Broker orders cancelled by Skoda UK

[Decto]

Yes, it was through NCD. I have no idea why I was only informed yesterday. Information from NCD has been quite sparse.

I assume you ordered from John, he was on holiday until for 2 weeks until yesterday. I only got told when I emailed last week to confirm status.

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[maffyou]

That will be another loophole closed after the dealer moles on here report back.

I think as Colin alluded to above, this is completely legitimate. They can't get rid of it because UK consumer law states that consumers are allowed to pay off any finance agreement at any point during the duration of the finance period. Credit providers are entitled to make certain charges, but I think only interest charges ( which are possibly up to a limit of 1 month) which are small on even a large sum. They may also be able to charge some nominal "admin" fee, but I can't remember about that.

The only way they could stop it would be to scrap the purchase incentives. But they make a lot of money from people buying cars so they're not going to want to do that too readily. Also, as Colin said, it's been going on for years.

I also liked Colin's supermarket analogy and it's very true. Tesco lost a LOT of its value a few months back, not because sales had dropped, but because their property had been valued at far lower than previously.

[JohnMcL7]

When my partner bought her Polo last April, the dealer encouraged her to take out the VW finance then pay it off the next day.

The cost to her was about £8 in interest and for that she received £1000 contribution to the car cost and 3 years servicing for £100, both of which she kept even though we paid it off straight away.

 

So I don't think that is a 'loophole' the dealers are unaware of

 

It seems fairly common as it gets asked about quite often on MSE but my guess would be the number of people who actually go ahead and cancel the finance then pay it off immediately is very small otherwise they'd be putting something in to stop people taking advantage of the offer without keeping the finance.

 

John

[maffyou]

It seems fairly common as it gets asked about quite often on MSE but my guess would be the number of people who actually go ahead and cancel the finance then pay it off immediately is very small otherwise they'd be putting something in to stop people taking advantage of the offer without keeping the finance.

 

John

Presumably it's small because the number of people who can actually afford to do this is pretty small, relative to the car buying market.

I'm not sure what they could do to stop it, legally speaking. As I said in my last post, you are legally entitled to repay finance agreements at any point, at least in the UK, so they can't force you to keep the finance and if they offer it to people buying on finance then whether they run the duration or pay it off 24 hours later, they've been sold it under an agreement so have to be provided it.

[UncleWang]

Has anyone heard anything from Kate at Skoda UK yet?

[Luke997]

Has anyone heard anything from Kate at Skoda UK yet?

 

Short call from Kate to hold on, update to be issued tomorrow.

[UncleWang]

Short call from Kate to hold on, update to be issued tomorrow.

Thank you, would you still go for it if offered at your original price?

[Oldgits]

Short call from Kate to hold on, update to be issued tomorrow.

Yep got the same call this morning, I'm quietly optimistic.

[maffyou]

Thank you, would you still go for it if offered at your original price?

Whilst I haven't been affected (yet!) and I completely understand and empathise with your frustration, not taking such an offer would seem a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Presumably you wanted the car - you ordered it and were prepared to wait several months for it to arrive, which seems to me like you really want the car! So why not take it? It doesn't hurt Skoda if you don't, no loss to them ultimately, but maybe it does hurt you, just a little...

Still if you've ordered something else and have decided you're happy with that, then fair enough. I just know if I was in your position(and Lord I hope that doesn't happen!) if I got thrown a bone I'm pretty sure I'd take it.

Edited 14 June, 2016 by maffyou

[Luke997]

Thank you, would you still go for it if offered at your original price?

 

Not sure now, maybe as a second car.

As I needed car for the summer and initial message was very clear (cancelled order & car is gone) - I looked for other options.

Luckily bumped onto the Passat Estate BiTDI (240HP, 4x4) R-Line, pre-reg with delivery mileage, 9K discount and better trade-in price, making price close to Superb - so bought it.

There's a little bit less kit on it (fully electric/ventilated seats, TV, electric tailgate, lane assist) but for me it was a fair trade off for 240HP, better DSG box, LED lights and more comfortable seats.

After couple days I'm very happy with the choice, and it is surprisingly quick car when need to overtake.

[Tamworthpig]

Decto said

 

The pricing isn't that different, the introduction brokers are still offering 14-15% if you shop around, had a call from a dealer last week. As a retail customer, you also get servicing and subsidised finance @ 2.9% (note the £1500/2000 ) off + is already including in the percentage. NCD were offering 19-20%, no subsidised finance or servicing.

 

Not needing finance, servicing or a test drive, I was happy to take a little more risk and order through NCD.

 

When I visited show rooms, one of the dealers I spoke to, one told me they don't discount the superb because it has a 6 month waiting list before I'd even looked round for 5 minutes and another also said 24 weeks plus for a car but he might be able to get me a car that's already in the system if I wanted it sooner though as they are so much in demand, not to expect a discount as there was a lot of competition for them and also that 'no-one' buys petrol cars and a diesel would be fine for my daily 3 mile commute with a couple of school drop offs before work. I did ask about test drives, but no 1.4 petrol's available, offered the high power diesel ... decided no point as I'm sure all cars drive better than my 13 year old 150k VW. At no point had I even mentioned price, discount, brokers etc.

 

Forgive me for not shedding too much of a tear and taking the cheaper, no BS option of NCD. These were clearly not full retail cars as the finance / servicing was not on offer. Figured that this traded off for the lower cost and the car still came from a UK dealer. I was happy with the risk, this time it didn't work out and I got my deposit back immediately. Good luck to Skoda on selling my car with all the options I'd added. I can either order a new car now for an extra £700 ... as of last Friday, or buy something else. Planning to test drive the CX5 as a wild card, costs similar after discounts.  If I order almost any car now, I'll get the new plate which will improve the residuals and my existing tank can't depreciate a lot more and still runs and drives fine, just getting a touch tatty and damp in the winter.

