scotsblood

Sad, yes! Absolutely correct, Yes! It really does make a whole lot more than £10 difference to the look and feel. Money well spent. :sun:

Maybe it's because the vast majority of my mileage is on the pan flat straight roads of Lincolnshire or that I'm lucky enough to not get stuck behind the inevitable tractors I cannot be sure but I do know that having hit the 3.5k mark I do now get into the early 60 mpg's as soon as I take it easy on the right foot. Even when I do have a bit more fun the 50's are normal. Great!

I know its after the fact but in terms of a "polish" have you tried Cherry Glaze from Autobrite? Here is a photo they posted on facebook yesterday, I use it and yes it does the same job on plastic as panels, no nasty residue and gives a great finish. See detailing world forum for this years 15% discount code.

I was told by a turbine designer that the problem with old fashioned automotive turbochargers was the lack of lubrication during "spin down" if the engine was revving above tick over, and so the turbo impeller would be to, when the ignition was turned off. The solution was to only turn off ignition, and consequently stop lubrication pump when at tickover speeds. Modern SS systems fully power all ancillary systems during the stop phase hence headlights, radio and cooling fans still working and "smart" dpf regen systems solve that issue as well. Manufacturers are notoriously bad at offering warranty for anything that might fail at their cost, longer warranties suggest very strongly that longevity will exceed cover offered, Kia offer a 7 year warranty so they must be confident!

Not quite right, the insurers will reduce any no claims bonus if they cannot recover costs from a third party insurer. In this case, and any other, the whole essence would be to prove who was to blame for the collision, for instance if the BMW driver were to claim the A3 strayed onto the wrong side of the road there may well be a protracted argument without witness evidence.

Having seen this topic on another forum entirely the view from counsel consulted was that should the driver be involved in any serious incident or fatality, modifying the vehicle to an illegal state, the charge may well be dangerous riving that carries a potential 12 month sentence and an obligatory ban. Not good.

I have to agree on my Elegance as well, I've also resorted to the same settings to get any form of bass feel and reduce the tinny treble. The sound from the standard Ford system in my S-Max sounds much better even with all tone controls level. It's a real shame as this is the first aspect of the Octy that I don't think is up to the rest. :wonder: Why such a poor sound on an otherwise great car?

It's the Dealer Principal you need to speak to, just ask to be told the truth and explain what the pack of lies does for your confidence in their dealership. Any business with the potential for this amount of adverse publicity would be sensible to hold their hands up and try to save at least some face, not to mention the profit opportunities of your business and the rest of this community if you decide to name and shame. As previously stated you also need Skoda to explain the actions of their agents.

Agreed, certainly, but nowhere near as good as it does on the RangeRover who got the full treatment earlier today when he tried to get close enough to read the small print on the bottom of my rear number plate.

What a load of ****! Point 1. "The car can't be assessed properly as the docks won't move to assessors without VRS steering wheel which is on back order." Why does moving it without a steering wheel present a problem, just do what any recovery company does following steering column collapse in a frontal impact, lift front wheels and roll it away? Point 2. Never, never have anything more to do with the dealer telling porkies. If they can't be man enough to tell the truth, whatever it might actually be, how could you trust them not to tell you similar with regard to a safety issue. Point 3. Insist Skoda explain actions of their agents and network in the misinformation. Point 4 -10. Scream at least half a dozen times! Point 11. Have a beer or two! I ordered last week of July and my Elegance was delivered yesterday, 24 weeks after ordering.

I can at long last officially join the thread! After ordering at the end of July it finally arrived today, Corida Red Elegance Estate CR150 tdi, Sunset Glass, Alloy Roof Rails and a spare wheel. Most surprising was the fact it has arrived WITH Front Assist, after reading about all of the problems I fully expected it to be missing. Being the first VAG car I've had things are a but strange, not least the manual that is clearly not a great example of perfect translation,

Yes, but it is being delivered on Thursday! I'd almost given up hope of getting it before old car needs retaxing and insuring next month but lease company finally sorted things out. Just now thankful its just a standard car, a few toys would have had me still waiting I fear.

I agree about ChipsAway, give the local franchisee a call and get him/her to give you the names of garages that use the service, yes the trade do use them, and speak to those who have had jobs done. In a former life I worked for a Jaguar dealership and we used a local guy to do all the small non-Jaguar work we had. Good luck and mind the blood pressure if you fume too long!

I wish, been waiting 23 weeks so far! Ordered lease car at the end of July, apparently some comms issues between lease company and dealer lead to car spec not being confirmed to dealer and so they didn't actually place the factory order but didn't bother to tell lease company who didn't ask why no confirmed build date and why a delay! Consequently I still don't have car, and guess who the lease company is, Volkswagen Group Leasing. Doesn't give a good impression of the communication abilities of the VAG empire.

Seems like I should ignore the company phone in future anyway, new policy effective today says I must never use phone whilst driving even hands free!

After the roast we've just eaten I think I should use the gravy as a tyre sealant and the hot oven air with the scent of roast chicken for tyre inflation. As the chicken came from Aldi (no filling station) and the gravy browning was from Asda (with filling station) hopefully there will be no performance disadvantage against the same items if purchased from the Shell Shop. Only time will tell of course and at least if I do have a puncture it will smell nice.

