RobinSLXi

<Cue the debate about spring rates, tempering and metallurgy...> Actually, could we just skip ahead and summarise the whole thing by saying that just because someone with a bit of sense and experience can get away with doing something inadvisable, does not make that thing any less inadvisable. Particularly when it could be downright hazardous if attempted by someone without aforementioned sense and experience. I'm happy to believe that in this case the risk may be minimal, but to condone the general practice of DIY spring chopping as "non dangerous" is downright irresponsible. Sorry, but it does have to be said.

Just goes to confirm my prejudices regarding what exactly the purpose of salespeople is these days...? The handbook (http://www.skoda-auto.com/com/service/documentation/superb/pages/11-2010.aspx) says indeed there is - there's a gap underneath where you can insert the key blade to pop it open and expose the lock. I will point out from personal experience, though, that it's nigh-on impossible to turn an unmounted flip key blade in the lock without a pair of pliers or similar. Apparently I'm having a slow typing day...

Brilliant, it does look good indeed! Now what if they got carried away and stuck the S2000 motor in that 130RS...

From the handbook, the approved wheel/tyre combinations for hatches and estates are: 13" x 41/2J ET38 steel wheels - 165/70 13" x 51/2J ET36 alloys - 165/70 - 175/60 - 175/65 14" x 51/2J ET42 alloys - 175/60 and for pickups: 13" x 51/2J ET36 steel wheels - 165/70 13" x 51/2J ET36 alloys - 165/80

You mean in the passenger airbag?

In some cases the SKC can be retrieved from the immobiliser/cluster over the diagnostic link with a tool like VAGTacho, for others it's achievable by physically removing and dumping the EEPROM to decode it with the right software. In the remainder, though, you've no choice but to pay the £120-odd for a dealer to hook it up to their system and let it talk directly to the factory's computer to do the login. I don't know offhand which cars are compatible with which method, but it may be worth asking a local auto electrician/locksmith (especially one who specialises in VWs) to see if they can do it for yours. If so it could still end up even more expensive than having a new key coded by a dealer, depending on how much they need to do, but at least you would then have a code for future reference.

Indeed, this is exactly what happens in between your version and my version - if the slot is deep enough to hold the seam snugly but not deep enough that the weight is also spread across the bottom of the inner/outer sills (ask me how I know ). With the slot the correct depth the seam can't fold anywhere because it would have to lever the puck through the inner sill to do so. In practice the jack head does just bite into the bottom of the puck as it lifts and it all works beautifully. At least on the Golf/Octavia floorpan you also have dedicated jacking points, on the Felicia the reinforced ends of the sills are the only place strong enough to lift or support the car (apart from bodging it on suspension mounts), which can make juggling jacks and stands a bit awkward.

For the same reason as the channel in the toolkit jack is that deep: because you're only lifting from one side the car isn't going vertically up (as it would on a garage lift) so the sides of the seam need to be supported to avoid bending it. Allow me to demonstrate with a somewhat exaggerated sketch: Of course, some seams will be stronger than others so this may or may not be an issue depending on your car, but it's definitely the case with my Felicia, which appears to have seams made of cheese, so easily do they bend...

ISO 9141-2 would be the best place to start, but you'd have to pay for it. I have seen a good webpage covering the electrical protocol but I hve no idea where it was. Essentially, if I remember it right, the K-line uses the same signalling as RS232, but with TX and RX tied together on a single bidirectional line and logic levels of 0V and 12V instead of RS232's +15V and -15V. The circuitry in the cable is basically there to buffer (and possibly invert) the 0-12V signals to the 0-5V UART. With the electrics in place, the communication protocol is straightforward. Here's a nice overview: http://www.hex.co.za/vaginfo/index.html and here's a slightly more confusing one from VW http://www.obdclearinghouse.com/documents/newdocuments//tsb/volkswagen/K-line%20communication%20description_V3%200.pdf edit: just to clarify, the ELM chips are a full-on microcontroller solution that provide an abstraction away from the protocol in use. This way they can present the same interface for all the common OBD protocols, and support multiple protocols with the same hardware (ELM327). Because of this, they also only implement the basic OBD code and data reading specifications, and don't support proprietary extensions like VAG diagnostics - they won't simply pass raw bytes to the car like a 'dumb' interface does.

In my experience of printers in this sort of price range, the 6-colour (Claria) Epsons are capable of the best print quality but are the most expensive to run. For general use (i.e. not mainly printing photos) I'd probably recommend one of the mid-range HPs with individual cartridges. Canons are OK print quality and price-wise, but the ones I've known have been a bit flimsy and unreliable. Steer clear of anything to do with Lexmark (which may include some of the Kodak and Xerox branded inkjets, I believe).

