TonyFoster

Sorry to hear that. That's somewhat unfair. By the way also there is this..... Trading Standards Central - Trading Standards and Consumer Protection information for the UK

Car Sales and Servicing Quick Facts - BERR Well, there's one possibility for anyone who has a problem anyway.

Before you run out and get one, make sure you are HAPPY with your choice of dealership - check the forums with care. You can't go too wrong with the car itself, good choice. It's just the customer service that can be lacking. Read my most recent entry if relevant.

I bought and had my initial service on my current Ferby VRS by Wings of Peterborough. It was serviced around 9.5k. (Its now 15K miles) I complained about the brakes at the time of initial 10K service at Wings- in the words of the invoice it reported "no fault found.." after a Saturday service towards the end of May07. :confused: This is regardless of the fact that the brakes were seeming to bind frequently, although I use the car almost daily although not so much on weekends. However I now took the fault to Progress Bedford, (of course by now I know I do have a fault, it was squeeling coming back from the Isle of Wight and almost "clunking" too). In their terms it was reported as "Found Handbrake had been over tightened". This is around the time I posted the thread on here related to the brake "wierdness", didn't seem to be performing that well.. So the evidence shows in paper that I had complained about a fault that was not rectified at the time. :eek: As the car had only ever been worked on /delivered by Wings I am finding their response to be inadequate. I contacted a "Tony" at Customer services UK, he looked into this ( I had to call him back after several days though) and it was reported they would do nothing, as its not warranty and Peterborough claimed they did no work on the brakes and would not be prepared to settle any money that had to be spent because of their act of ommision! However, I'm £105.08 lighter (even though I was forced to have this work done at the Bedford franchise because of safety - and they seemed to have to charge me since I hadn't serviced the car there). I am now very dissillusioned by Skoda in general - if not for the helpfulness of Progress Bedford in looking into the fault over a lunchtime at short notice. They did not hesitate to locate the problem for me even though it was a little vague in my description. The customer service and friendliness seemed second to none. However, warranty aside (according to that there is no claim in regard to the adjustment of brakes) - the indication would be generally that the car was delivered faulty from day1 - albeit in no fashion that a customer would be able to detect ? :thumbdwn: The car is relatively new being 15k miles down and 56 plate. I'm very unimpressed with the response from Peterborough and I'd never go there again, certainly. (so there's 2 car services they lose at least, not to mention sales). The services manager at Wings was not at all keen to discuss my complaint, wouldn't really listen to what I had to say and couldn't accept that on paper I already have indication of a faulty car setup from day1. Is there no reasonable response from Skoda (UK) in relation to customer issues? :confused: If I was asked, I certainly wouldn't recommend one now - EVEN though I like the car so much until recently. Well I won't mind after the warranty period - Skoda UK might not be doing any work for me when this chance arises, if I can help it.

In regard to the car, keep it definitely. On the factor of servicing at main dealers.....I'd be tempted to get rid, and see it the grass is greener given my experience of *some* (not all) dealerships. However it we are talking about a car that's past its warranty - then the second point no longer applies - and no incentive to have it serviced by Skoda UK, so definitely keep !

Still got the standards. The front outer edge seemed to have worn far more than the inner/centre pattern. I spent the weekend swapping over the fronts to rears, also inspected for damaged to tyres and rims and gave the inner rim a damn good clean !! Got the pressures settled at 35psi on the fronts. Interestingly it seemed to be pulling more to the left and felt light a harder ride at the front, and a bit more difficult to steer than before @ 36psi. I am wondering if the standard work better on some combo of pressure between max load and the standard, I'll keep an eye on it. The rears (now fronts!!) are like new anyway so at least I won't need to worry about tyre changes for a little while longer.

Sorry I have managed to leave myself out this topic been a bit busy. Sorry. Anyway to bring to speed: Took to another garage - (codename "PofB" !!) (not my original Skoda franchise but another closer one I have used before only once without event). It is now at15k. Car was already serviced at 10K by the original franchise (also purchased from them). ("WofP") The new dealer "PofB", have (on paper) admitted (on behalf of the "other" dealers work "WofP") that it turned out to be"incorrectly adjusted brakes (handbrake)" by the original dealer. They also charged me over £100, because they didn't have my original custom/service record on computer apparently. Ok well I am in no position to argue this. They asked Q:"Do you know if its been adjusted"? A: NO! Its only been serviced @ 10K by original dealership ! Not happy with having to shed cash. Trust me its not the end of this matter and I have discussed with Skoda UK cust services but will backup with more factual information. Wasn't too satisfied with the answer of the original franchises service manager "WofP" who had the car, not even a hint towards an apology or prepared to admit any fault even though its on paper. ( Although in a way I can understand his perspecitive commercially, but also it reaffirms my feelings about this particular dealership and won't be in any rush to return - his "back up against the wall" approach wins no favours from me as a put out customer ) However on much better spirits with the other dealership involved, much more friendly, and were keen to find the problem. Likely to get my service and sales in the future. The brakes HAVE improved. Not dramatically I must say, but enough - I can tell the handbrake feels better and the brakes respond all round. Perhaps 20%-30% better ? And no rear brake squeeling anymore! Not sure about the "dipping" of the pedal it may have been subsequently related and I'll keep an eye on it.

