Rondo

After 5 years and 2 Mark 1 Octy vRSs the time has come to say goodbye to Skoda. The new Octy may well be number 1 in the Auto Express Driver Power survey but in my view standards had slipped. The second car (54 reg) wasn't a patch on the first (51 reg) with no end of problems at the start and all sorts of squeaks, rattles and groans that the dealer just couldn't (didn't want to?) hear when I asked for them to be sorted. The dashboard rattled, the roof lining rattled & creaked, the rear brakes groaned, the brake pads/discs made an awful grinding noise when applied, etc etc It was a fun car to drive but in the end the noises just became too much I tried out the Mark 2 Octy vRS but it just isn't the same as the Mark 1 - I just didn't find it as much fun. Mrs R still has her Fabia vRS but for me it is time to move on and have just taken delivery of a new, fully loaded with kit, Saab Aero 2.0T. It will be interesting to see how it compares. Cheers Rondo

Thanks for the responses. May have to get dealer to look at it. I can't find any obvious dampness in the carpets, boot etc

Or three months in the case of Mrs R's Fabia vRS

Hi all. Having a problem with Mrs R's Fabia vRS and wondered if anyone had any ideas. The past few months have been exceptionally wet in the West of Scotland and we have noticed in the mornings that the inside of the windscreen and rear window are quite wet. Last night was quite cold and there was a frost this morning but the inside of the car took longer to scrape than the outside:eek: There was a really thick layer of ice on the inside of the windscreen and rear window and the side windows were also quite damp. After a 7 mile drive into the city with the heater/fan on full there was still water running down the inside of the windscreen. There are no obvious signs of water ingress in that the carpets, seats etc are not damp but the inside of the windows seems to suffer really heavy condensation. Any thoughts what might be causing this? Cheers Rondo

I noticed this when my wife brought her car home from its first service a couple of weeks ago - oil had been charged per litre bottle when surely they must just draw it from a drum. What really concerned me though was that the cost of the service was only

Still a while to wait apparently. My local dealer has told me - although he said Skoda UK were not the best at letting dealers know what was going on - that the latest is that dealer demo models will be available in Sept / Oct so customers can order from that date and he expects the first retail cars to be delivered Jan 07. Also said he expects sales of the petrol vRS to stall once people see what the diesel is capable of.

I have this problem on both the Fabia vRS and Octy vRS. Sounds bloody awful every time I brake. I managed to get the dealer to change discs and pads all round on the Octy which cured the fault for about 50 miles and then the new set started doing it. I have now noticed on the Octy that the discs are smooth from the inside until about 2/3 of the way to the outide and then the outer 1/3 of the disc is heavily grooved Just another one of the many faults on our 2 Skodas

Ok folks, the time has come to part ways with my Mk1 Octy vRS which has been a hassle from day 1 and spends more time off road at the dealers than it does being driven. Over the last 15 months it has had new brakes all round, new front wheel bearings, new heater fan, new trim parts, etc , etc. It creaks and rattles and I just don't enjoy driving it. In addition, my wife's Fabia vRS has given us a few minor problems although the current car replaced one which was rejected due to a recurring fault which kept leaving us awaiting AA Recovery. Prior to this I owned another Mk1 Octy vRS which, subject to a few minor (but liveable with) niggles, gave be 30,000 miles of very enjoyable driving - hence the change to a newer one 15 months ago and the Mrs buying a Fabia at the same time. As a result of my previous happy experience of skoda ownership and the cars regularly appearing at the top of satisfaction surveys I could still be convinced that we have just been unlucky with these two cars so I'm looking for any new Mk2 Octy owners (particularly vRS) to convince me to stay with Skoda. With the addition of 18" wheels, dual zone, cruise, Xenons etc I am looking at a

One dealer told me that there will definitely be a diesel version soon. On the same day, another dealer told me there would definitely not be a diesel version. This was about a fortnight ago. Why can Skoda UK not at least have all of their dealers singing from the same hymn sheet?

Think that's the one I stood reading in WHS the other day that says it's an OK car but times (and hot hatches) have moved on and it's no longer as competetive (performance/price) as the Mk1 was when it was launched which is the same argument I had with my local dealer the other day. When the mark 1 was launched there was nothing else around the same price that offered similar performance. Now, however, there is the Focus ST, Megane 225, Astra VXR

Most reliable - 51 Reg Octy vRS. Covered 30K miles in it and in all that time it had just three trips to a dealer. At 10k something went wrong with the suspension that took 10 mins to tighten. At 20k it had a service. At about 28k the engine warning light came on which the dealer put down to a dodgy tank of petrol. It was a dream to own but totally lulled me into a false sense of Skoda security....... Worst cars :- 54 Reg Furby vRS (rejected as it kept breaking down) and replaced by 05 Reg Furby vRS on which dash has been replaced at 4k miles due to bulb failure and side indicator lens fell off when washing the car 54 Reg Octy vRS - been nothing but trouble from day 1. Various bits of trim replaced to cure never ending rattles & squeaks. New heater/blower as old one packed in. New pads and discs all round. New front wheel bearings. All within 15k miles

