As I mentioned in the July Brochure thread for Octavia's..

Skoda no longer come with a spare wheel as standard. You have an option of a full-sized steel or space saver. Costs are:

Fabia & Roomster - £40

Octavia - £50

Suberb - £60

All come with a "tyre repair kit" (can of tyre weld??)

WTF!!!!

I hope roadside assistance are ready for an increase in calls for flats that the weld won't work on. I now need to contact the dealer to see how my June order will arrive as the brochure at the time said 'full sized alloy.

There's cutting cost and cutting corners.

:thumbdwn:

A BAD move

I have complained verbally and by email to Skoda.

I emailed Skoda Customer Services regarding the spare wheel on the vRS here is their respone.

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your e-mail dated 1 July 2009, regarding Spare Wheel options for the Skoda Octavia vRS.

Having verified this information on our systems, I can confirm that the Octavia vRS is only available with a Space Saver Spare Wheel as an optional extra. It is not possible to specify a Full Sized Spare Wheel with this particular model.

I have paid the £50 and expected a full size wheel so i'm not impressed :(

made the mistake of not checking this when i ordered my VW Tiguan

and got no spare wheel

-ok the tyre repair kit is fine if its a nice sunny day and you got time on your hands

but in the middle of a dark rainy night- forget it

to purchase the space saver and boot fititngs afterwards set me back 500 + euros

cheeky of VAG but spend the 50 quid:thumbdwn:

I emailed Skoda Customer Services regarding the spare wheel on the vRS here is their respone.

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your e-mail dated 1 July 2009, regarding Spare Wheel options for the Skoda Octavia vRS.

Having verified this information on our systems, I can confirm that the Octavia vRS is only available with a Space Saver Spare Wheel as an optional extra. It is not possible to specify a Full Sized Spare Wheel with this particular model.

I have paid the £50 and expected a full size wheel so i'm not impressed :(

Look on the bright side, think of all that extra space with less weight.

PS My facelift came with a full size spare, thankfully - just in the nick of time!

Just asked about my order from the June brochure which says "full-sized alloy".

We'll see what the reply says...

Please post the reply when you receive it darrenw as I ordered my Octavia in May and the spec at the time was for a full sized alloy. I know the brochre says the spec can change but I think dealers should be obliged to mention any significant changes in specification when it is ordered and this should not be subsequently changed to an inferior spec afterwards.

What use is tyre weld if you take the side wall out?? Or doing an APD007 as it is known in these parts :P

If I can't persuade/force Skoda to provide a proper spare wheel as ordered then as I'm taking advanatage of the Governments scrappage offer then I could keep the spare from my present car. I think it's the same diameter and hopefully the holes for the bolts will be in the same position. Even if it's a different width it may be okay to get me to a tyre dealer although may be illegal if it's too different.

I have emailed the dealer through whom I ordered my brand new Octy 2 weeks ago. I had heard rumours of this just before I ordered the car, so I did check with the salesman at the time that it would come with the full size alloy spare.

I will let you know what response I get.

I emailed Skoda Customer Services regarding the spare wheel on the vRS here is their respone.

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your e-mail dated 1 July 2009, regarding Spare Wheel options for the Skoda Octavia vRS.

Having verified this information on our systems, I can confirm that the Octavia vRS is only available with a Space Saver Spare Wheel as an optional extra. It is not possible to specify a Full Sized Spare Wheel with this particular model.

I have paid the £50 and expected a full size wheel so i'm not impressed :(

Well if it's what I got it's not a full size spare but it's hardly a space saver. My spare is 195 wide steel. A 225 wouldn't fit in the spare wheel well. It would stand proud into the boot.

i dont think the octavia's have ever come with a full size alloy spare . The one that came with my Vrs is classed as a space saver but is a 16" steel wheel with a 205/55/16 tyre

Both My Mk2 Octavias have had full size alloys as spares.

i dont think the octavia's have ever come with a full size alloy spare . The one that came with my Vrs is classed as a space saver but is a 16" steel wheel with a 205/55/16 tyre

The brochure stated that it came with a full size alloy as standard (not a space saver) and I did confirm this with the dealer when ordering it.

The brochure stated that it came with a full size alloy as standard (not a space saver) and I did confirm this with the dealer when ordering it.

I didn't specifically mention the spare wheel but he did confirm that there were no changes to the specification in the catalogue before I signed the order. Whether he'll remember that come September is another matter.

I have a 205 15" alloy as a spare, identical in every aspect to the other 4 on the car. So at least a 205 fits.

What really irritates me is that my 4x4 comes with a 'space saver', which is 195, against 205, but it is still labelled as 80mph max!!

i don't think the octavia's have ever come with a full size alloy spare . The one that came with my vRS is classed as a space saver but is a 16" steel wheel with a 205/55/16 tyre

Same for me!

vRS, L&K, Elegance and others have never had a 17" or 18" alloy - always a 16" steelie

Mind you £50 is pretty good value for a brand new wheel & tyre.

Out of curiosity, what does the Roadside Assistance pack say about flat tyres?

Same for me!

vRS, L&K, Elegance and others have never had a 17" or 18" alloy - always a 16" steelie

Mind you £50 is pretty good value for a brand new wheel & tyre.

My 56 Octy II Elegance has a full size 16" alloy.

What really irritates me is that my 4x4 comes with a 'space saver', which is 195, against 205, but it is still labelled as 80mph max!!

Are you sure this is not 80kph which equates to 50mph?

What really irritates me is that my 4x4 comes with a 'space saver', which is 195, against 205, but it is still labelled as 80mph max!!

Because they have cheap rubber which is speed rated.

Most alloy'd cars have a full size spare. The VRS never has, as a 17 or 18" 225 wont fit in the well!

I've got 17" upgrade on an Elegance, and get a 16" steel.

This has become standard practice by most manufacturers for their 2010 models. Apparently, the EU has agreed that a spare wheel may be offered as an optional extra, and this allows the manufacturers to reduce the weight of their cars and so claim better CO2 emissions and fuel consumption rates. If it tips a car into a lower tax band, it could be beneficial, but otherwise it just seems to be a way of cutting the cost of the car.

If you don't get the spare wheel provided, you may also find that the jack, wheelbrace etc are missing too! Do these come with the optional spare wheel??

CJJE

I would chuffing well hope so.!! Can't see myself doing a knee lift on the hard shoulder of the M4.

Just seems like ridiculous nickel and diming of a car.

Spare wheel. £50

tyre to fit wheel. £70

Fitting and ballance £7.95

Can of tyreweld £15

Standing by the side of the road in torrential rain mid-November with a flat awaiting RAC because some bean-counter decides to save a few pence. Priceless!!!

Part of the response from the dealer:

"All Skoda cars are now built without a spare wheel of any kind, and are indeed supplied with a Tyre repair kit."

Bit of a pain though!