I have seen the thread on VAT free offers being pulled for diesel cars, but just as interesting is the significant hike in prices. It is way way more than what the 2.5% rise in VAT represents. I was going to quote some figures but the Skoda UK website appears to be down. I did look at the online brochure earlier and vehicle prices and factory fitted options are much more expensive.

There has also been a 2% price rise as well as the 2% or so for the VAT increase.

On the plus side it means that the car I ordered a fortnight ago would cost me £4450 more if I ordered it today!

There has also been a 2% price rise as well as the 2% or so for the VAT increase.

On the plus side it means that the car I ordered a fortnight ago would cost me £4450 more if I ordered it today!

Yeah me too . First years depretiation taken care of

There are huge waiting times for buyers, so as a business why wouldn't you put your prices up? It's also good news for current owners as this can only mean higher second hand values too.

There has also been a 2% price rise as well as the 2% or so for the VAT increase.

On the plus side it means that the car I ordered a fortnight ago would cost me £4450 more if I ordered it today!

My Dad ordered a new Yeti on the 30th December for same reason, as he was told prices were going up 2%, as well as the VAT.

Sarge.

Yeah me too . First years depretiation taken care of

Unfortunately I doubt that very much, when it comes to selling everyone will know what you paid and offer accordingly.

I know prices have gone up but this is ridiculous- if a 4-4.5% increase would cost you over £4k then the car on order must be worth in the region of £100k

My Superb oredered in November would cost an extra £895 with the toys I have ordered (cruise control heated front and rear seats, reversing sensors)

I know prices have gone up but this is ridiculous- if a 4-4.5% increase would cost you over £4k then the car on order must be worth in the region of £100k

My Superb oredered in November would cost an extra £895 with the toys I have ordered (cruise control heated front and rear seats, reversing sensors)

A Skoda Octavia vRS CR (as an example) ordered today would cost more than £4000 more than one ordered on 31 December 2010.

A Skoda Octavia vRS CR (as an example) ordered today would cost more than £4000 more than one ordered on 31 December 2010.

OK- presume this includes the end of the previous VAT free offer, the price hike and the VAT increase in which case the numbers do make sense, although the marketing rationale doesnt :wonder:

Yep, that's what I ordered, and with the extras I ordered and the discount I got over and above the VAT deal, list price now is just shy of £4,500 more than I paid!

I don't agree about 2nd hand prices being low because of the vat deal. It doesn't matter what you paid originally, if the price of a new one is high then a nearly new one will be high too, and in some cases probably around what people paid for new ones during the vat free offer.

In fact I was watching used prices throughout last year, expecting them to take a tumble because you could get a 17.5% discount on a new one but they didn't, they stayed high and in some cases dealers were asking only a few hundred pounds less for a 6month old car than the price of a new one.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't think these short term(ish) offers effect the used market all that much.

A Skoda Octavia vRS CR (as an example) ordered today would cost more than £4000 more than one ordered on 31 December 2010.

Ah yes because the diesels are no longer in the "VAT free" offer. So you are paying old LIST PRICE (in VAT) + 4.5% which will be in the region of a £4.5K increase.

Petrol however will only be about £500 more pricey as they are in the latest "VAT free" offer.

You should still get close to the VAT free deal (on diesels) from most retailers anyway, as you would have done before the VAT free deal was implemented. Whether people will wait is a different matter.

Any saving made by buying before the list prince increase this month and end of deals, is the list price increase, seems to be around £800 on an Octavia vRS

Drive the deal now quote me £21214, previously it was about £20500, I paid inbetween the two of them.

I hope to have a good depreciation rate as its a diesel estate and there shouldn't be too many around, however it cost quite a bit more than a petrol hatch!

Edited 5 January, 201115 yr by Danntec

You should still get close to the VAT free deal (on diesels) from most retailers anyway, as you would have done before the VAT free deal was implemented. Whether people will wait is a different matter.

Any saving made by buying before the list prince increase this month and end of deals, is the list price increase, seems to be around £800 on an Octavia vRS

Drive the deal now quote me £21214, previously it was about £20500, I paid inbetween the two of them.

I hope to have a good depreciation rate as its a diesel estate and there shouldn't be too many around, however it cost quite a bit more than a petrol hatch!

"You should still get close to the VAT free deal (on diesels) from most retailers anyway, as you would have done before the VAT free deal was implemented".

Glad you said that! I just couldn't believe that Skoda would move from a c. £2K discount to no discount - that is not how the motor trade works. I have a sneaky suspicion this is the first step of getting away from the "VAT free" image they have had for rather too long now. Maybe a bit of market repositioning.

I don't agree about 2nd hand prices being low because of the vat deal. It doesn't matter what you paid originally, if the price of a new one is high then a nearly new one will be high too, and in some cases probably around what people paid for new ones during the vat free offer.

In fact I was watching used prices throughout last year, expecting them to take a tumble because you could get a 17.5% discount on a new one but they didn't, they stayed high and in some cases dealers were asking only a few hundred pounds less for a 6month old car than the price of a new one.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't think these short term(ish) offers effect the used market all that much.

That is my experience. Changed car in October and I have never bought a new car - generally bought 6-12 month old to let someone else take the depreciation. I found that with the VAT free offer new price was so close to nearly new price that it was a no-brainer. I think some of that may have been because of the long wait for new cars boulstering the nearly new price.

"You should still get close to the VAT free deal (on diesels) from most retailers anyway, as you would have done before the VAT free deal was implemented".

Glad you said that! I just couldn't believe that Skoda would move from a c. £2K discount to no discount - that is not how the motor trade works. I have a sneaky suspicion this is the first step of getting away from the "VAT free" image they have had for rather too long now. Maybe a bit of market repositioning.

Perhaps, why stop something that works though (infact extend it - across the range!). SUK sales figures show they have been smacking it. Demand is just outstripping production, on diesels, which makes me wonder actually if there WILL be a lot more diesels than petrols. I think in vRS though most buy petrol, petrol heads and all that!

I think in vRS though most buy petrol, petrol heads and all that!

The Octavia VRS is the practical man's choice of hot hatch hence I would have thought most would be diesel particularly as the diesel engine is a very good one and it's in a lower tax bracket for company car drivers.

I think in vRS though most buy petrol, petrol heads and all that!

Nearly new ones available on Skoda used car site and Autotrader do not bear this out.

On SUK there are 106 VRS up to 2 years old, only 26 are petrol (80 diesel)

Auotrader has 117 (42 petrol and 75 diesel).

A lot of these will be Skoda dealer demo's so I am assuming they think diesels will be easier to sell.

There are only 7 of my car for sale up to 1 year old (VRS hatch DSG CR170)

When the price gets to about £25000 I might sell

Removing diesel from VAT free is a good way of cooling demand, and reducing lead times. I dare say that once lead times reduce to more manageable levels rather than the current 6 months then the offer or a simillar one may well be introduced. In the meantime they increase sales of less popular petrol variants.