Oops the PD130...it really is approaching to the outside of the tyre as mostly the rest of the tyre seems to have quite a lot of tread on hence my concern on burning them out early (even though they are still legal).

I think you may be right about the glazing, but also it may not be the whole story like you say, for piece of mind the dealers is the best bet. To be honest, I have driven the MPi exactly the same way for a very good amount of miles without noticing the brakes, so unless its because the VRS has twice the amount of discs (in favour of the rear drums), I'd be inclined to think its something more specific to the car. (Naturally, you'd believe the VRS in fact would have superior brakes to the MPI 1.4 but I can stop on a dime on those ... and I changed the pads+discs myself on that car fairly recently - Bosch discs, stock EBC pads). Obviously not having done much of a bad job it seems. Performance issues, I can handle with driving with (like the stutter issue)! Bad brakes however just aren't worth risking. It very almost caused me an accident claim, and that just isn't right.

Hi I checked not long back and found my pressures no greater than 30Psi, this seems low and underinflated and I have got it closer to about 35Psi now which seems healthier, and the group concensus seems to follow. However I also spotted uneven tyre wear - I am wondering if the pressure had anything to do with it, thats what I suspect. The wear, strangely is not on the insides, seems to be more like the OUTsides of the tyre closest to the curb. I was even thinking of taking it to be checked and aligned in case the wheels are badly out. I was also playing with idea of moving the (stock) rims + tyres to the back to get the most from them. Not usually done - but at the cost of the tyres and I have only done 14k I'm a little reluctant to chance it and have to shell out over £200 prematurely. I just thought this would help flatten out the tyre tread, and thus get the most out of them. The rears unsurprisingly are like new. Is this a reasonable idea, any comments please ) Thanks

I have really spongey/poor brakes on my PD130 - has anyone else had this? They are far worse than my 1.4MPi - which I fitted front disks for at 50k miles myself ! Only done 14k on my VRS so no excuse for brakes this poor reacting (its like the pedal goes half the travel to the floorpan). It seems as if I am "pumping" up the brakes all the time. Just not reliable in the same way as the MPi and certainly substandard in my expectation. Although in most circumstances it causes no problems with braking, with the "short/sudden" braking required in low distance/low speed proximity its far more important. I feel better to be sure they are looked at and are taking mine to dealers. Anyone else similar experience, I would be interested. It's clear that many have "updated" the disks - but I think I am talking about something far different. Like it needs rebleeding from scratch.....

So its conclusive, you drive like a girl, except on track days where the brisk driving that is known to consume oil begins ) Seriously, I have no right to say that and I sincerely apologise lol, it just popped into my head and I though it was worth a laugh shared :op You can degrade me back if you wish now. You are lucky with the oil consumption, I am hoping that whatever it is, seals or whatever bed in after this service and I am not left having to do more continuous checks on the oil. Makes me wonder where the fine line between normal and faulty in respect to oil seals comes in.

Is there any ramifications of using 507 Castrol Edge 5w 30 to top the engine oil up? Its being drained and replaced for service very, very soon for first service. (per my followup reply to my original post many days ago). Ok now I see there is a sticky and no excuse not to know now ! Silly old me. It was an honest mistake, but I did expect that by consulting a car parts establishment (noting with my service / user manual in tow) that I could have had expected some professional assistance from such a well established brand. It was even checked on computer/micro parts listing, noting it wasn't some spotty oik I was talking to - it was the main service parts appointed staff member. Oh well. Lay it on me, what problems do I face ? Does anyone know ? The car seems to be ok at the moment. Should I drive *very carefully* to have it serviced ? It's supposed to be TDI specified oil but for variable servicing. Heres a question: how come if the vRS is NOT variable, why is it counting my service interval BEFORE 10k miles ? (some 5k before it, actually)

Long(ish) motorways trips by the way (or straight A road, to put it bluntly). And the answer to the briskness, is, well probably "far too briskly" to be honest ) I've been burned by a couple of slightly faster cars though and took the pace down to a more modest level of recently..... I think the new Golf Gti is one car capable of that, but for an extra 10k that's quite a price to pay. I think I'd eventually spend a wee amount on modifications to boost the BHP once its closer to being outside the warranty period, and see how that goes. I am quite turned on to the idea of the chip modifications actually, but lets just stick to basics like the proper engine oil for now eh )

