hows Skoda in terms of maintenance and parts cost?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › hows Skoda in terms of maintenance and parts cost?

1 | 2

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1184

#2509936 22-Jun-2020 18:50

Almost all of the major car manufacturers have had dubious dealings in the past, be it VW's infamous emissions deception, or others which have denied or ignored serious safety issues. Similarly, almost all of the major brands have some really crappy dealers in their network, or people within those dealerships. The same is true of most large organisations. As to the suggestion to check out Haval or MG... on personal experience I'd go for a 3 - 5 year old Japanese car over either of those brands.

ratsun81

516 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 183

#2510318 23-Jun-2020 09:54

Have owned 3 skodas so far.

09 Octavia

2016 Fabia

2019 Scout.

Price wise the standard service costs are similar to Japanese brands.

Parts prices in NZ can be excessive. Ive found that getting on Ebay and ordering from EU can be cheaper than buying locally. A great example of this was a cracked fog light on my 09 octavia. NZ price was something like 250 and Ebay price was about 75.

Ive also found that from dealer to dealer you can get poor service and great service so it really depends on your area and who you go to.

Quic Broadband

Use R212389ELFLL2 promo code for free setup at checkout.

js7319

19 posts

Geek

ID Verified

#2510327 23-Jun-2020 10:16

Thank you all for sharing your experiences this helps a lot.

I am still in early stage of deciding whether to buy the new or used.
Since I own 2006 Nissan Tiida, I was expecting a better driving experience and Skoda Scala was the best among I have listed in OP (also had test driven Mazda cx-3 and Suzuki Vitara which were also better than other vehicles I drove in OP)

My next test drive will be Mazda 3 and Ford Focus.
Currently looking at 30-35k for the new and under 30k for the used. Open to any other vehicle suggestion to test drive :)

billgates

4706 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 672

Trusted

#2510329 23-Jun-2020 10:22

I have had a really bad experience with Skoda dealership in Auckland that we bought the car from, the Skoda national service manager who refused to acknowledge a major issue with the Skoda Fabia engine that is widely published and experienced in other parts of the world where recall was done and local Skoda dealership in Hamilton that we sent the car for servicing doing a botched job on replacing the disc brakes that broke within 2 weeks again due to shoddy install.

Do whatever you want to do man.

Benjip

977 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 524

ID Verified

#2510342 23-Jun-2020 10:51

duckDecoy:

@Benjip a golf gti is something my partner is currently considering, mk6. Any golf specific tips on what to look for when getting it checked out? E.g. i know to ask of the DSG service has been done at ~65km.

Eek I'm not very knowledgeable about the MK6 sorry, that's the one generation I skipped (with a BMW 330i in between my MK5 & MK7 GTIs – absolutely loved the 330i even though it went through a bottle of oil a month).

For me personally it's about making a mental list of needs (which for me are leather seats, curtain airbags, parking sensors) versus wants (CarPlay), so you can instantly dismiss any specific cars for sale that don't match up with that. That way you're not wasting time investigating every listing on Trade Me.

scuwp

3927 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2510

#2510379 23-Jun-2020 11:32

Your search seems to be missing 2 key players that have some nice offerings in this vehicle category - Hyundai and Kia.

I have seen little in my experience to dissuade me that while admittedly some nice looking and performing vehicles, it is generally accepted that European cars have lower reliability and higher maintenance costs that their Japanese or Korean counterparts. If that is important to you then I would look elsewhere.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

Apple TV

Stream your favourite shows now on Apple TV (affiliate link).

ObidiahSlope

260 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 66

#2510422 23-Jun-2020 12:52

Here is a buyers guide to Volkswagen Group products;

A Skoda is Skoda with vinyl seats;

A VW is a Skoda with fabric seats;

An Audi is a Skoda with suede seats; and

A Bentley is a Skoda with leather seats.

For some unfathomable reason Kiwi's regard European cars as a prestige product.

Obsequious hypocrite

Benjip

977 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 524

ID Verified

#2510516 23-Jun-2020 13:56

ObidiahSlope:
Here is a buyers guide to Volkswagen Group products;

A Skoda is Skoda with vinyl seats;

A VW is a Skoda with fabric seats;

An Audi is a Skoda with suede seats; and

A Bentley is a Skoda with leather seats.

For some unfathomable reason Kiwi's regard European cars as a prestige product.

You sound like someone who has never seen the inside of a European vehicle and compared it to the Japanese/Korean/American equivalent.

Should we add Porsche to your list too? After all, a Porsche is a Skoda with leather seats and a bigger turbo.

Item

1739 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 726

Subscriber

#2510543 23-Jun-2020 14:25

I am in my 5th year of owning a Skoda Octavia vRS Wagon from new.

Good:

Practical
Roomy
Quick enough (mostly) and nice to drive
Safe
Pretty well equipped
Comfortable with good seats.
Reliable - so far. It has never let me down/left me stranded/become dangerous or unpredictable
Any issues I have had have been sorted under warranty, no questions asked. I believe they are doing a 5 year plan on most stuff these days.
Good value for money compared to the Golf GTI - which is basically what it is under the skin.
Dealer (Giltrap Skoda Auckland) have been pretty good at resolving minor issues and supporting my purchase
Services are more expensive than Japanese equivalents but you do them half as often so it seems to work out about the same.

