Feb 2023 VRS - Umbrella or not?

[thommo41]

So, does anybody else NOT have an umbrella? My VRS does not. Neither door. Quite annoying given I didn't know where it was on this model and then googled it, whilst in a torrential storm, only to find it's an empty hole on both doors 😞

It comes with one, right? Says so on all spec's for all Octavia. Is it the supplying dealer then that should equip the door with a brolly?

[avi4tor]

I meant to check my car when I picked it up and forgot.  Later I did find one in the passenger door but not the driver's door.  A bit of checking and reading between the lines implied that it was only the passenger door which was supposed to have one, so it seems all was correct.  I just went to one of the on-line sources and bought another for the other door.  It is only a token umbrella, and might need replacing after every use.

[SouthernComfort]

23 hours ago, avi4tor said:

I meant to check my car when I picked it up and forgot.  Later I did find one in the passenger door but not the driver's door.  A bit of checking and reading between the lines implied that it was only the passenger door which was supposed to have one, so it seems all was correct.  I just went to one of the on-line sources and bought another for the other door.  It is only a token umbrella, and might need replacing after every use.

I've done the same, one in each door seems more complete to me. The generic ones sold online are exactly the same size and almost identical to Skoda OEM, except for the embossed logo on the handle tip, one size fits several makes and models. I doubt any of them would survive a decent storm though.

Edited 14 October, 2023 by SouthernComfort

[Llwyngwernog]

My Octavia came with an umbrella in both doors ......there are not the most robust brollies however !

[whereismyorder]

Car delivered today, I have received one and was found in the drivers door. ☔

[Wyatt64]

September 2022 VRS & I had one in the passenger door 

[thommo41]

Think it's fair to say they come as std. and mine is missing. Skoda customer services sorting me out I think, watch this space. Yes, just a token brolly. But not being funny, it's a brand new car not one from a car supermarket where the valeter has had it away! Not a generalisation but I knew a valeter at a large car supermarket who had an addiction that involved taking the first aid kits and mini torches out of BMW's. He amassed quite a collection

 

[TomUK]

Got my VRS a couple of weeks ago.

 

I only got one umbrella but I didn't have an engine cover???

 

Apparently they were not fitted due to a fire risk?? 

 

Local dealer supplied and fitted on FOC under a recall notice.

 

Good service too.

[GWoodhouse]

When I bought my used 21 plate MkIV the dealer provided a 'goody bag' in the boot which included the umbrella (actually quite good) and the ice scraper that lives the petrol flap (completely useless).

 

I had no idea there was also a space for an umbrella in the passenger door (this would make sense given the cars are available as LHD and RHD come to think of it) Anyway, long story short I may now have to source an umbrella for the passenger door for Mrs Woodhouse to use 🙂 

[jimcallaghan]

Got my new VRS. One brolly. Drivers side. I told Mrs C I was keeping the two from my superb when I part exchanged. She told me not to bother. Wish I’d ignored her. There ought to be two.  Bugger. 

[dan245]

15 hours ago, jimcallaghan said:

Got my new VRS. One brolly. Drivers side. I told Mrs C I was keeping the two from my superb when I part exchanged. She told me not to bother. Wish I’d ignored her. There ought to be two.  Bugger. 

Same here, car collected last week with one, driver's side.
Does yours have a cover for the 12v socket in the boot? mine doesn't. Not the end of the world, but, ya know!

Edited 26 March by dan245
clarity

[thommo41]

So I don't think I ever closed the topic off as such, Skoda UK confirmed that this was a promotional thing (NONSENSE!!!) and said it wasn't included in the spec at the time of purchase or build (also NONESENSE!!!) but they sent me a cheque - yes and actual cheque - for the value of the brolly as it appeared in the dealer accessories price list which I think was £27 or something like that. I just wanted my brolly  Good or bad, it should have been in the car and wasn't. Annoyingly, I traded my old Octavia in, complete with brolly - should have kept that one.

 

[TheWanderer]

I got brolly, but didn't get ice scraper.

 

I'm not paying £9 for a piece of fluorescent yellow/green plastic. 

[EldridChapman]

My dealer (actually VW themselves) threw in a "Skoda gift box" which among freebies, came with one foldable umbrella that fit within the door.

 

Its a green 2 layer box something like this one below.