"Unless there's been a strategic change, VAG's target brand for Skoda is Volvo, so prices should rise to Volvo S40/V40 territory for the Octy II" And therein lies their problem. I fear it will be a long time before Skoda lose their "cheap" image which is why the Superb struggles. I have a professional career and most of my peers and business contacts drive BMW/Audi/Volvo/Merc etc - I have no such desire to spend that much on a badge as I have other hobbies that soak up my spare income and I don't feel the need to have a car badge to show the world how much I earn. I am perfectly happy with a car that gets from A to B reliably and reasonably quickly. However, when talking to my peers and I tell them I drive a Skoda they snort with laughter. I have tried to convince several people to try out the Octavia or Superb but none of them would be seen dead in a Skoda. My own opinion is that Skoda should stick to what it does best - cheap cars with VAG build quality and reliability cos Volvo drivers won't buy Skodas

Back onto topic, I think some of the Octavia prices are now too high and Skoda must be losing sales. When I bought my first Octy vRS in 2001 it was because, power for pound, there was no comparison. That is no longer the case. The new Octy vRS is rumoured to be listed at

Anyone?, before I apply it and watch the fabric melt before my eyes!!

as my source of Simoniz Teflon upholstery protector has now dried up (apparently its not made any more) and I need to protect the seats of Mrs R's Fabia vRS I was just wondering what results people had had with Scotchguard for Fabrics which B&Q stock. I know some of you have used it and just wanted to check that there was no negative feedback before I apply it. Cheers

I agree. For the sake of

Far from happy with ours. The most unreliable car I have had in over 20 years of car ownership.

As per the old joke it really is to keep your hands warm when you're pushing it towards the AA tow truck.

Just a thought If the immobiliser kicked in, would the engine turnover but not start or does the immobiliser kill everything. Just a thought that Mrs R had that maybe somehow the immobiliser got set off. The car has been fine since the little episode above and starts first time every time. Very odd!

Well how bizarre is this. AA turned up this morning, towed car to dealer, dealer put key in, turned key, car started first time. The car has started first time each and every time they have tried it. They plugged in the computer diagnostics and absolutley no fault code reported. If it wasn't for the fact that the AA couldn't get it started I'd think I was going mad!

Octy has not been as bad as the furby. This is my second Octy RS and both this and the furby were bought because my first Octy was such a good car with absolutely no problems at all. Sold it at 3 years old with 30k and in that time it had one service and one set of tyres. Only problem was the engine warning light which came on a couple of times. This second one though has had a few niggles. Only serious one is the brakes which seem to keep rusting up and whilst most of the crap comes off after a few hard brakes in the first few miles it seems to have been building up steadily over the last few months such that they now make quite a loud grinding noise and are not as effective as I think they should be. Will be speaking to the dealer about it very soon. The furby, however, has just been an endless list of niggles with rattles, squeaks & groans inside and out. It's not rattling squeaking or groaning at the moment though!!! Edited to say, the AA chap did say it was unusual to be called out on a Skoda (especially a diesel) as they are normally very reliable

I had noticed a couple of times before that the car would not start first time but after waiting 20-30 secs it started OK on second attempt. Yesterday Mrs R had the same problem. Wouldn't start first time so she waited 20 secs and it started fine but about an hour later when she stopped for 20 mins the car just wouldn't start. AA said that in VAG cars if there is a fuel system problem the the EMS shuts the whole fuel system down and thats why glow plug indicator won't come on As I say just another in a long list of niggles - on both our Fabia RS and Octy RS - two customers Skoda won't be seeing again. Mrs R already tempted to trade in for something "more solid and reliable" after just 5k miles. In a combined 30 years of motoring that's the first time either of us has been left stranded and had to be towed

Yeah, she was offered one for 48 hrs but that won't even take her up to the dealer opening on Tuesday so there was no point as she can use mine over the weekend. She will be demanding a courtesy car from the dealer though.

Mrs Rondo Not happy - just had to be towed home by AA Last time she started the car it would not start first time but after waiting about 20 secs she tried again and it started. Drove for about 1hr then stopped to do some shopping. Went to start car, glow plug light came on, turned over but wouldn't start - waited 20 secs, glow plug light wouldn't light, wouldn't start. AA think it is the high pressure pump as he can pump fuel through manually but its not coming through when engine is turned over. As the fuel system is reporting a fault the whole engne management system has shut down. Due to bank holiday weekend it can't get to dealer til Tuesday. Mrs R not at all happy as this is just another in a long list of niggles since she got the car 6 months ago.