Broker orders cancelled by Skoda UK

[john999boy]

It would be a full time job looking for posts that had any hint of Skoda criticism wouldn't it Tony?

As the site is largely frequented by people with an adult perspective, we expect differing viewpoints and don't normally have any need to be proactive. In fact we tend to veer totally the other way with just an occasional 'guidance' post if we happen to stumble across or have a thread reported to us. HTH.

[Rainmaker]

          At some stage  the thread was possibly/ hinting at  criticising Skoda, so it would not have been beyond  expectation that a Moderator would have  made some comment.

 

Why? This is an owners' club, not Škoda customer services. If criticism (or praise) is levied, what's the big deal? I would no more expect mods to step in because the Great Leader Škoda was criticised any more than I'd expect eBay to step in if someone posted a negative review on their website. Maybe it's just me...

[UncleWang]

Nice motors, I still miss my 6 at times. Which engine and variant did you go for mate? I had the 145ps petrol, but wished they sold the 2.5 high powered variant over here. You'll certainly get fast delivery from Mazda and shouldn't have any trouble from it. They're decent motors and nicely built. What colour did you go for? Enjoy it either way!

The 165 petrol sport nav 2 wheel drive in soul red (I don't do diesel!), shame its not 4 wheel drive but that's reserved for the far superior diesel variants (sarcasm!!) at present stuck on the high seas somewhere, lets hope the ship isn't raided by Somalian pirates! I've liked the style of it since it came out in 2012, as you say, shame no higher powered petrol version here with four wheel drive as in the US of A.  

[UncleWang]

Got a very good discount as well with a dealer 90 miles from me.

[Montegue]

Working perfectly for me. It sounds like your settings are incorrect. Click your name at the very top right of the page (next to 'Sign out'), and then click Settings. On the page that loads is a 'Time zone' box. Under that is 'Automatically detect DST changes' (or words to that effect). Make sure it's set to GMT/London and that the box is TICKED, and then save by clicking the button. It should alter the times you're seeing so they are now correct.

Derv, many thanks for the great info, I always wondered how this could be changed. Have changed the setting though it never really caused me a problem.

[thewinelake]

Did NCD use multiple dealers for their S3 business?

[Rainmaker]

The 165 petrol sport nav 2 wheel drive in soul red (I don't do diesel!), shame its not 4 wheel drive but that's reserved for the far superior diesel variants (sarcasm!!) at present stuck on the high seas somewhere, lets hope the ship isn't raided by Somalian pirates! I've liked the style of it since it came out in 2012, as you say, shame no higher powered petrol version here with four wheel drive as in the US of A.

The best colour by miles! I must admit I enjoyed test driving the 2.2 diesel bi-turbo, it's exceptionally quiet in the cabin and goes like stink. It pulls all the way to the red line and feels relentless. I did prefer the more revvy petrol though and the fact it needed working to keep it sweet. It's half the fun on the back roads and they're good engines.

It'll be with you soon, when I got mine they said the longest you'll possibly wait is two weeks, as that's factory to dealer if there is no existing stock in the country matching your preferences. Enjoy it and don't forget to come back and show us pics and give us your impressions.

[Tony R]

. Maybe it's just me...

 

            Probably.

[Tony R]

Did NCD use multiple dealers for their S3 business?

 

                  I am not so sure they use dealers at all but  gathered lots of orders together and dealt direct with Skoda?. I assume Skoda pulled the plug on N C D ( who received high praise on these boards from  satisfied  purchasers ) and did not do so VIA  the  dealer network?.

[UncleWang]

The best colour by miles! I must admit I enjoyed test driving the 2.2 diesel bi-turbo, it's exceptionally quiet in the cabin and goes like stink. It pulls all the way to the red line and feels relentless. I did prefer the more revvy petrol though and the fact it needed working to keep it sweet. It's half the fun on the back roads and they're good engines.

It'll be with you soon, when I got mine they said the longest you'll possibly wait is two weeks, as that's factory to dealer if there is no existing stock in the country matching your preferences. Enjoy it and don't forget to come back and show us pics and give us your impressions.

Will do and thank you, apparently the petrol ones are quite rare in this country and there was one in a compound somewhere that had been reserved a couple of hour before I appeared (so they say!) and just the one on the high seas, then after that a factory order which will be up to 10 weeks! which I think is pretty good considering how far away Japan is!

Also, there is a few petrol pre-reg's in the country....every colour you like apart from red...typical!

Edited 2 June, 2016 by UncleWang

[maffyou]

Did NCD use multiple dealers for their S3 business?

  

AFAIK, it was just the one dealer - at least that's the impression that comes across from the emails people have posted from NCD. But they have their non-disclosure in their terms (or whatever it's called) which means you don't know, although it would seem there might have been some consistency in the Reg plate prefixes...

