bandit1

Manny, It was my local Halfords that alerted me, as they had graciously placed a piece of paper over the head unit on display saying "Currently off sale", this is guaranteed to prompt a question as to why ? Apparantely not all HU's are affected. Blaupunkt UK 01895 838 880 will tell you if you give them the serial number. I understand that out of warranty claims are not an issue as it only a minor software tweak & the HU is usually back within 3 days. The problem has supposedly been caused by the BBC not sticking to agreed software protocols :confused: How are you finding the unit ? Are you using the mp3 player on CD ? (If so which recording software are you using ? What about the MMC ? Useful ? Thanks Graham

Kribban, Believe me as the owner of a White vRS with White wheels you do NOT want to paint them white, You will be forever cleaning wheels !! After one drive of 5 miles the brake dust is starting to show already & if you do not clean them perfectly, they look worse !! Good Luck Graham

Manny I agree that when the 6 Torx bolts are removed & the glovebox is taken out (being careful not to damage the glovebox light in the process) the Head Unit fitting & removal is far easier. This also gives acess to a very useful area on the left hand side of the HU where the extra wiring can be stored (Stuffed!!). Manny have you had the Woodstock back to Blaupunkt for the software mod. ? They are currently off sale (I am waiting for one) as there is a conflict with the new BBC Channels. Blaupunkt are offering free software updates to affected HU's Bluespot Audio can tell you about it. Graham

Rich, I too would agree with the enthusiasm & service at Chesterfield from Mick, Steve & Craig in the sales team. However the aftersales team (in my experience) are totally the opposite, no phone calls when promised, half done jobs, some jobs not even attempted. Dirty oil footmarks on a light grey carpet, etc etc. (Don't even start me on attitude!) There is now a standing joke with the sales guys that they are going to give me my own desk. Rich, Send me PM if you want to be forewarned !! Graham

I am in the process of transferring my Nokia Car kit from my old car to the vRS. Whilst I had the singe CD head unit out to upgrade it I noticed that there was an extra Co-Axial lead sticking out of the Wiring Loom, A quick call to my local dealer confirmed that they are less than useless as they did not have a clue (or gave a T**s), so I called Skoda Cust services. I was told by Natasha that I could not speak to the Tech Dept. as they are "Not Customer Facing". She did however have a chat with one of them for me & gave me the following response "Skoda UK does not approve the fitting of any Handsfree car kit whatsoever, they will not be held liable for any problems arising from the fitting & use of such items". But the engineer did tell her that the roof antenna (if it has a spiral type wrap to the whip part) was a dual FM & GSM antenna & was already connected. So connect the handfree kit to the spare Co-Ax & hey presto, no need for an extra Antenna !! Saved me the job of fitting an extra one !! PS on an earlier phone thread there was discussion regarding Blue tooth & power consumption. The battery cycle time of a phone is reduced by approx 40% when the bluetooth facility is activated. (according to Nokia) Graham:cheers:

Has anyone experienced a Knocking from the runners of the drivers seat under braking ? I have had my car 2 weeks now & it has been in the dealers for 3 days this week while they "waited for parts", but the general reply for the seat was that " They all do it" !!. I will not publish my response ! but they are calling Skoda on Monday to discuss it with the Tech team. The car is everything I was hoping for & a whole lot more but has been spoilt by the indifferent service I have had since I took delivery. Caution !! Rant Starting !! 2 days into ownership on a very dark M1 Mway the indicators stopped indicating & the airbag light came on. I was near the hotel I was staying at so called it a night & next morning called in at a dealership in Luton, Forward Motors (Very S****y!) who were fantastic, looking at the car immediately, fixing the indicator problem (Hazard switch) & diagnosing a faulty Airbag Control Module. They gave me the fault codes to phone through to my dealer so they could order the parts ready for me. 2 days later I took my car in to be fixed at my dealer, who had not ordered the parts as they were not allowed to "Trust" another garages diagnosis. They had the car for a full day then agreed on the problem & ordered the parts VOR (Vehicle off road). Parts did not turn up next day (although the badges I ordered at the same time did) nor the next. they arrived on the 3rd (today) so I got my car back this afternoon. (with only half the list completed) It is absoulutely Bloody Filthy, The garage has some building work being carried out & I think my car has been used as a skip ! The interior has been trampled on (silver-grey carpets) by oily boots, the door panel has nice oil marks etc. Guess what ? The valeter is off sick !! I pointed out that if they had used covers in the first place the valeter would not be so over worked & off sick in the first place. The matter is not resolved yet (I do have a valet promised) Sorry about that, Rant Over!! I think I'll go & have a lie down. (have I really used that many exclamation marks ?) Graham

I would suggest giving "What Car" a try as well. 0845 741 3554 I was quoted over

Thanks for the comments. Rubbing strips (Black) being added this morning along with front mudflaps (

Phil, I may be interested in the Alpines, Which model are they ?? Thanks Graham

I Picked up the all white car this afternoon, To say I am chuffed is a major understament. The car looks totally different, even the sales staff who were very sceptical agree that if they had removed the decals they would have sold it ages ago (for more money) & not have to keep reducing it to sell it on. I do however, feel sorry for the 3 mechanics who spent most of the day with a hairdrier in hand removing the decals. they have done a great job (I think a case of Stella is deserved here). I will post some pics tomorrow to show how it looks. Graham :lol:

I feel vindicated after reading the Feb/March issue of Rally XS where Monsieur Auriol's new car seems to be the colour scheme I am going with. (with no Decals) Regarding the alloys, I am only interested in 17" ones as am going to see how it looks first. Thanks Graham.

"[i:60b6dc1aa7]Naff, Naff, Naff. Bandit, what are you thinking about, be one of a kind, don't listen to the crowd. Stand proud. Keep the decals. cos decals rule[/i:60b6dc1aa7]" Excuse Me !!! :roll: Thank you for the valid point of view, However, I understood unique as being one of a kind (not 1 of 100). Personal taste is just that - Personal, I personally think it will look better without, but I will be the first to admit it if I am wrong (& the first to fork out a couple of Grand for new decals). Thanks for the honest feedback though. Any other thoughts anyone ??? (I can take it) Graham

Thanks for the positive comments !!! I agree that the car looks good, I just could not live with it like that day in, day out. The decals are definitely factory fit as they have been very well fitted but are starting to show small signs of shrinking etc. Part of the deal with the garage is that they remove the stickers, paint the rear door handles white & generally make sure that the paintwork looks as it should when the decals are removed. When they have finished it will be plain white with the green stripe on the bumpers, I think it will look good, but time will tell. Now about those white alloys.................... :oops: Photos will be here when its done Graham.

Thanks for the info - Pics on the way. It is Number 71. Thanks

Just done a deal to buy the Demo RS Rally from Gordon Lamb Chesterfield. Drove this one back 2 back with a black VRS, the sales guys are not sure about the engine spec but the white one definately felt more responsive & willing to go. Picking it up on Friday when they have had a chance to check it over etc. I would post a pic, but I have tried without success.

My Local dealer has a WRC listed at a good price. I think I could tolerate the white but not the decals, anyone know if these are removable ? (no balls of fire please). Also what are the differences between the VRS & WRC ? Cheers