OK, I am a fan

I make no secret of the fact that I am a convert to Skoda cars.

When we lived in the UK, I had a succession of Vauxhalls followed by Nissans but then when it came to buying a car here, I headed straight for the Skoda garage in Torrevieja. There I was greeted by Hugo who was the manager at the time. The range of cars was basically limited to an Octavia or a Fabia with just a handful of variants of each line. I wanted a Fabia and so chose a 1.4 diesel hatchback which offered great fuel economy, was easy to drive and utterly reliable.

Then when my father died, I had the opportunity to change the Fabia for something more spacious and so I chose the Roomster and opted for the more powerful 1.9 litre diesel engine that was currently being used in the VW Golf TDi.

I really liked that car and so kept it for 6 years, a lot longer than I would have kept a car in the UK. Apart from a couple of tyres that ruptured and a battery that died after 4 years, that car served me well.

When the Yeti was first introduced, I was impressed by the styling and the high driving position. Later reports in car magazines and an endorsement by none less that Jeremy Clarkson confirmed me that I should buy one when the time was right.

Hugo has now left Rubio Mar to be replaced by Victor, an equally enthusiastic dealer, who “sells” you the car. I warmed to him immediately and knew that he would not try to sell me something beyond my requirements. He could have up sold the 2.0l diesel, the frugal “Greenline” or even a 4x4 version of the Yeti but no, he recognised what I needed and offered me a 1.2l turbo charged petrol version. In fact, it was a special edition Yeti Urban that he recommended.

Victor explained that the Urban is a mid range vehicle at the bottom of the range price with a design pack included free of charge. The design pack includes distinctive Matterhorn wheels, silver roof rails and silver trim on the body protection strips none of which make the car drive or perform better but which do make it stand out from other Yetis. The icing on the cake was the current discount of nearly 2.500 euros on the whole of the Yeti range.

In the few weeks that I have owned the Yeti, I have come to love it both for its looks and the way it drives. I have also come to appreciate more my relationship with the dealer, Victor. Yesterday he phoned to say that the car’s documents had arrived ready for me to collect. He was keen for me to have them as soon as possible and so agreed to drop them off at my house on his way home from work. It was 9:30 when he arrived and bear in mind that he had not stopped off on the way for a meal. Victor tells me that some nights it can be 10pm before he leaves the garage.

It is not rare to find salespeople who are keen to make a sale but it less common to find one who is so passionate about their product and so focussed on customer satisfaction. If you are interested in buying a new car (or even a second hand one), I can highly recommend giving Rubio Mar a visit. They do have a good range of cars on sale at prices which compete well with other makes. Tell Victor that you read about him on Keith Williamson from Bigasto’s blog and I am sure he will treat you well.