Car decisions.... (and a flurry of questions).

[jonboyuk]

Hey all, 

Before I begin, this is a bit of a brain splurge, and I'm hoping some of you may be able to help clarify my thoughts/erase stupid ideas.

 

I've had my current Fabia for about 7/8 years now, and it's starting to go wrong left, right and centre, so it's time to upgrade. Fabia 3 is ticking a lot of boxes (esp the Android Auto one as I love gadgets), but I'm not quite convinced. So here's a number of questions for those feeling brave to wade their way through them!

 

1. My fianceé reckons a Fabia isn't large enough for family (ie in 2/3 years when we have a kid and we want to go on holiday)? Is that accurate?

2. PCP. Is this a good idea? If I do it, and hand the car back in, I've read elsewhere that it's a black mark on my credit history? Is this true? Also, when it says I can trade my car in for another, what exactly do I get towards a newer car? No deposit? Lower monthly payments, or just the money of the GMFV if it happens to be more than they originally quoted?

3. What can I sell my 77K 1.4 16V Y reg Fabia for?

4. Should I be checking other brands? ie an Audi A1 is the same cost as a top level Fabia 3. Or a Hyundai i20 (which I drove recently) which is rammed with gadgets! 

5. What about PCP on a second hand car, where I can get a BMW 1 series with 20K on the clock for a car valued at £10,000.

 

I'm just not sure what to do...so any thoughts/insights would be good. Also, I'm sure I have other questions but any non-dealership advice is appreciated.

Cheers

[MasterMind]

I'll answer only on number 1 since it's the only I may help :p

 

You can alwarys choose for the Fabia Break or go with the Skoda Rapid Spaceback. There's enough space to travel with a kid

[Gazbull17]

My old MonteTech hatch was always big enough for me and the wife and son so the MkIII will be more than enough as the boot is a bit bigger. I've swapped for the MkIII estate so I could fit bike racks to the roof bars and have more room in the back for bike gear for me and my son.

PCP is good idea if you plan to change in 3 years for a new car, handing it back at the end or trading it in early does not affect your credit rating, don't know where you got that from!

If at the end of the deal you GFV figure is say £6k, anything that the car is valued over that then it's yours to use on another car as a deposit, if you're not getting a new car then you walk away with nothing after handing it back.

You could look at an A1 but you'd find they are tiny and probably less spec but with a much plusher cabin and more prestige ie, paying for the badge! A Hyundai i20 is a good car if you can get one with the new 1.0l turbo engine and has a 5 year warranty which is good if you're planning on keeping it.

PCP whether new or used works in exactly the same way, a 20k miles used car will suffer wear and tear quicker than a new one with delivery miles, even if it is a BMW.

Not sure what you current car is worth, should be worth a good deposit on a MkIII at a Skoda dealer I would expect.

Hope this helps.

[bluecar1]

1. My fianceé reckons a Fabia isn't large enough for family (ie in 2/3 years when we have a kid and we want to go on holiday)? Is that accurate?

2 + 1 family so long as no pram etc the fabia 3 may be ok depending on the amount you take, if you are a kitchen sink type it may be tight

 

2. PCP. Is this a good idea? If I do it, and hand the car back in, I've read elsewhere that it's a black mark on my credit history? Is this true? Also, when it says I can trade my car in for another, what exactly do I get towards a newer car? No deposit? Lower monthly payments, or just the money of the GMFV if it happens to be more than they originally quoted?

PCP is good if you want to change your car every 3 years then PCP is the right choice, if you intend to keep it more than 3 years then bank load / HP may be a better option. Handing the car back is the last option, you can change to another manufacturer and they will give you a trade in value for you car, you contact VW finance (who run the VAG PCP) and get a settlement figure, difference between this and the trade in is the equity you can use as deposit for the next car 

GMFV is the set minimum they will give you for the car at the end of the contract, the difference between GMFV and the tradein value is the equity you have for the deposit of you next car, or the GMFV is the amount you pay to keep the car

 

3. What can I sell my 77K 1.4 16V Y reg Fabia for?

probably better taking advantage of offer a dealer has like a minimum PX value (the rapid had a £2000 minimum PX a while ago) or if you do go PCP then the 0% is probably worth more in saving on interest than the extra £100 or so pound you may squeeze somewhere

