visiting garages, I recently ordered a Yeti 140 DSG Elegance in Muscovado, with Columbus , Park Assist, 12 spkr hi fi, heated windscreen, rough road pack, TPM, Annapurna Alloys, spare wheel, floor mats.

I had almost the same odyssey as you. Mine lasted for one year though. I visited almost the same dealers ( in Albania )with similar experiences. VW seems the same all over the world. The salesman there told me that they didn't have a Golf available as a demo. Instead he offered to show me his own car ( a used Golf), complete with supermarket bags , and all sorts of rubbish inside. And I could only look from the outside. Luckily at my workplace , Yeti has become like a company car. I am the fourth to buy it , so I had lots of demos at hand. Now ...I just have to wait till November

Just had a call from the Dealer, my SM is being built next week, then three weeks to the dealer, one to get ready, so hopefully I'll be able to take delivery Mid October, WOOHOO !

BTW apologies to leckman for not answering the question about why I couldnt deal with the local dealers:

I valued my own part -ex using 'we buy any car' which is a really low trade price. Subtract that from the DtD discounted price and thats what I would have done Business at. Dealer one was about £2700 adrift really didnt discount much at all, Dealer 2 would discount it more and I even offered them £400 above that as a price I'd be willing to pay for local service, but I think the dealers in this area are selling all the Yeti's they can lay their hands on and appear to be hitting their sales targets ergo they dont feel they need to discount much.

I would prefer to deal with a local dealer but not at any cost

I valued my own part -ex using 'we buy any car' which is a really low trade price. Subtract that from the DtD discounted price and thats what I would have done Business at. Dealer one was about £2700 adrift really didnt discount much at all, Dealer 2 would discount it more and I even offered them £400 above that as a price I'd be willing to pay for local service, but I think the dealers in this area are selling all the Yeti's they can lay their hands on and appear to be hitting their sales targets ergo they dont feel they need to discount much.

I would prefer to deal with a local dealer but not at any cost

That is roughly my thinking as well. I'm not planning on changing until next year mind, but if the local dealers can't come close then I'm minded to go to the infamous James of Allams and see what he can do.