CookieMonster87

Wow, how do they get away with this?! I bet your excess was higher than the repair cost too. I know mine would have been in this case.

As promised. Previous repair photos below with how the wheel should look. Am I being a bit fussy, would you be happy with this? Personally, if I’d have been asked to quote for the repair, I would have declined to carry it out and recommended going to a company that diamond cut.

@nidza I also prefer the diamond cut look. Unfortunately with the repair that’s already been done I can no longer have that wheel re-diamond cut. So my options are to either replace the wheel (bear in mind all 4 have some minor signs of white worm so would benefit from a refund anyway) or have all 4 powder coated. Eventually the diamond cut will show up the white worm corrosion so the powder coating will give more longevity.

Morning all, just had my renewal through from Direct Line. Last year I paid £324, my premium quotes for renewal is £472. That’s quite a hike even with the rise in inflation. Are insurance companies taking the proverbial with their renewals in the hope people will just accept thinking that “it’s just another bill going up” or are they seriously being affected by the current state of affairs (i.e. repair materials and labour cost rise etc)?

@MO230 replied to your thread but it’s a thumbs up from me! @Tazdaz thanks for the photos, that may have swayed me as I’ve been put off by the satin and gloss black as you appear to loose all definition of the wheel. I need to see if the area that’s been sanded back during the previous repair can be restored and sanded back to the correct profile. Will post some pictures tomorrow in the daylight.

Do it! I think that is a lovely colour personally and would certainly be different. On the example you’ve given the spokes are relatively thin so you should get a similar affect on the Xtremes albeit with the different spoke pattern. I think if the spokes were much wider, as per the Mk IV vRS wheels, it’d be too much.

@Tazdaz @Fuzzarr thanks both for the replies. Pictures would be much appreciated when you’ve had the work done. Interesting to read your experiences with the satin. One of the reasons I was considering satin is that you don’t seem to loose as much of the wheels definition compared to the black gloss. I’m also keen on gloss anthracite. The place I’ve enquired with do a nice Audi anthracite colour that’s a similar shade to/a bit darker than the standard Gemini’s. I haven’t seen many examples of refurbished Gemini’s, plenty of the Xtremes though, understandably on British roads these days.

For a TDI that seems a bit low unless you have just been doing shorter journeys and/or stuck in traffic. As you’ve only just got it I’d fill it up and reset all the trip data and see what you get from a full tank. I’m seeing high 40 to mid 50 mpg in a TDI vRS. I tend to do longer runs on A/B roads these days.

Evening all. Sorry to resurrect a slightly older thread. How are you @D1CKO and @Tazdaz getting on with the Satin Black finish on your wheels and what made you choose the Satin over Gloss? I’m currently on the fence on whether to replace a curbed wheel or have all 4 refurbished. They all show signs of the “white worm” corrosion on the diamond cut face but aside from that 3 have no other signs of wear and tear. Unfortunately the wife curbed one and had it repaired while I was away working. Annoyingly the repairer sanded back the scuff damage, losing the definition of the detail on the wheel, then painted the face/edge silver meaning it can no longer have a diamond cut refurb. The paint they used is starting to flake away also. I appreciate she meant well however I wish she’d have left it until I got back or at least told me so that I could have arranged to get a proper diamond cut repair done. As much as I like the diamond cut anthracite wheels, for the price of 1 Gemini I could pretty much get them all powder coated which is a no brainier to me.

So having taken the car for a long drive using both Normal and Sport modes (I never use Eco) I can’t say as I’ve noticed a great change if any. In Sport the throttle is more responsive and the car holds the revs higher when using the throttle. It’ll change up around 3.5-4k rpm unless I hold the throttle for a long period. In Normal it’ll change a lot sooner unless I put my foot to the floor. I have noticed that when in Sport with CC activated the car will shift through to 6th fairly quickly. I don’t recall it doing this before as I used to complain about how high it held the revs when cruising. I don’t recall if the car downshifted when I changed to Sport unless I was on the throttle however I did think it changed down quicker when the car slowed. These observations may purely be because I’m now looking for it as opposed to not really giving it much thought/attention before. Hopefully someone will come along with a bit more info on this, ideally someone who’s booked in for a DSG service that can do a thorough before and after comparison.

To be honest, since it’s DSG service, I haven’t driven the car that much to notice a change. Then again I haven’t been switching between driving modes. I’ve got a long commute this week so I’ll have a play with the driving modes and get back to you with any observations.

I wish they did this app for IOS. I think I’m going to get myself a cheap Android or raid the “random stuff drawer” to see if there’s an old one in there as I’ve always been curious as to the health of my DPF. No issues so far mind.

Car went in for it’s DSG service last week and the dealership informed me that they would also be doing an ECU software update. Anyone else had this carried out recently and any the wiser as to what the update is for? The car is a FL vRS TDI DSG and was last serviced about 9 months ago to give an idea of how recently the update has been released.

Congratulations! This was the reason for me purchasing my first Octavia 😂 Mines in for a DSG service next week as it’s just ticked over 40k miles. Is this purely an oil change or do they do a software check/update and did you notice a change post service?