Hi guys I am really sorry I did not reply sooner. My ADSL has been out by sodding exchange problems for several days, yet another thing to worry about, but now sorted. Thankfully I have my service asap so will get the right oil, and will consider getting a little top up oil the same time (of recommended spec!) AND the choice of oil was not my own blunder. I spent a good deal of time getting the advice on it and having it looked up by a parts guy in Halfords, Kettering! In hindsight I can see the error now: it quite clearly indicates VW505 01, plus 505 00 and 507 00 with a) *where a) indicates does not apply for PDi engines. I thought the service manual indicated 507 - although it seemed far from clear, which I why I consulted assistance. I also thought it was flexible service, again stupidly by talking to Halfords. However I myself read this as meaning the PDi, instead of the vRS, which is dumb because of course the vRS obviously must be the PDi. Uh oh. I took the final word under the recommendation of Halfords. It was actually the most expensive stuff, the Castrol Edge 5w 30 I think. Christ now I can get the cheaper stuff ) Any serious implications ? Or just explains why it has been slipping through the engine a bit quicker than I might expect )

Ah thats cool Mine has used probably more like 1.5l or maybe a bit more, But this plus a few other things I found reassures me I am not alone, and that its not a unique "feature" of just my car !!! Damn! Yes I meant rear disks I have no idea why I put drums on the post. I think based on the suggestion you say they can "moo" means that again this might not be just me..... The disks certainly do seem a bit tarnished and don't seem to get a good run in, partly down to my braking habits or lack thereof, due to giving the car a good proper "run" every day with little braking required (the urban cycle is quite low demand in my journey as I do 30miles straight with an avg of probably 90mph - kidding !!). The door opener thing - you know, latch/door puller. By the way be VERY careful with the dismantling of the attached springs! Nearly had my eye out. Just as well that the bodys reflex action is far more well attuned than the mind of the person attempting said dismantling, as I actually felt it ping my eyelid before I had even registered that the spring had actually come away (kind of sensed it was going to happen actually, just didnt engage to do anything sensible to prevent it). Then spent about 15 minutes looking for the damn thing!! (I replaced my osf catch, with the osr catch which is identical, but unfortunately the body of the latch mechanism is not immediately identical/replaceable otherwise I would have swapped them straight over for the moment, rather than having to dismantle the puller). This in itself is a bitch and I had to mess about with feeding the spring back in to the mechanism which is easier sounding that it actually is, I assure you. I am sure its easier just to buy the entire mechanism in one piece! (which the item bill of material / part number for it probably is specified as anyway).

Quick question or three anyone please help, greatly appeciated..... 1) The oil usage on a vRS.....what exactly constitutes "normal" oil usage when in this period (the extended running in period) ? Topping up a new car with a TDi/vRS is a new experience for me as the MPi hardly used very much. I've had to top up few times, just a little concerned on what ought to be reasonable to top up. Each time it has NOT been severely low in that it was well below the stick, but has managed to creep almost off the oil level ? A wee top up of the 1L grade 507.1 AG has brought it back, just please someone rest me assured this is normal as I'm quite well into my second 1L container, that said its a small distance from its first service 10K miles so I probably won't stress until the results of that. 2) my rear drums, they are noisy as hell and I have tried various efforts at overbraking to help shift this, even riding a short while with handbrake on lightly as this is definitely where its from (they are a little tarnished). Perhaps they will just clean up with a scrub, again an advisory on the service. Does anyone experience this ? 3) anyone know how much the door release/catch osf/r will cost to replace? Looks like metal, but in fact is just a mear sliver of metal over plastic. They are not at all impervious to passengers with all the subtlety of rhinos when exiting a vehicle

Why have Skoda decided to brand the Fabia 1.4 16v as a sport? Is it any quicker? Is the BHP any different, because I am not sure the car is any different except maybe it comes with alloys standard? To be honest at the price they are aiming it the 2.0 and vRS are more attractive options, though more expensive perhaps on insurance (but maybe less on VED). Thanks Tony

Oh jeez. I actually meant "build quality", and I actually said "quantity". I actually typo'd on my typo error correction. Doh. Weeks and weeks waiting for your job to finish with little else to do, see what it does to you. Anyway, thanks for the tip about the 1.4 TDI. A worthwhile thought indeed. I'm not too sure what the BHP is on my current 1.4. Prolly about 1/2 Bhp. No, seriously I think its between 55-60 BHP which is about normal. No less than that I would hope.

Sheesh typo I meant build quantity of the Peug, not fuel economy. Don't know what I was thinking.

