punchybda

So, a resolution of sorts. The MD of Westgate Skoda contacted me today, told me he didn't believe my "story" and that they had a "paper trail" proving that two brand new Bridgestones went onto the car prior to sale. Its worth noting at this point they asked me to supply photos last week clearly showing the branding etc. on the tyres which came off the car, which I did. Silly me. Draw your own conclusions on that one. The car definitely did not have brand new front tyres when I collected it - the fronts had about 4mm of tread left where I could see on the outer edges. Next time I'll treat a main dealer like I would any other shady back-street outfit and not trust a word they say. (Yes I know, should have done that anyway )

PIcked up a '62 Octavia VRS at the end of Feb. Initially impressed with the service I got. Then, 1500 miles later, I lost control of the car on a corner in bad weather (only doing 20mph, no damage to car or driver) and I discovered, upon taking the car to a garage, that my front tyres looked like this: And no, I was not driving like a hooligan. The bulk of those miles were spent at 50-60mph on the A14 during commuter hours. Garage don't believe me, M.D. of the place said they had invoices "proving" the car came with brand new tyres. I'm sure they do. I just wish they'd fitted them. Anyway, make your own judgements.

Ok, thanks for putting my mind at rest. I'm glad its not just me. I guess the fix for this is to drive at 80mph then?

I've been browsing the existing threads on Octavia II tyre noise, I appreciate that the VRS on 225/40/R18's especially suffers from this, but I just want to rule out anything more serious. Car: '12 Octavia VRS estate, petrol, DSG, 14.5k miles on the clock. Tyres: 225/40/R18 92Y, brand new Eagle F1 Assym. 2's on all corners, all balanced and wheels correctly aligned. Pressures at manufacturer recommended (iirc - 2.1 bar on front, 2.2 bar on back, or whatever it said on the sticker on petrol filler cap cover is what I set them to!) Symptoms: Between 65mph and 75mph I get what I can only describe as a rumbling whine which is over and above the normal noise of tyres on tarmac/concrete/whatever. The pitch of the noise increases with speed and fades out completely as I approach 80mph+ in addition I can feel a faint vibration through the steering wheel. Far as I can tell its not the transmission (if I get her up to 75mph and put the DSG into neutral, the gearbox disengages, the revs drop, the car is coasting and the noise is still there). I'd say from the noise it sounds like a wheel bearing problem, but I'd hesitate to say it definitely was the bearing as there are no other symptoms. Car handles beautifully in all conditions, no odd noises/groans when cornering - i.e. going from lock to opposite lock - it brakes in straight line, steering doesn't wander around, there's no play in the steering wheel. All seems normal and correct. Only thing I can think of is possibly an ABS issue, and I've got no warning lights on. Not checked for any stored fault codes yet. Before I take it to the dealer for a closer look, can anyone confirm/deny this is just normal tyre noise and I'm worrying about nothing?

I recently swapped my 2.0T Saab 9-3 for an Octavia VRS, after a couple of months and about 2500 miles in the Skoda I've noticed people are way more aggressive towards me. The cars were pretty similar in terms of performance, size etc. so I'm assuming they see the VRS badge and the combination of red and green colouring in the letters makes them very angry? I'm considering getting the badges taken off!

It was approx. 5 weeks / 1500 miles before the tyres let go and I had them replaced. Vast majority of that was sat crawling along rush-hour A14 and M1 (40-60mph on avg - lots of roadworks on my commute right now), mostly dry weather. No indication there was a problem until I was driving in Derbyshire during a hailstorm(!) The tyre pressures were correct throughout - I usually check them weekly and the car is fitted with pressure sensors which I've tested and they're working fine. Westgate have told me the front tyres were defective when they performed the inspection, its looking like they weren't replaced for some reason. Mistakes happen, I'm sure it'll be resolved. And yes, I should have checked them myself more thoroughly. Lesson definitely learned there, but that doesn't mean its my fault that the car was sold in a non-roadworthy condition, in breach of "Sale & Supply", Road Traffic Act and the sales contract.

These were front tyres, and indeed the wheel alignment was well out. Both front wheels' camber was 6 degrees or so out. Back wheels also needed adjustment - all of which I had sorted when the new tyres went on (Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's, in case anyone is curious and it's driving beautifully on them). Never mind passing an MOT, if plod had seen them it would have been an instant 6 points (and a severe telling-off no doubt). As far as skoda's approved used standards go - AIUI all approved cars are supposed to have either 3mm or 4mm tread remaining on all tyres (Westgate Skoda are saying 3mm, Vindis Skoda in Cambridge say 4mm). I'd driven approx 1500 miles on those tyres before they came off and it was all pretty sedate motorway driving (luckily for me). There's no way I'd have taken 3mm of tread and the top layer of rubber off in that distance. Since the OP I've had some contact from Westgate's sales manager who claims that their records show the car was sold to me with brand new tyres on the front, as they'd picked up two defective tyres on the multi-point inspection. To their credit, it sounds like they send their cars elsewhere for them (as he said something along the lines of having an invoice for fitting them) and there's a chance that Westgate themselves have been ripped off. I'm just in the process of sending photos etc. to him and will update once I've anything to report. Irrespective of the condition of the inner edges, the outer edges are down to about 3-4mm so there's no way they could have been brand new when I picked up the car. I also had a word with CAB and there are two issues at stake in terms of the legalities of what's happened: breach of the Sale of Goods and Services Act (basically - you can't sell dangerous and/or unfit goods) and breach of the sale contract - Skoda had promised the car would meet a standard which it didn't. This case also got an automatic referral to Trading Standards due to the safety issue. On a final note: this is my first Skoda, and (now that the alignment and tyres are sorted) I absolutely love it! Fabulous motor. Almost as much fun through the corners as my Mk2 Golf GTI, though she only gets to come out and play on sunny days now...

Just purchased a 2012 Octavia VRS estate, an "approved used" car from Westgate Skoda in Grimsby. Initially very impressed with the car. Its a lovely machine. Then during some rough weather the front end let go on a corner (fortunately at only 20mph) which was my clue to get the car looked at pronto. Turns out that the front tyres were dangerously worn - despite all "approved" cars supposedly having a multi-point inspection and a minimum of 4mm tread on each tyre. Take a look at the following (I'm still having sleepless nights thinking about how much worse it could have been!) https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62912703/IMAG0260.jpg Obviously, I should have given the car a more thorough look, but I trusted that dealer had inspected and passed the car. I bought it over the phone and collected it in the evening (no daylight), never got round to going underneath the thing and having a better look around it. I could see there was about 4mm left on the outer edges of the tyres and never thought to look more closely (kicking myself now). Skoda UK reckon they're not paying for new tyres as it was an "independent repair" and I reckon I'm looking at having a fight on my hands to get the car re-inspected. The customer service bloke that responded to my complaint has told me to check my sales paperwork thoroughly - seemed his opinion was that its my fault for buying it in this state and his implication was that I'd better have my papers in order regarding the multi-point inspection. Does anyone have any advice they'd like to give? Does anyone have the email address of someone more senior than Phil "why do you need to know my surname" who works at the "customer service office. No I'm not telling you where it is"? Feel free to commiserate or call me an idiot for trusting the words "approved used"!