Ok folks, the time has come to part ways with my Mk1 Octy vRS which has been a hassle from day 1 and spends more time off road at the dealers than it does being driven. Over the last 15 months it has had new brakes all round, new front wheel bearings, new heater fan, new trim parts, etc , etc. It creaks and rattles and I just don't enjoy driving it. In addition, my wife's Fabia vRS has given us a few minor problems although the current car replaced one which was rejected due to a recurring fault which kept leaving us awaiting AA Recovery.

Prior to this I owned another Mk1 Octy vRS which, subject to a few minor (but liveable with) niggles, gave be 30,000 miles of very enjoyable driving - hence the change to a newer one 15 months ago and the Mrs buying a Fabia at the same time.

As a result of my previous happy experience of skoda ownership and the cars regularly appearing at the top of satisfaction surveys I could still be convinced that we have just been unlucky with these two cars so I'm looking for any new Mk2 Octy owners (particularly vRS) to convince me to stay with Skoda.

With the addition of 18" wheels, dual zone, cruise, Xenons etc I am looking at a

yes do it now ! ive had mine two weeks and love it. it's a totaly different car to the mk I the build quality is 10 times better. the stereo's much better.it goes round corners better,it pulls better from lower speeds,the seats hug you better and they ain't white!i think you will always get water in the boot when it rains it's the slope on the rear hatch. Hope this helps matey !

Took a test drive on thursday , was well impressed , which i could have run it faster but i could see the look on his face , go to dealers tell them you want a long test . see what you think .

Mk2 is a completely different kettle of fish to the Mk1 -- faster, better built, better handling.

Can't comment on the standard lights for the Mk2 - but the Xenons are fantastic!

Same goes for the Stereo - as I've opted for Sat - Nav, but that said I'm sure it will use the same speakers -- and they are a big improvement over the Mk1.

The interior build is brilliant - the way the doors close with a solid thunk

the seats are comfortable, and so far not giving any problems(although mines only 2 weeks old)

Tyre noise is a little bit of an issue, but I think that's down to the tyres that are fitted(contis)

The problem of water in the boot when opening, is still there - but not as bad as wason the Mk1.

I've driven an A3 Sportback 2.0TFSi back to back with mine -- as has one of the salesman at my garage -- It's impossible to tell the difference from a driving point of view -- if you were to blindfold someone and take them out -- I swear they would not be able to tell which is which -- and the Audi is around 5k more :eek:

My advice.....

Put this bad experience behind you -- and get one bought, you may be able to secure a very good deal if you document all the problems that you've had with your current car.

but the Xenons are fantastic!

, slightly off the topic but I was going to change the parking lights in mine as they are a little yellow, low and behold the standard ones have a Blue coating on them. I was going to put the Phillips ones I had in the Mk1 in, but they were blown when I put one in. Maybe got brittle :confused:

Does it have to be brand new? An Audi S4 outdoes the vrs in every way (except probably MPG). Can pick a decent one up from £12k.

Does it have to be brand new? An Audi S4 outdoes the vrs in every way (except probably MPG). Can pick a decent one up from

i have tested a focus ST, and i have to be truthful here, it is an excellent car to drive ( i have made this point on another thread )

HOWEVER........

the focus is not as practical as the Octavia, and despite the fact the cheapest ST is 17.5k, it will cost you 600quid more to get a 5dr one.

also when one was specced up, it cost almost 1k more than the vRS (and that did not include climate, or cruise)

bare in mind that if you want 5 seats, you cannot get the ST-3 (it has a recaro style rear bench, with no centre seat)

it all depends on what you want, drive them both back to back and see.....

That's fine.....

As long as you've got another 12k to pay for the fuel' date=' insurance and running costs.

Don't get me wrong the S4 is a cracking bit of kit, but if you buy a rough one they can cost the earth to keep going.[/quote']

True, the only reason i have an Octy is because it's a company car and i have to have something new. If it was my own money there's no way i'd have something this dull/slow/badly made (vrs included). Also, the Octy has cost the fleet company far more in repairs than my 160k mile S4 over the last two years.