Also much nicer than my bosses wife's Yeti

Edited By: corred1964 on Jan 31, 2015 23:07

Does your boss know you've seen her yeti?

I'll just get in here and state that because the depreciation over 2 years on this car (according to What Car Depreciation Calculator) is far more than the cost of leasing it for 2 years, I think this is a good deal for anyone was wanting a new one of these to keep for 2 years.

So I'm voting hot, and this is the last time I will visit this thread.

8000k is 8 million miles. Enough for most people, surely ;-)

£1k a year servicing.. really?

I'll just get in here and state that because the depreciation over 2 years on this car (according to What Car Depreciation Calculator) is far more than the cost of leasing it for 2 years, I think this is a good deal for anyone was wanting a new one of these to keep for 2 years.

So I'm voting hot, and this is the last time I will visit this thread.

i too like the look of these and im actively looking at lease deals
alternative prices here 5k-20k miles options from £2400+24*£83.98=£4415
http://www.freedomcontracts.com/Skoda-Octavia-Estate-2.0-TDI-Scout-5Dr-Personal-Lease/2119

8000k not enough for me . huge milage costs on top.

And so it begins!

Waiting on comments about buying second hand

now that you mention it spring, you could get a BMW 318 diesel with 50k on the clock for that price and you dont have to give it back :P

if anyone knows of any deals for the vRS i would be interested?

penguini - i also drive more than 8k miles a year but additional cost still makes this attractive

Unfortunately for me with my mileage (15k pa), a couple of added accessories but no service package it's nearer £11k....having dealt with leasing companies before you need to factor in main dealer servicing so at least another £2k over the 2 years.

I can buy a car which will do most of that and be mine after 2 years (Dacia Duster for example) with no worries about mileage & able to use non main dealers for servicing .... in fact the Dacia has most of the extras I specified as standard

£1k a year servicing.. really?

The cost of a 2 year service plan for this car at Skoda is £479.

Worst car I owned was one of these albeit the older 1.9pd version.

Longest it ever managed being away from the dealer from new was 3 months, final straw was when the turbo went 120 miles out of warranty and initially Skoda refused to pay a penny but after many many phone calls they eventually offered to pay for parts - just the £1400 labour cost for me to pay!

Shame because it was a great car when it ran and at least I got to drive plenty of loan and hire cars for a bit of variety....

You can also get tyres that fit for less than £50 a corner ( admittedly they may not be the best tyres) and in any case wouldn't you have to service and buy tyres for any new car?

"my passat cost about £700 every 10k miles"

How? On long service intervals it doesn't even need servicing every 10K miles.

How long ago was this?

Since 2002 VW have been using long life servicing and I have never known a VW needing servicing at 5k and myself and family have had them for 25 years now.

Variable is usually every 18k and costs less than £200.

Did 84k on my Bora on original discs and pads and my mate got 120k out of his on his Polo GT. Tyres last 12k+ so for an 8k pa lease you are looking at 24k which is one service at circa £200, 4 tyres circa £400 and thats it.....less than the price of your one 'service'.

Costs which you would incur on any car anyway.

why lease a skoda?

It was a 2008 Passat, the schedule asked for an oil change service at 5K & the terms of the lease were that it had the services every 10k miles (minimum requirement on long life service)

If you read all my posts you will see my figures as I said were based on 30k over 2 years & the costs are those I incurred. On lease you have to abide by main dealer recommendations on service

The reason I will never private lease again ....I got around 10-12k on my tyres....so over 30k miles work that out yourself at almost £100 each (I replaced 10 not 12 at just under £900)

Deal

Cold. Not iPad. :stuck_out_tongue:

How is 2k over 2 years & 30k miles silly when it includes nearly 1k in tyres ?

How many people who would lease a car do only 8k a year ? Have you used the calculator to see what your basic cost would be ?

I currently have a lease through my employer......unlimited mileage, servicing included, insurance included on a Volvo XC90 & only pay £470 a month

To be fair 50k on a BMW diesel is only just nicely run in. I've seen BMW oil burners with 300k on the clock

Because its irrelevant to this deal, that's why.

You need to adjust your driving style if you go through that many consumables in 30k on your car..

My lease is unlimited mileage, servicing included, insurance included, unlimited fuel and I only pay £0 a month towards it and pay £97 to the HMRC BIK

FWIW I nearly leased the Golf R deal that was on a few months back and thats only 5k pa.

