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Finally got Gandalf tinted this morning!! Front windows with UltraGard nano+ceramic 42% VLT. Rear side and boot windows with clear tint 75% VLT. Happy with results. Just in time for summer!

Picked up a little run about. Sorted out the Audio gave it a wash and replaced badges so far.

A numerous new family recently born in my bedroom, to a mysteriously 16-legged spider: The extra legs possibly shadows?, more obvious in macro mode:

Just one of the reasons why I don't actually like him. I'm trying to keep my comments factual rather than say stuff that will need censored.

Good car - lots of toys - you should be happy. Check the service history to make sure it has been serviced by a Skoda Dealer on time. Check the car servicing against the timescales that Skoda recommend. A low mileage car like that should have had an annual service (ideally 4 services) to keep it sweet. https://www.skoda.co.uk/_doc/8b70c541-726b-4996-9999-66ebc7ca520b So - at five years, you should have had done: 1) Extended Scope Service (Oil, Filter, Air Filter, Cabin Air Filter, brake fluid, coolant, and if we are sticking by the book - a cambelt change/5 years) 2) If it is a DSG gearbox, I would recommend getting the gearbox oil changed (it will be a DQ250 6 speed box if it is an automatic). You might want to check / replace the windscreen wipers front and rear. 3) There are niggles, but nothing terrible. Lack of maintainance is the biggest problems with Skodas. Niggles I've experienced: a) Batteries dying - the EFM+ batteries are rubbish and get flaky after 4 years. b) Remove the Silica bag from the coolant header tank (cos they have a tendancy to split and knacker up your heater matrix) c) 1.8TSI engines are good; make sure you keep the oil changed regularly.

If the body work of our 2008 160K mile 1.4 TDi was anything to go by I wouldn’t worry too much about the tin worm in older Roomster’s.

The brush is still going to be pretty abrasive on paint. Or the clear coat, to be more accurate. Those silicon blades do a great job of dragging any lingering dirt over the surface as well. Ditto for the leather. But like I said, if you’re happy with the results then great. My opinions don’t matter. Just like those who use £5 hand washes will tell you “the guys do a great job”. And to their standard yes, maybe they do. But not to mine. Im no expert either. Some of my techniques, methods will be frowned upon by those with a better eye than me. The two bucket method for example. I don’t subscribe to that. A statement that will send a shiver down someone’s spine.

Despite the linguistic inaccuracy (a limousine is a car with a fixed divider between the front and rear seats), that's what you need; a "combi" is an estate car or station wagon in English.

So a while ago, i was getting pretty bad engine rocking (sounded like the engine was going to drop out whenever the wheels spun up), and combined with my inexperience with how NVH works, i had the large rubber bush on the dogbone mount replaced with a poly one, the original had split and was allowing almost free movement back and forth. This was a huge hassle as the mount was damn near impossible to install with the new bush in place. Eventually i got it in. Instantly, huge vibrations at idle and below 2k rpm, but by heck the gear changes became absolutely beautiful and buttery smooth! Over time the mount bedded in and suchlike, it almost completely eliminated the wheel hop banging, now it just shuddered when the wheels slipped. I then noticed a slight split in the gearbox mount (the famous one known to squeak or fail), and replaced that with an OEM one designed for diesels, wheel hop completely gone! The wheels just slip and screech. The new gearbox mount also very slightly reduced the amount of vibrations that were going through the car, but after some time, i was given an OEM dogbone mount which like the replacement gearbox one, was designed for diesels. I fitted it... No wheel hop... No banging like the engine would fall out... and best of all... absolutely NO vibrations at idle! Clutch and gear changes are ever so slightly odd feeling, but i guess they will until i get used to it again, nowhere near as bad as original though. I have a feeling this was caused by the fact the bush is so large it was clamped too much by the subframe, restricting its movement too much. Below is a picture of the mount in question. The original black bracket must be used as the one for the diesels is slightly different. TLDR,; Don't put poly bushes in the dog-bone mount! Instead replace the gearbox mount and the dog-bone mount with the diesel counterparts; Diesel Gearbox Mount: 6Q0 199 555 AS (AR is original petrol one) Diesel Dog-bone Mount: 6Q0 199 851 AP (AS is original petrol one)

