SurreyJohn

If it is winter in New Zealand, then 20 minutes of running is not going to be enough to fully clear a DPF, really needs to be 20 minutes once it has already warmed through, so need to be doing at least 15 minutes (and in cold weather probably nearer 25 minutes) before you start the DPF regen. You can shorten time by holding it in low gears, but running at about third of maximum revs is not going to generate lots of engine heat quickly.

I have used top quality Panasonic batteries and they do last, 9-18 months Once made the mistake of using one I had spare in a unheard of brand, only got few weeks out of it. So even if it costs lot more use best batteries you can find, cheaper in long run

The Driver power survey of dealers has just been released, and Skoda were 16th of 16 (some brands were not included due to not enough responses) This year and its widely publicised shortages of new cars have brought frustration for many buyers, who have been kept waiting for deliveries, often with little effective communication from dealers. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/driver-power/92307/best-car-dealers-2022 Skoda : The results show it’s the new-car sales side that’s keeping the Czech brand’s scores down, with buyers ranking the firm’s retail operations next to bottom in the survey. Buyers don’t appear that impressed either by dealership facilities, staff performance or the deals they’re driving away with. That translates as parking provision scoring poorly, and low ratings for product knowledge and explanations during handovers, as well as low satisfaction with prices. Skoda’s aftersales scores are more middle of the range, with a 10th place for courtesy, and 11th for workmanship, but only 16th for dealer facilities.

You tend to get slightly deeper tread on all season tyres than summer tyres (note this is a generalisation, can find examples that doesn’t apply to)

It is the same as the factory warranty for 3 years, I think it with the factory, rather than a warranty provider, but has to be selected before registration (can be added at any stage of ordering or delivery process, as long as car isn’t registered)

Looks a good car on face of it The MOT history has it as registered 7th February 2018, then 61,432 miles 3rd November 2021, this suggests it was sold as not normal to get an MOT done 3 months early It has then only done 3k per year for 2 years, if it has done lots of local journeys then DPF might be clogged and get intervention to completely clean it. Ideally need to get the service history but that won’t really show if car has seen little use or been doing short journeys. EDIT : Unless I am misunderstanding Cazoo website it is showing as sold

The iV has had massive delays, and for few months none were being made because the wiring looms were being made in Ukraine and Skoda had to set up an alternative production. This happened about March, and the dealer supplying the leasing company would have known. Depending on who you believe something like 35,000 - 55,000 Octavia were built with parts missing (generally electronic components, due to semiconductor shortages), and/or interior door panels missing after a fire at the suppliers factory, and are parked (banked) awaiting finishing. Some of these now appear to be trickling through. If I was you I would be asking the leasing company for the latest delivery estimate (and make it clear you want the status checked, not someone giving you a random guess that sounds better than really is)

The problem is if it is added, or part of a package with other things you want, you end up buying it then not using it. so might be paying hundreds of pounds for nothing.

Probably fail in UK on last category (the demarcation lines are clearly visible) Far to many seem to have residue from previous roadworks, so have multiple lines, or poorly painted lines The driving speed range is 90-210km/h. (56-130 mph) so won’t work on some Welsh motorways where they now have 50mph restrictions

It is what the manufacturer thinks they can get away with versus the competition. Those that want to increase market share make them more attractive by offering longer warranties. Short term, they are struggling to meet all the orders, so not likely to increase the offer. Best in UK (if want long warranty buy one of these instead) Kia 7 years, 100,000 miles MG 7 years, 80,000 miles SsangYong and Hyundai : 5 years unlimited miles Subaru : 5 years, 100,000 miles Toyota and Lexus : 3 years, but with every annual service, extended free each year upto 10 years.

Skoda in UK are down 30.7% according to SMMT sales figures Jan-June 2021 32,906 Skoda registered Jan-June 2022 22,805 Skoda registered https://www.smmt.co.uk/vehicle-data/car-registrations/ In UK Jan-June 2022 14.4% of cars where pure electric, with another 17.8% hybrid or plug in hybrid, 18.3% mild hybrid, and 43.8% petrol and remaining 5.7% diesel. If you look at what Skoda UK offer (only the Enyaq for the 14.4% who want electric, virtually unobtainable hybrids for next 17.8% etc), it confirms they are so out of touch that not surprising their market share in UK down to just 2.84%. (Below MG and close to half of Hyundai, and fraction of Kia). Companies that offer much longer warranties.

The experience will change things, many people will not be prepared to wait months going forward. It is already starting to happen here where Korean manufacturers have simplified options and are moving towards having cars in stock. Not pre-registered, just cars at the dealership with PDI done that you can walk in and buy. Admittedly they cannot keep up yet, so often have to wait a few weeks. But it is clearly where the market is heading. VW Group are going to be in for big shock if they think people will wait months in the future, whilst competition is moving to new stock on the forecourt (which was the norm until 1980s). Obviously specialist cars are different, I am talking normal mainstream cars.

Ask dealer for update, don’t wait for them to call you, ask them for current status so they have to look it up, some will be lazy and just waffle : sorry, no update. Regarding service on current car, it is generally your problem to get it done and paid for it, the normal assumption being it will defer the service due dates on new car instead (due to later commencement date), so long term averages out. However as the old saying goes if you don’t ask you don’t get, so why not push for a free service due to delay, and only if the agree, ask them to do it on current car rather than new one, if they have agreed to do one anyway.

