Ranger

Considered a 280 L&K before I bought my Kodi, got as far as a drive in it and I was sold on it, but I was doing more miles in those days and made the mistake of doing the sums and realised how much more I’d be spending on fuel. Next stop was the diesel Kodi! L&K will likely be a better spec’, unless the SL has lots of options, but up to you at the end of the day.

Congratulations on hunting down what is a very desirable and increasingly rare car. I only had oil burning Superb II but the V6 was the one our local coppers used as unmarked traffic duties, to great effect. My Superb was the favourite of all my Skodas and a contender for the best car I’d ever owned, best of luck with yours and hope you get as much from yours as I had from mine.

Worth asking your local timber yard (as opposed to merchants) most timber offcuts are usually mill waste that’s untreated. It’s not usually treated until it’s in standard stock cuts.

My Kodiaq had a similar trait when I acquired it with just under 30k on it and after mentioning it to the dealer when in for service, they said they’d check the software status. On collection they’d updated it but it made little difference. Only after the mechatronic failed and was replaced did it improve but 16000 miles later, it’s as bad as ever. Beginning to think that it’s an early sign of impending mechatronics failure!

“Poke n hope” diagnostics aren’t something that should be associated with any main dealer, I think I’d be talking first to the service manager and then to Skoda UK but ultimately you might find the cause a lot quicker using an independent transmission specialist.

My experience of both brands puts Audi well ahead of the Skoda dealers in terms of service and in most cases, the quality of the work that’s been undertaken. Both the Audi dealers I’ve used were much more proactive and thorough in their inspections, granted it gave them an opportunity to upsell on things that didn’t need doing immediately, but they we’re always open and never pushy. Whilst that used to be the case with the Skoda dealer I’ve used for the past 13 years, I now get the impression that they couldn’t give a toss. Bookings have to be made at least a month and often more in advance, preventative maintenance isn’t something that even exists in their technicians manual (except when they try and sell you replacement wipers at £62 a pair when they’d been replaced less than 48hrs prior!), warranty work is something they seem to try and avoid, and the one that really niggles is communication is dreadful, radio silence seems to be the policy and I’m forever having to call for progress updates when a car is in or to confirm a booking. The only upside I suppose is their rates are lower than Audi but there’s not a lot in it now, they’ve recently upped the diagnostic charge from £70 to £120

Has anyone recently sold a black Octavia estate, high miler and 2007 registered, likely sold in July? Acquired such a car a few weeks ago and would be interested to know more of its history, its been well maintained and given the miles it’s covered, is in exceptional condition. Any initial response via this thread or PM me if you prefer.

The Haldex controls the power transmitted to the rear wheels, effectively its the heart of the 4x4 system. If it’s an approved car, it should be fine but look for Haldex service record in the history, it’s not part of the standard minor and major service plan. IIRC it’s due at 40k or 7 years, it’s not too expensive (£149 I think my last one was) but it’s essential to keep the Haldex working effectively. Also if it’s an auto, look for DSG service details, that’s at 40k on older cars and 80K on newer ones.

Sorry for being late back to this, you’re absolutely correct, L&K is still showing so no idea why I couldn’t see it when I looked a few weeks back. Sadly the Kodiaq L&K is no more though, that’s fallen foul of the rationalization of models ahead of the new one and quite possibly Superb will go the same way at some point, so buy now while you can, especially the 280 which is a fabulous car and this will almost certainly be the last of the line for a straight petrol version. Ironically having talked myself into another Kodi to replace the troublesome incumbent, I can’t actually buy one!

Depending on the model, you might struggle to order exactly what you’re after. As noted above, the new generation Superb is due early next year and to smooth the production change, the range has already been rationalised and certain models (inc L&K I believe) are no longer available to order. They’ve been deleted from the online configuration as a result, which also applies to Carwow. Your best bet is to talk to a few dealers and see if any of them have cars on order which might be far enough out in the production plan to allow them to amend specs. I do have to wish you the best of luck with that, I was in a similar position when considering a new Kodiaq L&K a few months ago and none of the dealers I spoke to had anything in the pipeline and none had any plans to register new demos, presumably wanting to sell their limited supply of new ahead of the new model. Unsurprisingly, all were keen to sell new stock, off the shelf, and most were pushing cars that were a completely different spec to what I was after, but none would acknowledge the impending model change, even when I showed some the images and stories on the internet!