I am not so sure they use dealers at all but  gathered lots of orders together and dealt direct with Skoda?. I assume Skoda pulled the plug on N C D ( who received high praise on these boards from  satisfied  purchasers ) and did not do so VIA  the  dealer network?.

They still go through dealers, AFAIK, it's just they go through as fleet sales rather than private sales, which is what allows the big discounts.

[thewinelake]

One wonders if it might be possible to set up as a genuine fleet - so instead of buying a car, you get offered a job at NCD who then give you a car (but you pay for it, and don't claim it as a company car)..

Edited 2 June, 2016 by thewinelake

[philpix]

They use Skoda dealers AFAIK

Edited 2 June, 2016 by philpix

[Tony R]

They use Skoda dealers AFAIK

 So the  questions arise as to whether they use one or several, and the  decision to cut them off may well have not come from Skoda  who presumably  do not know the make  up of the fleet  coming from  a  dealer, and the  dealerS must have acted in unison re the  no further dealing for  N C D?.

[Tony R]

Will do and thank you, apparently the petrol ones are quite rare in this country

 

              I am surprised the switch to petrol  is not taking place. The new Mayor of London  seems determined to bash motorists re emissions, extending the Congestion Zone from  the current parameters to  all the way the South and North Circular roads, and which will then encompass a vast area of London. Diesels may well be banned from Inner London and one Borough ( Islington )  has already  increased to Parking  Permit cost to  almost  double. And if London gets away with  the further restrictions, no doubt other towns and cities will follow suit. I hear Southampton is thinking of going that way re the City centre, in which case places  like Birmingham , Manchester and other large  places will follow, even if only as a way to raise revenue in these times of restriction on Council taxes. IF and it's a big  IF, I will switch to petrol, and whether  I stay with Skoda is not certain.  Although my Estate is coming up for 6 1/2  yrs old, it hasn't yet done 17,000 miles , of which 90% at least must be motorway ones, so why  change, until forced to do so by emissions  control?.

[Rainmaker]

Tony, that's not even 3k a year? I'd be driving a W12 in your shoes, not a diesel! At that mileage a derv is probably costing you more than an equivalent petrol, overall. Even at 12k we don't notice the difference between 25 and 50 mpg price wise, it's a couple of quid a week. I'd be at least doubling my cylinders if I was you.

[ColinD]

Brand new models? I doubt that.

 

Come to think of it, I think I'll send my Skoda dealer a link to this thread and suggest to them that they might pass it to head office.

 

You may find your dealer jumping for yoy, ncd and others were making a killing. I've had interest from a few others brokers, but turned them down to advertise as I felt they were leaping on the fleet bandwagon.

 

Sad to hear of orders being cancelled, I'm surprised that happened, but not that fleet sales have been culled to protect retail and yes retailers/servicing network... But in talks with many, 'fleet' to retail sales were killing the dealers. Also killing your residuals!

 

At the end of the day, the big showrooms cost as much to heat and staff today as they did last month. There's almost no money left in normal retail car sales, which is why 'labour' and servicing is going up, volume bonuses are target and quality driven, go for a test drive, order online, dealer bears all costs! Not a problem just for VAG! 

 

Online buying I do believe is the future, more so than now. I also see the dealer network becoming more regional and almost super centre, every model, various types, long test drives at the manufacturers expense. Then smaller local service centres, these will be our garages of old, but in gloss white paint.

 

Buying a car should be no more difficult than a telly, it should be easier... you like, you read up ( here, there etc ) you buy option A or B, get a delivery date at your convenience delivered with fuel. That's my view and that's shared by a few others; well bits of it are.

 

That's why I started on the discount cars a few years back, but to ensure everyone got something, we're not racing to the bottom on prices... there's a free tank of fuel, except, yes you've paid for it, well I am, but you have... you get the idea, I'm not taking as much out of the 'deal' as other brokers, not by a long way .

 

We've largely been under most prices except those fleet prices.  I alone could not figure it out, it's as if the fleet sales arm were 2 to 3k lower on every deal, even discussing with others they could not even get close. However, the orders are placed by you to the dealer, not through a broker.

 

Again I don't think anyone foresaw this twist. They maybe able to do it, whether they should of or simply blocked all new orders... that is clearly above my pay grade; the latter one though.

 

If people are getting cancellations and it's built... you can get your dealer to acquire that car, it won't be the 'fleet' price, but it should not be RRP either. I'm not sure how good skoda auto manufacturing is to adapt to demand fluctuations this close to a build week, i.e. next week 100 fleet cars are pulled... the supply chain might not be flexible enough, in other words the cars maybe built anyway

[philpix]

I asked if "my" car could be bought at a higher cost to me. Skoda refused point blank and the car has gone into the national demo fleet pool.

I realise now that Skoda have little regard for their customers. Shame

[ColinD]

I've been away for a few days in the highlands. Just back this afternoon and trying to get through all the info.

 

I'll try and talk to a few folk tomorrow. 

