Sunroof and/or sunset glass??

[blackspaven]

Just put a deposit down for a 1.8T L&K estate and at time of paying I had front sensors and TPM as my only optional extras. Now it's getting close to tying the final details down and signing on the dotted line, i'm wondering if I should go for either or both of the above?

What do people think? By that I mean...

is the sunset glass particularly dark (anyone know the percentage?), cos one of my local dealers pointed to a car and said 'i think that's got it with it' which made me think a) if he's right and it has, it hardly looks any different and b) surely it can't be that impressive if the dealer has trouble spotting one outside the showroom with it fitted?!

is the sunroof that big when open? Anyone know the dimensions of the open hole? My mate has a Mk4 golf which looks like it's fitted with pretty much the same thing but his interior slides back independently to let light in (Like the octy), but then the glass slides back and at the end takes the interior bit into the roof so that it opens FULLY: had a quick go on one at a dealer and it appeared the interior slide bit goes back far enough to still be able to grab it (same as my mate's golf), but the glass only goes back so far again, leaving the front edge a good 4-6 inches short of the back edge of the roof metal, so it looked like the sunroof doesn't go totally into the roof and open the full length of the aperture it's cut into?! Is this right or did I just try a duff sunroof?? Oh, and the tilted edge of the sunroof was pretty much hidden from sight cos the interior panel only slid back so far, as I said above, which I wasn't too sure about either.

Appreciate any thoughts on this.

Cheers,
Matt

[Web Ferret]

I had a dealer point at sunset glass - it looked cr@p.

I got a local technician to put dark tints on my rear windows (7 in total) and it looks great with the silver body - In this warm weather the car is no longer like an oven! Paid £200 for it with a lifetime warranty. With a local tinter you can choose the exact tint and colour etc.

I have previously bought cars with roofs but this is my first without and I haven't missed it. A decent film tint that keeps the heat out is better (and less to go wrong...)

[G.K.]

I opted for sunset glass and I think it looks great. Seems to keep the heat out OK. A snobby mate says he doesn't mind a lift in the back now since he cannot be recognised in a Skoda!!.
If you are quite tall then the sunroof robs you of some roofspace and nowadays with climate control it is next to useless in my opinion.

[sworrall]

Originally Posted by blackspaven

is the sunroof that big when open? Anyone know the dimensions of the open hole? My mate has a Mk4 golf which looks like it's fitted with pretty much the same thing but his interior slides back independently to let light in (Like the octy), but then the glass slides back and at the end takes the interior bit into the roof so that it opens FULLY: had a quick go on one at a dealer and it appeared the interior slide bit goes back far enough to still be able to grab it (same as my mate's golf), but the glass only goes back so far again, leaving the front edge a good 4-6 inches short of the back edge of the roof metal, so it looked like the sunroof doesn't go totally into the roof and open the full length of the aperture it's cut into?! Is this right or did I just try a duff sunroof?? Oh, and the tilted edge of the sunroof was pretty much hidden from sight cos the interior panel only slid back so far, as I said above, which I wasn't too sure about either.

Appreciate any thoughts on this.

Cheers,
Matt

i wouldnt bother with tpm or front sensors myself. TPM doesnt get much of a good writeup on here plus you can see quite a lot of the bonnet to not need the fronts (i have them but wouldnt miss them). Probably best spent elsewhere like sunset glass which looked quite good on an estate ive seen.

Ive got a sunroof on mine and wouldnt pay for it on a new car but id have it if it was free (mine was ex demo). I can give you dims tomorrow.

Re the sunroof not going back all the way above, that is normal. I think its set as the optimum position in the manual. When you turn the dial for open it goes to the optimum position and leaves the 4 inches out. If you twist the dial a bit more whilst opening then it will fully retract into the roof. Handy for getting the heat out but not much point when you have aircon. I would much rather spend the dosh on xenons/sunset/rear park/satnav

[blackspaven]

Fari enough. I'm gonna nip down another dealer today to have a look at an estate which has both on so i'll see what the score is.

Interesting, i'll have to have a look around here to see about the TPM then. Assumed it would be accurate and quite handy but I guess not from what you're saying? The front sensors are a bit of a jolly, to be honest, and i'm getting them because a) I can and b) the wife is gonna drive it occasionally and she'd like them. Just a bit bummed you can't adjust them ad the rear ones to flatline closer to an object: seems to do it a long way off. When I was driving it, I couldn't see the end of the bonnet which kinda annoyed me as i'm used to seeing it, but what the hey, if they're there then that's cool.

[VRStu]

I don't rate the TPM myself, certainly wouldn't pay for it.

I do however really like the sunset glass and would for sure order it if I could.

I very nearly ordered front sensors on this one but in the end changed my mind as I didn't think I'd need them.

[Dr Zoidberg]

I wouldn't want to be without the sunroof.
The amount of extra light it lets in is very nice and it's much better at letting in fresh air than just opening a window.

Yes , I know it has aircon but sometimes clear fresh air is much nicer than processed

[Graham PoLoskie]

Got a sunroof on my old 1999 octavia.I like it and u
se it on tilt often but don't know if I would pay the extra as an option. Was looking at Auris T180 sunroof fitted on standard to last years model.

[jlwah]

Sunset glass on the estate looks good (IMHO) and is quite cheap as a factory option (£200). Also check out the blinds that are available as accessories, quite a few people on here have recommended them

TPM is standard on the vRS but by the looks of it there has to be quite a large variation in pressure (e.g. a blow out) for it to activate, so I wouldn't bother.

I think the sunroof is an expensive option these days (£665) so I would put the money towards the colombus sat nav, which also improves the sound quality.

[blackspaven]

Well, my visit to the dealer was interesting! The bloke I saw appeared to me to be a real smarmy ******, who when I'd walked out and then returned to ask nicely for a cup of water for my wife, just hwaived his hand vaguely in the direction of the reception girl and said she'll sort it out, before returning to have a chat with his colleague. Not much respect for either a potential customer or the poor girl. Looked a ****** anyway!

Cheers for the advice on the sunroof Sworral. Got in the car and turned the knob all the way before Mr Cheese said it didn't open any further and something to do with the roof not being thick enough for it to slide any further back and the front lip needing to stick out cos it made it waterproof. Asked to see the manual and followed what it said to get retract it all the way, which got the reply 'Oh. Didn't know it did that. You learn something knew every day!'. Not suggesting a salesman should know EVERYTHING about every car, but don't try to blag it if you don't know!

Anyway, TPM is off the list now and sunroof and sunset glass are back on. (partly because they were on a pearlescant black estate and the sunset glass looked the b*llocks with that colour. Swore I wouldn't buy black, but i'm gonna have to I think!)

[sworrall]

no probs on teh sunroof info, glad the guy has learned something! I always think these guys should at least try to know the cars they sell. I was quite surprised how much the guy I bought my car off didnt know about the octavia and he had the same model for home use! he was a quite genuine guy though which made up for it.

[Organist]

I have had both an aftermarket tint on my old 06 octy (Pentago Glass-Tech - VERY GOOD) and the Sunset Glass on the new 08 octy.
The sunset glass isn't quite as dark as the tint which I had, but it was cheaper.