 

 4. Should I be checking other brands? ie an Audi A1 is the same cost as a top level Fabia 3. Or a Hyundai i20 (which I drove recently) which is rammed with gadgets! 

yes check other brands, not all cars suit everyone. the i20 is well spec'ed, but the option list is limited to say the least, so not much option to personalise it but waiting times are minimal, the VAG brands are basic in all but the SE L models but you have an extensive option list, but that comes as a price of if you add factory fit options you immediately add a couple of months to the delivery time. (I have an i20 SE I can answer any questions if you want, just send me a PM)

 

5. What about PCP on a second hand car, where I can get a BMW 1 series with 20K on the clock for a car valued at £10,000.

PCP tends to be on new and less than a year old cars , but worth talking to a dealer to confirm what they can and can't get PCP on

[jonboyuk]

Thanks all, answers most appreciated. So, I went and visited a Skoda dealer today. First of all, it's definitely big enough for a little one so no problems there! Secondly I've decided on a Fabia SE L, 1.2L 90 HP... 

 

They've given me an quote for 36 months, of £195 p/m on a £1500 deposit, and a GMFV of £5,500 (that's on 0% interest). Does that sound reasonable?

 

Secondly, the manager suggested that I take it out for 42 month duration not 36 because then the monthly payment drops to 162 from 195. To me it sounds like a no brainer, and he said because it's 0% APR you may as well, because I can just hand it back whenever I want anyway. So, what's the catch? I must be missing something on this because why would I pay more when I know I can just lose it after 3 years anyway? Surely I'm agreeing to those extra 6 months that I can't get out of (unless I upgrade to another Skoda with their agreement?)

Cheers all!

 

PS I checked the Audi A1, it's nice inside but it's not much bigger than a Citigo, it at all!

[Ootohere]

The MOTs are changing to the first at 4 Year old, so that might make a bit of a difference in the future to Lease Cars.

People now often want to Hand Them back at 3 Years old.

 

?

What is the story with servicing on the Offer.

 Is the Car on Variable Servicing, and how much will how have to pay for 3 years of Servicing if keeping the car for 4 years?

[Keitht]

Jonboyuk,

If I were you I would check your Dealers figures using the finance calculator on Skoda UK's site. At first glance it looks as if he has quoted you the 36m figure at 15k miles pa whilst the 42m figure is at 10k. Obviously any extras would change the figures as well!

Did he promise you a reasonable price for your car in p/x?

[Oli3000]

Make sure you get a carwow quote (or similar) as that will knock off a couple of grand!

[bluecar1]

 So, what's the catch? I must be missing something on this because why would I pay more when I know I can just lose it after 3 years anyway? Surely I'm agreeing to those extra 6 months that I can't get out of (unless I upgrade to another Skoda with their agreement?)

Cheers all!

there was an interesting time a few years ago, I think it was the citigo had 3 years free servicing if bought on PCP

 

if you read the small print I think you had to make 1 payment to get the free servicing, there were a couple of member who had the cash to buy but if they did that they had to pay for servicing so they bought the car on PCP, made the required number of payments, rang VWFS got a settlement figure and paid it off, but the 3 years free servicing still applied

 

so as you can see you are not locked in, the only thing difference between 36 and 42 month deals will be the time at which you come out of negative equity on the car and have some equity to use as deposit to change the car

 

as the fabia3 is so new the GFMV figures are a bit of a guess by skoda (all be it a fairly well educated guess) as there is no second hand market to test or base the figures on

 

see if the dealer will give you a few extras, mats are the basic offer normally, but others have got a few dealer fit options or better trade in on the old car

 

you rarely get a direct discount on the cost of the car, but an indirect discount in an elevated trade in

 

and you are not stuck with skoda, I was 35 months into a 42 month PCP on a fabia GLII and change to a i20, all I had to do was give the dealer the settlement figure and my account details and they settled the account with VWFSi had a few hundred equity in the car and they gave me an extra £500 as a sweetner to change make

 

so PCP doesn't lock you into skoda or the full term of the deal

Edited 29 August, 2015 by bluecar1

[jonboyuk]

Got it, thanks, seems pretty good overall then, and some really good points bluecar1!

