Following a back injury 5 years ago, I’ve been finding it more and more uncomfortable driving a manual vehicle, albeit with a new clutch and DMF recently fitted, our MKII TDI170 Elegance is very light and smooth. Nevertheless and auto has been becoming more necessary. Also is become obvious that after 13 years with two diesels, that reverting back to a petrol vehicle was also necessary, as I no longer do the ridiculous commuting mileage I used to.

On Wednesday morning I was searching the web and found two L&K 280’s, but one really caught my eye. This was a stunning looking example in Magnetic and beige interior, which I really wanted and it was practically fully loaded, with the addition of 19” Phoenix Alloys. Wait a minute thinks I.... there was a particular thread I’d read here the previous night, so I went back and looked at the thread from Prykey, who traded his Magnetic L&K for a Mussy V8 back in December. Hmmm. This is really coincidental, so I PM’d Prykey and blow me down, yes...  he confirmed that was his car, so he was able to give me a really comprehensive run down on it which was excellent!  

I went to see it yesterday and it’s an absolute credit to John - it is literally like new, drives beautifully and rather rapidly too. Anyway I’m very happy to say I’ve bought it and part-ex’d the Elegance with them, sight unseen. They gave me a credit that was better than book too, so more than I expected. The 280 will be delivered next Wednesday and they’ll then take the Elegance. 

Wayhay! The 280 gets delivered this afternoon! Can’t wait! 😊

10 hours ago, numskull said:

Wayhay! The 280 gets delivered this afternoon! Can’t wait! 😊

Enjoy every minute! Once the oil gets up to temp, enjoy engaging warp factor! 😂

..... and it didn’t arrive. They found the door window trims just bent and buckled when they tried to align them so they’ve ordered a full set from Skoda. Naturally I’m disappointed, but I’d’ve just rejected the car if it wasn’t correct. Annoying that I’d cancelled the insurance on the 170 so I had to pay another admin fee to put it back in cover, and I’ll have yet another when I swap it again. They said they’d fill the tank to compensate, so that’s fine. 

5 hours ago, boydeee said:

Enjoy every minute! Once the oil gets up to temp, enjoy engaging warp factor! 😂

I will indeed; it’ll be nice to drive a petrol auto for the first time in 20 years too. 

As much as it's a PITA it's refreshing to hear that the supplying dealer proactively spotted and (hopefully) rectified an issue before dropping the car off and lumbering you with the hassle of getting it sorted.  I moved to a 280 after a decade of diesel ownership....you're going to enjoy the buttery smooth clatter free experience 😀

 

It's a great car, I hope you enjoy it. 

Well, it was me who spotted the misaligned trims. Additionally, I noticed from 50:feet away that the drivers door was out of horizontal alignment by about 1.5mm. Also, the paint on the NSF door was dull - the colour match is ok, just needed to be buffed correctly - plus there were three deepish scratches on the low OSR. I suspect all this occurred on the way to, or at the block, as Pryke said the car had never been damaged and was perfect when he traded it. Naturally I said I want them all resolved before I took delivery. I admit, I am a PITA when it comes to buying and maintaining cars but everything, even beyond the initial cost of buying them, are big financial outlays, so In my view, it’s justified. 

17 minutes ago, numskull said:

Well, it was me who spotted the misaligned trims. Additionally, I noticed from 50:feet away that the drivers door was out of horizontal alignment by about 1.5mm. Also, the paint on the NSF door was dull - the colour match is ok, just needed to be buffed correctly - plus there were three deepish scratches on the low OSR. I suspect all this occurred on the way to, or at the block, as Pryke said the car had never been damaged and was perfect when he traded it. Naturally I said I want them all resolved before I took delivery. I admit, I am a PITA when it comes to buying and maintaining cars but everything, even beyond the initial cost of buying them, are big financial outlays, so In my view, it’s justified. 

Ah well, that's a different matter and I agree 100% that you should be happy with every aspect of the car before taking delivery.  I'd be exactly the same. 

 

I hope the dealer sorts everything. 

I’m sure they will - they have a very good reputation. 

Finally... I have it! Good as their word, the seller, George Kingsley Prestige and Performance in Colchester, fixed all the minor problems. The delay was caused by a factory back order part - the OSF door lower chrome weatherstrip - and that arrived on Wednesday and James, one of the partners in the business, drove the 280 to ours early evening. Even though it was dark, I was still able to check the points and they were all fine. He went round the Elegance, said it was exactly as I described, which was unusual (!), the documents were exchanged and the final payment was made. Now I’ve driven the car for a few miles, it’s even  better than I expected! It’s much “tighter” and it’s much, much quieter than the MKII. I don’t mean the CR engine sound, which was much quieter than the old PD engines and very well insulated too no, it’s the reduction in road noise from even lower profile tyres and the quieter chassis. So far I haven’t driven it in anger, I’ve just been going through the different modes to see the effect of the variations but haven’t really tested them as such. Fortunately, the driver seat is a little bit wider between the squabs vs. the MKII which is very welcome; they heat up faster too. The build quality is much better and certainly up there with VW now. I reset the trip Thursday morning and I’ve just undertaken urban driving and it’s averaging 29.1mpg which I think is great. I love it - the car is a credit to Pryke!