Bye bye Octy

[Jules59]

After 2.5 years and 31K miles of trouble free and fun driving Ive part-exchanged my Octy PD VRS Estate.

[PhilP1903]

So what you getting instead ?

[Jules59]

So what you getting instead ?

a 2nd hand 330d M Sport. Touring. - 9K miles

I wasnt especially looking at BMW, in fact ive never owned one before. But it ticked all the boxes and was in my price range. So thought what the hell - this isnt a practise run.

[EddGee]

Oh dear. Skoda for BMW?

Nevermind mate. We all make mistakes..

[Guest Tim31]

Good luck in the snow with the rear whell drive!

they are horrendous to drive in the snow/ice....AWESOME engine though

[Jules59]

Good luck in the snow with the rear whell drive!

they are horrendous to drive in the snow/ice....AWESOME engine though

Yes I know - my Beemer friends say exactly that.

Yesterday was fine but the snow is only a few mm deep here. Using the flappy paddles to keep the autobox in a high gear helps and I must say the traction control system does a good job within in its limits. Ive got some snow-socks for when I get caught out in the white stuff.

But when the snow comes heavier then i'll be using our 4WD Bongo with its snow tyres - just need to get it MOT'd - wasnt going to do it until December and got caught by the sudden cold snap.

[skippy41]

To coin a well known phrase He will be back once those nasty BMW folk start to lighten his wallet

Edited 28 November, 2010 by skippy41

[silver1011]

I'm the other way around.

Went from BMW to Skoda - and haven't looked back (albeit the 320 and it being an E46!).

Maybe I was just unlucky but I just couldn't afford to keep throwing money at it.

Even indy servicing made my eyes water, there is no such thing as a cheap Beemer.

Saying that, I do miss it!

[Jules59]

All is not lost - we still have Fabia VRS in the family. 5 years old and still running faultlessly.

[PhilP1903]

I went from a BMW to a FIAT (mistake) to a Skoda, and although my bmw was only a 318 i really enjoyed it , BUT i really do prefer my VRS to both my previous cars. I would imagine the BMW you have got is really powerful and i sincerely hope you enjoy it. Take care and be careful out there

[VRSPhil]

I've always fancied a 330d. One day!

[octaviaconvert]

Yes I know - my Beemer friends say exactly that.

Yesterday was fine but the snow is only a few mm deep here. Using the flappy paddles to keep the autobox in a high gear helps and I must say the traction control system does a good job within in its limits. Ive got some snow-socks for when I get caught out in the white stuff.

But when the snow comes heavier then i'll be using our 4WD Bongo with its snow tyres - just need to get it MOT'd - wasnt going to do it until December and got caught by the sudden cold snap.

get some weight in the back and it'll be fine my 330d was fine in the snow last year as long as the back end was weighted down

[colsay]

I had a 2003 BMW 320D and it was one of the best cars in the snow I have driven. I was expecting it to be dire, but the ESP setup was great at controlling wheelspin. In fact it was due to this that I specced ESP on my new Octavia. Only had one journey in the snow so far with my current car, so too early to compare, but first impressions OK.

(I should add that the reason I departed BMW world was the rip off servicing/repair charges)

Edited 28 November, 2010 by colsay

[Jules59]

I had a 2003 BMW 320D and it was one of the best cars in the snow I have driven. I was expecting it to be dire, but the ESP setup was great at controlling wheelspin. In fact it was due to this that I specced ESP on my new Octavia. Only had one journey in the snow so far with my current car, so too early to compare, but first impressions OK.

(I should add that the reason I departed BMW world was the rip off servicing/repair charges)

Well so far its not cost a bomb. First service was about £190 but I did supply the oil as dealer wanted £130 for 7 litres. I bought the same oil at £80 for 10L (top Mobil stuff).

Unfotunately the Fabia VRS is going to cost this year (Its done 70K miles in 6 years without trouble but its needing attention now); new cambelt & tensioner +water pump, rear shocks, wheel bearing(s) , wheel tracking/balancing , clutch & clutch release bearing +/- DMF, oil & filters, pollen filter , air filter, brake fluid bleed.

[iCraig]

On the subject of BMW's in the snow, just get winter tyres like BMW actually recommend and they drive fine in the snow!

Glad you're enjoying yours! When I was looking about to replace my Astra (which the Skoda in the end replaced) I looked at a 318 Touring, I found that it felt immensely gutless and underpowered (weird considering it had 120bhp and 148ftlb of torque. And it drove like a septic monkey on acid. It also felt badly built. :wonder:

The Octy was much better in every sense.

[FatblokeVRS]

Hi All

We had a Jag X type 2.0D for about 8 months with 31k on the clock - nice to drive but what a pile of cr4p.

Had to sort several things including the egr valve, brake pads and disks, rear suspension, front suspension, geometry and then the dmf started to slip (approx £1200 to fix)so ditched it (lost 4 and a half grand on it excluding what was spent fixing it in 8 months) and got the VRS - glad we cut our losses and got the Skoda (much better mpg, faster, smoother, more gadgets and much more room in the boot and cabin).

If I could only afford to ditch my vauxhall and get another Skoda.

Keep up the good work Skoda.

Cheers

Dave