Hi folks,

This is my first post here so please bear with me while I catch up!

As the subject says I was going to buy a Leon Cupra, but looking at their forums they've had nothing but trouble with their cars. I don't see many people moaning about thier Octavia vRS's.

I need a bit of reassurance from you guy's about the quality of the product.

Would a new Octavia vRS suffer from any of the following?

1. Duff coil packs

2. Various rattles from places unknown.

3. Poor quality control.

4. V. poor customer service from dealers.

5. Paint that flakes off.

6. Lights which steam up in the rain.

7. Water leaks into the cabin.

I hope you can say 'no' to all these.

Also I like the idea of Cruise control (not available on UK Leons) but what about parking sensors, woth having?

Thanks for any info.

:cheers:

Xizor*

*real name witheld to protect the innocent.

Well, I'll do my best

1. I don't have coil packs on mine, so I've been alright. It is

however a problem within the whole of the VAG group, so Skoda's

are as vulnerable as Seat.

2. Never had any rattles.

3. Would say quality control is good - it's certainly no worse than

any other brand, even those Japanese ones who are reputed to

be reliable...

4. The dealer I've been to are fantastic for customer service. I

never have any problems getting anything done, except when

some other customer doesn't bring the courtesy car back like

they're supposed to!

5. Very good paint job, especially compared with some, er,

Japanese brands...

6. I don't think my lights have ever steamed up - at least, not

so bad that I've noticed...

7. Yeah, I've had a water leak. Customer service was very good

at dealing with it, they even gave me a new windscreen free

as part of the diagnosis. Turned out to be a missing drainage

tube, which fortunately is not major, unlike not having the wing

sealed like on a certain Japanese brand car...

And never at any point did they ask me if I'd left the window or

sunroof open, like a certain...yeah, you get the idea...

Oh, and parking sensors - I don't have them and I've only

nudged my back bumper twice in reverse parking. Which is

not bad IMHO considering I always park backwards and I've

owned the car for 7 months. Looking where your parking

is pretty tricky to do though, so you have to rely on other

techniques...

Rob.

Hi and welcome.:wave:

my own personal answers to your questions:

1) Yes/No - depends. Apparently MY03 and late MY02 have the new coil packs but before this you can accept it will happen. Affects all VAG cars which use the 1.8T engine.

2)Generally no.

3) No.

4) In my case No but dealers do vary.

5) No.

6) No.

7) No but be aware when opening the hatch; rain does tend to fall onto the rear speakers. That said the last couple of times I did this I let the hatch open up itself quick and no water fell into the boot.

I have the parking sensors and they are definatly worth while. The vision out the rear window is limited.

This is my second Skoda and having previoulsy owned a VW Passat and a Golf I would say these are the best cars I have owned. Nothing comes close for the money.

It may be worth your while checking out here which dealer you intend to use as someone may have used them and can give you the "low down".

Hope some of this has helped.

Cheers.

Adrian.

I think I speak for everyone here in saying no to all your questions bar one, We have the coilpack problem to. but if you are buying new it should not be an issue. If you are buying secondhand from a dealer try to get them to make sure the packs are the revised "J" version.

Wow, I think we all hit post reply at the same time.

Hi and welcome to Briskoda.

Firstly a wise move to consider the options. The Cupra is a great car; the R of course being hard to resist. We each have our reasons for choosing whatever.

Originally posted by Xizor

Would a new Octavia vRS suffer from any of the following?

1. Duff coil packs

In theory Yes, but this is the same for ANY VAG car using them. The new manf design/process is meant to be better and new production cars are using this new design.

2. Various rattles from places unknown.

Depends, I have one, but it only comes on if I'm throwing it about, goes away eventually. You won't get that rattle from a 27k Audi Quattro, but you will from a 16k skoda, personally I can deal with this...Now seen, been in a car without a rattle somewhere; except the afore mentioned audi.

3. Poor quality control.

Not found anything faulty or failing QA on mine. The QA is factory specific as to implementation, dare I say it the Czech plan and history is producing high quality motoring vehicles (ignore the fiscal period of virtual ruin and butt of all jokes).

4. V. poor customer service from dealers.

We hear a lot more positive stories than negative ones, although in every walk of life there are nasty examples of human evolution.

On the whole they seem to be alot more procustomer, unlike the BMW and VAG, these cars sell themselves, sign here and join the q ones.

5. Paint that flakes off.

Not heard of this except. Close we have I think is Jon "the chippy" with his unique black and white bonnet design...it's taken a lot of abuse but I did not see and flaking of exposed paint, let alone "good" areas, maybe the QA issue again.