I'd say breakers or eBay, since a brand new speedo is going to cost well over £100 from Skoda. There's enough Felicias around that you should be able to find one with a close enough mileage already on if that matters to you. The problem is caused by the plastic drive gears coming unstuck from their metal shafts, and isn't realistically fixable. It's easy to remove a speedo from the cluster - just unclip the front cover/bezel then undo the 4 screws holding the speedo from the back. The 1.3 and diesel use exactly the same part (I don't know exactly how the 1.6 speedo differs, but it doesn't have the same part number) but be aware that cars built after around August 1999 have physically different parts which won't fit an older cluster without swapping various other parts as well (temp. gauge and light guide, at least). It might be easier to swap the whole cluster, in which case you'll want one from a post-facelift 1.3 (assuming you still have a '99 car) as the earlier ones don't have the lights-on warning buzzer built in (and the wiring for it in the dash is slightly different).

Yes, 7dayshop have stopped selling the camera mentioned - I ordered one a few weeks back and got a reply saying they were out of stock and not expecting any more. It's since been removed from the site. The camera in question was a clone of the AEE MD80, which can be had for around a tenner on eBay (or £50 for the real thing). Thanks to that, I ended up dropping £26 on one of the new HD keyfob cameras for a laugh, and damn is it impressive! Proper 1280x720 at 30fps and decent sound in a ridiculously small package. This one definitely has an appointment with some duct tape and a motorcycle this summer Good info thread here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1362692

I gather it's fairly straightforward to order stuff from Speedpro who are one supplier, but a set of HPs is around £430 new (even by the price on HP's own site) plus however much to ship them from CZ pushing that towards the £500 mark. Still not particularly economical compared to what you can get for VWs/Fords/etc. AVO list the Favorit/Felicia application in their catalogue but seemingly only for one end and without a price. Since they do custom stuff too, they might be worth investigating but judging by the rest of the range it's likely to be £550+.

As Tom says, you'd need your own insurance cover for a test drive. Being a named driver on someone else's policy won't cover you to drive other vehicles even it allows them to. In general, buying privately is a lot simpler than it seems - here's my view: do the research (as you are here ) to find out the typical condition, specifications, prices etc. so you can work out your own idea of how much you'd be prepared to pay for a certain car in a certain condition. Then find suitable-looking cars nearby (it's really not worth travelling too far for a 'cheap' car as it soon adds to the cost) to go and have a look at. As mentioned, eBay and Friday-Ad/Gumtree/Preloved/etc. are the best places to look for cars under £1000 these days as the listing fees tend to be a lot less than the likes of Auto Trader. You'll also find dealers selling off trade-ins they don't want cheaply on eBay rather than having them sit around being difficult to sell, so don't rule that out. Conversely, in this price range it's generally not worth paying the premium for a car a dealer's gone to the effort of advertising properly (unless you've got something equally rubbish you want to get rid of in trade, as I have in the past). Once you get to see a car, condition is everything - service history is nice, but generally isn't so important in cases like this (small cars over 10 years old) compared to the current state it's in. Things like modern turbo diesels and cars with known engine issues or recalls are the obvious exceptions here. Check everything as thoroughly as you can - a test drive is good to make sure everything works and there are no nasty noises but to be honest it's probably worth having someone else drive it for you anyway if you don't have much experience to compare with. If it all checks out, offer them what you think it's worth, regardless of how much more their asking price may be. The worst they can say is no, and you've always got more cars to look at... A couple of Felicia specifics not yet mentioned: rusty shock absorbers - if possible get your hand in and check there isn't excessive rust inside the lower spring seats on all 4 shocks. These can collect water and rust through causing the suspension to collapse. Worn-out gear linkages are pretty common, too. Not a difficult or expensive problem to fix but a vague, floppy gearshift isn't very nice to have to deal with as a beginner. Clutch failures and (on the 1.3) head gasket issues are also relatively common so signs of weakness in these areas should mean walk away or budget to have them fixed immediately and adjust your offer accordingly. I'd say the 1.3MPi is definitely the one to go for as I really don't think you'd find it worth paying the extra in tax and insurance for the 1.6 or the diesel. As a budget car there's a few general points to look out for, too, since a lot of 'cheap' cars have been owned by (careful) pensioners and (careless) skinflints. Low-mileage cars may well need tyres replacing due to age, even though the treads aren't too worn - it's not that uncommon to see cars with the original factory rear tyres still on after 12 years or more. Similarly brake pads/discs/shoes/drums could all be close to needing replacement so that's another potential expense to be aware of. Also try to avoid cars where the owners have 'saved' money by doing no servicing or maintenance at all until something breaks. Whilst Felicias are pretty tough and can withstand a fair amount of abuse it'll take more time and money than you expect to get a neglected one back to good health, so save yourself the effort! (Believe me, I know this now... ) In reference to Blanes' comment above I'd be tempted to avoid Japanese cars in this price range if you plan on keeping it for a couple of years or so. Whilst they will be ridiculously reliable like my old Corolla, they'll also be getting to the point where original parts start needing to be replaced simply due to age, and that gets expensive fast. You may get a lot more little things going wrong with a Felicia (thermostat housings, switches, balljoints, etc.) but they're nearly always very simple to fix and Skoda parts seem to cost about 4 times less than Toyota parts! Plus if you're interested in learning/doing a bit of maintenance there are few 'modern' cars simpler than a 1.3 Felicia around these days.