Ok so it looks like my local dealer still has this offer:

http://www.skoda.co.uk/gbr/finance/offers/octaviaseconnect/Pages/default.aspx

"25% Free – The ŠKODA Octavia SE Connect†

We are currently offering a massive 25% off the ŠKODA Octavia SE Connect 1.6 TDI CR 105PS†. The price of this model was £18,650 OTR, but is now available for just £13,990* OTR."

To my mind, this is a good deal if the car was brand new. And the suggestion from the advert is that the car is brand new. But the cars my local dealer has in this offer are all PRE-REG with some miles on them (for customer test drives etc). So technically they are not new.

Do you think therefore there would be rooms for some negotiating based on this? Also a new model due out next month.

I am looking for a new family car and I am finding it hard to go past the price and good reviews etc of a Skoda.

Thanks for any comments on the above deal.

There is "always" room for negotiation - new or second hand. Never pay sticker price, it's still a buyers market !!

If were talking 62 plate with a few hundred miles on the clock then really its quite a cheap car; particularly with all the extra kit you get over and above an SE spec car.

Id probably go and look to find the car you like the most (best colour/mileage combo) and try to strike a deal; dont see any reason why you couldnt negotiate some further discount.

Their maths is wrong. Taking 25% off the original price leaves £13,987.50.

Even if they wont budge on price you can still get them to provide some sweeteners in the deal. Free Autoglym treatment, full tank of fuel, floor mats.

There is "always" room for negotiation - new or second hand. Never pay sticker price, it's still a buyers market !!

Best policy is for getting the best price is to make it very clear that you want to buy the car, but it's just too expensive. Then tell them you will have to leave it, shame 'cos you really wanted it.

Then wait for the phone to ring. Sometimes it can take a few days, but it WILL ring. 90% of the time with the deal, or very close to, you wanted.

Always be pleasant. Never propose a stupidly low deal. Never be tempted to ring back first. At worst you will have to try another dealer and go through the process again

To the OP, as already said, don't pay sticker price.

Their maths is wrong. Taking 25% off the original price leaves £13,987.50.

There you go, £2.50 saved already

Thanks all for the useful replies.

I'm looking to pay £12k for this car. The car in the deal was registered Nov 2012. I can get an April 2012 Octavia SE (in lovely black) for £12k with 9,000 miles on the clock, and thats without any negotiating. I am hoping they will match this price (since I much prefer the black SE version). And also hoping to get some sweeteners, any suggestions?

3 years servicing?

0% finance? (doubtful).

Tank of diesel?

What sort of things? Please let me know if I am being unrealistic.

I'm not being rude but why can't they sell them at that price all the time.

A model that is basic a few colours and kept simple. I never buy new cars but I would buy that.

I know the cars sell for about that to fleet buyers all the time. So Skoda could clean up with the car and still make a decent profit. Esp as the shift now has changed towards private new buys not company. Where the company market was the main focus, they in my view for years ( all car companies ) kind of belittled the private buyer with a free set of mats and smile ... they suddenly have to work for a living..

I hope later in the year that deal is still there ( I dobt it ) as I would really go for this.

I very much doubt you'll get them down to £12k. You're comparing it to an lower spec car with almost 10k miles on, and even then 12k is a reasonable price for that.

I actually doubt anyone will get much at all off the £13,990 price tag, as this is Skoda dropping the price to rockbottom to clear out old stock. I know it's programmed into us to pay less than the sticker price, get freebies etc.. but sometimes you need to ask yourself honestly if the price is a reasonble one. In this case I would say it definitely is.

By all means go for the best deal you can, I just don't think you will drive away with it for £12k and 3 years free servicing. Better to be realistic...

Let us know what deal you get.

I'm not being rude but why can't they sell them at that price all the time.

The laws of supply and demand - if you had a product that you make for £10,000 and can sell all you can make for £18,000 each then why would you sell it for £13,000? If it was YOUR business?

But now you want to clear your stock quickly to make room for the new model. People spending £18k are waiting for the new model so you drop the price to sell your old stock.

