SurreyJohn

Possibly not, if you can buy a star (5 claw) centre cap can’t find a Skoda one, but looks something like this https://www.dhgate.com/product/4x-for-vw-five-claws-refitting-wheel-center/391946181.html

Any dealer saying a vague 6 months is probably guessing. If you ask them to clarify if they saying it will arrive in 26th week then you will probably get a more realistic answer. Any answers in the at least February format, are probably sales garbage, you need to reverse it and ask for a not later than date, so they can only slip nearer, not later. If some are being estimated May then probably safer to assume nearer 7 months for orders.

So are right and left same tread depth, (even if back has more tread), and is it even across width. If yes, then probably due to coarse road surfaces. If no, then get alignment and pressures checked Might be sensible to get the wheels swapped around to even out the wear, then you will wear them all out about same time which makes it lot easier to change brand (or better still, change from summer tyres, to all season tyres). The Bridgestone T005 is a summer touring tyre, but now you can buy specialist tyres for EVs. If you run mainly in electric mode then might be worth looking at these. They are better suited to the high starting torque of electric motors.

Just used the MOT checker on the L&K, appears it only did 365miles in year to October 2020, then did just 5k miles. Taking a punt here that owner was ill, or died which explains lack of use. But might have caused it to have skipped some servicing. Unlikely anyone wanted to pay for a full 4 year service for just 365 miles use.

Crazily you can buy a brand new electric MG5 estate for similar price to Skoda Fabia This one is discounted to £20,900 https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new/202108176345771?onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&postcode=sn139rx&include-delivery-option=on&radius=1500&sort=price-asc&make=MG&advertising-location=at_cars&model=MG5&page=1 Now if Skoda had started with a VW ID3, added the estate bit, and stuck a Skoda badge on it, then I would have been seriously interested, I was actually hoping to pick up a mk4 Fabia 1.5 DSG before they killed it.

So your choice is a 2 year old manual vs a 5 year old auto L&K spec. The L&K spec is lovely, but the vast number of features and gadgets mean that if anything fails or breaks down, there is a lot to potentially go wrong. It will also cost more to service properly. You are unlikely to miss any gadgets you have never had, so don’t get blinded by long list of features (some of which you may never use). If keeping car a long time remember it is just more that can go wrong. The emissions spec might be different, both will be versions of euro6, but later one might have extra equipment (as emissions got tightened over time). A lot of this newer equipment does not like lots of short local journeys and you need to be doing a journey of 45+ minutes regularly to get sufficiently warmed through for complete diesel particulate filter regeneration to complete otherwise will clog up filter with ash. I would be wary of why someone chose a diesel to do only 6k miles each year (29k miles in 5 years). The 4x4 system will help you when slippery, but you are looking at a big heavy Diesel engine providing deadweight over front driving wheels, so your traction will depend on friction with road surface. If you think about it, you will realise if the boot is empty the back of car is much lighter so extra traction from having rear wheels driven as well, is lot less than 100% gain. You would be much better spending a few hundred pounds and getting winter wheels and good winter tyres than choosing the 4x4 (and the 2 wheel drive on winter tyres will get up a snowy or icy slope better than a 4x4 on summer tyres). At 5 years old, there may be lots of parts due (or overdue) for servicing or replacement (eg was Haldex filter in 4x4 cleaned). Unless you have evidence from service record, I would treat with caution, or insist on all the extra work being done. You don’t want to spend >£20k only to find need to change brake pads in few months etc. The auto is of course much more relaxing to drive than having to change gears manually. If you currently have an auto you won’t want to go back to manual, but if you drive a manual now, then might be another thing that you won’t miss as have never had. If it was me choosing, I would get the much newer one unless there is something that is essential that only the 5 year L&K has.