 

 

[sandroalfagt]

2 hours ago, dan245 said:

Same here, car collected last week with one, driver's side.
Does yours have a cover for the 12v socket in the boot? mine doesn't. Not the end of the world, but, ya know!

Could I ask, did you get an engine cover with yours? My vRS is getting built in 2 weeks and Skoda Customer Services don't respond when I ask them.

[TheWanderer]

18 hours ago, dan245 said:

Same here, car collected last week with one, driver's side.
Does yours have a cover for the 12v socket in the boot? mine doesn't. Not the end of the world, but, ya know!

 

That 12v socket (aka lighter socket) in the front is something that I truly miss, what on earth Skoda were thinking about when they removed it I don't know. I have one (12v socket) in the boot which I have to use with an extension cable for my tyre compressor and car vacuum cleaner. 

[EldridChapman]

15 hours ago, sandroalfagt said:

Could I ask, did you get an engine cover with yours? My vRS is getting built in 2 weeks and Skoda Customer Services don't respond when I ask them.

If your vRS doesn't come with the engine cover, the service centre should have spare stocks to install on site as that was intended by Skoda.

 

Suggest to ask the service centre if they have spare engine cover stocks on hand.

[EldridChapman]

6 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

 

That 12v socket (aka lighter socket) in the front is something that I truly miss, what on earth Skoda were thinking about when they removed it I don't know. I have one (12v socket) in the boot which I have to use with an extension cable for my tyre compressor and car vacuum cleaner. 

Well said! I mostly use the front socket as a USB power outlet, so it's mitigated by the 2 usb-c ports at the front. 

 

But it's still useful for other electronics like vacuum cleaner which you so mentioned. For tire compressor, have you considered those powered by portable battery pack? I find those quite convenient!

[TheWanderer]

35 minutes ago, EldridChapman said:

Well said! I mostly use the front socket as a USB power outlet, so it's mitigated by the 2 usb-c ports at the front. 

 

But it's still useful for other electronics like vacuum cleaner which you so mentioned. For tire compressor, have you considered those powered by portable battery pack? I find those quite convenient!

 

No. I'm not carrying a bloody battery pack for two reasons,.

 

1. Because an inept minion in design thinks its a good idea to remove probably the most important and fundamental accessory socket that has been used in cars for decades for cigarette lighters, USB chargers, tyre inflators, car vacuum cleaners, fans, dashcams etc.

 

2. Li-ion batteries are environmentally unfriendly and add increased weight, requires charging which you can't do via USB-C, they lack the power (grunt) available that a 12v accessory socket can provide 

 

It's almost as stupid as the new phone service in the UK which is being forced on the consumer, which means no phone (including 999) or Internet service whatsoever if there's a power cut.

[Winston_Woof]

41 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

 

It's almost as stupid as the new phone service in the UK which is being forced on the consumer, which means no phone (including 999) or Internet service whatsoever if there's a power cut.

ah the good old Digital Switchover (ie the switch from PSTN to VOIP based services) which OR think will be done by 2025  , I reckon you can add at least 5 years onto that!!

NB If you are registered with your telco provider as a "vulnerable customer" they are (or should be) providing a battery backup  which gives around an hours worth of juice.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9471/

[TheWanderer]

BT switched us, but didn't send the router or adapter until 3 days after they switched off the normal landline.

 

So for 4 days the only way to make a call was to switch over to a second landline which is still on the old system and use WiFi calling on that. Also had to buy new phones too so we can stop using the old phones. 

[PetrolDave]

1 hour ago, Winston_Woof said:

NB If you are registered with your telco provider as a "vulnerable customer" they are (or should be) providing a battery backup  which gives around an hours worth of juice.

Off Topic warning

 

Wasn't much help to those people in the Peak District who had no power for over 24 hours after a storm, and had to drive several miles to get mobile coverage.

 

With new builds not having any copper feed, only fibre, there are an increasing number of people reliant on often patchy mobile coverage to make emergency calls - be tragic but interesting when the media get hold of a story about someone dying because they couldn't make a 999 call following a power cut...

[TheWanderer]

Could always try creating a linkage to the car's WiFi system to see if you can make a phone call via that..

[PetrolDave]

1 minute ago, TheWanderer said:

Could always try creating a linkage to the car's WiFi system to see if you can make a phone call via that..

How does the car's WiFi get coverage? - using the terrestrial mobile network (not satellite), so if there's no or poor mobile coverage then that's unlikely to be any better.

[TheWanderer]

Might use a different network.