Superb Sportline Engine options in Ireland

[AJAMESR]

I was fully intending to pull the trigger on the new Octy iV VRS this summer until lockdown kicked in and shifted timetables 6+ months. 

In the meantime I've been eyeing up the Superb Sportline and me likey 🙂

But in Ireland the current configurator only shows 1.5 Petrol 150 - NO 2L 190 or 272 available.

The Phev is stupid money, so not a consideration at the moment. 

 

Does anyone know if its likely they introduce more engine options for the Superb here? Are they just limiting the selection to try and drive sales of the Phev?

 

[AJAMESR]

And I've just done a price comparison bewteen UK and Ireland for the Phev - exact same Sportline Spec, give or take a rear wiper.

 

UK - £39,465

Ireland - €58,466 - ouchh

Edited 1 August, 2020 by AJAMESR
wrong price

[ChrisCh]

Surely this is just an Irish tax issue?

 

Is there a way to buy in NI and import over? (although I imagine that has been covered off / banned by legislation)

[AJAMESR]

Exchange rate brings it to about €44000. Hard to get exact VRT rate but I think €7000 should cover it. So brings it to 51K. 

There might be a Vat cost on a brand new car that doesn’t apply to 6 month old car ( details are hard to make sense of on that) 

 

But it feels to me like the €7500 grant that the Irish Gov is offering on new Electric cars is being taken advantage of. Not truly been passed onto the customer. Price just seems inflated to grab most of the grant value on top of price the car should be if no grant available. 
Either way car is bought brand new in UK for €44000 and the same car in IRE is €58,500 - €14,500 difference.
None of this is new of course, just constantly striking. You could literally buy another car for that 😂

[Markbro]

Buy a 6 month old in NI or mainland UK? It will need to have min 6000km on the clock aswell afaik to avoid  VAT. VRT on some of the phevs is very low, check 225xe BMW for example on VRT calculator. You might be able to get a better deal that way.  Alternatively buy the 1.5 at €36k (rough estimate) and see how the pricing of both the Superb and Octavia go over the next year or so. Best of luck!

[AJAMESR]

That’s a good point about the VRT on elec vehicles. And it highlights even more the difference in price between both markets as the VRT should be lower on the phev than the ICE only cars. So € difference should be closer. 
 

I would seriously consider going the route you suggest but it restricts your finance options severely - basically need a bank loan rather than being able to take advantage of dealer rates. And trading current car in becomes a bit of a headache also. And a few other minor issues. But yehh the savings by getting something 12 months old from UK market is hard to ignore. 

[MaddicIrl]

@AJAMESR I understand your dilemma completely. My 190tdi Sportline is coming to the end of its PCP this month and there are currently no direct replacements. Was onto Skoda Ireland to as the new Euro 6d engines are coming to the superb by the end of the year (200 tdi and 280 petrol) but was informed that they do not have any plans to offer any changes to the engine line up this year. They also told me that Information on the new Octavia will be released in Sept, if that is of use to you.

 

Completely agree with regards to the iV, stupid money tbh, the situation versus the UK gets even worse when you consider the discounts that can be got versus list price, you will not get those discounts over here in Ireland but you may get 0% finance deals.

 

I have decided to do as @Markbro has suggested and bring a car over from the UK. The sweet spot appears to be the BMW530e, 1 year old M Sport can be got for less than €35k cleared with less than 10k miles at auction, considering this car is upwards of €63k new over here that is a hell of a bargain. Some reason the 5 series seem cheaper than the 3 series hybrids. Now I don't have a trade in (friend is buying my car) and I have another friend that imports off the auctions but there are companies that will source cars from the UK, offer finance and take the trade in but I suspect trade in values will be significantly lower. Don't know what Brexit will do to the secondhand car market, its possible that vat and additional import tax will be need to be paid from Jan.

[AJAMESR]

I have a 2016 Octy VRS in Metor Grey and very low mileage. Mint condition. No Kids. Other seats barely sat in. If I could sell privately and get 18K, I have 5K to add to that and finance another 10-15K through bank & I’d have 35Kish to spend with only about 12K financed.

Even with VRT (esp on a phev) I might get something pretty decent in the UK market. 
Im not overly enamoured with the BMW 530 -  But I might take another look.

 

[Markbro]

If you don't need the space I think the 330e could be all you need! Prices on new model still high but previous generation are a bit of a bargain even locally, I saw an 18 month old low mileage M Sport last year for €27k, private sale. Next year there should be more examples of the new model floating around. 