Edited 12 February, 201313 yr by eccleshill

Thanks all for the useful replies.

I'm looking to pay £12k for this car. The car in the deal was registered Nov 2012. I can get an April 2012 Octavia SE (in lovely black) for £12k with 9,000 miles on the clock, and thats without any negotiating. I am hoping they will match this price (since I much prefer the black SE version). And also hoping to get some sweeteners, any suggestions?

3 years servicing?

0% finance? (doubtful).

Tank of diesel?

What sort of things? Please let me know if I am being unrealistic.

Theyll nevet sell you one with a further 2k discount. Dont forget the SE connect is a 2000 car limited run and comes with lots of extras, better wheels, Bluetooth, MDI, rear sensors. Car you were looking at qas six months older with a fair few miles and with less spwc qnd is probably about the right price. The newer SE Connect car will fetch a premium

Also completely off topic but just want to say the keyboard on the Samsung Galaxy S III is horrible!

The new Octavia is out next month - Seems that the SE version will be £19,240 for the 1.6 TDI CR 105PS. Which I guess is more or less comparable to the Connect SE that I have been looking it (I think the new version is bigger and has more extras as standard).

Now - from doing a bit of googling I seem to be finding that Skoda will be offering 0% VAT on the new models, can anyone confirm or deny this? This would bring the new SE price down to roughly £15,400 - assuming this offer will indeed be available. Can possibly get 0% finance also.

So if the above it true, is the Connect SE still a good deal at £14k when the new version is brand new with no miles and not Pre-Registered?

BTW I know nothing about cars so be gentle.

Edited 12 February, 201313 yr by bingobango

Lots of ifs and buts there. If the new model will be priced at £15k and you are looking at a pre reg For £14k the pre reg doesn't look like a very good deal.

You might get a bit more off but I wouldn't expect much. You might get a better trade in on the new model but that would depend on the deal the dealers are getting from Skoda for the new ones.

Depreciation on the Mk2 will be very heavy for a while. Seems unlikely that the new model will come in with a 20% off deal right away but stranger things have happened.

Edited 12 February, 201313 yr by Aspman

I just bought an Octavia Estate 1.6 SE Plus, 6 months old and 13,500 miles. Picked it up for £12,895 which I felt was a decent price, especially since I got a good price for my part exchange as well.

I did think about waiting until the new estate is launched later in the year, to see if the prices really tumble then. However, in the end I decided to go with this as it seemed a very decent offer. Plus you can be waiting forever for the "perfect deal".

Opinions on whether this was a good/ok/poor move?

V unlikely there will be any decent marketing deals with the new Octavia; certainly the new car wont represent the same value for money as the current car.

I could be wrong about the 20% off on the 2013 model - its still available on "new" Octavias but I guess this is the MKII version. I will phone a dealer and find out for sure..

As long as you are happy with the deal then go for it, i would call a few other dealers to see if they have anything similar though just to be sure, but on a limited edition car then the clock is ticking...

Sorry didn't see the bit about pre-reg (doh!)

yes there is room for negotiating on the deal, the dealership have to keep them for 3 months they then become a depreciating asset that they need rid off, if you want a brand new one just ask them (or another dealership) i doubt that they will have much margin in them so a call to another dealership may be best, as they will only want to sell what they have in stock. Good luck!

Having read this thread , i decided to throw in my thoughts , the "connect" is a good buy ," low finance , 3 years free servicing , three years RAC , 3 years warranty

However should you go for a nearly new car ( DEALER car ) you can now under Skodas new package still get the remainder of the warranty / the remainder of the RAC / the low finance ( as on new cars ) AND 3 years free servicing + you have more power to do a deal . I went this way and got a good quality tow bar thrown in + a good price on my PX

Also completely off topic but just want to say the keyboard on the Samsung Galaxy S III is horrible!

Agreed - I've no idea why Samsung choose to put inferior keyboards on when the stock Android keyboard is far better. As a free choice I'd recommend the jellybean keyboard which you can download from Google Play but I think Swiftkey is well worth a purchase as it does a superb job balancing auto-prediction and learning what you are likely to be typing.

John