Pseudobabe

After 41,000 miles my local dealer tells me my front shock absorbers are leaking (although I haven't seen any puddles on the driveway). They want to charge me around £500 to change them. Is this reasonable? If I decide instead to take my car to another garage (not a Skoda dealership) would it affect the performance of my car if they replace the shock absorbers with ones that aren't actually manufactured by Skoda?

Thanks!

After 41,000 miles my local dealer tells me my front shock absorbers are leaking (although I haven't seen any puddles on the driveway). They want to charge me over £500 to change them. Is this reasonable? If I decide instead to take my car to another garage (not a Skoda dealership) would it affect the performance of my car if they replace the shock absorbers with ones that aren't actually manufactured by Skoda?

Hi - Which oil should I use in my 2006 (July) Octavia VRS? It's a petrol engine and I believe it's set to variable servicing. I'm told by the dealership that variable and annually serviced Octavias use the same oil: 1040 semi-synthetic. Is that right? Thanks. Pseudobabe

I have ordered a new Octavia VRS today and I was told that we should put high octane petrol into the car. Would it damage the performance of the car - or diminish its performance - if we put ordinary unleaded into it?