stu220

My car is on fixed services (10K miles) as it came with 3 free services. It is now 22 months old and had its 40k service last month, which is a major service. I can see no difference between what I had done and what the original poster had done to his car as mine included a pollen filter, however mine cost about £70 more!!!!! I am only sticking to Skoda for servicing so that they cannot get out of a warranty claim if required but when it is out I will find a good indy. Does anyone know of a good VW group indy near Canterbury in Kent?????

I got to enjoy my Vrs in the sun today. Day off and the wife's list complete I found myself in Canterbury. Turn left for home or right to head out into the countryside. Right turn obviously. Sunglasses on. 'A' roads, dry and clear. I had an hour driving which took me back to my advanced course in 1996. Apexing corners, overtakes, positioning the car to get max sight for bends, reading the bend and lots of concentration with the voice of my instructor coming back to me. This is why we buy a Vrs and not a basic version.

My car gets washed every 2 weeks and I have a sponge and leather for wiping down the engine bay. My main thing is making sure that water that has gathered in various points is dried. Life is too short to start slapping polish etc in there.

The customer service manager phoned me for feedback on my visit. When I told him that I thought Skoda was getting too expensive for servicing he seemed perplexed. Their costs are now comparable to VW and Audi for similar cars but they market themselves as the value brand. I think they have lost sight of what made them the brand they are.

Mine is a 2012 CR VRS estate in black with sat Nav. It is now 21 months old and has just had its 40k mile service, which is the first service I have payed for (expensive for what is an oil change). The only cost so far has been 4 new Conti tyres at 32k miles. The car is great value but the dealers are very expensive for servicing, I think they have forgotten that they are still the VAG budget brand. The Mk 3 is not different enough to interest me so I will keep mine until I retire in 5 years time and then find something else.

Andy- Where was your VW mechanic?

My car is on fixed services every 10k miles

It was a major service and when you look at the major Vs minor there is no difference. Items such as the pollen filter, fuel filter and air filter are only replaced if required and you pay extra on top. My problem is that my nearest dealer in Canterbury serviced my previous petrol Vrs for its first service and they were so bad I would not go back. The dealer who did this service was Beadles Maidstone and although service is good they have become more expensive since they moved into the old Audi showrooms. The only indy I know of is Youngs in Wrotham and that is even further away from me. I am now thinking of selling the car and finding something else. Compared to our Shogun the Skoda has become a premium brand when it comes to service costs.

As a comparison I took my wife@s 2003 Shogun to Mitsubishi last week and had the following 100K service oil oil filter air filter Fuel filter Pollen filter Coolant change Cam chain top guide changed Valve clearance That cost £350 and feels like much better value for money.

So, my 2012 Vrs CR estate has covered 40k miles in 21 months and this is its 4th service and the first one I have to pay for. Payed £289 and for that I got Oil Oil filter Pollen filter and thats it!!!!!!! I inquired about other items that may need changing and was given a print out showing what and when (Vrs CR) Diesel fuel filter 6 years or 60k (£50.90) Air filter 6 years or 60k (£29.11) Timing belt 95k or 4 years (£514) plus water pump (£649.99) Brake fluid every 24 months (£58.48)

My Skoda supplied floor mats have worn through on the edge where my left heel sits in 18 months (38k miles) and I would like to replace them with a Vrs logo set that are going to last a bit longer. Any recommendations?

I have just read on the "Honest John" site that as of February 2014 MOT testers will have to check the exhaust system to ensure that the DPF is still present. If it has been removed then the car fails the MOT. I think that is going to affect a large number of people on this forum.

If I left my rugby boots in the back of my one the dogs would think it was play time.

I have had a 2011 petrol Vrs for 12 months and 22k miles and no problems. My CR VRS estate bought new in May 2012 is now passing 35K miles and again no problems. Both on 10K miles services as I like fresh oil and filters. The Air con units on all of them seem a problem at around 3 years old. DSG issues. Petrol engine failures DPF on PD diesels. Injector issues on PD diesels. These have all been discussed in depth on numerous occasions, which is why we use this forum. Having had both and having had to change to Derv due to my high mileage I would have a petrol every time.

I do not have a Blackline but I do have a May 12 Vrs CR estate and in almost 18 months I have driven 34K miles. Good points: It is big enough for a family of 5 plus 2 dogs. It can run at 130KMH all day long on the continent and return 45-48 MPG. Sat Nav good Stereo good. Beadles Maidstone has been helpful, No faults so far. Bad points: This is the most uncomfortable car I have ever owned due to the slight offset in the pedals, which forces the right seat bolster to dig into my thigh. I am 6ft 3ins, which is not the tallest in the world and I am not huge (fat) just average. Unfortunately as I bought it new I cannot afford to take the financial hit and change the car so I will be living with it for the next few years.