8k a year is a good price point for a lease. People buying a car doing 8k a year or less are just throwing money down the drain. As is shown in the deal, the depreciation of this deal is more than the total cost of lease.

Maybe if it was a BMW or a Merc then the HUKD police wouldn't be so hot to flame it.

This is so funny to read, cracks me up every time love reading these lease deals...madness!!! I have owned a Yeti and Fabia Vrs fantastic value for money cars built well and as for service costs at a main dealer not bad at all, the most hateful car owned was an audi a3 - ok the car was nice, but the dealers were shocking, but still nowhere near the prices quoted above even with the dsg.

People doing less than 8k a year might be better buying a cheap car......I think the Dacia range starts at less than the total price of this lease & some dealers are offering 2 years 0% ...... even if you sell after 2 years you will get at least £3.5k based on current sales prices.....so 2 years unlimited for £2500

I will just wait those 2years when some sucker buys it on lease, and than sells to me for the same 6k and i get to keep it forever.
lololol

But its a Dacia.....a poor mans renault. I do over 2000 miles a month in a Renault after a 15 year driving history owning exclusively VAG group cars and the Megane is truly awful....I looked at the Dacia when I was waiting in the showroom one day...oh dear. They are cheap for a reason.

We have about 25 of the Megane's at work and have yet to come across one person who actually likes it.

You wouldn't be able to sell a Dacia privately, you would have to trade it in. Friend had a 2011 1.2 Clio last year she couldn't sell at way below book and ended up trading it in. By contrast I have just sold my 2010 Octavia VRS CR TDI with 60k on the clock the other week within 6 hours of advertising for the asking price and my inbox and phone was none stop and I thought I had over priced it (£10K). This also needs to be factored in if you are buying a car - Sale ability. Its no good saying its worth £x amount after x years when nobody wants it. IT is only worth what someone will pay for it.

Enjoy your Dacia! I'm hopefully getting a Hyundai i40 in the next couple of months or will chose my own car depending how my negotiation skills are with my boss! Then I will decide what weeked car to get!

See my post above! Residuals are strong on these....and this is an estate, a diesel and a 4x4. a 2 year old 16k model would be at least £15k to buy, and in all reality a lot more for a Skoda used approved.

I had a Duster while my car was in for a repair after a numpty in his Audi hit the accelerator rather than brake in a car park....to be fair (top of the range £15k) & it was superior to any of the other manufacturer models in the same size range....they offered me a Mokka & I took it back after 10 minutes...now that was an awful car....if I were buying privately with long term ownership in mind I would go for that...7 year warranty as standard

Also much nicer than my bosses wife's Yeti

You would need the 7 year warranty....just like you do the lifetime one on the vauxhalls.

German for me everytime. I just need to decide whether to go new or classic.

Last cars I owned were all Citroen....AX, BX, Xsara & Picasso ......all were very reliable none were new & cost nothing more than basic servicing costs....father runs a Picasso & has from new as he did with his last one & before them he had Peugeot 406 & 405....never had any reliability issues with any of them...again never a breakdown & most expensive cost was replacement cam belt

Its MATHS.

outstanding contribution!!

Unless you are American :sunglasses:

£700 every 10k.....gosh even my Porsche doesn't cost that to service.

They must use solid gold spark plugs if your servicing costs that!!!
I bought a new scirocco TDI in June 2011, done 60k miles, had 3 dealer services with an MOT at a cost of £580, got the same rear tyres on which still have more than 4mm left, had 2 new sets of front tyres @£340 per pair (Pirelli)
The car is on long life service plan 18k or 12 months whatever comes sooner.
Someone's had their local service manager pull his trousers and underpants down in te showroom, smack him on the bum and told him to jog on!!!

Interested to read your servicing comments on the Passat. My Octavia VRS just turned 8, has done 90k miles and only in the last 6 months has had the first new set of discs and pads.... also new shock absorbers last week.
Maintenance costs in general have been really low.....

"my passat cost about £700 every 10k miles"

How? On long service intervals it doesn't even need servicing every 10K miles.

It is, IT'S

Think you'll find it's... It's

I am in a Skoda 1.6 at the moment. Its less than a year old and I have just had my fourth service on it.
Its on variable so tells me when it needs it and it seems to send me in every 7000-8000 miles on the dot.
No idea on cost as its a company car but its set on a long life service schedule.
I used to drive a scout like the one above previously and the duel consumption in that car is one of the worst in the Skoda range.

