OccyVRS

I've got a 2020 vRS with just over 35,000 miles on it. I've had it since May. Getting an alignment done in September, I noticed that the caster on the front right was off. Upon returning from a road trip (I know), I gave the car a thorough clean, and noticed that my wheel arch brush would squeeze betweenthe right tyre and arch, but was a much looser fit on the left. I visited my local alignment specialist and as soon as he loosened the subrame bolts, it popped back into place with a nice twang. Nothing seemed obviously out of place. A full four wheel alignment was then done, with everything now being in spec. I figured it was sorted and got on with my life. Yesterday, when giving the car another (now rare) bath, I found that the same issue with the right front wheel was there, with the wheel appearing slightly pushed back. It's worth noting that the front right wheel has a pretty deep/sharp cut in the rim, however nothing even close to buckled, etc. The car hasn't had any bodywork done - the main dealer went over it with a fine comb (as the car was their replacement for my Leon that turned out to have hidden crash damage!). Any ideas? I'll pop down to the alignment place again this week, but I'm a bit stumped - if everything is in spec, then how can the wheel positon be off? I'm not overly bothered about tyre wear (the way I drive they'll wear down long before any uneven wear) or the handling (it handles fine, really), but more concerned something might be bent and thus weakened...

Ignoring the stupid touch screens, etc, I think the safety features are brilliant. I’m thankful it’s now law to have front assist and I think many lives will be saved by it. But there is a caveat. IMO, too many of these cars try to be too clever for their own good. Stuff like the TSR tech with ACC - I’ve found it absolutely dangerous, reading the 30mph Cobham services sign while I’m in the middle lane doing 70. These cars aren’t Tesla’s, they aren’t smart enough and I think that’s the issue.

I think because everyone is the same! Certainly, no BMW or Merc is any better (in my experience)

Don’t worry - I’ve found everyone else to be very helpful and constructive. A bit of debate/disagreement is healthy, however when it becomes pointless mud slinging, it ceases to be constructive. There’s also nothing wrong with banter or humour, but again, that member failed to master the art of comedy. Frankly, for someone that joined the forum before I was old enough to read, I would hope they’d know better. I also won’t be deterred by someone that signs off with a French greeting 🤣

From memory, if you do this, you also lose ACC/Lane Assist,

Perhaps a controversial opinion, but I think people now have far too much faith in their cars. They’ve never experienced a proper accident or felt the car lose control. Certainly, if they had, they wouldn’t drive the way they do on motorways. The amount of times I’ve seen someone in a crossover tearing down the outside lane at 80 when I’ve only got a few car lengths visibility due to the rain, is insane. There should be something like a mandatory skid pan experience after you’ve passed your test.

Perfect, thank you - I’m new here and didn’t realise this was a thing! Mods deleted his previous nasty comment, but I unfortunately did get to read it on my email. People vote with their feet. I suspect half of this forum have him on ignore and judging by the amount of time he spends on here making friends, most people in his life do the same. Sorry mods, I’m done now, I promise. Everyone on here is lovely, but there’s always one.

Something most people should read… It’s always the knackered 2005 Polo in the outside lane.

Oh, this guy is still going? Deliberate provocation several days later followed by “this is boring now”… It’s such a shame this forum doesn’t have a ‘vote to kick’ function.

I echo this - the various Leons, Ibiza and Arona all drove very differently to each other, despite being the same engine and gearbox combo. I haven’t found them jerky if I’m honest - more so some of them a bit sluggish to get going than others. That Arona, in particular, felt like the Queen Mary when I set off from the lights. The only box I’ve really noticed jerk, is the DQ381 in my vRS! It has been tuned though. Various engines and gearboxes have felt very different to me. I remember having a 1.5 Golf as a courtesy car when someone hit my 1.4 Leon. They couldn’t have felt more different - the 1.5 was awful. Point is, I found the 1.0 Ibiza to feel far more responsive than another 1.0 or 1.5. Shocking to agree with Carefree, but the extra 50nm and 50bhp didn’t do much for me.

Apologies, I should have known better than to challenge you... The article I flicked onto wrote the E-TEC as PHEV. If OP is looking at a Golf then it's likely either the A3, Leon or that. I would suggest the Octavia is almost an alternative to the Passat PHEV. I've never seen a manual PHEV (?) - I was meaning more as a comparison to how the car felt in general! my first reaction to it, if I'm honest, was "how can they ruin a Golf this much?".

I agree, but is it really fair to base stopping distances/liability based on braking performance? If so, then a GT3RS could sit on the bumper of cars, whilst fully laden Transit vans would need several truck lengths!

Just to add to the mix with my experiences - The DSG in my mum's 2022 1.0 Ibiza FR is a cracking little box - it made my buy the DSG vRS. The DSG box in a 2024 1.5 Leon courtesy car was a bit limp (compared not only to the vRS but the little Ibiza too), but nowhere near as bad as the subsequent 2024 1.0 Arona I had. It wouldn't go anywhere, and if another mm of pedal travel was introduced, it would shoot off. Both had the DQ200 you're looking at, with a different tune/setup. I debated long and hard getting a DSG over a manual. I'm quite young and really enjoy a manual - nothing quite like heel toeing an old 350Z whilst diving into a roundabout. Then I drove the Ibiza (first auto I had driven) and was sold. Fast forward eight months of vRS ownership and I don't think I'll ever go back. I've had mine tuned, and it's utterly fantastic. Re 1.0 vs 1.5 - I'd go for the 1.5. The ACT in my 1.4 Leon was brilliant (I still miss that engine), and I think the extra power would be welcome in a Kamiq. That said, if you only drive around town, then the 1.0 should be enough - said Ibiza is very spritely, and both it and the Arona felt absolutely fine on the motorway, even if they weren't winning any races. The only complaint I have is the weird coasting mode. My vRS and the Ibiza only do it in Eco mode, however the Arona did it all the time, which was a bit annoying around town unknowingly building up speed.

