Harryc

My licence, that Skoda very kindly gave me for 12 months, has expired and now I have to pay to renew it. If I had known how much it costs to renew I would have made a greater effort to get the useless piece of crap to work. I spent hours trying to get it to work and the dealer did not have a clue. It is the only thing on the car that disappoints.

Not surprised - that was me comparing to the new Jag XF. Just delete it. Sorry about that.

Good Question. Initially went for the Sportline but realised that there was no difference in the performance and I think I liked a couple of differences on the base spec. Also thoght I might for once consider the wife's opinion as she wld be driving it more than me. Considering her opinion of cars in the past I thought that might be a mistake. But not this time. Her recent past choices: Honda Jazz (great car but underpowered), Jag XE (crap paint and she struggled to park it), BMW 3 series (utter rubbish - we both hated it). I have attached a spreadsheet with the options and base spec. Have shaded in the cells v each item. Red (waste of money), Orangey (not used or not bothered), Green (wld have again). Hope that helps. 17 07 Skoda Costs Rev 03 Briskoda.xlsx

Very impressive. I have previously had cars re-mapped but decided against doing the Skoda as the wife drives it more than me. This post might just have changed my mind. Can I ask where you having the soundproofing done?

Bit of background: the wife had a Jag XE and I had an XF. Good cars but the paintwork on the XE was abysmal. Both were ex-demos. Prior to that I had new and used Jag XKR's and an MX5. Currently have the Skoda and an old BMW 750 that are better suited to carting the dog around. Now had the 280ps LnK estate 12 months and it has just had its first service. The wife and me both like driving it and we both rate it highly - that might change when we part with it and the depreciation bites. 6,000 miles of say 70% built up areas and 30% mway. MPG - 30 by me. Best mpg is generally about 38 on the mway cruising at 70 to 75. Did manage about 45mpg once but the 4 mile tail back on the mway was a tad embarrassing. MPG - about 25 by the wife but she thinks that roaring up to the lights and slamming the brakes on is good driving (I exaggerate a little). No issues at all apart from a knackered tyre - courtesy of our local council pothole supplier. Paintwork is surprisingly free of chips and scratches, which is a first for me. Service cost me nothing as I took the two year service plan (apart from the 20 quid flush thing they offered - not sure if there is any value in that). Summary - best all round car I have ever owned and I am comparing it with the Jags and BMWs I owned for 20 years before becoming a sensible Skoda owner. It's faster, has more useful tech (and some that I never use), it is also roomier and as comfortable (altho not as pretty ) as the Jag XF sportbrake I had previously. And the service I have received from the local dealer is as good as Jag if not better. Now thinking of getting a re-map and some soundproofing. No real reason as the sound levels and performance are fine. I guess I just like spending money I dont have to get something a little different and to wind the wife up.

Good Day Anyone had any issues with the Voice Enhancer? I think it is quite good as I can hear people complaining about my driving in the rear seats but a couple of front passengers have mentioned that their voices seemed to echo. I tried turning it up, down and off but it appears to make no difference.

I was trying to be witty and smart and highlight that he is the only friend I have. As usual - failed again. But now I think of it he is probably a bit of a throwback as he actually likes the English.

Fortunately we do not have any car thefts oop North as most of them are worth buggerall. A mate of mine lived somewhere close to London a few years back and he had his 997 turbo pinched from his garage + cartier watch, wife's jewelery and phones from inside the house while they were in bed. Police said it would be long gone to either Eastern Europe or Middle East. He is still fighting the insurance company over his Cartier watch but did get fullty reimbursed for the car. As for London - I have it in my top 5 for best cities in the world to visit along with Newcastle (you may laugh but the beer is cheap), Adelaide, Paris and Madrid. Close contenders are Rome, Prague, Barcelona and Boston. And one of these days I will get to visit them. As for working in London. I did two 15 months stints there (I worked as an Engineering/Construction consultant - i.e. scabby contractor) and did not like it at all - a right pain to get around and expensive. Plus it is full of foreigners such as the Irish, Scots and Welsh. But enough of the politically incorrect hate mail and please note that some of my best friend is a Jock. The important thing is the 280PS LnK. Now had it about six months. Finally got the media stuff (Spotify) working and that Canton system is top class. Had a great time bopping about in the garage getting stoned on exhaust fumes listening to Earth Wind and Fire. Fortunately the wife got me out in time for my Sunday repaste of Greggs meat slice and Stotty Cake. The rest of the car is OK as well. Absolutely no issues with it except maybe the tyre noise, which I will sort when they are due for replacement. Having said that I had my mate's 8 year old BMW 760 V12 for a few weeks and the difference is not that great but bear in mind my ears are akin cement filled breeze blocks. Will I have another? Without doubt - might look at that hybrid they are talking about.