Joel, that's definately not on long service plan, tell the dealer to change it.

I'm currently looking at lease vs buying for the first time. this is a good deal but there are a lot of other cars to consider at this price point, a vs tiguan diesel for example

vw tiguan. predictive text!

Neither abbreviation is correct or incorrect

Neither abbreviation is correct or incorrect when using the English(UK) language.

Industry point, pure and simple: niche market vehicle with a refreshed and upgraded niche rival just released (Outback). There is a real need to remain competitive, the Octavia is cheap to maintain precious sales in this niche.

This car is raised unlike say a standard A4 Advant Quatrro.

This isn't really for the masses, though for some its a good price and will others will be tempted in to the niche.

My only concern, and this is where the deal gets COLD is if you do use this for work on rough surfaces or where you are likely to scuff it you will have to pay the cost when you return it at the end of the lease period! No one minds a slightly scuff used Outback for example (of the genre), its part of what you expect. Its not what the lease company expect!

Some of Octavia's, specific engine variants do see high mileages and low problems (cab variants!), the general word on this Scout 4x4 is that its not particularly rugged though, with broken suspension and steering complaints seeming to be a bit of a problem.

I don't think you could get a 318d XDRIVE for that money under £6K with 50K on the clock and it not being a write off :man:

This is an excellent deal. For all those people saying you can get a brand new Dacia Duster for same price and keep it, please go and do that. Those who compare a duster to a Octavia Scout need their head checking. I have just leased a VW Golf R which costs me the same per month as my previous car cost me for 5 years to own outright, yes I finally owned a car but I do not want to keep a car for 5 years before changing.

People who dismiss these lease deals clearly do not understand the overall benefit and more than likely live on significantly lower salaries than those that can afford and do appreciate. Rant over.

Most people dont realise diesel engines are good for 200k + :smiley:

The engines might be. If only they showed the same diligence with the diesel particulate filter.

Also much nicer than my bosses wife's Yeti

Edited By: corred1964 on Jan 31, 2015 23:07

Does your boss know you've seen her yeti?

Couldn't see myself spending £5k on a Skoda but it seems a decent price.

Your used example needs tyres too, and almost certainly won't come with brand new ones at point of sale. £700 full service on your Passat? Are you having a laugh? Unless your Passat needed a new timing belt, water pump, gearbox oil and engine oil change every 10k miles, you've been had. A visit from a mobile "chips away" or similar smart repairer at the end of your lease will cost around £200 at worst. Scraped alloys perhaps, well that's on the driver being clumsy.

My Golf GTD's first inspection/oil service at a franchised VW dealership cost me £156.

66 pound per week plus petrol ect.

The VAG TDI variants (including this one) have particulate filters designed to last on average 160k miles before they are unusably saturated with incombustible ash and rendered useless. The assumption of course is that you won't be buying a modern DPF equipped diesel to potter around to the corner shops or be stuck in inner city traffic the whole time.

Beat me to it!

Nice car and good deal. But as usual mileage is a bit restrictive :neutral_face:

£1000 in tyres for 30k miles? Are you for real. I drive a Golf GTD pretty hard and the fronts were shot at 13k miles, the rears were hardly worn at all. Add in Premium rubber for a 225/40 R18 wheel, like Michelin Pilot Sport 3 and you're only talking £110 a corner. At most on that basis, you'll have bought new fronts at 13k and 26k miles, shelling out £440, add £150 to that if your Passat was so high end that you'd bought optional 19" wheels. Tyres are an unavoidable consumer item, no matter how you finance the car (unless a lease specifically includes tyre replacement - and the vast majority won't).

I've owned 7 VWs from new over the last 17 years and have never had a service interval of less than 1 year/10k miles.

Are there any good BMW deals?

I think your maths is a little off there, from 0-10k miles you would have been on the original set. Whether the Passat was 2WD or a Haldex based "4 motion" variant which is naturally front wheel drive biased, you wouldn't have worn the rears out at all under 40k miles. Worst case then is that you went through a set of fronts at 10k miles, 20k miles and 30k miles just shy of handing it back - 6 tyres. More likely you went through 2 sets of fronts. Anything over and above that would be punctures/tyre damage which can't really be accounted for as a regular and predictable running cost.

you could buy a decent bike for that !!!!!!

