[JayPrashanth]

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Skoda India has been witnessing a drop in sales for a few months now. The big sales drop has been experienced by the Czech automaker's best selling product, the Rapid sedan. Sales of the Rapid have fallen to an average of about 1,200 units per month, with August being a particularly poor month for the car, with wholesale dispatches of just 810 units.



Dodgy after sales service and high maintenance costs have been a bane of brand Skoda in India, and this poor reputation has begun eating into retail sales. The weakest struggle the most when the times get hard and the slowing down car market has exposed the chinks in the brand's armor. Even as the Indian festive season is on in full swing, Skoda has launched into damage control mode.



The Volkswagen group owned car maker is now offering the "5X5 Experience" package for the Rapid sedan. This package will be offered on all variants of the Rapid sedan until the end of September.

High points of the "5X5 Experience" on the Skoda Rapid sedan,

• 5 year extended warranty package, that will also cover the second owner of the car
• 5 year car loan at a loan interest rate of 7.99%
• 5 year preventive maintenance schedule that will cover scheduled maintenance costs
• 5 year roadside assistance package that will also cover the second owner of the car
• 1st year free insurance

The Rapid sedan is offered with two engine and two transmission options. The car's engine options are a 1.6 liter MPI petrol engine (105 PS-145 Nm) and a 1.6 liter TDI turbo diesel engine (105 PS-250 Nm). Both engines come with a 5 speed manual gearbox as standard while a 6 speed automatic gearbox is available on the petrol variants as an option. Skoda sells the Rapid in 11 variants.



Twin airbags, ABS+EBD, reverse parking sensors, automatic climate control and rear AC vents are the few notable features available on the top end variants of the Rapid sedan. The car is a badge engineered version of the Volkswagen Vento and save for the styling and lower pricing, the Rapid is virtually a Vento wearing a Skoda badge. The Rapid range starts at 7.12 lakh rupees, ex-showroom Delhi.

[roy_libran]

This is indeed very opportune. Thanks a ton. Rapid under these circumstances makes my shortlist. TD tomorrow.

[coolboy007]

I had called Skoda Dealer in west delhi and the salesman though very enthusiastic about his product told me that these 5 yrs warranty or service etc things only apply if i take loan through them.

If you are buying cash down or loan from some one else, you only get free insurance + skoda shield.

[VeluM]

The interest rate quoted varies, depending on the tenure of the loan. For a five year loan, the interest rate is higher.

What are the 5 Add-on features listed in the ad?

[Tats07]

Originally Posted by VeluM

For a five year loan, the interest rate is higher

No, that's not correct. This has been coming up as newspaper ads for the past few weeks, and the first of the 5 benefits it mentions is 7.99% interest for 5 year finance - please have a closer look at the first picture uploaded by JayPrashanth. Obviously this is applicable only if the loan is from Skoda Finance.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by VeluM

What are the 5 Add-on features listed in the ad?

No features have been added to the car per se. They're offering 5 benefits like 7.99% interest rate on loans, free first year insurance, 5 yr extended warranty, etc. Please read the opening post. The first picture also shows these benefits.

[narayan]

Does anyone know the cost of the AMC/EW ? Also if a buyer is taking a car under this scheme, does it mean all other cash discounts stand cancelled ? Only if one knows these aspects can we conclude whether its a good deal or not

[djay99]

In order to avail PMS, one has to pay an extra 600 per month added to EMI.

Also 7.99% is for 3 years as told by Tafe sales executive.

Extended Warranty is applicable even if you avail loan from some other bank.
5 add on features like GPS, Reverse Parking Sensors, Alloy wheels, Door sills are available only on Lesure variant.

They offered me a corporate discount of 7500 + additional 500 discount. But waiting period of Rapid AT is 3 to 4 months. Buying Polo TSI makes sense IMO.

[AGwagon]

Originally Posted by NPV

No features have been added to the car per se. They're offering 5 benefits like 7.99% interest rate on loans, free first year insurance, 5 yr extended warranty, etc. Please read the opening post. The first picture also shows these benefits.

NPV just an observation the scheme is named 5X5, thus 5 benefits, and as per the first pic, I can clearly see the fifth benefit is the 5 Add on feature.

Also as someone else said in the thread, what are the individual goodies that they have mentioned translate into Vs what were the current discounts available on the car. Skoda, have been quite creative with their marketing (sadly not so much on the A.S.S.), earlier this year only they came back with the buy-back scheme on Fabia!

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by Tats07

No, that's not correct. This has been coming up as newspaper ads for the past few weeks, and the first of the 5 benefits it mentions is 7.99% interest for 5 year finance - please have a closer look at the first picture uploaded by JayPrashanth. Obviously this is applicable only if the loan is from Skoda Finance.

That is not true, because I have booked the rapid and have been explained these features already

Interest rate for 3 years is lower, but for 5 years is about a percent higher.

[MaxTorque]

Skoda Rapid is a capable car and had good take off but slowly died down. Skoda's notorious after sales experience went against Rapid. By the way the offer looks really tempting and its good time for those who are planning to book one.

[Equus]

Loan should be thru Skoda only? What about car lease? Several companies offer this here and lot of cars are company leased..

What is the catch? I am sure they have something cooking

[GTO]

I believe this is one of the initiatives taken forward by Skoda India's new CEO in his effort to overhaul Skoda's rotten after-sales reputation. DSG & electronic failures have also dented the reputation on the street (the 5 year warranty reinforces product durability).

The average ownership period in India is ~5 years. So basically, a typical owner has to spend absolutely zilch extra in his entire ownership of a Rapid. Whatever costs are there are paid upfront toward the package. There's no question of nasty surprises later.

Personally, I welcome such all-inclusive maintenance & warranty plans with open arms. They make a whole lot of sense & result in stress-free ownership. BMW was the first to introduce these packages in India.

Equally, this is only half the job done. End of the day, it's the dealers who have to execute a top-class service. Skoda just has to monitor them closely. Hands-off approaches don't work in India.

Expect the plans to be extended to other Skodas too, especially the upcoming Octavia.

If VW doesn't offer a similar plan for the Vento, the 5x5 package would be enough for me to decide in favour of the Rapid.

[greatpower]

Looks like an awesome package.
Quick question: Does the "Preventive Maintenance Schedule" includes both parts and labor?

[Vid6639]

I mentioned this is the EcoSport thread.

With this offer the Rapid Leisure model with parking sensors, reversing camera, sat nav and leather seats is almost the same as the EcoSport.

Anyone frustrated with their Ecosport booking should really take a close look at the Rapid with this package.