Hi All, New to this forum, new to skodas so wanted to join up here and get some much needed knowledge on the cars. Yesterday i purchased this lovely bit of kit 2004, Octavia VRS Estate, completely standard and needing some TLC Interestingly it came with a tilt and slide sunroof, something i've not seen before whilst looking through the classifieds as well as a few other nice bits and bobs, electric mirrors with heating element, full working trip (i wonder how accurate they are) 90% Skoda service history, brand new clutch, cambelt and waterpump done last year, so all in all, pretty decent. As it goes, touching 20 years old, few things need doing, such as: Fixing the god awful creak coming from the front of the car, plan to do a whole poly bush upgrade over the course of the next few months Fixing the rear passenger side window, can hear the motor going up and down but no window movement, bit weird?? Fix the boaty ride by fitting coilovers Rear spoiler needs painting, definitely had a rather rough life looking at it Overall health check, having had a few 20vt's in the past i know its not uncommon for hoses to split and despite this being factory fresh, i am 110% convinced i have a boost leak somewhere so i need to book in for a smoke test Alignment - not sure if this is part and parcel to the creaking and worn bushes but the car drives straight and true, the steering wheel is just out of alignment which is annoying Replace the cassette player deck with a nice android touch screen double din unit, going off ebay prices can be done for sub £100 which is nice and will massively bring the car into the modern era of bluetooth connectivity and sat nav In the long run im looking to take this 20vt further than my previous ones, always stalled at the 270/280 bhp and 300ft lbs mark due to rods. All being well i plan on doing the following aswell as the above r-tec remap, heard very good things about nicky badger 5 tip ebay 'wellycooler' intercooler and piping Cat back exhaust, twin pipes however not the oval, not too keen on the shape New DV, upgrade to a forge one A decent cold air intake (will take recommendations) Remove and blank off the SAI Bypass the N249 Valve Adding a catch can into the PCV system Upgrade dog bone mount and then stick a set of forged rods in there, granted this will leave me still cutting about with a k03s but once all the build up work is done i'll be able to save up for a gt28 or similar Im not looking for silly power however something in the region of 330-350bhp and close to or over 400ft/lbs Thankfully alot of the above can be done for not alot of money, so im itching to get my teeth stuck into it All in all, very happy with it, the mrs is yet to come around but hopefully the above can change that.

If it’s a 1.2 is a 4 cylinder, not 3.

Very interesting as these are the exact tyres my ID.4 came with. And he's talking *******s about recharge time in that Audi, it's one of the fastest out there.

Mine FINALLY arrived today. An actual car.

Not directly related to my Flamenco Fabia but I thought one of my late night purchases would interest some of you here! They are 1/87 (HO) scale in size, so just a little too small for my model railway (1/76, OO scale to others) but they do make excellent display pieces. e As an additional note, I'm aware of missing photographs from here. They were connected via my website and had been removed and then re-uploaded. Some came back and some didn't. I am unable to fix this currently as I don't have the correct permissions to edit the post.

Well I have gone and done it. Deposit down in a Zoe Riviera. R135 hp motor. In addition to the extensive standard specification of GT Line, Riviera is further enhanced with Easy Park Assist, a semi-autonomous driver aid which makes parking a breeze.

Yep, they’re B Type units.

Just remember you can buy from Tayna on Ebay, and they're invariably cheaper than buying from their online store. https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/taynabatteries

so.. whilst waiting... if you have 23 minutes to spare, watch this video of the Skoda Production line - I found it fascinating.. and so glad I didn't phone the Czech factory and ask how my car was coming along!.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaR5541_3_Y It is truly mind blowing (well to my small brain at least) how cars are put together.

