I moved to the brand late 2008 having always had Ford cars previously.  Ownership of my last Ford was nothing but problems right through from the buying process to eventually getting rid of it after less than 2 years. 

 

I was attracted to Skoda because they had a reputation for value for money, reliability and good customer service (something I didn't get with Ford).  I have had 3 Fabias and can honestly say they lived up to their reputation.  Not the best looking car perhaps but a down to earth honest one.  Service and customer relations have been good as well, far better than I had previously.

 

But where are Skoda going now?  I was in a local showroom last week where they had a new Fabia Elegance on display.  Behind it was a new Rapid Sport.  The price difference - £900!!  The Fabia was clearly overpriced, this on a car which is a run out model now.  Looking at the price of the Fabia 3, they are simply ridiculous.  Seems to me that Skoda are fast losing (probably now lost) that honest, value for money reputation and are going all out to screw as much out of their customers as they can.

 

I'm not due to change my car for a couple of years yet but am already thinking that I may have to change brands.  If I do, it will be with a heavy heart but I would resent paying over the odds for a new car.  Does anyone else feel the same?  

Yes.

They are going upmarket a bit too much.

 

Which to me is at odds with the decent quality and good service for a sensible price.

Look at the price of the mk3 Fabia and it's not far off other cars in the same class.  Octavia is no longer cheap either.

 

Problem is, while they are trying to improve quality and charge more they are hampered by being in the VAG empire and clearly being told not to make the cars too nice so the Audi -> VW -> Skoda order is kept clear.

 

No doubt they will keep selling as more and more will be fleet sales.

But they need some budget cars or a sub brand in the empire under Skoda now IMO.

But they need some budget cars or a sub brand in the empire under Skoda now IMO.

They do already:

Called Seat. ;-p

Pricing is less compelling than perhaps it was, but then the brand is moving up generally. Also bear in mind that the finance 'offer' is part of probably 75% of sales, so the Fabia with 0% is much cheaper in the end than another model without that.

 

Having said that I recently purchased a small city car, and it came down to the Citigo vs the new i10. Nowithstanding the woeful 'automatic' gearbox in the Citigo, the two are miles apart (IMHO) yet the same price take - most noticeably in the interior quality, but the i10 also has 50% more power, disc brakes all round, a real automatic gearbox, five seats, more airbags, and lots of other areas where it's simply better specced. Just one example of course.

The prices may seem a little high for now, Skoda want their products to look better quality so will use the increasing price as an apparent move upmarket.

If no one is prepared to pay these prices then they will fall, a simple case of supply and demand.

I'm sure the dealers will have a high profit margin or incentive scheme to offer buyers who aren't fooled a more realistic price or finance package.

I was offered a lower finance rate than the one advertised on my Monte Tech and still got the free servicing included so the scope will always be there to haggle or to drive a hard bargain.

Straight from the horses mouth:

 

Desirability.

 

People will pay because they desire the brand. That's the uplift they have been marketing. Personally I think that's wide of the mark in the current climate.

 

If I had nothing to do with here, so putting my avg Joe cap on, and a choice between a dacia and a skoda, and given I have no spare cash; and not much of it, I'd buy the dacia or a 20year old micra.

 

I'm like a moth drawn to the light of the moon. I know dacia and others are part of big evil corporates who spend more on a lunch than a village in africa sees in a month, but hey... that's all outside my circle. 

 

Back in this world, if I was buying new, offers etc, looking at total cost would play more and residuals. In that sense, the desirability plan better work!

No idea but it's not the Skoda of old that's for sure.

 

Feel they are now more interested in the new markets like China, to be much bothered with their traditional markets and that dependable good value for money trump card doesn't need to be played where their is no previous knowledge of the brand.

 

Car brands and prices, like politics, are all getting very similar no matter what the badge says, however its difficult to shake of that desire to stay with what you know and move onto pastures new.

 

 

TP

this is something I have been musing since the launch of the rapid

 

they are clearly trying to be seen as a more mid market brand rather than the lower end, 2000 ish they dumped a load of the smaller family type dealer who gave really good personal service but their showrooms did not fit the new brand image they wanted for skoda

 

about 5-7 years ago they started "reprofiling" there dealer used car stock and put an age limit on used cars

 

last year they introduced the rapid with what many thought an excessive price for an under spec'ed car and we have seen a constant range of discounts / offers on the rapid and several "upgrades" of standard kit

 

the fabia 3, I was excited initially, but as I have looked closer I like the shape but there is little to entice me to change, the mirror link and smartgate don't work with my phone and mirror link is limited to a handful of apps

 

for me it will come down to offers / discounts if I don't see the correct offer I will just hang onto my GLII and pay the final payment

 

looking on the VW site, I can get a polo for within £300 - £400 extra same spec ?? probably better std equipment

 

 

Volkswagen Polo Hatch 3Dr 1.2TSI BlueMotion Tech 90 StopStart EU6 SE   2015 Model Year

£13,730

 

Skoda Fabia Hatch 5Dr 1.2TSi 90 StopStart EU6 SE   2015.5 Model Year £13,390 

Edited 7 November, 201411 yr by bluecar1

its a shame, but to me SEAT had a massive lull, in fact i was sure they would be binned by VAG and replaced with Alfa.  But quietly and under the radar the whole SEAT range has been remodelled and looks very very very Audi now.  SEAT are fast taking over the space Skoda once filled in the VAG incestuous family.  Skoda are becoming what VW was and VW are trying to take on Audi who are also in turn trying to shaft Porsche.  The whole hierarchy and role splits are starting to become very confused and why they feel they need to amalgamate them all is beyond me.  It's Like Dacia suddenly offering a Sandero with a clio 200 engine in it for £400 less than you can get the Clio  200 no one will buy it ( although there is a 182 clio cup engined sanders at the ring....lol)

 

The idea of sub brands and having a cheaper brand is to have something for everyone.  Where as Skoda seem hell bent on becoming VW and when it's all said and done we'd all rather a VW and the majority of buying decision was price when you buy a skoda.  You can overlook the "it's not as pretty as the GTi" thoughts in your head when  it costs £5k less

 

The prices on the Fabia do seem a joke, however when you compare that to say a crappy fiesta which are not far off but miles behind as a product you can see why its happening.

