Does anyone have any views on fitting an Armster amrest £79 delivered, in an Octy mk1 Ambiente?

I cannot get used to not having an armrest and can see where the previous owner has slightly worn the passenger seat where he kept resting his left hand - I find myself doing it too.

Have tried breakers etc with no luck, and from Skoda is too expensive - but this looks ok on ebay and easy to fit.

Any advice/experience would be appreciated..

Cheers

im looking at this myself mate as got no arm rest in my vrs octy mk 1 but my mates got one in his mk4 golf and octy elegance and pretty sure they are same fitment if so you can get a leather one of the bay for £50 with fitting kit!

I thought the golf OEM style ones required the plastic trim in the Octavia to be cut a bit to fit properly, whereas the Armster one is just drill a few holes and fit over.

The only armster ones I can find are £78 or £79 whatever they are for, golf or octavia.

Happy to be corrected....

theres an octavia round my way with armrest but its beige colour and its cloth thats the only one i can find im still hunting a leather black one myself

those armster ones do look good

theres an octavia round my way with armrest but its beige colour and its cloth thats the only one i can find im still hunting a leather black one myself

Get beige one v cheap and take it to a re trimmers assuming the plastic is still black and not beige.

OK - I have ordered the armster. When I fit it I will add a quick review and some pics for anyone else interested.

Last time I was in Czech I looked into buying one for the fabia and my octavia. No one in Czech could understand why I didnt have an armrest as they fit them as standard in the fabia and octaivia vrs so it was hard trying to get hold of all the actual parts needed.

After much frustration I concluded that the base/centre console in the vrs is different to the UK one. So if I order an octavia vrs arm rest in Czech it wont fit a uk car unless you buy the base console as well.

So far that price is coming in at around 7,000czk which is approx (Depending on exchange rate) £195 plus shipping to the uk. Thats pretty expensive so I havent bothered yet. Next time i'm over I will look into any possible alternatives.

It looks like the mk4 golf option is the best if you want the vag look or just go for an aftermarket one.

I'm sure someone will inpart their wisdom if they have managed to fit something different.

if it helps

I have a genuine skoda one in my octavia and a mk4 golf's in my dads octavia.

the golf one is slightly different in that to put it in I had to trim a bit out of the mounting plate to get the cigarette lighter back into the central trim. I also purchased for about £20.00 the right trim pieces.

Now both look exactly the same and are great in the cars

if it helps

I have a genuine skoda one in my octavia and a mk4 golf's in my dads octavia.

the golf one is slightly different in that to put it in I had to trim a bit out of the mounting plate to get the cigarette lighter back into the central trim. I also purchased for about £20.00 the right trim pieces.

Now both look exactly the same and are great in the cars

What Octavia have you got Iain?

Update - well I have recieved the armster today, and will fit it at the weekend (with pics). Only slight problem is that although there is a slot cut out in the base for the cigarette lighter, the bit above the base overhangs and blocks access.

I actually use my cigarette lighter to charge my phone/satnav etc, and so need this. I have ordered an extension/splitter that has a smaller plug on it, that I hope will do the job. I may have to leave it plugged in permanently though - I am not sure. It will hopefully be here by the weekend. (I will fit the armrest anyway and be damned I think)

OK - Tis done. It was easy to fit - dont know why the instructions say 20 minutes, although if you include the time it took to go find my drill and the correct drill bit and extension chord and to put it all back and tidy up, then maybe.

Will try and post pics later but it is a bit bright out there at the moment.

Will report back in any case after having used it for a few days but seems good so far, although the height adjustment is not terrific.

What Octavia have you got Iain?

mine is a mk1 vrs estate and my dads is a mk1 tdi estate

hth

OK - Tis done. It was easy to fit - dont know why the instructions say 20 minutes, although if you include the time it took to go find my drill and the correct drill bit and extension chord and to put it all back and tidy up, then maybe.

Will try and post pics later but it is a bit bright out there at the moment.

Will report back in any case after having used it for a few days but seems good so far, although the height adjustment is not terrific.

Pictures would be great please, even better if you can include some pictures of how its fitted.

Hope it works well and the quality is good enough.

Pics as discussed.

The sunlight makes the seats look lighter than they are.

It come in two parts, the mount and the arm rest. they just screw together with 4 supplied screws. I guess they are separate just for ease of fitting.

Actually fitting it just involved removing the ashtray, sliding the mount over it and lining it up, then drilling 4 holes, and screwing it in place.

Ignore my battered back ashtray in pic2, that had nothing to with this!

You can see the screws on that shot.

I did have a problem with the cigarette lighter socket, although the base has a cutout as you can see in pic3, the armrest itself causes a hight restriction. I now have a small plugged extension socket as you can see. I can lift the plug up enough to disconnect the power, but cannot remove it without removing the armrest.

A better option may have been to resite the lighter plug elsewhere, but in my defense I am not great at practical things and could not be bothered to wait for the parts. Could always do it later.

The height adjustment is done by turning the big wheel on the front, which pushes up a rubber stopper. You can see them both on pic4. This is not that great. it angles the arm up to give it a bit more height, but I would have liked a bit more height.

As you can see in pic1, you can extend the top forward to make it a bit longer, although again I feel that a little longer would have been nice.

I am getting used to it, with it down then of course the gears and handbrake become slightly more awkward, but it does the job in that I can rest my arm on it, which after all is what its for.