They use semi-automatic boxes, so you have to explicitly do something to put the car into neutral.

Thank you all. Nick, I have arranged for the Dealer to sort out, good choice Mick, You have lost me, of course I have the keys with me when I go out or shopping,,,,,,,,Are you saying I need to be away from the car before it locks? How will I know if it has locked. Today it did the same thing and hadn't locked and if I returned to the car I wouldn't know if it had locked or unlocked on my return. Sorry if I sound stupid.

The DPF light isn't a normal occurrence, it only appears if there is a fault related to the system.

What I found disgusting about the whole thing was: - Car was obviously up in the air and yet the red bull wheels can be seen to turn. (Assuming you know you're up in the air, that's quite a risk of injury to those below - although I could put that down to trying to automatic reactions.) - Looking at the state of the cars, surely any decent human being would at least walk towards the other driver and make sure they can get out of the car/wait for stewards to be with the car It's all well and good saying he looked fine, but you have two crashed cars, severe damage to both and a driver in a car. Fuel/electrical fires can still happen and whilst you might both be angry, you'd hope neither wants the other gone for good. I do wonder if you should just put the two of them in a boxing ring and tell them to fight the championship out there.

Looking at ETKA, the 1.2 diesel started appearing in 2011 in Roomster, and always has DPF; still listed in 2015? 2011 page: exhaust pipe with catalyst and particulate filter... - Roomster(RO) [EUROPA 2011 year] (7zap.com) 2015 page: exhaust pipe with catalyst and particulate filter... - Roomster(RO) [EUROPA 2015 year] (7zap.com) Emissions fix increases EGR flow rates, which will tend to increase soot loading into the DPF, making regens more frequent.

The 1.2 TDI is quite a rare version, lower powered, 3 cylinder A 2013 car with 60k miles has only done about 7500 miles per year, which is fairly low for a diesel. If it was only lots of short journeys then DPF could be partly clogged. So lot will depend on how it has been used in past, and frequency of being serviced Not even sure if the 1.2 diesel ever got a DFP before being discontinued (it was introduced in phases during euro5 emission period).

These are the ones I bought for mine. Works fine without any errors: https://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs/382-super-bright-led-car-bulb-halfords-advanced-twin-pack-719272.html

And to me, as well. My regular method, if anyone’s interested, is hose on spray (not power wash) to soften the dirt, then two bucket method with cheapo shampoo (as it’s only to get the muck off) using several microfibre mitts, open hose off. Depending on what I did the last couple of times it was washed, I either use Meguiars’ Last Touch as a drying aid, or AG Aqua Wax. I have several soft microfibre towels for drying. The door and boot shuts are obviously done as well, as are under the bonnet ‘shuts’ etc. My favourite paste wax is G3 super paste, which I use several times a year. On the glass, it’s either AG Fast Glass or RainX, and AG custom wheel cleaner on the alloys, with AG instant tyre dressing on the tyre walls. I used to use Megs’ Endurance on the tyres, but the AG stuff is easier, and doesn’t splatter as much (maybe I was putting too much on?) I don’t have a dedicated wheel wax, but use the G3 occasionally (not spray on, because of the discs!) With this regime, my previous car won best in class at the VOC virtual show last year, which is good enough for me... You have a point, so why shave, your beard will grow back, why mow the lawn, it’ll only grow again. Why vacuum the carpets in the house, they’ll only need doing again soon. You get the drift. (mind you, my bachelor neighbour doesn’t do any of these...)

There should not be any difference. Skoda would only make the ones they would absolutely have to make. The only change will be the printing on the cover, so std or L&k would be the only difference.