They are doing a 1.5 PHEV Fabia. Having driven both a 2023 1.5 Golf and 2024 1.0 Leon FR, go for the SEAT. I will admit, I liked neither and couldn't wait to get back into my vRS, but the Golf was just so numb - I had to check the clutch pedal was attached to the car. Price difference aside, I found the Leon to be a far nicer car to drive and sit in. I also found the SEAT system to be easier to use than the VW (which still to this day made no sense to me). I mean, top left - if I press it, would I get a coffee?!

My girlfriend's Ibiza (2022, 1.0 FR) has slammed on the brakes once or twice for pretty much no reason. She was quite hesitant afterwards to drive the car. I then had a 2023 Golf courtesy car last year, and found it was dangerous - I was driving round a traffic island and it slammed the brakes on. Sure, there was a parked car - ten meters in front... I smacked my face pretty hard on the steering wheel (great job seatbelt), and the Uber behind me touched the bumper. @MikeyMan If Skoda can see how many times I've used launch control, they must be able to see when the braking has kicked in? I also wonder the implications it has for insurance/liability. For instance, if I'm driving on the motorway and the systems kicks in, say due to a crash ahead - what about the car behind me? It's fine if it's Tony in his 2024 330e, but what about Brian in his 2004 Yaris? Even if he brakes before my Octavia's computer does, there's no way he's outbraking my vRS on DS2500's. He'd be liable as he's hit me from behind, but he physically couldn't have stopped...

I would agree with @nta16 and expand your net a bit. A 2017 with 134,000 miles on it for £10,000 is (in my opinion) insane - at least by our market standards. Here and here are two cars, a year younger, for similar money with 1/3 of the miles - from a main dealer with Skoda warranty too. That being said, I've just had a look at Skoda Denmark and tax rates - holy shi* cars are expensive over by you!!! I even looked at buying outside of the country, but the tax, VAT and registration tax are immense. I've also just looked at new prices and seen the price for a 2024 Octavia with about 5k miles on it - 439,000Dkr/£52,000?! That's what we pay here for a 2023 RS4 or a brand new meaty engined A6. With that in mind, perhaps we should alter our advice slightly. I for one knew cars weren't cheap with you, but not that expensive.

If you're downsizing, I would take a look at a Leon FR. You can get a nice DSG 1.8 with 180ish bhp. Not quite a vRS but...

They generally charge about £10-15 for postage. The normal plugs are about £15-20, whilst the sensor one is near £200. You'll want genuine as a friend of mine tried NGK with no luck. From memory, I thought the PSG was on cylinder 3? Can't hurt to check - it'll have some wires on it.

Yep, that was rod knock. In the words of Mat Armstrong - engine very bad. The assumption should always be that you can drive unless something comes up on the dash. If something does, stop immediately - especially if it's temperature or oil related. While unlikely, a decent blown turbo/oil leak does make quite a big fire risk. The EA888.3 is a very reliable engine. It can have therm/pump/PCV issues, as well as a pretty high oil consumption, but generally it's a very good engine. Did Skoda say what happended? From what you've said, it sounds like oil starvation (clogged filter, blocked pickup, lack of regular changes), pump failure, PCV issues or the turbo shi***** itself. Value wise - £4000-5000? Depends if you'll break it or sell it as is.

But yet my car can remember individual mirror settings per key and still can't offer me mirror dip...

You have to have power fold mirrors and have the switch on the left mirror. When it's dipped, the adjustments you make are specific to that mirror, and only when it is dipped. It has a memory. I used to leave my Leon in L all the time. Shame my Octavia doesn't have it - it's a nice feature!

Do you have power mirrors? Is the miror knob in the L position?

SkodaParts.com are really good - I use them frequently.

Thank you @dieselV6, I'll have a look at what I can do on OBD11 (I remember seeing humidity something), otherwise I'll drop my mate with VCDS a visit. I think my car will be alright as I have several silica bags stashed in the rear door pockets/boot/glove box/spare wheel well/under seats, but I do try and keep ti as dry as I can. I do a lot of mountain biking, so having wet muddy gear in the car for the drive home is never nice... The increase in fuel consumption would concern me, but a) this time of year the consumption is crap driving cold around town and b) when the car does get warm on longer journeys, I have A/C on anyway. I tink it's a decent trade off. As the Octavia's compressor is always on anyway, it shouldn't really give me any issues re wear, should it? I really must give Occy a proper run soon - I try my best to take it one junction on the motorway and put my foot down once its warm, but that's not enough. All this constant cold town driving can't be good for the engine.

It's the same principle as a house. You can buy a tired-looking 1930s build that will still be standing long after Venice is underwater, compared to a shiny new build that will be flat before the next century. Ultimately, any car is a money pit, one way or another! The Autocheck thing sounds interesting - will they do private sales too? Regular servicing is important for any cars. With the VAG belt engines, getting the belt done timely is one of the more important things to do, but they require no more servicing than any other car. I will say though, that for £7500 equivalent, you can get a lot lower than 120k miles. Most of what I'm seeing on sites for that money is 2014-2016 with 65-80k on it.