6. Lights which steam up in the rain.

Design issues? Not heard of it here though.

7. Water leaks into the cabin.

Yes some have had this, either windscreen replacements or other issues, again this is a bit hit and miss, not heard of it in Skodas from new, only once something was "done".

I hope you can say 'no' to all these.

I wish I could as well.

Also I like the idea of Cruise control (not available on UK Leons) but what about parking sensors, worth having?

Cruise IMHO is well worth it, push for that and parking sensors, I hear that they are a godsend for some, personally having an estate means I can park miles away from the wall and have an excuse for something; but I would like them.

So all in all not a bad turnout for the Skoda.

QA issues aside, they're VAG cars, they share their problems and experience their benefits. Design and local dealers might be the only really swinger. They really are great vehicles and I would strongly suggest you test drive one.

The Cupras are good cars, but not actually that big, depends on what else you need the car for etc etc..

Enjoy and of course keep us all posted.

lol Manny aye, no replies when I looked...

Yep..same here.

Welcome Xizor,

I'm a recent convert to Skoda (1 month) and I couldn't be happier. Obviously you can always end up with a Friday/Monday car but the fit and finish of my RS is spot on. I have to admit that I was still a little concerned about quality right up until the moment I picked the car up (it is a Skoda after all!) but there is not a squeak or a rattle. I think I can comment on squeaks and rattles because I've driven VW's for the last 3 years. Even if you think you've fully 'prepared yourself' for owning a Skoda and read all there is about what a great car they are, it's hard to describe the first couple of hundred miles when you realise you have made an excellent decision.

Parking sensors - a must, you can't see **** all with three (leather) headrests and a Briskoda sticker. I don't have them unfortunately.

Change the speakers in the front. The head unit is OK but the speakers are a bit s***e. See (various) other posts.

Xizor

Welcome to Briskoda! There are some features of the Leon Cupra R id love to have on my RS (18s , 210 BHP as standard and Brembo front brakes) , but , after reading a few threads on Cupranet it appears the latest cars have v. poor build quality issues at the Spanish plant. I believe earlier cars were built in a VW plant in Belgium?? Regarding your questions I will try and answer them as I see it...

1 Coils- Skoda has as much of a prob with these as any other VAG brand , although I have had my car since July 2001 and havent had a problem (yet) , but i do a tiny milage (only 11500 so far)

2 Rattles-None so far , and thats after having to negotiate speedbumps a plenty every day. I do have a creak coming from my drivers seat tho , and i needed the seat base cover replaced under warranty (with no problems at all since) due to fraying at 5000 miles.

3 Quality control-Apart from the small issues above (which are much less serious than some more ,ahem, prestigious 'brands' have suffered!) , nothing at all , my car is still a joy to drive and I'd buy another one without hesitation (already on my 2nd Octavia in a row , upgraded from a pre facelift V reg 1.8T 150BHP hatch)

4 Dealer Service-My dealer has been great to me on the few occasions ive needed to go in! Still not had my 1st service yet so Ive not seen them for months...I suppose thats the way it should be!?

5 Paint-No flakes of paint coming off my car , tho I cant vouch for stonechips as its not a Motorway car , more of a townie/narrow Borders roads car!

6 Lights-No steamage!

7 Leaks-Denied!!!

Hope this helps...oh and get the sensors , they are the 1st tick on the order sheet for me if I buy another RS!

Xizor

You will see very few moans about build quality from Briskoda members. For a

DGW

Our cars are built in the factory which , according to an internal VAG audit a while back , gave the best build quality in the VAG 'range' of factories , whereas the Americans' Golfs, Jettas and Beetles (and i think our 'Newbies' come from here too) are built in the plant at Puebla , Mexico , which has an alarmingly poor reputation for build quality!

1. No coil pack problems 13,500 miles MY2002 RS

2. No rattles in my RS or my 2.0 Octavia (35,000 mile) both stil drive the same as the day I picked them up from new.

3. Quality control excellent on both cars.

4. No problem with dealer - been extreemly helpful on a number of ocassions (Winner garage Cinderford)

5. No paintwork flaking at all, paintwork to a high standard on both - no noticable orage peel.

6. No problems with any steaming up of lights.

7. Yes I had a water leak from RS rear hatch - needed body shop repair with sealant re-applied to roof panel/hinge area and respraying - all sorted under warranty - an unusual problem I was told - need seats to be replaced in rear as they were water damaged - again sorted under warranty.

