I've had a fabia 1.9TD from new 2001, It's been brill for me!. 120,000 happy miles later and it's time for a new car. How things have changed since my purchase. My old dealer closed down a few years back. Everywhere I look for a Skoda in the South now I'm confronted with big white glasshouses.

I managed to test drive a couple of Octavias after talking with an "old school" sales guy in a portacabin whilst his shiny new white glasshouse is being built. I've been saving and couldn't decide on the 1.9TD or the 2.0TD estate. After the drive its no contest.

My budget won't stretch to the 2.0TD elegance. Ah well, my thought, lets try for a nearly new one, not what I want to do, but I'm determined not to go into debt this time.

It sure seems to me that the franchise dealers are having a good time reselling nearly new Octavia estates. Second hand cars on sale for more than I can buy a new one from the internet importers! 3 weeks now and I've only seen one private sale reasonably priced for its age and mileage. That was snapped up by a dealer faster than you could bake a fabia.

My hope is for some xmas cheer. Does anyone know if the dealers have nice sales over xmas and skim a few £££s off there margins?

I live in hope and will keep posting on my progress!

I have been offered 1.8k to trade in my fabia, woo hoo!

I found the same thing.

A 12 month old , 15k mile octavia was priced up at about 10% less than list price.

I got about 9% off a brand new one , which was cost price.

Best deals tend to be at the end of each quarter when the dealers haven't met their targets , so you are at the right time of year but might need to shop round and see what the various deals are they offer.

I've had a fabia 1.9TD from new 2001, It's been brill for me!. 120,000 happy miles later and it's time for a new car. How things have changed since my purchase. My old dealer closed down a few years back. Everywhere I look for a Skoda in the South now I'm confronted with big white glasshouses.

I managed to test drive a couple of Octavias after talking with an "old school" sales guy in a portacabin whilst his shiny new white glasshouse is being built. I've been saving and couldn't decide on the 1.9TD or the 2.0TD estate. After the drive its no contest.

My budget won't stretch to the 2.0TD elegance. Ah well, my thought, lets try for a nearly new one, not what I want to do, but I'm determined not to go into debt this time.

It sure seems to me that the franchise dealers are having a good time reselling nearly new Octavia estates. Second hand cars on sale for more than I can buy a new one from the internet importers! 3 weeks now and I've only seen one private sale reasonably priced for its age and mileage. That was snapped up by a dealer faster than you could bake a fabia.

My hope is for some xmas cheer. Does anyone know if the dealers have nice sales over xmas and skim a few £££s off there margins?

I live in hope and will keep posting on my progress!

I have been offered 1.8k to trade in my fabia, woo hoo!

where abouts in the south are you? and who have you tried?

1.8k is a very high valuation for a 120k fabia imoa where did you get that valuation from? i would think most px prices would be about the 1000 mark, unless they have over priced the cars on the forecourt to cover the difference?

the problem is the 2.0tdi elegance estate is one of most popular models of the range, so everyone wants them! plus these online deals are a right mare. ive heard several stories of people waiting 24 weeks for a their cars, only to find they arent exactly what they ordered, or that the dealers service to them is poor. its a lottery and for my money i'd rather get proper dealer backing (for what its worth) and pay a little extra. (but then i would say that lol!)

The trade in sounds ok to me. A couple of hundred quid high perhaps , but £1k would be taking the ****.

Skoda Fabia Comfort

1.9TD Diesel 5-door Hatchback

5 Speed Manual Front Wheel Drive

Year: 2001 X

Mileage: 120,000

Estimated value of your car

Part-exchange Price:

Excellent condition:

£1715

Average condition:

£1525

Below average condition:

£1335

If they are still wanting close to list price for a second hand car I'd run away and find someone more willing to deal.

There are other Skoda retailers out there who will , and other cars entirely that would be just as good a buy

Skoda Fabia Comfort

1.9TD Diesel 5-door Hatchback

5 Speed Manual Front Wheel Drive

Year: 2001 X

Mileage: 120,000

Estimated value of your car

Part-exchange Price:

Excellent condition:

£1715

Average condition:

£1525

Below average condition:

£1335

odd that didnt come up when i looked it up? where did you get that price?

In to Glass's via Vauxhall's site.

I guessed at the spec and plate as those weren't mentioned.

Obviously if it's a W reg classic it's going to be worth less , but it could be a 51 plate elegance in which case I'd expect £2k

In to Glass's via Vauxhall's site.

I guessed at the spec and plate as those weren't mentioned.

Obviously if it's a W reg classic it's going to be worth less , but it could be a 51 plate elegance in which case I'd expect £2k

true good spec on the elegances. as long as theres good service history it should go well. the only thing to consider is that it will go to auction and this time of year is rubbish for auctions. i know recently at a big one 2000 cars were shown and only 75 were sold!! :eek:

so dealers will have that on their minds too. selling private should be something to try on that car

I'd be inclined to agree.

