Kaj

I've just fitted e-bay festoon type LED No plate bulbs which were advertised as Canbus free but surprise surprise they brought the dash warning light. However I fitted a set of 5W resistors from www.autoledshop.com which need to be soldered in parallel across the bulb holder terminations. They are well insulated and took me about 1/2 hr to remove and reinstall. They work perfectly now and for a total cost of around £13! I've no photos yet as it has been ****ing of rain everyday for weeks on end!

Try www.7dayshop.com. Good prices and excellent service. I've bought a few SD cards for my Nikon.

My vRS will be 3yr old in June and I was thinking of an 'upgrade' to the MKIII but the increased price and horrendous build and delivery times are not making it very attractive. I've still to actually see a MK III vRS on the road or in the dealer. They only have a demonstrator estate vRS for £20K which doesn't even look like a vRS with the boggin silver plain wheels. Could be change of marque I think.

The more photos I see of the new model the more I think - wheels look too skinny and ride height is way too high. The rear lights and the badges look cheap and I think my 2011 FL model looks like a better car! The new interior is a bit more upmarket but the seats let it down. May just be me but maybe it's the Emperors new clothes. Maybe the new coupe will be better next year.

Quick question - can you put a cherished No plate on a PCP car (which is effectively a lease deal)? I was thinking of changing my current vRS next year when it's 3 yr old but the huge price increase and waiting time is not making it very attractive. At £25K it's getting a very expensive car and there's lots more out there in this price range.

I had a 4300K kit fitted to my 2011 vRS but heard of a few people being pulled and prosecuted by our gestapo, so I reluctantly removed them. It's also now part of the MOT check so they are clamping down on these. Anyone had experience of this? The lights were a vast improvement over the poor std ones and I was never flashed by oncoming traffic once, but sadly I don't want the fine (and points?) that could result.

I was disappointed to read EVO magazines review of the MKIII vRS as they claimed the suspension ride was flawed and no difference from the sport mode from standard. I'll reserve judgement till I get the chance to drive one. I also own a 2002 Impreza STi and I felt that Subaru went down the same track, the facelift models and 'improvements' were disappointing and I never saw the newer versions as something I would change mine for. Needless to say it all ended up with the hideous hatch version and utlimately the death of the market for it in the UK. You always like to think that new models are better but unfortunately it's not always the case. I think the new MKIII vRS is overpriced and as previously mentioned the reason for buying a Skoda was the excellent VFM. I hope they haven't lost sight of this. I can't understand why they launched the estate version first and the one sitting in my local dealer (Race Blue with boggo silver standard wheels) doesn't stand out as the top of the range flagship. I think it looked pretty mundane and the badges let it down big style. However the hatch in the TV ad with the black/silver alloys does look much better. I hope better deals come on the market as I wouldn't rush out to trade my MKII FL in for one at the moment.

I've spoken to Skoda UK and that was what they were saying, no hatches till Jan 014. Absolute joke. They launch a new model and then expect customers to wait 5-6 on getting one. The result is people will go elsewhere. Garages are littered with cars and money talks. Combined with a price increase I'm sorry to see Skoda going down this route. It would have made sense to build hatches before estate models. Can't see the logic there.

On the subject of seat material, that was the very first thing that struck me when looking at the new vRS. The ribbed material didn't look hard wearing at all. Much prefer the ones in my current FL model. The round Skoda badges on the front & rear also look cheap and nasty. They let the whole image of a quality car down. I don't want to go 2 steps forward and 3 back with the new model (and more expensive into the bargain). Little things but disappointing.

Think of what it will look like after a British winter. Black looks fantastic in the showroom but shows up every mark and blemish when it sees a bit of service. My first vRS was race blue and similarly stone chips and scratches are quite easy to see. For that reason I got my next car in Candy White as it's the best colour to touch in and polish. White looks great when kept clean but white is the new silver and every other car on the road now seems to be white. Personally I would stick to a base colour as these are probably easier to match in the event that some damage needs a panel to be painted.

I've been told by SUK that vRS hatches will not hit UK shores till Jan 2014. Why did they build the estate model first?? I wouldn't rush in to ordering one just yet.

I bought my vRS Octavia from DTD and they had 2 Skoda dealers lined up, one in B'ham and Rainworth Skoda in Nottingham where I got it. I had to trade my 2006 model in eventually but they still accomodated the DTD price and also provided cheap finance through Skoda. The new model is too new yet to get decent discounts, maybe next year before things starts moving.

Grizzle, If I wanted a debate on the legalities of HID's I would have asked for that. I did however ask if anyone had experienced similar problems getting this kit to work on FL Octavia's, so if you can't offer anything on this please keep your comments on another topic. Cheers

Wish people would stop buying these things, your blinding other road users. [Tell that to all the idiots who drive in winter mornings with NO lights on. I can guarantee to see them everyday. They obviously don't look at their dashboards. I have HID's in my Scooby and never been flashed once so there's not much of an argument.]

"That is the only set all of us at the SCN forums could get to work properly. About 5-10 people all have them working perfectly now." Called them this morning and this is the Kit they've recommended so I'll return mine back. A bit annoying having stripped out the headlights twice and fitted and removed ballast units. They did say they have the same Canbus Pro kit fitted on a Leon and 2010 Fabia VRS with no problems. They are confident this Terminator kit will work.

OK, did you have a similar non-working problem before you ran in a separate earth?

What model year is your car Alberg?

I stripped them back out so I'll contact the supplier tomorrow. I read several posts about Canbus kits damaging the controller but I went for this more expensive kit as it stated that they were canbus friendly. One bulb worked at the weekend which is strange as none are coming on now. They are simply plug and play but the separate chassis ground of the earth wire may be worth trying but I'll speak to them first. I was just trying to find out if anyone had experienced similar problems on this model year with DRL's etc.

Yes, I'm a time served aircraft elec technician!

I know there are several topics on HID's but I just bought a set of Canbus Pro from HIDSDIRECT. Fitted them at the weekend and only one light worked. I thought this was probably a duff bulb and swapped the light unit over and plugged in to prove the ballast units were OK. I received another bulb kit and re-installed the whole kit tonight. Now they both don't work at all when plugged into the light units but proved the kit is OK when tested from the battery supply only. The original bulbs are now back in and everything is OK. I checked there is 12v at the original bulb holder so can't understand why they are not working. My car is 2011 vRS. Has anybody had similar problems on this FL model?

On my second vRS TSi Every time I pass an Audi driver it puts a kind of smug smile on my face as I know I'm driving a better car! Performance Build quality Reliability Styling Driving experience Value for money. Happy driver's indeed.

It has partial dealer history and I've changed the oil myself using Halfords VW/Audi longlife spec oil. It has had the ABS module changed which was a £1500 job that Skoda UK kindly met 2/3rd of the cost. MPG figures are depending on how you drive! Urban is low 30's but on a motorway journey you can be in the high 30's. Remember it is 200bhp with a turbo so it's not too bad. Car drives perfectly and I've ordered a new one so that's the testimony to how good I rate it.

No takers yet so I'm open to any decent offers. If you are looking for a good vRS with the right bits and in excellent condition then you won't be disappointed.

Price reduced to £7495 if anyone's interested give me a call.

Get yourself a Halfrauds trade card or borrow one, good discounts on all service parts. They do the VW/Audi/Skoda spec oil. Light green/blue container which is about £33 is memory serves me right.