Downshifting my Superb to a Fabia

[Awed]

I currently have a 1.4 TSI DSG Superb estate, purchased from new on a PCP scheme about 20 months ago. And I love it! Best car I have ever owned.

 

But...do I really need a car this size? By my reckoning I do 90% of journeys on my own with no more luggage than a jacket and a sandwich. Sure, on a handful of days I fill the car to the brim - taking garden rubbish to university or my son to the dump...but it is on a handful of days per year and no more.

 

So now I am wondering if I could approach Skoda and ask to swap cars to - don't laugh - a Fabia, something highly specced (cos otherwise I would miss my gadgets and goodies) but way smaller. And if I can do that, and pay less per month on the PCP, then on the few days I need a big car I could hire one, and overall be no worse off. Plus, I'd have easier parking, slightly lower running costs and feel less guilty about driving two tonnes of metal around when one tonne would do perfectly well.

 

Has anyone ever done this? How ammenable are Skoda dealers (and Skoda finance) to this? If you did do it, did you regret trading down?

 

Obviously I can just go to my dealer and ask but I wanted to see what people think. I've no way of knowing how to compute how much equity I have in my car...presumably it's in negative equity since I'm only half way through my 4 year PCP term, but PCP deals seem to belong to a realm of hyper mathematics once salesmen get involved. If I have to pay a new deposit or see no decrease in my monthly payments it's clearly not going to be worth it, I'll ride out the full 4 year term and see what offers are on the table then.

 

Thoughts?

[boydeee]

3 hours ago, Awed said:

I currently have a 1.4 TSI DSG Superb estate, purchased from new on a PCP scheme about 20 months ago. And I love it! Best car I have ever owned.

 

But...do I really need a car this size? By my reckoning I do 90% of journeys on my own with no more luggage than a jacket and a sandwich. Sure, on a handful of days I fill the car to the brim - taking garden rubbish to university or my son to the dump...but it is on a handful of days per year and no more.

 

So now I am wondering if I could approach Skoda and ask to swap cars to - don't laugh - a Fabia, something highly specced (cos otherwise I would miss my gadgets and goodies) but way smaller. And if I can do that, and pay less per month on the PCP, then on the few days I need a big car I could hire one, and overall be no worse off. Plus, I'd have easier parking, slightly lower running costs and feel less guilty about driving two tonnes of metal around when one tonne would do perfectly well.

 

Has anyone ever done this? How ammenable are Skoda dealers (and Skoda finance) to this? If you did do it, did you regret trading down?

 

Obviously I can just go to my dealer and ask but I wanted to see what people think. I've no way of knowing how to compute how much equity I have in my car...presumably it's in negative equity since I'm only half way through my 4 year PCP term, but PCP deals seem to belong to a realm of hyper mathematics once salesmen get involved. If I have to pay a new deposit or see no decrease in my monthly payments it's clearly not going to be worth it, I'll ride out the full 4 year term and see what offers are on the table then.

 

Thoughts?

Whilst not being able to offer much help with your query, the part I've highlighted in bold made me chuckle! 

 

You are quite right with regards to pcp and dealer's ability to fiddle and adjust numbers to suit. If you beyond the 2 year point generally speaking you should/could be in a positive equity position. 

 

I tried to be sensible after having a golf gti and previous to that always owning hot hatches. I bought a sensible polo and hated it! Too small and too slow. I went straight back to a hot hatch within 6 weeks!

[Sagalout]

You can get an on line  settlement figure from Skoda finance so you know much to clear the current PCP. Then get a qoute to buy from westealanycar and you have a worst case scene. Then you can go to the dealer armed with that knowledge and see what they can do. 

Equity depends very much on what deposit you paid ( apologies for telling grandma etc) so you may find there is some there. The dealer should be able to max the deal if you are taking another new Skoda.

Edited 1 November, 2019 by Sagalout

[Nick_H]

I’m like you journey wise... Swap for a Fabia ? Nice car. I’ve had 2. They would have to crowbar the keys from my cold dead fingers ...