Sorry to hear that the parts haven’t attracted much interest, I was musing over the market for these cars recently and though I’m in no doubt that the Favorit/ Felicia is being viewed as a classic, the pure economics of it have yet to kick into play and they’re not being seen as a viable or attractive proposition by the enthusiasts yet. The prices that are being sought by some sellers are equivalent to Fords and VWs of similar vintage, when the demand for those far exceeds that for the Skoda. Is an average Felicia (very average and in need of some TLC) worth the same as an Escort LX in tidy condition? The two were on the market in the spring, Escort a 98, Felicia 97, both £1800 and from the pics, the Ford was in better condition No doubt the Skoda sellers are playing the “rarity” card but for anyone at that end of the classic market, maybe looking for their first one, a Ford is going to look a better bet and will always have greater demand but the perceived value of Favorit and Felicia doesn’t seem to reflect the current demand, and consequently the need for parts. For the record, the Escort sold within a couple of weeks and the Skoda was still for sale in early July which perhaps says it all.

Everything is relative and the price to change will have risen, but not hugely. Those disadvantaged most are the ones buying who have nothing to sell. Have been keeping an eye on the auction and classi sites for the past six months and I’d say prices are falling slowly, I guess as new supply ramps up so the impact slowly trickles down to the bottom but prices are still very erratic and any car in good running order with a full test will start at about £1200 and the smaller the car, the higher the price. Compared to other cars of various marques I looked at, I’m content with the Octi which given its totally original condition, with a bit of fettling might make a sound future classic. Just need to track down the holy grail of a good driver door card!

Deed is done and my dogs are now the proud owners of a 2007 Octavia estate with over 200,000 miles under its belt, hopefully this will keep the miles off the Kodi until it goes. The car seems sound, goes for a new test on Monday so comes with 12months. No sign it’s one owner from new was a cabbie, the back seats are firm and unmarked, drivers seat has bolsters intact though all would benefit from the leather treating, and the boot is spotless. Time will tell but the 140PD engine sounds sweet and the car rides well so maybe 300k isn’t out of order 🤞!

As a Skoda owner for well over a decade, but with an unreliable Kodiaq the latest in the line and which has done its best to try and ensure it’ll be the last, my next purchase won’t be another Skoda, or will it? I’ve long had a soft spot for the Mk1 and 2 Octavia’s and One thing I’ve decided is that I’m going to buy a runaround to keep the local miles off the replacement for the Kodiaq, and reduce the punishment the dogs give it every day. Having scoured the small ads for what £1500 buys, I’ve come across a tidy looking 2006 Octavia estate, 2.0 Tdi 140 that’s had one owner and dealer serviced up to 2021 with independent since. Cam belt and water pump replaced late last year and body appears to be very tidy. Downside is 223,000 miles and some minor electrical niggles - parking sensors, rear wiper and a radio that switches itself off at will. Does this sound a sensible buy or is there a better way to continuing in Skoda ownership for £1500?

My 2018my Kodiaq has started leaking water into the front footwell and whilst it’s had warranty work done on the heater recently, I’m pretty sure this one is down to a blocked sunroof drain. Ive had a brief look at it but rain’s stopped play on that, however I’m struggling to locate where the drain holes are in the front corners to try and clear them. Can anyone point me in the direction of where exactly they are?

Had an interesting discussion with a salesman in a Skoda dealer about towing limits and nose weights over the weekend, I think he thought I was bonkers when I called initially and insisted on him checking the VIN plate on the 2022MY car he was selling to establish if it was 2000 0r 2300kg. Even when I called in to see it when I was passing, he was most insistent that they were all the same until I showed him the 2300kg on mine, to all intents and purposes an identical car to the one he was selling, but nearly four years older. I'd be intrigued to know if there's been any mechanical changes, even with careful packing to balance the weight, my 2018 is a bit twitchy with our twin axle caravan, particularly in crosswinds, and I'd like something that's a bit more planted on the road so news of what the differences might be could convince me that another Kodi is a worthwhile option. Much though I love the car, its been a troublesome child and with indifferent dealers seemingly little interested in putting things right, another one isn't top of the list at the minute, but I'm struggling to find anything that's likely to be a better towcar.

