Is Skoda Octavia too Expensive to Maintain

hello everyone,

Need your help in deciding upon a Car. After along struggling research and test drives of all the cars in C and D segment,i have finally come down to 2 cars. Maruti SX4 and Skoda Octavia 1.8 MPi.

I know I am comparing a C and a D segment car here but there's nothing else that i liked here.

i liked Octavia a lot as it has great power and an excellent drive feel & performance.My city run would be like 200kms a month and highway around 800kms a month so diesel makes no sense for me. Only concern I have is that is Octavia a very expensive car to maintain?

i own a Swift ZXI for last 4 years and have hardly spent any money on its maintainence so I am very confident that I can maintain a car very wellCan I do the same with an Octavia or is it like irrespective of how i keep,i will still have to pay huge costs for it? Coz if that's the case then I will have to decide upon SX4 coz after paying such a huge EMI for a Skoda,I wont be left with any room for paying huge bills.

Please advice.

Thank You

the octavia is a great car, and quite rewarding to drive, But I'd suggest is only if you plan to get it serviced independently. Saying that Their authorized service centers are expensive is an understatement google around - you'll find lots of info on them

for 1k kms a month you could look at a diesel as well. The octavia diesel is a very good car. FE also is very good for the diesel. Its one of the best rides you can have but as you doubt, it is expensive when it comes to replacing spares. The spares are not manufactured locally and so are very expensive. Service center/dealer networks are also no where near to Maruti. The SX4 on the other hand will not perform like the octavia but will be much cheaper to maintain. ASS with Maruti is one of the best you can get. SX4 will give you a mixture of performance and cheaper maintenance but octavia will give only performance. If you are concerned only of the performance and the ride, the skoda octavia will be a good choice but if you are ready to have a trade off in performance and would prefer a car low on maintenance then SX4 will be the one to go for.

Why break rules when following them is much easier!!!

I agree with Centaur. Also in case of accident all skoda cars prove very costly in terms of repairing. However it is one of the safest car on Indian road. So it will be case of trade off.

As suggested by Centaur, for usage around 1000 kms per month, you can consider a Diesel car. Skoda is high on maintenance but Badge Value, Performance, Feel & Safety is the best.

In D segment another Car is there to Consider, A diesel one... Optra Magnum! Great performance & good package.

People dont change when you tell them that there is a Better option... They change when they realise that there is No Other Option..

the optra will be a good option as well. For the first three years it will be the cheapest to own(except fuel costs) among all the options you have in mind

Why break rules when following them is much easier!!!

Skoda maintenance is very expensive, comparable for service costs, consumables and normally replaceable spares to at least 2 segments above.  My friends have both Skodas and vehicles like the C Class, comparing invoices to invoices and total cost of service visits, the friend with the Skoda pays substantially more for his vehicle (on an annual basis) than the guy with the C Class.  This is fact as experienced.

Keep those wheels turning!

Hello Guys,

Thanks for your responses...Well above comments kind of horrify me about this car.I am not sure if I would be able to afford a Skoda coz I would already be spending 40%  of my Salary on the EMI itself (I know I am jumping beyond my affordability limits..but cant help it ).If this car comes up with huge bills I wudnt have any balance left to pay them off rather i would have to take up another loan to be able to pay those bill ... Not sure whether I should go with it or not.

My swift is 4years old and so far it has done only 39000kms in 4 years..coz it happens wuite often that I dont even touch my car for the whole week and take it out only on weekends and on long trips i plan any once in a month.my running would be less but would look towards high performance whenever I drive...

Also I have heard that people say adiesel needs to be run daily to keep it alive..is it true?

If thats the case then deisel is definately not my cup of tea.

Optra is a nice car overall a VFM coz of its value added features likfeClimate control,extremely comfy rear seats,Sunroof ,indicators on side mirrors plus a 4year free extended warranty by GM  n all but have read its review everywhere that its gear switches is not at all smooth and clutch goes hard after a shortwhile.I cant accept that for long highway trips,also I hate its rear view like nything..its worse than any other car.

Moreover I am looking for a car with more of manly and bulky looks.chevy optra is more of elegant n dats y i m not considering Corolla Altis even. my budget even is 11lakhs.Liked Cedia a lot n getting a good deal as well.its costing 11.2lakhs onroad for cedia sports alongwith sunroof being fitted by dealer but only problem is its poor resale value and availibility of parts as well..

Please suggest...i am confused totally

this a very old and incorrect notion that unfortunately people still have. Diesel technology has advanced a lot these days. You do not need to run it daily. If you intend to keep it standing for long proper precautions will be enough. In olden days diesel was way more expensive (maintenance wise) but these dyas its 10-15% more than petrol versions which I think is really commendable. So do not worry about any pf those old incorrect myths about diesel vehciles that still doing rounds in the market.

I would suggest to rule out the skoda in your case (financial constraints). You could easily own it but maintaining would be big task and in a tight situation like your I would seriously recommend to scratch it out of your list. Cedia will be a good choice except the points you already mentioned. But resale is not that big an issue if you intend to keep it for long (above 5 years). The SX4 will a better option and you could get the topend model in your budget. So better go for it than the octavia.You could also have a look at the civic. May require a budget stretch on your part.

Why break rules when following them is much easier!!!

Hello Centaur,

Thanks for your reponse.good to know about current diesel engines from ya.Yes looks like due to maintainence issues i will have to remove skoda from my list.Cedia is good in everything only problem is that its rear seat is very uncomfortable.Leg space is awsome but no thigh support.Though the dealer said that he can that fixed by putting in a little cushion on the edge of the seat to increase thigh support without spoiling its shape n origanilty.not sure if that's a good idea.

Civic is my favourite car only thing is that after the recent price hike by Honda,Civic costs 14lakhs+ on road.

Honda city is a nice car especially its Automatic Version but not a value for money.They are making us pay more just coz of the brand.poort quality interiors,no alloy wheels,no climate control.

As you rightly said looks like SX4 would be the right option for me.cheaper and heavier looks as well and a pure VFM.I had concern about its rear seat headrests and te hump in the middle of rear seat.But came to know that MAruti has fixed that problem.only problem is the front A-pillar that blocks teh view,but i guess should be able to adjust to that in a while.

My plan is to keep the car for next 5 years atleast but not more than that for sure.