Alvarado

I'm not bothered about easier to sell I'll probably run it into the ground. Also how much are you going to get for it? It'll literally cost you low thousands if you get it serviced at a dealer for 5 years. Is it going to sell for two or 3 grand more? Good luck with that. Your mileage may differ but if I knew a decent, trustworthy, reliable and reasonable mechanic locally that's where my car would go. It looks like you might know such a person. As regards oil, I think I use 5W/30 but have also used 5W/40 before. I'm not sure about slowing oil use, I did a bit of research once on what oil to use and the consensus seemed to be that I should use 5W30 so that's what I do. I got a low oil light after a few months of owning it and emailed the dealer who sold it to me. I got this in response and just fill it up when needed (it's probably much closer to the first figure than the second, and I've not noticed it reducing - though the car wasnt' new when we bought it). 'I am emailing with reference to your email enquiry regarding the engine oil consumption. I have attached a copy of the Superb manual page and highlighted the paragraph for reference, which makes note that for this specific vehicle/engine, it is not unusual that an engine oil top up may be required up to 0.5 ltr per 1000km/650miles (this normally reduces as the engine covers more mileage) and this figure can adjust to 0.5 ltr per 7500km/4500miles. Different engine and vehicle models mean the engine oil consumption can vary. We always recommend that customer travel with a 1litre top up bottle , just in case and always make sure it is the correct oil specification/grade for your engine type. (i.e. fully synthetic or semi-synthetic) I hope this helps and reassures you, if there is no visible oil leaks evident and the running of the vehicle is fine, this is normal. If this changes then please get in touch and we will examine it for you'.

Is it? I thought VIN was vehicle identification number. Yes that looks like a wing mirror and I need all of it. From the mirror glass to the wiring that plugs into the door. And everything in between. Unfortunately there isn't a little shop at the end of my street with a window full of Skoda wing mirrors, all in different colours. How would I go about getting the right one for the car, please? I presumed I'd start with a part number? I've been lucky so far, as no bits have fallen off my car that cost 500 Euros to replace I've not had to research 2nd hand car parts before.

We've had ours for 6-7 years, it's been very good on the whole, I'd definitely buy another Skoda. Ours is the 1.8 petrol elegance (4 x 4). Bought with about 40k on it and we've doubled that. Ours likes oil which is standard for the petrol models. Just keep filling it up. I don't recall a failed MOT test during that time, just the usual tyres, brakes etc. Recently we've had problems starting sometimes - it doesn't like lockdown (necessitated a new battery and still not very happy about being left outside for ages without moving), but it's only because we've stop using it. Never had a software upgrade. Never been to a main dealer. I doubt Skoda dealers are worse than any other dealer but we learned the hard way not to go to a main dealer with 2 separate VWs we previously had. I can't imagine why anyone would want to go to a main dealer, except if they've been offered a 'free' service as part of purchase. I shouldn't think you've made a mistake.

Not presently in a position to say on account of mislaid log book! Is there a look up on line against vin numbers? Can you elaborate? Is that a part number?

Hi all Had a minor prang the other day which resulted in the loss of my drivers side wing mirror. The whole unit is busted. The person who caused it wants to avoid insurance, and I don't mind doing that. Obviously it will be much cheaper to buy a used one. There are some whole wing mirrors on ebay but not the EXACT model. (The trim of mine is 'elegance' which means there's an extra downlight on the wing mirror unit - not that I'd noticed, admittedly). Does anyone know how I find out the original part number? I figure this will be the first step to finding the actual part - which is presumably a websearch and/or virtual or telephone trawl around scrapyards. Grateful for any clues.

i have a mk 2 superb with a 1.8 tsi engine too (11 plate). After about 5 months of ownership (about 5k miles) I had to put in about half a litre of oil. I was a bit surprised (I never had to put oil in my old VW between services). The dealer said it was standard procedure....