 

So the questioning continues.....

 

1. I can't decide between the 1.2 90 PS and 110PS. I quite like the idea of a 6 speed gearbox but is it really that much more pokey? It's only £500 more.

2. They said they will offer me (as extra) 3 years servicing/GAP insurance/AutoGlym protection/chips & paint & body protection/alloy protection. Now, are any of them actually worth it?

3. I tried carwow as suggested, and I had 5 responses. One of them (Darren Edwards Hayselden Skoda in S.Yorkshire) offers £1,205 off of finance, but, it's in bloody Yorkshire and I'm in Bristol! Now, can I play this price off against the Bristol/Bath dealers (my most direct locals?) Or, I could just travel up to Yorkshire because a 1.2K saving is worth a long journey.

 

Thanks

[Ootohere]

Forget the offers of Paint Protection stuff that they say is worth a couple of hundred quid, and costs them £50 ish.

(you can buy the Kits that they have someone use on the new car.)

Go for paying less money.

 

You can get on a Mega Bus or hitch a lift to collect a new car and save many hundreds of Quids.

Play them off against each other where you can, but in the end just work out the cost to get the car cheaper and the fuel to get it home, 

and the journey can be Running it in.

(You can get on a Ryanair or Jet 2 for less than £20 and Fly to Scotland and have a nice drive home, 

it is all downhill.)

[bluecar1]

just think you will have done half the running in by the time you get home

 

but seriously, look at the travel costs, fuel to get you home and balance that against the savings

 

They said they will offer me (as extra)

 

3 years servicing :- if the genuine skoda servicing where you can take it anywhere yes, if only the dealers service plan so it always has to go back to them depends on what you think of the dealer and if you later discover the service dept is lacking you are stuck

 

GAP insurance :- if free yes, if the full price the dealers try and get away with no, it covers you for the difference between cost of a new car and book value of the car, so if the car is written off for any reason over the life of the gap insurance policy will cover the cost so you never get into the issue of the insurance paying out less than you owe on the finance. read the small print some are "return to invoice" which is the price you payed for the car others may only cover the shortfall between insurance payout and outstanding finance

 

AutoGlym protection :- if free may be, depends on the skill of those applying it, if you are offered it at full price not a chance, a free set of autoglym shampoo, polish, etc may be better value if you normally wash and polish your own car

 

chips & paint & body protection :- this seems to be the latest money maker from the dealers, this seems to be an insurance to cover stone chip and supermarket trolley bumps, can be a good deal if your cars have been prone to stat sort of damage, normally about £150 I think, my thought is if a car has it and in comes in for part ex, they can in effect get chips and alloy damage covered without the dealer having to pay for it win win for dealer

 

alloy protection :- this seems to be an insurance to cover alloy damage, can be a good deal if your cars have been prone to stat sort of damage I think if you need to get 2 or more wheels refurbed it pays for itself

 

just make sure you read all the small print and know any exclusions to any of the options you accept

[Oni]

Don't worry about where you get the Carwow price from. I got a price from a Portsmouth dealership and bought in London. The dealer tried to talk around it but I pointed out that a train ticket is only £20 so worth it to save £1500 etc.

 

I got 9% knocked off the list price so that might provide a benchmark for you.

 

Also don't forget the free insurance offer on new Fabias as well. Could save you some extra cash.

 

In terms of space I had 2 adults in the back over the weekend and there wasn't any complaints. Today I had a table and 2 chairs and lots of other crap (including a 6 foot clothes rail.. don't ask!) in the back with the seats down and there was plenty of room. 

[alltorque]

just think you will have done half the running in by the time you get home

 

but seriously, look at the travel costs, fuel to get you home and balance that against the savings

 

They said they will offer me (as extra)

 

3 years servicing :- if the genuine skoda servicing where you can take it anywhere yes, if only the dealers service plan so it always has to go back to them depends on what you think of the dealer and if you later discover the service dept is lacking you are stuck

 

GAP insurance :- if free yes, if the full price the dealers try and get away with no, it covers you for the difference between cost of a new car and book value of the car, so if the car is written off for any reason over the life of the gap insurance policy will cover the cost so you never get into the issue of the insurance paying out less than you owe on the finance. read the small print some are "return to invoice" which is the price you payed for the car others may only cover the shortfall between insurance payout and outstanding finance