[MaddicIrl]

20 hours ago, AJAMESR said:

Im not overly enamoured with the BMW 530 -  But I might take another look.

 

Tbf I'm not either, a facelift superb is a better looking car on the outside at least imo. I'm not particularly a fan of PHEV's either but the BMW has a self charging option so it never actually needs to be plugged in, not the most economical way of charging but at least the option is there if I run out of battery and it gets annoying. If not too fussy, I reckon the 1 year old BMW 530e can be got for €30k - 31k landed. Would happily stay with Skoda but there simply aren't the engine options here.

 

There is a website that lists UK cars (including some auction cars) and estimates the landed prices in €, if you wish I can send it via PM, I have no affiliation with the site.

 

[AJAMESR]

Yeah I think the Superb - esp the facelift - is a better looking car and more spacious and practical and to be honest, nicer to be sat in the driver seat.  I get a chance to drive a variety of cars for work, not long distances, small but frequent spins, and the BMW has just never excited me. It’s a personal opinion of course, but then again it’s my car so only my opinion matters. I’m not gonna he happy in a car just because popular opinion tells me I “should” be happy in that car. 

I found a website that finds cars and gives the breakdown of VRT etc and its given me plenty to look at. It’s certainly now in my consideration to wait a year for a few more options to appear in the UK of the new facelift Superb and snap up the savings even on a 2L petrol 187which is prob what i’d ideally like. Although the 268 is also extremely tempting, but the road tax and fuel costs might just tip it into unpractical.  
For 35K you could import some seriously nice cars and make some serious savings compared to buying new. Just finding that exact spec u want will be tiresome and frustrating. And of course selling your current car private can be a pain as well. But, certainly not discounting it. 
I’m also still keen to physically sit in the new Octy VRS. It was my original plan. Not just a facelift like the Superb got, but a whole new layout for Skoda. So it’s got my attention for sure, but will be interesting to see it’s price point with the op extras I’d need on it. 
Either way I think this time 12 months I’ll be sitting in something new.  No rush though, love my current VRS. Just time to change and get out of Diesel.  
 

[MaddicIrl]

I must test drive a 530e before pulling the trigger but if my heart ruled my head, I'd have a 272 Sportline or an S60 T5 but as you say about the running costs.

 

You can register with British Car Auctions as a private individual, it will not show you prices unless you are trade but you can watch the auctions live afaik. The website you found is mainly forecourt UK cars, it does identify which ones are auction (not many) but you will see the price difference.

 

Will be interesting to see what happens with UK imports next year and sooner or later the Irish government will eliminate the VRT rebate on hybrids, current rules only apply to end of this year and who knows what this years budget will bring.

[Markbro]

 

Bob might help!😁

[AJAMESR]

Good video. I like Bob, have seen good bit of his stuff. 

First I would never buy a French car in Ireland 😂 Name me one 5+ year old French car that you'd be happy to buy right now? None out there. They don't age well. Either aesthetically or in the reliability stakes. Lovely engines, and usually very appealing when they first arrive on market, but as Bob say in this vid, it wears off after a while and they flip to unappealing. 10 year old Octavia or Superb are still decent cars, esp VRS or fully loaded Superb. 

Their point on charging the PHEV is exactly the same point I've been making for a while now. Still takes too long, and is still not cost effective.

 

And I literally tweeted his point to Skoda Ireland a few days ago as I had spotted the same crazy differential in price between PHEV and Petrol:

 

@SkodaIRL

is there a reasonable explanation why the 1.5 Superb is €40375 but the Phev is a whopping €53770? Would like to get into elec market - but this is not a viable option. #phev #skoda #superb #seai

@SEAI_ie

 

Needless to say I heard nothing back. I'll buy an awful lot of petrol for the 13K - Now a Grant in Ireland takes 7500 off that, but that still leaves a nearly 6K difference which will still get me a lot of petrol.

And I'm not happy about that Grant just been chewed up like that. Its incentive value is negated completely. A proper incentive should be for the grant to bring the price of the car cheaper than ICE option. Missing the mark by a long way here. Seems to me that if the grant never existed, the car would be 46K anyway, now they've just thrown the grant price on top to pocket that as well. Government being ripped off again, with no actual benefit to the purchaser. 

 

So almost on principal I won't be buying a PHEV brand new from a dealer. It makes no sense. Unless maybe for business's.

