little_bey

I don't think it's possible to build the perfect car with no faults occuring over the years you own and drive it. What's important is the response to problems that your dealership, or Skoda Customer Service give you. We have all heard what has happened to Mercedes customer service - or lack of it. I was worried a bit about a problem that didn't seem to want to be fixed despite the best effort of Elmise Garage in Beckenham - bit they finally got it sorted. On my second Skoda - and thinking my next will be too. I was orginally looking at VW, Ford and Audi until one of my son's friends suggested Skoda. I read up on it, text drove one and haven' looked back.

I originally had a Fabia vRS and was offered a great trade up to an Octy vRS. Still like the Fab but the Octy is such a good all rounder for space, comfort (perhaps not over speed humps), performance and economy. I have also tested Skoda customer service to quite stringent limits and, although had an unsatisfactory experience with one dealership, had a very favourable experience with my local one.

Only time I had dpf problem was when I had a problem which kicked in 'creep home mode' - otherwise it has been OK. If it does happen, it just needs a motorway blast to clear it.

I run my Diesel Octy vRS on Shell. I sometimes fill up with the V-power variant. Wouldn't know how this compares with other brands, apart from noticing no smoke at all (unlike my previous Fabia vRS which left a plume when booted.

Elmside Skoda helped me with a tricky problem on my Octy diesel vRS. Everything pointed to a faulty ECU but in fact it turned out to be a fauly connector between the labda probe and ECU. Two other garages couldn't be bothered but Elmside took a long time and many visits to crack it in the end.

Just had to listen to customer service and dealer servicing department say my latest Octy vrs diesel problems are due to driving in conjested traffic. What actually happened is the engine management system is acting up and putting the car into 'creep' mode, causing the DPF to clog up. I do 250 miles per week mainly fast motorway. Until the EMS fault, never had a problem with the DPF, using mainly v-power diesel.

Didn't think I would say this but - no, I wouldn't risk another Skoda after my experience : a Mk II VRS diesel from new last year (56plate). Problem 1, massive oil leak a month from new; problem 2, tyre pressure sensor acting up; problem 3, engine mangement system intermittent failure, seen by 2 dealers now with no result and 4, probably result of 3, blocked particulate filter (not covered by warranty and not told when I bought it with three years free servicing). Skoda UK seems to have lost it. UPDATE: Now gone into THIRD Skoda dealership who say they will have to keep it for a while since it has 'quite a few faults'. I am now using an Oyster Card to get around. Regretting trading in my 05 Furby vRS which was no trouble at all. UPDATE: Got car back from dealership who said they had 'cured' it's problems. They suspected faulty ECU software and reloaded the engine management programme. Car lasted a few days before developing the same fault. This is, on ignition, the coil light does not go out but flashes, putting the car into 'creep home mode'. Phoned Skoda Customer Care and the dealership. Won't bore you with the details but response was basically, 'we have to wait 'til the area technician is back'. That was over 2 weeks ago. I tried a couple of no brainer 'tricks'. Switch on ignition - fault appears - drive for 5 mins or so - switch off engine - lock car - unlock car - switch on ignition - coil light goes out and ECU seems to be reset. I know a bit about processors and software but not a lot about mechanics. Seems to me the problem MAY have to do with charge leakage from the battery which affects coil on startup which, in turn, affects ECU which applies engine damping. Anyone with any such similar problems. Now car is OK on starting each time, with no engine management light or coil light on. Still waiting to hear from Dealership or Customer Care.

Had my unmodified Octy vRS TDI for 7 months now and no real problems apart form a faulty allen nut which meant loosing oil engine oil. On the way back from a mountain climb in my native Scotland I 'accidentally' booted it into a rally jump on a bend. Not only did the Octy stay level but when it eventually met the tarmac executed a perfectly tight (on the right side of the road) turn. Think it might benefit from the better grade Shell fuel.

Disagree that people buying Skodas don't expect much so are easily satisfied - hence the high survey results. The cars are intrinically well built, reliable and value for money. Most high volume products will have some minor, fix-able problems. The problem is our bloody British 'couldn't care less' attitude to aftersales. I found, what I thought to be an excellent Skoda dealership only to find that they were light on the return calls when my car developed a problem (now fixed). I went right off VW when I started driving after experiencing their awful post sale attitude and never went back. Let's hope I don't have to abandon Skoda as well.

Had a problem with my brand new Octy RS leaking considerable quality of oil. Diagnosed by Preston Motors as a faulty allen nut/key in the oil sump/rail and successfully fixed by them.

And be careful about Tesco Insurance too. My cousin heavily crashed her new Honda Jazz, which should normally be written off (cars under 6 months to a year old are usually written off when repairs are serious AND they are being paid for under finance). Tesco insurance have failed to follow this route and offered her a courtesy car for a limited period whilst her car is in the garage for up to six weeks!

As I have said on another thread, just swapped my Fabia vRS for an Octy vRS diesel with no regrets - both from new. Diesel engines take a while to settle in and start to sing after a few thousand miles. Best not to push to under 2-3K miles. Was up against a friend's Elise last Sunday which was all whine and tyre smoke. He did manage to get a pace on me (I had a bigger passenger load) but still beat him to the finish by taking a quicker route. The PD170 seems much quieter, both on tickover and on the move than the PD130. I noticed that the Fab's idle was around 1000prm, whilst the Octy is a bit under. The Octy cruises at 2krpm for 70mph - at 2.2Krpm the Fab was a bit above this. The Octy is a more refined car than the Fab and looks much better. I guess it is down to budget for buying and running and whether you want a bigger car. As far as the FSI is concerned, yes the engine is quicker on paper, but sometimes it pays to have a slightly slower car and think more about driving style and anticipation.

Been down a slightly different route. I swapped my Fabia vRS for an Octy vRS diesel. Taking a bit to get used to the differences - the Octy is much more refined than the Fabia but also a bigger lump to handle. Still running in engine so feels a bit slower with a bit more turbo lag. 600 miles so far on M6/M1 have sold this as a terrific motorway cruiser.

Def got the Skoda habit cos I bought another. This time an Octy vRS (diesel) from Simpsons of Colne (again). Might be a recommendation in here somewhere.

Had my Fabia vRS 20K service done at Preston, Forest Gate and found them helpful, efficent (they didn't misplace my service record like a previous dealer) and friendly. Recommend and will use again.