[Yahoo Test Drive - Hot Hatches, 3rd place Octavia vRS mark II]

But if I were buying:

1) Focus

2) Octavia

3) Golf

Because the Foucs is the cheapest and in 5 door is not much smaller than the Octavia. the Golf is overpriced' date=' as is the Astra VXR.[/quote']

Interesting - the Focus ST is

[vRS and DSG.]

Ive owned a 2.0tdi for about a year now and have just switched to the vrs. I have to say I love the vrs.

Do you mind me asking: How much did you sell the TDI for? How much mileage, etc. Was it DSG? Any good source for UK spec Octy IIs? Irish dealers seem to be allergic to Leather.

I rang about that 1.9DSG Gaff, it sold yesterday, but the price seemed nuts - more than new?

[vRS and DSG.]

Thanks folks. Looks like a test drive of both is in order.

[vRS and DSG.]

Hello all - sorry if this has been covered already.

Is the Mk 2 Octavia vRS available with DSG in the UK or Ireland? Also, is it available with full leather? Am considering upgrading my 6 y.o. Mk 1 Combi to a Mk 2. Torn between 2.0TDI and vRS - has anyone owned both?

vRSs seem to be very attractive to thieves here in Ireland (I've heard of 3 stolen in the last year) and according to the Skoda website they are not available with DSG. The 2.0TDI with DSG might suit me better, but that 200bhp figure keeps calling me back.

I would love a 2.0 TDI Combi with DSG and 4wd in L&K trim, but obviously that's way too close to Audi's products for VAG to allow Skoda to make it.... :thumbdwn:

[Disabling airbags?? Help]

Still curious why baby has to go in the front?

I have the same issue as the OP. When my wife is travelling alone with the child, she'll prefer to have the child a glance away rather than over her shoulder.

There's two schools of thought about whether the front or back is the safer place in an impact. I'm inclined to think that the front is (in a rear facing seat).

Bummer about this being a dealer thing. Can the detonating charge be removed altogether? Alfa/Fiat have a key on the side of the dash to disable the passenger side for this very reason. I think the MkII Octy does too.

[Dogs]

I use the rubber textured matt in my Mk 1 Octy Estate - I wouldn't recommend it as any water will still find it's way underneath and rot out the board in the boot floor. The plastic dish looks the business.

Do they do plastic walls for the boot as well? Mine looks like mohair now

[Drool]

More pictures at:

http://dealerads.eforecourt.com/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=226706

[high level brake light bulb replacement]

I had an octy Vrs they use the same LED's if you pushed in a little lever type thing on the both sides of the brake light cover with a small screwdriver you can remove it You can then replace the LED's one by one... Might be the same on the Estate! Hope this Helps

Thanks AG - is your car an vRS estate?

[Electric Mirrors]

I bet you were glad to see that cable disconnected

Indeed I was - now if only I could figure out the rear brake light.

[high level brake light bulb replacement]

The parts lists shows 16 replaceable bulbs (LEDs?) for the Hatch additional brake light but not for the Combi. The latter unit costs

[high level brake light bulb replacement]

Folks

One of the bulbs in the high-level brake light on my 2000 Octy estate is gone.

After a brief RTFM, it says to visit a

[Electric Mirrors]

Found the problem - the cable that connects the RHS mirror was disconnected - it's behind the door trim, but if you remove the tweeter and look down you can see it.

[rip off ireland]

Can't you just buy a UK car? I'm living in Belgium, and if a car was (that much) cheaper in the netherlands or France, I would not doubt 2 seconds about buying it there, and even driving with a dutch/french licence plate if possible/necessary :-)

I'd love to, but I would have to pay the VRT on import to Ireland on any car less than 30 years old. I cannot insure a car in Ireland on foreign plates.

Mainland europe is much less restrictive about what you can and cannot import between countries than Ireland [even though we were a founding member of the EC :(] and imposes no import taxes, only VAT.

[rip off ireland]

Maybe YOU should lobby, you'd be surprised how effective some well thought out campaigning can be...

I agree, and I would certainly subscribe/contribute to any organisation that chose to fight the government on this. However for me to set up such an organisation would require a level of knowledge and capital that I just don't have. The AA here are a glorified insurance company (not an industry reknowned for being on the consumer's side) and the SIMI represent dealers, not consumers.

Anywhoo, this is verging off topic - My point was how lucky you UK buyers are.

[rip off ireland]

Erm , whats VRT?

Vehicle registration tax - an illegal surcharge on all new cars sold in Ireland applied by the Irish government when the EU made them remove excise duty on new car imports in the early 80s. The EU have told them to remove it, our government stalls with appeals, petitions and lobbying.

They charge VAT @21% on top of the VRT so that they can double whammy you, charging tax on their original tax. In this way, up to 60% of a new car's list price can go to our beloved government.

It has nothing to do with independance, I'm afraid. It has everything to do with our lack of an active motoring lobby.

[rip off ireland]

I know it's all about the level of VRT we put on cars here, but the difference in the list prices and trim levels is astonishing.

Take a New Octavia 1.9tdi Combi in elegance trim for example

Ireland -

[Irish Servicing costs!?!?]

Sod it, here's the history that I have paper work for

55000 -

[Irish Servicing costs!?!?]

:eek:

D'ya think that was too much?

This is the bill:

Water Pump 53.50

Toothbelt 30.59

Roller 54.74

Oil 23.88

Oil Filter 6.35

Air filter 12.39

Coolant 13.94

Screen Wash 1.90

Parts: 197.29

Waste charge 5.00

Labour 202.50

Total 404.79

Vat 54.65

Total 459.44

I think that's OK - they had the car for the day, and I'd say there was easily 5 hours work in it.

[Electric Mirrors]

I'm sorry, I mustn't have been very clear. It worked fine about 2 weeks ago, and for almost 5 years before then.

I cannot get the driver's mirror to move on the switch, regardless of the switch's position.

[HOPE]Are the mirrors on separate fuses? [/HOPE]

[Electric Mirrors]

Folks,

I recently noticed that my driver's electric door mirror is not working. The switch defaults to adjusting both, and with a twist adjusting the passenger side. In my case both settings on the switch adjust just the passenger side.

There's been no damage to the mirror, so I reckon it could be the switch - if it was "stuck" pointing to the passenger side only I would get these symptoms.

Anybody else experienced these issues, or have a suggestion for repair/diagnosis?

I'm reluctant to go to a garage as few of them are up to the job of electrics, and I reckon I can have a crack at it. The car is a 2000 Octavia Combi.

Cheers

[Irish Servicing costs!?!?]

Just to close this off, my 55000 mile service, timing belt and reconditioned water pump cost

[Irish Servicing costs!?!?]

I've seen it around. Always had a soft spot for the Goddess. and also for a SM Maserati that I used to see @ shows here.

BTW your car looks fantastic

Cheers - I love it to bits (sometimes literally). The Octy is actually my wife's but it's nice to occasionally drive something younger than 33 years old!

[Irish Servicing costs!?!?]

noooooooooooo! not a french car

Now now, they're not all bad

[Irish Servicing costs!?!?]

Update, that

[How do I remove the passenger door card?]

I used a the genuine skoda stalk and the APR loom. These 2 sites should tell you everything you need to know:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dgace/cruise_control.htm

http://www.golfmk4.co.uk/cruise_control.htm

Cheers - Mine's a 1.6, so it won't work :(