dieselV6

I think the real problem is availability of couriers to the UK from Czechia. My bet is that the vendor tried to book shipping at previous prices they used and got the same "surprise" as you did, then they got back to you. I have used skoda-parts before, and until brexit they were very good, also with shipping large items. After brexit, the delivery charges have increased, but I did not have problems. Then again, I did not order very heavy items lately, though I did order quite a few window seals and door trim parts to fix my Octavia's high speed wind noise issues (the car got a brick through driver side window at some point before I bought it). Still, for anything that is a Skoda-specific genuine part , not too heavy and the only alternatve is a UK dealer, the saving is often in excess of 40% so shipping charges cancel out after literally 3-4 parts, and I found their part listings quite good. On top of that, many Skoda accessories and gadgets are available in Czechia but certainly not or after 1month+ wait in the UK, and for these I have used either skoda-parts.com or a friendly deaer in Pilzen (notably to get black and narrow alloys for my car, but I drove through Czechia to pick them up). In summary, YMMV.

The voltage drop at the boot 12v socket is quite high when operating a coolbox, so you need battery protector that kicks in at a lot lower voltage than 11.6v, more like 11V. Basically, with engine off and coolbox connected do not be surprised if you already have 11.5V there with an 7A coolbox. For continuously operating coolbox taking constant current, best would be battery protector that switches off at 11V and does not come back on until voltage recovers to 12.2V or so.

If it is not something obvious in the engine bay (visible radiator or hose leaks) or cabin (coolant smell), then it could be head gasket. Early stages of head gasket leak into coolant manifest themselves in similar way, level is OK or even high after a drive because exhaust gases are pushing it up, then after things cool down, coolant level goes down plus coolant leaks slowly into the cold engine. In later stages, even accelerating e.g. to join a motorway can boil the coolant out of the bottle. I guess on newer cars a similar leak could also occur in EGR cooler, though exhaust pressures are much lower there. I had this with Mk1 Octavia diesel after dealer workshop failed to fill in the engine head fully with coolant following the timing belt job. Check coolant for contamination, if it is not entirely pink/violet but has definite yellowish or oily residue, time to visit workshop. Later on, if you notice the coolant needle moving anywhere past 90deg C, it is time to visit workshop fast. HTH

As I am about to head for Europe after 7 months forced break, I already see tests and Eurotunnel availability as primary concern dwarfing any usual road readiness concerns. After 19th July, assuming you are 2 weeks after 2nd vaccination and have proof of it, you still need a PCR or antigen test (£40 "Fit to Fly" ones work, free NHS ones don't) to enter Eurotunnel. Then some countries at least officially still ban UK transit, the Netherlands being one of them, theoretical fine of EUR95 for entering Netherlands without registration for any length of time, and also theoretical quarantine for UK arrivals for any length of time. Compare to Belgium where you do not even need test so long as you leave the country within 12hrs. France, Belgium and Germany are OK for UK car travel, check others if you need to. You also need antigen or PCR test at wherever you are prior to your return trip to the UK, and then book and have evidence at the border for another test on day 2 after the trip back to the UK. At least quarantine is now to be gone for fully vaccinated people and Amber list countries. Al in all, these tests will cost you at least £110 in total, £80 in the UK and £30 abroad. These are the supposedly relaxed travel rules - anything but, apart from the usual Eurotunnel, I have to visit 2 nearest airports at departure and destination to do the tests and get the result on the spot. Then, if like me you still have Eurotunnel Frequent Traveller tickets, be prepared for a shock, hardly any weekend departures available, and by weekend I mean Thursday till Sunday morning... No new Frequent Traveller tickets sold, note on the website is they want people to use lots of unspent ones through the lockdown. For someone travelling to/from Europe 15-20 times a year prior to Covid, this is noticeable pain and more than doubling of crossing costs. As for the GB/UK sticker, I keep forgetting to attach it (magnetically) to my vRS for 10+ trips now and so far no one complained, note I keep forgetting because for past 20+ years I have had "GB" in EU stars on the licence plates. I agree with a lot of JR remarks, though as usual, fortune favours the prepared so best to have the sensible bits of equipment in the car.

These graphs completely neglect energy storage. Fossil fuels as well as synthetically made fuels using green electricity have storage and transport costs over magnitude lower than electricity stored in current batteries. For starters, for the same amount of energy stored, you need 40x - 50x heavier storage for electricity in a lithium battery than for kerosene or diesel. 300miles is still not sufficient range for significant percentage of cars, mine included (I need 1500, or 400 under worst of winter/night, with <15min refuel). I think that to completely remove fossil fueled cars, ships and planes, humanity will eventually need to go back to liquid organic fuels, only made using wholly renewable means. Biodiesel from algae, anyone (harvested/processed using offshore wind electricity)? Not a solution for town centres, but certainly for ships and planes.

