Hi - and thanks for taking the time to read a newbies 2nd thread

 

Soo, just about to bite the bullet (late I know) on a Monte Carlo Tech estate.  I really wanted a red one but it seems there's pretty much only black and a handful of white ones still avail new / pre registered.  This will be my first 'new' car purchase ever, previously have always gone for something around the 12 months old mark.  I'm a bit retentive so thought I'd crowd source some opinions / owner experiences first.  Currently driving a late 07 118D se, and after initial under warranty issues have loved almost every minute of it but the bug has bit and it's time to change.  Briefly weighed up the mk1 vrs when I bought the bmw but availability of late cars was quite poor at the time which coupled with me preferring a pusher meant I decided against it.  I'd never heard of the Monte let alone the Tech special and only fell upon them as the plain Monte is relatively very affordable to lease.  This will be the very first Skoda / VAG I've owned.

 

Interested to hear other owners of fabia's and particularly Monte Carlo's thoughts and opinions.  What they like about it, niggles to look out for, recommended tweaks.  I've spent a lot of hours here lurking and reading already so am partly au fait with some of the issues.  

 

I'm pretty much set on an estate and purchasing it through the 7.9% pcp deal to get the 3 years free servicing.  I'll prob put down the full 30% deposit as I intend on settling the finance in full after the first monthly payment (the cancellation fees etc total about £220, much less than paying for the car outright and the service pack on top.  Unless there's a better option?

 

With time against me (servicing deal ends on the 31st / not many tech's left) I've whittled the choices down to 2 cars.  The first, local to me, is a new unregistered 1.2TSI in candy white.  The dealer refused steadfastly to move on price (I've no experience on how far to push though on a new car) basically saying they don't need to as there's no white ones left new now.  They we're asking pure list for it, but on bartering lightly with car 2 (follows) they've agreed to take 12k dead.  They will sort it before Jan but register it on the 1st onward (so it will show as a 2014 car come resale).

 

Car #2 is a pre-registered (63) 1.6 CR diesel, in white also with 50miles on the clock.  It's located about 150 miles from me and logistically is going to be a pita to sort, but it is doable.  Price wise it's a fiver under 12k and the dealer knows it's the cheapest (advertised) in the UK (that I know of) and we've not talked discount yet.  They have a couple left.

 

 

Would love people's thoughts / opinions on which is the better deal.  My understanding is that the diesel wouldn't be worth the usual premium for me (I'd do circa 10k per year in this of mostly 30-50 mile hops) but with car#2 priced the same it muddies the decision a lot.  I've driven both engines in a fab hatch and don't mind either - I was really impressed with the tsi which I'd say is high praise from a stoic diesel fan.  DPF hasn't been an issue with my current car/use so I don't foresee it with this.

 

Also what are peoples thought's experiences re the pricing / discounts.  Should I be pushing for more & or some freebies?  (If so what?)

 

 

Thanks muchly in advance.

 

c

 

 

I'd have the tsi at the low mileages you will be doing the engine has great reviews and the estate looks better

I'd have the tsi at the low mileages you will be doing the engine has great reviews and the estate looks better

 

I know, that's whats making the choice hard.  If the diesel was more expensive i'd choose the tsi without qualms but it's the same price.  Come resale time parkers are predicting quite a premium for the diesel at 3yrs old.

Me too, swapped to the TSI after a few years driving diesels and love it.

Deal wise, it depends if your part exing your Beemer or not. They won't drop the price much on the Techs as they're already priced pretty keen for the amount of car you get but they should be able to fiddle with the part ex's price a bit.

Try and get some freebies like mats, full tank of fuel and I managed to get a slightly lower finance rate as well which meant I only had to pay a £100 deposit and pay the same a month for a brand new Monte as I was for my old car whose value had dropped like a stone.

You can't spec up a Tech from the factory but maybe try for a centre armrest or parking sensors as they're fitted by the dealer prior to handover so you might be able to get them thrown in, it depends on how eager they are to shift stock really.

If your looking at resale then I'd say choose the diesel if your paying the same for either but I prefer driving the TSI, it's better to drive and smoother and quieter IMO.

It wasn't worth me paying more for the diesel initially as I don't do a lot of mileage now so that made choosing the TSI even easier.

 

Me too, swapped to the TSI after a few years driving diesels and love it.

