LEASING PRICES GOING THROUGH THE ROOF
“Skoda doesn’t really want your business.” That was the response given to me by an apologetic Skoda salesman by way of explanation for the “astronomical” lease price that he was about to quote me to replace my two-yearold Octavia Estate.
Like many people, I got pulled into personal leasing around seven years ago, when hidden discounts made it highly cost-effective to essentially rent a car.
The Octavia is perfect for our family, and our past two cars have been estates in 1.5 TSI SE Technology guise.
The payments have crept up. The first one in 2018 (after a very cheap Superb) cost us £5605 over two years. The current one is the new Mk4 model and will have cost us £7031 over the same time frame, following a list-price rise and the addition of a couple of options.
Then came the bombshell: to replace it like for like now (minus the options) would be £13,151 for two years. Monthly payments would leap from just under £200 to £463.
Skoda refuted the salesman’s claim that it didn’t want my business, but it’s hard not to agree with him. The list price has risen by 10% to £25,995, but the leasing price has gone up by a whopping 135%.
There is now a 12-month waiting list for Octavias.
“There isn’t as much rationale for tactical support [ie discounts] as there was,” said a Skoda spokesman.
Maybe cars have been too cheap, but at £463 a month, we are no longer an Octavia family. A Dacia Jogger 1.0 TCE (£204 deposit, £204 per month) is now more our speed, financially speaking.