Scala SE 1.5 engine. Manual box.

[John2022]

Ordered the car early July with delivery contracted to be in January 2023. I spoke to the dealer (Marshalls Medway) today about a possible tow bar fitting but when I found out the cost quickly gave that idea up, however they did say that the car was about to enter production with delivery possible before Christmas. Good news! It's standard SE spec in Graphite Grey and the cheap double sided boot floor. Here's hoping that does indeed appear when forecast. 

Cheers

John

[skoda1982]

Over a grand but if you want to fit after production it difficult you need towbar preparation at the factory 

[John2022]

2 hours ago, skoda1982 said:

Over a grand but if you want to fit after production it difficult you need towbar preparation at the factory 

Well over, I stopped listening once he got past the 'Thousand'. It doesn't matter though, I just thought it would be useful to tow a small trailer to the dump etc., instead the rubbish will go where it always has in my cars - inside! 

[skoda1982]

On 04/11/2022 at 16:22, John2022 said:

Well over, I stopped listening once he got past the 'Thousand'. It doesn't matter though, I just thought it would be useful to tow a small trailer to the dump etc., instead the rubbish will go where it always has in my cars - inside! 

This is on Skoda configuration 

Electrically folding tow bar with adaptor

Features included in the package:

Adapter

 

 

Trailer hitch mechanically swiveling and power-detachable

 

 

£1,050

ADD

 

£1,050

ADD

Tow bar preparation

If a tow bar or tow bar preparation is not fitted on the car, the VIN plate may not show any towing weights and the car will never be eligible for towing. As such it may not be possible to retrospectively fit a tow bar if the car is not fitted with tow bar preparation at Factory.

 

Features included in the package:

Tow bar preparation

 

 

£205

ADD

 

 

 

 

[John2022]

We’ll they didn’t offer the preparation package, only the very expensive electrical retracting job! Either the preparation kit has been deleted or the dealer is playing silly buggers. Thanks for the info.

[nbramwel]

Playing silly buggers gets my vote.  Why not wait until January to register the car so you have a 2023 registration?

[Ootohere]

There are MY23 cars now registered since September 2022 and still on that same cars builds come January 2023. 

It is March 2023 before a new Registration plate.

 

Only those taking your car in as a trade in seems to bother, those same trader / dealers sales people seem to forget when trying to flog you a used car if registered in December or the next month. 

[MikeHorsham]

19 hours ago, John2022 said:

We’ll they didn’t offer the preparation package, only the very expensive electrical retracting job! Either the preparation kit has been deleted or the dealer is playing silly buggers. Thanks for the info.

I reserved my MY22 Scala when it was on the docks at Emden awaiting transport to the UK - it was coming in as London dealer stock. It was plated for towing, and I ordered the Skoda towbar as a dealer fit. Yes it's expensive, but it is excellent. There is confusion about towbar plating - the brochure and forums such as this warn of unprepared Skodas never being able to legally tow, but a Sussex dealer I spoke to said that was inaccurate ... in my case borne out by my car being correctly plated for towing. 

[Ootohere]

^^^ But it came plated.  So rather different from un-plated.

?

Is your car without Towbar prep as ordered and built and still plated?

 

Did the person at the dealership say one un-plated to tow could have that changed?  Or what was it he deals in, is it Bull sh!-t?

 

A towbar can be fitted for a carrier being fitted to.  That is another grey area. 

Towing will be an issue, Police / insurance wise, so legality.

Edited 6 November, 2022 by roottoot

[MikeHorsham]

4 hours ago, roottoot said:

^^^ But it came plated.  So rather different from un-plated. 

?

Is your car without Towbar prep as ordered and built and still plated?

 

Did the person at the dealership say one un-plated to tow could have that changed?  Or what was it he deals in, is it Bull sh!-t?

 

A towbar can be fitted for a carrier being fitted to.  That is another grey area. 

Towing will be an issue, Police / insurance wise, so legality.

Yes, it came plated for towing - which is the odd thing. Apparently some cars arrive with (see pics attached) figures A & B the same, i.e. zero towing capacity. Has anyone on this forum got a VIN plate with zero towing capacity? 

My car was definitely ordered without towbar prep. When the towbar was ordered they also ordered the prep kit and ran cables rear to front to connect to the back of the fusebox below and to the right of the steering column. Then once it was fitted they did the coding. 

I didn't need to ask the replating question of the dealer because of the above, but my logic is that they should be able to replate a standard Scala because the towing prep is about some additional wiring and coding rather than anything structural. (On some bigger Skodas I believe there is additional oil cooling? Can't remember.)

I agree that zero towing capacity is an issue with insurance and legality. But I still struggle to comprehend the possibility that most second-hand towbarless Skodas on the market cannot be purchased by someone who wishes to tow something because they will never legally have towing capacity. I know that the brochure says "Please note, if a tow bar or tow bar preparation is not fitted on the car, the VIN plate may not show any towing weights and the car will never be eligible for towing. As such it may not be possible to retrospectively fit a tow bar if the car is not fitted with tow bar
preparation at Factory. Please speak to your Retailer to confirm the exact towing eligibility.", but has something been lost in translation? Because the dealer I spoke to doesn't agree with what is in the brochure. 

[Ootohere]

You can retrofit whatever you want and dealerships quote for doing that.  But you will not get a car replated.  It is as simple as that . 

[John2022]

Well regarding the towing and plating I will wait and see. It was an idea but I'm really not that bothered about it. Rationally I have been driving for very nearly fifty years and the lack of a towbar has never caused me any hassle, so I expect that I can manage the remaining few remaining for me😃 Regarding the MY issue, I think the approach is to 'not count my Skoda until it's been hatched'! I'll wait until an email appears from Skoda saying that the thing has actually entered manufacture, rather than it's on the list.