It's cheaper at Central Vehicle Leasing
All you doubting Toms leasing is very cost effective Why waste money, it's a different thought process ! We love our LEASED Golf R Our previous Scirocco cost us 24 k the depreciation is horrendous. We didn't have finance as paid cash so imagine finance costs too it's a scary waste of cash

good deal! find me one for the new VRS petrol hatch, I have the mk2 vrs and love it. can't wait to upgrade

Bulls**t

If you're lucky enough to be able to buy outright then it usually matches a lease for depreciation (on a car with good depreciation), especially if you are adding options (which push up the cost of a lease far more than a purchase, as with the lease you'll be absorbing 100% of the options cos and will get nothing back for them). Buying on PCP and usually 1/3 of your money on a 3 year term is going on interest.

1. No options and you've got the money to buy outright - lease will usually just win out, leave your money in the bank.

2. More than a few options and you've got the money to buy outright - buying will win out, get 10% off your options and they will retain 20% of RRP over 3 years (30% over 2 years).

3. Lease or PCP on a car with decent depreciation? Lease every time unless you are ticking every option box (>£4k).

As always, compare total lease costs with total depreciation costs (and interest if PCPing or interest lost by not leaving your money in the bank).

"...but feel free to correct my math."

...Maths.

this will have a variable service like my passat cc that i had on lease 2 years ago the service wasn't due till it reached 19k miles and i only did 18 over 2 years so didnt have to service it.so 8k a year and this wont need servicing before you hand it back

I totally get this leasing for possible savings against depreciation on a new car...... but its not a definite, there are far too many variables. The make & model of car, the colour, the fact you can save on servicing when you own a car and the price you've haggled off a new car.
Personally I prefer to buy new..... but I understand its not for everyone.

I'm surprised the leasing company let you get away with that..... a car should at least have a minor service every 12 months if you haven't reached the total mileage for a full service. At least oil & filter change after 12 months and 9,000 miles.

a bit cheaper from these http://www.centralukvehicleleasing.co.uk/vehicle/choose_your_lease/65881/skoda/octavia/20_tdi_cr_scout_4x4_5dr.html
by about £65

Having owned a few diesel Passats in my life, I have to say it is probably the driver's fault in your case.
Also service intervals are definitely longer than what you posted.

no not true my hyundai ix35 service due dates are every 2 years or 20k
most vw audi seat skoda cars are variable service so you only need to service them when the car says

I didn't know that........ Is that even for diesel engines as well ?

mine is the 1.7 diesel.my passat cc was the 2.0 tdi engine

Pretty good that you can go 2 years before servicing if you don't do the mileage..... most of my cars have been a set mileage or 12 months, whichever comes first.

Its the same for my 2 motorcycles as well.

Did you look at this company, http://www.freedomcontracts.com/Skoda-Octavia-Estate-2.0-TDI-Scout-5Dr-Personal-Lease/2119

They seem to have even better deals for this. Jus tpointing this out as you mentioned you are interested in going for one

You looked at a Dacia in the showroom? Well thanks for the in depth review & conclusions.

Yes it has a rugged basic interior compared to cars which are much dearer to buy. What do you expect? Mine is solid & well put together, has all the equipment I need, gives 50mpg & has a cavernous load space. I can understand people spending a lot more for a top spec interior & quieter ride if that matters to them (the one thing I would mark the Duster down for is engine noise under acceleration) but if you want to drive a new car with a good warranty, that's cheap to run & tax & you don't care much for a badge or a luxurious cabin you can't go wrong. Just google 'Duster Reviews' & watch the videos & conclusions. It does what it says on the tin.

I'm just trading in my 2013 model Duster Laureate on a '14 plate for a '15 plate facelift model. I asked my local dealer how much it would cost me to change just out of interest & I was pleasantly surprised when they offered me 82% of what I paid for it. I have it on PCP so I'm basically handing my car back & picking up a new model with nothing but a £200 deposit changing hands (I will be paying a bit more a month as I've fitted some options to it). The new model comes with quite impressive spec as standard for the price including cruise control & an extra £300 gets you a touchscreen Sat Nav/Stereo fitted. The fact you can upgrade to a 7 year warranty shows they're not expecting problems down the line. Can't comment on private sales but anyone saying it won't be worth anything in 3 years time are talking out their erchie:

http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/recommended/slowest-depreciating-cars-motors-that-hold-their-value

No I don't work for Dacia & I'm not trying to justify my own expenditure, I'm just a bit fed up of the 'Dacia are crap' comments from people who haven't spent any time with one or people who like to degrade anything that's not up to their lofty standards.