 

And so we come back to the question in the thread. Why the limited engines in the Superb range here in Ireland. THIS WILL IMPACT SALES!!

A 1.5L 150bhp has very limited appeal. We need the 2L 190 option for this size of a car. 

As previous posts have mentioned going to the UK is now a very plausible and viable option. Its more messy and complicated than just going to your local dealer and handing over the keys - and I would honestly pay the premium to do that if the car I wanted was available here - but I'm left with no option if I want a Superb than go to the UK. And I could have a very low mileage, practically new, 2L 190 Sportline, cleared and all for 35K or less. 

 

SKODA Ireland - you are losing business, and I'm sure I cant be alone. Maybe others may not go to the extent of going to the UK (although there are companies here in Ireland now that will do all that for you) - but it may cause some to look elsewhere altogether - such as the Peugeot.

 

 

[shyVRS245]

13 hours ago, Markbro said:

 

Bob might help!😁

He might not be able to help as neither of them could figure out how to open the charging flap.

[MaddicIrl]

1 hour ago, shyVRS245 said:

He might not be able to help as neither of them could figure out how to open the charging flap.

😂 FairPlay to them for not editing that out or at least making it shorter (or did they 🤔), I was getting frustrated at one point 😆

 

@AJAMESR Agree with you completely, they seemed to have completely missed what should be the target market with their pricing. The pricing doesn't make sense, not for business either as unfortunately Bob and co are incorrect from what I have read as the BIK exemption of €50k is for electric cars only not hybrids, also business buyers would not get the €5k grant. For me a hybrid superb doesn't make sense in the first place, hybrids are most suited to urban driving but the superb is far from a town car, the Superb makes sense possibly in the UK due to the BIK rules there and possibly makes sense for Skoda in achieving the required overall CO2 footprint.

 

PHEV's are about to make even less sense here in Ireland, from the 10th of Aug public chargers will no longer be free to use, very rough calculation and it will cost €3.50 to charge for the claimed 67km range while quickest charge time will be 3.5hrs

[AJAMESR]

Not to mention complications with actually owning a 🔋 powered car. 

What happens at end of 🔋 life?

 

How is resale value after 4 years affected?

 

How knowledgable will ur local garage be in resolving battery 🔋 related issues?

 

Independent servicing not an option! 
 

it all seems a bit too risky still - added to the fact that they want you to pay a massive premium to take the risk. 
That is why I think they have restricted engine choices here - they are trying to funnel people into it. I have a beautifully spec’d L&K built on the config that is perfect for me. Bit pricey, but I’d pull the trigger on it - if it had a proper engine. Can’t bring myself to spend that kind of € & be “settling” for a 150 engine. 

[IJWS15]

Son has a 330e rather than the 530 and it is a rocket ship, even just on battery.  With battery and motor it has over 300 bhp and instant response from the motor.  

 

I think PHEVs only make sense if you have a company car, even with the miles I (used to ) drive I only spend a couple of grand on fuel a year and the cost of a hybrid doesn't balance out the cost of the fuel.

 

 

[AJAMESR]

So I’m way further down the line now on this. VRS is up for private sale & I’m scanning UK websites with the view to importing a Superb. I spoke to Skoda this week about the new Octy & there is no way it will be anywhere near the 35K I paid for mine 4 year’s ago. So a 1 year old Superb looks better value for money. 
Id love a 272 L&K or SportLine. I’m not doing huge mileage. Only 50k on the Octy after 4 years. And the road tax is still only about €500 for the year. Which is less than my wife’s  05 Mondeo which is over €600. 
Need to get an insurance quote on it. Currently about €650 for my VRS. 

The only thing I can’t price in the whole undertaking is the VRT. So if anyone can help🤷‍♂️
It’s not on the VRT website. I tried those paid ones where u input reg but they can’t do it either. 
You can’t ring Revenue directly and ask as they say they can only give a valuation on a car that is “physically presented at a test Center” 

So I’d need to import the car first then cross my fingers on VRT rate. 
Im confused even more when I look at most of the other Superb variants on their website, the VRT is calculated on CO2 of 117 - NO Superb has that low an emissions rating. This determines the % of the OMSP that they will charge. So even if I got a 190 SportLine which is on their website to get an “estimate” ( the figure you get on the website is no guarantee just a guide) - I’m worried that when I present for VRT they’ll say “ohh that’s the wrong CO2 number on the website. Your VRT is 32% not 17%” - & there is nothing u can do. They do not have to stand over estimates from their own website 🤷‍♂️
So I will literally be gambling on the price & sweating it out until I actually have the car in IRL & present for VRT valuation. 
Has to be a better system than that🤦‍♂️
Anyone know any other solutions. 
Anyone imported a 272? 

