Exactly 2 months before end of contract, a letter arrives from BCA, who handle the disposal of VWFS cars at the end of contract.

 

I don’t think PCH cars used to be available to the public, but it obviously suits Skoda - aka VWFS - to shift the car as easily as possible.

 

”Dear sir, would you or one of your friends or family like to buy this 3 year old car to save us the trouble of inspecting it, arguing with you over its appearance, then disposing of it through our favourite auction site. Please, please just buy it for our lowest break-even price and save us a lot of hassle.”

You know I paraphrased that part.

 

So I will ask them what their bottom line price is, not that I have any intention of keeping it. So look out soon on here for a really nice 30,000 mile SEL 190 DSG on here soon. Available 6 April 2020 😀

Edited 10 February, 20206 yr by BoxerBoy

No need to ask them for a price, just log on as per the details on your letter for an instant non-negotiable quote.

 

This was the price a few years ago for my 2016 Octavia Scout, which when compared to forecourt prices was pretty good...

 

 

 

I purchased my Superb this way recently - it all went very smoothly and the quotes are negotiable so don't be afraid to make an offer 🙂

How much were you able to negotiate off?

 

And who were you negotiating with, a Skoda Finance customer services adviser? 

I got a quote for my current 2018 Octy Scout. Quote on line was £13700, formal quote was £15600. I had already decided it was going anyhow, but I'm not sure where the extra £1900 came from?

Edited 10 February, 20206 yr by bigiainw

Same here, the price soon increased compared to the initial online quote.

The online quote was lower than the formal one for me too, but not by £1900. I got £800 knocked off through e-mail exchange with BCA customer services; there was no contact with Skoda after the first invitation to purchase.

'kin robbers 🙁

 

I can understand WBAC knocking you once they do their check for paint chips etc but thats their business model and how the local agent makes his money.

 

But in this case its just a finance house, they know what it owes them and can speculate what it would make at auction if they take it back less their costs, they make you an offer, if you accept it they will never see the car so the condition is immaterial, how can they justify asking you for loads more money after you accept their price?

Following my recent BCA letter, Skoda Finance have caught up with their own reminder of my contract expiry date.  Just in case I'd forgotten 😀

 

I was surprised to learn that the car will be taken away immediately after I sign off on the the final inspection, i.e. all on the same day - "BCA operate a same day inspect and collect service which makes the vehicle unavailable for repairs after the initial inspection."

 

Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am!

 

Next I must book a suitable departure date to suit the handover of the replacement vehicle.

 

Theoretically I could skip the MOT as it will be returned a  day or two before the expiry date, but that would be churlish.  I have booked an MOT late March when it suits me and have asked for the dealer to reset the erroneous "inspection service" message that popped up recently, as the car is on Variable Service.

 

So the BCA sell-it-to-me price is a tad over £20K and the WBAC crew are within £247 of this. The car will be returned.

 

I have no concerns about any unexpected "repairs" as per the BVRLA Fair Wear and Tear Guide - the car is pretty mint - or will be again when I wash the winter filth off it.

 

I'll probably be a couple of hundred miles over my annual limit, but that's pennies.

 

 

49 minutes ago, BoxerBoy said:

     and have asked for the dealer to reset the erroneous "inspection service" message that popped up recently, as the car is on Variable Service.

 

 

 

I thought with a PCH if it's calling for a service you have to do the service? - You don't normally get erroneous "inspection service" messages. 

 

Have you had a service yet (how many miles/how old?). A friend of mine is on his third Audi A'4's on a 24 month PCH deals usually covering about 18k miles - it always calls for the first service a little while before it's due to go back (24 months rather than mileage I think)  and he has to get it done, although the first one is cheap.

 

He always dreads the handover but thus far extra costs have been low - they always find something though!

An inspection service is just that, a quick visual inspection and a manufacturer introduced method of enabling their franchised dealer network to get customers into their workshops more often than is necessary.

 

It applies to vehicles on the variable service schedule only, and all but the most unscrupulous dealers tell their customers to ignore the dash reminders and instead focus on the oil service reminder.

 

As long as the oil service regime is adhered to, all will be well.

14 hours ago, bigjohn said:

 

I thought with a PCH if it's calling for a service you have to do the service? - You don't normally get erroneous "inspection service" messages. 

 

Have you had a service yet (how many miles/how old?). A friend of mine is on his third Audi A'4's on a 24 month PCH deals usually covering about 18k miles - it always calls for the first service a little while before it's due to go back (24 months rather than mileage I think)  and he has to get it done, although the first one is cheap.

 

He always dreads the handover but thus far extra costs have been low - they always find something though!

 

The guidelines say mustn't be showing service required now, but its ok to display a countdown in X days or Y miles warning message

 

Similarly it must have a valid MOT at collection, but ok to be collected a few days before expiry, so don't need to get it done (but you need to arrange collection date 2-3 weeks in advance, so no chance they will be too busy to collect before MOT expiry)