I am at 25mpg for my 280ps. Mainly suburban with a bit of motorway in quite a hilly area plus the wife drives most of the time and she is heavy footed. Best I have had is 32mpg with a two mile tail back on the motorway.

It will be interesting to see where the UK automative industry is in 2002 after the dust has settled. The big three Japanese companies initially selected the UK because of the subsidies and acccess to the EU. There are also the Germans to consider with Bentley, RR, Vauxhall, GM and the Mini. Plus Tata and the JLR group. I think it is unlikely the prestige brands will be much affected and it all depends on how the market evolves for the rest. For instance will BMW only produce Minis for the UK, in the UK, and produce the rest in a low cost EU country? Will the Japanese leave the UK or will they be encouraged to stay with wads of cash? And then there are the supply chains and logistics to take in to account. Forty something percent of UK manufactured cars are made up of parts from overseas (do not know how many are sourced from the EU). A Bently bumper vists the UK twice, Germany once and an Eastern European country once. The crankshaft for a Mini has a similar journey. On a more positive note, Gateshead (where I live) has just received £2m to subsidise a community project. We shall miss those EU handouts, unless of course our cruel faced cockney overlords step in and help us out as they normally do. Unlikely I fear, as Westminster did enough for us (and the Nissan car workers), when they paid for the ammunition to shoot ourselves in the foot with an Exit vote.

There are a few topics on this specific thread. 1) Tyre noise - thanks for all the advice. Will look carefully when I decide to renew. 2) Depreciation - I have a 64 plate Jag Sportbrake 3.0S Diesel that cost me 30k 12 months ago (about £44k new). I will be lucky to get 20k for it. Apparently the XF has the best residuals of any Jag and for mine that is about 45% over 3 years, which I think is reasonable. I am not expecting the 280PS to get anywhere close to that. But, compare the cost of a new Sportbtake with a similar spec to the 280 and the difference in quids is eye watering. I paid £37k (discounted at about 13%) for the LnK 280 - the equivalent Jag model is about £25k more and in my opinion the 280 (not run in yet) is a better car altho does not look as good. 3) Consumption - I have been getting low twenties and decided to use ECO mode to see the difference. Taking it very easy with a 60/40 split motorway/city roads I managed to average above 30. Very impressive when you consider the best average from the diesel Jag is 35mpg. 4) New topic. The paintwork on the Jag XE I have just sold this morning is abysmal. You had to approach it very carefully with a micro cloth - within ten paces and minor scratches started to appear. Threaten it with a hoover and gouges requiring the skills of a Salvador Dali appeared and it was not wise to take it out on the road as you not only got chips you were also battered (sorry about that) by road rash along the sills. Up to now the 280 seems a little more resilient.

As a weak kneed liberal Brexitexiteer it is difficult not to say 'I told you so' but I have bit my opinionated tongue up until now in case I get my face punched in by a rabid Brexiteer. If it was not so tragic it would be funny. 'We' do not know what 'we' want and 'we' do not know how to get it but 'we' will bumble along until time runs out but 'we' are not exactly sure when that is or what the economic costs/risks will be. BIzarre. No matter though as 'we' will stop immigration, which a recent report has indicated was the main reason why 'we' decided to undertake a kamikaze raid on Brussels. What I have never been able to get my head around is: if the main reason for EU departure was to halt immigration why did we not just stop the circa 150k of non-EU folk from entering the country in 2015? I am guessing it must be because we have a colonial fondness for Africans and Indians who will kow tow to our demands rather than putting up with those bolshie Poles. Answers on a postcard to Almost Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells.

Mine is coming up to 700 miles. Not getting close to 30mpg. Average since new is 23mpg. Very little highway travel up to now and still running in so not overly concerned at this stage.

I have had Jags for the last 12 years and I reckon the depreciation over 2 years is 50+% on average. I have just sold a 26 month old XE for 21k, which cost 42k new. I did some research on depreciation before I bought the 280ps and Skoda were considered to be the best for depreciation in Europe but the particular site I looked at did not quote any rates of depreciation. However, I do not think the same will apply to Superbs as one of the reasons the depreciation rate is good is because a lot of taxi drivers buy low mileage Octavias. Depreciation is always going to be high on a brand's top end model-end especially if it is heavily optioned.