James@RRG_Skoda_Rochdale

I'd like to think that a great deal of research was conducted over the entire span of the country to find an average price to charge for service work throughout the dealer network 🤷🏼‍♂️ Obviously parts are supplied at a preferential rate to dealers and they are typically bound by the conditions of the fixed price servicing scheme should they sign up to it. The information they give on their own UK based website doesn't correlate with what their service sheets populate when they're printed off from their own internal dealer portal 🙄 That said we have adapted what we do and how we do it. We offer everything on the fixed price scheme and extras. For instance the filter basket cleaning on a haldex oil change - not part of the actual operation according to the manual but we will carry out the task for an additional small fee to cover the extra labour and parts cost of the seals. Regarding the actual service schedule of oil change then oil change and inspection at pretty much every dealership you have a free vehicle health check carried out with any job that has a labour line created. Even if you only book in for an oil change service your vehicle will most likely be subjected to some form of tyre, brake and suspension check over with a report provided thereafter.

And a pleasure it was too. We don't always get it right but we do always try our best 🙂

The start stop display can be a great indicator of unusual behaviour. It might be worth having a look at it the next time you're out and about.

Our newly opened Audi dealer is £60 an hour plus VAT dearer than we are and charges double what we do for service work, for the same job 🤯

Was it replaced under warranty? Does your start/stop system work correctly?

I'm afraid not. I'm firmly rooted in Manchester and just pop on here every once in a while to see how things are progressing.

The vast majority of the time an independent will be cheaper than a dealer, I've seen some instances where that isn't the case. The argument might point towards quality of workmanship, "an independent garage might produce a higher standard of work" you might say. I've seen stark levels of incompetence and terribly bad practice performed by private garages, then again I've seen things go on in dealers that have made my **** boil. The best technicians I've had the pleasure of working with over the years have all been from a dealer background, it's the people who don't let the corporate crap turn them into a droid, who don't believe in bonus schemes and time save incentives. They just do the job correctly and often suffer financially as a result. At the end of the day, in 2020 a decent vehicle repairer is difficult to come by. Even more difficult to come by is your hard-earned cash. If you value the virtual skoda service book stamp and a strong fighting point for brand support should you suffer a serious issue outside the warranty period then the dealer is for you. Give them a call and have a chat with them. You might just get through to a real person who's happy to price match another garage or to knock a few quid off to win your custom? Or a good independent might be your preferred choice. There's some excellent garages out there that generally give a damn and have their own plus points for choosing them. Sadly I have no choice but to maintain my own fleet 🤦🏻‍♂️🤣

Lego is the champion's choice 👌

Factory fit reverse cameras will generally be highline with their own control module element and interaction with the Can Bus network.

Personally, I'd highly recommend OBDeleven with the pro license. I use it professionally on a daily basis, dead user friendly, it cost's less than £100, works on your phone or tablet, will do pretty much everything you need it to and more and there are no restrictions for use. I had VCDS for over 10 years then when the V2 dongle came along with a £500 price tag I defected and I've never looked back.

Why was the alternator replaced?

Just to confirm: there is 100% no torque converter in the DQ381 gearboxes, they are very wet in there though 😄 You might find that over time it will change and adjust slightly to your driving style. I find on some that there's no real "go between" with the gearing. 1-4 are really short then 5-7 are really long. Accidentally drop from 5th at 2000rpm around 60mph to find 4th almost has you red-linning 🤦🏻‍♂️

Slave cylinders have been plastic on VWG cars for years, nothing new there. When they start to fail they usually begin to weep into the bell housing and attract clutch dust. On most VWG cars fitted with a full sized undertray the brake fluid that leaks out is caught and subsequently soaked up by the sound proofing element so it's difficult to actually detect. The best way to test it is to pressurise the system and operate the clutch pedal continuously then examine the underside of the gearbox. You might find a small drip. I've not seen them fail on the regular at all. I've done the first one for a long time earlier this week funnily enough. I deal with all VWG brand cars on a regular basis.

If you want a brutally honest opinion then I'd save your money and not bother with a cone filter for the TDI engine. It will yield little if any performance gains on a diesel and probably cause heat soak which could negatively impact performance. From what I've encountered in the past the biggest restriction on the MQB intake system is the front intake behind the grille. For the money and the possibility of 'some' minor gains you'd be better off with the diesel version of the "pikey r600" mod consisting of: -snow grill removed from the air box -decent panel filter -intake blanking plate -modified intake panel (holes dremelled out) If you're purely after the intake noise then a cone filter might provide you with just that. I'd have a look at darkside developments website. FYI on my TDI I've been down the route of: Panel filter Cone filter Pikey r600 The pikey r600 is the one that I've stuck with.

There are others on this site that have had substantial contributions offered under goodwill for the repair of DSG gearboxes recently. You'll have to take it to the dealer for that sort of repair though.

It sounds like the old "parts darts" have been thrown a few times... A new box from Skoda isn't much more than that.

Spot on the money.

Obdeleven will carry out those changes providing your vehicle is compatible. I believe the deactivation of start stop (usually by voltage method) no longer works on late 2018 vehicles.

That's not necessarily unique to dealerships it's just more prominent and direct.

You more than likely need a new switch.

Pm me your reg or chassis and I'll find out which gearbox it has.

Yep 🙋 You'll need: Fronts. Calipers, carriers, back plates, discs and pads off an octavia VRS, S3, Leon Cupra, golf R. Some brake fluid. You need to have 18" wheels on the car and an 18" space saver. They are a bolt on upgrade, look better behind the wheels and stop on a sixpence. Don't waste your money upgrading the rears, they contribute very little to overall braking.

Yes you can attach an aftermarket antenna. You'll get a fault code but DAB will work.

What brand are they? Do you have a front and rear?

It tends to be the GPS element of the dash cam that interferes with DAB. the use of certain dash cams or the routing of the cables can have a negative input on the DAB function. As above - try using DAB with the dash cam disconnected. If the dash cam or it's wiring is the culprit then fit a ferrite filter block to the wiring near the camera to see if it helps.