 

AutoGlym protection :- if free may be, depends on the skill of those applying it, if you are offered it at full price not a chance, a free set of autoglym shampoo, polish, etc may be better value if you normally wash and polish your own car

 

chips & paint & body protection :- this seems to be the latest money maker from the dealers, this seems to be an insurance to cover stone chip and supermarket trolley bumps, can be a good deal if your cars have been prone to stat sort of damage, normally about £150 I think, my thought is if a car has it and in comes in for part ex, they can in effect get chips and alloy damage covered without the dealer having to pay for it win win for dealer

 

alloy protection :- this seems to be an insurance to cover alloy damage, can be a good deal if your cars have been prone to stat sort of damage I think if you need to get 2 or more wheels refurbed it pays for itself

 

just make sure you read all the small print and know any exclusions to any of the options you accept

Don't forget the "Insurance Protection Insurance" in case you fail to meet the small-print conditions for any of rhe above. then there will be the "Insurance Protection Insurance Insurance" in case the company underwriting the IPI goes bust...ad infinitum.

[bluecar1]

Don't forget the "Insurance Protection Insurance" in case you fail to meet the small-print conditions for any of rhe above. then there will be the "Insurance Protection Insurance Insurance" in case the company underwriting the IPI goes bust...ad infinitum.

oh dear so cynical,

 

are you inferring you could insure your insurance for the benefit of a dealer      

 

some of those do also provide a "level" of benefit for the owner as well        , oops I shall wash my mouth out for suggesting such a thing

[fabiamk2SE]

An a1 is tiny inside compared to a fabia.

If youre thinking the fabia might be too small.. Theres no chance in an A1

[vc-10]

If you're worried about space, why not try the Fabia estate? Try some of the brokers too- no idea if they'd be any better than CarWow, but if they are, just print off the page and take it into your local Skoda dealer, and ask them to match it.

[alltorque]

oh dear so cynical,

 

are you inferring you could insure your insurance for the benefit of a dealer      

 

some of those do also provide a "level" of benefit for the owner as well        , oops I shall wash my mouth out for suggesting such a thing

Not being really cynical, just treating the whole thing in a lighthearted way. For every potential risk there seems to be an insurance opportunity and, yes, most do provide some benefit for the insured. I don't recall suggesting otherwise.

[the_raz]

I can confirm that boot size in  the Fabia III (HB) is not an issue -we went on tent vacation the whole family ( 2 adults + kids 6 and 7) with tent, sleeping bags, clothes, life wests...

 

 

We have the 110, and even with this load it cruises along nicely at 65 MPH without breaking a sweat. If the difference to the 90 is only £500 I would recommend the 110. I test drove the 90, but that felt slow compared to the older 105 TSI in a Roomster.

 

[jonboyuk]

Awesome, so 'the_raz', what's your average mpg like in the 110? Is it worth going for a diesel (that question's open to anyone)! And 'bluecar', thanks for the 'extras' run down, I will take heed of all of your pointers.

 

I've done the carwow thing a few times now, so I'm going to try my best at a good blag (haha). Oni, did you get that 9% knockdown on finance or cash price because I'm going to be using PCP.

 

Okay I'm nearly done with questions:

 

I'm going to get the SE-L, are any of the extra gadgets any good/worth having (I won't ask about obvsious ones like front/rear electric windows!) I realise many of them are personal taste too.

 

- Cornering fogs

- Hillhold

- Driver fatigue sensors

- Front parking sensors

- KESSY entry (this freaks me out a bit but seems so cool)

- Light/rain assistant

- Voice control? (This confuses me because I thought it comes with Android Auto, and therefore Google Now....so do I need this option?)

- Smartgate

- Is it worth having a rear spare tyre, or are the repair kits effective?

 

Thanks again all! J

[alltorque]

Awesome, so 'the_raz', what's your average mpg like in the 110? Is it worth going for a diesel (that question's open to anyone)! And 'bluecar', thanks for the 'extras' run down, I will take heed of all of your pointers.

 

I've done the carwow thing a few times now, so I'm going to try my best at a good blag (haha). Oni, did you get that 9% knockdown on finance or cash price because I'm going to be using PCP.

