Seat removes optional extras from it's entire range

Seat removes optional extras from it's entire range

Author
Discussion

edc

9,231 posts

250 months

Tuesday 21st August 2018
quotequote all
mholt1995 said:
Had a look through Seat's offerings.

Aside from on the highest spec Arona I can't find any trim level on any Seat model which contains a decent sound system (i.e a couple hundred watts with a subwoofer and DSP). It's usually the only option I deem "essential" beyond the trim level and Seat Sound was quite a cheap option from what I remember. Bit of a concern if only the base 6/8 speaker system is being offered, even on the top tech/luxury specs frown
If you want the top "luxury" or spec you're looking at the wrong car. Try the VW T-roc.

kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Tuesday 21st August 2018
quotequote all
edc said:
If you want the top "luxury" or spec you're looking at the wrong car. Try the VW T-roc.
Not helpful if you want one "high end" item but are otherwise happy with a budget car, though.

vsonix

3,858 posts

162 months

Tuesday 21st August 2018
quotequote all
48k said:
tejr said:
This was pretty much the norm until BMW/Mercedes/Audi made the options list mainstream. But they basically used it to make OTR 'from' prices artificially low.
That's simply not true. Not wishing to be rude but your comment makes you sound quite young? The likes of Ford, Vauxhall etc. were doing the "low base price and loads of options" back in the 70s and 80s. Want to add a radio? Or even a radio-cassette player? Want 60/40 split folding rear seats? All on the options list. Common options would be grouped together in to a trim level but you could still specify more.
By 'quite young' you mean mid-40s?

Easy, graddad!

mebe

292 posts

142 months

Tuesday 21st August 2018
quotequote all
WJNB]ownsman said:
If this is correct...........

It would indicate that the vast majority of Seat buyers are canny and don't waste money on options. They are already smart enough to figure out they are buying a car mechanically almost exactly the same as a more expensive Volkswagen. If you are doing that to save money and aren't worried by badge snobbery, why would you blow the saved money on options?
quote]
b

Seat buyers are indeed canny & buy on price & possibly have little perception or appreciation for quality. That's fine & good for them. They probably shop at Lidl, buy the Sun newspaper & holiday at Butlins. Which is perfectly fine if that is the extent of ones ambition & taste. Many people are uncomfortable in luxurious surroundings & in the company of the better dressed & educated. Nice clothes, nice shops & hotels undermine their confidence & highlight their low esteem.
Of course such buyer are inevitably frequently vocal about the wisdom of buying a Seat or any other budget car (they protesteth too much & convince nobody). Funny then that buyers of premium brands just buy & drive having no need to justify anything to anybody.
Good job you quoted it, looks like he deleted it. What an arrogant pompous tool.

va1o

16,029 posts

206 months

Tuesday 21st August 2018
quotequote all
I get the logic behind them doing this, but it's annoying if you wanted a particular option. Eg. Adaptive Cruise used to be a very reasonable ~£200ish on the Leon but now can't be added on it's own.

PSRG

643 posts

125 months

Tuesday 21st August 2018
quotequote all
The Crack Fox said:
One of the most enduring questions in the automotive world is this; "What, exactly, is the fking point of Seat?"
I bought a new Ibiza because it was better looking, better equipped and cheaper than the equivalent Polo smile And then somewhat inconsiderately my partner promptly (well, in under 9 weeks from it’s first registration) wrote it off!! So I spent twice as much on a MINI laugh

Gluggy

711 posts

108 months

Tuesday 21st August 2018
quotequote all
downsman said:
If this is correct...........

It would indicate that the vast majority of Seat buyers are canny and don't waste money on options. They are already smart enough to figure out they are buying a car mechanically almost exactly the same as a more expensive Volkswagen. If you are doing that to save money and aren't worried by badge snobbery, why would you blow the saved money on options?

Will other manufacturers follow? If they make most of their profit from options (Mini and certain expensive brands) then definitely not!
Only skimmed the first page so sorry if already mentioned but taking the VW / Seat parts sharing one step further we used to have a Seat Altea XL and quite a few of the bits under the bonnet were marked up with Audi logos.... Wonder why Seat and not Skoda though? Always though the VAG branding went a bit like this....