It's not a huge amount of money to have tied up in a second car for a while , and it'll go easily enough

All 2.0 TDI Elegances, estate or otherwise seem to be fetching a really high second hand price. As said the dealer prices the 05 plate cars are being priced and actually selling at £12,495-£12,995.

That wasn't with low miles either.

I've seen some very expensive looking one or two year old 2.0TDIs out there.

They seem to be making huge profits on them if the trade in values are anything to go by.

Skoda Octavia Elegance

2.0TD Diesel 5-door Hatchback

6 Speed Manual Front Wheel Drive

Year: 2006 06

Mileage: 40,000

Estimated value of your car

Part-exchange Price:

Excellent condition:

£9840

Average condition:

£8780

Below average condition:

£7820

I've seen some very expensive looking one or two year old 2.0TDIs out there.

They seem to be making huge profits on them if the trade in values are anything to go by.

Skoda Octavia Elegance

2.0TD Diesel 5-door Hatchback

6 Speed Manual Front Wheel Drive

Year: 2006 06

Mileage: 40,000

Estimated value of your car

Part-exchange Price:

Excellent condition:

£9840

Average condition:

£8780

Below average condition:

£7820

again you have to take the whole picture into consideration. say the customer wants book money for his car. it needs a 2nd service, maybe a tyre or two, brakes etc. plus then cleaning, warranty, prep, etc. if he buys that for 10k spends 600 too 900 quid on preping it for forecourt, puts it up for 12495 thats only 1400 quid, take off your VAT, commissions, and overheads etc will take it below a grand profit. thats also BEFORE any discounts, or extras the new buying customer wants. plus if the new customer also wants more money for their PX than its really worth, you got that to balance out too. :eek:

ive seen 05 2.0tdi estate elegances with leather for about 12.5k with about 28k on the clock before.

I've seen some very expensive looking one or two year old 2.0TDIs out there.

They seem to be making huge profits on them if the trade in values are anything to go by.

Interesting I got offered more than those amounts for mine by a local dealer recently.

It sure seems to me that the franchise dealers are having a good time reselling nearly new Octavia estates.

I found this when looking for my vRS. Originally I was going to buy a year old but prices were so close to new (after discount) I decided to go new, with exactly the spec I wanted. This after vowing never to buy new again too!

Had the same with the high second hand car value back in July. Went into the dealers wanting second hand but the price of new with the free upgrade from ambiante to elegance was just too good to miss, new car or one with 15K not the colour I wanted etc? with little difference in price. No contest.

Thats the problem of buying a car in demand with short supply. A diesel is generally bought because it is going to do higher mileage over a longer period of time, hence the additional cost over petrol models. So therefore a nearly new, low mileage diesel model is highly unlikely to happen unless it is a demo or somebody has had a change of circumstances. Market forces take over hence the high price of what your wanting to buy.

And as regarding your swopper, Fabia TDI's are in hot demand, you will have no problem selling private and at a price well over whatever trade guide you use (Golf TDI's fetch £600-700 over book at auction at the mo if they are around the age n miles of your fabia - simply because a 120k TDI that someone has been naughty with the speedo can give good returns. I don't do that kind of thing but I know it goes on and I know its a good return for the risk and in turn that drives the price up)

So sell private and use the additional cash to buy new, so everyone is a winner (except the poor sod that buys your car from some dodgy back street dealer and thought they were getting a bargain but haven't!)

Hi Thanks for all your thoughts and advice!!

I continue to ponder and watch the market place..

I had an email from the dealer yesterday (Crawley Down Skoda) asking if I was ready to put down a £500 deposit to secure the delivery of a very nice Flamenco Red 2.0TD 06 plate 17k miles at 13395. The deal is that its an approved (direct from Skoda) used car with the full 62 point check etc. I'm not going for it just yet. It is the car I'm after, but I'm dragging my heels a bit and weighing up the various options. They offered the 1.8k trade in. I must say the sales guy is a good egg and hasn't been trying any hard sell.

This week 4 nearly new (approved as described above) cars were added to the Skoda website allocated to the Willis Motor co in Middlesex. This is only 30 miles from where I work (Crawley), and they are all 56 Oct to Dec plates 15-17k miles at 12990 each. The market is flooded! No red ones though (shame).

When I first started looking at approved cars on the Skoda website three weeks ago, one car was listed: Red 2.0TDI Elegance. 56 plate Feb 07 only 5k miles for £13995 from Dutton Skoda Kent. Unfortunately sold the day before they bothered to read my email confirming I would drive over, trade in and buy! I used this as a baseline for budget, hence my disappointment when trying to find a similar car over the ensuing weeks.

Another development yesterday, after talking to my boss about new Skoda's and what I'm likely to have to pay to get what I want. He said that because I have to drive using various company pool cars every other week or so and I'm not really paid that well for what I do (I look after servers, IT systems and IT security) he is going to see if there is any chance of getting me some sort of car allowance. I'm not confident, but should find out if there is any mileage (excuse the pun) in this by the end of next week.

