What's the best strategy if my Superb is a keeper for another 3 years?

[Fred Bloggs]

Hi all, well, as per the title really. I have a 55 plate Superb 2.5TDi V6 Elegance trim. It is 3 years old in September 08. I am thinking of buying the new Superb but not until it has had say, two years on the market. My Superb has 28k miles on it is used mainly for motorway commuting Mon/Fri with local miles Tue/Wed/Thu. It has a dealer service annually (the indicator doesn't come on) and the original front tyres will last until about 30k miles. In other words, it is a reasonably well cared for motor. So far it has been troublefree. If I keep it till say Jan 2011 I expect it will have about 65 to 75k miles on it.

I'm tempted to get a warranty direct warranty eqch year to cover potential major expense and just run the car exactly how I have been doing. I guess it will only be worth about £4k or £5k by the time I'm done with it. But hopefully, it will have served me well.

Apart from carrying on as I am, what would the good folk here suggest I do to help me get another few years happy motoring from the car? Thanks.

[Tom_vRS]

Most importantly, drive it with respect, and keep on top of the servicing as you have been doing. As long as you do that, I can't see you'll go far wrong.

A good independent warranty is a good idea for sure for a bit of financial security, but make sure you read the small print. I think Warranty Direct are about the best on the market.

The Superb should do you proud in all honest, and would make somebody an excellent buy at £5k in a few years time!

[rotodiesel]

Keep the plenum chamber drains free and preferably remove the bungs. Ensure that the pollen filter housing seal to the body is in good condition and clear all debris from this area as necessary. Don't park under trees or into driving rain.

Remove, grease and replace the front suspension upper ball joint(s) pinch bolt and that for the track rod ends. This can be done in 10 mins per side without jacking up the car or removing the wheel. Doing this will make fixing worn suspension (which these cars are very prone to) relatively easy. If these bolts rust in - which they will - the job is eyewateringly expensive on a 5 year old car.

Keep an eye on the rear brake pads - they only last about 20k miles and there is no warning.

Check levels frequently and drive sympathetically.

Use a knowledgeable and enthusiastic Independent for all servicing and work. Don't let a VAG dealer anywhere near it.

rotodiesel.

[DGW]

I'm tempted to get a warranty direct warranty eqch year to cover potential major expense

Speak to your dealer about a Skoda (Car Care) extended warranty and then compare cover and price with the Warranty Direct one.

[johannapam1]

I have looked at both the warranty Direct and Skoda extended warranty and the best value I would say is marginally in favour of the Skoda at £411 pa which includes FULL RAC cover. The WD is £297 pa with no RAC.

Both cover the water ingress problem I am told and the only additional cover with WD is this fair wear and tear - not sure how this would work in the event of a claim???

[SuperbSteve]

Rotodiesel, would you mind detailing a bit more about the suspension job you mentioned in your post, maybe even a photo of what and were needs doing, type of grease, etc. I'm not that technical but can follow good instructions! Thanks

[rotodiesel]

Steve, the Superb (B5.5 Passat) has an insanely designed front suspension system using 4 arms and ball joints per side together with the usual track rod ends. They didn't repeat this design on the new Passat.

The ball pins at the top are located in the steering knuckle by a long pinch bolt which nips up the slotted holes to grip the pins. Unfortunately, dear old VAG put an unplated steel bolt into an unplated malleable iron knuckle directly above the front tyre (you can see it in the wheelarch directly above the top of the tyre). So, being pelted with mud and water, it rusts in, solidly. This really is no joke, because the bolt is about 4" long and rusts in along its whole length. VAG actually have a special tool to get these out - it doesn't work.

The type of grease etc doesn't matter. The main thing is to take the bolt out each year, grease it well and put it back again so that it remains free. Exactly the same thing applies to the steering track rod end joint pinch bolt which also rusts solid. When you do this one, be careful not to change the height of the ball pin in the housing as this affects the raised toe setting.

You can get both of these bolts out (16 AF spanner) in situ without jacking up the car or removing the wheel - just do it once a year, then fixing this (lousy) suspension when it needs it is fairly easy.

Haynes manual 4279 (Passat) describes the set up reasonably well with pictures.

rotodiesel.

[speednut]

Have some excitement get shut and by an Octy Mk1 VRS

Steve

[Fred Bloggs]

Thanks very much those are excellent suggestions. And not too bad to do by the sounds of it. Anyone have a photo of the bolts that need to be greased? I have some Copperslip which will work a treat.

I got a quote from Warranty Direct and it was only ~£230 for their "network repair" option. At that price it's not worth passing over. Hopefully the price reflects the unlikely nature of a major claim but it will be nice to have if the cam belt goes or the ECU chucks its hand in!

I have had 5 Skodas and the dealer I use is pretty good in my experience for routine servicing.

[sidewaze samm]

I've just got the main dealer option from WD. Worth it I thought, for an extra 40 quid, as at least you have the option of using a Skoda stealer - and I didn't fancy the outlets that make up the WD network. £270 over 10 months, interest-free, and for 13 months' cover!

