Buying a 'brand new car' question

[Dougall]

Hi All,

I'm currently toying with the idea of replacing my 2005 elegance estate and ordering a new vRS diesel estate.

I want some options on it so appreciate it will be an order rather than from stock. To be honest the wait for it will allow me to get my finances in order so not too bothered about the ordering time.

Two questions:

1) When ordering a new car from a main dealer, how much needs to be put down as a deposit? I assume deposit is put down and balance on delivery or just ahead? Have not bought a brand new Skoda before, hence the question.

2) Any ideas on waiting time for an estate diesel vRS?

Dougall

[swordstoke]

In my case £500 secured the order and approx 11 weeks later I had the car. Think that time has extended though. Well worth the wait!

[Dougall]

Thanks for that. I like the candy white but not sure if I have the bottle to order it.

I know this might sounds stupid, do you run your's on normal Diesel? I was speaking to a mate with a sporty Volvo and he was using some 'better' diesel from Shell I think.

[FUBAR]

I have a new diesel vrs runs on normal yea but I tend to use shell when I can as certain places like asda can be poor quality even though I ran my old fabia vrs on it a fair bit.

My deposit was £300

[Paul007]

£500 deposit and I've been quoted January 2012 or possibly February.

[Stuart_J]

Always pay deposits via credit cards, Times are hard in the motor trade & if a dealer goes bust whilst your car is on order your money is safe, odds are if you are quick Skoda could trace your order & assign it to another dealer

Before buying get some prices from sites like this http://www.drivethedeal.com/ Will give you an idea of what deals are out there. If you dont fancy buying on the net you should be able to find a dealer who will match it or get extreemly close

[hertsnminds]

My dealer only wanted a £100 deposit, estimated 16 week delivery and I had the car in 24 weeks.

[gsp]

Yes I would agree with other posts, always pay deposit with credit card. Think I did £250, think the dealer is happy if it is £200 or more.

Find some prices from well known internet car sales sites, dealer is unlikely to believe your printout if they have never heard of them.

They will probably not quite match it, then it is down to you whether you want the dealer experience or remote ordering and less comeback if options aren't right and stuff.

Any current VAT free deals of course the dealer will treat as 'the discount'.

Try an get a deal where they will give you a guaranteed (but probably quite low) trade in value for your old one that does not form part of the deal, so you can sell it privately, or if you cannot find a buyer you can still trade in. So make sure that you get the discount on the new car regardless of whether you trade in your old one. That way if order times increase again and your old one drops in value a lot you do still have some sort of safety net.

Also, if you want any Skoda finance, try and get a deal for the price first then mention finance, since this is often used as a reason whey they cannot offer you a better discount.

One final thing, play naive. If you've learned something in these forums keep it under your hat until you need to use the info.

For example there is some confusion at the dealers as to whether an MDI cable is included for free when you specify MDI. Although Skoda ship them, the dealer is supposed to charge now, but they normally throw them in if you appear shocked that you have to pay for them.

[jlwah]

Always pay deposits via credit cards, Times are hard in the motor trade & if a dealer goes bust whilst your car is on order your money is safe, odds are if you are quick Skoda could trace your order & assign it to another dealer

Before buying get some prices from sites like this http://www.drivethedeal.com/ Will give you an idea of what deals are out there. If you dont fancy buying on the net you should be able to find a dealer who will match it or get extreemly close

Drivethedeal don't seem to be doing Skodas at present, so try somewhere like http://www.broadspeed.com

[Dougall]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate the advice.

[matt.will]

I can recommend www.carfile.net who I got my vrs via. £500 deposit, balance on collection.

[GroundHog]

My dealer only wanted a £100 deposit, estimated 16 week delivery and I had the car in 24 weeks.

That's what happens when you only put down a £100 deposit

[swordstoke]

Thanks for that. I like the candy white but not sure if I have the bottle to order it.

I know this might sounds stupid, do you run your's on normal Diesel? I was speaking to a mate with a sporty Volvo and he was using some 'better' diesel from Shell I think.

Use both Shell V-Power and BP Ultimate which slightly improve miles to the gallon and for me the car feels more responsive

Had a succession of Black//Silver and Blue motors so White it is and havent looked back .

When clean looks great and to be honest you dont see many about

Good luck on the purchase!

[gregoir]

Use both Shell V-Power and BP Ultimate which slightly improve miles to the gallon and for me the car feels more responsive

But at 10p plus extra a litre- is it really worth it? I admit to trying the Millers Diesel additive as a cheaper option.£10 per bottle which does for ~10 tankfuls. This boosts the cetane rating. Seems to give a little extra bit of oomph at lower revs only but does not affect the overall mpg.

I tried a couple of tanks of the super BP stuff with much the same effect.