Skoda = Value over perceived image
Seat = Sporty / a bit quirky but still giving good bang for buck
VW = Dependable / safe choice with a degree of badge image and some performance models to stand out against the bread and butter ones in the range
Audi = Badge image and "better" quality / performance with price to match expectations

But then i drive an Vauxhall Astra so what do i know lol.



GIYess

1,311 posts

100 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
was looking at new cars just out of interest and building my spec on the configurator thingmajig. All not too bad until I came to the insignia!! What is up with all the different trim options!? there were at least 6. I didn't even continue, just gave up.

deltashad

6,731 posts

196 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
Could be good news for Halfords and other specialised aftermarket car shops.

Did I just say that on the same sentence?

catso

14,771 posts

266 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
vsonix said:
I know traditionally BMW have been seen as the manufacturer stingiest with any kind of extras, in fact if I recall correctly, back in the early 1990s even a basic radio cassette was considered an 'extra'.
Not only BMW. I had a 1982 CX with the original head unit blanking plate lobbed in the glovebox. When my mother bought a Saab 900 in 1986, the head unit was dealer-fit. When I looked at getting a C-Class in 1996, the speakers/aerial/audio wiring was optional.
Not just the '80s, I bought a new BMW 323iSE in 1996 and it came with no radio although it did have front and rear speakers.

Think I may still have the blanking plate somewhere...

CampDavid

9,145 posts

197 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
catso said:
TooMany2cvs said:
vsonix said:
I know traditionally BMW have been seen as the manufacturer stingiest with any kind of extras, in fact if I recall correctly, back in the early 1990s even a basic radio cassette was considered an 'extra'.
Not only BMW. I had a 1982 CX with the original head unit blanking plate lobbed in the glovebox. When my mother bought a Saab 900 in 1986, the head unit was dealer-fit. When I looked at getting a C-Class in 1996, the speakers/aerial/audio wiring was optional.
Not just the '80s, I bought a new BMW 323iSE in 1996 and it came with no radio although it did have front and rear speakers.

Think I may still have the blanking plate somewhere...
They changed, along with BMW, around 1997. I imagine the emergence of the first Audi A4 had something to do with it.

Personally, I find BMW the most frustrating of manufacturers with regards to options, though Mercedes is a close second. I looked for a stock 340i or 335d for a deal at the end of last year and only one car was available with bum warmers. That had another £8k of tat on it, like the Shadowline pack, which I didn't want.

My CLS is bizarrely spec'd as well. Loads of toys came as standard but not memory seats. They're electric but don't remember the position, a real pain when my wife is over a foot shorter than me.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
CampDavid said:
catso said:
TooMany2cvs said:
When I looked at getting a C-Class in 1996, the speakers/aerial/audio wiring was optional.
Not just the '80s, I bought a new BMW 323iSE in 1996 and it came with no radio although it did have front and rear speakers.
Think I may still have the blanking plate somewhere...
They changed, along with BMW, around 1997. I imagine the emergence of the first Audi A4 had something to do with it.
When I looked at the C-class in 96 (I ended up getting a 155), I also looked at the A4, which'd been out something like a year or more by then.

CampDavid

9,145 posts

197 months

Wednesday 22nd August 2018
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
CampDavid said:
catso said:
TooMany2cvs said:
When I looked at getting a C-Class in 1996, the speakers/aerial/audio wiring was optional.
Not just the '80s, I bought a new BMW 323iSE in 1996 and it came with no radio although it did have front and rear speakers.
Think I may still have the blanking plate somewhere...
They changed, along with BMW, around 1997. I imagine the emergence of the first Audi A4 had something to do with it.
When I looked at the C-class in 96 (I ended up getting a 155), I also looked at the A4, which'd been out something like a year or more by then.
We looked at the first A4 in early 1995 before launch. My point was, at that stage BMW and Mercedes had the small exec market. No one else offered that premium German product and sales were booming. No one bought the Audi 80. The A4 really started attacking sales and getting onto the same level. The A4, in SE spec came with stuff like climate control, which was a couple of grand on the other two. They had to change their approach, I think the Audi had a lot to do with it