Octavia vRS LE - Body repair help!

[Octy09]

Our Octavia vRS Limited Edition Estate was rear ended a couple of weeks ago. It's been in for repairs - needed new rear bumper, tail light, repairs to rear 3/4 panel etc. On closer inspection, they have fitted the old-style vRS bumper (subtly different to 2009 models). As some will know, the Limited Edition vRS featured new door mirrors, the facelift interior and the facelift rear bumper which is moulded slightly differently. So they've basically ordered and fitted the wrong bumper. Anyone have any experience of this sort of thing, and whether the part numbers were ever actually listed properly seeing as the LE was essentially a bit of a bodge job on Skoda UK's part? 

 

The bumper does look out of place with the LE's larger wheels; the shape is different and that's how we worked out something wasn't right. Will get back onto the repairers in the morning but wondered if anybody had any thoughts. Ta!

 

2009 onwards bumper:

 

As seen on our Octavia originally:

 

 

 

 

Up to 2009 (excluding LE) bumper (i.e the wrong one):

 

Different moulding at the bottom - reflectors are a different shape and the bumper moulding on the newer version is more pronounced. Yes it seems like a small thing but the fact is, it's different to what was there before.

Edited 13 December, 2014 by Octy09

[Octy09]

The new one. Anybody?

[Octy09]

We've since noticed one of the baggage hooks in the boot now won't work and there's a bulb missing in the new light they've fitted. Deary me.

[silver1011]

Yep, they have fitted the wrong bumper.

 

I suspect the fault might not be 100% with the bodyshop, like you say the LE is a bit of a mongrel, right on the cross over from pre-facelift to FL and then to make things worse the LE took some elements of the FL (new dash, wingmirrors etc.), but strangely not the new rear lights. Chances are the supplier the bodyshop used for the parts got it wrong, or even Skoda's system perhaps.

 

Either way the guy doing the repair should have an eye for detail, it's his job. He should have noticed the different reflectors, but then I suspect there will have been a few days between removing the old damaged bumper and fitting the new one.

 

Missing bulbs and not checking the fit and finish of all parts removed and refitted is sloppy though so the bodyshop is still in for some blame.

 

How much of an issue is it for you? If you had paid for it then I'd ask if you'd settle for a partial refund, but since it was an insurance job you are within your rights to ask for it to be done again. I guess the downside is that the car is in the workshop for another few days...

[Octy09]

Yep, they have fitted the wrong bumper.

 

I suspect the fault might not be 100% with the bodyshop, like you say the LE is a bit of a mongrel, right on the cross over from pre-facelift to FL and then to make things worse the LE took some elements of the FL (new dash, wingmirrors etc.), but strangely not the new rear lights. Chances are the supplier the bodyshop used for the parts got it wrong, or even Skoda's system perhaps.

 

Either way the guy doing the repair should have an eye for detail, it's his job. He should have noticed the different reflectors, but then I suspect there will have been a few days between removing the old damaged bumper and fitting the new one.

 

Missing bulbs and not checking the fit and finish of all parts removed and refitted is sloppy though so the bodyshop is still in for some blame.

 

How much of an issue is it for you? If you had paid for it then I'd ask if you'd settle for a partial refund, but since it was an insurance job you are within your rights to ask for it to be done again. I guess the downside is that the car is in the workshop for another few days...

Cheers for the reply! I'm not going mad then! 

Spoke to them today and they said that according to their system, that was the correct part number, but once explained about the pic 'n' mix LE, they've claimed the Skoda "don't make that bumper anymore" - which I find extremely difficult to believe - doesn't make sense. Going to ring our Skoda retailer tomorrow to check on that. Agreed that the bodyshop should've spotted those various things in quality inspection; they're coming to sort out the headlight bulb and the luggage hook in the boot at least.

Not an enormous issue but it'll niggle; the bumper just doesn't look quite right. It's an insurance jobby (the other driver admitted fault) so would be good if they could get it properly right.

[silver1011]

I've looked into this a little bit more and it seems things aren't as clear as I thought.

 

A quick Google search for the facelift MkII Octavia vRS estate reveals that the bumper is indeed unchanged from the pre-FL, at least as far as I can tell.

 

I am focusing mainly on the red reflector mounted in the lower part of the the bumper.

 

Here is a FL vRS with the larger (or longer) reflector...

 

 

I then discovered that the rear bumper on the LE you posted above is from the non-vRS Octavia! Here is your picture...

 

 

Here is the non-vRS with the same bumper (shorter reflector)...

 

 

Notice also the colour-coded cut-out on the opposite side to the exhaust. This is unique to the non-vRS bumper but is present on the LE pictured above - confirming that the LE pictured does not have a vRS bumper fitted.