Nought personal jrw :wink:

By the way, good lease deal OP

who would lease a skip on wheels.

Vag have two types of service normal every 12000 or so and long life which can be over 2 years depending upon the driving style and miles, even in diesels.

Sorry but well put together, I would still say there is time yet for that to be confirmed :disappointed: After the problem with rust on them and manufacturing needing to be moved to another factory because things were so bad still think the jury is out on them :disappointed:

Ah I see, you can have either............ I recently test drove the Octavia 1.2 tsi with a view to buying one and the salesman never mentioned these servicing options. This would be a plus point for the Skoda to me.
But I also tested the new facelift Focus 1.0 125 and far preferred the way it drove........ in the process atm of weighing up either.

I'm looking out for a lease car and this seems a decent deal.

Sucks to be a VAG customer. Doing 30k a year in a Honda Accord, dealer servicing avg. £200 every 12k, tyres can be bought on offers. paintwork maintenance is really an extra

Troll lv.99. Nice.

i had a test drive in both the ford kuga and skoda octavia saloon today and i have to say i prefer the kuga, but obviously very different cars this and the kuga but interesting deals for around the same price....

kuga deal - http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ford-kuga-diesel-estate-2-0-tdci-150-titanium-5dr-2wd-24mth-personal-lease-10k-miles-2133902

Thankfully my Duster wasn't among the 'infected' batch built in India but I feel for the people unlucky enough to get one of those. After denying the problem Dacia have ben inspecting & repairing those with rust issues &, I believe, extending their warranties. I was offered a check up on mine even though I've had no problems by a garage up here that has the Dacia contract to inspect/repair affected motors. I checked the garage out on Google & it turns out to be a Ferrari & Porsche bodywork specialist!

Indeed the new facelift RHD model is built in Romania along with european LHD ones. I can see private sales being affected on the older model if people are in the know but my local dealer didn't seem phased & was happy to offer me a good price to have my car as stock so they must be selling them second hand. Be interesting to see what price is on the ticket after I trade it in.

lol at all the second hand car , diesels do 45000000 miles , my rusty gird is still going etc etc etc comments

In a lease deal thread for a NEW car !!!!
Ha ha ha

2015 and there are still people ignorant enough to think Skodas are skips. Remarkable :laughing:

The cost of a 3 year/30,000 mile Skoda service plan is £479. When that finishes you can buy a 2 years service plan for £378 that pays for 1 x minor service, 1 x major service and 2 x MoT. For higher mileage users simply follow the variable service schedule that can let the car go up to 18,000 miles or 2 years between services, depending on how you drive it. You can also buy a fixed cost maintenance plan at point of registration that you pay monthly that is calculated on your annual mileage. Cheaper than you think to run a Skoda.

Aaaah, you'll be one of those that think VW's are really good cars, and therefore Skoda's must be too? There are plenty of you around, but you are all learning, bit by bit, pound by pound.

Warning: nobody listen to this man - his very limited knowledge of cars could prove expensive for you.

enlighten me... whats your view? i would be interested to hear your point of view. I have limited knowledge on all things cars.

Sure. German cars are trouble (you can pick up that just from this thread), and constantly need expensive repairs and parts replacing.

It is very rare for someone to end up with a genuinely trouble-free example, although not many will admit to this.

The Japanese brands, and more recently Hyundai/Kia are the place to be for hassle-free motoring.

Only £65? I make it around £4,600?

£2250 (15 x 149.99) + 3450 (23x149.99) + 180 = £5,880

make sure your looking @ 8k miles and remember to include vat

i have rechecked my original calc for this post and i think i included 24 payments @ £213.54 instead of 23 so my total should maybe be £5,732?!