[Fred Bloggs]

Thank you, I must admit that I didn't look at the dealer option. I actually found the WD website a bit difficult to get concise information on what was covered and what was not covered. I presume things like brake discs, battery, bulbs, exhaust are not covered. But what about stuff like exhaust catalyst, air con condenser, glow plugs, water pump, electrical faults, "the water leaks", "the siezed suspesion bolts" etc...?

Sounds like a good offer, did you get that off the website or by telephoning them? Thank you.

[SJFISHER67]

Remove, grease and replace the front suspension upper ball joint(s) pinch bolt and that for the track rod ends. This can be done in 10 mins per side without jacking up the car or removing the wheel. Doing this will make fixing worn suspension (which these cars are very prone to) relatively easy. If these bolts rust in - which they will - the job is eyewateringly expensive on a 5 year old car.

Do you have any more info on this pinch bolt and which one it is? I have looked at the front wishbone on mine, and cant see which one you mean. I wouldnt mind having a go at this, prevention being better than cure.

Thanks in advance.

[rotodiesel]

Just look immediately above the top of the front tyre - you will see the nut for the pinch bolt on the outside. It's quite a long bolt and the head is inboard. The axis of the bolt runs at right angles to the two ball pin shanks for the top wishbone outer joints and the bolt holds these pins into the steering knuckle by squeezing up the slotted holes for the ball pins.

Get the Haynes manual for some reasonable pictures - it's fairly useful anyway if you have a 4 cyl Superb.

rotodiesel.

[kprm77]

Re the knuckle joint / steel bolts - Is there a replacement available anywhere that doesn't rust?

What mileage/age does this tend to become an issue?

[rotodiesel]

You could certainly fit a bolt made from non corrodible material, but as it's a safety critical component there could be problems if a failure subsequently occured with a non OE part.

Taking the bolts out and greasing them annually is no great job and ensures they will come out when you really need to get them out.

Mileage/age will depend on use. On wet salty roads they could rust in solidly after 6 months.

rotodiesel.

[kprm77]

I'll ask the dealer to do this at the next service. Mine's still under manufacturers warranty, so I'm not touching it! (Not that I would anyway even outside the warranty as I'm totally hopeless with mechanic stuff )

[Tomo1971]

A few years back when I had a Renault Clio, the dealer invited me in to have a "pre-warranty end check". In other words they were gonna have a good play with the car, find anything wrong and get it sorted before the warranty run out. They did find a couple of things and replaced them, obviously FOC.

Maybe worth speaking to local dealers to see if they will do this for you. At the end of the day, any warranty work they do is paid for by Skoda UK anyway.

Steve

[ExAudiSi]

Unlikely, in my experience Skoda stealers try to avoid doing warranty work if they can and are not too good at finding faults when they are right under their noses.

Also, they will charge you for the privelidge of letting them look at your car if they can't find anything.

[rotodiesel]

Labour rates paid by VAG UK for warranty work don't cover dealership overheads. This can result in a certain reluctance to do warranty work but, to give credit where it's due, the lazy seatbelt return spring on my Superb was fixed under warranty without question.

It's just such a pity that this is yet another age old VAG problem which they have failed to sort out. The Japanese just don't work like this.

rotodiesel.

[johannapam1]

Rotodiesel - My 55 plate 2.5 has done 23k and is now two and a half years old. I have the plenum chamber cleaned out together with drain holes every year but with regard th the suspension bolts being siezed I guess mine already are. I am taking out a skoda ext warranty at the 3yr stage so am I right in thinking it is now more sensible to leave the suspension alone until it NEEDS doing - but then after repairs ensure they are greased/lubricated every year to ensure it does not sieze again? I understand that the cambelt is about 500 to 600 to replacxe . as was the Renault Clio I had (02 plate) 2yrs ago.

[rotodiesel]

The longer you leave the pinch bolts in place, the harder it will be to get them out. Unless you live by the sea of drive a lot on salted roads, I would guess on a 2.5 year old car they would come out - mine did.

Why not just give it a try - you don't even need to take the wheels off or jack it up. Run the nuts to just beyond the ends of the bolts and use a pin punch to shift them. A dose of releasing fluid (the proper stuff, not WD...) applied to the bolts and the slots in the knuckle will help.

Never procrastinate with rust.

rotodiesel.

[johannapam1]

Thanks Roto - advice much appreciated

[Fred Bloggs]

Thanks Roto - advice much appreciated

If you find out the torque settings for the nuts/bolts, would you mind sharing them here please? Thanks.

[mdw]

the lazy seatbelt return spring on my Superb was fixed under warranty without question.rotodiesel.

Well your lucky, when it happened on my Fabia ( and the superb) I got given a printout from Skoda saying I should clean the plastic bracket it runs through at the top mount and it wasnt their problem. First car ive had in 25 years I have had to clean the seat belt bracket on!!!