bosnjo

Here in south of Portugal things are mainly down to quality of dealer's response when it comes to trobleshooting solutions. In Lisbon, VW/Skoda are great. Here in south they are terrible. Toyota as well. But when it comes to Ford they are the best here in south. That is one reason I'm moving to Ford. Second reason is that due to crisis in motor industry they give 12.5% discount to journalists (I'm the one) plus actual campain 3.5%. So it brought the price down by 6.200 euros. So, we'll see how it goes on with the car. My work mates almost all drive Ford beacuse of that discount. They have Ka, Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo cars and no one has a single complain.

Thanks for your wishes, guys

My Octy's gone. Sold it for good price to one dealer. It has extended waranty till October. Car gave me much more troubles then I could expect: - Creaking suspention (not solved) - Juddering at 2000rpm (not solved) - "Clonk" in steering rack when turning right (not solved) - Creaking door seals (needed lubricating every now and then with parafine) It was only 2,5 years old with 25.000km. I sold some toys I've had with it, like OEM sunshades, VagCom cable, Roof bars... Interesting point is that those toys were sold instantly and many members wanted them for just price. I say interesting, because OFF button nobody wanted, even for simbolic price. Well, it was nice and pleasure talking to all of you guys. You were all very helpful and I hope I've managed to help some of you. At least I see that part Nº for wipers refill I've discovered at WV dealer saved some money to many of you. It gives me satisfaction to see that my participation on this forum was useful to others. Now moving to Ford Mondeo 2.0 TdCI Titanium (new). Thanks to all and I hope your cars run for many more miles trouble free.

Yes, they were and still are. If you have front window open and someone opens the back one, sunshade flies out of the car. If the front one is closed and back one open, it flies in (at least you don't have to risk your life to recover it). Mines were blown away few times. Mainly because in summer I open all windows to refresh the car before entering. Sometimes I forget to close back ones before taking off. Then they fly... Next car already ordered with tinted windows.

Had shades blown away on motorway when one of back passengers opened rear window. Made u-turn later and got back to the same place, and, lucky me, shade was laying on the road. A bit dangerous operation was to pick it up because of incoming traffic. Now rear windows are locked but next car will have tinted.

Went to Ford dealer today. I have it agreed, more or less, Mondeo 2.0 TdCI Titanium, Silver + Dark windows on the back, Xenons, 6CD MP3 Sony HU, Bluetooth and few more gadgets. As journalist, I have the right to 13.5% discount. It took 4000 euros from final price. I want it factory ordered (bad experience with Octy - stock car). Now I only need to see how much they'll give for my Octy and next step is placing the order. I'll have some toys lef after my Octy goes away: - OFF Button on Climatronic - VAG COM (VCDS) cable (original, from Ross-Tech) - Roof bars Maybe I'll put those things on eBay (but I've never sold anything there, I'm just frequent buyer) if I don't find any of my friend wanting those. It'll be difficult as there are no many Octy MK2 owners arround me. I don't intend to give them away with my Octy.

Your post helps me a lot. Thanks

Maybe I'm the only one in this thread that knows how your dad feels about VRS. I'm on the way doing the same thing, getting rid of my 2.0TDi 140HP that has only two years, 24.000km and maybe less problems then yours. I know how it is not to feel good in the car anymore. This week I'm off to Ford dealer to order new Mondeo TdCI 2.0 Titanium. If I go for factory order it will be at least 1.5 month and I hope my Octy doesn't fall apart till new wheels arrive. Pitty, I was hoping I've got good, reliable car but I'm spending a lot of time asking for a ride from my friends. That's not the way it should be. :thumbdwn:

Thanks for supporting words. Juddernig got worse today. I hope it won't brake down untill I sell it.

It's not just a dealer. Beside creaking suspension, there is juddering at 2000 rpm, that is comming either from injection or one of engine mounts is bad. It judders only on accelerating, more on colder days and at any speed (so not wheels balance). Also, it could be the sign of turbo starting to die, but that one is too radical I guess. (Two dealers, car is OK for them). Since few weeks ago steering started to "clank" while manouvernig slowly and rotating steering wheel. (Two dealers, both agree that steering is fine). Display on my Audience HU has letters faded out like 50% when used for more then 10 minutes. (Both dealers simply can't understand where the problem is and said it works so that kind of problem not enough to replace it). The car was 36.000 euros and for that kind of money I just can't accept that it has faults, one after another, after 24.000km and two years. As for independent garage I can fix it there but what did I pay extended warranty for? The best way is to sell the car to some dealer when I get a new one. They don't care if car has any problem, they don't test it, even look at it. That's why we get less selling it to dealer.