I get,

(deposit 1500 + rental (23*100) + miles (6000*0.06) + doc fee 150) + 20% VAT

1500+2300+360+150=4310 + VAT = £5,172

I had forgot excess miles & doc fee

I see what you've done, it's better to just pay the excess miles charge

I have never yet seen a trouble-free car... I think its all down to particular model you choose.... Unfortunately new German cars are a bit hit and miss these days (some engines are a bit pain), but they are definitely not worst in the market.... Comparing to competitors cars German cars have decent power engines and nice suspension, where French, Japan have underpowered lines with rattling case....
Also half of you never knows whether car is properly serviced or not coz you use cheap/dodgy garages anyways.... But that's not manufacturers fault is it?
Parts are expensive, but its only because its UK - heaven of inflated prices. In Germany parts and service are really cheap comparing to our market...
If you can and like it just buy, if not - buy what you can and like...

Amazed how off topic people go on these lease deals - still making me laugh though. Any cars can be trouble, madness to think its german its trouble free, friend has a vw eos and its a terrible car. I have had several Renaults all without any major problems I think its just down to luck also how you maintain the car.

The Yeti I had was in my opinion the most solid car i have owned, build quality was very good (for what it cost)....people do realise the skodas are not actually built in germany right?

I never said they were the most reliable. Japanese top the reliability stakes but it doesn't make them the best. They are mostly inrefined, plasticky and tinny. My Renault is fault free but then so was my Octavia VRS which I had for 5 years which I have just sole and did 60k in. Doesn't make the Renault better or worse but my god the Octavia was a better car in every way compared to the Megane....Better ride, better looks, better handling, better laid out cabin with controls in logical places, better sat nav, better fuel consumption (bearing in mind it had 70 more bhp), better seats etc etc etc.

I think we all know its not made in Germany but its essentially a German car underneath with german engineering.

Aye but then you would have to drive it!! Noisy old school diesel, less room than a fiesta and kit level from the dark ages!

LOL well you might just maybe if you're lucky get a 6yo car with 75k for your £6k :-D

So so funny....I am sure this is just a wind up, i am confident most people who post on this forum are 15 years old.

Would be great value if you could buy this car in two years for 6k.

Oh dear...

I've been offered this for £199+VAT a month on a 10k per year with 3 months upfront from http://primevehiclemanagement.com/

What i didn't realise until i started looking into personal leasing was that all of the deals posted on these leasing websites should be availible through a main dealer if anyone wishes to do it face to face locally - thats certainly the way i am going. Apologises if this is common knowledge but it was news to me :-)

10x better than hire purchase or pcp in my situation.

German cars are of average reliability (within warranty) these days, it is ridiculous to say German cars specifically are trouble. Under warranty you get the good parts fitted badly or bad parts fitted well failing generally in the first year and almost certainly within 3 years. Beyond the warranty, they're pretty reliable, most of the major stuff is solid and built to last. You see as many ancient VWs, Audis and BMWs on the road as you do Fords, Vauxhalls, Renaults etc, and considering how few of the German cars were registered compared to the aforementioned alternatives, they last well, will look newer for longer, will (generally) hold more of their value for longer.

Poor servicing and maintenance regimes are a large reason why many cars don't last for donkeys years past warranty. The more money you spend on your second hand car beyond warranty, the more likely you are to look after it. Will the pepetually skint/tight person who fills up a fiver at a time spend money getting regular oil changes and performing other maintenance tasks as per manufacturer's recommendations?

VAG group parts are pretty reasonable - more so than Japanese or French parts, Ford replacement parts aren't particularly cheap these days either (my mate recently paid £1437 for a new turbo on his 2.0TDCI Mondeo), would've been around £850 for an equivalent turbo for a VW/Skoda/Audi 2.0TDI 140ps.

Due to the high price of German cars, do you not think they should be above average? You are totally right that Japanese parts are more expensive, but that's also the secret - they are high quality parts that last, generally.

You see ancient ones as you say, but 90% of the time they will be money pits that people have rebuilt over time - the automotive equivalent of 'Trigger's broom'.

Price vs quality, they are bottom of the league.

With Japanese cars, granted, you will find some plasticky trim. The German's however make their cost cuts by putting plastic components under the bonnet...if you think about it properly, which is the most sensible way to do things?

I'm sorry to say but I could never consider an Octavia good looking, so that is very subjective.

People often bang on about the great MPG of some VAG cars, but forget to factor in the cost of all the oil the engine has burnt - it's within tolerance for them to use 1 litre every 1,000km's (~600 miles). Japanese cars rarely use a drop.

ezzer72: Are you just spouting every bad story you ever heard about a German car, with absolutely no experience to back it up?