Anyone got anything on this? My Skoda Superb has a petrol engine, it's 4 years old (11 plate), 40k miles. Who's had it done? What's the cost to change it? (it won't be going to a Skoda dealer after my experience last week, see dealer reviews). What's the likely cost if it goes bang? It seems a bit over the top to change the cambelt after only 40k miles but I'm not surprised Skoda recommend it (I am thinking a*se covering). thank you.

I am not a big fan of main dealers but as our car (an 11 plate Skoda Superb) was new to us and under warranty I arranged for it to have its first service under our ownership at DM Keith Huddersfield (Oct 2015). When we had a VW I found out that main dealers don't remove the wheels during services when we had a puncture and we couldn't get the wheel off so I specifically asked (twice, in two separate calls) for this to be done to avoid the sticky-wheel thing where the alloy corrodes with the steel over time. The helpful service administrator happily agreed to this and said he'd made a note of my needs. So liaison was all fine on the phone, and they even sent a friendly professional looking man to collect and deliver the car inclusive in the price (which was £300 for 'major service' - such as it is - and brake fluid). During the service I was called to say the car needed new brake pads front and rear (with the rear ones reported as 90% worn), new discs front and rear (the existing ones were scored), and brake fluid. I approved the brake fluid (approx £40) but since the pads/discs were some £400 (this included a 'special discount' apparently), I deferred on that, saying it would have to wait until next month. All fine, paid the bill, car delivered back and that was that. The following week I took it to my usual garage which has been servicing my cars for about five years, it's a family business, I see them regularly anyway as their son goes to our kids' school. I asked them to fix the brakes (unsurprisingly, due to their lower overheads, they had previously given me a cheaper estimate than the £400 DM Keith had offered). But when I went to collect the car, I got a surprise. The mechanics told me that they believed the front wheels hadn't been removed because they did not come off with ease (though they couldn't be absolutely certain). The back wheels definitely hadn't been removed as the mechanic had had to hit them with a hammer to get them off. Having removed all the wheels and examined the discs/pads properly, they told me none of the discs needed replacing, and neither did the rear pads (previously reported as "90% worn"). The front pads did need replacing, I was shown them later and charged a total of £82. I phoned DM Keith to confront them with this. The man I spoke to (the same one I'd spoken to before) was professional and did not resort to mud slinging. He admitted they had not taken the wheels off the vehicle as I had requested, and they had allowed me to believe that they had. He apologised for this. I said that I suspected they had not been truthful with me about the condition of the brakes and in any case, how could they have accurately gauged the brake pad/disc condition without removing the wheels? He stuck to the company's line that they had needed replacing, but offered nothing beyond this. I asked whether there was any point in speaking to his manager (perhaps they would have given me a partial refund) but when he said no I saw little point in pursuing it so I dropped it. I said it was difficult to believe his story, bearing in mind that they had already failed to remove the wheels and not told me, that I had never used them before and that I trusted the opinion of the other garage. He said there was nothing else he could say and it came down to a difference of opinions between the two garages. That's a charitable way of looking at it, for sure. There are at least 2 other interpretations - firstly, that they had deliberately deceived me into paying to fix something that didn't need doing. Secondly, they had undertaken a cursory review of the condition of the brakes (without taking the wheels off), and on the basis of the evidence they had found, decided they were likely to need renewal, and had reported back to me accordingly. Whichever of the three explanations is true, my belief in the integrity of the place has gone (to the extent that it was ever there). I don't intend taking my car to them again and am sharing my experience here so that people can come to their own judgments.

We have two car seats, one came with the 'funnels' and the other, well if it came with them, I don't have them any longer. One of the seats is hard to get in and out anyway so it tends to stay put. The other (which sometimes I remove - I sometimes need to carry 2 adult passengers) goes in with the funnels. However the funnels themselves are quite hard to get into place (I did it this morning, it seemed to take about 10 minutes, which is an age when you are faffing about in there). If you are moving the seat a lot you might 'save the leather' from potential tears and rips (but that assumes the thing metal proddy thing attached to the site that goes into the isofix hooks is sharp and might catch the leather on the way in). But my guess is that if the funnel was in there for a year or more it might end up forcing a wider gap between the bottom/back of the leather seats anyway. What I'm saying is that if you are getting them to 'save the leather' it might only half be worth it. Having said that I've only had the car a few months which is not long enough to see whether the funnels are going to create a longer term gap....