Hey you guys. Performance isn't all. Why do you need to get so defensive over each car's performance. I am sure mostly all of them are quick enough to get you banned for life in a short space of time. Even mine will do that. If you want supercar like performance on a budget anyway, you can't beat getting a motorcycle, so I don't see the point of this outmuscling topic, since I'd be happy to have the 2.0Mpi, OR the TDi, OR the vRS, OR even just a 1.4 16v above my 8v. Though I don't have a racing bike, it has to be said most of them nowadays are quicker than all but the fastest road going cars like Supras etc. If you disprove that, I ought to know a few people that can put this straight. My perspetive generally is I am more concerned about liking THE car qualitatively, not facts and figures. Quality (what I like about it) not quantity (how fast it will go if I put my foot into the floor plate). As someone mentioned, early Peugeots were designed like that. But has anyone got anything good to say about the fuel economy? And I think the discussion about Diesel is right - I am sure Skoda haven't deliberately gone out to satisy boy racing cravings amongst you - it's a Diesel surely in order to at least in part, have something to do with fuel savings as WELL as performance? I acknowledge the speed issues and all that, but they are all good cars, and mostly we are talking about just Skodas here right, that are very good cars. I think sometimes pride can make people go a bit stupid. I always though Skoda was the anti-product of all that kind of stuffy thinking and exactly why I bought it as an honest good vehicle! You can all acknowlege how good each cars are, and that some have different strengths to others (like low down torque on some, vs. overall 0-60 times or top speed of others) and everyone can be happy ) It's not a contest. I personally don't care about such speed things in my cage. A little more performance would be nice though.

Maybe I will just have to think about starting to save the pennies ) Even if I might not plan to have one immediately (my car is only approaching 3 yrs old at around 25k miles - bearing in mind the 1st time I bought a new car outright) I can contemplate changing sometime in the future. I must say, you lot are saying the right things to turn me on to a vRS. I've been very much on the fence because the mere mention of the word diesel has previously been enough to set me off. The dilemma for me is, whether to replace gf's car whenever it fails with mine, or get something else for her. I am very cute on those little Fiat Seicento Sports having hired one once and loving the complete smallness of it and styling cues. I've wanted to have one of those as a 2nd smaller car for bombing around town without throwing tons of money away on petrol by having a larger car - as they are quite nippy at moderate speeds. I can't understand why they haven't continued making it. Having said that, not having properly owned one I might learnt the mistake of that decision perhaps. They certainly don't get too much good press in car reviews do they. Anyway I am starting to see niggles in my car, performance etc (guess I should have opted at the very least for 16v 75BHP initially if nothing else) so maybe I ought to start thinking long term of something like this. Has anyone tried or might recommend putting some fuel additive/cleaner in as I have never done this to date? I've always assumed the fuel itself contains all it needs. My car did seem to drive a lot perkier today though (for a 1.4 8v). It's almost dictated by the conditions! Maybe it prefers the colder, less humid days having originated from the colder countries ) (I've been to Poland - trust me it seems colder in the East). I also had a reply from tuners in Leamington - they don't of course tune this model, but they feel my problems might be indicated by an air flow sensor problem (MAF). I am not sure if this might be what Skoda have already replaced though - better go and double check the history... Thats my waffling over ...

I am very sorry, it does not represent my thoughts at all, but it is what I saw mentioned on the What Car review, like I said. Actually, its confusing because the older reviews give it 4*, which is consistent with what you are saying about the vRS, and Im not disputing - how can I, I haven't even driven the car. But knowing the quality of my Fabia, and bearing in mind it is the top of the range Fabia, I am hardly surprised how good it is. Anyway heres the link that you wont like, its clear now they are talking about the NEW car not the old one, so my mistake. http://www.whatcar.co.uk/RoadTest_Summary.asp?DL=0&RT=183305 quote "Uninspiring dynamics disappoint"

Oh right. Well its a bit pricey (relative to my choice of model, not cars in general!) for me, but I may well consider one if I was to get one in yellow or red. So you guys haven't had anything like ECU problems that might explain such a problem? I know my dad's partners would very randomly just cut out and die, not all the time but just at odd times and enough to scare the crap out of her. Of course she has another Fabia 16v now and it doesnt do it.

Bit confused here. I did a bit of research - why don't they list the vRS on this page ? http://www.skoda.co.uk/skoda3g/content/showroom/fab-quick-new.pdf Also any idea on why whatcar have such a bad press for the vRS? They seem to indicate the handling as unrefined and leave it with a mediocre review at best, but then state the opposite for the TD version getting 4*'s .... so confusing.....I am sure you guys like your vRS's. What BHP does it make? Also what is this 2.0 MPI as that sounds cool ? Is that in fact the vRS ? I'm quite turned on to the idea of just going to a 100Brake 1.4. Maybe I can acquire my dad's/and partners if they come to sell it, as an alternate idea. Either way, I am likely to hold on to this car to some end....might get swopped for my gf's as her car at some stage.....so the original post subject matter still holds I'd like to sort it out Questions, questions....