 

Others are in a worse position who made arrangement for their car, situation sucks in their position so they have my sympathy. I agree it's been handled poorly.

 

I don't buy into the whole waiting list. Almost all built to order cars have a 10-14 week waiting list. Takes around 4 weeks to ship around Europe and the build is usually fixed at about 4 weeks out (minor changes allowed) add another couple of weeks as a buffer so you have a good mix of cars to sequence into your 4 week hold period and you're easily at 10 weeks for an efficient factory. A good number of cars in the system are also speculative, the dealers have targets to hit so will order a couple of likely sellers so when someone is in a hurry they can sell you something in flight as a cancelled order. Keeps the demand up and the perception of supply shortage. There were some specific supply difficulties on some specifications and likely some less popular colours as the spray booths won't be running all 70 or so Czech colour continuously. If there are any spare cars, they'll turn up as a good deal in the leasing companies as that's the best way to offload excess stock while still absorbing your operating costs into the cars as efficiently as possible. Keep an eye out of this and it's a good time to haggle.

 

AD

Decto, I also have an 03 Passat same as you, mine's an S though, and its coloured Sand Beige, my S Passat didn't have cruze control or ally wheels an stuff, but hey.. what a great car it has been :clap:  . did the front wings on yours rot out where VW stupidly shoved two big wads of water absorbing sponge in them? it was right over the top of the arch where the stuff was placed, but I caught and stopped the corrosion before it totally penetrated the steel.

 

I'm glad I didn't place an order for a Superb now, if I had done it would probably have been almost precisely same time as you made yours and possibly with NCD.  And yep.. personally I think the whole thing stink's, even though I don't fully understand it. 

[UncleWang]

Whilst I haven't been affected (yet!) and I completely understand and empathise with your frustration, not taking such an offer would seem a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Presumably you wanted the car - you ordered it and were prepared to wait several months for it to arrive, which seems to me like you really want the car! So why not take it? It doesn't hurt Skoda if you don't, no loss to them ultimately, but maybe it does hurt you, just a little...

Still if you've ordered something else and have decided you're happy with that, then fair enough. I just know if I was in your position(and Lord I hope that doesn't happen!) if I got thrown a bone I'm pretty sure I'd take it.

Especially as its sitting in a compound or the like somewhere in the country ready for pick up at a moments notice! after the initial rage eased  I have considered it (if offered at original price) even had another look over one at a showroom, but ultimately, its too damn big for me....only me and 2 small dogs!! letting my heart rule my head with the 280 and four wheel drive, also never had a car anywhere near that size or an auto (that was always a bit daunting!) and most of the driving gadgets I wouldn't even use. Happy with my choice now, though I suppose I could always have it as a third car!!!! haha

[maffyou]

Well seems like you've made up your mind and if you're happy with it, then that's all that matters

[thewinelake]

How about the relative merits of PCP and PCH

[UncleWang]

How about the relative merits of PCP and PCH

Don't do tick.....prefer cash!

[Tony R]

Hi,

just wanted to add another one to the count of cancelled Superb orders. Got my cancellation email today.

I'd really hoped my first post would have been a happier one. Gutted.

[/

Commiserations. Was your order via N C D, where did the email come from and what did it say ?..

[UncleWang]

Don't do tick.....prefer cash!

 

I'm sorry, that was totally uncalled for, hanging my head in shame whilst getting my coat.

[BFG1]

That will be another loophole closed after the dealer moles on here report back.

 

That's been a long term loophole - I was very briefly a Ford salesman just over 10 years ago & they were using that trick then - the customer was usually asked to leave it a month or so to make sure the dealer got their commission for the finance sale. The dealer did often give a slightly better price to the customer if they did this - sort of giving them a share of the commission!

[firebits]

D Day, again. Will we find out today, or will it drag on more? I bet you this drags on even more.

[SkodaVRS1963]

When my partner bought her Polo last April, the dealer encouraged her to take out the VW finance then pay it off the next day.

The cost to her was about £8 in interest and for that she received £1000 contribution to the car cost and 3 years servicing for £100, both of which she kept even though we paid it off straight away.

 

So I don't think that is a 'loophole' the dealers are unaware of

 

Ditto when I was looking at a Vauxhall Astra a few years ago; I was specifically discouraged from initially buying it outright.  I can remember the conversation to this day: "Take out the finance deal, Vauxhall will contribute £1,000 and then just phone them up next day and ask for a settlement figure".

 

I can only assume there's a massive dealer kickback for selling the car on finance.

[Kiwidp]

D Day, again. Will we find out today, or will it drag on more? I bet you this drags on even more.

Drags on for another couple of days at least for me. Next call due Friday

[firebits]

Drags on for another couple of days at least for me. Next call due Friday

I got that call too.  Anyone else feeling really ****ed off with this whole debacle?

[UncleWang]

I got that call too.  Anyone else feeling really ****ed off with this whole debacle?

What is wrong with them.....first it was Mon/ Tues, then today and now Friday apparently......the decision doesn't appear to involve rocket science to me!!

[Kiwidp]

I would much rather have a further delay than a definite No we are not doing anything.

[Oldgits]

What is wrong with them.....first it was Mon/ Tues, then today and now Friday apparently......the decision doesn't appear to involve rocket science to me!!

I think if you had daily contact with them you may have a better understanding of the matter. As I've said many times now, this is a very serious issue with legal ramifications, you can't just hurry these things up a s much as we would wish. It's my understanding that every effort is being made to accommodate all those with cancelled orders but still wishing to buy Skoda, at the end of the day someone will have to foot the bill for this "accommodation". I'd rather they took their time to get the right result rather than rush a response through, it must just prove to be financially beneficial.