_Steve

here's a useful link for a trade-in value http://vauxhall.co.uk/UVValuation/glassLaunch.jhtml and here's the verdict on the Octy Classic trade in value: Skoda Octavia Classic 1.6 Petrol 5-door Hatchback 5 Speed Manual Front Wheel Drive Year: 2004 54 Mileage: 5,000 Part-exchange Price: Excellent condition:

Waiting for the L&K so i don't need to tick any option boxes :) ....oops - scratch that - i need to add the 17" pegasus wheels, a sunroof, the MP3 & 12 speaker upgrade to the L&K.

you need to call into the skoda dealers and pick up the test reprint they have reprinted from WhatCar. The Octy 2.0TDI PD Elegance was up against: Peugeot 407 2.0HDI S Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi 138 LX Toyota Avensis 2.0 D-4D Vauxhall Vectra 1.9 CDTi LS VW Passat 1.9 TDI 130 S The skoda came top of the bunch with 4/5 overall, followed by the Toyota (4/5) and the Mondeo (4/5) in third, vectra was 4th (4/5) with the 407 rated at 3/5 beating the Passat (3/5) to fifth place. The skoda verdict: For - "Sharp handling, stong engine, high quality cabin, roomy interior and boot" Against - "Rugged engine, curtain airbags and stability control cost extra" Verdict - " New Octavia is classy, good to drive and spacious" The 407 verdict: For - "Bold styling, space for five, comprehensive safety equipment" Against - "Fidgety ride, unrewarding to pilot, awkward driving position" Verdict - "It looks great and has good passenger space and superb safety kit, but the 407's road manners and driving position are disappointing" If you like safety - go 407, if you like driving go Skoda

jjc - were your cars from DM Keith in Leeds? I heard the exact same problem whilst discussing sound systems with the sales chap. He mentioned one car where they were having to upgrade the single slot CD head unit to the 6 disc in dash version, as it meant they didn't need to mess around with the cabling for the boot mounted changer that should have been fitted, but in your case with Sat nav they are going to have to put the changer in the boot.

thanks folks - apologies if i've offended anyone ! its just me being the usual blunt self, and telling everyone what i think about colour and stuff ! - ignore me! the partner site is brilliant - been browsing for a while now, managed to see photos of bits of the car i've not seen in real life yet, like the dog guard, the raised floor, and a picture which shows the difference between the in dash CD changer, and the normal CD player (its only one button! LOL) As for the colours - its down to either black with beige leather, or met red with black leather.

thanks Octy-KUT - the stone grey appears to be light blue to me - i'm fed up of pearl/metallics that flip colours depending on light. My current Golf is "Oceanic Green" which looks great when clean - almost blue, but some days it looks muddy green, muddy grey its like a chamelion I fancy a nice simple colour that remains the same - like Black at least when its dirty you can tell its a black car, just a dirty black car ....but i do need to see the candy red in the flesh to see if it looks anything like the car in the photo.

Apart from the members gallery - i've only found VWVortex's galley for the octy 2 at: http://vortex3.rely.net/gallery/gallery2.php?mode=album&album=/Skoda/Octavia%20II which shows me some nice pictures of the octy in order for me to try and decide on a colour... The following picture has almost persuaded me to go for Flemenco Red as the very well taken shot makes the paint simply jump out at you like Coca-Cola reds you see on Corvettes, and the colour of the Seat Leon II prototype, but i'm sure with a layer of british road grime it will look very flat. Has anyone chosen the red colour for thier Octy? Another colour i'm trying to track down is the Graphite Grey, has anyone got this colour? And is the following pic Grpahite Grey or Stone Grey ?

