Octavia Elegance - recent spec change?

[RB79]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and new to the Skoda brand. I recently got rid of a Corolla which ended up with unexpected engine trouble despite low mileage and and only 10 years old. 

 

In the last two weeks I've narrowed my choice of replacement down to either Golf or 1.4TSI Octavia Elegance. 

 

A topic for a separate thread is that it seems there may be huge discounts available on the Octavia at the moment if I go via one of the many brokers. The biggest discount I have seen is £4000 off on a new, unregistered car from new-discount-cars.com.

 

I was just looking at the Skoda UK site again today to see what some of the options entail and I've noticed that there is no longer an option for front parking sensors and also Adaptive Cruise Control and Park assist are extras that are selected by default, you cannot remove them and they come at zero cost. Any idea what's going on? Has Skoda recently changed the spec, is this some kind of promotion or a glitch in the website?

 

As an FYI options I was considering were:

- Front Parking Sensors & Rear view camera (to help the missus with her parking issues)

- Sun Roof

- Spare Wheel (Space saver)

 

Cosmetic options I am mulling over to make the car look a bit better:

Chrome plated mouldings around the doors

Golus Wheels OR Sports suspension

 

A comfortable and quiet ride is important to me hence would value opinion on how the ride/noise levels are affected by each of Golus Wheels and Sports suspension vs. stock equipment.

 

Regards,

RB

 

[Exeterj]

I believe the Amundsen sat nav is being offered for free on the vrs now, so possible same deal with acc on the elegance

[Aurial]

I can confirm for you that Adaptive Cruise Control and Park Assist are now standard options for the Elegance spec which is why they are automatically selected. This update has only happened in the last couple of weeks, and only appeared on the website this week.

In terms of discounts, I think if you're paying cash you can look to achieve about a 12-14% discount. If you're taking the 0%apr finance the best you can hope for is about 8%.

[themanwithnoaim]

Yes I can confirm, Skoda have just upgraded the standard options on the elegance to include front parking sensors and also Adaptive Cruise Control and Park assist.

 

The ride is a little bit firm and can be noisy over some rougher roads on my Elegance MY14 (whole thread here http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/318282-octavia-20tdi-firm-hard-suspension/) so, and you may want to test drive one before considering larger wheels/sports suspension

 

The spare wheel is the best money you can spend, the boot netting system is also very good for the money but, doesn't work with the variable floor in the estate.

 

Don't take any notice of my fuelly sig. I rag my car at every oppertunity

[Dr Zoidberg]

That's a nice spec bump for no extra cost.

[Genoa1893]

I would avoid 18" rims. I could find no benefit, even at sustained speeds.

[RB79]

Thanks all for your responses so far.

 

Interesting that you confirm that ACC and Park assist are now standard. I called a dealership and the guy I spoke to didn't seem too familiar with the car and had to go and get a brochure and read back from the brochure that front parking sensors are an optional extra.  Similarly I called Skoda customer service, the person on the phone didn't know but took my details so she could check with someone from sales. She called me back pretty quick but the answer from her sales contact was that front parking senors are still an option but they will check why the option is not appearing on the website any more and why these two items (ACC and park assist) are being included in for free. Seems there must not be good communication around the Skoda sales team?

 

As mentioned, my interest is in those front parking sensors. If park assist is included then can I be sure I will get those front parking sensors? Does park assist technology depend on them hence I will definitely get them?

 

Any views on brokers... in particular new-car-discount which is offering the 1.4 TSI Elegance DSG for £17,670. Too good to be true?

[Aurial]

I ordered my Elegance on 9th March. When we were building the car on the dealers system both park assist and adaptive cruise control were automatically selected at no cost. I actually wanted to spec the park assist anyway. The dealer wasn't sure why they were coming up free and spoke to a few colleagues in the dealership and they concluded that it must be a bug in their system. He therefore manually added a charge of £590 to my invoice for the park assist.