That’s odd, in UK these have been superseded by Continental Sport contact 6 (although there is the specialist 5P version available). The 5 version is currently still available. Of course, these are summer tyres, so wet grip below about +9c will be not great, and will be useless in sleet, snow, frost, and very cold rain. But they do look good in a dry showroom

Changing from 235/40 R19 to 235/45 R19 adds nearly a inch (23mm) to diameter Those who have only changed to 245/40 R19 only added 8mm to diameter (and 4mm worn off the tread, means back to the size of original when new) Maybe where you live, roads are in good condition, but where I live the tarmac is so uneven on country roads that anything less than 50-55 profile is uncomfortable and rumbles. However to some extend using a softer colder weather tyre (an all season, rather than a summer sport or eco tyre) helps.

Depends on time interval as well as mileage. Should really do a check of tyre tread, tyre pressures, brake pad thickness etc especially if you tend not to do any other time Some parts need replacement (or checking) at certain age. Pollen filter etc. Others will be obvious (wiper blades etc) if they are no longer any good. There are some items that need to be done at certain mileages, but not part of normal servicing schedule, eg DSG fluid change, spark plugs, haldex fluid and filter change. The normal schedule tends to be based on doing about 9-10k miles per year, but as the car gets older, and if your mileage is significantly different affects what needs doing each time. You need to be logging what was done and when, otherwise what is due in next few years becomes guesswork.

@iphammer not sure if yours has the choice, but in infotainment, go into car, settings, and find the safety systems and can usually change sensitivity. If it is on least sensitive (and coming on regularly) then you probably need to visit an optician, and not brake so late as it is seeing hazards well before you see them.

18km journeys (about 11 miles) are too short for a DPF regen to complete. If all your journeys are about that duration, then a euro 6d diesel is not suitable, as DPF will eventually clog up

@JFJ I assume you have twister design (wouldn’t be my choice either) Have a look at Skoda Octavia wheels here (page 9 of link), can get 16 inch velourum in black or normal alloy colour, also 17 inch and 18 inch (the spare part codes are also there) https://www.skoda-auto.de/_doc/e604bebd-dd65-4dc5-a90b-7f3aa39c3cc2 I think those black wheels shod with meaty tread cross climate 2 will make you look very smug, the day it snows and you pass others stuck at bottom of a hill.

Bit unfair, might as well have said Enyaq if you care about the planet The reality is how big your family is, and if you want toys for the driver, or toys & gadgets in the back for the kids.

Which doesn’t really fit in with UK sales profile SMMT September car sales figures split as follows : petrol 43.8% EVs 15.2% mild hybrid EV petrol 12.7% hybrid EV 11.6% plug in hybrid EV 6.4% mild hybrid EV diesel 5.3% diesel 5.0% So basically diesel is down to only 1 in 20 cars in UK (10,658 of 215,312 sales), and the Enyaq (the only Skoda EV) is nowhere near 15.2% of Skoda sales, which shows that Skoda is not able to reflect UK demand

The 18 inch with summer tyres (as delivered from factory), are noisy. Basically anything sold as an Eco tyre, is fairly hard, designed for long distance cruising on good roads, but not a compliant tyre for poor rutted tarmac local roads. The other problem with Eco summer tyres is tend to be poor in wet below about +10c, and virtually useless in cold rain, damp, frost, sleet and snow, or when it is cold enough for roads to be salted. You really either need a second set of wheels/tyres (winter tyres), or need an all season tyre for all year use. I have just switched from the 18s with Pirelli P7 summer tyres, to my winter tyres (205/60 R16) and noise levels on country roads have fallen dramatically. The softer winter compound also helps with noise. It now grips again in muddy field runoff puddles, and I know from last winter grips when the puddles have ice, is frosty, or snows. Much better than being stranded at first hill when a few centimetres of snow falls.

I guess just using same paint as new Fabia That has Phoenix orange, graphite grey etc

A car only few weeks old, with a fault, and they want to charge you to look at it. That’s not on. A would ask Skoda customer services to tell them it’s unacceptable, they should be collecting the car and returning it free, not expecting you to pay to sort out the fault.

