As I’ve commented in a couple of posts I’m trying to decide between a VRS (tdi) or Scout 184. (regarding the scout Skoda UK are arranging for a 3 day test in the next couple of weeks).

 

Was passing a Seat garage on Sunday and thought for completeness I should have a look at the Leon ST FR. Nice car, felt good to sit in ok the quality of dash board not just as good as the Octavia (IMO), however, lovely stylish car.

 

Got my PA (wife) to contact Seat today to obtain contract hire rates for both the 1.8tsi and 2lt tdi and was  shocked.

 

To get anyway near the monthly rate quote by Skoda (for the VRS or scout), the deposit was close to double!!  

 

So thank you Seat, nice car, however, I won’t be taking up your offer of a test drive, that extra £900 is staying in the bank!

Dnt blame ya, both nice cars would b hard to choose

As I’ve commented in a couple of posts I’m trying to decide between a VRS (tdi) or Scout 184. (regarding the scout Skoda UK are arranging for a 3 day test in the next couple of weeks).

 

Was passing a Seat garage on Sunday and thought for completeness I should have a look at the Leon ST FR. Nice car, felt good to sit in ok the quality of dash board not just as good as the Octavia (IMO), however, lovely stylish car.

 

Got my PA (wife) to contact Seat today to obtain contract hire rates for both the 1.8tsi and 2lt tdi and was  shocked.

 

To get anyway near the monthly rate quote by Skoda (for the VRS or scout), the deposit was close to double!!  

 

So thank you Seat, nice car, however, I won’t be taking up your offer of a test drive, that extra £900 is staying in the bank!

That's a real shame as its a nicer drive IMO, offers more style and better value. The deposit difference should be more than offset by the big discounts available compared to the Octavia too

That's a real shame as its a nicer drive IMO, offers more style and better value. The deposit difference should be more than offset by the big discounts available compared to the Octavia too

 

I think the big discount is the problem, contract hire is a funny old way to finance a car. The better the residual value of the car at the end of the term, the lower the monthly payments.

 

For example the Scout is £28k and the VRS £25k (approx.) yet the scout is £10 per month cheaper on CH.  

Sorry to go OT here, but could someone direct me to a site that explains all the different financing options you have in the UK. I am kinda lost.

In Luxembourg, you either

a) get some finance deal with the car manufacturer,

b )borrow the money from a traditional bank,

c) lease (only useful if you can do it via your company,

d) pay cash.

 

On a related note: we also looked at the Seat Leon estate, since I fond it a nicer car...but only looked since SWMBO said the boot was too small so Skoda it is, plus Seat has sort of a different image problem here.

Edited 26 January, 201511 yr by TomLux

I had the same issue. Looked at the Octavia Elegance estate and the Leon ST FR and in order to get the same monthly cost (PCP) as my Octavia Elegance I had to go down to a Leon SE without DSG!

Needless to say i opted for the Octavia and I dont regret the decision for a second!

a) get some finance deal with the car manufacturer,

b )borrow the money from a traditional bank,

c) lease (only useful if you can do it via your company,

d) pay cash.

 

That's pretty much the same anywhere - although personal leasing has become a lot more popular in the UK over the last few years... it can be a lot cheaper if you want to change your car every 2-3 years, can afford to put in a deposit (not always necessary depending on the deal), and don't care about the fact that you never own the car.  The manufacturers all do personal lease now (or most do), and there are plenty of third-party lease companies that will do both business and personal leasing.  And then there are the things like Peugeot's 'Just Add Fuel', which is a lease that includes the tax, insurance, servicing etc. - so you literally just pay for the fuel you use on top.

 

a) can be split into traditional hire purchase (just like getting a bank loan, really) and PCP, which is deposit - payments - GMFV, if you really want to list all the options out.

I had the same issue. Looked at the Octavia Elegance estate and the Leon ST FR and in order to get the same monthly cost (PCP) as my Octavia Elegance I had to go down to a Leon SE without DSG!

Needless to say i opted for the Octavia and I dont regret the decision for a second!

But allowing for a 3k discount on a top of the line Octavia compared to 6.5k off a top of the line Leon.... there's your trim and gearbox upgrade as well as a few additional options on the Leon!

The Leon estate was also on my shortlist before I went for the Octy, I tested a few different variants to get an idea of the engine/gearbox configurations.

 

The Leon is a very nice car and arguably the most stylish of the MQB VAG cousins, my sister up in the Midlands has a TDi 184 FR (coming from an Audi A3 sportback)  that I've been in and she's happy with it which must be a miracle in itself.

 

I did think the trim was not quite up to the Octy although the standard dual boot floor was good.