Fast forward about a week and I've now been leafing through the brochure and have money burning a hole in my pocket so I emailed him to ask if ACC could be added to my order. He checked and said that it was already being included on my car for no cost.

Then a couple of days ago both options now show free on the Skoda website so I emailed him saying the spec has obviously changed can I have the £590 knocked off my invoice again. He checked and confirmed that both options now come as standard on the Elegance, so far from spending another £400 odd I'm now £590 better off!

In terms of brokers the cost is going to depend on whether you are taking finance or paying cash. Many of the brokers have small print that says if you take the finance the price will be higher than what they have quoted you.

As I said earlier, you can get about 12-14% for cash and about 8% for finance.

Drive the deal and carfile are two good ones but also check carwow to see what dealers will offer you. Your local dealer will often match the best price you get from carwow.

[RB79]

@Aurial... Thanks... Very useful info! I've reached out to new-car-discount.com for a quote on basis of cash. Lets see what they come back with. I see you live in London, which dealership are you buying from? Also do you have previous Skoda experience... wondering which is a good dealership for sales and then more importantly servicing (in NW London).

 

Aurial, what is the lead time on your car? Is it the standard 12 weeks or are you lucky enough that you can get one from existing stock?

[Aurial]

I'm using S.G. Smith Skoda in Croydon. This will be my first Skoda but it was good on the test drive.

I ordered on 9th March and have been told that my build date is week commencing 6th April (week 15). Delivery should be w/c 11th May (week 20).

My advice would be to do as many quotes online as possible including the various ones I mentioned above. Then you can go to your local dealer and see if they'll match. It may mean having to leave the dealership with nothing but they may well call you back later to make a deal. Hold out for the best price you can get.

Also, I know you mentioned a cash buy, but if you are at all considering the 0% APR deal it's advertised as ending at the end of this month. It may well be extended but something to bare in mind.

[philwoodphoto]

Park assist comes with all the sensors you'll ever need, including the front ones.

Chrome surrounds are nice on the estate, I added chrome roof rails too and they look good together. Spare wheel is a must. Sunroof is very nice too.

I'd have gone with the golus wheels and sports suspension if I could be sure the ride was going to be silky smooth - I opted not to and its a nice ride on our naff roads.

Oh, and the camera is great, better than the sensors - if only they had the option for a front one too!

Edited 27 March, 2015 by philwoodphoto

[kallekilponen]

The spare wheel is the best money you can spend, the boot netting system is also very good for the money but, doesn't work with the variable floor in the estate.

It works, but having the floor in the higher position does limit the positions you can use them in. With the floor dropped down they work in all positions.

[RB79]

Also, reading around on these forums it feels like a lot of the folks don't tend to hold onto their cars for too long (no because they're Skoda's, but just because they prefer to switch cars more frequently).

Any comments from people who have held onto their Octavia for long enough i.e 5-10 years (or who plan to and have a fairly good idea), of what to expect reliability/maintenance wise.

I'm a bit concerned that with all the fancy tech that goes into modern cars there's more that can go wrong and more close monitoring and care required to ensure a long life hence ultimately higher maintenance cost. The one thing I guess I'm most concerned about is the DSG transmission as that could be a big cost to fix if that starts to go wrong.

I have no issues with small, regular maintenance costs to ensure the core mechanics and management system of the car remain in good shape and give a long life, but are Skoda/VAGs service schedules, service centres and mechanics working on this basis?

[RB79]

All... Thank you so much for your help! Did the homework with the online brokers as recommended (cheapest was over £4k off list price) and headed down to my nearest dealer in Northwest London.

Lucky for me they were really keen for my business to hit their end of month target. They couldn't quite match the crazy online quote I got but they made an offer I couldn't refuse.

Brand new Octavia Hatchback 1.4TSI DSG, Brilliant Silver, Sunroof, rear parking camera, chrome door surround, paid options, stock alloys and suspension and of course ACC and Park Assist now as standard!

Initial estimated delivery 30th June!

Can't wait!