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Old 16th November 2007, 16:52   #1
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Is the Octavia going to be discontinued ?

Hi All! I am in the market for a car and over the past couple of months have been trying out various models. After testing most of the cars in
my price range (10-14lakhs) I decided that the only one that really
hit the spot for me was the Octavia Rider 1.9TDI. I went to the dealer
twice and have just stopped short of buying one because of one nagging
feeling - that the Octavia, despite being a looker, is an old model and is
due for an upgrade or maybe discontinued. The reason I have this feeling
is because I remember reading on one of the threads on this forum that
this may happen and that the Octavia is actually no longer sold in Europe
and has been replaced by the Laura. To add to this is the fact that when
I went to the Skoda dealer again last weekend (I am surprised he has not
thrown me out yet!! Incredibly gracious guy!!) I saw the Laura Ambience which sells for 14.8L on the road in Pune. This was much cheaper than the
Laura models I had seen earlier and for the first time I got around to thinking that I might actually be able to afford the Laura instead of the
Octavia. My question now is - why has Skoda added this version of the
Laura to the line-up? The Octavia Elegance which looks tacky compared
to the Laura Ambience is just 50K less!! Why would anyone buy the former ? Is this a sign of Skoda revamping their lineup by removing the Octavia, and bringing in a Laura Ambience to plug the gap temporarily ?

I have not bought one yet because the last thing I want is to buy a Octavia Rider and see it discontinued and get the resale value whacked.
I could future proof myself by buying the Laura Ambience, but then may
be once, and IF, the Octavia is discontinued then they may slide down
the prices on the Laura a bit. Anyway, I am thinking of waiting. Besides
there are a whole slew of new cars from VW and the Fabia hitting the
market. Who knows, I might like one of them better than the Octavia
and it maybe cheaper

For now I am driving an used Hyundai Accent and biding my time. I hope
the waiting pays off!!

Would like to hear from you folks who are so up to date about the car scene here. Thanks for reading.
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Old 19th November 2007, 12:20   #2
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Assuming that you have made up your mind to go with a Skoda car (someone is bound to tell you to buy a no-hassle Honda instead!), it makes no sense to buy Octavia after the introduction of Laura ambiente.

AFIK, Skoda doesn't revise the prices but just introduces lower spec variants at a lower price. They might discontinue Octavia or sell it with a lower spec engine at a lower price. Offering the current Octavia at a lower price is unlikely - it is not considered good marketing as it will upset the existing owners.

It will be sometime before we see a lot of VW models in our market. But yeah if you don't mind waiting, buy a 2008 model of the car of your choice.
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Old 19th November 2007, 12:56   #3
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Keebs,

I think you should wait till early 2008, if you are gearing up for skoda models in 10-14 lacs range.

Upgraded Octavia will be launched in early 2008 and no, itw ill not be phased out as Skoda has managed to place Laura in a different category in India. So, no need to worry on the resale thing.

And regarding your Q. of as to y Skoda has introduced Laura Ambience, we have had a big discussion on this in another Thread, I hope moderators can help in this.

Cheers!!
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Old 19th November 2007, 14:06   #4
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It seems discontinuation is the only thing holding you back.

How long do you plan to keep your new car?

If it's more than 5yrs, then probably ANY car you buy today, will get phased out by then. The Indian auto scene will surely see more frequent new model launches in the near future.
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Old 19th November 2007, 14:19   #5
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I dont see a reason why it would be discontinued. its a performer car and will remain in the market for some more time.
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Old 19th November 2007, 14:19   #6
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Does'nt seems Octavia would be out from market as still sells with good numbers and skoda has really changed the strategy and now it seems the Octavia would run much faster and longer
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Old 19th November 2007, 15:10   #7
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Why don't you try Civic/Optra Magnum TDCi ? Not sure about the *** of Skoda though...

Last edited by snaronikar : 19th November 2007 at 15:25.
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Old 19th November 2007, 15:19   #8
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http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...-ambiente.html

Above thread talks about Laura Ambiente.

I moved away from Laura with the fear of PD engine being discontinued in Skoda cars, as VW has already stopped that in European markets.

Also, there is possibility of 2.0 PD engine in Laura, as "New Octavia" in UK is running with this.
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Old 19th November 2007, 15:23   #9
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My friend here owns the Skoda dealership, he informed me that Skoda does have plans of Revamping the Octavia - it is not going to be discontinued but will get a facelift - Also it will have Alloys, ABS, Sunroof, Leather Seats, 4 Discs, Climate Control etc etc in the 1.9 TDi Model - the grille is also expected to change and so is the boot, the new model is still going to be called Octavia though.

All this is in the same price range as right now ( 12 lacs ) !!

So my suggestion would be to wait for another 2-3 months. Feb 08 should be my guess.

ACI Nov Issue also confirms this news about a facelift.
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Old 19th November 2007, 15:43   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swageo View Post
[url].

I moved away from Laura with the fear of PD engine being discontinued in Skoda cars, as VW has already stopped that in European markets.

Also, there is possibility of 2.0 PD engine in Laura, as "New Octavia" in UK is running with this.

No it has not. They sell both engine variants
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Old 19th November 2007, 17:38   #11
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Hi I have just very recently sold my RS and I'm wondering if the Laura with a petrol engine would be launched anytime soon? (I dont care for the Laura RS) I just want a Laura petrol 1.8T.

Any news on this guys?


Regards,

Satyam.
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Old 19th November 2007, 18:23   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajmat View Post
No it has not. They sell both engine variants
There are many threads that you could find in internet about this. For e.g

The VW Gazette: Volkswagen to Dump Pumpe-Düse
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Old 19th November 2007, 19:37   #13
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Quote:
4Also it will have Alloys, ABS, Sunroof, Leather Seats, 4 Discs, Climate Control etc etc in the 1.9 TDi Model
All that comes in the LnK version, though no 4 wheel discs in the diesel.
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Old 19th November 2007, 20:40   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sbfx View Post
Hi I have just very recently sold my RS
OT - you had just got a remap right ? Then why did you sell it ?
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Old 20th November 2007, 00:00   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vkochar View Post
My friend here owns the Skoda dealership, he informed me that Skoda does have plans of Revamping the Octavia - it is not going to be discontinued but will get a facelift - Also it will have Alloys, ABS, Sunroof, Leather Seats, 4 Discs, Climate Control etc etc in the 1.9 TDi Model - the grille is also expected to change and so is the boot, the new model is still going to be called Octavia though.

All this is in the same price range as right now ( 12 lacs ) !!

So my suggestion would be to wait for another 2-3 months. Feb 08 should be my guess.

ACI Nov Issue also confirms this news about a facelift.
A 12 lakh car with no Climate control! Didn't know that one.
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