Bazzman

I don't want to start a "mine's older than yours" competetion here, but my 2006 1.9TDi is still on it's original battery. I was concerned last winter that it might let me down but never missed a beat. I think that doing maybe 100 miles each and every weekday does a battery good. Having said that, i don't want to push my luck too far here.

Thanks all for your advice, and I've decided to stick with the staus quo, and keep the car for at least another year. Cheers guys!

more food for thought. Sound like it's edging towards a 1.6 then, or maybe a 2.0 110? Can you chip the 1.6CR?

Thanks all for your replies, a mixed bunch to say the least! Sadly, I'm past the boy racer days, but I do like a bit of ooomph. Only trouble is that as I'm self employed, and business is up and down. I do a fair number of motorway miles, usually with just me on board and so the 1.9 is, I suppose, grudgingly, fast enough (I'd love a vRS!!) but I have to think about the boring stuff, like mpg and VED and all that gonads. In fact I'm quite disappointed in myself for even looking at the 1.6, but sadly, not sure if I have a choice. My 1.9 is fine, needs tyres and so on, so do I spend the money on this or trade up. Seriously don't know...and really appreciating your advice, all of you. Keep it coming! :yes: and thanks again

Hi all My 06 Octavia 1.9TDi has only done 70k miles but I'm wondering if it's time for a newer car. Does anyone have experience of the 1.6 CR engine in the Octy? The 1.9 is a bit agricultural but it's reliable and not bad on fuel. Is the 1.6 a sensible engine for the Octavia, or should I go for a 2.0? I won't be buying new, maybe a year old or so. Cheers all

Today, AA Motors Anlaby Common, Hull replaced my cam-belt with a VAG kit on my 2006 Octavia PD TDi. Got to give praise where it's due, they called me back to tell me what was going on, and to authorise an alternator drive belt as an extra. They supplied a free courtesy car, I only had to replace the fuel I used, and all in all gave me a great experience. Price was more than fair too. So, on this basis, I'd recommend them. I'll certainly use them again So my thanks Andy and the guys at AA Motors. Cheers all Barry

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the 2litre have a 6 speed box and the 1.9 only a 5 speed? So, assuming lower revs on fast A roads and motorways, wouldn't you tend to get better mpg with the 2 litre? Dunno if that helps. Depends what proportion of driving you would do in 6th gear. Not something I think you'd use anywhere except as above Cheers Barry

Thanks all! I think I'll go for the Golf Mk. V manual. And I just did, found one on Flea-Bay! Cheers again. Cheers

This is probably SUCH a silly question :p but I see that Haynes do a Manual for the Octy up to 2004. I know it's a different model, but how much change was bodywork and how much was mechanics? I mean, say the 1.9PD engine, how different is that for <2004 vs >2004? Just a thought, maybe 75% is usable with a early Octy Jaynes book? Cheers All

I bet it's your reversing sensor making the bleep it makes when you put the car into reverse! I always reverse into my parking spot at home, and usually leave the car in gear. So next time I start it up, it makes one loud BLEEP but as I'm (hopefully) no-where near the wall, I don't get the regular bleeping. Did it for me. Cheers Bazzman

If there IS a software/firmware update that sorts this problem, is there an easy way to check if it has been installed? Like, can I check the version number or date somewhere/somehow? Cheers

Mine did this (56 plate 105bhp 39k miles) when I bought this a couple of months back, some days stuttered a lot, others not at all, but recently the yellow check engine light came on. Keith's in Leeds were great, fitted me in really quickly, diagnosed a faulty EGR valve, fitted it and I had a transformed car. No hesitation at all. Now, after maybe 500 miles and 2 weeks, the stutter is back. :thumbdwn: Same as most others here too, on light throttle, very noticeable on motorway cruising. And yes, it's really irritating! Bazzman

I used one of those dent-removal firms a while back on a Golf I had. I had a dent on the edge of the roof, above the doors, looked like a plank had fallen on the car, and also had a dent on the rear wheel-arch. The car was silver so showed up every mark. Guy came to my work in Leeds and did a FABULOUS job! Expected to see a bit of ripple left, especially on the roof dent, but nothing to see at all on the surface, except as has been said, a tiny grommet where he had to drill into the door jamb/frame below the dent to get access. But the hole was maybe 5mm in size and properly filled with a grommet, which was totally covered when the door was closed, and you wouldn't notice anyway as it looked original. The rear wheel arch was fixed by removing the wheel-arch plastic trim an inch or two and he got access from there. Only cost about £60 too. Took maybe 30 minutes! Give them a try. Bazzman