It could be due to a cracked / broken cable in the rubber conduit going from body to the rear door, quite a few Roomsters had this over the years. Various tailgate functions affected, e.g. 3rd brake light, central locking, heater. Mine lost 3rd brake light, easily fixed by reconnecting and reinsulating the cable.

I have the Scout springs at rear of my 2016 vRS and Bilstein B6 monotubes. Front suspension is stock so far. I find this setup quieter than stock and more comfortable, not to mention increased ground clearance at rear by ~36mm and at front by about 12mm. Basically, more rally than track setup, works much better on country roads as well as motorway. If you have front assist radar in the lower bumper grille, it does require adjustment by about 1/2 turn upwards. Probably even more noise could be removed wih softer shocks. but not sure about handling then. A lot more noise is removed though by putting in acoustic insulation in the spare wheel well, as well as the spare wheel on top of it, plus rubber boot dish on top. Plus a noticeable amount of annoying resonance from tarmac is removed by installing harmonic vibration damper from Audi A3 saloon. It screws into the 2 holes at the rear of the subframe.

DPF delete CAYC won't pass MOT in the UK, at least not in an reputable workshop.

Thanks for correction, but just in case, there are links to Czech Skoda eshop in my previous post, all include part numbers

17" Crystal wheels fit the vRS by design, these are 6.0J x 17" ET48 and take 205/55/R17 tyres, part number 5E0071497E FL8 or 8Z8, you can get them in silver or black, unfortunately in the UK they do not seem to stock them and refuse to supply last time I asked a year ago. I got a full set incl. the spare in Czechia and collected from a dealer there. They come with a new centre cap and fit in the spare wheel well just fine without lifting the boot floor, not to mention providing much better comfort on the road. PS. If you want just 1 of these as a spare for original sized vRS wheels, the tyre size to get is 205/50/R17. But these wheels work well with the 205/55/R17 tyres and this was the intended Skoda size (still used on the Scout), only then you need 4 or 5 of them.

It's not so much owners realizing the benefits of DSG boxes, but the VW Group pushing them into every drivetrain, whether the prospective buyers would like it or not. Try getting a high power diesel with manual gearbox, always an excellent combination for long motorway runs - you can't anymore. Everything 6 cylinder or 4 cylinder and 160bhp+ is DSG only. I used to have a Mk1 V6 6-speed diesel Superb, I frequently did 800 - 1200 mile night trips in under 100 gear changes each, what is the point of a DSG box for this? Not everyone sits in traffic jams... And of course, you only need to change manual gearbox oil perhaps every 100k miles or so, while DSG boxes force much more frequent changes. As for other bits of automation, my 2016 mk3 vRS Octavia confuses contrasting bits of tarmac for lane markings from time to time, as well as the roadworks side barriers from time to time. Lane assist is not reliable enough to keep it on even in very good weather, IMHO. Front assist is even worse, false alerts when overtaking HGVs abroad or here in the UK on a motorway bend, and the sensor can be disabled by a big enough bug splashing on it (at least for a while, until the bug dries out). In my opinion, what is getting released onto the market is a product of wishful thinking and design to pass artificial tests, as opposed to design for things to work in real life using some common sense. Too many bull$hitters and so called visionaries in management, especially ones afraid of driving cars...

Could be the water pump, but the sound could also be due to sploshing by air left in top radiator hose (and the engine head) mixing in with the water. Squeeze top rad hose to check, partly disconnect (on de-pressurised system!) to remove air. Ignoring this frequently leads to a head gasket job some later, as the head overheats.

If it's H7s, these are much better value for money at under £6/pair than the usual quick-wearing, overpriced and under-performing 150%+ / 200%+ lot. More light and much better longevity. Plus it is still possible to make them even brighter without much penalty or effort, especially on newer cars (VCDS voltage adjustment). Downside is you have to wait a while before they arrive.

Quick Google points to defective exhaust gas pressure sensor 1. HTH

4 Skodas in 20 years, high mileage and 2 drivers. Funnily enough, it's the newer Skodas (2012 Roomster and 2016 Mk3 Octy) that eat batteries more, at least 3 or 4 on the Roomster and already 2 on Octy . Perhaps 10 rather than 15, not really counting them

On earlier cars I would open the door with key (either using the door lock or the other remote), turn ignition on and press the remote "open" button continuously for a good while until either locks clicked or windows went down. It would work afterwards. But I only needed to do it once or twice per maybe 10-15 batteries replaced on 4 Skodas, in other cases it would work out of the box after battery change. Perhaps worth checking if the new battery is seated correctly?

