My wife recently purchased an Octavia 3, 1.4tsi DSG hatch and having seen the benefit of sill guards on the previous Fabia, wanted them on the Octavia. She also wanted the rear bumper guard as well.

The adverts for the genuine Skoda Door Sill covers on EBay were confusing saying the part number 5E0 071 303 (2 front door and 2 rear door sills, black) was for the Saloon (does not exist). I can confirm that 5E0 071 303 is the correct part number for the Octavia 3 Hatch.

 

I remembered how easy it was to get the sill guards stuck in the wrong place on the Fabia so decided to get the Door Sill templates at the same time as the sill guards. The templates (set of four) have part number 5E5 071 718.

 

The Rear Bumper Guard came from http://www.rearguards.co.uk/ with part number “RBP603 - OCTAVIA III 5DR 2.2013>” (about a week ago, they were listed as for an Octavia IV that also does not exist).

The car had Autoglym LifeShine applied by the dealer.

 

We chose a warm day 18 degC (instructions between 15 – 30 degC), and washed the sills with detergent and water, rinsed then dries them. We used Methylated Sprits to degrease the surfaces (look at the positions of the adhesive strips to just clean these areas).

 

I used 4 lots of cloth for each sill with fresh meth’s each time. You could see the surface loose its shine after the 3^rd cloth. I used a hairdryer to make sure the surface was dry (it’s easy for moisture/meth’s to remain under the rubber seals).

 

Because there is a lip on the door sill guard, if you push the sill guard under the rubber seal, the lip will stop it from sticking flat. It’s worth doing a number of dry runs to make sure the “lip” would sit correctly – once it is stuck, it will not unstick and be ruined. Also, there are small “distance” pads under the lip – these do not stick.

 

I can say, it was well worthwhile getting the door sill templates. One person held the template while the other carefully get the guard in place before pressing down.

(The Templates have gone on EBay to benefit others).

 

Interestingly, Rearguard say do not degrease the surface by going across, only along it and in one directions only. I could see the reason for this – if you go back and forth, you spread the wax from the right back onto the left. They also supply a 3M “VHB” cleaner tissue so I used that after the meth’s on the rear bumper.

 

From the pictures you can see the rear bumper guard has a good sized lip and covering the whole of the surface. It is quite thick and able to take the inevitable abuse that a hatch lip suffers. I can imagine it not being damaged by dog clawers.

 

 

I had the door sills fitted by my dealer - cowards way out!

The problem with the sill guards on the Octy3 compared to the Octy2 is the absence of the second lower sill cover. A large area of the sill is therefore left unprotected.

I fitted 3M clear tape to cover the lower areas so ended up having to faff about degreasing, blow drying etcetera anyway!

I take it that is the matt black rearguards?

 

Does it match the matt black of the rear bumper where the parking sensors are? I might have to get one ordered for the new toy , along with a chrome tailgate strip to give it some contrast and to match the silver roof rails and chrome window surrounds.

I take it that is the matt black rearguards?

 

Does it match the matt black of the rear bumper where the parking sensors are? I might have to get one ordered for the new toy , along with a chrome tailgate strip to give it some contrast and to match the silver roof rails and chrome window surrounds.

 

I just fitted a matt black Rearguards rear bumper protector to mine, it will be in the car park on Monday if you want to take a look. I'm impressed with the quality, although they aren't exactly cheap. The rearmost 90° horizontal-to-vertical of my bumper had already picked up a very small chip in the first month, luckily covered by the protector so I didn't have to touch it up :-) I like the sharper styling lines of the Octy III but I think the rear bumper on the estate will be very prone to dings and scratches, so a protector seemed like a necessity.

Cheers Alan I'll have a look on Monday

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Nice job. Least your sills won't get damaged now

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