I've got to agree with the previous posters, especially The Plumber. I have had a Mk V Golf for a year, then a Mercedes W203 Estate for 18 months. Now an Octy 1.9PD Elegance. I have to say the Skoda is just the same build quality as the Golf, and maybe even better than the Merc (though the merc was a 2002 model, not renowned for quality of build around that time :thumbdwn:). Certainly, the Skoda vs the Golf: So similar I was amazed, my Golf was a 54 plate, same climate controls, minor controls, switches. And of course the running gear: engine, gearbox, brakes , steering, all the same. I found it great value for money. If you need the badge, well, that's why the VW and Audi are there:D Frankly good luck, if you want the badge, go for it. But for value, the Skoda is a revelation. I'd suggest getting at least an Ambiente trim, Elegance if you can, extra toys, and useful bits too. I've had a lot of cars, some fab, some not so good, (depending on how well my business is going:P at the time), gotta say, real impressed with the Skoda. So far, my feeling is that a great deal of money is saved at the dealers, not with the car itself. Dealers seem to have much cheaper premises (more out-of -the -way places) and obviously spend less on the "fluffy bits", the danish pastries by the coffee machine, the glossy mags, and so on. The cars have impressed me greatly, quality of switches, door trims, hinges, all seem first rate. And I get let out of side turnings more often than when I had the Mercedes! It might be a leap of faith for your colleague, but my opinion: Go For It! You really won't be disappointed. Bazzman

Well, car picked up Saturday, all all sorted! Spare wheel well done properly ( got right underneath, nice job) all the other little issues done. Interesting, the hesitation, stutter, I got on motorways, when accelerating from a steady speed, one of the service guys called me and said that the VAG COM found a glow-plug relay (number 3 cylinder I think he said) was faulty, and needs a new one. I was doubtful about that fixing the stutter, I mean shouldn't that only have an input on cold starts? :confused: - but I have to say the car runs really well now. No hesitation, stutter or anything. As smooth as a vaseline-lined codpiece.:eek: So, all's well now, the dealer was I think embarassed at allowing the car to go out not fully checked, but as we all know, problems, happen, it's how they're dealt with that's important. So here's hoping for many miles of uneventful motoring! Cheers all Bazzman

Thanks all for your advice. The dealer IS working hard to sort this, the car goes in for 3 days from tomorrow (courtesy car offered without any hesitation). I've already done 800 miles odd in the car in the last 6 days and it does drive well, (except for that occasional hesitation/stutter), and tracks straight and true. The dealer offers a 30 day money back guarantee, so I feel OK, I've seen the HPI check and it's clear. The spare wheel well dent looks as though someone backed into a tow-bar, it's very localised, just happened to be on the rear nearside corner (curve) of the well, where there's a seam, that split. I'll check the car very carefully when I pick it up, believe me! Bazzman

Hi all, no, I didn't inspect it on collection, to be fair I was in a bit of a rush for an evening meeting, and I believed them. I know, my fault. The dent in the spare wheel well really isn't a major thing, it just looked as though the previous owner had reversed into a tow-bar on another car or something similar. Boot floor and sides are fine. the real issue was that the dent was on a seam which had split slightly. I really don't think the dealer meant to do this, they were very embarrassed buy the whole business, but what irked me considerably was, when I was trying to report the problem, I was told that their technicians wouldn't have missed it, "every car goes on the ramps as part of the preparation process, and they couldn't miss a dent like that" and I was mistaken. That's really what p***ed me off, big time. :eek: Anyway, all's well that ends. They're taking it in next week and hopefully all should get sorted. They're also looking at an engine "hesitation" or stutter. If I'm driving at a steady speed, then accelerate gently, sometimes, not always, the engine seems to misfire several times, like a stutter, until I accelerate through it. Most noticeable at motorway cruising speeds. I've read here about EGR valve cleaning or maybe an ECU update. Hope it's simple. The service guys do seem on the ball. Hope they are! Cheers

Leehar Maybe so, maybe so. Always good to get both sides of the story: as always, reality lies somewhere between the two points of view. My real gripe isn't that they made some errors, and they did, but that they were so quick to rubbish my version of events, until they saw it for themselves. I do also think that part of the reason they made themselves scarce was embarrassment. Otherwise, I agree with you, people are generally helpful there, maybe I just don't trust salesmen. Bazzman