Been a while since there’s been any feedback on this dealer, does anyone have any recent experience of them?

Does anyone know if the Mechatronics programming is in any way linked to the ignition key programming? Had the mechatronics unit on my 2018 Kodiaq replaced last November and a couple of weeks back I tried using the second key for the first time since last summer, and found it not activating anything. Replaced the battery twice, swapped the batteries with the good key which still works,but nothing at all from the second key. Bizarrely, if both keys are in the car at the same time, it comes up as “key not detected”. Open the door, lean out so the duff key is three feet outside and hey presto, the good key (which is still in the car) is recognised and the car starts! The good key is the one which was with the car when it was in for the mechatronics unit to be replaced so could have been reprogrammed if this was required, and would explain why the second key is behaving so strangely.

Nice one, is it available in beige? 😉

Congratulations and enjoy, they’re a great all rounder. Best of luck with it.

The 190TSI should be fine pulling the van but you will see a difference in performance and need to adjust the driving style, the torque is less and you’ll need to keep it in the power band to get the best from it so you might find yourself using the paddle shifters more often. I’d a 1.4TSI Karoq as a loan car a few months back and it was lively enough, but the difference in torque was clearly noticeable, on hills in particular, and whilst the 2.0TSI would be much better, I’d suspect the lack of “grunt” would still make it harder work than the 2.0 diesel. The biggest difference will be in economy, my 190 diesel averages 25-27 towing, I wonder if the 190 petrol would even hit double figures 😉

I fear that is absolutely correct, though reliability of this one isn’t its strong point, the car is great and I do love it but the dealer support is the opposite, it can’t be any worse! Having had engagement with four Skoda dealers on various matters with this car, the conclusion is they rank as worse, worse, worse and worst!

undoubtedly the greatest threat to Skoda is Skoda themselves. My first was 13 years ago and the customer experience was a revelation, dealers who were interested, honest and had a real “ can do” approach. The cars were well built, reliable and durable, OK not perfect, but were excellent value. My faith in VW group product was derived from 60k miles a year for nearly 20 years, during which the VW, Audi and Skoda cars stood up to the punishment far better than the Vauxhall, Volvo and BMW models we ran. We’re now faced with unsound engineering, substandard materials and above all, an attitude from dealers and Skoda customer service that is very much “can’t do”. My current Kodiaq has been troublesome, I could live with that, but an expectation of the dealer network that they’d be willing to resolve issues is hopelessly misplaced and after more than 20years of almost continuous VW group ownership, this will be the last. The need for something with at least 2000kg towing capacity limits choice of Japanese product so something Korean is now on the cards.

Should have concluded this posting, the car was repaired on Nov 11th, unit was replaced and DSG service carried out at the same time. Since then its driven like a new car with much slicker changes and quieter, which might suggest that there had been a problem looming for a while but I'd just not noticed it. Not quite the end of the story, the fan motor failed at New Year and with the earliest diagnostic appointment I could get being over a month away, I called the roadside assistance in the hope it might be something simple but it wasn't and he referred it the dealer! After some "discussion", an appointment was found later that week which confirmed the roadside diagnosis and a new fan motor was ordered (2 weeks) and the car booked in (5 weeks!). With a car that's pretty much useless with no demisters in a wet Jan, I've now decided that this is the final nail and after 21 years continuous VW/ Audi/ Skoda ownership in the family, I'm off to find something with better aftercare service, anyone got any suggestions?!

The dealer has said it’s perfectly in order to drive it, it’s had a software update which might help it stop dropping into emergency mode (it hasn’t) and there’s a new unit on order but awaiting confirmation of delivery, anywhere between four and twelve weeks. My concern is whether it’s doing damage elsewhere in the gearbox, it’s certainly noisier than it was and it’s holding gears longer before changing up, which is hammering the fuel consumption, average of 43-45 is now sub-40mpg. When it drops into emergency mode, there’s a momentary loss of drive which is unnerving if it happens when accelerating, particularly overtaking! Awaiting a further conversation with the dealer on Monday which might confirm a delivery date for the parts.