Hello all. 

 

Looking at getting my third Skoda - have had gaps in the middle but hope it still counts. 1990 - Skoda Rapid 136 (still miss it), 2004 Fabia VRS PD TDI (Don't miss it so much).

 

Our ageing XC90 is falling to bits (literally it seems). We would love a Kodiaq but they are too expensive., so looking at leasing a Karoq as seem to be good value, and ticks all the boxes. We would have to go for an SE and want a petrol DSG.

 

Problems are:

 

1) The base blue colour is a bit odd - costly to upgrade to metallic but this not really a problem

2) Have heard about many problems with the 1.5TSI unit so looking at the 1.0TSI. My old-school head says it's too small but I suspect it is fine - not looking for a fast car.

3) Have heard about problems with the DSG unit in these.

4) I don't trust VW - coming from a Volvo they seem to have cut a lot of cost and quality.

 

Are my fears about the problems valid, or is the usual  IAS (Internet Amplification Syndrome)?

 

Is the SE 1.0TSI DSG a good buy (with a spare wheel and possibly a better colour). It's got all the toys we need as we are coming from a place way back in time where iPods, auxiliary ports and Digital stuff didn't exist.

 

Many thanks!

There's nothing wrong with the Austerity Blue.....it saves £700 - £1000 and I think it looks great.

 

However, it's your last concern that will ultimately do for you, if you don't trust VAG then will you ever be happy with the product?

Just found out the lead time on all petrol models is 5 or 6 months, possibly longer. Might be the 1.6TDI. That is probably as safe bet?

 

Austerity Blue - perfect description!

 

Thanks for the reply.

i have had a 1.5tsi se dsg around 2 weeks now and carnt pick any faults.only thing is mpg because i do alot of short trips bit i knew that before hand. i got quartz grey and only had a weeks wait so i could have it on 19 plate.this was a stock car just arrived in port and could have had it earlier on 18 plate but waited a week

I would like the 1.0TSI really as most of its life involves quite short journeys. I know this is bad for diesels, but does that sort of driving kill modern oil burners?

Short answer is yes - unless the short journeys are mixed in with some good, long burns where the engine has been allowed to get up to full temperature for a reasonable period.

 

What sort of annual mileage are you looking at?  How often do you do a long drive - how far/how long?

Drive every day on the whole, school run, meetings, suburbs of London, often only about 15 minute trips. Possibly longer runs at weekends but not always. 8000 miles a year. Use it for holidays and the like in the summer and family trips. 

Short trip I would steer clear of the diesels, 1.0TSi should be OK, my wife had the 1.2 Yeti DSG (same power) and it was perfectly fine round town etc. OK on the motorway to be fair would easily cruise along at 70-75ish.

 

SE Tech is also worth a look as you get the Sat Nav, front parking sensors and ACC all as standard.

3 hours ago, sthodgson said:

Drive every day on the whole, school run, meetings, suburbs of London, often only about 15 minute trips. Possibly longer runs at weekends but not always. 8000 miles a year. Use it for holidays and the like in the summer and family trips. 

 

I drive similar mileage runs as you, and have the 1.0 TSI DSG SEL version, can't fault it at all, nippy little thing, recently did a 300 mile drive and  no problems with speed, easily bumbles along at 70-75ish with ease 

Long lead time on Petrol. We’re close to pulling trigger on one that is “in the port”. SE, only in metallic (and same price as an austerity blue in another deal), dsg, 1.6 diesel.  Almost poverty spec but the deal is far better than I thought I would get - almost too good to be true. I have a suspicious mind. 

 

I realise diesel isnt ideal but I think it will be ok. 

I got my Skinflint blue, my wife picked the colour, Result!, 1.0 SE Tech 115 DSG on Feb 28th 2018, It's been excellent so far. My last 3 cars have been, Roomster 1.2 105 SEL DSG, Yeti 1.2 105 SE DSG, Yeti 1.2 110 SEL DSG, the 1.0 engine is just fine and has not used a drop of oil or missed a beat. My only gripe is the stop start tries to kill me every time I stop at a junction/roundabout with fast moving traffic. I switch it off when I start the car as a reaction now, and so does my wife, also it's a bit "samey" as most other small SUV's

 

 

 

( and it's not a Yeti, I suppose I'll get over that with time )

Does the SE have driving modes?

