Everything posted by Rory
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Dealership Offers
He may not have got £6.5K off without the p/x though. What are the current broker prices on Karoq SEL? I got a good price through Boundless (using Griffin) a couple of years ago but I would have had to collect the car from Aldershot (I'm in Chester). Bearing in mind I've had several issues on collection with new cars, I really don't fancy buying one at any great distance. I was surprised the dealer we p/x'd our Tiguan to for £11.500 put it up for £12,995. I enquired about changing the Karoq (bought at 16mths old) for a new one as we had some issues with it initially and they seemed to want £10K across it. based on what they had 2yr old ones up for. Ours is due for first MOT in a couple of weeks and I emailed the sales guy we got it off to see if we could have a chat while I'm in - I got a read receipt for the email in 10 mins but he hasn't replied, so I assume they're not that bothered about trying to sell new ones.
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Nearly 2 years of ownership.
I changed the wipers within days of getting ours - how on earth can they be so bad! The a/c is noisy in hot weather - like there's another fan behind the dash, They changed the compressor but by the time they did it the weather had cooled down so it wasn't so noticeable but it's still there. Our Kamiq is silent and so is the Ateca (although the Ateca's compressor did fail too). I had a courtesy Karoq one time and that was noisy too. It's enough that we turn the a/c off if not needed (but run it for a bit most trips). Garage had the car for days trying to find the front suspension noise - turned out to be the strut pistons knocking on the bump stops. There's a TSB that says to grease them but it's coming back again. DSG judders a bit from rest. Car is just generally crashy and rattly. As mentioned earlier, the 18" 50% profile tyres don't help, but the Kamiq is also on 18's at 45% and that drives fine.
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Battery ‘State of Charge’.
Did anyone take them up on their offer? It seems an odd thing to offer when people are collecting their car - what do they do, ask people to come back for a charging session? The SEAT dealer we use recommends a coolant change every 2yrs, and their booking staff get miffed if you say no.
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Recomendations for Breakdown cover.
RAC is legendary awful. We've used the AA a few times and it's worked OK - daughter called Skoda Assist (AA came) a few weeks ago after a puncture on the motorway. She was right by a junction so got off and they came, changed the wheel (I'd got a spare as an accessory) and she was only 30 mins late into work.
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Nearly 2 years of ownership.
I don't know really. We usually buy new and keep until some reason to change - the Tiguan was an EU6 diesel and as the All In cover came to end I was bit panicky about what could go wrong. We recently bought an EV for one of our daughters - she does a lot of miles so went for Hyundai Kona mainly due to warranty and that (touch wood) Hyundai seem to have cracked EVs. However my wife (who normally takes no interest in cars whatsoever) was very taken with Volvo XC/EX40. I don't know if it's the same everywhere, but we see absolutely loads of them around us. Interestingly I'm running that daughter's 2018 SEAT Ateca at the moment. It was made in the Karoq factory and is, of course, effectively the same car as Karoq. It's a 1 litre manual and it's nudging 90K miles but it drives really nicely - it feels more planted on the road, yet is somehow more complaint on poor surfaces. It's on 17" wheels vs Karoq's 18's, but the difference in feel is more marked than that would suggest.
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Nearly 2 years of ownership.
We got ours (wife's really) at just over a year old and it's just coming up to its first MOT. Had a number of issues with it, and just as disappointing has been the dealer, a local family owned place that everyone thinks is marvellous but they must have taken a dislike to me. Latest thing is them flatly denying the MOT is covered by the Approved Used package. I emailed the salesguy - I got a read receipt but he hasn't bothered replying. Contrast that to the late mk1 Tiguan wife had from new until 8yrs old and was looked after by a small VW dealer who were pretty marvellous. Would have had a mk2 Tiguan but wife thought it was too big!
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MPG not what it used to be
This happened to a car we had a few yrs ago - it was pretty well only used for a decent commute and it became noticeable that whereas it used to go a week between fill-ups every Saturday it was suddenly getting a day earlier each week. I spent some time on it, and so did the dealer. Never did get to the bottom of it.
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Approved used - "free" MOT?
Hmm...well I did take a PCP to get the package and the deposit contribution, but then withdrew. I've withdrawn before on new VW Group cars, but the sales guy suggested it this time. He assured me the package would remain unaffected, however I see there's a note right at the foot of that page: "4. Two free MOTs (if due) available at participating Škoda Retailers. MOT certificate must be presented when paying for your MOT. Valid for Solutions Personal Contract Plan customers only." So I wonder of you have to keep the PCP going and they send you a voucher at MOT time?
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Approved used - "free" MOT?
Yet more hassle with our dealer - just booked car for its first MOT and I'm certain that the Approved Package it was sold with included 2 services, 2yrs warranty, 2yrs breakdown, and 2 MOTs. Dealer flatly denied the MOT was included and asked if I had any paperwork to show it was included. I recall asking for this at the time and being told not to worry about it, it's all online. Of course all that's online is the service package (and that shows 2 services unused, even though I've used one). Anyone else been through this? I know it's not a big deal, but this dealer has an almost revered reputation locally yet I've had too much hassle with both them and the car.
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Ateca vs Karoq comparison
I've just taken over my daughter's 2018 Ateca 1.0 manual SE-L - she's had it from new and done 87,000 miles in it. Just as you say, it feels absolutely rock solid - it even absorbs poor road surfaces in a most remarkably compliant way, yet feels "planted" on the road. Compared to wife's 22, 10K mile Karoq, the difference is remarkable - her's crashes and rattles about all over the place. The Ateca is on 17" CrossClimate tyres, the Karoq on 18" Primacy's, but I can recall collecting the Ateca new when it had Bridgestone tyres (often described as being like iron rings!) and being immediately impressed with it. Can't help on fuel consumption - supposedly some VW Group cars have different throttle mapping which could explain the response, but not really the MPG. I did put super-unleaded in our Karoq once and it seemed to go a bit mental - it became altogether sharper.