[BriskodaJeff]

What's your journey profile @Awed? One of the biggest advantages of the Superb for me is that if anything goes wrong at 70mph on the motorway (due to my mistake or anyone elses) I will have two tonnes of protection wrapped around me. SWMBO will be needing a town car soon and a Fabia is high on the shortlist as it looks  like a really decent car. But - whether it is good sense or just paranoia - I wouldn't want her mixing it with juggernauts in one.

[gumdrop]

I loved the Yeti (I had two) but aside from towing a caravan fairly frequently it just sat on the drive.

I decided to change down, I wanted a Fiesta but spotted a super-mini estate in the Skoda show room.

And that is how I ended up with my Monte Carlo Estate.

[Ootohere]

@Awed

You had best go test drive some Fabia or Fabia estate and see what you think.

Top spec is not very high spec really.

I am sure a Dealership will be please to punt a Fabia or even a Scala and get in a Superb.

[Awed]

34 minutes ago, BriskodaJeff said:

What's your journey profile @Awed? One of the biggest advantages of the Superb for me is that if anything goes wrong at 70mph on the motorway (due to my mistake or anyone elses) I will have two tonnes of protection wrapped around me. SWMBO will be needing a town car soon and a Fabia is high on the shortlist as it looks  like a really decent car. But - whether it is good sense or just paranoia - I wouldn't want her mixing it with juggernauts in one.

 

70% of my journeys are commutes to and from work on a mixture of urban roads and rural B-roads. I don't do a lot of motorway driving, maybe 1500 - 2000 miles a year. But I take to heart what you say, it is a concern...a wee car is not good in a crash at 70.

[Awed]

26 minutes ago, Roottootemoot said:

@Awed

You had best go test drive some Fabia or Fabia estate and see what you think.

Top spec is not very high spec really.

I am sure a Dealership will be please to punt a Fabia or even a Scala and get in a Superb.

 

Yeah, I was playing with the "configure your car" website and by the time I'd added onto the Fabia Monte Carlo all the things I wanted it came to, ahem £21K.  OK, I'd gone a bit overboard...panoramic sunroof, rear view camera, heated washer nozzles, voice control..(in other words, all the things I have on the Superb [apart from the sunroof])...£3.5K worth of options. Madness. But I'd feel cheated without them! Even rear disc brakes are an option. Given that I've had to replace rusted rear discs on an Octavia and a Superb I'm not even sure that would be a sound choice, but drum brakes feel very old school. Like a starting handle. 

[Awed]

1 hour ago, Nick_H said:

I’m like you journey wise... Swap for a Fabia ? Nice car. I’ve had 2. They would have to crowbar the keys from my cold dead fingers ...

 

Interesting! Also @gumdrop...two positives, and a negative experience from @boydeee ! Thanks for the feedback!

[Ootohere]

& no DSG if you are after a factory build.

 

Rear discs are standard on a Mk3 Fabia.  Unless something has changed drastically lately.

?

Where did you see them as an option and how much were they?

Edited 2 November, 2019 by Roottootemoot

[penguin17]

We have both a Superb and Fabia 3 in our family.  Whilst I would always pick up the keys to the Superb for a multi-hour long drive or when I needed to carry a lot of stuff, I always try get the wife to relinquish the Fabia keys for the short drives around town. 

 

I am pleasantly surprised by just how good the little Fabia is. It’s cabin feels more spacious than the exterior dimensions would suggest, so it feels like a much bigger car. It’s also quite refined on the motorway too, especially so if you get a model with cruise control (which most do). There’s enough kit to drag it up to what I think are now ‘basic requirements’ for any modern car. 

 

We have the now defunct 90PS 1.2 TSI and it’s a peppy little thing. More than enough for around town and more than adequate to get you up to NSL and not leaving you feeling exposed and in danger when joining a motorway and getting up to speed. It’s pretty economical too. 