Hi all Picked up my new (2006) Octy 1.9 TDI Elegance on Tuesday from DM Keith in Leeds. Car looked good, although the inside wasn't that well cleaned but it was OK. Got the car home, and as one of the first things I had to do was a 500 mile two day round trip south beginning the next day, I started putting my bits and bobs around the car. That's when I found that the spare wheel well still had a big dent in it, (something they were going to fix, and I was told had been fixed) and more to the point, the metal seam was still split, I could see the road through the hole. OK, not a life and death moment, but I didn't want to do my 500 mile trip, go back to the garage on Thursday night, only for them to say I should have told them earlier or worse "you sure you didn't back into a low wall?" SO I tried phoning the salesman, told he was busy. Tried the general manager, busy. So I kept phoning, finally got hold of the GM, told him my tale, only for him to say that "my technicians wouldn't have missed that type of damage, you must be mistaken!" So we had a full and frank exchange of ideas. To say the least. Anyway, he noted my concerns, and yesterday afternoon I took it back in. Well, red faces all round from the salesman to the GM, and of course they're sorting it, and a few other issues my trip away highlighted. Once the service manager and bodyshop manager got involved (and THEY seemed great guys) the Gen Manager and salesman just melted way, not a word of apology at all. But really should I be made to feel like an idiot on the phone? <".my technicians wouldn't have missed that type of damage, you're mistaken!"> :thumbdwn: I was so p***ed off I nearly told him to stuff the car, but common sense prevailed. But I really don't call that great customer service. It's the old story, they get your money, and they're onto the next punter. Anyway, did 59mpg on my trip away! Well pleased!!

Got one! See my other post : "Bought my first Skoda. An Octy!" Thanks again for your help and good wishes. This IS a top forum

Wooo! good deal, nice one! I'm obviously shallow and superficial, but I SO enjoy getting a good deal from a car dealer. I'be bought several cars over my time, none new, always a year or more old, and so many times, I got home, and, well, I thought: I've been done over big time. But sometimes you do get a great deal, yours sounds just that! But buying a depreciating asset is never going to be fun, unless like most of us on this forum, you love cars. Then of course, logic goes out the window.:rotz:

Hi Simbo Thanks for your comments, couldn't agree more with many at Keith. One or two were OK though. "fat bloke in jeans wanted to pay by cash & was genuine/not a time waster" You're talking about me! BTW, that snooty sales girl, was she very skinny? If so, she was snooty with me too, didn't want to know and gave me one word answers till the Gen Manager came over and apologised for the salesman I'd booked to see being busy. If it was the same girl, you'd have thought she'd be a liability to a sales firm. Maybe the boss's wife/girlfriend! Sold my original car back to he supplying dealer on Monday, - was an unreliable lemon - so was also a cash buyer, no part-exchange, you'd have thought they'd not let me walk away, or even as the first place i went to did, totally wasted my morning. Keiths did to me the same as you yesterday, made an appointment with me for 1.30, I got there and the sales guy was with a customer. (As it happened, they were buying a new car and were with him for 2 hours. I can see the dilemma, they came in on spec at 1pm, what's a salesman to do?) SO anyway, the general manager, who was a bit arsey the day before (fat bloke in jeans syndrome :confused:) was Mother Theresa yesterday, and after a LOT of haggling, we did the deal. I suppose dealers do have a lot of tyre-kickers, dunno what percentage of people say that they want a car and then don't follow up. Any (anonymous) dealers on the forums want to tell us what they think of car-buyers? Bit risky me thinks Cheers Bazzman

Hi All Thanks to a great deal of advice and more from here, I decided to go for an Octavia Diesel Elegance. After a good bit of to-ing and fro-ing :thumbdwn:, including a visit to a dealer who told me on the phone he had such a car, diesel, elegance, 2006 12k miles, got there next day, 30 miles or so away, and it was a Classic, not Elegance. Not a happy bunny. then tried to sell me two Estates, nice cars, and I think the dealer made a genuine mistake over the phone, but I wanted a hatchback. So, onto DM Keith, Leeds yesterday. Saw a nice car but just a bit too dear, on the road. So haggled for a hour, but walked away. They phoned this morning - we don't want you to be unhappy Sir.. come and see us. So, did so, got a good deal, taxed, serviced, MOT, some remedial work done, Parrot handsfree installed (paying half). So I'm the proud owner - well, will be come early next week - of 2006 Octy 1.9TDi Elegance in Silver. 35k miles. Thanks all for your advice and PMs and ideas. Cheers Bazzman

Makefish, skomaz Thanks again for your help here. This is such a great forum. Bit of a disappointing day really, went out to buy a car if I could, first dealer 30 miles away (on the phone last night, 1.9TDi Elegance 2006, right money, right colour) Got there, it was a Classic! When I said "It's not an Elegance, no reverse sensors" he said, ah, that year the Elegance didn't have them. :thumbdwn: They are full of it! Got past that, and they tried to sell me an Estate. i do think they were genuinely embarrassed and offered me a great deal on a 1.9 Elegance Estate, but I said no. Went to work in Leeds. Left early (self employed!) went to Keith's. Had the car I wanted, but £1000 too much. Offered me £500 off, not a penny more. So, no car yet, and I'm running round in my wife's Civic. Quite like it actually! Anyway, the search continues.....