Normal is around and indicated 92°C once up to temp if just at around the NSL,s in the UK on a not Scorchio day. Up into the early 100 plus if pushing it, people with you so car loaded and warmer weather. But as you ease off the indicated oil temp should be dropping down to near 90 degrees again. That is where the coolant should be and that is how things work, coolant cools oil which is also a coolant. Oil 5w 30 FS III. Or 5w 40 FS up at correct Quantity so 3.6 litre min,.a Low oil level will have the oil getting hotter quicker and cooling slower. Personally it would always be 5w 40 for me in a twincharger and not Long Life oil. PS. They are not very hot engines if running the right quantity of oil. The 3.6 litres as per spec is not much. I used to be running 4 litres, and there were techs that put that much in from oil and filter changes. Showing in area A on the dipstick when checked on the flat at normal operating temp. So at 90°C indicated and not as owners manual says for Skoda which is 'warm' while VW, Seat and Audi said 'hot' *know where it is when cold before you start the engine.*

Yes, probably overdue based on time/mileage. The correct service for gen 4 haldex would be to replace the removable cartridge filter, demount the pump and clean the stainer on the end of the pump, replace both filter and pump with new o-rings and then refill with new Haldex fluid. There are also priming procedures required via VCDS to bleed air from the system before use. If you use a Skoda / VW dealer the chances are they won't change the filter and will only change the fluid. They probably won't also remove the pump and clean the strainer. Find an independent who has knowledge of Haldex and tell them what you want done. Cheers

Not great with computers unless its connected to a car. Bought it off the bay of evil. Listed there as Dust brush cleaner, Universal vacuum attachment Dirt remover. Was £6.99, so not a fantastic top end quality product, but has been fine for vents and the side of the seat rail etc when used gently.

Thanks SC03OTT. I'll look for a microfibre mitt. I agree with your final comment - it's a pleasure to wash and polish a car properly.

VCDS or OBDEleven won't tell u ur headlight part number. Pop the bonnet, and look for the white sticker on top of the headlight. Looks like this.... This one is my original, non-SLA "A" version, before I retrofitted SLA "B" versions.

@Jim2015 Wheels & Arches - spray wheels and arches with a 4% solution of Bilt Hamber Auto Foam. Allow to dwell for 2/3 minutes and power hose off. - spray wheels wheels with CarPro Reset (5ml Reset to 700ml water). Coat liberally. Agitate with a suitable wheel or large detail brush, including tyre faces. Power hose off. Bodywork - Wash - coat car with Bilt Hamber Auto Foam using foam lance. Allow this to dwell. Depending on the ambient temperature, this dwell time can be used to clean window shuts, grill sections etc with a suitable detailing brush. Power hose off. - clean window shuts, grill sections etc with suitable detailing brush (ignore if done above) and power hose off. - wash the bodywork using a dedicated microfibre mitt from top to bottom, one panel at a time until complete, remembering door shuts. Wash in straight likes as much as you can. Don’t swirl about. - wash the wheels using a dedicated microfibre mitt, tyre faces and mud flaps. - fully rinse the car down from top to bottom. Drying - using a dedicated microfibre cloth, dry the bodywork from top to bottom one panel at a time. - using a dedicated microfibre cloth, dry the door shuts - using a dedicated microfibre cloth, dry the wheels and tyre faces. I do that every 2 weeks. In a March and October I’ll do a big wash, stripping all protection off the bodywork, decontaminating using a fallout remover, tar remover all that good stuff. I don’t clay bar as I don’t have a machine polisher to correct afterwards. After it’s decontaminated, it’s the above wash, protect, seal and that’s it. I’d probably top the protection up every 2 months in between that. Like I said. This is my routine that gives me results I’m happy with. I know there are issues with it, but I’m not willing to go the extra mile to get the extra results. It would stop being enjoyable for me if I did.

Why bother washing cars .....they just get dirty again. Mine gets a wash and brush every year when it has a service .