I might just start a new thread to grab someones attention on here that may have imported from UK to IRL & what it cost 🤔

[MaddicIrl]

@AJAMESR I can see your issue, no listing on the VRT website means that the 272 variant has most likely never been imported. Rough worst case scenario, if they value the OMSP at €50k (very unlikely) and a depreciation of 20% (most likely higher), with emissions of 161g/km it is in the 27% VRT bracket or €570 per year road tax, you would be looking at nearly €11k VRT plus NOx vrt (not really an issue on petrols and max is €600). My best guess is that you will pay between 7k and 8k vrt depending on extras on a 1 year old 272 with 10k miles. You can appeal the VRT applied but only after paying it afaik, specialist companies for this purpose.

 

The sweet spot for VRT reasons of the Superb range is probably the iV, low CO2 so 14% VRT iirc and €2250 VRT rebate. I assumed that only 150bhp would be available when the battery is empty but that may not be the case, I know some PHEVs retain some battery so the full power is always available but current iV owners will be able to confirm.

 

With regards to the Octavia, from another tread you mentioned that a sales guy told you that the outgoing octavia VRS was only available in dsg. This is correct but it needs to be considered it was nearing end of life, they did the same with the 190tdi superb. If the importers listen to the dealers, there will be a manual version as the dealer I spoke to said that dsg is putting off many typical VRS buyers over here. 

[AJAMESR]

@MaddicIrl dude! FairPlay for working that one out 😂 

I found a company that imports for you and they calculate the VRT at almost exactly what you said €7-8K on a 1 year old. 👏👏

Hopefully the pic I have added has attached. I would much rather have this for 40K rather than what I might get for 40K on a VRS. 

Although go another year older to 2018 (pre facelift) and you come down to about 30-32K with VRT paid. Hard to ignore that value. 

[AJAMESR]

One year older - prefacelift. Not too shabby. Would be very unique car in Ireland. And changes in 2021 after Brexit deal done might make such imports completely impossible. 

[MaddicIrl]

@AJAMESR go for it!! Getting a car like this in Ireland is only going to get more difficult so jump while you can. I would definitely try and go facelift but I think €41,5k is a bit pricey, the other one you linked in the Octavia tread would be about €38k cleared and is actually has a quite a lot of extras, canton, blind spot, etc. Can't make my mind up on the meteor grey though, looks good in pics but I didn't fancy it as much on a Kodiaq or Karoq in the flesh, the superb design though lends itself well to all colours.

 

Maybe wait till Sept, you should have the news regarding Octavia's, etc and with the change in plates in the UK, I am hoping for a much bigger secondhand selection.

 

BTW I got an insurance quote for a 272 and it was over €100 cheaper than my 190tdi, benefit of being rare I guess but that can work the other way too depending on insurance company.

Edited 9 August, 2020 by MaddicIrl

[AJAMESR]

Thanks mate. A lot of good info there. Personally I love the Meteor Grey. Current colour on the VRS and it is so easy to keep and I’m still not tired of it after 4 years. 
But I think I’d prefer the Superb in a L&K spec so the grey is not an option. Just think the L& K is that bit better refined with the extras etc. And the seats are far better IMO.  Sort of a quite cruiser - but packs 272. 
But I wouldn’t cry if I got a Sportline. Looks amazing. 
And Yehh I’ll be holding off until Sept - just trying to get my ducks in a row so I can pull the trigger quick if something comes up. 
Hopefully the car sells in the next month or so. Although I have mixed feelings about letting it go. As I was putting the add together I was thinking “ what am I doing, if I saw this add I’d be drooling over this car” - and here I am trying to sell it 😂😂 

Anyway. If a sale happens, bank the money and look forward to something new. If not, I won’t be too distraught, still loving my VRS. 👍

[AJAMESR]

 VRT.ie initially billed me but gave me a valuation for a different Superb variation. I contacted them and told them about it and could they refund the fee or get the proper estimate. Fair play to them they got back with the estimate. I’ve attached. It’s based on 272 Superb SportLine 2019. 
Might be useful info for others. But keep in mind all VRT estimates are just that. An estimate. You will only know final figure when car presented to NCT Centre.