 

I think one other thing you need to remember with the car industry now is that it is one big merry go round in a financial sense.  Because so much is done by finance and forward selling it's made the whole car industry nothing more than  structured financial product.  The danger is if you stop the music at any one point there won;t be enough seats for everyone.  also the initial price means stuff all as the days of saving your pennies and buying the car outright are gone, it's all about the monthly cost.  In fairness i took m VRS on PCP deal, but only so i have the get out in 2 yrs time, I've lost way too much buying cars outright over the years.

 

anyway, i agree , prices are mad, positioning of the brand makes no sense,  i.e. they want a rally Fabia S2000 but are not prepared to cover a VRS model.  They still seem to miss the point the VRS sells the monte carlo, i;ve had two monte carlo owners comment on my VRS in car parks, and both said ( young lads) thats the one i wanted but could not afford insurance, so i got the monte because it looks like a VRS.  But this discussion is a whole other can of worms.

 

Me personally i think i will be going back to seat in a used cupra 280 next.  the prices on those are ridiculous value, used ones now going for 20k and not even 12 months old yet. 

The finance thing is key - it covers the majority of sales. And PCP rentals are affected by forecast residuals, something that Skoda are doing well with, hence increased sticker price isn't such a big problem.

 

There are some real bargains because of this, how about a £35k Mercedes SLK for £240 pm? 300bhp Golf R up until recently was available for as little as £225pm with £1,500 deposit...

Wherever they are going they have lost me as a customer, we all know they are virtually the same as the other cars in the VAG group, different badge and different shape. So for years a Skoda has shown good value, it had to be this way because demand was not great, sell it cheap, entice people in and then with the hope of customers being loyal the price creeps up. As we have seen.

 

 If you are not fussy about the badge your car has then you can find a budget car, lots of them out there, however the days of getting a premium (VAG) car for budget prices are clearly over.

 

 Look on the bright side though, this will be good for residuals.

Interesting comments and glad it not just me who feels Skoda have lost their way.

 

I have always bought my cars outright and may therefore have a different slant to others on this.  Buying on PCP could well be an option, particularly if the total cost of ownership for 2 or 3 years is better value that the amount lost in depreciation over the same period.  I'll look more closely at this when the time to change comes around.  Thanks to all for their comments.

I have to agree with a lot of the comments on here. I think they have become too expensive. A second hand Skoda is expensive now which makes it difficult for people like me to buy. Their new prices are above budget car brands, I remember when they were the cheapest! A new Favorit was less than £6K!

Dacia can do it, why not Skoda?

They do not really need to reduce prices because often there are waiting lists for Factory Builds,

and when cars are not selling in the UK like now as a Face Lift Model of the Fabia is coming out they reduce prices by making offers.

 

When you want a Dacia priced car, the option is there to just buy a Dacia,

or a slightly used Renault.

 

george

Skodas have increased their price by far too much, ffs the new fabia will launch at what seems to be 50% higher price than the old model was selling for just a year or two ago. 

 

Round my way, all of a sudden, everyone seems to be ditching their mundane motors for new mainly Mercedes coupes, BMW 4x4's, and even Range Rover Evoques. I'm at a loss to understand this sudden shift in motoring afluence, as the area is distinctly average.

 

IMO Skoda Uk is likely to have pushed the boat out too far with the new fabia, and I think no vat offers etc will start appearing soon, maybe these illusory cheap PCP deals on prestige cars may see VAG lose significant market share in the UK before too long.

 

Skoda may well have peaked....

The UK Government Treasury and HMRC means that many Business users can get to hire cars for 3 years,

and even private users are happy to just pay on the drip and never own the cars.

 

Ii is going to be good in the long run if you want to buy these as used, but it is going to mean a crash in the market in the end,

because the Dealers are now sitting with used cars people do not want.

Im not keen on the Dacia really George, just referring back to when Skoda used to be the most reasonably priced car in the market - mid 90's!

 

You are right, prices will probably crash soon, unless the economy has a massive boom!

 

Ii is going to be good in the long run if you want to buy these as used, but it is going to mean a crash in the market in the end,

because the Dealers are now sitting with used cars people do not want.

 

I personally think it's actually cheaper to just buy new in the end..., which suggests the second-hand market is too expensive (by far).

Thank goodness people do buy or lease new and often pay too much, 

otherwise there would no used cars to get bargains on.

 

If the second hand cars are roo expensive then look for cheaper ones, 

asking prices and paying prices are 2 different things.

Edited 10 November, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi

Yes that's true, but with repair bills being what they are any saving made against a new car is generally wiped out as soon as something needs fixing. In which case the punter may as well have just leased a new car and had the certainty over their monthly outgoings as well.

I want a small, affordable car with DSG and flappy paddles, with sporty performance, which Skoda no longer plan to offer.  So unless they will fit me a vRS type wheel on a Rapid 1.4TSi, it will be bye bye Skoda.

IMO it's not worth having DSG without paddles.