tuop

Can anyone offer me their recommendation/experience of a good garage for Skoda servicing ? In terms of price/trust/quality of workmanship. Tips about ones to avoid are probably best by direct message to avoid legal attention ! Reason I am asking, after a bit of thinking I am going to buy my company car 3 years into its lease, so will have to start picking these places myself. I had considered buying a Mk3 one, but can't justify spending 5 or 6 grand more... cheers, Nick

Thanks everyone for your opinions, much appreciated. I'm happy to drop a bit of power for economy. Going from the L&K I might miss a few luxuries like leather seats but I'm not sure its worth ~1000 pounds to me. I think I'll carry on looking at Mk3s second hand at dealers and Motorpoint...any other good sources ? I might still look at the big auctions, although the cars tend to be older. A few ex-company car Octavias will come through. Perhaps I could buy my current car.... cheers all, Tuop.

I have a Mk 2 Octavia Estate, 2.0 TDI 140, L&K edition. Nice car, 3 years old, but its going back soon as I'm changing jobs and its a company car. I am planning to buy my own this time. My question is whether its worth getting a Mk 3 estate over a Mk 2. There's a bit more room in the back from what I understand, and there are other changes like the engines. There are a few vehicles in the second hand channels, and I'm considering a 1.6 diesel this time, ideally an SE or above. They are coming in around £13K for a 63 plate, 10,000 miles. I can afford this but at the same time the cash isn't burning a hole in my pocket so perhaps a Mk2 with more miles and age on it would be a cheaper/better balance. Apologies if I sound wet behind the ears as a second hand buyer....years of having a company car means I am way out of practice with this stuff. Any opinions, particularly if you have gone from Mk2 -> Mk3 would be interesting. I know there are quite a few vRS owners on here, but I'm not in that market (especially as I will be buying my own tyres from now on!) ta, tuop.

Thanks ljp01, I found Sparshatts helpful when I started looking at Skodas and if they are servicing police vehicles I'd expect them to be competent. Do you know if Freeborn still do servicing down by the football stadium ? And if they're any good? I'm in Bitterne so would be a bit more convenient than Botley, but only if they are any good.

Can anyone give me a positive recommendation for getting my L&K estate serviced in Hampshire - or in Lancashire where I will be with work ? I'd like to go to a main dealer/service garage but they don't always get the best write-ups here, so any experiences would be gratefully received. cheers !

I got Bolero, FWIW And a very nice car. Not sad to see the back of the Touran after 93,000 rumbling miles at rather poor economy.

But does it have DAB?

I'm due to take delivery of a new 2.0 diesel L&K estate in the next week or two. It was built last week and is in transit to the dealer now. Any idea what to expect in terms of stereo/satnav ? I understood Bolero was out of stock and some version of the Amundsen was being used. Has any one else here got theirs in the last month or so ? Have they started putting DAB in there yet ? cheers Nick btw its Anthracite with leather...