 

I then found several more pictures online of the LE vRS rear bumper and it is the same as the one fitted to the normal vRS, i.e. the one fitted to your car by the body shop (longer reflector, no exhaust cut-out on the opposite side)...

 

 

The questions are:

 

1) Is the LE you pictured in the opening post your car?

2) Can you be sure that the rear bumper is original?

 

I suspect that the pre-crash bumper on your LE was not the original and that the previous repairer actually got the wrong bumper (i.e. a cheaper, more readily available non-vRS bumper). The recent repair has since seen the correct bumper fitted, albeit a different bumper to the one fitted previously.

 

Could this be possible?

Edited 16 December, 2014 by silver1011

[Toddie]

The rear bumper on my Le Vrs is original and has the long reflectors fitted

[Octy09]

I've looked into this a little bit more and it seems things aren't as clear as I thought.

 

A quick Google search for the facelift MkII Octavia vRS estate reveals that the bumper is indeed unchanged from the pre-FL, at least as far as I can tell.

 

I am focusing mainly on the red reflector mounted in the lower part of the the bumper.

 

Here is a FL vRS with the larger (or longer) reflector...

 

 

I then discovered that the rear bumper on the LE you posted above is from the non-vRS Octavia! Here is your picture...

 

 

Here is the non-vRS with the same bumper (shorter reflector)...

 

 

Notice also the colour-coded cut-out on the opposite side to the exhaust. This is unique to the non-vRS bumper but is present on the LE pictured above - confirming that the LE pictured does not have a vRS bumper fitted.

 

I then found several more pictures online of the LE vRS rear bumper and it is the same as the one fitted to the normal vRS, i.e. the one fitted to your car by the body shop (longer reflector, no exhaust cut-out on the opposite side)...

 

 

The questions are:

 

1) Is the LE you pictured in the opening post your car?

2) Can you be sure that the rear bumper is original?

 

I suspect that the pre-crash bumper on your LE was not the original and that the previous repairer actually got the wrong bumper (i.e. a cheaper, more readily available non-vRS bumper). The recent repair has since seen the correct bumper fitted, albeit a different bumper to the one fitted previously.

 

Could this be possible?

1) Yes - that's our car. Photo taken about 3 years ago.

2) Yes - we've owned it from new, purchased from a main Skoda dealer. It hasn't had any cosmetic repairs made to it before this.

 

I knew it was the post-FL bumper and a standard one as I also noted that other vRS bumpers across the age range were the other design. The mystery continues. Makes you wonder what on earth Skoda UK were up to when they were cobbling these together. Perhaps ours was even more limited edition than we thought!

Edited 16 December, 2014 by Octy09

[silver1011]

I can hear the conversation in the factory now...

 

"Lad's, we've run out of vRS bumpers we need to stop the line"

 

"No chance my friend, get some standard bumpers from the other line, it's an LE anyway, they are meant to be unique!"

[Octy09]

The rear bumper on my Le Vrs is original and has the long reflectors fitted

Bizarre! Ours is original too but it's the non-VRS bumper (though personally it has never looked out of place). What number is yours?

Edited 16 December, 2014 by Octy09

[Octy09]

I can hear the conversation in the factory now...

 

"Lad's, we've run out of vRS bumpers we need to stop the line"

 

"No chance my friend, get some standard bumpers from the other line, it's an LE anyway, they are meant to be unique!"

Absolutely puzzling. I'm going to be looking at every LE that goes by now. Perhaps as you say they used up what they had... the Anthracite Grey was exclusive to the vRS at that time after all. They have at least fixed the tail light and boot hook.

Edited 16 December, 2014 by Octy09

[silver1011]

Which bulb was missing, didn't it trigger the blown-bulb warning light on the dash?

[Octy09]

Another funny thing is that some LEs (like ours) have the aluminium-style gearknob, whereas others are full-on chrome topped.

[Octy09]

Which bulb was missing, didn't it trigger the blown-bulb warning light on the dash?

Nope... if you're looking at the car from the rear, it was the bottom left bulb of the left-hand tail light, sort of at the base of the 'C' shape it creates.

[silver1011]

Ah, those two little W3W bulbs aren't monitored. You did well to spot it was missing then!

[Octy09]

Happier knowing that it would appear the LE is actually supposed to have the standard vRS bumpers, and that the majority of others appear to have them too. There are only a couple I ever see within 50 miles of where we live and I've never really paid attention to the bumpers assuming they were all the same. Booking the car in tomorrow for cam belt so will query with the dealer anyway.

[Toddie]

Bizarre! Ours is original too but it's the non-VRS bumper (though personally it has never looked out of place). What number is yours?

Number 401