I had better wait for the result of this before I part with my ££s and say goodbye to my fabia. One thing I have decided is that I will either stump up for new (not likely as I don't quite have enough cash) or I will buy an approved used from a Skoda dealer. I may well put the fabia on the market to see what I can get for it above the 1.8k trade in, although if there is not a lot in it I'd trade in as this will be less hassle.

My late shift is over now...

Cheers

When I first started looking at approved cars on the Skoda website three weeks ago, one car was listed: Red 2.0TDI Elegance. 56 plate Feb 07 only 5k miles for £13995 from Dutton Skoda Kent. Unfortunately sold the day before they bothered to read my email confirming I would drive over, trade in and buy! I used this as a baseline for budget, hence my disappointment when trying to find a similar car over the ensuing weeks.

[GULP] time to own up and say that was my error there. i was off due to a death in the family and while i was away my manager left too. he was the only other person who could access the emails in my absence.

ive been trying to find a decent red 2.0tdi since then, but without any luck. :( so my apologises for missing your email on that one.

This all seems very much like the case when I was looking to buy a new Octavia in 2006 (june time).

I wanted new and had a 2 year old Fabia estate to px. When I went into my local dealer, I had a look at their 'nearly new and pre-reg' list of cars for sale.

There was a March 06 (6000+) miles Elegance hatch 1.6 FSI with the standard trim plus maxi dot. When I looked into it and asked about having a look at it, I was told one of the salesman was using it until September which is when it would become avaliable, so you can imagine that there would be plenty of miles on top of what was already on the clock, but suprisingly enough, the price was less than £500 of the price of a brand new one.

Why would anyone buy it?

You go to other dealers and their pre-reg cars seem much better value than Skoda dealers.

This all seems very much like the case when I was looking to buy a new Octavia in 2006 (june time).

I wanted new and had a 2 year old Fabia estate to px. When I went into my local dealer, I had a look at their 'nearly new and pre-reg' list of cars for sale.

There was a March 06 (6000+) miles Elegance hatch 1.6 FSI with the standard trim plus maxi dot. When I looked into it and asked about having a look at it, I was told one of the salesman was using it until September which is when it would become avaliable, so you can imagine that there would be plenty of miles on top of what was already on the clock, but suprisingly enough, the price was less than £500 of the price of a brand new one.

Why would anyone buy it?

You go to other dealers and their pre-reg cars seem much better value than Skoda dealers.

techinally PRE REG'ing isnt allowed any more by skoda. so any PRE REG cars are simply demo stock which must be kept for at least 3 months. before the 3 months is up the price of the car will be silly as its a mechanism to keep the car as a demo for the required time. after the 3 months the price will drop once the dealer gets the demo allowance for that car.

[GULP] time to own up and say that was my error there. i was off due to a death in the family and while i was away my manager left too. he was the only other person who could access the emails in my absence.

ive been trying to find a decent red 2.0tdi since then, but without any luck. :( so my apologises for missing your email on that one.

No worries woodenspatula, thanks for the pm. I'm still waiting for an update from work about possible financial help with a car. If you do hear of another deal like the one I missed, please keep me posted. Although I've now added to my wishlist maxidot.... (not essential)

I've just fitted brakes and disks on my fabia, it's good to stop. I was thinking about leaving this for the next lucky owner, but I need brakes. Realistic purchase will now be in January, or if I do get good news from work as soon as I can get one built!

Ah well another month has passed and I still plan to part with my little Fabia TDi and hit the road with an nearly new Octy (2.0TDi preffered ).

I'm still waiting for news about possible assistance from my employers financing a new(ish) motor. Patience is a virtue so I'm told. I have been watching to see if any bargains appeared over xmas and the new year. Alas if anything the prices seem to be getting higher :confused:. Hopefully there will be some room for manouvre come the end of February. Fingers crossed by then I will be ready to buy!

I've noticed that Skoda UK have added quite a few used cars on their site without bothering to include interior and rear pictures. Some or them can't even be enlarged. I think this is a bit much considering the dealers want a non refundable (unless major issues) £500 deposit to get the car shipped from VAG. I don't think its much to ask to have some decent pictures if we are expected to part with a major deposit followed by £10 to £15k for a second hand motor!

I have emailed my thought to VAG, I'll post any response. Roll on the end of quarter sales!

As I'm still waiting I'm going to arrange another test drive of the 1.9TDi elegance. I'm trying to persaude me that this model would be ok. I do 20k per year so I know it makes sense. Still not easy having driven the 2.0TDi.

Keep up the good work on the site Briskodians

Try looking out for the pre-registered ones, I bought a 2.0 TDi just before Christmas and got £3500 of the list price and with delivery mileage.