Seems sturdy enough for one but gave a friend of mine a lift and he leant on it whilst turning round and it did flex a bit....

Overall not a perfect solution, but it does the job I wanted at a significant discount to going to a dealer.

I would guess it would maybe cramp the passenger up a little if they were not using it, but I use my car almost exclsively for my commute to work and back, so I don't really care about the passengers.....(Can always flip it up anyway)

Any questions, ask away.

I've been thinking of getting an armrest for my vrs but I am alittle unsure of the drilling and using screws to hold down the armrest. I know you say it does the job but would you recommend this armrest?

I have now done a long trip with it, and am grateful I have it.

It slightly cramps the passenger (if you care) but I guess the OEM one would do the same.

If I push it back too quickly it slightly lifts the plastic surround around the handbrake

If I lean heavily on it, it does flex a little. If I was a big bloke and put a lot of weight on it, I am sure I could break it.

It is best used by the driver only, for comfort and to avoid the weight issue.

The height adjustment is not great

It does block the handbrake, and seatbelt sockets a little.

If you use your cigarette lighter lots, you will need to see my earlier posts.

BUT

Fitting was a walk in the park

I personally think the finish once fitted is very good. It doesn't look like a bodge job (well to me anyway).

If I had been able to get a reasonably priced OEM, I would have gone for it. but I couldn't and did not want to wait forever.

If eventually the screws go and damage the plastic surround - hey, that is replaceable.

Treated with reasonable care, I do not expect any problems.

Am pleased with my purchase ? Increasingly. I really did appreciate it on a recent long drive. Problem is I am now appreciating the higher but narrower ones in my 406 a lot less.....

any idea where to get a cigarette extension socket from i bought one buts its much too tall?

I cant seam to find any where that sells small height ones?

I didnt know that the VRS lacks the arm rest , i have the Elegance and its fitted.Its a must to have much more comfortable to drive with .

This was a post I made on another thread if anyone is interested pm me.

http://briskoda.net/octavia-i/arm-rest/132326/

if it helps

I have a genuine skoda one in my octavia and a mk4 golf's in my dads octavia.

the golf one is slightly different in that to put it in I had to trim a bit out of the mounting plate to get the cigarette lighter back into the central trim. I also purchased for about £20.00 the right trim pieces.

Now both look exactly the same and are great in the cars

Hi Iain,

Do you have the part number handy?

Or if anyone knows the part number for the plastic trim that would be appreciated.

I've just fitted an OEM arm rest but cocked up when trying to trim the plastic so need to buy another one.

Cheers in advance.

Update:

Just phoned the local Skoda dealer (Bickertons, very helpful as always). Ordered the Skoda trim for the arm rest. Hopefully it will fit. I will confirm once I have the parts.

1U086427947H End Cap (68A) £7.65 Inc Vat

1U086428047H End Cap (68B) £10.09 Inc Vat

Total £17.74 Inc Vat

Back Order - 3-5 Day Delivery.

Edited 17 April, 200917 yr by octimark

Just to add to my previous post......

I bought this arm rest off ebay

APOYABRAZOS GOLF 4 LEON BORA AUDI A3 OCTAVIA NEW BEETLE on eBay, also Apoyabrazos, Equipamiento interior, Coches accesorios, Coches, Motos y Recambios (end time 19-Apr-09 14:52:10 BST)

A word of warning. It doesnt fit a Mk1 VRS.

The bracket and the actual arm rest are fine but the plastic trim doesnt fit. It might fit in another model Octavia (elegance etc) but it doesnt fit in the vrs.

I have tried to take the plastic trim off and cut it down myself but the plastic has been glued and the force required to take it apart means it ends up snapping.

I paid extra for a quicker delivery but it still took over 3 weeks to arrive.

No issues with the quality and payment went through without any hassle but delivery and fitting are a problem.

Just in case anyone else is thinking of buying one.

Hopefully the trim from Skoda will solve the problem.

Just to add to my previous post......

I bought this arm rest off ebay

APOYABRAZOS GOLF 4 LEON BORA AUDI A3 OCTAVIA NEW BEETLE on eBay, also Apoyabrazos, Equipamiento interior, Coches accesorios, Coches, Motos y Recambios (end time 19-Apr-09 14:52:10 BST)

A word of warning. It doesnt fit a Mk1 VRS.

The bracket and the actual arm rest are fine but the plastic trim doesnt fit. It might fit in another model Octavia (elegance etc) but it doesnt fit in the vrs.

I have tried to take the plastic trim off and cut it down myself but the plastic has been glued and the force required to take it apart means it ends up snapping.

I paid extra for a quicker delivery but it still took over 3 weeks to arrive.

No issues with the quality and payment went through without any hassle but delivery and fitting are a problem.

Just in case anyone else is thinking of buying one.

Hopefully the trim from Skoda will solve the problem.

From what I remember, having had both a Golf and an Octi with the armrest in, the golf trim is slightly different, and needs trimming to fit. Having said that looking at the posts above, it would be easier to get the correct trim pieces from Skoda for ~£17. The arm rest itself is the same though, just different trim pieces.

I HATE my armrest... can't wait to get rid of it!!

but from a quick inspection i'll need to replace that plastic trim that goes between the seats and around the handbrake... :( which i can't find anywhere!