Can someone please enlighten me?

I didn't opt for 'cornering fog lights' because I thought they were gimmicky and expensive but the car did come with fog lights as standard.

Here's the question: how can Skoda justify charging £140 for cornering fogs when simonsheil has just activated mine via VCDS for nothing. :wonder:

That's a massive money spinner considering it's literally already there - just not activated as a standard at the factory, or am I wrong? :no:

Simple because they can.

Skoda dealers will also tell you that many things cannot be enabled when the clearly can.

Money for cornering fogs is massive **** take especially as its only ticking a box in bag com but at the end of the day the majority of people who buy cars would be non the wiser so skoda I'm sure is more than happy to fleece them of there money.

What you need is either Top gear or fifth gear to do a feature on how much we get ripped off on optional extras and watch the stealerships try defend there rip off extras then

No reason at all, it can also be done on an S which does not even come with that option.

No reason at all, it can also be done on an S which does not even come with that option.

That really is quite scandalous!

Here's the question: how can Skoda justify charging £140 for cornering fogs when simonsheil has just activated mine via VCDS for nothing. :wonder:

It's business. They are in it to make money and that is exactly what they are doing.

We aren't meant to have access to VCDS or even know it exists - as the majority of owners don't. Remember even the dealers system is less 'able' than VCDS.

As long as people will pay for it Skoda will be happy to charge for it - you can't blame them for that.

Hey, just found out tonight that I can wink the fog lights at SWMBO when she's trying to find the car!

Money for cornering fogs is massive **** take especially as its only ticking a box in bag com but at the end of the day the majority of people who buy cars would be non the wiser so skoda I'm sure is more than happy to fleece them of there money.

What you need is either Top gear or fifth gear to do a feature on how much we get ripped off on optional extras and watch the stealerships try defend there rip off extras then

Do you really think this happens only to foglamps?!?!

Dream on.

Did you know that the C180, C220 and C250 Mercedes don't have engine capacities of 1,8 or 2,2 or 2,5 litres?  Nope.  They ALL have the exact same 1,8 litre engine just with different software!  Does the different software cost Mercedes any more?  Nope.  Do they charge the same price for the C180 as for the C250?  Nope.  Now I realise there are detail changes (eg like the bigger brakes on a Yeti 170 vs a Yeti 140) but they certainly charge you handsomely for the "bigger" engine in the Merc yet the software was a cost-zero addition for them.  Kerching!!!

BMW are the same (118d, 120d and 123d are all 2.0). However, with both, there are more significant differences than just ECU programming, so whilst there will be a degree of profiteering from upgraded 'perceived value', it's more material than just software.

This is all marketing. Charging a premium for perceived benefit or value is by no means exclusive to car manufacturers. If you will pay, they will take it!

This is all marketing. Charging a premium for perceived benefit or value is by no means exclusive to car manufacturers. If you will pay, they will take it!

Exactly. Hence Škoda charging £140 for cornering foglamps are just what the market will pay. Any member of this forum that actually pays that should really use this website for what it is for! Decent advice. No one on here will advise anyone to pay that for something that is really free and can be enabled with a VCDS machine.

Do you really think this happens only to foglamps?!?!

Dream on.

Did you know that the C180, C220 and C250 Mercedes don't have engine capacities of 1,8 or 2,2 or 2,5 litres? Nope. They ALL have the exact same 1,8 litre engine just with different software! Does the different software cost Mercedes any more? Nope. Do they charge the same price for the C180 as for the C250? Nope. Now I realise there are detail changes (eg like the bigger brakes on a Yeti 170 vs a Yeti 140) but they certainly charge you handsomely for the "bigger" engine in the Merc yet the software was a cost-zero addition for them. Kerching!!!

This is not an attempt to justify the increase in price of 170 vs. 140, but there are some rather significant differences: larger turbo, much larger brakes etc. I believe TP had a detailed listing a couple of years ago, but I forget the details.

This is not an attempt to justify the increase in price of 170 vs. 140, but there are some rather significant differences: larger turbo, much larger brakes etc. I believe TP had a detailed listing a couple of years ago, but I forget the details.

I know that Jesper. I was trying to illustrate the point. It is basic Economic Lesson 101 first year stuff this. The big money to be made is by selling the same thing with a higher mark up, but making the customer think he gets value for money still. You can draw the same argument with for example the SEAT Leon, Golf and Audi A3. Same car (in essence) yet wildly different prices but all of them still sell and all the buyers still think they get value for money even though Audi for sure makes the most profit on that platform I suspect (ignoring the cost of their marketing and more expensive showrooms for a moment viz a viz the other two).

sorry guys for saying this but what is a VCDS machine .i would like my car to have cornering fogs. owt for nowt has to be good during these harsh times. for those that divent speak geordie anything for nothing is good

sorry guys for saying this but what is a VCDS machine .i would like my car to have cornering fogs. owt for nowt has to be good during these harsh times. for those that divent speak geordie anything for nothing is good

It is special software on a laptop with a special cable that plugs into the car that can read the car's hidden "settings" and lets you change them. You get nasty cheap ones on eBay with limited functionality or the proper RossTech ones that can do everything.

If you go to the VCDS forum you may even find a local VCDS member who might help you