 

Okay I'm nearly done with questions:

 

I'm going to get the SE-L, are any of the extra gadgets any good/worth having (I won't ask about obvsious ones like front/rear electric windows!) I realise many of them are personal taste too.

 

- Cornering fogs

- Hillhold

- Driver fatigue sensors

- Front parking sensors

- KESSY entry (this freaks me out a bit but seems so cool)

- Light/rain assistant

- Voice control? (This confuses me because I thought it comes with Android Auto, and therefore Google Now....so do I need this option?)

- Smartgate

- Is it worth having a rear spare tyre, or are the repair kits effective?

 

Thanks again all! J

I have an SE L 1.2 110 DSG Hatch being delivered next week. Hillhold is standard with DSG, I believe and driver fatigue alert standard on SE L. I went for the spare wheel as I know two people who have had damaged tyres that the gunk could not fix and the then hassle got silly. I am having the Panoramic Roof. Drove a new Fabia with it on and it was just wonderful....made the interior so light, but there are blinds to close it off if you want. I think Kessy Go is std on the SE L. Also having the lights/rain assistant as I would miss it coming from a Volvo with everything on.

Diesel vs petrol? Been a diesel driver for years - and loved them - but annual mileage has now dropped so diesel is less attractive. The 1.2 TSI 110 engine is a sweety and, of course, doesn't have a DPF to worry about. If you do mainly town/urban and short trips I would go for petrol and DSG. But that's just me. Test drive both and see what you think.

[jonboyuk]

Interesting. I commute every day, although it's just main roads and only 11 miles each way (ie no motorway driving involved). Over the year I will drive around 6.5K in commuting alone, that's not diesel driving is it? Haha.

[Oli3000]

Awesome, so 'the_raz', what's your average mpg like in the 110? Is it worth going for a diesel (that question's open to anyone)! And 'bluecar', thanks for the 'extras' run down, I will take heed of all of your pointers.

I've done the carwow thing a few times now, so I'm going to try my best at a good blag (haha). Oni, did you get that 9% knockdown on finance or cash price because I'm going to be using PCP.

Okay I'm nearly done with questions:

I'm going to get the SE-L, are any of the extra gadgets any good/worth having (I won't ask about obvsious ones like front/rear electric windows!) I realise many of them are personal taste too.

- Cornering fogs

- Hillhold

- Driver fatigue sensors

- Front parking sensors

- KESSY entry (this freaks me out a bit but seems so cool)

- Light/rain assistant

- Voice control? (This confuses me because I thought it comes with Android Auto, and therefore Google Now....so do I need this option?)

- Smartgate

- Is it worth having a rear spare tyre, or are the repair kits effective?

Thanks again all! J

- Cornering fogs

I believe this can be activated by VCDS afterwards for minimal cost if you ask chaps on here. Personally I do not see the point of it.

- Hillhold

Only if you are getting DSG.

- Driver fatigue sensors

Do you think you need these?

- Front parking sensors

Do you think you need these or can you park okay? It doesn't have a particularly hard to park front end.

- KESSY entry (this freaks me out a bit but seems so cool)

Personally think this is a must as key never has to leave pocket!

- Light/rain assistant

Depends - I like using it but it's only laziness. I actually always drive with my lights on regardless so arguably a waste of money.

- Voice control? (This confuses me because I thought it comes with Android Auto, and therefore Google Now....so do I need this option?)

Not sure. I think there is some discussion on the SmartLink thread if you look.

- Smartgate

Don't see the point personally

- Is it worth having a rear spare tyre, or are the repair kits effective?

Always buy the spare tyre when ordering. You'll get stung by the goop and then discover ordering one through your dealer is £150-250!

Regarding diesel - it's a lot more expensive for the 105ps so you have to do a lot of miles to recover that! What are you expecting to do?

EDIT: Just saw 6.5k - that's not diesel driving! More like 16.5k these days! Also same for the fatigue sensors - I don't think 11 miles will wear you out!

[Dvinge]

The_raz do you got led backlight on your fabia? Don't think I have that on my car, or even the option to buy it.

[jonboyuk]

Great I think I'm good with the extras now. I would like the panoramic roof, but £700...ouch!!