Hi there I have just been through all this, wanted a petrol and ended up with one (elegance, 4x4, 1.8). The 4x4 adds on cost - however there aren't that many petrols and I needed it in a hurry. Price paid was £12.5k, 11 plate, 30k miles, full Skoda history, from a dealership, with 12 month warranty on everything. I would steer away from high mileages and cars with an incomplete service history. Your budget allows you to do this - I note that your £12k is 'up to' but still, this allows you quite a bit. However judging from your links I think you could narrow down a bit more. You have models with the 140 and 170bhp engines (are you bothered which you want?), and petrols and diesels. If you don't want diesel, don't pay for it, and if you don't want a 170, don't pay for that either. All the elegance trims come with all the bells and whistles. The only thing I think mine would have benefited from (which doesn't come standard) is the front parking sensors. You can't see the front of a superb from the driving seat. Having said that it's not a must have, you'll get used to it. Good luck.

I have the same car (2011) and do a similar short, steep, uphill school run. I've had the car a few weeks and haven't really worked out the fuel economy but this sounds about right. ie short trip (especially) fuel economy is poor. Coupled to this, the fuel tank is smaller than our old Golf's (it's cheaper to fill, I don't think it's all down to falling petrol prices) so I seem to have to go the garage more often. It's not great but to be honest but I knew when I bought the car its greatest trait was not going to be fuel economy. The diesel wouldn't suit my journey patterns and anyway as you observe, on short cold trips you'll never get the stated fuel economy out of anything. Unless you are driving like a little old lady in good road and traffic conditions you are not going to get great fuel economy out of a big car (or arguably, on any car with a bit of oomph). OP must make their own decision, it is a shame he/she is disappointed, however as DenzilDexter writes, be sure to appraise the alternatives without rose tinted glasses if you get to the stage of looking at a change. Otherwise you risk a second disappointment.

Good point on are the rear wheels actually kicking in. I might try to find a wet field somewhere and have an experiment! As regards the winter tyres, I am undecided but for the most part the weather is reasonably mild and not sure it would be worth the hassle/expense. Here's the bit of the hill I was trying to get up (sorry I couldn't get it to embed the picture) http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2215751 It gets worse http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1868864 but once I had the momentum, I got up the steeper bit of the hill with relatively little trouble. Am I having a laugh, or should this be manageable - with or without winter tyres? Experience of similar climbs welcomed!

Thank you for these interesting posts, for the most part characterised by people saying 'you need winter tyres'. I understand winter tyres are more important than 4x4 (my understanding of the 'pecking order', held even before I recently bought the car, is 4WD on winter tyres performs best; then 2WD on winter tyres; 4WD on standard tyres; followed by 2WD on standard tyres). I am also pretty confident winter tyres would have helped me in my circumstances the other day, maybe I could even have left the Subarus/Land Rovers behind (as in the case above). However that kind of weather doesn't happen all that often where I live (OK West Yorkshire is not Surrey but it's not Scotland or Sweden either). There are days in the winter here when the weather is mild (the next 7 days daytime temps are forecast to be above 7 degrees) and at such times winter tyres would presumably give longer stopping distances and therefore perform worse than the standard tyres currently fitted. So it's not a clear cut case for me, and furthermore, as well as the cost (£600/Euros 900 minimum) I have nowhere to store them (so more cost) and the chore of switching wheels/tyres twice a year does not appeal - I could end up with summer tyres still on in November and winters coming off in May, thus reducing any benefit that winter tyres might have further. It all depends on specific conditions and I haven't made my mind up on tyres yet. But in the meantime, it is interesting that only Stuart and Laurie highlighted that I might have expected better. Stuart looking at your photos I don't think I can compare your drive with the hill I was trying to get up which even on a good day does not allow the climber beyond 2nd gear, and without momentum even 1st is hard to get out of. I can't post the image (that's a newby for you) but a photo of the hill is here: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2215751 The lack of surprise amongst posters that a 4WD car can't climb a hill in the snow suggests I may be expecting too much of the car (at least with its current tyres on). Laurie might be onto something with his 'knacks' to driving in the snow (perhaps an advanced drivers course beckons) but based on the replies above I'll not be rushing to the dealership to get the car looked at yet - though I might have to lower my expectations just a little.