Plastic components under the bonnet? Only where it is suitable to do so - like water expansion tanks, radiator fan blades, battery box covers, plastic cowling pegged onto the top of the engine (or did you look at one of these cowls and assume the engine block was made of Polypropylene?). You won't find a plastic fuel pump, turbo or engine block. Have you ever looked under the bonnet of a German car? What are you expecting to see under there? Things that deal with water or fluids under relatively low temperature and very low pressure etc will be made of plastic - to keep weight down and make reservoirs translucent for level monitoring primarily.

German cars (generally) feel nicer to drive, have quite high outputs relative to their engine displacement, and relatively good mpg, with nice interiors, refined engines, good soundproofing etc. You are paying for refinement and the premium feel. It needn't cost the earth to run a nice German car either - they may cost more in RRP, but the residuals are usually higher (OK BMWs are lagging behind Merc/VW/Audi), and the real cost of a car is in the depreciation it'll suffer while it's yours, not the sticker price. If you can run a £25k Golf GTD for £10k depreciation or take the Ford focus or Honda Civic equivalent at £22k, with lower output, less spec, and it'll suffer £12k depreciation - which is the better buy?

Factor in the cost of oil? A car that uses a lot of oil has generally had a bad run in, glazed bores and poor piston ring seals. I've had 1 of my 7 new VWs do this, and it was run in on motorway miles, the other 6 were run in properly with varied driving and never used a drop of oil between services. When you complain about heavy oil consumption, any dealership or manufacturer is going to have an acceptable tolerance of "worst case" oil usage of 1L oil per 1000 miles (even the Japanese makes), although most will not use that much oil - that is not a VAG specific thing, nor a common issue with VAG cars.

Ive never had a single VAG car that has suffered an incapacitating fault under warranty, and my Dad does 30k miles per year in his. The last car he had was a Golf GT 170TDI that he ran for 123k trouble-free miles when he traded it in.

I'd love to see the back-up stats for the above - 90% of the time they are money pits? I seriously doubt it it is anywhere near 25%. There's not much Kudos in driving an ancient BMW, people will pay a premium over the ancient Ford/Honda etc because they're expecting it to last longer than one of its American/French/Japanese peers, not because they want to drive an old money pit that will cost more to run than a brand new Honda Civic.

German cars usually top out NCAP ratings for safety, and are leaders in automotive safety technology (look up the ACC system standard on all MK7 Golfs and optional on most of the rest of the VAG range - it will bang on the brakes if the car ahead slams the anchors on, as well as maintaining a safe distance between you and the car in front when using cruise control) another good reason to buy German.

The Use of German engineered parts on a Skodaa is no bad thing, nor is the fact they're not built in Germany - would you say a Swindon built Honda Civic is massively inferior to one built in Japan with the same parts and same assembly techniques? Same applies for a Czech built Skoda.

Christ mate when are you going to stop... we get it, you hate German cars.
I owned 2 Passats, both had about 100.000 miles on the clock when I bought, they performed flawlessly for years, and sold then with very little depreciation.
Then I bought a brand new Honda CR-V, in the owner's book, it says very clearly, 1 litre every 1000km's is within tolerance. You can find the handbooks online and see for yourself.
Now Honda is as Japanese as it gets. It had lots of Bosch parts though.

Oh, none of my Passat's ate oil. At all or so little that I never had to top up between services.

All mechanics I talked to loved the Passat, not the same about Honda. Although it was new, I had lots of problems, and that is although I had more toys and electronics on the much older Passat's!

The paintwork on the Honda was also incredibly fragile, while again, although the Passat's where so old, they looked impeccable.

Just my experience owning them both. What can you share about your experience with German cars? How many did you own and for how long?

I've been a Service Manager with both Japanese and German brands. I've honestly forgotten more than you are ever likely to know.

I am always hit with the 'my VW did 100k trouble free miles', but more often than not it is either a lie, or subject to selective memory. Whenever I have a proper face-to-face 'real life' conversation on the subject, the VW/Audi fan always slips up and ends up telling the truth eventually.

When I talk about plastic components, of course I'm not referring to water reservoirs. How about the main water pump, cam belt pulleys (not to mention the rubber band holding it all together...proper cars have cam chains!), and another major culprit is the plastic clutch slave cylinder - every cold/wintery morning our telephone system used to go bonkers with every Golf/Passat/A4 having a clutch pedal dropped to the floor. The list is actually quite endless.

