After 41,000 miles my local dealer tells me my front shock absorbers are leaking (although I haven't seen any puddles on the driveway). They want to charge me around £500 to change them. Is this reasonable? If I decide instead to take my car to another garage (not a Skoda dealership) would it affect the performance of my car if they replace the shock absorbers with ones that aren't actually manufactured by Skoda?

Skoda shocks won't actually be manufactured by Skoda. I think the OEM supplier is Bilsten but someone will correct me if I am wrong. The shocks are under £100 each from Euro Car Parts and even less if you use the Briskoda club discount code worth 25% - see site sponsors section. Then find a local garage to fit them. It can't be more than a 3 hour job and no Skoda garage or specialist I know charges £100 an hour. I think you need a 2nd opinion!!!

Skoda shocks won't actually be manufactured by Skoda. I think the OEM supplier is Bilsten but someone will correct me if I am wrong. The shocks are under £100 each from Euro Car Parts and even less if you use the Briskoda club discount code worth 25% - see site sponsors section. Then find a local garage to fit them. It can't be more than a 3 hour job and no Skoda garage or specialist I know charges £100 an hour. I think you need a 2nd opinion!!!

Peanut is correct, most likely either Bilstein or SACHS produced the original shocks for Skoda.

Your warranty, performance, and lifespan of parts wont be affected in any way, as long as your use OE quality parts, and a VAT registered garage.

There are quite a few, highly recommended garages here, that offer a forum discount and you have the peace of mind that their labour will be priced fairly, and most likely get a better quality of service than at a main dealer.

If you need help finding the parts, drop me a PM with your reg and ill help find the right ones