My 06 Octavia, which I bought back in November is going back to the garage for a warranty repair of the gearbox after discovering a grinding noise when shifting from 1st to 2nd over 2500 revs. I read another forum post on here indicating it may be the syncro gone.

The garage initially said they'd put lighter gearbox oil in, to which I said no, that I wanted it properly investigated - as if the problem reappeared in a years time then the car would be out of warranty and cost me to get it repaired. They agreed to remove the gearbox and fix properly.

So now the manager is asking me if I want the clutch replaced while the gearbox is out - his reasons saying that they won't charge me labour, and it'll be parts only - at which he's quoting £279

The car has only done 48k - so, is it worth getting the clutch done? Does it sound too expensive? The garage is an official Skoda dealership.

Personally I would do this whilst it's out.

Clutch life is notoriously difficult to predict, depending on driving style, the types of roads it's driven on, how laden it normally is, whether it has been used for towing etc.

You could ask them how worn they think it is, and weigh up how long you intend to keep the car, to inform your decision.

I've had various cars over the years taking their mileages up to around the 100k mark and have never had to have a clutch replaced.

Having said that when I bought my wife her first car the clutch went at 31K due to having been driven by an old dear who revved the b*ll*cks off it while slipping the clutch when parking etc. and subsequently my wife as a learner.

So in conclusion as said above a clutch can need changing at anything from 30 to 100k+ depending on the life it has had. All I can suggest is they see what it looks like when everything is apart and make a judgment then. Having said that they might just be looking to get something back from what is going to be an expensive warranty repair.

Does it have a DMF? if so and you are changing the clutch you could consider an SMF conversion at the same time.

Be rude not to mate go for it (assuming you can afford it... not being rude here by the way)

No DMF, so no problems there.

I was thinking the same about the garage trying to recoup something from the warranty repair - but then I found out the warranty is third-party covered by the AA, so no problems there, unless the garage have to pay out some kind of excess.

Ideally it'd be nice to believe a garage in giving an honest answer to the question of "Does it need replacing?"... but I think they're always going to say 'yes', as they'll make something out of it somewhere along the line.

Probably worth it for the price, at 48K in 6years I guess menas the car has spent most of its life around town doing stop start which will have increased ware a bit on the clutch. If you are going to keep car for a good few years or do a good milage then definitely go for it, otherwise I guess you pays your money and takes your chance.

Id personally replace the clutch whilst the gearbox is removed (as long as you intend to keep the car for a few years) £279 sounds a lot for a clutch kit though.

That's what I thought - going to get another quote on a clutch kit from another Skoda dealership just to double check.

That's pretty expensive considering he's apparently not quoting for labour in that price.

I had my PD140 clutch replaced about 18 months ago and the total price was around that figure.

Just got a response from skodaparts.com - not far off, the clutch kit, and release bearing comes in at £226 for genuine Skoda parts.

You could give GSF a ring if you wanted, they supplied my kit.

'Genuine Skoda parts' will either be supplied by Sachs or LUK. Both of which you can get direct from the like of GSF. Probably from Eurocarparts too.

Got a further reply from a separate Skoda dealership - confirmed the prices were correct at around £250. Ouch.