The latest update is suggesting that new orders for Octavia will be Q3 2023 So allowing extra month to UK, probably not before September 2023 https://www.marnet-mobility.de/aktuelle-lieferzeiten.html

On the road price is £37,970 plus whatever options you have ordered https://www.skoda.co.uk/_doc/0bcfc2d5-654f-49b2-a524-91e141293e36 Link is to the brochure, so you can check the prices of any extras. Remember the £40,000 tax is based on list price (including any options) at date of registration, regardless of what price you actually pay

The cars are taken on trains to German port of Emden, and stored until there is room on a ship going to UK. Although since covid and production limitations there is unlikely to be much delay waiting for a ship with space, probably 2 weeks max A few thousand cars can be on the ship, they have multiple teams that drive them off, then they hop back in a minibus and go and drive another batch off. After that (when in UK) it becomes more dependent on other orders for your dealer, ideally they will fill a road transporter, sometimes will be a split delivery to two dealers in similar areas. Most leave the ports in early hours to arrive about 9am (most dealerships only accept cars between about 08:30 and 16:00 on weekdays). For Skoda (and VW group) they use Sheerness (Kent), Grimsby and Tyne so if you are in the far west, road delivery becomes more restricted as too many driving hours to do a one day delivery, need a truck with sleeper cab. There was at one time (don’t know if still applies) restrictions on number of SUVs on the older trailers as weren’t designed for lots of higher vehicles. Car is thus likely to sit at UK port for anything from about 3 days to 3 weeks depending on other cars being delivered. So overall anything from about 2-7 weeks from build to dealer, then depending on if sales team have tracked and booked workshop time 1-20 days to do PDI. So assume about 8 weeks for your initial estimate.

Will be the fan resistor pack, not an uncommon problem. Good news is the are cheap literally £5-8 and same one fits multiple cars (eg Polo, Audi A1) so easy to get. Changed one on a roomster, luckily found a you tube video showing how to access it through glovebox and lifting passenger airbag pack. Hopefully there is one for mk3 Fabia On the highest setting, it bypasses this unit so fan works.

Known problem on lots of cars, the wireless chargers are powerful, and inductive charging creates heat. Great idea for quick top up of battery, but not suitable for anything bit longer. I no longer use mine because I don’t like the hot phone, solved it with low tech solution of 2 packets of polo mints in tray, phone goes on top and gets plugged in.

The 1.0 petrol comes in various power levels MPI is bit underpowered, fine as a runabout, but not really for motorway The tsi (turbo) versions are surprisingly good, very free reving, and surprisingly frugal, even when cold. Either power level will be fine. By far the best combination is the 1.0 tsi 110 with DSG gearbox, it keeps it in sweet spot, the changes are silky smooth, and because it has 7 gears is always responsive. The manual petrol versions can be hard work in traffic as the engine is not as happy at pulling from low revs as a diesel, so can lots of gear changing. To be honest try the DSG box, you will never want to change gear manually again (you can, with DSG, but probably won’t ever use the manual option) One thing you will notice though, is the modern petrol engines offer virtually no engine braking when going down hills

I don’t think Scala Monte Carlo has ever been sold in UK with a TDI engine Just choice of 1.0 or 1.5 tsi

Firstly mileage is not appropriate to decide if brakes are worn, clearly those in start stop city traffic, or very hilly areas will use brakes lot more than someone driving on empty motorways. There is no point in changing the discs if they have little wear, but yes if warped, heavily gouged etc. New pads would soon bed in anyway. Main dealers charge a lot, brakes can normally be done at many fast fit centres (but caution is needed as some will just fit basic quality), if you source the parts at least you can choose them. There are better quality brakes available, but of course you need to expect to pay more.

If it of any use, the latest Auto Express survey, (in the physical printed magazine) put its sister car Seat Arona 40th, and one of the low scoring parts was ride. There were 2 quotes from the public against each model, and one basically said, mine came with 18 inch wheels, makes the ride far too rough on UK roads which are of poor quality. The Kamiq was introduced bit later than Arona, but is virtually identical underneath, and suffers from the same unsuitable 18 inch wheels as standard (the VW T-cross also has same problem). Hopefully the low score and blunt comments about 18 inch wheels not working in UK due to deteriorating roads might actually get noticed in VW group UK headquarters. Although as @roottoot says they seem to prefer style over practicality when choosing wheels for UK market. They don’t do it in other European markets like Germany or Ireland where 16 inch or 17 inch are the standard spec.

Others that seem to get good comments include Continental all season contact Hankook kinergy 4S2 Goodyear vector 4season gen3 Not all are available in some sizes, and what is available, or price being charged will also determine your decision

There isn’t that much (if anything) that tends to go wrong with the DSG box when paired to the 1 litre engine, so wouldn’t worry too much. If your car is approaching third birthday, get anything needed under warranty done, get the MOT done about 3-4 weeks early (will be post dated as long as within last month before expiry) If you have had these done, and car is not showing any problems then could I suggest you just wait until one of the periodic 20% offers on all in one comes up. Ultimately warranties are peace of mind insurance, but the warranty companies want to make a profit so on average the premiums will always exceed the payouts. If your car is well maintained you will be subsidising someone who skimps maintenance and breaks down, or abuses their car leading to failure.

Any idea what you would replace them with Michelin cross climate 2 seem to be good choice (but not cheap as paying for long lasting quality)