Midlifecrisis - the DtD skodas come from Marlborough West London - Home Official Skoda dealership in Isleworth West London. You only order via DtD then you are contacted directly by the dealer and all further dealings and payment are with them.

I take delivery of my Mazda 6 Sport the week after next. Its costing me the same per month as my 07 VRS Tdi. I was considering another Vrs (and it was very close) but I wanted a MFSW and factory bluetooth neither of which the manual Vrs offered. I also had to order the car before the FL was officially launched so didnt want to order another Octy and find it was a pre facelift.

There's a reason DtD are so cheap. No wonder dealers cant get close.

You want you're cake and eat it!

There's a reason DtD are so cheap. No wonder dealers cant get close.

You want you're cake and eat it!

Explain please???

Explain please???

Arent they essentially pre-reg cars/listed as demo cars hence the lower price? Essentially Skoda pay them to run as demos so you dont get the V5 for 6 months. You would thus be 2nd or even 3rd owner depending on the arrangement.

A dealer wont get near a discounted pre-reg/demo car.

DtD are brand new cars and you're the first owner on the V5.

Arent they essentially pre-reg cars/listed as demo cars hence the lower price? Essentially Skoda pay them to run as demos so you dont get the V5 for 6 months. You would thus be 2nd or even 3rd owner depending on the arrangement.

A dealer wont get near a discounted pre-reg/demo car.

Absolutely wrong on every level.

The cars are brand new, factory-builds. You are the first owner.

The only difference between DtD and going through the dealer directly to buy a factory-built new Skoda is the price.

Just adding to this thread. I've just taken delivery of a new VRS est and opted to have curatin air bags fitted. The options code shows its fitted to the car but I'm not convnced.

As per the handbook it shows that the B pillar should have an airbag logo embossed on to the B pillar trim. Mine does not have this. There is an airbag logo embossed on to the A pillar trim.

Has anyone else opted for curtain airbags who could confirm the markings for me.

Thanks for your help.

Alan

The airbags are in the roof lining, A & C pillars. You should see markings on the A & C pillars, but my pre-fl doesnt have any on the B pillar.

Intresting.... My does not have any markings on the 'C' pillar, just the 'A' pillar.

Thought I had the VRS as a definite choice, but the refusal of dealers to come anywhere near the DtD price made me have a rethink. Torn now between the VRs and a Mazda 6 Sport. The Mazda is much better equipped than the Skoda and looks great. It's a touch more expensive though.

Hard work this car buying lark!!

Did you ever manage to make this decision? I'm looking to trade my Fabia vRS next year so I'm compiling a (very) short list of cars that are quick, reliable, economical and a bit bigger. So far the short list contains:

• Octavia vRS
  
• Mazda6 D Sport
  
• (new) Vauxhall Astra Elite (160ps diesel)
  

I'm totally perplexed by the fact that you seem to be unable to get stereo controls on the steering wheel for the Octavia unless you get the DSG gearbox. It's one of the things I really miss at the moment and may be the reason the Octavia gets ruled out, On the Mazda you can control the climate control as well as the stereo from the steering wheel and it comes as standard.

I think Vauxhall are taking the **** a bit on the pricing of the new Astra. Once you've added metallic paint, Xenons and TPM it's nearly £24k. If you can get the existing level of discounts on it (i.e. about 25%) it may be a contender. However it has good economy (57.6mpg combined) and long servicing intervals (and we have a really good Vauxhall indy nearby).

Which leaves the Mazda6...

I think it's going to be the Mazda 6. Sport (The 2.2d engine version-185bhp) I really like the look of both cars and they both have well built and comfortable interiors.

However, the spec of the Mazda far surpasses that of the Skoda and I just can't get past not even having a volume control for the stereo on or by the steering wheel. It might seem a ridiculous thing, to dismiss the car becuase of a spec issue. However, I know it would really annoy me over time.