 

Its main usage is B road/rural commutes to work for my wife. So 30’s, 40’s and a bit of NSL. 16 mile return trip, it’s pretty much perfect for that type of usage. 

 

The most important thing for me though is that my wife loves the car, even more than she did the Fiesta Zetec S Ecoboost and I never thought that would happen. 

[silver1011]

When jumping from the Superb into the local dealers courtesy car (MkIII Fabia) it always puts a smile on my face. Small, agile, nippy, connected, fun. The little three-cylinder engine is so eager and sounds great when it's on song.

 

But, and this is the big but, the Superb for many, many reasons is the car I'd always choose to spend my time in.

 

As good as the Fabia is, it, and almost all other supermini's are far less refined. Road noise, imperfections, traffic noise, wind noise, it is all there in more abundance than in the Superb. Interior soundproofing is significantly reduced, lower grade plastics. Little things but they all add up.

 

The Superb does it's job without you noticing how good it is, and it is this that I fear you'll miss, unfortunately only after you've had to live with the Fabia and without the Superb for a few months.

 

The 1.4 TSI engine in your Superb is one of my favourite VAG engines.

 

Ask for an extended test drive of a Fabia, 48 hours at least. My only fear is this won't be quite long enough for you to experience what a long term life with a small car is actually like.

 

Another option might be the Kamiq, just launched a few weeks ago, basically a jacked-up Fabia but with a much nicer interior and a highly customisable options list. Be careful though, I had a play on the online configurator and got one to over £37,000 😂

[tkn]

I upgrades from a Fabia to a Superb. In my case, I thought a Fabia would be all I needed.... but then I realised I needed a bigger car, so at a bit of a loss, I traded my Fabia for a Superb.

 

At least if you have a Superb, you'll never be in the situation. I say, stick with the Superb!

 

But if you do get a Fabia, make sure you get the 1.0TSI 110 DSG - it's surprisingly quick and feels like a completed different car compared to the lower spec engine (which doesn't even have rear disc brakes)

[Awed]

7 hours ago, Roottootemoot said:

& no DSG if you are after a factory build.

 

Rear discs are standard on a Mk3 Fabia.  Unless something has changed drastically lately.

?

Where did you see them as an option and how much were they?

Odd. I was using the configure your car facility on the Skoda website. They were only £100 extra, which struck me as very cheap.

[Ootohere]

I can not find that on the configurator and they have discs front and rear anyway.

[Awed]

43 minutes ago, tkn said:

I upgrades from a Fabia to a Superb. In my case, I thought a Fabia would be all I needed.... but then I realised I needed a bigger car, so at a bit of a loss, I traded my Fabia for a Superb.

 

At least if you have a Superb, you'll never be in the situation. I say, stick with the Superb!

 

But if you do get a Fabia, make sure you get the 1.0TSI 110 DSG - it's surprisingly quick and feels like a completed different car compared to the lower spec engine (which doesn't even have rear disc brakes)

 

Exactly my fear. The grass is always greener....my thinking was to  use money saved on PCP payments to hire a larger car on those occasions when I needed the space or for a long motorway trip, but you can't always plan ahead, can you?  Point taken about the 110 PS engine vs the 95. That should be 33% better power-to-weight ratio (110/1100 vs 150/2000) than a 150PS Superb.

[Awed]

7 minutes ago, Roottootemoot said:

I can not find that on the configurator and they have discs front and rear anyway.

 

http://cc-cloud.skoda-auto.com/gbr/gbr/en-gb/nj3/62210#!cc-instance=GBR&cc-salesprogram=GBR&cc-culture=en-gb&cc-model=NJ3&cc-carline=62210&cc-equipment=&cc-motor=208864&cc-color=8T1Z&cc-interior=BP&cc-packages=&cc-view=step5&cc-configurationId=0&cc-viewstate={"lastConfigurationHash"%3A"7_M4_BP_8T1Z_"}

 

Scroll down, rear disc brakes are there.

