L and K Spec.

[obi604]

Hey,

So in regard to the face lifted Octacia L and K spec.

Lovely car and they have a load of extras, heated seats, electric front driver seat, parking sensors, xenon headlights, folding mirrors etc etc

So alot of electrics

Im worried if I bought one that I would spend half me time having problems with electrics and repairing them

any thoughts on this ?

[silver1011]

All of the additions you refer to have been around on the Octavia for a number of years now so they are all well proven.

Almost all are available as options on other specification Octavia's too so there are plenty of other cars out there with similar levels of electronic equipment.

I've never heard of any significant issues...

• Xenon's - sometimes the self levelling feature needs resetting - not a major fix.
  
• Heated seats - not heard of any issues except on brand new Octavia's so more than likely a manufacturing issue rather than a concern over long term reliability.
  
• Electric seats - not heard of any complaints.
  
• Parking sensors - a few issues crop up from time to time, they can suffer from water ingress which causes false indications. Once dried out all returns to normal. If one of the four rear sensors does fail they are cheap and quick to fix.
  
• Folding mirrors - heard of occasions where they don't fold back out to their original position but again a reset seems to do the trick.
  

All in all I wouldn't let the extra features of the L&K put you off. The Octavia in all guises is an extremely reliable car - go for it!

Edited 25 May, 2012 by silver1011

[obi604]

Thanks Silver1101 for the comprehensive reply

So in regard to these Xenon headlights..............if the bulb needs replacing , are they expensive or do Xenons even use a bulb ? ( e.g. on my current car..........which just has standard headllights, if the buld needs replacing, its an easy and cheap DIY job )

[silver1011]

That's one of the many advantages of xenon's, they last much longer than halogen headlights.

They still have a bulb and yes they are more expensive (approx. £45 each) but it's unlikely you'll ever have to replace one.

The one thing xenon's don't like is repeated on/off cycles as they require a much higher start-up voltage. This can shorten the life of the bulbs so over-sensitive auto lights and the use of the coming/leaving home function is sometimes not recommended on xenon equipped cars.

Saying that there are plenty of people on here with xenon headlights that utilise both of the above features and have never had any issues.

My Octavia has xenon headlights, I'm not sure if you've experienced them before but if you do a lot of night driving, especially on unlit roads you'll never want to go back to halogens!

[obi604]

thanks, no never experienced these Xenon lights before but they sound good

to be honest, I dont do alot of night driving

[Mison]

My pre FL L&K is 4 years old now and I've have had no problems at all with any of the electrics. Don't know about the folding mirrors as I don't have them but I would assume that they would not be a problem. I'm still on my original xenon bulbs and I have auto lights set all the time.

[obi604]

Do L and K's by default come with Bluetooth as standard or is this an option that has to be added ?

[Mison]

It's an option at present together with the MFSW (with telephone button).

[Mac1961]

I'm on my second L&K, the present one is a FL on an 11 plate. Never had any issues at all with either car and very pleased with both.

Mac

[Anddenton]

Its not a French car you know

[P&N]

Almost all are available as options on other specification Octavia's too so there are plenty of other cars out there with similar levels of electronic equipment.

Electric seats - not heard of any complaints.

Not easy to find a non L&K car with the electric seats.There have been issues with the Superb seats, maybe a completely different system

[obi604]

Is 11,000 pounds too much to pay for this car ?

a 2009 Skoda Octavia manual 1.8 tsi petrol hatchback L and K with 12,000 miles on the clock

Edited 26 May, 2012 by obi604

[P&N]

The best value L&K 1.8 I have seen was an 08 40k(manual hatch)  that eventaly sold for £7k(advertized) after dropping for a year from much higher.

Since that one went prices seem to have held up on L&K's there are so few about.

Similar money gets 2011 Ellegance.  

(skoda.co.uk, sort on age, parking sensors,  1.8, petrol,  add leather to filter to mainly L&K)

[DBT85]

I have had my 60 plate 1.8 tsi l&k for a couple of months now and everyone says what a nice car it is.

For reference mine was £13,000, 18 months old, 14k on the clock, and had the BT & front sensors. I've since added a Columbus Sat Nav too.

[obi604]

hey DBT , yeah I read your thread : " Wanted a Skoda, bought one, lots of arguing about cam belts, now back to the car..."

I actually posted a q on it there last week : )

thanks for the info.

so from what people are saying, I think 11,000 for a 2009 L and K is a bit on the expensive side

[Mison]

You should be paying around GBP9,500 for an 09 L&K with 12k on the clock.

[obi604]

yeah Mison, 11,000 seems to be too much for this car

[Mison]

If it were a 59 plate from a franchised dealer then you'd be looking to pay GBP10,900 (Parkers Guide).

[shappy]

That's one of the many advantages of xenon's, they last much longer than halogen headlights.

They still have a bulb and yes they are more expensive (approx. £45 each) but it's unlikely you'll ever have to replace one.

The one thing xenon's don't like is repeated on/off cycles as they require a much higher start-up voltage. This can shorten the life of the bulbs so over-sensitive auto lights and the use of the coming/leaving home function is sometimes not recommended on xenon equipped cars.

Saying that there are plenty of people on here with xenon headlights that utilise both of the above features and have never had any issues.

My Octavia has xenon headlights, I'm not sure if you've experienced them before but if you do a lot of night driving, especially on unlit roads you'll never want to go back to halogens!

[shappy]

That's one of the many advantages of xenon's, they last much longer than halogen headlights.

They still have a bulb and yes they are more expensive (approx. £45 each) but it's unlikely you'll ever have to replace one.

The one thing xenon's don't like is repeated on/off cycles as they require a much higher start-up voltage. This can shorten the life of the bulbs so over-sensitive auto lights and the use of the coming/leaving home function is sometimes not recommended on xenon equipped cars.

Saying that there are plenty of people on here with xenon headlights that utilise both of the above features and have never had any issues.

My Octavia has xenon headlights, I'm not sure if you've experienced them before but if you do a lot of night driving, especially on unlit roads you'll never want to go back to halogens!

[shappy]

Hi, I've got a 02 Estate L&K and had it from 3 years old. I have had no problems with the head lights and it now has 200 K on it, I hope this helps.