I am looking for a link to buy a Skoda Octavia 2.0TDi Haynes Service & Repair Manual. The car is a new model - 2005 purchase.

Thanks in advance - I have searched but could not find anything.

Kev

There isn't a Haynes manual available for ANY Octavia or Fabia - nor do they have plans to publish them.

Thanks DGW, pretty poor effort from Haynes for such a great selling car.

Thanks DGW, pretty poor effort from Haynes for such a great selling car.

Think thats a bit harsh...they dont have to do every car by law.

Also, it might well be that perhaps they dont see it as a viable option considering how very few people actually do their own maintanence on the modern very electronic cars of today, as well as what is still a niche market car/make/model.

I thought Haynes covered all cars, I never expected them not too. Oh well, my mistake......

TBH, I think the days of Haynes manuals is past. The market is too diverse now for them to fully make a healthy profit, so they will not cover every new car.

Thanks for the post. I am sure the guys on here will be able to answer any questions I have in the future.

Kev

Thats more than likely. As well as being cheaper and quicker too

I suppose it makes sense for Haynes as they will make more money concentrating on producing manuals that will sell in high volume ie. for cars that NEED a 'service & repair manual' like (IMHO)Fords and Peugeot - especially the repair sections !!

Although 99% of Skoda owners would love a manual we are still in a volume minority as far as car sales go. Maybe they could produce a concise manual for us without the sections on how to repair dodgy trim / cr*p electrics / sticking throttles etc.

They could even leave out the bits in every section that, having just spent all day stripping a gearbox, require you to....

" SIMPLY FABRICATE TOOL 'b' FROM THE SPARE PIECE OF NITRIDED STEEL LEFT OVER FROM THE BROKEN FORD ANGLIA CRANKSHAFT YOU HAVE IN YOUR SHED.."

Skoda's are everywhere in continental Europe, you'd think it worthwhile creating the manual and publishing it as multi-language. The previous generation Polo is getting a manual this year, although i don't think the PD engine is covered in it. Then again the Opel ECOTEC V6 isn't covered due being considered too complicated for DIY.

Maybe skoda isnt a mainstream brand, but VW is. You would expect them to do one for the polo, which the fabia is based on. Maybe generating them just takes too long, if they are only publishing the previous polo's one.

The problem for people like Haynes these days is that so much of the car requires specialist equiptment to remove or strip. This is making it harder and harder for them to justify the expense in making these manuals - if they can't do a lot because of this limiting factor there prospective customer is unlikely to have either the equiptment or the expertise to use it.

So many items on cars these days are safety specific that they are probably also a little scared of being sued / prosecuted following some inept DIY from someone who thinks they know what there doing.I know there are a lot of quite skilled DIYers out there but I also see the aftermath when it goes wrong

Good points above, I never thought of it like that. I guess messing around on the 2.0TDI engine is not like messing around on my Yamaha DT 125 engine.....

Below is a copy of the reply i got for Haynes regarding a workshop manual maybe if enough people contact them they may do something:-

Dear Derek

Thank you for your email.

Haynes Publishing Ltd core product is Service and Repair manuals. It is in our interest to produce a manual if viable and I can assure all customers we will produce a manual for a particular model if at all possible. When considering a vehicle for inclusion on our forthcoming list we consider three points:

1. The vehicle has to be DIY compatible and information available from the manufacturer. On this point, although not researched yet, the Octavia should be OK.

2. It is out of warranty (i.e. over three years old). The manual market for vehicles still under warranty is very small and vehicles less than three years old are not considered towards our sales target. The only exception to this is for very popular models (e.g. Ford Fiesta) where there is demand at less than three years old and the sales target has already been exceeded by a large amount

3. Most importantly, it has sold in excess of 50,000 units. Quite simply, below this figure a manual isn't viable.

In the case of the Octavia official figures for eligible years are 29,981 vehicles sold. Although sales have now increased it is likely to be at least a year before this model meets our target.

I hope this answers your query.

If you need any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us.

Assuring you of our best attention at all times.

Katriena Veal

Customer Services Co-Ordinator

Direct Line Number: +44 (0) 1963 442103

Fax: +44 (0) 1963 440001

Email: kveal@haynes. co.uk

www.haynes.co.uk

www.suttonpublishing.co.uk

Haynes Publishing is a trading style of J H Haynes & Co Ltd registered in England, number 1449587, registered office Sparkford, Nr Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7JJ.