Loads of Skodas in SA

[h100vw]

Been out watching the Tour Down Under today and they are using Skodas for the team vehicles.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/01/P1240701-2.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/01/P1240704-2.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/01/P1240710-2.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/01/P1240716-2.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/01/P1240722-2.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/01/P1240695-2.jpg

[Golf Loon]

Wow, thats a lot of Octavias. I wonder if they will take them away from Oz, or if they get sold second hand down under ;)

I`d trade the Audi for a blue or yellow RS wagon.

[gregozedobe]

I'm sure the dealers would be very keen to give you a good price on an Octy (don't know about a trade-in though - most dealers are trying to reduce stock on hand). There should be a few demos and press Octys around these days.

I am very pleased with my Yellow RS wagon (Race blue was our second choice colour - but it shows dirty rain more than sprint yellow)

[phaeton]

Adelaide is Skoda heaven at the moment :D

We even have 3 Superb's here for the event also :eek:

[indulis]

Spoke to a Skoda dealer about getting one of the Tour cars at a good price, and he told me that their dealership declined getting any of these cars, as they had been driven pretty hard (in his opinion). They had picked some up from last years' event so I guess it was based on experience.

He figured that people in the tour are about "speed, speed, and speed". I think he meant velocity in all cases but maybe he didn't. :biggrin:

PS I am seriously looking at a new/demo/near new used Skoda, pref diesel RS wagon.

[woofy]

Gonna be hard to find used in that config...as they have only been around a few months in diesel.

[Tick]

PS I am seriously looking at a new/demo/near new used Skoda, pref diesel RS wagon.

Have you had a look at Carsale?. There seems to be quite a few there that might meet your needs. Just a thought.

Cheers

[indulis]

Yes I had a look in carsales, thanks! Seems like a lot of dealers that are quitting 08 models before the updated Octavias come out though an updated RS model is late this year I believe :-(

Anyway am in final stages of figuring out if I can afford it *right now* as I have some other changes in my life which may use money, but also MUST get rid of my Renault Laguna which is an insane money eating beast now it is out of warranty! How does $2300 for new aircon belt and fix a couple of slight engine cover oil leaks sound? Almost $2K in parts, because you can't buy a gasket separate from the cover, so have to replace the cover!

I had a test drive of the RS wagon and really liked it.

[Tick]

That is an insane amount of money that unfortunately you will never see again. I hope things work out and you can get your bum into an RS as I am sure you will love the ownership experience.

PS. Just my opinion but I think the updated Octavia is not quite as good looking as the current model, it just seems a bit more "fussy". It's lines don't seem as clean as the current model.

All the best

[indulis]

And before everyone thinks I am a big sucker, there was a story behind spending the insane amount... that the Renault dealer did not actually warn me that what I expected would be a simple job (change air con belt, replace gaskets) would be approx 5x my expected $500 (even allowing for normal dealer prices I thought). Not completely dealer's fault it was so expensive as Renault force them to change many components as recommended service strategy when changing belt. Same for gaskets not being available separately- Renault's fault not dealers. Though it is dealer's fault they did not warn me- I would have taken it somewhere else if I had known it would be SO exorbitant.

Am hoping VAG are a bit better!

[Tick]

Apologies if my post lead you to believe I thought you were a sucker. Definitely not the case. All I was trying to say was it is a shame you need to spend so much money on maintenance/repairs for your car. Good luck with the repairs.

Cheers

[wombatoutofhell]

PS. Just my opinion but I think the updated Octavia is not quite as good looking as the current model, it just seems a bit more "fussy". It's lines don't seem as clean as the current model.

All the best

My opinion too!

[gregozedobe]

I'm reserving my final opinion until I see the new cars "in the flesh", but my first impression (from photos) is that the new headlight shape doesn't fit very well with the restrained styling of the rest of the car, and I prefer the old steering wheel too.

[wombatoutofhell]

I see some of these cars are now appearing for sale-this one (http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/dealer/details.aspx?R=6883526&__Qpb=true&Cr=7&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32%7c1%7c%7cpCar_Price_Decim al%7c1%7c%7cpCar_Make_String%7c0%7c%7cpCar_Model_S tring%7c0&keywords=&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294963053&silo=1011&__No=30&seot=0&tsrc=allcarhome&__Nne=15&trecs=146&__sid=11D768BDBE01)was on carsales and it's not the only one I've seen.

[indulis]

Apologies if my post lead you to believe I thought you were a sucker. Definitely not the case. All I was trying to say was it is a shame you need to spend so much money on maintenance/repairs for your car. Good luck with the repairs.

Cheers

Didn't worry about your comments just thought my situation did sound a bit odd, and if you don't understand the piratical nature of Renault spare parts it *might* sound like I had been a total sucker.

Probably the thing I learnt from this was to *always* get a written quote on repairs, even if you think it "couldn't be very much". And to make sure you get the replaced parts afterwards.

Actually, only this weekend did it occur to me that the dual mass flywheel (or whatever the Renault equivalent is, some sort of flexibly coupled dual mass) which got replaced because it was "perished" might explain the 2 years of incredibly rough running on cold mornings, to the point of the engine stalling itself after sounding like it was running on 2 cylinders (in a 6 cylinder car). Might go back and try to get the $400+ for the flywheel back from Renault.

[neil]

Wow, thats a lot of Octavias. I wonder if they will take them away from Oz, or if they get sold second hand down under ;)

I`d trade the Audi for a blue or yellow RS wagon.

Had my car serviced a few weeks before this event and walked across the road to the Skoda dealer,
was talking to the truck driver picking up 3 Skoda's which were demo's, he said they were going to
the be the officials transport vehicles for the tour down under, he had been picking them up from all
skoda dealers and will also be returning them when the event finishes..

[indulis]

I spoke to a dealer asking about buying one, he said that they had passed on taking some of the the ex-tour vehicles as they have not been treated very well (in his opinion). They had taken some last year- his comment was that the bike people are after "speed, speed, speed" so thrash the cars as well as their bikes. Don't know how true this is.

As the cars would be under (almost) 3 year warranty, the risk in taking one would probably be minimised. IMHO.

[greasykitchen]

Saw a yellow wagon with promo stickers or the like on it on North Tce Kent Town one arvo last week. Kind of looked like an ex-tour car but I think the stickers were different.

[DanSA]

I spoke to a dealer asking about buying one, he said that they had passed on taking some of the the ex-tour vehicles as they have not been treated very well (in his opinion). They had taken some last year- his comment was that the bike people are after "speed, speed, speed" so thrash the cars as well as their bikes. Don't know how true this is.

As the cars would be under (almost) 3 year warranty, the risk in taking one would probably be minimised. IMHO.

Nothing wrong with using the car as it was intended, :driver: as long as it was always brought up to operating temp, using quality oil and driven with mechanical sympathy - which unfortunately, i would doubt in this instance..