8. Have cruise fitted - and use it as a speed limiter to prevent looking at speedo all the time and getting carried away with silly speeds.

9. Have reversing sensors fitted - IMHO these are the no 1 ac cesory excellent,

John

They don't make Skodas in Mexico do they? Wonders will never cease.

At one time the Mexican plants were doing better than those in Germany, obviously things have changed. Let's hope Skoda continues to rely heavily on the Czech Republic where they seem to be proud of the marque.

We went out to buy a work car for my wife, A couple of months later the Vectra, the Impreza STI 3 (292 bhp) & the Citroen diesel (needed for work as the Scoob was too thirsty) have all gone & we have a Tdi Octavia L&K for Wendys work car & a 4x4 Octavia for me , oh & too big smiles. The L&K was new & the 4x4 had 1400 miles on it. So far the only criticism is one rattle somewhere behind the dash on the 4x4, the local dealer (who I didnt buy the car from) will fix but I am waiting to see if it gets worse & therefore easier to find.

Overall I cant believe what you get for your money, Skoda must be the best kept secret in motoring today & as for mods, because they are from the same parts bin as VW, Audi & Seat a lot of the bits are interchangeable as the 4x4 will find out !!

I can't see the economic sense of making Skodas in Mexico. I didn't think the cars were marketed in North America?

I think there is (or will be) a Skoda-dedicated plant in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which makes more sense than one in Mexico. Did you know Polos were no longer made in Germany - with all models for Europe sourced from Bratislava?

My parents bought a Fabia hatch in November. According to the dealer it was built in one day! One of the rear speakers fell out of the door socket as we were driving away!

My 2p:

1. You shouldn't have any trouble with a new one. Unless the new coil packs turn out to be faulty too!

2. Haven't heard any complaints for a while, so perhaps newer RS's are better. In mine (built Jan 02) I've had:

After 2 months, annoying rattle at the back which was nigh on impossible to track down. Turned out to be covers on the rear shocks. Lots of detective work by dealer and eventually sorted.

After 3 months, really annoying rattle/buzz from the headlining. This drove me nuts! Also sorted by dealer.

Now, I have a slight creak from the driver's seat (doesn't bother me), and a rattle on the passenger side B pillar (or possibly door). This is starting to irritate but I'll probably leave it till next service.

3. No complaint here - I'm not sure the rattles could have been picked up by QC.

4. Had nothing but excellent serivce from my dealer but I've been using them since before they were Skoda dealers and before I had a Skoda.

You're bound to have some bad dealers, and you may be unlucky enough to get a good dealer on a bad day. But there's plenty of them around so you should be able to find a good 'un.

5. No

6. No

7. No.

Originally posted by stopan1j

5. No paintwork flaking at all, paintwork to a high standard on both - no noticable orage peel.

I keep coming across this term "orange peel". Can someone please explain to a thicky what it means?

Ta

Zooty

Basically its a the term for a poor paint job where the surface is left with a bobbly finish (like orange peel!)- usually the sign that it has been sprayed:

1) too thickly;

2) onto a surface that is does not grip properly (ie greasy)

or that it has not been flatted properly between coats (in the case of old car restoration etc)

Looks like cellulite for cars!

It also depends on what type of laquer the manufacturer uses. Body shops match the paints usually spot on, but mostly its down to the laquer used by them and the manufacturer.

Having said that, if the sprayer wishes to coat extra laquer onto the paint, and then buff back that will also remove said orange peel effect. BUT some cars do have that effect from new, its not just a 3 rd party body shop thing.

I have seen it on Fords quite a bit, some Jags, even the odd Toyota.

Cheers

Thanks very much for all the positive replies!

You've persuaded me to go for it. Just got to find the right deal now.

I've seen the RS for sale at

Xizor Wrote

Can anyone recommend a good broker or a dealer willing to discount?

Don't know about brokers but I bought my vRS from Brooklyn Skoda in Alcester and I paid

Xizor

Have a look in our web links here for possible sources of discounted cars.

Hi Xizor,

I did a lot of research into prices for an Octavia both by Import & UK supply brokers. The best price that I could find for an L&K TDi Estate for UK supply was from www.showroom4cars - but I took this price to my local dealer and ended up gettting a bettter overall package to inc parking sensors & removable towbar.

Be very careful of import brokers and UK specs - an attractive up front price doesn't always work out to be the car you thought that you were going to get!!

Good luck with your purchase.

John.