Despite the excellent deals on offer, I (predictably) haven't been offers as much for my current car as I thought. Having been bitten by the depreciation animal on too many occassions, I'm thinking of waiting six months and seeing what nearly new prices are for both cars. My current car is only two and a half years old and has been faultless, so I can afford to wait (if only that new car itch would stop irrating me )

Yeah, I've got the new car itch as well - but it's being made worse by lack of space (which I thought I could live with) and lack of steering wheel controls. My furby will be three next summer, so it's whether I replace it then (might depend on finances), or bail out just before the (expensive) 4 year service.

Just adding to this thread. I've just taken delivery of a new VRS est and opted to have curatin air bags fitted. The options code shows its fitted to the car but I'm not convnced.

As per the handbook it shows that the B pillar should have an airbag logo embossed on to the B pillar trim. Mine does not have this. There is an airbag logo embossed on to the A pillar trim.

Has anyone else opted for curtain airbags who could confirm the markings for me.

Thanks for your help.

Alan

I have just taken delivery of the facelift 2.0 FSI VRS DSG and like you opted for the curtain airbags. I too have concerns as to whether they have been fitted, as there is only an oval air bag sign on the A pillar.

When I contacted the supplying dealer through my lease company, they said that the factory order sheet stated that airbags had been fitted and that at the' top of the quadrant, on the pillar there is an oval marker which shows the positioning of the airbags'.

My concerns have been added to by finding a picture of the new model in a review by the motorreport.com.au, which clearly shows an oval airbag marker on the drivers door pillar above the seat belt fitting.

Latest explanation from another Skoda dealer is that because it is a new model and not many curtain airbags have been ordered, Skoda haven't yet bothered to make any trim plates to mark the position of the curtain airbags. However, that is at odds with the marker on the A pillar and also doesn't explain why there is a marker on the B pillar in the review photograph (or did Skoda photoshop that in for marketing purposes?).

Can anyone please provide a definitive answer or way of checking?

Crash?

Crash?

Crash?

As it's a company car the thought crossed my mind!

However, that seemed even more drastic than the lease company's offer (as a last resort solution) to carefully remove some of the headlining to check whether airbags were fitted or not.

It's a shame that even Skoda UK don't seem to know, apparently telling the lease company that although they had charged for curtain airbags as an extra, the spec was subject to change (as mentioned in the brochure) and therefore the airbags might not have been fitted!!

Legally, AFAIK, airbag locations must be marked to prevent injury during repair etc.

That was my understanding too.

I will have to keep trying different dealers etc. until I can get a sensible and definitive answer. If that fails then I will have to take up the lease company's offer to remove the trim/headliner to check.

I can then post the findings on here.

Quick question for you facelift vRS owners with xenons.....

The DTD website gives the option for the xenons as being bi xenons but i'm led to believe that this isn't the case on the Octy as they are normal xenons with halogen main beam.

Which is correct?

Cheers

Dave.

The Octavia doesnt have bi-xenons.

Only the Superb 2 has so far.

Thought it sounded wrong when i saw it... It's not a big issue anyway, having had xenons on my cars for the last 6 years or so it's something i'd be going for anyways.

Cheers

Dave.

Strangley enough though i've found yet another online options list that this time shows the bi-xenon option from July 2009 and the normal xenon option upto July 2009. This time it's Parkers. The original site i found was DTD.

I wonder if they originally intended to have the bi xenons on the car but for some reason it was pulled at the last minute. :confused:

Cheers

Dave.

I take delivery of my Mazda 6 Sport the week after next. Its costing me the same per month as my 07 VRS Tdi. I was considering another Vrs (and it was very close) but I wanted a MFSW and factory bluetooth neither of which the manual Vrs offered. I also had to order the car before the FL was officially launched so didnt want to order another Octy and find it was a pre facelift.

I'm torn between a new VRS Estate (petrol or diesel) and the Mazda 6 Sport Luxury (2.2 diesel 185bhp). The Mazda comes fully loaded so order times should be much quicker than the Skoda plus the boot is much bigger. The Skoda has more personality than the Mazda and I would be able to go for a petrol DSG with full leather for the price of the 6. :confused:

Hhmmmm, I'll go test the Mazda 6 this weekend.