Regards

john.

[John2022]

Blimey! A communication from Skoda - 

'Our expert technicians have completed the final checks on your new ŠKODA SCALA. It has now rolled off the production line, ready to begin its journey to you.'

So how long will it take to travel across Europe and finally be ready for me to drive? 😀

[MikeHorsham]

17 minutes ago, John2022 said:

Blimey! A communication from Skoda - 

'Our expert technicians have completed the final checks on your new ŠKODA SCALA. It has now rolled off the production line, ready to begin its journey to you.'

So how long will it take to travel across Europe and finally be ready for me to drive? 😀

This was my experience: I reserved my Scala and paid a deposit on 4 March (it was already on its way to the UK as dealer stock) when it was dockside at Emden awaiting a ship. It arrived in Grimsby 14 days later on 18 March. It arrived in London 10 days later on 28 March. So I reckon your Scala might be with the dealer within two to three weeks. Hang on a bit and you will get a 2023 registration, which for the sake of a few extra days' wait will be a good thing. 

[MikeHorsham]

1 minute ago, MikeHorsham said:

This was my experience: I reserved my Scala and paid a deposit on 4 March (it was already on its way to the UK as dealer stock) when it was dockside at Emden awaiting a ship. It arrived in Grimsby 14 days later on 18 March. It arrived in London 10 days later on 28 March. So I reckon your Scala might be with the dealer within two to three weeks. Hang on a bit and you will get a 2023 registration, which for the sake of a few extra days' wait will be a good thing. 

PS - just noticed that your dealer is in the Medway Towns. If you're lucky your car will come into Sheerness. I was unlucky with Grimsby.

[John2022]

Thanks Mike. I am assuming four weeks from now so I think that collection will be in early January, which is a good thing in that it gets the Christmas palaver out of the way! It might come into Sheerness, but I guess it just depends upon shipping timetables. At the moment the local roads between Sheerness and Medway (or the rest of the world come to that) are in somewhat of a disarray due to clever planning by the highways people. However, the car does exist and it's on the way!!!!!!

[John2022]

Well Skoda obviously needs money. The dealer has just called me to say the Scala has been delivered to them. Apparently within twenty hours of leaving the factory it was at the dock in Germany where they had extra ships lined up to take cars to the UK. Once unloaded, they had a fleet of transporters to get the things to dealers so the end of year financial deadline could be met.  End result I pick it up next week.

[Ootohere]

More likely Fleet Average Co2 emission First Registration by the end of the year.  Or last 1/4 or 6:month registrations, and  not about the money.   They need the lower emission cars first registered of the high emission ones sit un-registered on the UK in the VW Groups brands.  Not enough of the Partners are First Registering EV,s

[John2022]

1 hour ago, toot said:

More likely Fleet Average Co2 emission First Registration by the end of the year.  Or last 1/4 or 6:month registrations, and  not about the money.   They need the lower emission cars first registered of the high emission ones sit un-registered on the UK in the VW Groups brands.  Not enough of the Partners are First Registering EV,s

That's interesting. it's not surprising the EV registrations are lagging I suppose. I did look at that option but just couldn't see how the finances added up, not to mention the grief of recharging the things during a long journey....

[Ootohere]

It is not the lack of orders.  It is batteries.  Including for PHEV,s and mild hybrids.   And the chips.   So VW group need MG and Geely and other Chinese makers to register more low emission cars to save them paying penalties because of VW,s actual average in the EU or now in the UK that has it,s own fleet emission limits. 

Edited 8 December, 2022 by toot

[John2022]

2 minutes ago, toot said:

It is not the lack of orders.  It is batteries.  Including for PHEV,s and mild hybrids.   And the chips.   So VW group need MG and Geely and other Chinese makers to register more low emission cars to save them paying penalties because of VW,s actual average in the EU or now in the UK that has it,s own fleet emission limits. 

Ah thank you for clarifying that.

[John2022]

Well I collected the Scala yesterday and have managed to do all of 35 mile or so in it since. So far I have been more than pleased, very happy in fact. This weekend we have a 150 mile return trip to do so that will be interesting. Today we managed to ram a 7ft Christmas tree into the car and drive home a few miles; it’s a good job I bought rubber mats for it!

The last thing I did yesterday was to have a quick look under the bonnet but unfortunately did not close it fully, and one side was not completely down. This morning the car started fine but when I tried to use the windscreen wipers nothing happened. Lots of swearing and ten minutes later the manual came out. In small letters at the end of the section on wipers it told me that if the bonnet was open then the front wipers were inhibited…… A push down at the offending corner and everything worked.  If there was a warning message then it wasn’t obvious, unlike the pointless message, when the ignition is turned off, to take my mobile phone out of the car.

[Ootohere]

Enjoy the car.

 

Have you checked the tyre pressures as the car was handed over, reset if needed and reset the TPMS.

Check where the oil level is when cold and again when at normal operating temp so you can know before trips. Coolant level when new as well.

Wheel nut security socket. 

[John2022]

3 minutes ago, toot said:

Enjoy the car.

 

Have you checked the tyre pressures as the car was handed over, reset if needed and reset the TPMS.

Check where the oil level is when cold and again when at normal operating temp so you can know before trips. Coolant level when new as well.

Wheel nut security socket. 

Thank you. No but I will tomorrow when the outside temperature rises above 0C.

Oh and it is plated for towing.

[MikeHorsham]

On 14/12/2022 at 19:00, John2022 said:

Thank you. No but I will tomorrow when the outside temperature rises above 0C.

Oh and it is plated for towing.

The whole subject of being plated for towing - or not - is very confusing. I wonder how many forum members have Scalas (or other Skodas) that are not plated for towing. Because cars not specified for towing at the point of order leaving the factory plated for towing contradict the brochure.