 

I think that configurtor is garbage though, because I choose a Monte Carlo and it says there is one engine choice, 1.0 TSI 95 PS...surely the MC is using the 110 PS engine? Hmm, maybe not...

 

https://www.skoda.co.uk/new-cars/fabia/hatch-monte-carlo

 

says 95...confused. (But on that same page it says front and rear discs are standard, so the configurator IS a piece of crap.)

[Ootohere]

At the moment only 60ps 1.0 MPI's or 95 ps 1.0 TSI's.

For a wee while the 60 ps was not available, just appeared again.

[Awed]

5 hours ago, silver1011 said:

When jumping from the Superb into the local dealers courtesy car (MkIII Fabia) it always puts a smile on my face. Small, agile, nippy, connected, fun. The little three-cylinder engine is so eager and sounds great when it's on song.

 

But, and this is the big but, the Superb for many, many reasons is the car I'd always choose to spend my time in.

 

As good as the Fabia is, it, and almost all other supermini's are far less refined. Road noise, imperfections, traffic noise, wind noise, it is all there in more abundance than in the Superb. Interior soundproofing is significantly reduced, lower grade plastics. Little things but they all add up.

 

The Superb does it's job without you noticing how good it is, and it is this that I fear you'll miss, unfortunately only after you've had to live with the Fabia and without the Superb for a few months.

 

The 1.4 TSI engine in your Superb is one of my favourite VAG engines.

 

Ask for an extended test drive of a Fabia, 48 hours at least. My only fear is this won't be quite long enough for you to experience what a long term life with a small car is actually like.

 

Another option might be the Kamiq, just launched a few weeks ago, basically a jacked-up Fabia but with a much nicer interior and a highly customisable options list. Be careful though, I had a play on the online configurator and got one to over £37,000 😂

 

All excellent points, thank you. Yes, that issue of refinement is a very important one. A rattly, noisy car can be very stressful. The Superb is so dreamy in its smoothness and quietness. I would miss it.

[Awed]

Just now, Roottootemoot said:

At the moment only 60ps 1.0 MPI's or 95 ps 1.0 TSI's.

For a wee while the 60 ps was not available, just appeared again.

 

Thanks...hmmm, a pity, the 110 would have been a nice option.  So far the balance of opinions is "Don't trade down!"

 

I'll probable end up changing to a Kodiaq.

 

[Ootohere]

Seems a bit drastic.

Does the Kamiq not appeal?

[Awed]

1 hour ago, Roottootemoot said:

Seems a bit drastic.

Does the Kamiq not appeal?

I'd not really considered that model, I get lost with all these new K Skodas....what are they, Kayak, Kagool, Koala?....but that is definitely food for thought. Let me mull that. You may have found a happy medium, like Derek Acorah on weed.

[tkn]

2 hours ago, Awed said:

 

Exactly my fear. The grass is always greener....my thinking was to  use money saved on PCP payments to hire a larger car on those occasions when I needed the space or for a long motorway trip, but you can't always plan ahead, can you?  Point taken about the 110 PS engine vs the 95. That should be 33% better power-to-weight ratio (110/1100 vs 150/2000) than a 150PS Superb.

 

The DSG7 box on the Fabia with the 110 engine also sits at much lower revs on the motorway. I drove 52000 miles in 15 months in a Fabia, including across Europe a couple times. It's good for over 200kph! (219kph downhill). You can expect between 50-55mpg on the motorway, but you should use super unleaded (tesco momentum is good).

 

There is a big difference between the Superb and Fabia. How much would you be saving really? Do you have any negative equity to consider? I had neg eq when I changed from a Fabia to Superb.

 

Don't forget the new Octavia is coming out v. soon!

[Steviedakota]

Don't do it OP. While on paper the argument for downsizing might make sense, the reality is that having got used to the Superbs comfort and refinement the novelty will wear off very quickly. I've downsized a few times over the years and each time went back to larger, more comfortable car soon afterwards.