17in 6.5J wheels with quiet 215/55/R17 tyres (can be all season eg Cross Climates, or whatever you fancy, just with low noise rating), harmonic balancer on rear subframe, and polyethylene boot tray (the shallow one like here or cheaper on ebay). Also, acoustically damping carpet underlay in the spare wheel well helps too. You can also keep current wheels and see if the harmonic balancer and the boot tray (and possibly carpet underlay) will make things good enough for you.

G12++ or G12evo will protect for longer. If you replace the coolant every 2 years then G13 will do as well. You can mix G12++ and G13 freely. I also recently removed the silicate bag, and I still have 4l+ of G13 concentrate. My compromise solution is to use G12++ mixed with G13 50:50 and then 1 part of this mix with 2 parts water. I still am going to do a part flush of 2l / per year or so. My preference would be 25% G12++ : 25% G13 : 50% H2O but it seems my 184bhp diesel vRS is cooling limited when on autobahn and above 130mph - oil temperature creeps up to 115degC after 5-10min or so. More water in coolant seems to give extra 2-3deg C headroom. I looked at fitting an additional oil cooler, but decided it's too much hassle.

Ask around for best price, my first car was a Honda Civic 1.6 ESI (950kg, 125bhp or so), and my first quote was more than purchase price of the car... reduced in half as soon as I contacted a different insurance company that previously sold me bicycle insurance for a couple years... Failing that, get a slower car (and much lower insurance group).

Nothing in the UK MOT checks about LEDs in foglights, sidelights or control lights (turn/brake etc). Headlamps are another matter, light source type mismatch is an immediate MOT fail. However, you can get much better lamps with much more focused LED strip on Aliexpress, for about 1/3rd to 1/2 price shown. Examples I ordered in the past.

I replaced the coolant tank on my vRS for the current, bagless version a month ago, the silica bag was intact in the old double walled one, but I did notice that there is only a single seam sealing the bag at each end, and the seam did look tired or perhaps not very well made at one corner. The whole bag idea would probably have worked very well with double seam, but I bet this stood in the way of profit... Another annoying tidbit is that the coolant cap costs as much as the coolant tank at Skoda, I guess I could have reused the old cap but why charge so much for it? G12++ from now on... after I run out of G13 that is, until then 50% mix G12++ / G13 mixed with water 35:65 and partly flushed every couple years to keep water pump happy and the oil cool enough on autobahn runs.

Decent all season tyres (M+S / 3PK logos and A or B rated for wet braking ) are much better in heavy downpour than summer ones, from experience both Michelin Cross Climate and Bridgestone Weather Control are also very good on snow/slush ice, winter tyres as sold in the UK really are better only on smooth sheet ice. Or in deep snow, but then we are talking winter snow soft rubber tyres, not really sold in the UK much. I like the Cross Climates because they are quiet and last a long time, a lot of noisy all season tyres with high wear rate around (e.g. Goodyear Vectors).

On a 2012 Roomster, 195/60/R15 is OK and much better road comfort, 195/65/R15 likely to cause problems at rear due to fender clearances, probably still OK with clean tyres, but problems with mud/gravel at full load etc I use 195/60/R15, also full sized spare wheel same as the rest on the car fits in the spare wheel well . 50k+ miles incl autobahn runs at full speed. Speedo is almost exact with 195/60/R15. I'm using all weather tyres, either Michelin Cross Climate or Bridgestone Weather Control.

Best to get vacuum operated oil pump like Sealey TP69 or similar. Selection of pickup tubes, and quite reliable, I've been doing oil, coolant, fuel filter and brake fluid changes on 2 household cars for over 10 years and it still works fine. Currently, Roomster has topside oil filter so oil change takes under 20min including the filter. Octavia has filter underneath so another half hour just to do the filter, still easier than full change from below. But the pump is immensely useful for brake and coolant fluid changes/flushes, power steering fluid change in the Roomster every few years and some more. Definitely worth having, despite higher cost. Note this was discussed before, it is better to get the "tallboy" pump like TP69 than ball type like Pela, because you can operate TP69 single-handed e.g. for vacuuming oil out of filter housing, while Pela dismantles itself if you try to operate it one handed. I've had both Pela and TP69, TP69 wins on convenience in use and longevity/reliability.

Skodas used to be fully galvanized (sadly no longer the case), so not much corrosion protection needed on the body, perhaps that's why no one answers.... Other parts do need protection (exhaust, lower ends of shock absorbers, various bolts etc.). I always start with zinc or zinc-alu primer then either nothing at all, clear lacquer, or matching paint, depending on the area. Galvanic protection works best IMHO.