Swirly182

It's definitely not manky! Looks great and a bargain at £1500. It may be worth more now... Enjoy and do report back how the mighty 245 does 😎

If 1100kg is the MTPLM (had to google it - maximum technically permissible laden mass) then it should be fine. Always worth checking the nose weight with a bit of wood and the bathroom scales, aim for 75kg.

Just check the weights. The Octavia has a relatively low kerb weight on paper. Yours being DSG will be slightly heavier than mine. How heavy is said manky van?

Thanks all for the suggestions. The loom has been re routed avoiding the recirc flap as said above. All is good 👍

Fantastic tow car. I pull a 1420kg van with ease. No real towing issues. Its got the typical estate car 75kg nose weight and I've had the jockey wheel strike a couple of times when fully loaded. It's stable and more than capable. Fuel consumption increases as expected and I get an indicated 20mpg at 60mph ish. How heavy is your caravan? Mines a manual so can't comment on the DSG. However if I was towing with one I might consider more frequent servicing of it. Looks OK once hitched up. It's only a Skoda estate, not an exotic sport car!

At the moment you're guessing, so obtain some information before making a decision. Have a good look and feel at it. Use a decent torch, take photos to compare or share on here. If it looks degraded - cracking, delamination etc. I would personally be changing it. If it is in good condition, it may be enough to give you confidence to push it out 6 to 12 months or 5k to 10k miles?? It's still a risk though!

I paid £480 for a tow bar. For bikes I always use Thule roof and bike racks. Just bought an Upride which clamps round the bike's front wheel!

Thank you, I'll pass these suggestions on 👍👍 @SashaGracewhat's the blend door?

This is regarding the plug and play Aliexpress 'MQB-Cam A' reverse camera installed to a family members 2019 vRS DSG. Fortunately mine works great so far! So, the camera and loom was unplugged because of a strange 'clunk' sound when selecting reverse gear. This noise was coming from around the glove box / infotainment unit area and did coincide with fitting the camera. When the camera and loom was unplugged, the noise stopped. First question then, has anybody else experienced this noise with the Aliexpress camera? The camera was working fine when connected, apart from the noise. Now, with the camera disconnected, a park pilot error exists when the infotainment starts up: "the park pilot is currently unavailable". Then when reverse is selected, only the small park pilot image is displayed - the same one when the camera image was displayed. See photo below. When drive is selected, the actual park pilot is displayed, which is clearly an error also. I think initial connection of the camera does some 'coding' as it is plug and play. And now it needs resetting back to how it was prior to initial connection of the camera but, any ideas how? Suggestions would be very much appreciated! Thanks.

By the way, I think it's a 14 day return period for a distant sale. Could be a temporary thing for the current situation though. Anyway we've just made use of it having bought a Tucson that had been smoked in and there was no fuss, just a very easy and straight forward returns process (Car Shop Manchester). Also if you are part exchanging, don't change ownership of it until you know you are keeping the new one! I'm learning from that mistake now...

I didn't even consider cooling upgrades when getting the tow bar installed. I rang round several independent tow bar installers and none mentioned them. I didn't bother with Skoda though! The 2L TSI does remarkably well, granted having 245bhp helps, but I've no doubt the 190bhp will be just as capable most of the time. Mines a bit thirsty with the van behind but, like you, we only tow a few times a year so doesn't actually matter.

Does it have to be the 1.6? Do you know of the 2L cars need upgrades? They're brilliant tow cars, it would be a shame.

According to the attached the 1.6 TDI 5 speed manual has a 1500kg limit at 12% incline and a 1800kg limit at 8%. You're 400kg off the lowest value at your caravans MTPLM. Who else could validate the cooling and gearbox upgrades needed? An alternative, because you're way off the max weights, could be to change the gearbox oil more frequently. And accept the fact the clutch will be wearing faster whilst towing. I do, as my van is 1420kg max laden. I've also had to start from a standstill on a 16% incline 😳

How heavy is the caravan?

My previous comment hasn't really done it justice, because the difference is significant. It's changed the sound output from dogs*** to a decently acceptable standard setup in my opinion! The rears seem to have too much mid range, no clarity, no bass etc. I'd love to say I understand the measurements you provided a link to... But I don't!

Jesus, what did you tell them you'd be pulling? I've heard of cooling system upgrades but not gearbox work / upgrades as well. £3200 seems high to me! Different engine/gearbox admittedly but my Westfalia cost £450 fitted and I tow a 6 berth caravan...

If it's the same as the VW systems, you need an activation key that is only available from the dealer. They would also enable it. Having said that, we tried this with our VW Beetle and the dealer said the enabling had failed and couldn't be done with this particular head unit. Even though it has the right buttons and 'App Connect' in the menu!

That doesn't look like normal wear and tear... Do you think sun cream or similar has caused it? - I see you're in Australia

So having followed this thread, I tried fading out the rear speakers this morning on the way to work. I'm no audio expert but it now doesn't sound as bad as it did! It's a standard 2018 Amundsen set up. Interested in the surround coding mentioned earlier now... Thanks all for the advice.

Correct they aren't comparable - I knew exactly how my 'used' car had been driven, maintained, looked after etc. This beats any dealer perk, whatever these are. Mine still had/has warranty and breakdown assistance.

Thanks. But I don't need to because my phone automatically updates. 😁

Yes. The car's sat nav will go out of date. Google Maps or Waze won't. Spotify is nice to use on the car's screen also.

Will give that a go! Thanks.

Also the Passat R Line and Superb Sportline estates with the 2L TSI 272 engine. Not 'too' expensive either. Makes you wonder why Audi decided to put the 3L TDI in the latest S4 and S6.