I know winter tyres are better. My understanding of the 'pecking order' is: 4wd on winters 2wd on winters 4wd on standard tyres 2wd on standard tyres. This implies (I thought) that the vehicle should handle better than what I had before (and presumably, about 90% of vehicles on the road). Maybe it does handle better in the wet (it didn't seem to handle better in the snow this morning), but perhaps the standard tyres are simply not up to the conditions, which while far from extreme, were also not normal either. They are Michelin Pilot Sport 3's, which are not cheap rubbish, however, yes the wheels are probably too wide (I think they are 17 inch wheels, will have commensurate width). Maybe I just need to manage my expectations downwards especially as regards hill climbing. I didn't think I was asking too much, but this comes with experience. Also on the downhill brake judder - I presume this is the ABS kicking in? After you've slowed down to 10-20mph, are driving in low gear so as to use the engine as a brake, but a car in front brakes (or someone comes up the hill on your side, so you need to brake), and the ABS (juddering thing) cuts in, what do you do then?! I was alright this morning as there was (enough) space in front of me but it felt like I didn't have control! I guess I know the answer - buy winter tyres!?

I live in West Yorkshire and there are plenty of hills around. The tarmac roads had been gritted but we had a light snowfall this morning (including hail). It was just a covering but it fell so fast in some places there was snow (rather than slush) on the road. I was only on a short trip but got badly caught out driving both up and down hills. I've only had the car, a 1.6 petrol superb estate manual 4x4 a few weeks, so don't know what to expect. 1 - Driving downhill - very slowly, first or second gear, I got lots of juddering when on the brakes and did not feel comfortably in control of the car, though managed to keep a straight track (just as well as there were cars coming up the other way) 2 - Driving uphill, I had to give up going up an (admittedly reasonably steep) hill and wait. I was making very little forward progress, couldn't control the vehicle and was getting a strong whiff of something (clutch? brakes? Odd as I wasn't on either? Is this some kind of management system kicking in?) A couple of other 2 wheel drive cars also parked up. Waited a few minutes and in the mean time six or seven cars and vans successfully went up - a mix of smaller 2 wheel drive cars, a standard issue 'white van' and a couple of 4 wheel drive vehicles. I tried again and got up there but only after the snow had been turned to slush by the passing of other vehicles. I really didn't fancy driving up the last few hundred metres (no sign that anyone else had made it) so abandoned the car. At least I was able to do so safely. To be honest I was a bit disappointed, it was not really any better than the Golf (front wheel drive) it replaced. Traction has been great in the car up until now (for example in the rain or where there is no standing snow) but today was the first time it's been driven on standing snow (albeit just a covering). I was not using winter tyres but it didn't look like the cars passing me had them either. Bearing in mind the vehicles passing me I wondered whether the fact that I had a fancy traction distribution/management device (standard on the car) turned on was of any benefit. I turned it off but I it didn't seem to make any difference to my ability to get up the hill. Is the car 'over-engineered'? Or too heavy (compared with some smaller vehicles that got through?). The fact that other drivers appear to be managing in a variety of cars makes me think I am not expecting too much, but perhaps it's me? What (genuinely) are other people's experiences and expectations of snow driving, especially in 4 wheel drive cars?