My Skinflint blue 1.0l se extras satnav family pack tow prep colour maxi traffic sign recognition

 

 

 

Edited 20 March, 20197 yr by skoda1982

17 hours ago, sthodgson said:

Drive every day on the whole, school run, meetings, suburbs of London, often only about 15 minute trips. Possibly longer runs at weekends but not always. 8000 miles a year. Use it for holidays and the like in the summer and family trips. 

 

@sthodgson In that case don’t buy the diesel

Those school and 15 minute runs will clog the DPF.   Once is starts to clog up going to be difficult to get an effective regeneration. 

 

Sounds like you have just discovered why a diesel (to latest WLTP emissions) is discounted and available.  Quite simply no one wants them because they fail if used as you intend to do.

 

If the diesel and petrol availability (and discount percentage) were equal, then it would be a no brainier.  Spend extra £1-2k, buy fuel that costs 12p litre more, get slightly better mileage to recover the cost in 150,000 miles (about 19 years for you)

 

If you can’t find a petrol Karoq, there is always the similar Seat Ateca, especially if not to worried about spec.  If you can go down a size, the Seat Arona now has delivery of only 10 weeks for factory order (and some are available within fortnight).  Obviously the Skoda equivalent (Kamiq) is about 10 months away

 

 

Edited 21 March, 20197 yr by SurreyJohn

Thanks for the info. I am here to be educated so appreciate the input. I will keep looking. 

 

We we are coming from an xc90 so the Kodiaq is a step down in size. We wanted the Kodiaq but it’s too expensive. 

22 hours ago, Berisford said:

There's nothing wrong with the Austerity Blue.....it saves £700 - £1000 and I think it looks great.

 

However, it's your last concern that will ultimately do for you, if you don't trust VAG then will you ever be happy with the product?

Most Karoqers refer to the colour as "Skinflint Blue"....

What's your budget?

 

Assuming you're planning to follow the same plan as you have with the XC90 (run it until it dies), what's the reason for looking to lease?

 

The cheapest way to buy a car remains to buy nearly new / used, and run it until it requires an uneconomical repair.

 

PCH and PCP are designed to keep you in new cars, always under warranty, but they'll never be 'cheap'.

 

Find a dealer that'll take your Volvo off you, part exchange / scrappage scheme etc. for a £1,000?

 

A bit of dealer discount off the screen price, say £500?

 

That gets this one year old, barely run-in 1.0 TSI SE DSG down to £17,000...

 

 

A regular bank loan @ 2.9% APR (cheaper than Skoda's PCP finance), over 5 years, gets you to about bang-on £300 per month...

 

 

How does this compare to the deal Skoda have given you for the car already in the country at the port?

 

Don't assume the Kodiaq is miles more expensive than the Karoq. That's what the dealers want you to believe, but in reality they aren't.

 

1.4 TSI (brilliant engine), DSG again. OK, so 12 months older and 7,000 more miles, but only £500 more than the Karoq above...

 

 

As mentioned, the SEAT Ateca is another option, sometimes the SEAT dealers are more willing to discount, but if it has to be DSG, then the 1.0 TSI is out. The smallest petrol engine on a DSG equipped Ateca is the 1.4 TSI (no bad thing).

 

For some reason prices on nearly new 1.4 TSI DSG Ateca's are way high.

 

Edited 21 March, 20197 yr by silver1011

That's interesting. To be honest I am a bit sick of maintaining cars - I have an 11 year old Volvo that I drive that needs a bit of maintenance and an old camper van that needs a lot! It would be lovely to have one of our cars, for once, that doesn't have bits dropping off it and goldfish in the floor, that maybe we can change every two or three years.

 

Your way is probably the best way to do it so I will head back to Allams and see what they can do. After 5 years we could PX and then start again.

 

As for cost, the one I am looking at is about £214 a month, but, with a 9x monthly deposit, which if you add to the full term of 24 months bumps it up quite a bit - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

 

However, I don't have a nectar card!

Not sure what the relevance of the Nectar Card is, it doesn't affect that rates.

 

We've leased before (a 2016 Skoda Octavia Scout 2.0 TDI), but that was because the timing was right and it was a very good deal (£200 / month, including the amortised deposit, 8,000 miles), so I'm not averse to the benefits of leasing, it's just I never felt that it was mine, and therefore found it difficult to care for it as much as I would have if I owned it. Not that I mistreated it, just that it probably only got washed a handful of times over the 2 years. I have a strange affliction for wanting to own my car, so that if my circumstances change I'm free to change cars at will, plus I quite enjoy maintaining them.