Deal wise, it depends if your part exing your Beemer or not. They won't drop the price much on the Techs as they're already priced pretty keen for the amount of car you get but they should be able to fiddle with the part ex's price a bit.

Try and get some freebies like mats, full tank of fuel and I managed to get a slightly lower finance rate as well which meant I only had to pay a £100 deposit and pay the same a month for a brand new Monte as I was for my old car whose value had dropped like a stone.

You can't spec up a Tech from the factory but maybe try for a centre armrest or parking sensors as they're fitted by the dealer prior to handover so you might be able to get them thrown in, it depends on how eager they are to shift stock really.

 

Thanks, no p/x, have a friend who supposedly wants it so just a straight purchase.  Basically i'll take the finance deal for the free servicing then immediately settle it.  There's a roughly ~£220 charge all in for doing this but I'll get the £529 service pack so still ~£300 better off.

 

I asked re sensors - £350 fitted - can't see them installing them but centre armrest would be a plus - it's something I'd planned on doing myself after purchase. 

 

The biggest 'sway' factor in the tsi for me is convenience - local dealer rather than a day out for the diesel.  That said though the diesel should comfortably save me over £1000 over the 3yrs, mostly because of the resale.

 

 

Just saw your 2nd reply - that's pretty much the crux of it.

Not so sure that 3 year old Diesels that have DPF's will be getting a premium at trade in come 2017 & later,

more people with no interest in cars, rightly or wrongly are becoming aware of the possible problems some have with new cars, 

the public could well be going more and more off buying 3 years and older used ones.

 

But if PCP is showing a better price at 3 years then thats good.

Double check on how soon, or how many payments are required to benefit from Service packages offers when taking finance,

then settling and coming out of the finance deal.

 

Getting the Servicing you want and need done can maybe be more worth while & not that expensive

,than Service Schedules with Pre paid Service Packages that end up with parts, 'Replaced if required'. ie Not that many parts supplied or servicing done other than Fluids and Oil Filter, within the 3 years.

 

george

Not so sure that 3 year old Diesels that have DPF's will be getting a premium at trade in come 2017 & later,

more people with no interest in cars, rightly or wrongly are becoming aware of the possible problems some have with new cars, 

the public could well be going more and more off buying 3 years and older used ones.

 

But if PCP is showing a better price at 3 years then thats good.

Double check on how soon, or how many payments are required to benefit from Service packages offers when taking finance.

 

Getting the Servicing you want and need done can maybe be more worth while & not that expensive,than Service Schedules with Service Packages that end up with parts, 'Replaced if required'. ie Not that many parts supplied or servicing done other than Fluids and Oil Filter, within the 3 years.

 

george

 

Thanks George, i'd not considered asking that the service 'package' (which is 3 services - 2 minor and a major inbetween) covers everything needed - parts etc etc.  The salesman assured me I can cancel the finance immediately and still receive the servicing.  I will triple check it with them prior to signing on the dotted line though.  I didn't see pcp gfv for the diesel - only the petrol.  Salesman told me they work on 85% of dealer price and Skoda are therefore much more realistic than say psa as the major selling point of pcp done right is trading in / up with some deposit allowance from the old vehicle being worth more than the gfv.

 

As for DPF's I'm still mixed on them and there perception to Joe Bloggs.  My 118D is almost 6yrs old - and even with little hops that I do I've never had a dpf issue.  The only time the dpf needed a blast down the M1 was after a sticking egr valve when new, and it was a pretty painless process.  As for replacement however....

This being my first VAG diesel though it could be different.

Surely if you purchase the diesel from the 'far away' dealer the servicing can be done under the service plan by the local dealer.  If you keep the diesel for 3 years than that's 30K miles so a significant saving on fuel; remembering that the quoted mpg figures should be taken with a large pinch of salt - real world should see a saving with the diesel.

A 6 year old car will be from 2007 or so and possibly Euro 4 emissions, lots of cars behaved nicely when they were Euro 4,

Then Euro 5 in 2009-10 and had to be more Emission Efficient on paper and became in practice a PITA.

 

the Fabia 1.6 TDI luckily is not one of those vehicle having PDF problems, like some engines from other Manufacturers.

The ease of Uprating a Fabia Diesel to around 133 bhp quite inexpensively does make them a choice well worth considering,

if that appeals.

If not right away, sometime in the future.

(105 ps minimum to over 133 bhp and the diesel engine still not stressed! , sounds good to me,

You have to be aware your Skoda Warranty will be invalidated with a Re-Map though.)

