hooter

I had something similar happen to me, or at least a car i was in. I was a passenger in a car driven by my mate. We'd just parked in a Co - op car park when a loaded trolley piled in the rear drivers door leaving a deep scratch and dent. Woman said she wasn't responsible, pointing to a sign that said "Co - op take no responsibility for cars parking here, customers park at own risk". My pal, who is normally a mild mannered chap informed her that if she didn't write a note that moment admitting what had just happened, then by the same token he couldn't be held responsible for taking his very large wheel wrench to every panel of her car.

Hi George Regular unleaded I think. There's 3 petrol stations in Kirkwall and I'll check out the 2 I don't normally use but I reckon it'll be plain old regular unleaded. On the plus side it wont be having any remaps or attempted power upgrades as it is certainly lively enough for the roads we have with the police we have. And given the huge investment in the new average speed cameras on the A9 I think the Super Unleaded I will definitely be putting in when I go to the mainland wont be needed for reasons of extra power.

Hi Ally Thing is, with all these horror stories on here the 1st thing I did when I picked up the new to us (3 year old) vRS was to go to the motor factors and get rubber mats (I think there's a day or 2 of Autumn left before winter sets in next week) and the other thing I picked up was a litre of oil which now lives in the boot just in case this car develops a thirst like Oliver Reed.

Hi Just a quick update. A chap from Skoda UK phoned me up after I emailed them on Saturday. He talked me through the service history and recall work and at what dates and mileages everything occurred. Net result is we're buying the car.

Hi folks I've been in touch with Skoda and asked them about the history of the car my wife prefers. It looks like we'll go ahead and get it unless there are any horror stories. The local chap has given us a very good trade in on the Insignia Sri and we choose to use him as he's always stood behind his cars when he's sold to us in the past. I know buying out of the network has risks, but the car is from a proper source (traded in against a new car at a quality marque and underwritten away from the dealer) and I suppose we'll have the usual 3 month used car warranty - though I've never had cause to try to use it with this dealer. During that time I would expect any problem would be visible on a car approaching 3 years old and hopefully sorted. BTW Ant FR, the price of that white vrs is absolutely stonking!

Hi It's not so much for on Orkney that my wife liked the idea of a vrs. But whenever we go down the road it tends to be to go to North Wales or Heathrow/Gatwick. So the journeys tend to be between 600 and 800ish miles in one trip and a bit of performance is nice, though i've done it in some very staid cars over the years. After reading the forums this evening she has gone off the idea of the vRS a little and I think will go in a different direction.

Hi George I'm on Orkney - I must admit I don't think of it as remote but that is how we're described. There is a dealer up here who was formerly a VW dealer and is still a servicing agent. 1 in 4 chance of a duffer isn't good odds though, I think it sounds like if she wants a vRS it sounds like we really need to get into the main dealer network. Cheers brian

A wander to a dealers would be great but I live on a remote Scottish island. A local dealer here sources stuff from south and has a good relationship with some folk south who seem very good at sourcing good metal. There are a few main dealers or satellite dealers up here but sadly there is no Skoda dealer.

Cheers mate. I don't mind topping up oil etc as long as the car is reliable. I'll get in touch with Skoda about those cars but they are both at the same independent dealer.

Hi folks My wife needs an automatic and is looking to change her car as she has has a manual currently. She has been looking around and 2 of the cars she has taken a shine to are Fabia vRS's. One is a green 60 reg with 34,000 on the clock and the other is an 11 reg green one with a rather loud white and red vinyl wrap that looks kind of like it is team colours/mobile advert for Skoda and that one has 20,000 miles on the clock. I assume these both have the earlier engine that folk sometimes complain about? Also I guess at that age there is no Skoda warranty left so there would only be the dealers 3 month warranty. My question is, reading all the doom and gloom here, what are the odds of her getting a healthy engine and gearbox? I loved my Fabia vRS 1.9tdi but the folks seem quite a bit less positive about this version. I'm not looking to cause a firestorm of negative posts, just hoping for a rational assessment of how likely she is to get a reliable car. Thanks for any thoughts