 

It looks like the Karoq deal on the table will stand you at £6,848 over the two years (£285/month). Rolling the annual cost out over further years means that if you bought the used Karoq above it would be yours in 5 years, and from that point forward you'd be saving £285 / month. Put that into a savings account and you'll quickly build up a little pot of cash for any potential out-of-warranty repairs and / or deposit for the your next car. It would even easily cover an extended Skoda warranty if you wanted absolute peace of mind.

 

After our PCH ended on the Octavia we bought a Kodiaq Scout as a 'keeper' @ £29K, but extended the finance term to keep the monthly payments sensible, taking opportunities to pay off chunks as when they come. If it lasts 15 years it'll stand me at £1,930 per year, or £160 per month over its life. Even factoring in a couple of cambelts, a turbo, clutch, etc. etc. it's still cheap motoring for a big 7-seater SUV.

 

Each to their own, we're all petrol heads, and for that reason look for any excuse to change cars as regularly as possible! You just have to do what feels right for you.

 

Edited 21 March, 20197 yr by silver1011

So, we test drove a karoq SE manual 1.0tsi. These automobile things sure have come a long way in 15 years. Quiet, spacious (took the kids with their seats), smooth, easy, full of gadgets, just really nice. Not fast but perfectly acceptable performance. Did I say quiet? Wife liked it too, even in manual with its light clutch.  Looking at options now and talking about deals with the dealer. 

 

Then, the elephant in the room appeared when I looked at the Seat Ateca. 0% finance with 10% deposit so can save £60 a month on similar spec car or £30 on a ‘better’ spec with 1.5 and dsg. Not sure that Skoda can match that at the moment. 48 month deal though, but at 0% it doesn’t really matter, does it? £214 a month just seems a massive bargain, but I’m always suspicious I’ve missed something important. 

 

What are your thoughts? Is it silly

not to go for the Seat?

 

Thanks for all the input. 

Edited 23 March, 20197 yr by sthodgson

13 hours ago, sthodgson said:

What are your thoughts? Is it silly

not to go for the Seat?

 

It's only silly if you don't test drive both and then decide. The driving dynamics on the Seat are different (some say more "sporty", others say more "harsh").

 

The Ateca is made by Skoda in the same factory as the Karoq so it's not like they aren't closely related anyways. Ride and interior cabin differences seem to be the ones most people refer to. 

A lot of people (me included) struggle with SEAT's (relatively) bland interiors.

 

As above, SEAT is always the firmer choice when it comes to suspension settings, again not for me.

 

If neither bother you then go for the cheaper option.

 

I'd certainly give the Ateca an extra point over the Karoq for exterior appeal.

On 23/03/2019 at 20:04, sthodgson said:

So, we test drove a karoq SE manual 1.0tsi. These automobile things sure have come a long way in 15 years. Quiet, spacious (took the kids with their seats), smooth, easy, full of gadgets, just really nice. Not fast but perfectly acceptable performance. Did I say quiet? Wife liked it too, even in manual with its light clutch.  Looking at options now and talking about deals with the dealer. 

 

Then, the elephant in the room appeared when I looked at the Seat Ateca. 0% finance with 10% deposit so can save £60 a month on similar spec car or £30 on a ‘better’ spec with 1.5 and dsg. Not sure that Skoda can match that at the moment. 48 month deal though, but at 0% it doesn’t really matter, does it? £214 a month just seems a massive bargain, but I’m always suspicious I’ve missed something important. 

 

What are your thoughts? Is it silly

not to go for the Seat?

 

Thanks for all the input. 

As far as I was told the 0% will expire at the end of this quarter (but might be extended) - so better get your order in if it's cheaper price you looking for. THere might also be price hikes from the 1st of April.

Edited 26 March, 20197 yr by TonyTonic

Another minor consideration is Sat Nav updates, Skoda give you free updates but SEAT did not for my wife's LEON, not sure if that is still the case. Not an issue if you use Google Maps etc but maybe a factor to note....

Thanks. We won't be going for a NAV option - Apple link and google maps, so solves that problem. I've got 2 days to decide - I don't like pressure!