Tailhappy

I have always been a RWD Skodarist - my 105, a 136 Rapid and my Mum's 130 LSE - I have never seen the need to stray onto other models and have not been seduced by the glitzy showroom parades.

I have seen some sad sites. The worst were in the period 1999-2003. The Estelles were being put in as part-ex, but the garages would not sell the cars on - there was no call for them - even at £50! I saw many wonderful cars meet their end - an absolute mint, one owner, 1988 willow green 120L5 - scrapped. A wonderful 1987 regal red 130 with all papers, MOT and in showroom condition - scrapped. A 1989 105 LUX, with 'blueprinted' engine (drove that one out - it was faster and smoother than any RWD skoda I have ever tried), mint interior and with only 19000 miles - scrapped. I even remember a call from the garage offering me a 6000 mile 1978 Mk1 120 in new condition that a widow was selling. If I said no, it was off to the breakers. I had nowhere to put it and no-one wanted it after I tried calling around so you know where it went. What was eveyone thinking - why were these cars not being snapped up?

I saw a skip filled with new spares for the Estelles. Garages were throwing stuff out wholesale - no call for it I was told. I took what I could, and I am glad I did.

Now, the cars are valuable, and even wrecks are being touted as 'collectable'. When I take my 105 out, I am being asked questions and people point (and even wave).

I think that it is a criminal shame that the wonderful Skodas of the 1980's were allowed to be scrapped - wonderful cars and history, forever lost. What was everyone thinking? Why was this allowed to happen? I cannot fathom....

I am sure I am not alone in seeing such carnage, and sadly, it was left almost too late, but at least the 105/120/130 range is getting some credit.

Ian

charles

unfortunatly Skoda very unfairly had a bad image in the 80's. The brand was lumped in with the likes of Lada and Wartburg which were the butt of 'pubjokes'! No-one wanted these cars in the 80's, people really did prefere the bus than own one of these brands!!
Ofcoarse there was nothing wrong with the 80's Skoda's but the geographical location of their factory made them appear undesirable to the extreme and as you will know Skoda are still persecuted today by some people!

daverapid

Tailhappy, your post describes excactly my own feelings. So many people tell me how good Skodas are now that VW own them. It's true, they are very good, but Skoda made cars that were very good at what they were designed for before the VW takeover.

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TREASURER OF SKODA OWNERS CLUB GREAT BRITAIN
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skorob2007

I totally agree, it's a crying shame so many Skodas in such great condition were sent to an early grave. About 5 years ago, most dealers started to scrap Favorits, rather than sell them on their forecourts. There was a beautiful 1995 M reg sea green metallic GLXie CD Estate at the side of a dealers in Stevenage.I asked if it was for sale as i had an identical hatch and wanted an Estate.His reply was - sorry, no, its being broken for spares, we get more for it that way! My local dealer in Peterborough is also is guilty of the same crime with anything over 7 or 8 years old.They get put in the compound out the back.When you look at the used cars on sale on the Skoda website, hardly any are Felicias - are these going to suffer the same fate? In 3 or 4 years time, there will be hardly any Favorits left either, the pre VW ones are rare enough now. I only wish I had a large barn to save them all from the big scrapyard in the sky!

Tailhappy

Glad I am not the only one to have felt really bad about this.

I have rembered a couple more - sorry to sadden you any more, but they need to be told. First, my local dealer had a 120L in as part-ex (only one number different to my 105 on the number plate too). There was nothing wrong with it apart from the fact that the owner wanted a change. It was in perfect condition, and all papers were in the glovebox, the tank had fuel and it was ready to go. I asked about it's fate - and was told the scrappy was due any moment to get rid of it and that if I wanted anything off of it to act quick. I took the front carpets for my own car, but struggled to do this - it was plain WRONG to be pulling apart a lovely car that was ready to take me anywhere with a willing heart at the turn of a key. I could not bring myself to take anything more, and left with a heavy heart. If only I had a barn.

Then there was the time I was in Devon on holiday, and passing an old school scrappy, called in to see if there was a breaker. There was, I was told, a 105 that was in good condition at the end of the yard that was scrapped due to the head gasket being blown. After I climbed over the broken glass and loose wheels I found the 105 under 4 other cars. Crushed down and browbeaten - the sight of this cracking little car waiting for the pulveriser under all the other junk will never leave me.

It seemed owners could not wait to get rid of their loyal steeds at the first bit of trouble - be it a carb 'O' ring, a head gasket or some other trivial matter - off to the scrapyard they went.