Bad:

Low cabin refinement compared to VW and Audi models - you can tell where they have saved money on the interior insulation and noise reduction etc
Some cheap cabin materials...though some are quite good!
Minor niggles/issues in 4 years/50km (all fixed under warranty):
1. Issue with SatNav reception - fixed with firmware update
2. Issue with rear parking sensors not firing or randomly firing - fixed with new parking sensor controller
3. Peeling "chrome (lol)" finish on gear selector - replaced twice and now seems to be sorted
4. Rattle/vibration under car at certain RPM - fuel line needed more foam/ packing/insulation
5. Couple of annoying interior rattles...some sorted, others I now live with!
6. Alert randomly popping up in Guage cluster with "Leave in P and call dealership!" which was a known issue with a faulty switch inside gear selector - fixed and never returned

So a bunch of small stuff, none of which impacted the overall driving or availability of the car, most of which were annoying!

Would I buy another one? Hmmm. I think I would probably spend a bit more and get the Audi equivalent now, just for the extra refinement but if I had to keep to that budget, then yes I would.

axxaa

66 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 16

ID Verified

#2510652 23-Jun-2020 16:07

Despite my 2003 allroad needing lots of maintenance, it's by far the best car I've ever owned. Would have another in a heartbeat (would be a lower mileage newer example though :)

ObidiahSlope

260 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 66

#2511078 23-Jun-2020 22:22

Benjip:

You sound like someone who has never seen the inside of a European vehicle and compared it to the Japanese/Korean/American equivalent.

Should we add Porsche to your list too? After all, a Porsche is a Skoda with leather seats and a bigger turbo.

Hey I resemble that remark.

If I had more money than was sensible, just for giggles, I would walk into the local dealers showroom and buy an Alfa Romeo Guilia Quadrifoglio.

I would ask for some extras and modifications;

Exterior paint burnt orange,

A Confederate flag painted on the roof,

The number 05 painted on the door,

A HEMI decal on the front guards, and

Airhorns that play Dixie.

When the salesdroids lip curls in disgust I would tell him/her off for disrespecting the cars whakapapa as a Chrysler product.

This fantasy turns to ridiculous when I ask a lady to wear Daisy Duke's riding around with me.

Obsequious hypocrite

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

bjulie

1 post

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#2517132 4-Jul-2020 10:46

It's pretty simple, there's people happy with the skoda (VW) and there are people who are not. It's like the Andriod vs Apple situation - one person had a good experience with one, and the other didn't so sticks to the other brand.

If you and your wife are keen into it, then just make sure you look into every aspect of it (engine, parts, car seats, AC, mileage, car doors, how the car feels, anything you can think of basically.)

At the end of the day, you mainly go with what you are satisfied and persuaded with.

mortonman

287 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 64

Subscriber

#2523252 15-Jul-2020 09:13

Item:

I am in my 5th year of owning a Skoda Octavia vRS Wagon from new.

Good:

Practical
Roomy
Quick enough (mostly) and nice to drive
Safe
Pretty well equipped
Comfortable with good seats.
Reliable - so far. It has never let me down/left me stranded/become dangerous or unpredictable
Any issues I have had have been sorted under warranty, no questions asked. I believe they are doing a 5 year plan on most stuff these days.
Good value for money compared to the Golf GTI - which is basically what it is under the skin.
Dealer (Giltrap Skoda Auckland) have been pretty good at resolving minor issues and supporting my purchase
Services are more expensive than Japanese equivalents but you do them half as often so it seems to work out about the same.

Bad:

Low cabin refinement compared to VW and Audi models - you can tell where they have saved money on the interior insulation and noise reduction etc
Some cheap cabin materials...though some are quite good!
Minor niggles/issues in 4 years/50km (all fixed under warranty):

Issue with SatNav reception - fixed with firmware update
Issue with rear parking sensors not firing or randomly firing - fixed with new parking sensor controller
Peeling "chrome (lol)" finish on gear selector - replaced twice and now seems to be sorted
Rattle/vibration under car at certain RPM - fuel line needed more foam/ packing/insulation
Couple of annoying interior rattles...some sorted, others I now live with!
Alert randomly popping up in Guage cluster with "Leave in P and call dealership!" which was a known issue with a faulty switch inside gear selector - fixed and never returned

So a bunch of small stuff, none of which impacted the overall driving or availability of the car, most of which were annoying!

Would I buy another one? Hmmm. I think I would probably spend a bit more and get the Audi equivalent now, just for the extra refinement but if I had to keep to that budget, then yes I would.

Im in my 3rd year of Skoda Octavia vRS. Great car. Agree with all of the above. Great spacious car. I've driven the Skala (1.2l) briefly when the car was in for a service. Was nice but I preferred my old mk5.5 1.4tsi golf (better handling).

I also had similar issues with the fuel line and the gear box on the skoda. Got them sorted easily but not all on warranty. Giltrap skoda have always been easy to deal with.

We also have a VW tiguan and again a few niggles but nothing to detract from the quality cabin and build levels. Missus loves it.

Both cars are on a service package so no big bills each service.

The only issue with VAG group cars is the DSG gearbox. They are fine going forward but hate reversing under load eg up hills. Our drive way is steep and we alway reverse down and drive forward up the drive to reduce the load on the box. If you are buying new or nearly new most cars should come with a decent warranty and possibly servicing package to provide some level of comfort.

I am also now looking at stepping up to an Audi. Cabin design is head and shoulders above all their competitors.

1 | 2