 

This is appearing to be a 'exploit' 'loophole' that is closed with highly charged feeling & outcomes. There are bound to be more than two sides to this, NCD, SKODA, Dealers ( losers and winners ). Worth bearing in mind there maybe the sacrifice of one for the good of other independent business dealers and thus future customers/brand; cut the finger off to save the hand, at the currently unexplainable cost of current ones...

 

Of course the forum is going to be a good cop and bad cop too, depending who you are when writing/reading the posts...

[ColinD]

              The other observation I would make is  there seems to be no comment by any of the Moderators?

 

We're in the dark as much as you, more so as we've not got cars on order. I was also away, not that this makes one jot of difference. I'll spend time tomorrow to see if I can get any more info. Bet 1$ I no comment due to hit data protection before lunch

[ColinD]

One wonders if it might be possible to set up as a genuine fleet - so instead of buying a car, you get offered a job at NCD who then give you a car (but you pay for it, and don't claim it as a company car)..

 

 

BRISKODA fleet Make it a co-op where we're all members, I mean staff  

[rafmike]

Thought I would make make a comment on this subject, I purchased my Superb through Carwow back in July last year, I feel that I got a reasonable deal, £2000 Skoda contribution and £2300 discount from Carwow, so a total saving of £4300, not too bad a discount for a new model, the discount covered the cost of all of the extras that I added, and I was happy with that.

 

I did not achieve the big discounts that others have managed, and I have wondered just how long Skoda would allow this to continue, I also have kept an eye on the used car prices for the new Superb,  I have seen a couple of Superb SEL Exec Hatch 2.0TDI DSG's, going for the price that I paid for mine brand new, so I have been quite pleased and feel that my discount has worked out well for me, the discount has not really had an impact on the value of my car.

 

Out of interest, my daughter was desperate fro a new car, she has just qualified as a nurse and had a limited budget, my son purchased a new Hyundai i10 a year ago, and got as great deal, with this in mind I asked for some quotes through Carwow for a Hyundai i20 SE, the best discount we could get was £11300, the retail price was £13600, not to bad a discount.

 

With this information in hand, went directly to our local Hyundai dealer, not only did they match the Carwow quote, they undercut it, she walked away with a new i20 with metallic paint for £10500, so it shows that you can get good deals directly from the main dealers.

I also bought through Carwow, they arranged the deal through Beadles of Maidstone and I finished up with a saving of £4,640 everything was done through the dealer and I always had a named sales "executive" to deal with.  More than happy.

[Tony R]

Tony, that's not even 3k a year? I'd be driving a W12 in your shoes, not a diesel! At that mileage a derv is probably costing you more than an equivalent petrol, overall. Even at 12k we don't notice the difference between 25 and 50 mpg price wise, it's a couple of quid a week. I'd be at least doubling my cylinders if I was you.

 

   In London it is hardly possible to use a car because you cannot park ( except at ludicrous  cost at the other end ) even now in the  Boroughs where every road is  resident  parking only. One cannot in practice park  anywhere other than one's own area, which  themselves are quite small. And having bought the vehicle, the subsequent running  costs are of " interest " to me and the desireability of the vehicle would  be  represented in the  amount it could be sold for.  We are told diesel is more expensive ( was more than now or in the future ) to run unless one does  a high mileage , which I don't understand  as although more  costly to buy, one gets  that difference back when selling ?. And hitherto , diesel has been easier to sell than petrol? but as I have said in previous posts, I think  that will change, due to the emissions problem surrounding  diesel. No doubt the whole industry is cursing V A G for having  highlighted  this. So having bought the vehicle, with residuals higher than otherwise, the more mpg one gets  surely is better, and for which diesel comes out on top. Whether  diesels with  dpf's get clobbered as much as others remains to be seen.  Having reached the stage in life that I have, agewise I mean, I often wonder re  cosseting myself with a s/hand Bentley but  friends managing fleets of cars tell me they are  money pits!. So, who knows , my current  Superb is Elegance with panoramic  roof, " wood " trim etc,  2 deck boot level,  beige leather so I often think why spend £26k+ to get something else.  I also toy with the idea of buying a classic car but  they seem so small  in comparison with current cars and insignificant on  the motorway, even the Ford V8 Pilot, a real handful to drive, which I did many moons ago when in the s/h trade.  Or the Humber Super Snipe , straight 8 , or Austin Sheerline, real  handfulls to drive.

[Oldgits]

After sending a detailed email to the MD of Skoda UK I received yesterday a phone call from his office. There seemed genuine concern about these recent cancelled orders and a full investigation is under way and I have been promised a call next week.

[philpix]

After sending a detailed email to the MD of Skoda UK I received yesterday a phone call from his office. There seemed genuine concern about these recent cancelled orders and a full investigation is under way and I have been promised a call next week.

So Skoda UK who initiated the cancellation of the NCD orders and put all the cars into the national demo fleet are now concerned.

I find that hard to swallow.