Capped Price Servicing

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Originally Posted by woofy

Kia aren't actually too bad for parts and service, Hyundai are complete theives. Their pricing strategy is definitely made to grab back the cash via servicing. These days their cars are increasing in price as well and still not on par with some of the Japanese equivalents. They are getting close but not quite. My 2011 Santa Fe has a nice diesel engine and auto gearbox, but there are daily reminders I see that remind me why it was cheaper than a CX-9 or even my prior Mazda 6. The Skoda makes it seem really cheaply made by comparison so I try not to think about that.

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Exactly the same feelings I had about my basic level Santa Fe R diesel auto. Practical but joyless.
Having said that there were plenty of SUVs worse at the price and I could not find anything better without adding $10k to the sticker.

Well yes it was completely practicality that led to getting it. The Kluger didn't even have an option of a diesel, just a guzzling V6. The Santa Fes are still overpriced here though compared to other countries and they keep increasing the price. In the age of BT when a cheap Getz had it, the Mid spec didn't but had keyless entry and start buttons....so odd. If Skoda were to release a Toureg sized SUV at a keen price they would do very well.

I heard from my dealer that there's a Skoda 7 seater in the pipeline for Oz soon.. no idea what "soon" references, but he reckons 12-18 months away. Maybe based on the new Q7 platform? That'll be a winner, if they can keep stock levels up and delivery times down I reckon.

It's strange that the first service for a Fabia 1.2 is capped at $385 but the Octavia 1.4 is $286. I paid over $500 for the first service on a Fabia not too long ago!

For the season Skoda/VW owners - I'm thinking of going to a VW specialist for the services, rather than the dealership. Any downsides to this in terms of potential warranty claims? Not sure the cap price represents enough value to stay at a dealer - and for me the nearest one would be Richmond or Brighton, and I work in Dandy South, so both are a decent hike.

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Originally Posted by chriskan

I heard from my dealer that there's a Skoda 7 seater in the pipeline for Oz soon.. no idea what "soon" references, but he reckons 12-18 months away. Maybe based on the new Q7 platform? That'll be a winner, if they can keep stock levels up and delivery times down I reckon.

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I'd think anything Australia gets will be 12 months after the official release.

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Originally Posted by chriskan

For the season Skoda/VW owners - I'm thinking of going to a VW specialist for the services, rather than the dealership. Any downsides to this in terms of potential warranty claims? Not sure the cap price represents enough value to stay at a dealer - and for me the nearest one would be Richmond or Brighton, and I work in Dandy South, so both are a decent hike.

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Supposedly, if you have an ongoing relationship with the dealership, they might be more inclined to argue your case if something goes wrong beyond warranty or if a warranty claim is borderline within warranty.

I gues that doing it all at the dealers turns it into a 1 stop shop and prevents a he-said/she-said situation if something goes wrong. eg: broken engine that appears to have used the wrong oil.

I did dealer services up to 45k then went independant at 60k when the warranty was finished. I haven't been inclined to go to a dealer for the 90,000km since then.

For me, it was only a visit every 9 months so not a huge impost on my time / work.

What about Peninsula Skoda? Or don't they exist?

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Originally Posted by brad

What about Peninsula Skoda? Or don't they exist?

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Peninsula might work out, it's against traffic and not too bad on the Eastlink - I believe they're still around, saw some posts last month from people who just ordered cars from there, and apparently good to deal with.

I might follow the same path, 15 & 30k dealer services and then to a specialist.

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Originally Posted by brad

Supposedly, if you have an ongoing relationship with the dealership, they might be more inclined to argue your case if something goes wrong beyond warranty or if a warranty claim is borderline within warranty.

I gues that doing it all at the dealers turns it into a 1 stop shop and prevents a he-said/she-said situation if something goes wrong. eg: broken engine that appears to have used the wrong oil.

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this. I'm sure when Subaru asked for my log books for a warranty claim on an engine outside 3 years it was to see if I had had it services by one of their dealers.

Peninsula are still around, I bought my Skoda's there and have them serviced there as well. I've always come away happy to have taken cars there.