s3akr

My '07 VRS is exactly as you lot describe - really quite lumpy on idle about 10 secs after start up. Ticks over at 950rpm but feels like its firing on 3 cylinders! Dealer has looked at it twice and insists there is no fault. I have vag-com and this shows no issues either, but I've yet to check the throttle body - I'll try a re-alignment later today (if the Mrs ever gets back from shopping and takes the kids away for a bit - doing my head in today!!).

I had to use Chipsaway when my daughter (2 years old at the time) drew circles on the wing, bonnet and door of my freshly polished Black Magic Leon - with a stone. They used a polish of some description to do it and only charged £30. "Don't worry Daddy...... you can wash it off if you like" .... it was the pure innocence of that comment that saved her a sound thrashing!!!

I could have gone for the Golf, Leon or VRS and chose the latter on value for money. I ignored the guff about % depreciation over 3 years being lower on a Golf because the higher initial price tag means that in terms of cold hard cash, the VRS is no worse than a Golf and that's what its all about. Not worth the extra dosh in my view and I'm very happy with my choice. I really wanted to like the Leon (as I have a Mk1 FR TDI that I am a big fan of) but I still struggle with its looks. Same with the new S3 too. I want to like that after my love affair with my Mk1 S3 but I just can't - its not agressive enough and for £26k+ its not special enough.

...... or use the local eastern European guys operating a £5 handwash! I hate the thought of those auto carwash rollers against my paintwork...... especially as the paint seems to mark up so easily.

Then that's probably what I'll do for the sake o

I did exactly the same with my Leon when I needed 4 tyres and switched to 18" RS6's with the Avon tyres. They are OK in the dry but not quite as sharp as the Rosso's I had on the front in the wet, but that's more a comment on how good the Rosso's were rather than the Avons being bad. I do a lot of M'Way miles (120 a day) and I reckon I'm on for about 20k miles for the fronts. I paid £540 all in at alloywheels.com

I didn't have it on my 08 model and the dealer keeps saying they'll sort it and 9 months on I'm yet to get it.That said, I keep forgetting about it and have only chased about 4 times!

I had my first fondle of VW products with my S3 alongside a Golf V5, then the Leon and now the Octy II VRs. There was a MK2 Gti 8v in the mix as well. Since the Audi I had one (2nd car) no VW and it was a dog of a Pug HDi. I'd be happy to buy Skoda again but probably with a closer better understanding of the options list first! Might even change the current 08 model Octy for a newer one with more toys!

tesco 99 about 90% of the time. I really notice it when swmbo puts 97 in.

I had a number of tiny bubbles on my spoiler that looked like "pin *****" sized blisters. Skoda replaced the spoiler under warranty, then again using a different dealer as they used 3 screws of one size and a 4th of another, all burred and narled from screw driver slippage and didn't paint back around the base of the screws leaving bare metal exposed, and they didn't reapply the Supagard coating. Needless to say, that was all sorted within a week. It looked like something had reacted with the paint.

I have the same problem but its probably from where the child seats mount as far as Skoda are concerned but I ALWAYS put a towel between the child seats and the car seat. I've done about 7k miles and am no impressed with the level of wear. I shall be raising it with them in the next week.

Lummox........ STOP........ your falling into his cleverly crafted trap. If he finds out that dealers have mechanics he may well avenge them all with his mind ray of doom, turning you all in to the "Computer says 'No' so it can't be fixed ever" zombie race from Dumbsville. You'll be targetted one by one and now t'is you who'll be first.......

In terms of the warranty , I was told by Seat customer services that with my Leon the onus is on the dealer to prove that not servicing the car within the designated period led directly to the cause of the failure that you are trying to claim for. Apparently its a UK legal thing and would apply to any car. Treat this info with caution as I have not had it verified legally and have not tested it myself!!

BBS's look easier to clean than R32's, but probably cost a deal more. Its a toughie chap.

Thats a bit extreme but would work. Mine is blue too and its easily marked, but those surface marks are also relatively easily removed. The Leon I have is the same and its black which is like trying to keep glass clean. I have had chipsaway on the Leon twice and they have always left it looking good. I also use Maguiars 3 stage polishes every couple of months and it gets a lot of marks out. Its the price we pay for the "green" brigade to remain happy!

Given the time you've had the car you're stuck with it chap. You might get something from them in an exchange but you can bet it'll cost you money.

I'd be in for a race blue.

I kinda like the smooth look of there not been a boot spoiler too. It sits perfect on those rims and jut looks right. Makefish'll wanna stripe it though!!

I had to get my code after a change of dashpod (to get me maxi-dot) and it was a pain. Still, the dealer got it after about 3 days and it was all sorted. The ECU should remember it for a battery change though as was said earlier.

When you've finished testing the drive train to destruction and the dealer declares that the ECU has logged a number of "launch control" starts, let us all know how you get on with the warranty claim. :P (only pulling your collective legs!)

With an import, do your homework carefully and if you're not fussed about the 3rd year of warranty then in my view, why not ? I once imported a Pug 206 and saved just over 2k on a 9k car. Had no problems with dealership servicing, or warranty work (although the 2 dealers near me were very poor). When I sold it I didn't get hit on the value either, getting the market rate for a 206 of that model.

I reckon Makefish might have the edge here - having driven his car and come away with an expensive wish list!

You could run 2 cars - keep the Audi and spend the money it would have cost to upgrade it to the VRs on the 2nd motor! :P

I have a similar choice and run a remapped Leon FR PD150 ('04 MK1 model) for the big mile commute I do. I don't yearn for the petrol version since the wave of torque compensates and on a long journey you tend not to thrash it through the gears (which is where the drive in a petrol does out-do the diesel for fun cos you can't beat a good high rev thrash). I reckon that on fuel I spend about 9 - 10p per mile as £48 gets me around 480-500 miles. I can get this down a lot if I drive economically but being practical - I need to get home at a reasonable time! I get about 46mpg on avg.

On the AX, its so flimsy that you should always close your air vents. A single rush of air caused by aero dynamic vortex's from a passing sparrow could enter the car via the open vents causing a rapid rise in internal air pressure thus forcing the rear window to shatter outwards. Those wacky French designers eh! Plus with an AX your bootlid would then drop off since the hinges are on the rear glass and the (plastic) lid is attached to that! (I've got 2 x AX GT's in my past catalogue!)