br1anuk

Oh right. When I’d read about car handovers and returning your car early on the pistonheads thread “Best lease deals” it all seems to go so smoothly. When I rang VWFS they said they wanted 55% of the final lease payments to end the contract hire lease early as long as there was less than six months to go, I agreed and paid them with my debit card and they said someone from British Car Auctions would call me the next day to arrange collection within 3 days of the ending of the contract. Four days go by and Ive heard nothing from them so called the number they gave me for BCA. When I spoke to them I was gobsmacked when the woman said “we’re really busy and won’t be able to collect it for a month!!! But feel free to carry on using it”. Two things, firstly it was very close to flashing up service required and secondly I’d paid the deposit on my new car and they wanted me to collect it within a week at the latest also I wasn’t prepared to take out another insurance policy to cover their car that they couldn’t collect in time, when I told the lady this she said “could I call the nearest Skoda dealer and ask if it was alright to leave it with them, THEN ring THEM back to tell them where they’d be able to collect it from”. I did this and two weeks later I got an email off them saying your contract is coming to an end in a couple of months and to start looking for a new car and get ready to hand the old one back, I rang them up straight away and told them I’d dropped it off at Alex Laurie they said they had no record of me calling them to arrange collection and they’d never collected the car! I dropped the car off about six weeks ago and Ive still not had a letter from VWFS to confirm the cancellation and safe return off the car. Sorry about the duplicate post but I felt I never explained myself properly before. Brian.

I've missed something here. What's this VT thing?

Hi Dave I don't know if you saw my thread about me giving my Octavia Scout back, but that's now gone. I bought a 3 year old Mercedes E350cdi estate with 30,000 miles on it from Mercedes Liverpool. Very happy with it so far although it's only averaging 33mpg. I picked up your older sister (Karen?) this morning from BMW and she mentioned you were thinking of leaving the Skoda brand. Just read your other thread regards handing the car back early....what a pain. Beds told me it'd be picked up in three days then BCA called and said it'd be a month. Oh and you've got to keep it insured!!!! I told them were to shove it.....they said leave it at the dealer then.....then sent me an email asking where the car was after I'd told them I'd dropped it off.

A final update from me on the Scout, its been returned to VWFS and what a great car it was. Not one thing went wrong over the 18,000 miles, the tyres weren't even half worn and it averaged 47mpg. If anyones reading this and they're in two minds about buying one, don't worry they're a fantastic piece of kit. I was going to lease a Superb estate to replace it, but Ive ended up buying this time. Goodbye for now. Brian Hope you're well Dave.

If anyone spots a fantastic PCH lease deal on a Scout please post it on here as ours goes back in April and I wouldn't say no to another one. Similar deals are now available on Golf GTD estates, but id rather have the safety of the 4X4 than the extra power of the GTD. If anyones interested I rang VW finance regards extending the lease for another 12 months and they quoted me £260 per month up from £204 per month with a £60 admin fee??? Brian.

I saw my first Skoda Sportline estate today in white near to Sutton and Bold......WOW it looked fantastic in the flesh.

Quick update on our Scout, we've had the car for 18 months now and its done 16,000 miles and not missed a beat. Great car that I'd highly recommend to anyone looking for a family sized estate that feels safe in any weather conditions. Its averaged 46 mpg but thats mostly commuting, it'll do just under 60mpg on a run, regards the tyres they're hardly worn at all front or back. Brian.

We’ve had our Scout for 7 months now and its just coming up to 9,000 miles. The car has been fantastic, safe, reliable and economical returning about 48mpg with a high of 62mpg on a run from Liverpool up to Hartlepool at around 65 to 70mph. The colour has grown on us but I’d have liked it a bit darker. You don’t see many on the road but a solid red one passed us yesterday and it looked fab. We’ve had to switch off the lane assist as it was driving us crazy and the stereo doesn’t like to be turned up to “11” it seems to turn itself back down. When the cruise control is on it reads exactly 2mph over actual speed. The one thing that does have me paranoid though is that the mileage is clocking up faster on this car more than any other car we’ve owned in the last 10 years, even though its being used exactly the same way. We always average 10,000 miles per year and our last car was sold after 3 years and 7 months with 36,000 miles on the clock whereas this one has done 9,000 after only 7 months. I’m, putting my tinfoil hat on now. I wouldn’t have thought anything about this except since the emissions scandal at VW etc are VW lease cars clocking up mileage more quickly than they should????? Feel free to flame me, but surely 6 months ago everyone thought that VW diesel engines only emitted Fairy Farts.

How to spot an unmarked police car? No dealer stickers in rear window. No dealer stamp on number plates. Always have Goodyear tyres fitted. Usually dark colours. Usually high performance, but low spec wheels. Usually sit low at the back, because of all the "gear" in the boot. Usually have two burly blokes in. Usually have lots of car park dings in doors from careless drivers. Usually.........

When I fitted the towbar to my 2015 octavia scout I had to get access to the n/s rear wheel arch. It is possible to do with a little patience , but I was surprised at how little sound proofing there was and very poor quality compared to our previous car a Volvo XC70 2012. If you do get this job done I think it would make a massive difference. Brian.

If its on PCH, then I think options are a waste of money because you pay for them in full over the 2 years and the finance company gives you £0.00 back for them at the end of the term. If I’d have buying it to keep for 5 years I would have chosen the chrome window trim surround for about £170 as its lifts the look of the side of the car, but the spare wheel is definetly a no brainer. Brian.

Forgot to add, as far as I am now aware the Skoda tow bar prep is:- Add all necessary fuses to fuse box. Extend cables from fuse box to rear of the car. (Not rear enough for my liking!) Cut a hole in the rear bumper. Brian.

Scout Towbar update. I ordered my Scout with tow bar prep, £175. Westphalia detachable tow bar from PF Jones, £175. Westphalia electrics from PF Jones, £90. VCDS enable courtesy of faboka vrs. Its all up and running and as far as I’m aware its all the same as factory. If I have to do it again I would order the tow bar from PF Jones and get a tow bar electrician to wire up the electrics through a can bus thingy, I’m sure this would be fine if you just need lights on a trailer. Brian.

Thanks to John faboka vrs, I now have a fully functioning tow bar. Thanks for all your help John it was really appreciated.

Right I can't get to the box because it's buried behind the trim, but here's the details from the box it came from. Westfalia automotive. 305 407 300 107 E-Anlage Audi A3 ab MY15 MIT Vorber Is that any good?