Divorce does not cost too much these days.

My Conti SC 2 lasted 31k miles. Just replaced with Conti SC 5. £120 per tyre.

Does anyone else have this problem? I have a 12 plate VRS CR estate, which in every aspect bar one is a great family car and after 32K miles in 14 months it has averaged 48 MPG with no issues. However I end up in pain every day due to the right bolster of the drivers seat digging into my thigh, which in turn is caused by the offset of the pedals. As a result I am looking for a new car that does not cause my this issue.

There seems to be the odd post on here about cars which do not get near the expected fuel consumption and they always look for a problem with the car.Once you have ruled out mechanical problems or ECU and then made sure the tyres are at the correct pressure, then emptied the boot of any heavy stuff, the only thing left is the person behind the wheel and the types of journey/driving you are doing. This makes a huge difference. My wife spends far longer in lower gears and uses far more fuel but she is a good driver. My CR VRS estate has averaged 48 MPG over the last 10k miles and this has been calculated on an iphone app, recording every fill up. My car has done 31000 miles since new in May 2012 and spends most of its time on a motorway. Maybe the initial post should let the car be driven by someone else over a couple of tank fulls or the driver get some lessons from the IAM just to make sure it is not the driving style.

Having owned a 2011 petrol Vrs estate for 12 months and then swapping for the CR version in May 2012 I can offer my perspective having used them back to back. Petrol VRS- Purchased new in May 2011 as my divorce present to myself (****ed ex off and put a massive smile on my face) I had a manual metallic grey estate VRS and at that time I was doing 15k miles per year. Unfortunately my department decided I had done my time on shift work and I became an instructor and my mileage went through the roof, most of it being M2/A2 with a daily commute of 85-125 miles depending on whether my kids were with me as I did week on week off. The car was run on Vpower only and over the 12 months and 20K miles averaged 36 MPG. However it is not all about the cost to fill up, it is how a car drives and handles and the petrol car is very quick and, sounds good. It also handles well as the nose is not as heavy. CR VRS- purchased new May 2012 was a Black estate manual after driving a very good deal. The car did 27k miles in its first 12 months and averaged 48 MPG on Tesco finest diesel. The engine is good for a derv eater and smooth but it is still a diesel. It is quick but not in the same way as the petrol due to different power delivery and torque curves.. If I had the choice I would have the petrol.

46. Started driving life with a Ford Orion and in 1992 aged 26 bought a great car, a 1990 VW Golf GTI MK2 which to date is the best car I ever owned. The VRS estate I now own comes closest to the Golf but give me the ability to carry my wife, 3 kids and 2 dogs. I have had quicker cars like a Volvo S70 T5 which was a rocket ship but who can live with 28 MPG these days, so the VRS fits the bill for practical family performance car.

I purchased a MKII petrol Vrs new in May 2011 and it was a great car but when my annual mileage went from 15k to nearer 30K miles per year. I swapped it for a new CR Vrs. Now I know I wasted money in the swap but it was my divorce present :-) and it really ****ed of the ex wife into the bargain. Anyway, in a year the CR has averaged 48 mpg (in 32k miles) where the petrol averaged 35 mpg. The DPF issue does not seem to appear on the forum for CR cars and the only persistent issue seems to be the air con units (design flaw), which seems to affect all MK2 Vrs.. The petrol was nicer to drive but you can't argue with the MPG when you do high mileage. With your small mileage, petrol every time.

My Vrs CR usually sits around 92-94 but if it has done some hard work (hills etc) then it will go above 100 and highest has been 103.

My CR Vrs estate has just had its 30k miles service at 14 months old and for the last 5k miles I have used an app to calculate fuel economy. It says that my best tank gave me 53.34 mpg and the worst was 45.79 mpg, which is down to the mix of driving changing from mostly motorway to more town. My climate control is on most of the time and the average over that time is 47.96 MPG I had a petrol Vrs estate for 12 months previous to getting the diesel and on the same use I averaged 36 mpg on Vpower.

Just to update. I am also a police officer but not a traffic officer, so I know whats what on my car and I am pragmatic about tyre wear and will change at 2mm, which is when the Met Police change tyres. My point was that those people who do not know much about cars (elderly etc) will put their faith in a main dealer and they will end up paying huge sums for things they don't need. Kwick Fit were found to be running a similar process of add on work for things that were not needed and it is a way to boost profits. It is easy to tell an owner on variable servicing that their pads are worn and won't make another 18k miles and for someone to pay up when in reality they could have another 10-12k miles of wear left. It is a shame that real customer service seems so lacking in main dealers for most makes.