Last car, Renault Scenic, certainly preferred branded fuel, noticed about 5-7mpg difference and occasional poor starting when using Asda fuel compared to the Shell I normally used. Present car, Ford S-Max definitely prefers Asda fuel, exactly the reverse of the Scenic, lower mpg and poor starting on the Shell stuff. If and when Octy arrives I will experiment and see!

Yes, really worrying! Skoda really do need to take this one seriously, if it is the process of installation that has caused a damaged wiring loom behind a dash there might be need for a potentially large recall unless there is absolute belief this was a one off and not the result of standard processes and poor loom positioning. Remember most dashboards are installed through the windscreen aperture during manufacture, removing one with screen in-situ is difficult enough and if any of the bundled loom was obviously damaged the potential for further damage separating it out to do the repair is itself significant. I would watch anything electrical like a hawk and at the first sign of anything strange go and get all fault logs checked. Canbus is a great idea till there are wiring issues, then it turns to nightmare, I experienced it myself when someone who should have known better decided Jaguar Technical Services suggested fix was too complex and a simple "wire around the problem area" would solve my door mirror switch problem. A total of 47.25 hours was spent by the technicians at the second dealer sorting out the previous 'rectified' issue after numerous strange and non-reproducible electrical faults throughout the car.

As with most things that need accuracy, put it in writing! In addition to transcription errors from reception to technician it gives the opportunity to give the tech the issues in your own language rather than 'reception speak' if you leave a copy in the car. Also if its a warranty job send it by email to the service manager so there's a papertrail of timescales if you need to refer to manufacturer.

Me too Oz! Again I'm 6'4" and did exactly the same test, in addition our second viewing of the car was with No.1 son, who age 14 is 6'2" already, to convince us he would fit! All ok, plenty of room. Tim

The point is that whilst it may be fair to say we should "know what its like" it doesn't change the fact that Skoda should therefore have dealt with the issues so it didn't happen again! Poor business sense or arrogance? Arrogance is all well and good if your product is unique or a world leader but does Skoda have that dominance? If its poor business sense well the parent company needs to get a grip. If I'm forced to take another manufacturers product it doesn't bode well, when colleagues ask why I haven't got the Octy I will create instant bad publicity simply by telling the truth. Just how bad can bad publicity be for a business? Just ask Gerald Ratner.

Well I think you might be right! My first attempt to drive a Skoda may well be ended by Skoda themselves. Ordered a company lease car back in July, estate Elegance 2.0 tdi no extras at all, only to be told today that build has been put back to end of January! I actually wanted the car and despite warnings from the fleet managers that "you'll wait ages and get messed around with delays" I was a bit pushy and went ahead. Now I may well be forced to look at something else that is available from stock as policy says we aren't allowed to wait more than 21 weeks. If Skoda are serious in their attempts to break into the fleet market and be considered a player capable of supplying large volumes then this sort of nonsense just gives the impression they can't! Dealers and lease companies are the ones who try and sell a product, they are the ones who face us, the unhappy customer, and yet the manufacturer seems to be oblivious to the problems their lack of business planning is causing. Skoda are trying to elevate the brand in both stature and value by pushing up prices as well as equipment and perceived quality levels but its just not good enough to have a good product you have also to be a good business. You have to give the customer what they want when they want it, and almost important show that you can do it all the time. If they get the mix wrong the brand may not be strong enough to cope if for instance our fleet managers simply say "no Skoda, they are simply too difficult". Will I end up getting my Octavia, I simply don't know, the decisions now not mine to make. Thanks Skoda.

Having been lurking around this forum ever since placing my lease car order, Estate Elegance 2.0tdi, I'm now coming to understand why our fleet managers tried to dissuade me from the Skoda route! Clearly the "be with you within ten weeks from order" that was touted as the delivery leadtime for a standard no extras car wasn't based on anything but guesswork by SUK who I spoke to in an attempt to try and convince myself the "you'll wait ages and the ETA will slip again and again" comment from the fleet manager was just pessimism. If Skoda really want to compete in the business sector they must start acting like a supplier that can be relied upon. Lease car users don't always have the flexibility to just 'keep' the existing car for a few more weeks or months and whilst at present I am still hoping the Octy arrives soon when we have had long delays in the past staff have been forced into alternatives. And that's without opening the debate around changing spec and why items have mixed availability across the different VAG empire brands!

A couple of gems in the outline from PH. "A little bird has told us that should the land cease to be used as a race track there is a covenant that states it has to revert back to agricultural land." Ah, green light for the "super dairy" idea then! "Mallory Park have made NO attempt to do anything about the noise or the amount of excessive usage and the threat that they will close is unsubstantiated as residents paid for an independent accountant to sit in a meeting with BARC/HBBC officials and his conclusion was that there was no evidence to support this." Mmm, an accountancy opinion I hope they didn't have to pay for considering the outcome. This is starting to have all the potential of a good "Private Eye" story.

Martyn's post crossed with mine but I stand by my nimby statement, if the locals are so supportive of the track and the business it no doubt brings to the area then the very same people have it in their power to suggest to HBBC that the 1985 Notice not be interpreted rigidly, or if really supportive suggest a relaxation of terms. Didn't happen and another business goes under along with a much loved motorsport venue. Sad, I liked Mallory a lot.