Aftermarket OEM for octavia VRS

[Gtewary]

I've ordered a Octavia VRS DSG peol in race blue. The only option I wanted and didn't select was the sat nav. At £1600 I thought it was too expensive and doing some homework I thought I could get a Columbus off eBay for £600 or so and save a grand. However it now seems there are a few more choices with some companies offering products that look OEM and offer either more functions or are cheaper. There are several threads here but none covering all products etc. After much research I've realised most people swear by the Columbus unit but there some concerns about them being stolen units. Secondly, people who do venture beyond the Columbus are either saving money and find he trade off acceptable between poor GUI etc and money saved(Chinese products) or spend more on products from Pioneer, Clarion or Zenec and find the increased functionality (Bluetooth mainly) well worth the extra outlay.

I am firmly in the second camp and have identified the Zenec 2010 as something I'd be keen on (though open to suggestions hence this post). My questions regarding it are as follows:a) As per Zenec website their products are only compatible with Seat and VW and not Skoda although intriguingly on their updates section they mention a can bus update for Skodasb) assuming it does work, do I need a fascia trim if I'm replacing the factory fitted Bolero as both are double DIN units?c) caraudiocentre and some other websites are offering a Zenec 5600 as a perfect Skoda fit. But this unit is not advertised on the Zenec website so presumably is a discontinued model. However feature for feature seems to match the 2010. Any body shed some light on this?d) what do you with the Bolero unit if you do swap?e) anybody know where I could get mine fitted(DIY is definitely out). I live in Coventry and visit Ilford in Essex oftenYour help is much appreciated

[Keith Lard]

I looked at these but decided against it for many reasons and went with Columbus. I sold the bolero for £150 so cost to swop to Columbus was only £250. Fitted in 10 minutes and it looks right in the dash and everything works 100%, the MFD integration, multifunction steering wheel etc.

Think carefully and do plenty of research before you decide.

[Gtewary]

Where dd you get your Columbus from? Don't you miss Bluetooth? I think that's almost mandatory nowadays. But thanks for your replyG

[Keith Lard]

From ebay. Collected from his house.

Car still has Bluetooth.

[mannyo]

I have fixed the poll,

if you have 2 questions they both need to be answered, so I have added a stick with VAG option to the second question so its possible to submit your answers.

[Gtewary]

Thanks Keith. Mine has been ordered without Bluetooth.

Mannyo thanks for doing that. You can tell I'm a newbie!

[bigman1976]

I recently had the same problem as you and thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. First I thought the Zetec would be best, then Pioneer, then Columbus then back to square one.

Here's the conclusions I came to:

Zetec: Potentially the best option in as much as it has great features, looks almost OEM and is relatively cheap. It also is fully canbus compatible. Unfortunately I felt that the fact it wasn't from a major manufacturer made it a more risky buy potentially. Not only that, I felt it looked a little cheap.

Pioneer: Looks good if not quite OEM, Garmin sat nav, but the killer for me was the front-only USB connection - a real let down. Why couldn't they have put a discreet connection on the back?

Columbus: fewest standard features in terms of bluetooth etc, but has a built in hard drive and also allows you to put your music on an SD card meaning your ipod doesn't need to be in the car. Of course, it's fully compatible with the car and is literally plug and play.

I plumped for the Columbus in the end and haven't regretted it at all. It looks fantastic, it's sat nav is excellent and it works well too. Now it can be purchased for c£500-600 on the bay of e it's cheaper than the others too.

[Gtewary]

Thanks for that. So no fascia trim required? Only thing putting me off is lack of Bluetooth in the Columbus Have it in my freelander and am so used to it that I actually prefer to make calls in the car! Add an iPhone with Siri and it could be awesome!

[bigman1976]

You'll need a fascia trim if you go for the Columbus if you haven't had a sat nav in the car previously. They're not hideously expensive though and can be got from the dealer. There is a bluetooth module for the Columbus which can be retrofitted fairly easily and it'd bring the cost up to getting one of the other options or near enough.

[Gtewary]

Thanks bigman. Mine will come with the bolero fitted. Do I think I still need fascia trim? And what do you do with the bolero? Do they sell well?

[PhilP1903]

I have looked at all the options and i have concluded that the Zenec in my opinion is the best choice. TheZenec ZE MC 5600 is a new unit specifically designed for the skoda it has inbuilt bluetooth, 1 sd card slot, "media-link-box" (for connecting ipod's, mp3 players etc. and at present is only £599.99 including the ZE-NA2000 navigation unit from Car Audio Centre. http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/ The Zenec is almost as easy to fit as any standard VAG Head Unit but as with most alternatives you would need a new facia.