I have my Octy back. And how? It was intense late afternoon. They didn't even remember to call me. I've called them and they said Extended Warranty Company said they won't pay for new ARB as it's part that suffers normal wear (part consuming). So, if I want they can install new ARB but I have to pay for it (300-400 euros). Well, I had to control myself not to explode on the phone. I've just said that I'm on my way to a dealer to talk to them face to face. Half an hour later I've managed to calm down a bit and went straight to cheef engineer, as ARB verdict was his. - (me) "What's the problem with ARB?" - (delaer) "ARB has no problem but bushas have. As bushes are not raplaceable we have to change whole ARB". - (me) "Have you done roadtest by disconnecting ARB to find out if noise was comming from ARB bushes or lower arm bushes?" - (dealer) "Are you crazy, you can't drive the car without ARB!" - (me) "What? Please pay attention to one detail. I've worked for 15 years as car mechanic. Do you want to change your last statement?" - (delaer) "Well, I was saying ARB can fall on suspension while driving!" - (me) "What about miracle of piece of rope to tide ARB to the top of the spring so it wouldn't fall down?" - (dealer) "Well, that's asking too much". - (me) "Is it? So, how can you be so sure that problem is from ARB?" - (delaer) "I'm not. It's just good point to start with." - (me) "F*** off and give me my car key back"! They are smart. Extended warranty doesn't cover the part that is not suppose to be worn at 24.000 km? Dealer wants to sell me ARB that costs a lot and if the problem was not there, they would go to lower arms, and me, with wallet empty. I'm done with them. Next week I'll go to Ford to see about Mondeo 2.0 TdCI Titanium and give up my Octy. I'm still p**** off, sory for hard words. On my way home car just didn't give me any pleasure driving. When the point of lack of pleasure is reached it's time to go to other brand. On my company there are three of us servicing cars at the same dealer (dealer is VW, Audi, Skoda): 1) Me. I've told my story above. 2) One girl with Fabia 1.4 Tdi 2006, convinced by me to buy Skoda. When car was 6 months old, on motorway, lower plastic protection fell off, but just partly. She pulled over, looked under the car and understood what the problem was. She was 10km from my home so rang me asking if there was anything I can do. I took few meters of rope and went there. I've managed to tied the plastic (it was broken) with rope so she could drive till next morning and go to a dealer. Plastic was replaced but she was charged 100 euros (car 6 month old). "What?" she asked. They said there were obvious signs on the old cover that it suffered hard hit. She asked them to bring the plastic and show. When they showed it, she said that it was more then obvious that deep scratches on plastic were done when it fell off on motorway, until she pulled over. They didn't except it so she finshed paying the bill. I've helped her to make complain next day and they answered saying that she was right and she's got the 100 euros credit at dealer to spend it on next visit. Her next visit was regular service and when she asked about credit they said: "What credit, who told you that, we don't know about any credit". As you can imagine, she said Skoda - never again. 3) One guy with VW EOS (2007). Roof was making extreme noise when closed. He took car many times to dealer and spent first year of ownership going there every week. At the end they took the car on tow-truck to AutoEuropa, the factory where car was built. Car stayed there for one month and they refused to give him substitute vehicle. He finished paying rent-a-car for a month. When car was back it was the same. Next Tuesday he's getting rid of the car and said VAG - never again. What else I can say? Original idea was to change my Octy in the end of the next summer, to new Octy 2.0 TDi CR 140hp, as I was informed it will be avaliable at that time. When I parked the car in garage this evening, I've spent one minute looking at Skoda badge at front grill. It tells me nothing anymore. Off to Ford dealer next week.

This morning I've left the car at the dealer. In the end of the day I've called and they said that ARB is damaged and needs replacing (What?:eek:). I've been insisting on lower arms bushes but they kept saying it's ARB. So, as my car is on extended waranty they are expecting the OK tomorrow from the company that I've payed the extended waranty. That company needs to make sure that car hasn't been involved in any kind of accident. Well, my car hasn't even hit any pothole ever. So, if they get OK tomorrow, new ARB will arrive on Friday. With bit of luck it will be done the same day. It means 3 days asking for the lift from my friends. Ah, and that company doesn't allow the car to get out of the dealer as "...it can not be driven with ARB damaged". How come was my car on the road all this time while I was trying to explain them the noise?. I don't know, when they change (and if they change) the ARB are they going to put new bushes on ARB? What about drop links? I'll see if I can get out from my office tomorrow and talk with chief engineer in person. Saga goes on.

I have the same spec as you. For me the ride is the way you explained it. Mine was new in 2006, now has 25.000km. Problem is Sport Suspension and 17' wheels. Nothing to do. I've even changed tyres to Pirelli P Zero Rosso and road noise decreased a lot but it's still there. I've drove my friend's Elegance with same engine (2.0 TDI 140hp) but with standard suspension and 16' wheels. It's like different brand. High confort but not as safe as mine on cornering.

Mine came with craddle from factory and I wanted to remove it. Removing it is not a problem. I thought I would remove the craddle and just push the cable and electronics behind the radio. Then I understood I would need new fascia (radio surrounding) and new passenger silver trim. Both fascia and trim stays with holes if you remove the craddle. So I gave up and I live with it installed as it is. You can see it on photos bellow, in my signature.

Had once the same problem on my Golf IV 1.4 petrol. Many trips to dealer (under warranty) made no change, so I've decided to change gear oil myself. At that time (back in 1998) I've done a lot of research on Internet through many forums to find out what viscosity to use. I can't remember anymore what oil I've got, but I've changed it and it solved the problem that was the same as yours (aldo never jumped out of the gear)