Remember the 'roadside Estelles'? Like an unwanted dog, Skodas were driven (or towed) to the wayside and left to the council to collect. Sometimes they would be full of old batteries or still have a fragment of the cut towing rope attached like a tail.

Look after the cars that are left and be aware of the 'up and coming' casualties like the Favorit and Felicia so that this is not repeated. They are too good to loose.

Ian

anewman

Saw a Favorit Mk1 for the first time yesterday at about 5pm in Batley (Leeds), looked very ropey, plenty of rust on the body panels, but no doubt its not been getting the washing and waxing it deserves.

Am trying to look after my Favorit as long as possible . Unfortunately don't want to shell out too much money and possibly the time will come when I strip it, scrap it, and buy another favorit - or earn enough money to upgrade to something else.

Seems a shame that all those good examples of cars were scrapped, I'm suprised there wasn't some kind of ship them back to Czechoslovakia arrangement like the Lada's ended up with.

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Richard Black

Yes, agree with the sentiments expressed above. I'm sorry to say I scrapped four RWD Skodas but at least they were all well and truly cream-crackered and I salvaged all the parts I could store. But for the fact I live in a flat with no off-street parking, I'd probably have all four still sitting around gathering moss - and I do miss them!

favguy

Daverapid,
When people say how good skoda's are now, it makes me chuckle, as the're not even Skoda's any more, like Seat, they are simply a VW with slightly different styling made on a VW installed line in the Czech factory were real Skoda's used to be made!. The last car with some Skoda left in it was the Felicia, but even that was the ******* offspring of VW & Skoda combined, lol!

You've got to go Fav or earlier to be able to call it a real Skoda!

And before anyone moans at me, I'm not saying the VW Skoda's aren't very good, they are, infact far superior to the "real" Skoda's I'm sure, but just more eurobox clones with no soul I'm afraid

Dmac1969

Isn't the old factory at Mlada Boleslav now the museum? The new cars are built in a VW financed new facility , I believe. The Mpi engines in early fabias still have a bit of old Skoda in them too , havent they?

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Duncan - England's most Northerly Briskodian!

2000/V reg Fabia 1.4 Mpi Comfort-Dynamic Blue

Ex Octavia vRS and Octavia Slxi 1.8T.

anewman

Yes, a Skoda engine with some modifications - so quite a lot of skoda in the engine. The original design is quite old, don't know the specifics but it was pretty much the same engine in the back of the rapids and estelles, and I assume the 135 and 136 were somehow based on the earlier Skoda engines. Suppose it goes to show how decent the engines are that they have had a similar design for 20+ years?! The fabia will probably be the last car to have a Skoda designed engine which is a shame in some ways. One story I read is the Skoda design couldn't meet more stringent emissions requirements - true or untrue I do not know. Interestingly the Superb is supposed to be a Skoda designed chassis? So maybe VW will remove the reigns a little more they so firmly put on Skoda after the Felicia.

I think some Ford Ka's use an engine based on a decades old Ford designed pushrod engine too.

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Skoda932byVW

Some of the Ford Ka's use a form of the old Kent engine which was found in the early crossflow Mk1 Escorts, The very last of the 105e Anglias (hardly any were made with it in though) and the early 1300 Capri's.
The Skoda engine design dates back I believe to my Skoda MB. Mine is 40 odd years old and a 136 engine plonks straight in . After that it was ever so slightly changed for the s series cars and then the same again for the Estelles/Rapids. Still identical looking engines though.

I remember my father buying our first 120 new. It was 1982. Skoda not only had the Rally reputation already behind it, but also boasted the highest customer repeat rate of any car manufacturer. Loyalty of the brand was amazing. I know Skoda so very well in the customer satisfaction surveys now, but I wonder how many of the customers whom like their Skoda will actually buy another one, or "upgrade" ahem..to another VAG car for their next purchase

OctaviaT81

Skoda do have a little bit of freedom. They have their own R&D facilities and as you said yourself the Superb chassis is Skoda's work although made mostly of various VAG modules. The Roomster chassis is also unique although the front end if Fabia, the rear Octavia and the bit in between new, bloody good job they did with that too.

The 1.2 HTP engines are also Skoda designed and built.

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Skoda932byVW

Quote"One story I read is the Skoda design couldn't meet more stringent emissions requirements - true or untrue I do not know. "
I think people get confused with Lada's as they are no longer imported into the country because they couldnt meet the emmision requirements. The Skoda 1.3 engine produces less emmisions than some engines with a cat. Also the Rapid had the Bendix (version of a Renault Rendix) Fuel injection system. So they could of carried on. There is no denying that Skoda has increased massivly as a manufacturer since the takeover though.