Is this happening everywhere you park, or in one location. If it is latter then something is jamming the signal (some other bit of equipment nearby causing too much interference). You would need to report an illegal transmission so it can be investigated and source traced. Another obvious check is you don’t have the keys next to (or on same key ring) as something else that transmits, eg a door or gate fob, security entry card etc If it happens everywhere and you have changed the key batteries in both keys then suggests car receiver is faulty, it might accept the programming but doesn’t mean aerial part is good.

Tyre reviews have published Auto Bild 2021 winter tyre tests https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2021-Auto-Bild-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm and SUV test https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2021-Auto-Bild-SUV-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm

Now found the brochure / price list online, seems there are 8 option packs The brochure uses the eye catching orange paint (£975 extra) One set of optional wheels is hefty £1255 It almost seems that to match the spec of an Octavia, got to pay more, as an example a 1 litre SE tech spec Octavia is £21,720. The spec’d up Fabia to match it costs lots more, why ? Even a rip off compared to other Skoda models https://www.skoda.co.uk/_doc/775d73bc-eb9d-4a50-911e-863d73b99333

A few months ago, I was considering changing our 9 year old Skoda to new Fabia (my wife likes smaller size, as easier to park), but it’s such poor value and weirdly configured. There are some features I want (which are very expensive extras), features I don’t need or care about (which I have to pay for), and the UK Brexit rip off where it is costing 25% more than Germany. Skoda Special offer to the person with plonker tattooed on his forehead £3000 extra of your hard earned money, than the customer across the channel. Umm…… Sorry but it’s not for me with the rip off pricing, and by time it is delivered (sometime in 2022), may as well wait few extra months and get new small electric car, or might just consolidate and go from 2 cars to one.

@cestrian Although I drive an Arona (Kamiq wasn’t launched when I bought it, but they have same floor pan, engines etc), I actually prefer the feel of the 16 inch wheels as they ride better over rutted tarmac (of which there is plenty on country roads). I will be switching back to the 16s (with winter tyres) in few days. One thing I would recommend is don’t buy summer tyres if buying new tyres, either get all seasons (if going to keep them on all year, and sell the 18s) or if you have 2 sets of wheels/tyres then put winter tyres on second set. All seasons (and winter) tyres don’t get hard and noisy when temperature falls below about +9c (which is common in morning for 5 months each year) There are threads on tyres https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/213-tyres-zone/

The simple answer is yes. The Kamiq is sold in some European countries with 16 inch wheels. It has identical wheels to my Arona (and T-cross also uses same). I have 16 inch winter set (Borbet Y rims with 205/60 R16 Goodyear ultragrip 9+ tyres). These rims fit direct with same bolts etc My summer wheels/tyres are what it came with, 215/45 R18 tyres The Kamiq 16 inch wheels are on page 81 of this (German) Kamiq brochure : HOEDUS Aero, ORION or CASTOR. There is also steel LHOTSE with plastic trim https://www.skoda-auto.de/_doc/e557cca9-33a9-4d62-b4e3-ce5bbc448af9 I can’t think of a good reason why a dealership would refuse to sell these from its parts department, so whoever you asked doesn’t know the product.

A lot will depend on if it is your insurance claim, or if you are having repair as someone else crashed into you. In simple terms if it is someone else’s insurance, you are entitled to be put back to the condition prior to accident, which means genuine quality parts. It’s not your problem if they need to source a part from another country and airfreight it in. But if you are happy to accept a modern equivalent is fitted then that is your choice if that is easier

I think you have got it fairly well covered. You mentioned a puncture and 2 new tyres, I don’t know how long ago, but keep eye on tread depths and swap them around (front-back) if required. The fronts will wear about 3 times rate of backs (unless carrying heavy loads). Otherwise might get 2 tyres with fairly good treads but cracking, so try and even up the wear. If only doing 4K miles per year will get cracked rear tyres long before tread is under 3mm (legal min is only 1.6mm, but anything under 3mm isn’t ideal in rain)