scotskoda

Dunlop SP01s on my Octy had cracks on sidewalls and on the inner treads of each tyre after just 10,000 miles and the fronts only lasted 19,000 miles. I didn't find the SPs provided good grip in the wet and so I replaced them with a set of Michelin Primacys which were better, they lasted 29,000 miles, but were expensive. I have just put a set of Kumho Ecstas on and so far they have been excellent in the poor weather conditions we have had in the past month. They were also £40 cheaper per tyre than the Michelins.

I had the same problem at Costco recently. Their system is that you go into the sales centre, purchase the tyres, then you carry your tyres around to the fitting bays along with your receipt. The receipt has a section on it for comments on the car's condition to be written on. You are then told how long the fitting will be, in my case I was told 1 hour. I was aware that 1 wheelwas slightly scratched ( by a Costco fitter on a previous fitting! ) When I went to collect the car and checked the paperwork, someone had written on the receipt 'all alloys marked'. I had a check around the wheels and the 2 wheels that had tyres fitted were indeed now marked, 1 had a 1/2 inch gouge on the rim and the other had a 1 inch long scratch that looked like someone had put the wheel face down during fitting. The other 2 wheels were as before. I tried arguing my case with the fitter and then the 'Tyre Centre Manager' but got nowhere as I 'hadn't had a fitter agree with me the condition of the wheels before fitting' Lesson learned - I will buy my tyres from Costco in future but get my works mobile tyre fitter to fit them as I know he will do a good job! If anyone else gets their tyres from Costco - be warned!!

Whilst my 2.0 Tdi Pd 140 Elegance Estate was in getting serviced recently I had a conversation with the Salesman about whether I should exchange my car next year for the 170 vRS and he recommended getting the 2.0 Tdi Pd Elegance as I have just now with the goodies on it I have presently ( Maxi-Dot, sports suspension etc ) but having a fuel re-map at a cost of £350 boosting power up to 160 BHP. According to him this does not affect warranty. An option!?

It's great when you buy a car and your expectations are exceeded! My Octy is going in for it's annual service Wednesday after which I am going to zero the tripmeter and see what I get over the next 2000 miles. I'll also try the brim to brim calculation method as recommendedby various Skodavians!

''I do mainly motorway miles with Cruise control set to 78mph'' Ah ha! To keep you safe from the Plod!? My delight at all of this stems from the fact that I used to have a Ford C-Max which got nowhere near the claimed figures that Ford quoted. They got a slating in the press a couple of years for this exact thing, and yet my Octy just seems to get better! Had I had the 1.9 TDi then I am sure I would have been equally impressed.

Lowfler - I guess we are both happy then! Did you have the same experience with the 1.9TDi unit as seems to be the general case with the 2.0TDi that the mileage got better as the engine got more miles on it? My 2000 miles averaging 45.9 mpg did include a fairly rapid drive from Edinburgh to Bournemouth overnight both ways in September where time was of the essence shall we say.

My Octy is a 2.0 Tdi - to be fair I have averaged 45.9 Mpg over the last 2000 miles but I have noticed that even sitting at 70-80 mph I get high 46-50 mpg at least to the gallon! My point is that the mpg is definetly improving the more miles I do, which is great!

My Octy has now done 30k and I've noticed that the MPG is improving - on my trip to work last night I got 55.3 MPG which I am delighted about . I used to get 48-50ish. My journey is 6 miles A road, then 22 miles motorway and I sat at a constant 65 mph (cruise on) on the motorway. I filled up with normal BP diesel not the Ultimate stuff, so I can only imagine it would be better with Ultimate! Anyway, as I said I am delighted as yet again my decision to buy Skoda is proving to be a good one!

The current 2.0 TDCi engine used by Ford has a known problem with faulty EGR valves - exactly the same symptons as rkenny describes - I know because I had a C-MAX with this engine and ended up having the EGR valve replaced twice. Frightening when it happened in the outside lane of the M9 on the way to work and having to negotiate my way to the hard shoulder. I think it did show up on diagnostic checks as had no problems getting it replaced. I don't know if VW engines use this technology too?

Problem solved! Jimbo vRS very kindly did a check for me and the car was registered with the DVLNI as a new car in May 1995. Where motor vehicles are concerned, NI is regarded as a sparate EU country and therefore when the previous owner got it in Scotland he had to register it with the DVLA! Basically he had to 'import' it! Crazy I know but that's the official answer. So after all, it is a UK car, registered in the UK, but it's not a UK car, if you know what I mean. LOL! Again many thanks to Jimbo vRS, a true gentleman! Now I can enjoy all 657cc of the liitle car just as much as I enjoy driving my Skoda.

'surely bringing it from Northern Ireland to Scotland wouldn't count as in import? It's still the UK.' This is exactly my query - I wonder if the previous owner had to re register the vehicle with the DVLA here as they don't share info. with the DVLNI? Jimbo vRS made the point earlier that vehicles coming across to mainland UK from NI should show up as 'Imported from NI' on an HPI check or an Experian check so he is going to check that for me. If all this fails I am just ging to knock on the door of the previous owner and see if he can set the record straight - not something I would normally do but I would get an answer quickly!

eddie 2 Sorry, I didn't say in my original post about the dealer. The car has Northern Irish plates on it and when I say that they were the supplying dealer I am basing this on the fact that the service book has their sticker on the inside cover so maybe they only put it there when they took on the servicing? I'm beginning to think that when the vehicle was bought by the last owner in Edinburgh in 2000 he had to have it re registered across here but I can see no wording on the V5 to say it was imported here from NI It does say on the new keeper supplement of the previous V5 which I was given by the garage I bought the car from 'date of first registration 20 07 2000 (declared manuf 1995). The plot thickens!

thanks for the replies guys Hi eddie 2 So is it possible that the main suzuki dealer (Prentice Suzuki, Portadown) bought the car in the Irish Republic then sold it to someone in Northern Ireland? Was this something that the paying public were aware of and therefore the first owner would have known. Your explanation would explain the fact that the car is of UK spec. Would you know whether I could put a private plate on the vehicle and will the history of the car affect it's value if I ever resold it?

Sorry that this is not Skoda related but I'm hoping that as well as Skoda enthusiasts you are car enthusiasts in general and will help me solve a problem. I recently purchased a wee sports car (a suzuki cappuccino - great fun!) to sit alongside my Octy Elegance estate as a fun weekend car! Anyway when I got the Reg. document back from the DVLA I noticed that despite the car being a 1995 car, the registration document says 'date of first registration 20 07 2000' then on the next line it says 'date of first registration in the UK 20 07 2000'. The car is on Northern Irish plates and is definetly a UK car as I have checked the VIN plate and that it is not of JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) spec. and it came with a full dealer service history partly in Northern Ireland and partly in Scotland. The last owner purchased the car on 20 07 2000 so I am presuming that it has something to do with this. It's just puzzling me as the last I heard Northern Ireland was part of the UK so why the anomoly on the reg. document? Any help from 'the experts greatly appreciated! I know I could contact the DVLA but I'm hoping my 'brothers and sisters' can help!

I use it all the time, even in certain 'town' driving situations to keep myself at or just below the speed limits. On motorways it's fantastic and has changed the way I drive on them i.e I set it for 70ish and find it a far more relaxing way to drive and conserve fuel.