DJBut

On 5th August my 2017 Octavia 2.0 Tdi L&K went to my Skoda garage for its annual service and MOT. I reported a rattle on the rear offside plus a couple of other minor issues. I expected the car to be returned the same day but the dealer reported that the rear offside shock absorber needed renewal. Skoda stated that its replacement would be provided under the extended warranty but the car would have to show an MOT fail before they would do so. The test was carried out, the car failed and application was made to Skoda to cover the replacement. Normally no problem . . . but there are no compatible Skoda shockers available anywhere in GB! Apparently even in cases like this Skoda will not cover the installation of non-Skoda branded parts. The dealer kindly provided me with another Octavia. It seems it is Skoda policy to match like with like, except that my replacement is a 21 plate DSG, nice but bog standard. No bells and whistles like my own. That was two weeks ago and I'm still driving the loan car and there is no indication when a new shock absorber will be available (from Germany or somewhere, I guess) so I'm stuck with what I've got. It's a good job we are not going away soon as the replacement hasn't got a tow ball. My dealer is sympathetic of course and is making every effort to solve the problem. Apart from getting a phone call there's not much they can do. As an aside, I'm really glad I do not own the loan car. It's not a patch on my own, even if my own did not have all the extras. I don't like the way the DSG works, I don't like the need to touch the screen to make any changes, e.g. to aircon, as taking eyes off the road to find the right icon to press is not good practice, especially as it is clear that the Columbus screen is designed primarily for continental drivers. And why, oh why is there no rear window wiper? OK, it uses AdBlue rather than the uncertainties of a DPF but give me the Mark III any day.