Hoping up power on the 1.2 TSI is not worth it IMO.

 

The Monte Carlo Estates look great IMO.

So can a Fabia Diesel Estate with the benefit of having a DSG look good. 

 

george

Surely if you purchase the diesel from the 'far away' dealer the servicing can be done under the service plan by the local dealer.  If you keep the diesel for 3 years than that's 30K miles so a significant saving on fuel; remembering that the quoted mpg figures should be taken with a large pinch of salt - real world should see a saving with the diesel.

 

Yh, the service plan is a Skoda product for new cars - book price is £529, saving around £100 if paid separately - not a huge saving if paying for it but bu effectively getting it for around £220 (the pcp cancellation cost) it's a ~£400 saving and much cheaper than even Dave round the local garage could service it for.

 

Never trust mpg from the book or the car.  My 118  has averaged 47mpg over the course of its 55k miles with me.  Tbf on it though that's pretty close to the book figure and scarily close to the cars own computed average.  Using the new car calculator at Parker's (which uses list prices) the diesel will save me over a grand.  Then add that I could have the diesel for £1500 less than the price Parker's are calculating on I'm saving even more.

A 6 year old car will be from 2007 or so and possibly Euro 4 emissions, lots of cars behaved nicely when they were Euro 4,

Then Euro 5 in 2009-10 and had to be more Emission Efficient on paper and became in practice a PITA.

 

the Fabia 1.6 TDI luckily is not one of those vehicle having PDF problems, like some engines from other Manufacturers.

The ease of Uprating a Fabia Diesel to around 133 bhp quite inexpensively does make them a choice well worth considering,

if that appeals.

If not right away, sometime in the future.

(105 ps minimum to over 133 bhp and the diesel engine still not stressed! , sounds good to me,

You have to be aware your Skoda Warranty will be invalidated with a Re-Map though.)

Hoping up power on the 1.2 TSI is not worth it IMO.

 

The Monte Carlo Estates look great IMO.

So can a Fabia Diesel Estate with the benefit of having a DSG look good. 

 

george

 

 

These guys are offering ecu upgrades and dpf removal too.  It's a thought for post warranty:

 

http://www.sharkperformance.co.uk/news/article.asp?id=147

 

There also about 20mins down the road too

 

Edit:  According to the AA post feb 2014 the mot test will check for the presence of the dpf filter where one was orig fitted and the lack thereof will constitute an MOT failure.

 

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuels-and-environment/diesel-particulate-filters.html

 

Just checked my mileages according to google and each journey are a bit lower than I guesstimated at :/  without confirmation I'd think the dpf in my Euro4 is probably less 'dense' than in newer euro5's.  My driving style whilst fine for the existing filter might not suit the fabia's euro5 set up.  

 

:/  Annoyance - I'd pretty much decided on the tdi, this is now a firm tick for the petrol.

Edited 26 December, 201312 yr by capriboy

I have just changed from a CR90 TDI - to - a 1.2TSI.

I am a long time diesel fan, but the DPF is going to be a problem for many drivers in the future. All manufacturers have 'issues' currently.

I have no regrets going back to a petrol (in fact it is quite nice) - but its your choice!

happy motoring!

If you did want a diesel, a re-map does not necessarily mean you need to go for DPF removal.

(as things are, and as shown in the link above, best not to go for DPF removal.)

No point getting a diesel if it does not suit the type of mileage and use that diesels are best at doing.

 

george

Long hard thinking and pretty sure I will choose the tsi. I think the $ saving for the diesel was swaying me somewhat. As well as my 118d we also run another 2.0 diesel people carrier and the whole point of the fabia is a run around for shopping, dad taxi etc. Not much good if I'm constantly causing the dpf to warn me to do a manual regen.

Thanks for all the advice folks. Ordering tomorrow, wish me luck!

You won't regret buying the TSI, it's a nice change and is a good little engine which VAG fit in bigger cars as well.

Just barter hard and get some freebies thrown in if they won't budge on prices.

Not many people buy cars at this time of year so you should be in a good position to do some haggling, just treat it like you're in a market in Marrakech and keep chipping away at the salesman.

I did all my haggling via email with my dealer and didn't go in until I was happy with the offer to pay the deposit.

Happy haggling, enjoy.

You won't regret buying the TSI, it's a nice change and is a good little engine which VAG fit in bigger cars as well.