It’s not an old police/ambulance car by any chance? @a1topdog may be able to help although I appreciate his project is a Mk1.

I feel your pain. Fortunately I’ve avoided any curbing on my Gemini however the diamond cut parts are beginning to show a bit of the “white worm” corrosion plus I have a stone chip on one. Was thinking of going black also, debating having them diamond cut too. IIRC someone on the forum had this done however I haven’t seen a photo of them fitted. One good thing about having black wheels is that you can get the black Skoda centre caps from Kopacek. These don’t tend to corrode like the silver ones and wouldn’t look out of place unlike on the anthracite/silver wheels.

Agree with all the comments ref the DSG on the TDI vRS. Changes up too soon, sluggish unless in sport and when you do drive in sport it holds the revs too high for normal driving. DSG service is due at the next service interval so I’ll be asking about the SW. I don’t think it’s a fault. Could potentially be down to emissions regulations?

There is a general consensus that unless you do in excess of 15k miles a year then a diesel isn’t for you. I’m doing less than 10k miles but the journeys I am doing are in excess of 80 miles usually. The Corolla isn’t a Plug In Hybrid, not sure if that changes things.

I love the look of the new FL5. They have toned down the styling, it’s a bit less “in your face” and the aero q’s serve a purpose. Nice. Still not keen on the triple exhaust though and much prefer those on the FK2. Would still take this over a Golf R.

Also, unless something went drastically wrong, would the cost of diesel/maintenance over the same period be offset with a newer, hybrid petrol car? With my reduced mileage am I likely to incur DPF issues sooner? The car isn’t used much during the week and when it is my trips tend to be in excess of 80 miles.

Afraid I can’t help you with the swap on the Octavia but I went the other way with my old Astra VXR and had the half leather seats fully re-trimmed in leather to match the car. Yes it looked great but after a while the leather sagged in the old foam seats and I found it uncomfortable in hot/cold extremes so I can see where you are coming from. I believe there are variations on the seat spec for the FL, with half leather/faux alcantara/heating options available depending on your budget. Having said that I really like the standard cloth seats in my vRS. At 5 years old they are showing no signs of wear. They clean up nicely too using Autoglym Interior Shampoo although I haven’t got around to treating them to a protectant for that practical element yet!

This would be the Corolla Cross, not GR Sport trim. Most likely the same engine but the Cross will be bigger and heavier. I believe the Yaris Cross is about 120kg heavier than the Yaris. Good question and one I’ll be pressing the dealership over. I’m also in no rush to part with the Octavia, if at all.

Thanks for the links. No mention of the GR Sport trim though. I have read some of the early reviews of the 2023 model. I’m going to test drive the current 2.0 Corolla in the next couple of weeks and get a feel for the size and see what the trim is like although I wouldn’t put pen to paper on anything until I’d seen the ‘23 car in the flesh and driven it.

So I’ve paid off the settlement figure on my Octavia (2017 Mk3 FL vRS TDI DSG) as I’d planned to hang on to it a bit longer and if I’m being honest, have become quite attached to it! I took out a loan as the APR was much lower than refinancing with Skoda and we were having a bit of work done on the house to boot. I’ve had it roughly 3 years, bought second hand with 9k miles on the clock. I’m now at 40k miles and have recently changed jobs meaning I’ll be doing less than 10k miles a year. I’ve been debating going back to a hot hatch but a part of me wants to be more environmentally friendly. I also like to have the security of a decent warranty. Whilst Hyundai offer a 5 year warranty, Toyota offer 10 (if serviced at a main dealer). I have no reason to change car other than the fact it’d be more environmentally friendly and I’d have the security of the warranty. For the most part it’s just me driving around in the Octavia and for how often we fill it for a family holiday/trip to see the in laws I could justify a roof box on a smaller car. I can’t see PCP payments on a new car being too dissimilar to my monthly loan repayments over a similar period. Granted I won’t own the car at the end of the term. I should be able to pay the loan off early which would free up some monthly finances that would otherwise be going towards the PCP on a new car. I’m interested in the Toyota Corolla 2.0 Hybrid in GR Sport trim (not to be confused with the GR model we won’t be getting in Blighty). It’s getting a power upgrade (to 198hp) and facelift for 2023 whilst at the same time being more environmentally friendly and economical than the previous model. I know people have been impressed with the mpg they have been getting from Toyota Hybrids however I think the trim quality leaves a lot to be desired having seen rusting seat rails and trim becoming detached on a Yaris less than a year old! Just as well there’s that 10 year warranty eh. I love my Octavia, it’s not put a foot wrong. The alternative is to stick with it, potentially remap it, keep my fingers crossed I don’t get any gremlins and live with the fact it’s probably not the most green car out there. Curious to gauge peoples thoughts on this as I’m very torn.

So just over 2 weeks on the level is sat higher than where I’d last topped it up to (the mark I’d put on the tank initially after I’d noticed the air lock). Granted the ambient temperature on the day I topped it up was a bit cooler. I’ve noticed the level sitting higher on these warmer days without the car being driven. Will probably just clean the mark off I’d put on the expansion tank and periodically check to ensure it’s between the min and max.