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Seat help - new car and seats murder my back
We were given a similar document to the above from work - I think it was done by Loughborough University. However the only way I could get comfortable in the Mercedes C Class I had at the time was to place a rolled up towel just above the base of my back. Never had issues in any other car, and I find our Karoq fine although I've only done one long trip in it.
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Extortionate fees at Skoda dealership
I have a Kona EV on order for one of our daughters - on the SpeakEV forum there are one or two Hyundai fan-boys but most people are very unhappy with both Hyundai and its dealers. I found it harder than it should have been to even the buy the Kona - even our highly regarded local dealer told me several things that were nonsence and they advertised a nearly-new car as having a leather interior (a hefty priced option) when it didn't.
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Extortionate fees at Skoda dealership
Those people don't work for Volkswagen UK (all the brands come under them). They're employed by an American call centre operator, TTEC. Their entire role seems to be to fob people off.
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Extortionate fees at Skoda dealership
The warranty is in addition to your statutory rights. However, things aren't cut and dried with an issue like the one you described, where it's not black and white whether it's a fault or not.
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Extortionate fees at Skoda dealership
Did you buy the car from a Skoda dealer? Has it actually got the kangerooing issue?
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Anyone running on CrossClimate 2 225/50R18 MICHELIN CROSSCLIMATE 2 SUV ?
Blimey - CrossClimate's bad in the wet? I don't think I've ever seen anyone say that before.
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To fold or not to fold - that is the question
The wiring flexing when freezing cold can't be a good thing. I disabled auto-folding on ours, but it's parked out of the way on drive, I suppose it'd be a nuisance to remember if you want them folded in routinely.
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Skoda "All-in-one" Package
I don;t know how much jiggery pokery was involved but we got All In on our Tiguan when it was just coming up to 6yrs old. The car had an exteneded warranty until the day before its 6th birthday which at the time I was being told couldn't be cancelled, and the car had to have an inspection to go on All In (they dropped that after a couple of years). so the dealer booked it in for All In inspection, MOT and service the day before it was 6 and did it all on the All In plan. I wasn't sure it was going to work, but they were completely laid back about it, and it worked fine (at least, as far as I was concerned). Mind you the "additional Items" bill on that service for a/c, brake fluid and haldex weren't far off as much as a service would have cost. I felt obliged to have them as they'd done them all FOC when the car was 3yrs old due to a mix-up and having to go back to get them done.
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Space Saver Wheel - set-up advice
I think the tool is just that - the VW bolt cover remover. They use the same spare wheel kit across mulitple models and it sems to always have that tool. Our Ateca has similar bolt covers to Karoq and that came with the wire tool too, but didn't have the tweezers, so I just bought some off eBay.
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Suspension bushes worn
I suppose they're "slightly worn" the moment the car drives out of the factory. When they tell you stuff like this, you do always feel like you're being softened up for a future hit.
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Anyone running on CrossClimate 2 225/50R18 MICHELIN CROSSCLIMATE 2 SUV ?
I've used All Seasons for years, well before CrossClimates etc came out. Had them on a Merc Estate years ago, used year round they seemed as quiet and long-lived as the Michelin Primacy's they replaced. I now always use CrossClimates on the family cars when replacing - annoys the heck out me that you can't order with All Seasoms from new. Been looking at Volvo XC40 and all the ~12mth old cars I've lookedhave All Season tyres fitted, but slightly later EX40's have summer tyres.
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TPMS
Those weight figures are at 2.5bar. So it doesn't make much sense that that's the normal pressure for Kamiq, and the pressure label on the car suggests even higher for a fully loaded car. Baffling. For the 92 LI tyres, the 630Kg is also at 2.5bar. Karoq label says normal pressure is 2.1bar, which is 550kg. It's a slight oddity with XL tyres, but something to aware of it you replace standard tyres with XL tyres, that their rated load capacity is at 2.9bar. At lower pressures their load capacity is bit lower than standard tyres at the same pressure.
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TPMS
Daughter had to replace one of Kamiq's tyres today, after a puncture yesterday. She came here afterwards and the tyre was at 2.7bar. All the others at 2.2 again. (Label in fuel flap sys 2.5bar (which is 36psi). Car was serviced a week ago so I can only assume the garage set them at 2.2 again. I'd have a word with the garage and they'll say the right things but do absolutely nothing. I also find it stange that Kamiq's spec is 2.5bar, yet our Karoq is 2.1 bar - both on 18" wheels, although Kamiq's tyres are 45 profile and Karoq's are 50.
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Key fob not working - no red light
It's same on Ateca - our daughter became quite adept at doing it - so I assume it's same on Karoq.
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Skoda Australia - 7 year warranty?
Supposedly VW was working on a torque convertor platform gearbox to replace DSG, but they canned the project as EVs got going so wasn't worth it given ICE car production will stop in the not to distant (in car manuafacturing lifetime terms) time. TBH I'm pretty happy with our Karoq - I think the diesel Tiguan we had before would have been much better with a fluid link in its drivetrain. On the warranty front, if you time it right you can get 8yrs using All In. Don't know the rules in Oz. but usually to comply with manufacturers warranty it makes sense to service at franchise dealers to avoid any queries, so using All In makes the warranty effectively free. It's a big issue for me right now looking at EVs - there's no All In for EVs and, while 8yrs is common for batteries, many manufactures limit the rest of the car to 3yrs. Kia do 7yrs and Hyundai do 5. But then there's a dead stop - they don't do extended warranty at all.