Hi All,
Had a ride in a new shape golf 2.0 tdi with leather and all the trimmings - a beautiful car! Seemed really well made. Got me thinking though, If I bought the equivalent Skoda for significantly less, where would the cost reduction have been made in terms of engineering/body/paint/interior trim?
Cheers,
D.
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Nowhere. Skodas are priced normally! The VW's carry the premium price tag!
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You are just paying less for the Skoda equivalent, which is also often better specified.
The only drawback I've found (in the previous Octavia models) is that the plastics used are not quite as good as the "soft touch" VW version - but it's a minor quibble and I could live with it...:-)
What's more the Octavia, for instance, has been in the top three of virtually every survey of owners' cars in the last few years for both satisfaction and reliability.
That's why most of the very large fleet of taxis in my town are Skoda Octavias - the taxi drivers love them. Most obtain them new from a source in Glasgow and use the 200-mile trip back to help run them in.
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PS
Skoda dealerships are usually rated highly by owners, in contrast to many of the VW outlets.
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Skodas don't actually cost significantly less - your typical 1.9 mid range Ambiente Octavia will cost £13.5k while Golf in SE trim with same engine will be £13900. Sometimes it works the other way round - DSG equipped auto version of Golf can be found circa 15k, while slightly less specced DSG version of Octavia is likely to attract minicab targetting pricetag of £18k (!). I think people presume Skodas are cheaper because they compare Fabia prices to Golf and Octavias to Passat, while the proper platform comparison is Fabia=Polo, Octavia=Golf,Superb=Passat.
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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I would argue the corners are cut in the generous wage/pensions and benefit packages paid to VW employees in Germany vs the more moderate paypackets/wages paid in the Czech republic. Although not all VWs these days are made in Germany.
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Judging ny my VW, I should say tis VW that has the corners cut, not Skoda.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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That's why most of the very large fleet of taxis in my town are Skoda Octavias
Not quite, the main reason they are popular with mini cab companies is because they come with a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty.
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>>Not quite, the main reason they are popular with mini cab companies is because they come with a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty.>>
I've spoken to a lot of these taxi drivers - in fact some are members of my club - and they like them for the reasons that I outlined.
They also have to take into consideration the fact that there are no Skoda dealers in my town...:-)
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Stuartl, fair enough. Did they mention the warranty aspect too? My local cabbies love them for that reason alone.
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Reckon they are similar is standard however Skoda's reputation is currently better because people have greater expectations of the VW brand than they do Skoda.
Simply put if TVM's Touran was a Skoda he may well be less scathing.
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Very true Edam my little friend, Mind if it was as well put together as a Renault I would be happier.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I told you you should never have bought the blasted thing.
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If he'd bought it he could cut his losses and sell it.
It's a company car on what's left of a 4 year lease and I haven't heard of anyone being able to return a car early in this organisation for several years
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Bought/leased - you know what I mean!
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Probably not corners cut, but spec may be trimmed. A colleague has just taken delivery of a Seat Toledo 2.0TDI. On opening the bonnet the first thing I noticed, when compared to my Audi with the same engine, was the engine has no plastic cover and the battery is in a cardboard box rather than a plastic one. Two small omissions which will save a few quid per car.
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>>the battery is in a cardboard box>>
That somewhat surprises me...:-)
Does it have Spanish oranges or similar stamped on the sides?
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The cost reduction is in running a factory in the Czech Republic rather than Germany - and in spending the money on quality control rather than "if only everything were as reliable..." adverts ;-)
I suspect the biggest saving is that there are fewer trim variations and optional extras in the Skoda range, so there's less down-time on the line as they swap from version to version. The factory that assembles Octavias was newly built for the purpose so the technology used should be more efficient.
Incidentally, rumour had it (but I can't confirm) that VW's intention was to build Golf shells in the Skoda factory too, ship them to Germany and do just enough final assembly on them to meet the legal requirement for branding the finished cars "made in Germany".
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Between Golf and Octavia there is around a grand difference (even my Ambiente estate is cheaper than a hatch SE )
Having driven both with the 1.9 diesel there are differences but to me the dash of the Skoda is more attractive with only the electric window drivers side switches looking a bit low rent.
From all accounts things like the brakes are cheaper but the kit you get would cost you another grand for the equivalent Focus or Astra and around 2 grand for the VW
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>>My local cabbies love them for that reason alone.>>
I can't recall it ever being mentioned over a period of several years now, only the fact that the vast majority obtain them new in Glasgow.
But you can bet that any car that will stand up to the demands of taxi work is a firm favourite with the drivers and the Octavia, in various flavours, has been the current choice now for quite some time.
There are also one or two Superbs being used, but I've not been in one of these so far as it's a different taxi company to the one I use.
Incidentally I tried to talk my best mate out of replacing his Mondeo yet again and to have a look at the Octavia, but without any luck.
However, when we went to the dealership in Liverpool where he was buying a year old Mondeo, I persuaded him to look at the interior of a very smart dark green car alongside us in the showroom. He was most impressed and was somewhat taken aback when I pointed out it was the new Octavia.
But his mind was already made up...:-(
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It may or may not make a difference, but even comparing VW and Audi there are differences in the cars. We have an 04 plate A3 and a 54 plate Touran, the Touran has paitned metal showing (internally) on the doors, while the A3 has everything clad. The general fit and finish on the A3 seems better to me and I haven't found any odd rattles behind the dash (the Touran has one N/S/F).
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My neighbour taxi driver has an 06 plate Octavia, one of "loads" that his firm have leased, but they are the old shape Octavias!
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>>the old shape Octavias!>>
Probably leased at a rock bottom price - most passengers wouldn't notice (unless they were BR forum members!)
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Incidentally it would be interesting to discover just why taxi drivers cottoned on to the Octavia originally and how quickly the message spread.
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There was something of a scandal in the german motoring press about 8 years ago when a motor magazine (Auto Motor & Sport if memory serves correctly) performed brake tests and discovered that the Skoda Octavia was fitted with lower quality braking components than the Golf MkIV equivalent. Don't know if this changed.
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Our local VW Garage is a big Plush new split level glass fronted building where as the nearest Skoda Garage is an old 2nd hand car dealership with a showroom big enough for 2 cars.
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Our local VW Garage is a big Plush new split level glass fronted building where as the nearest Skoda Garage is an old 2nd hand car dealership with a showroom big enough for 2 cars.
Sadly, these old-style Skoda dealers are an endangered species.
You'll find one of two things happening in the near future: the Skoda dealer will be forced to move to a VW-style glass and chrome building (bumping up servicing prices to cover the cost) or will give up its franchise and change to a make that's less fussy about dealers' premises.
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Many years ago the Skoda dealership in Preston (Ribbleton Lane?) used to be similar but did, IIRC, a pretty good trade in Estelles etc.
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