Just barter hard and get some freebies thrown in if they won't budge on prices.

Not many people buy cars at this time of year so you should be in a good position to do some haggling, just treat it like you're in a market in Marrakech and keep chipping away at the salesman.

I did all my haggling via email with my dealer and didn't go in until I was happy with the offer to pay the deposit.

Happy haggling, enjoy.

 

Thanks.  When he hits bottom $ I think I'll be asking for mats and mdi cable along with some vcds tweaks as a minimum.  Maybe i'm just carp at haggling idk.  When presented with the diesel being offered to me for £500 notes less than there petrol all the local dealer would do is match.  Kinda expected him to beat it by a bit really, what with the diesel being so much more on list.  I did offer 11k, expecting a price being offered somewhere inbetween but alas no, doesn't see, to work like that.

 

The other white est I've found new is £200 less than the lowest my local dealer has offered - at that price it's about £750 off list, or a little over 5%.  I know when buying 'normal' models there's much more % to barter for - I've used drive the deal before for family, a good broker, and they've shaved 20% off at times.  There's a nice jag avail atm with 27k off list price of £62k odd.    

Sorry for dbl post - can't edit for some reason.

 

Just had a call from the diesel dealer who pointed me to this doc here http://www.skoda.co.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Brochures/19246_Skoda_DPF_Leaflet_v7.pdf

 

 

What should I do if the DPF 

warning light comes on?

When the light shown illuminates, it means the vehicle needs help to carry out DPF regeneration. The procedure 

involves the vehicle being driven in a certain way to help increase the exhaust temperature. Drive 

continuously for about 10-15 minutes at a speed of at least 23mph whilst maintaining an engine 

speed of 700rpm or above. Higher engine speeds are perfectly acceptable where conditions allow.

 

 

And suggested to me that my minimum use of short 8 mile hops with twice weekly 25 mile trips will be fine.  On a plus note confirmed the Tech has maxidot inc 

Edited 27 December, 201312 yr by capriboy

I think he is trying to sell a car.

 

The Alistair Fleming Dealership in Dundee (Their Citroen Branch) had customers sign a declaration that the Diesel Car and the DPF had been explained to them before they purchased the car.

Just so that a customer could not come back saying that a Salesperson had told them that self same story.

 

george

I think he is trying to sell a car.

 

The Alistair Fleming Dealership in Dundee (Their Citroen Branch) had customers sign a declaration that the Diesel Car and the DPF had been explained to them before they purchased the car.

Just so that a customer could not come back saying that a Salesperson had told them that self same story.

 

george

 

I think they all are tbh.  The dealer is Meaden's, have been very helpful and reviews here at Briskoda are excellent.  What's reassuring is that the info above is from Skoda - now should I have DPF issues they can't exactly claim I wasn't following there recommendations.

 

Although my shortest usual run is circa 8miles it's a mix of 30-40 and 60mph road.  No traffic (I work nights generally) and is almost a straight run- only one junction to pull out of.  I ran it in the people carrier last night (Citreon Dispatch 2.0hdi) and the heater was warm half way.  Can't recall if it's euro 4 or 5 (59 reg) but it does even shorter runs than that usually and is fine with it.  

 

I must be tired because this is doing my nut in.  

I had a Diesel Automatic Peugeot Bipper, Euro 4 no DPF.  it was great, used any time any place, short journeys, cold weather, what ever..

 i got a 2010 Euro 5 to replace it, & it was unbelievably bad. Punted PDQ.

 

george

This is a useful guide to car buying, well I found it to be a fair representation of what happens.

I realise you have no PX but the rest is worth a read. Have fun.

http://www.carbuyingguide.org.uk/best-buy-car.php

 

 

Long day, not slept in 24hrs as was at work last night but...  she's on the drive.  Pleasant enough 191mile run home , love the side seat bolsters and the amundsen, road noise is a lot more than I'm used to but I guess that comes with the territory.

 

All vcds done bar sweep (wouldn't take supposedly) and Aus country for big mph.  Fingers crossed it's dry tomorrow so I can debadge it - had a quick look and there well stuck on.

Enjoy.

 

Which Car/Engine ?

oops duh, thats what tired does for you.

 

 

Monte Tech diesel in candy white, turns out only had 12 miles on the clock.  Didn't think that bad for a pre reg.  Tadge over 210 now and no longer gleaming white after it's run upto the midlands - oops.