Spudey's Octavia III vRS Thread

[Spudey]

Hi. Been lurking the last wee while looking for a sensible replacement for my Clio 172 now I have my family's comfort to consider and not just my own enjoyment

I was originally looking for a Octavia II FL vrs but with the III being such good value I decided to go for it as my first brand new car.

Managed to make it to a dealer today for a test drive, they had a vrs there in pretty much my perfect spec being used as the sales manager's car, so I took it out for a spin. Lovely to drive with the DSG, quality of materials and finish were beyond what I expected and it looked fantastic in the metal.

Decision made I placed an order for a vRS Estate, TDI, DSG, race blue with anthracite Gemini's. Options were winter pack, spare wheel, standard cruise, sunset glass and mitsumi.

Dealer told me to expect the car in

May, any sooner would be a bonus.

I had previously got some good quotes from other dealers via carwow.com (over 5% off with 0% pcp). My local could not match them no matter what I tried, but gave enough off in the end (2.5%) to go with them and not an unknown dealer 300+ miles away, plus get everything sorted before Christmas and the price increase and 0% with servicing offer changes.

I'll try to update this thread as my order progresses and obviously get the necessary photos up once it arrives.

I can't wait to get it home

Edited 17 December, 2013 by Spudey

[james_19742000]

And the bonus is by ordering now you have got all the good terms, 0%, servicing etc, yet, if it does change on Jan 1st and the new offer is better financially you can have that one too if need be, you now have some great flexibility!

 

Enjoy the car, just not the long wait!!!

[Spudey]

Latest update is I called the dealer last week and still don't have a build week, but on the plus side I was able to add the variable boot floor and power tailgate to my order.

To try and offset my lack of patience waiting for the Skoda to arrive I started looking for some winter wheels. I was thinking of some 17" alloys since the tyres would be cheaper and maybe improve the grip in winter with a bit more sidewall flex. That went out the window though when I found these fairly local.

They are 18x7.5J BBS alloys but OE from a Seat Leon, with almost new winter rubber already fitted. They are in fantastic condition with no marks or dings, and the paint looks fantastic, it's really smooth and shimmery unlike most OE alloys which usually have a bit of grain to them.

Being from a Leon they should be ET50, which should be fine. Just need to get some Skoda centre caps for them before next winter...

Edited 14 February, 2014 by Spudey

[Spudey]

So I collected my car back in July, so I though it was time to update here with what I've been up to over the last few months...

On collection day at the dealer.

 

First full detail, citrus pre-wash and snow foam followed by tar and iron decontamination, then a hand wash with AM bubbles. Wheels brushed clean with G101 apc. Then paint was hand polished with GTechniq P1, with only the gloss black pillars required some swirl correction with the DA polisher. Protected with GTechniq C1 on the paint, wheels and plastics and then two layers of GTechniq EXO applied to the paint and wheels. Glass was done with G1 front and rear, with G5 on the sides.
 

 

 

More updates to come this week...

Edited 5 September, 2014 by Spudey

[Spudey]

I got some mudflaps from skodaparts.ie a while ago so I though put up some photos to help anyone trying to decode to fit them to an Octavia III, or a vRS in particular.

I fitted them with the wheels in place, I did not use the plastic stud in the front pair that requires a 6mm hole drilled, I may add this next time I have the wheels off.

Packaged flaps, Torx driver I used and the screws

Driver side before/after

Passenger side before/after

Rear fitted:

Front fitted:

[blahde2]

Sweet, might get some muddys myself now.

[Mence]

Nice thread Spudey, are the mudflaps well secured despite not having the 6mm thingy installed?

Looking forward to your next update.

[Spudey]

Sweet, might get some muddys myself now.

Nice thread Spudey, are the mudflaps well secured despite not having the 6mm thingy installed?

Looking forward to your next update.

Thanks folks. They do seem to be secure enough without the extra plastic plug, I'll probably still fit them when I get a chance for completeness.

I forgot to mention I have reverse parked with the wheels against various kerbs and the clearance seems to be fine, I believe the lower ride height clearance is why they are not recommended by Skoda on the vRS.

[JJJ66]

I got some mudflaps from skodaparts.ie a while ago so I though put up some photos to help anyone trying to decode to fit them to an Octavia III, or a vRS in particular.

I fitted them with the wheels in place, I did not use the plastic stud in the front pair that requires a 6mm hole drilled, I may add this next time I have the wheels off.

 

I got a set from http://www.skodapartsireland.ie and I must say they were an excellent price (€45.47 inc delivery for both sets together) and quick delivery, with splendid customer service.

Fitted them this weekend and I managed to drill the 6mm holes at the front with the wheels on by manouevring the car to get full lock on one side and then on the other.

No trouble yet with clearance, and they are a nice addition - very low-key but pretty good at reducing the crap thrown up onto the bodywork. Very happy with them.

[Mikebham]

Good to see another fellow ex CS'er who's done pretty much the same as me

 

 

[fjrden]

You never said how easy or difficult the rear ones are/were?

[Spudey]

You never said how easy or difficult the rear ones are/were?

Rears were easy, don't recall having any difficulty anyway.

[Spudey]

Winter wheels and tyres on today. Took the opportunity to give the arch liners, suspension and calipers a thorough clean out while wheels are off.

BBS Leon alloys give the car quite a different look, they are still 18" but look smaller than the Geminis I think because of the contrast with the tyres. Or maybe suspension needs to settle again after being jacked up, looking at the arch gaps.

Tyres are budget winters that came on the wheels, I'll see how they do this year and probably swap them for some decent ones next year unless they are really dreadful and need swapped ASAP.

Some before and after shots, sorry some of them are a bit wonky

[Spudey]

[Khurram77]

Such a good looking car. They look awesome with the DRLs on in day time. How are you finding the DSG mated to a diesel engine?

[Spudey]

Such a good looking car. They look awesome with the DRLs on in day time. How are you finding the DSG mated to a diesel engine?

I find the DSG works fine with the diesel, it's smooth and relaxed and doesn't get caught out very often. Occasionally it kicks down at awkward times, like turning into a uphill junction, but that could just be my unrefined right foot. Most of the time it behaves remarkably well. This is my first 'automatic' car and I can't see me going back to manual on my daily driver.