Now I'm excited! My first ever new car. My previous motor was a 2001 Audi S6 (lpg converted) that somebody kindly wrote off having driven into the back of me on the M25.

The car is a TDI CR Hatch - number 446.

Travelling up from the south east (4.5 hrs on the train - luckily I have plenty to do & keep me occupied!) to Rainworth Skoda in Mansfield.

I've had the car prepared by Simon of exotic detail, as I didn't fancy any dealer inflicted paint imperfections - see Simon's thread on Detailing World: Skoda Octavia VRS SE - New Wax! - Detailing World

Looking forward to the 180 mile drive home, even if it is on a (most probably rainy) Friday afternoon!

Have a great drive home. Hope you enjoy your New L.E. as much as I like mine. Just try counting how many people keep staring at it, makes you a little paranoid. hehe.

Martin

I know how excited you are, I pick my LE up last friday (first new car ever) been buzzing ever since just want to drive all the time...work who needs it.. looking forward to the w/e to get some miles on the clock...safe drive home......PS it true the amount of BMW Audi drivers who think its a un-marked police car and slow down :D

Nice - I hope you are going to keep it that shiny !!

Picking mine up Saturday! I too can hardly wait!

Petrol number 373.

It is my first brand new car aswell, mind you I am only 21 so it is expected.

I currently commute 70 miles a day to Stansted in a 1.3 Ford Fiesta, which is very slowly , but surely dying, so i really cant wait!

Are the LE's expected to hold their value any better? Don't get me wrong, it's a nice car, but must be gutting to spend ~£20k on a car for it to be worth buggerall if you needed to sell it. I bought mine when it was 3 years old, cost me £4k, because of all the extras it was about 5 times that when new!

It would be nice to think that the LE will hold its value better, but to be honest it dosnt really bother me because i dont intend on selling it anytime soon, to spend the amount of money i am spending on a new car, and then selling it in 3 years time just dosnt work for me.

Besides i am paying no where near 20k and I am having MFD3 fitted by the dealer, really is useful having a school mate in the trade!

I'd have had him polish the paint as well to remove swirls.

Best of luck with it .. hope you enjoy yours as much as i am enjoying mine

Collected the car yesterday, and I'm very happy.

Dealer had to sort a couple of issues - a small nick in the leather on the steering wheel and a scorch mark on the underside of the rear seat base (something the trimming company must have accidentally done, I guess). Both parts were replaced. Might be worth checking these parts if you're due to collect a LE from Rainworth in the near future!

As I was a bit later leaving than I hoped, I hit the M25 at the wrong time which meant it was pretty slow going in places, and it was peeing down, as predicted!

200 odd miles in total, and I averaged 54 mpg.

i doubt the LE's will be worth much more really if anythying at all as some normal vRS's will be higher spec then these. just as the fabia its a runout model really

still a nice car though and i wish you all the best.

i doubt the LE's will be worth much more really if anythying at all as some normal vRS's will be higher spec then these. just as the fabia its a runout model really

still a nice car though and i wish you all the best.

I'm not sure about this. I had a good look at an '09 plate sitting in Henry's this morning and:

a) the alloys don't look anywhere as bad in real life (although they're still not great);

the leather with the white stitching just looks fantastic.

Combine those features with the face-lift's gauges while still keeping the original front end, and I think it will command a premium in the future.

Car looks very nice,

Glad you are enjoying it.

I'm not sure about this. I had a good look at an '09 plate sitting in Henry's this morning and:

a) the alloys don't look anywhere as bad in real life (although they're still not great);

the leather with the white stitching just looks fantastic.

Combine those features with the face-lift's gauges while still keeping the original front end, and I think it will command a premium in the future.

you really think that in 5 years time or maybe even longer someone that isn't a skoda geek will really know that there was even a facelift let alone what the differences are?

you really think that in 5 years time or maybe even longer someone that isn't a skoda geek will really know that there was even a facelift let alone what the differences are?

