We went for the finance package to get the 3 free services. I then paid it off after 3 months (the minimum you can cancel and still get the 3 free services) and I worked out that it cost us £275.00 in interest and charges. However we did save over £700 by paying it off early.

Who told you the above? The dealer ?

You do not have to keep the finance for 3 months in order to keep the free servicing - though it seems to be a common myth spread by dealers (mine actually told me 6 months!). You can pay it off straight away if you want with no fees or penalties - just pay back what you borrowed plus daily interest. I did this for my new Yeti - settling over £12k of finance the following day incurred £1.62 in interest, so not bad for 3 services ????

Yes it was the dealer that told me I had to wait 3 months. Another reason not to use that sales team again.

There does not seem to be much discounts around on the Citigo.  Drive the Deal only came in about £300 less than list price.  I have just paid full list for my Citigo on 42 months PCP.  I am getting free mats and mudflaps.  The finance is 0% and I get three years free servicing.  The dealer told me (and I have no idea if this is true or not) that the cost of the 0% finance comes out of the dealer margin rather than costing Skoda.  I still opted for this car because I liked it much more than rivals such as the C1 which I could have got a significant discount on.

Hi all,

 

I think you're right Ali, a few people have mentioned not getting great discounts - those who did were fortunate indeed.

 

My own situation is resolved now. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get finance as I'm a carer but in fact it came through fine within seconds (I do have a good credit rating). I suspect the key point though is that for profession I selected Medical - Semi Professional, which is pretty accurate. I don't recall if the name of my employer was asked but if it was I had already decided to put 'DHSS' because they do pay me to be a carer (albeit for a disabled family member). 

 

It remains to thank you all for your great advice, it's very much appreciated and hopefully others will learn from my experience.

Hi all,

 

I think you're right Ali, a few people have mentioned not getting great discounts - those who did were fortunate indeed.

 

My own situation is resolved now. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get finance as I'm a carer but in fact it came through fine within seconds (I do have a good credit rating). I suspect the key point though is that for profession I selected Medical - Semi Professional, which is pretty accurate. I don't recall if the name of my employer was asked but if it was I had already decided to put 'DHSS' because they do pay me to be a carer (albeit for a disabled family member). 

 

It remains to thank you all for your great advice, it's very much appreciated and hopefully others will learn from my experience.

 

 

Thanks for update. :-)

I imagine at the price these little cars are on a very tight margin. With the 0%, the servicing, the free deposit, the breakdown cover, my spare wheel, and the £100 a month less than the Fabia was costing me, I was very happy with the deal I struck.

I imagine at the price these little cars are on a very tight margin. With the 0%, the servicing, the free deposit, the breakdown cover, my spare wheel, and the £100 a month less than the Fabia was costing me, I was very happy with the deal I struck.

I agree, at almost £11000 it is not cheap for a city car, but having looked at every other city car (except the Aston Martin) I honestly think that is the best., and so I am happy.

lol - forgot about the Aston Cygnet. Now there's a car created out of pure cynicism.

lol - forgot about the Aston Cygnet. Now there's a car created out of pure cynicism.

Out of an EU ruling to reduce their average fleet CO2 figures...

Out of an EU ruling to reduce their average fleet CO2 figures...

Exactly.

If you go for the extended warranty and don't get a letter confirming it within four weeks of getting the car, do check with your dealer that it has appeared on the Skoda computer system. It can go "missing" requiring phone calls, emails and Skoda Customer Services (personal experience!). Better to sort it out now than after three years when you may need it and find it doesn't exist!

 

Thank you for this great advice oxonboxn.  I did contact my dealer (via their website email system) asking about this and had no apparent response from them at all.  However, they must have acted on my contact because only yesterday I received a letter of confirmation from Skoda UK.  This was over 3 months since I actually took delivery of my new Citigo.