What i should add is that after sitting in the octavia MkII for the first time i was very very impressed, i've got a MkIV golf at the moment, and the interior of the octy seems to be a progrssion on the MkIV golf, where the golf MkV is a downgrade in interior quality, i'd say the quality is up there with the A4 - its more grown up than the A3 that in my opinion looks like a lupo with its round air vents, and sort of sits against the A4 interior, only in the octy its more modern. I liked the cubby holes - the dash top one is a great use of space, the one near the ignition barrel, the jumbo box with sliding armrest, and the pop down holder for your shades - all very well made, and easy to find - the air vents are quality too - i just love the look of the blades as they are fully closed - its such a simple and well thought out design that skoda have for the vents. The leather seats that were in the showroom elegance (optional) were good looking, and not as hard on my thighs as the sports seats in the A3 - i'm sure i'd be very comfy in the skoda seats. The boot on the hatch was huge, but with a dog to load into there, the sloping rear glass, and high cill, low boot floor wouldn't be the best place for the dog, and so the boot of the estate will provide an ideal home for her! on the elegance model you get a seat altea style 2nd floor in the boot, which as a dog owner is great cos you can stuff the dog blanket/bowls/toys under the false floor when using the car as normal, keeping the main boot area free. - plus the fasle floor is ideal to stuff the laptop under when leaving the car. From outside i was pleased with the shape with the octy2 - the grille and lamps look far better than the new A4 - with the nice big clear glass on the headlamps and the fog lights it looks very twinkly and classy. The 17" wheels really do make the car look a million dollars - next door to this car was a car wearing 15" wheels and the difference was amazing - the 17"'s set the car off perfectly. Just trying to decide if a black magic estate with black roof rails will look like a hearse or not I'd like to go with the cream leather interior, but with a dog, and a hobby of walking - muddy dogs and boots don't mix with cream interiors I've studied the price guide to see if there is a light grey option for the dash lowers (there looks to be one in the photgraphs) but can't work it out ! There is usually a colour range guide that tells you if you order a Green car you get black/grey dash, order a beige car you get black/cream etc etc. - has anyone seen this sort of guide for the Octy?

a decision - must make one soon - my car is due for swap at end of april that gives me ideally 5 or 6 weeks to find a new car ! LOL the leasing co. figures for the L&K are up the spout so can't tell if its in the right price range, and with lease co's its far far better to get a car with all the options fitted as part of the list price, rather than add on........ for

Well the dealer was some help today - managed to dig out the same info that was posted here about the L&K and sport editions He didn't have any pricing details, but luckily the leasing company does (P11D values with met paint): 2.0 TDI L&K Estate DSG

Thanks folks - yes i did mean the L&K (Doh!) Is the MF steering wheel standard with some models then?

Hello folks - after browsing loads of forums looking at alternatives for my next you'll be pleased to hear that from the posts i've read so far this place seems the far more balanced and sensible of the forums To give you an idea of where i've been my next car will be one of the following: Skoda Octavia Elegance 2.0TDI DSG Estate Audi A3 sportback 2.0TDI DSG S-Line Seat Altea 2.0 TDI DSG Volvo V50 2.0 D SE Sport the audi and V50 are very expensive compared to the seat and skoda, and the seat altea is just a bit too MPV family-wagon for my lining (the Leon II looks like a better option, but its not out yet.) So the Octavia estate - looks great, and is really good value, just been trying to get up to speed with the options list and range, but have found mention of a Laurin & Klement Octavia (its on a couple of contract leasing options) but when i visit the skoda website there is no mention of the model, but i think the website is a little out of date especially with regard to the estate versions. Does anyone have any more info on a K&L model ? - i remember the K&L option on the last model was a belting deal, just about every option box ticked as standard, and at the moment my "ideal" skoda is looking like: Elegance 2.0 TDI DSG with: 12 speaker system cd changer/Mp3 in dash Tyre pressure monitor maxi dot heated front seats Pegasus 17" wheels & susp Light assist - i'm trying to find an option for a multi function steering wheel, but can't. so if the K&L model includes the above plus leather and perhaps sat nav, it may be better value for me to buy that version. I'm planning on popping into D&M Keith over the weekend to see what the official line is, but i realise that the knowledge on these forums is far greater than any salesman could give you. another Q on delivery times - is the 2.0 TDI on long lead times like the rest of the VAG group - ie 12 weeks ? or are Skoda factory orders quicker? Thanks in advance for any advice/comments given. Cheers - Steve