Maybe general peeps won't recognise the combination of dash and front end that makes it attractive to us lot, but the seats are certainly unmissable and absolutely gorgeous.

I think its interior will become Skoda's equivalent of the "baseball stitch" interior in MK1 TTs - i.e. rare and sought-after.

never heard of that stitch though personally and i bet there's millions more like me in the country which only proves my point, only those in the know, know.

you really think that in 5 years time or maybe even longer someone that isn't a skoda geek will really know that there was even a facelift let alone what the differences are?

Bengie is right about this, as it will just be looked on as another facelift / limited version (500)of the Oct vRS.

They only made 100 of the white numbered WRC Mk1's and even these don't sell easily, or make good money.

Time will tell!

Got my VRS new from Rainworth as well, even though, like you (OP) it seems, I actually live only 20 miles or so from Stansted - must say something about their pricing?

I have to say that, all in all, I was very happy with the state of the car when I picked it up from them - in fact couldn't fault it from a prepping point of view, despite its being 1st March and hence several newbies going out that day. But maybe I'm not such a detailing fanatic as Rude Dog?

But one thing I must say, having seen the pix of your car posted on Detailing World, is that someone really ought to tell whomever is responsible at Rainworth that the rear number plate should be vertically centred on the flat-pressed area below the bootlip. They've done exactly the same with yours that they did with mine - ie positioned it way too high - looks totally naff!. It niggled me so much every time I looked at the rear of the car that I fitted a replacement plate after a week, having filled the fixing holes they'd drilled into the body with Bluetak in case of corrosion, and now have a nice, properly aligned 'virgin' plate, held on with double-sided adhesive strips rather than with horrible plastic screws. And, no, I don't think I'm a*ally retentive!

having filled the fixing holes they'd drilled into the body with Bluetak in case of corrosion

Is that true? I'm sure I remember seeing a car or a picture showing pre-drilled holes with the female threaded part already installed & painted over, i.e. manufactured like it.

Well, I have to confess I'd just assumed it was done at PDI time.

Edit: I'm sure some of the dealer peeps on here can confirm one way or another?

When I removed the plate, it certainly looked as if the fixing screws were just ordinary self tappers - ie no 'female' threads present. Come to think of it ... if the locating holes were pre-drilled at manufacturing stage, then you wouldn't get variations in the finished fixing height of the plate?

IIRC, there were several indentations on the front and rear plate-fixing areas - presumably to accomodate market plate size variations.

Are you happy with how Rainworth have located your rear plate (heightwise)? I personally think all plates look better fixed with adhesive pads anyway, rather than the fixing screws whose colour-coded heads drop off, leaving a rusty fixing.

Well, I have to confess I'd just assumed it was done at PDI time.

Edit: I'm sure some of the dealer peeps on here can confirm one way or another?

When I removed the plate, it certainly looked as if the fixing screws were just ordinary self tappers - ie no 'female' threads present. Come to think of it ... if the locating holes were pre-drilled at manufacturing stage, then you wouldn't get variations in the finished fixing height of the plate?

IIRC, there were several indentations on the front and rear plate-fixing areas - presumably to accomodate market plate size variations.

Are you happy with how Rainworth have located your rear plate (heightwise)? I personally think all plates look better fixed with adhesive pads anyway, rather than the fixing screws whose colour-coded heads drop off, leaving a rusty fixing.

I hadn't noticed the plate position until you said! Although I did check that the front was on centrally/squarely!

TBH, I don't think the rear looks too bad.

I will check the screws more closely later - I thought they were the plastic threaded type rather than self tappers.

And yes - I do think sticky pads would have been better, and more theft resistant! Assuming the proper pads are used, the plate is near impossible to get of without damaging it!

What a weekend, picked up my LE.....Great!

Got a parking ticket....... Not Great!

Got chewing gum all over my nice new leather seat.... Really Not Great!

For future reference if i see anyone spitting there used chewing gum onto a train seat, i am going to kick some Ar*e!