I'm a bit curious - I think in the handbook it says that the first service should be at 30000kms or 2 years, so in old pence it looks like the first service should be at about 18000miles, but when I checked my service book it says that a service is due exactly one year after I bought the car. I've only done about 6000 miles since new so by the time the year comes round it'll be roughly 8000 miles. I wonder why the dealer has done this.

I checked the oil today, it's about half-way up or down(!) the dipstick. I guess this is normal for a common rail diesel to use a bit of oil when new, yes? How much should I put in to top up?

Thanks,

Steve

Aha, I hear you say, why did you buy a diesel when you're covering so few miles? A bad winter and a lot of cycling to keep fit to work are the answer. I'll be driving a lot more from next week - I'm driving to England so that's a 1000 miles each way plus a holiday.

In the UK there are 2 options on servicing, variable and fixed. Our Octys come from the factory set to variable but our brochure says to discuss with the dealer which option is best for your annual milage/type of driving.

This is what the brochures says

Service Intervals

When you order your Octavia, you can choose whether your car is on a fixed or a

flexible service regime. Your retailer will help you decide which regime suits how

your car will be driven, enabling your car to stay in the best possible shape.

Fixed regime: Service every 10,000 miles or one year (whichever comes first).

This is recommended if the vehicle is likely to be used in the following way:

> Driven fewer than 10,000 miles per annum and/or

> Mainly short journeys, drive mostly in towns or cities and/or

> High vehicle loading/towing and frequent hill climbs and/or

> Heavy accelerating and braking, using high revs

Flexible regime: Sensors in the engine detect when a service is needed. You will

be informed of this by a service light which will show at any point between 9,000

and 20,000 miles, up to 24 months (whichever comes first).

The flexible service regime is recommended for vehicles with a daily mileage of

more than 25 miles where the vehicle is driven regularly and mainly at a constant

speed with minimum vehicle and engine loading, minimal towing and driven in an

economical manner.

I won't do 10,000 miles a year but that's not the whole picture- what's more important IMO is the type of driving/distances of your typical journeys that are important. There is much made about it being 'uneconomical' to buy a diesel if you don't do many miles due to the extra initial cost, but don't worry about that as it was your choice! What is not taken into consideration is the resale value of a diesel vs petrol and as a general rule the diesel will always be worth more than the petrol so offsets the initial extra cost.

I had to top up my CR vRS about 1500 miles ago as it too was about 1/2 way down the min/max levels on the dipstick, but it hasn't used any since so there's nothing to worry about. Do you have 3 years free servicing in Poland? if so and it's like the UK deal it's on the fixed service plan, otherwise the dealer miht have set it to fixed based on what you told him when you ordered the car. Again in the UK the price isn't that different as the variable service cost is the same as a major service and if you're not doing high miles it's worth having the oil changed regularly IMO anyway. Hope this helps.

Yes, it does help a lot! For sure I won't be doing more than 10k a year and yes, I do a lot of shortish journeys. The city centre traffic is murder, so the annual service is for me and makes a lot of sense. I guess I had the conversation with the dealer when I picked up the car, but as the car was in the showroom and gleaming new I probably just wanted to get the keys, sign the paperwork and get driving. I think for a first service it costs about 150 pounds (750zl) for a basic service i.e. oil and filter change over here. I don't have any free servicing package but it's my company car so any money spent on it reduces my tax bill enormously! I went to the Skoda dealer here yesterday and bought:

1 litre Castrol oil, 20 pounds

bulb set with fuses, 25 pounds (lots of bulbs)

screenwash 5 litres 2 pounds(!)

coolant (5 pounds)

I wonder how it compares with the UK.

Changing the oil & filter is one of the most important things that you can do to prolong the life of the car. This particularly applies to the first change, when there will be an initial load of wear particles produced by all the moving parts bedding in. The sooner the better.