Another problem is the LHD to RHD conversion is usually rather nasty, and many problems occur due to this bodge.

Oil consumption, especially on TDI's is very prevalent, regardless of how they've been 'run in', I've dealt with literally thousands of customer complaints about it.

Nissan introduced adaptive cruise control in 2002 (Primera P12 T-Spec). They also used a supercharged/turbocharged engine (as per VW TSi) back in the March (Micra) Super Turbo, 1987, look it up...

I will concede that soundproofing is better on German cars, and I'll also tell you why in one sentence that sums up the whole debate;

The German's have mastered perceived quality, the Japanese have mastered ACTUAL quality.

You two have obviously fallen for it, carry on having difficult motoring and paying for the privilege, it don't matter to me.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/volkswagen/passat-2005/?section=good

Maybe the mechanics enjoy the business they benefit from? Or, they don't know how good some cars actually are...

Previous Octavia (new one a bit too new to rate);
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/skoda/octavia-2004/?section=good

And Dad's 123k Golf - he was a lucky lad to have absolutely no problems wasn't he??
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/volkswagen/golf-v-2004/?section=good

As expected, you never owned one.

No, because I have more sense/knowledge.

Testament to the fact that people are most vocal on review websites when they are moaning, the Golf one has a small section that states the woes of one person - hardly a common issue, the fella just got a lemon. Honda and Toyota make the odd lemon too. They're adept at raising global scale recalls lately also. I can't remember the time a German marque had to do that. The last 50k miles of my dad's ownership of that car was with a tuning box on too. That car did not have an easy life, yet never skipped a beat. With 7 new VAG cars owned over the years i've never had a single fault that stopped me at the roadside, most things that happened were piffling things you would tolerate on an old car rather than pay money for them to be fixed, but as they were under warranty I had them done at no cost to myself.

I'll run the risk and drive on borrowed breakdown time in my German car that is full of safety tech, feels nice and solid, gives (relatively) good mpg, has good residuals and a decent output relative to the engine size. Have fun in your Nissan/Honda/Toyota bland-box that'll be reliable (allegedly) until the next global recall.

You're utterly correct, the Japanese are lousy at getting power from engines. I assume you haven't happened upon Honda V-Tec or Nissan NeoVVL technology? The good residuals is actually a bit of a myth too, when the too-high original purchase prices are factored in. As pointed out in a previous post, any safety tech the German's claim to offer, was offered years ago by the Japanese, generally speaking. You truly have no experience in the real car world, but feel the need to justify spending too much on a badge. Anyway, I'm done now, bored.

Plenty of experience, driven plenty of different marques (and working for a Ford manufacturing facility) to come to the decision that I prefer German cars. All of those innovations you speak of were niche, not rolled out wholesale to other models - too costly to implement, or testament to the lousy level of equipment most Japanese cars have.

Honda's reluctance to embrace Turbos on their mainstream models until recently is the main reason they were thirsty and lacking in Torque. The Civic R type had a respectable 200ps but you had to really wring it's neck to get it. Below 5000rpm it felt like an old 1.4 engine.

How are residuals a myth? Sticker price of a new car is irrelevant these days if you are only going to keep the car 2-5 years, it's the depreciation that counts, hence why you can buy a £26k Golf GTD for £350 a month on a PCP. Try getting a £26k Honda for £350 a month on PCP. If you buy a £26k GTD that retains 55% of RRP, and can be bought at a 12% discount, it will have cost you £8580 in depreciation. Buy the Civic 1.6D-Tec with a paltry 120ps in it's higest trim level and it is a few hundred quid more than the GTD, and has a GFV of just 45%. Assuming that 12% discount is also achievable on that Honda, it will have lost £2600 more than the GTD. £2600 more depreciation suffered for a car with 2/3 the power, nigh on same fuel economy and the Golf is better equipped. You'd have to be a fool to buy the Honda unless you really liked it.

its maths not math.
this seems to have expired

I took out this deal and I'm Coming to the end of it. Skoda have offered to sell the car for £12900.

Anyone else had offers? I'm on 24000 miles

Doesn't need main dealer servicing at all, and I could easily by a car for a couple of hundred pounds that will do everything this can so not sure on your point.