My wife and I had a little argument about being loyal to a car company. Having owned 4 Skoda's in 15 years and receiving good service from the dealer I said I would buy another Skoda because of this but my wife says I am being silly. She says I should try another car maker and not stick with the same one . But I feel if nowt serious has gone wrong with the cars you should stick with the brand...better the devil you know.

Edited 3 July, 20178 yr by bradfordfabia

I guess it depends on where she's thinking, if it's vauxhall for example then I'd tell her where to go but VW or Audi I'd happily make the move.

What he said + don't forget to add SEAT! 

I'd say you're both "part right". I'm "very happy" with my present Octavia, but don't find later Skodas "as nice to drive", and indeed would say the same of later Fords, Hondas, Peugeots and Vauxhalls.

 

When I have to change, I'll look at "other makes" but given the above I'm not optimistic.

It depends on your experience.

I recently sold my octavia and while im not buying another i may again in the future.

It gave me 18 months of trouble free motoring and id happily recommend skoda to anyone.

 

I don't think there is really any loyalty from manufacturers to customers so I don't think there is any advantage in being loyal to them.

 

But personally I like to change my cars each time even where I've had a good experience.

Looking at a Mitsubishi ASX or a Suzuki Vitara.

I used to be more loyal to a dealer than a car company if the sales and after service was good.

 

However, now I choose cars purely by "do they fit my budget?", then challenge the local dealers to match the best price or lose the sale.

 

Currently have 2 cars that happen to be the same brand, bought from different dealer groups, and often serviced by a third.

 

 

Edited 3 July, 20178 yr by camelspyyder

2 hours ago, bradfordfabia said:

Looking at a Mitsubishi ASX or a Suzuki Vitara.

 

Vitara reviews rather better of the two.

Got a good quote on a ASX tho. Took  a Vitara out for a drive today, not bad car.

Skoda UK really went out of their way to earn loyalty when they were still growing and overcoming the era of 'Skoda jokes'.

 

I look back at what I paid for our 12 month old Skoda Octavia Scout back in 2009 and am still amazed at how good value it was.

 

Never quibbling over warranty claims, generous goodwill gestures out of warranty, great purchase prices and a dedicated and experienced family owned dealer network.

 

Oh how things have changed. All of that has gone except one thing, the cars. These luckily are still good.

 

Unfortunately for me there are also now a lot of other good cars out there that are priced on par with Skoda. My ties to the brand aren't what they were, there is now less incentive to sticking to Skoda. I'm not ruling out buying another, instead I'll be more open to other manufacturers.

 

Skoda UK don't need your loyalty, you are a private customer and as such probably make up less than 10% of all UK sales. It's the fleet buyers Skoda want to attract. This demands shiny showrooms, free WiFi and coffee, long life servicing but ultimately a desire to own a Skoda or not being embarrassed to be seen in one, which is now stronger than its ever been before.

 

If your Skoda isn't a company car then Skoda don't need your loyalty anymore and as a result won't go out of their way to get it.

 

Edited 8 July, 20178 yr by silver1011

Fleet Buyers are not who i see in Skoda Showrooms.  I do see those in choosing a vehicle for Business Use.

 

I see individuals & couples / families in looking @ buying / financing or leasing cars or getting Motability Vehicles ordered, collected or serviced. 

(Motability is the biggest Group buyer of vehicles in the UK. These are not 'Fleet Sales', but purchased by Motability Finance then leased to the customers, 

and then put to auction by Motability Finance.)

Fleet / company drivers aren't in the showroom, they are in the service waiting area.

 

My local dealer now have their own dedicated team of fleet managers.

That will be that type of dealership then, location, location, location, but then there are all kinds of dealerships still even those where a car is dropped off and a courtesy car is available.

Plenty Mom / Pop display dealerships around with 'Private users' especially Skoda ones. 

Just now the ripping off on servicing is unreal as the VW Emissions Scandal has the rush to keep profits at the level the Dealerships want, 

or is that just to pay what the VW Group / Skoda UK make them spend on Showrooms / Waiting Areas...

On 7/3/2017 at 10:23, bradfordfabia said:

My wife and I had a little argument about being loyal to a car company. Having owned 4 Skoda's in 15 years and receiving good service from the dealer I said I would buy another Skoda because of this but my wife says I am being silly. She says I should try another car maker and not stick with the same one . But I feel if nowt serious has gone wrong with the cars you should stick with the brand...better the devil you know.

 

I use to be totally Audi, Seat, Skoda, VW-brand, have more than a dozen of them.   A fairly car dealer here in Worcestershire I found very good and when Skoda went corporate and preferred soulless corporate chains rather than family business that really look after you, they went to Dacia/Renault and I have been more than happy with the change.   Also Skoda stopped producing hot hatches ie the Fabia VRS and there value was nowhere need as good as it was back in the nineties and the noughties.  For all those reasons I moved away from Skoda, only one in the fleet now and that is proving to be more and more problematic ie an 8 year old Fabia that is having one issue after another.

 

Car buying will change massively after BREXIT as new cars will have car duty on them at 10% (except the few that will still be made here in the UK ie Jag etc) plus if the exchange rate gets even worse so no is the time to buy ie before BREXIT.  Nearly new second hand vehicles may well rise in price as they did after the 2008 financial issue.

 

Mitsubishi is now part of the Nissan-Renault Alliance empire too.  

 

 

Edited 9 July, 20178 yr by lol-lol

'Back in the day' ( pre VW ) Skoda used to come top in customer satisfaction surveys on a regular basis.

Why?

Because so many owners went to the dealers for repairs that the garages became de facto social clubs.

I'm on my fifth consecutive VAG (three VWs and two Skodas) - I suppose familiarity has a lot to do with it - I know the controls and where to look under the bonnet.