A fiddly but not too difficult job. You have to remove quite a lot of stuff in order to eventually remove the side panels. You'll need a long trim removal tool to pop out some of the more difficult to reach plastic/metal fasteners. Just wrenching at the whole panel may snap some of the push-fit plastic clips. A long trim tool gives much more precise leverage. All the metal fasteners have a Torx head. You'll need to remove the plastic trim below the boot lid slam panel before you start on the side panels. Also remove the rubber seal around the boot aperture. From memory you have to remove the upper panel (light coloured one in my photo) as well. Removing the seats will ease access for this job. There's some metal screws to remove, some hidden by rectangular caps (shown by the smaller arrows in the photo). One is tucked away behind the hooked luggage shelf support (larger arrow). Seem to remember a few metal screw fasteners, too, but these become obvious as you progress with the job. I also recall taking some of the floor panels out as well. Once these have been removed you can start carefully unclipping the push-fit clips with the trim tool. It's all a bit awkward but do-able. Hope this helps!

"What car should I buy?" questions are a bit like "What should I have for dinner?" questions, it's a bit of a blank sheet of paper. Help us out by listing what you want, and what you don't want.

Having previously lived in Southampton and used the Skoda dealer there I would suggest not using them based on my experiences with them but instead look slightly further away (Winchester or Portsmouth).

Enjoyed my first full week of ownership, 300 miles down and few thousand more to go!! just waiting for the 26gb map update to finish downloading, then that’s a job for tomorrow. No regrets from moving from Audi so far

Small update to this thread. I removed the springs I got with the coilovers and put back the apex ones from before. Sitting better now again. Took those springs I removed and put them onto the mk2 for the hell of it. Anyhow, got around to putting this in my name. On the logbook it was first registered on Friday 13th of July 2001. I put down the date that I got the car as the13th of July 2021. 20 years to the day from when it was first registered. Bit of useless information there, but I think its cool.

Base maps will be ROW (Rest of World) - there are two possible ways forward here. 1) The Base Maps cannot be altered as far as I am aware. You can try and load on the latest map updates as see how far that gets you....(unknown). 2) If could swap out the head unit for a European head unit (e.g. Amunsden for Amunsden) - and hopefully Skoda Connect will still continue to work. You would need to get the Component Protection removed in that case by a Skoda/VW dealer. Swapping out the headunit - you might want to consider an upgrade to a Columbus at this time 😁 My first call would be to a Skoda Dealer near to where the car will arrive e.g. Southampton (Richmond Skoda Southampton), Felixstowe (Bristows Skoda, Ipswich), Thames Gateway (Beadles Skoda Southend) - and get it check out before you go anywhere. It looks like such a lovely car, that it will be great to use (and there will be a great story to be had). If you have Virtual Cockpit, going to MPG is easy otherwise you could consider a UK spec speedo replacement (not hard). Do lots of photos - go and watch a Hubnut Video and see how Ian Seagrove managed to get Bettie in from NZ into the UK.

Snap same as mine

I picked up mine today 🥳 After first drive, it’s amazing, I love it 😍 I hope you’ll also get yours asap!

I do really like BMW's and Audi's, but so many are driven by complete ******* it really puts me off the brands. Pancake throwers not allowed?

This is a common problem and I'm not 100% sure what triggers it, nor is there a 100% solution to get the time back in sync by leaving the setting on GPS adjustment. However I can tell you it does eventually automatically resolve itself if left on the automatic GPS setting. A strange quirk 😛

I'd ensure to have as much info on the vehicle as possible before purchasing. My wife is currently having issues with her 2017 plates' transmitter and our current garage cannot put a finger on which is causing the issue. Absolute nightmare!

No need for money, if you're local (I'm inbetween Milton keynes/bedford/Northampton) I can try and do yours

No, the decision to reject is with the customer, who informs supplying dealer and gives list of faults. The dealer then has one chance to rectify them (all of them). One go, not multiple tries at fixing them. Either all the faults are sorted and no rejection happens, or dealer can only fix some, (or claims to need to try again as couldn’t do it) then the rejection can be automatic, and don’t even need to collect the faulty car. Some dealers will try and delay things and fob you off, but they are not following the law. Your contract with dealer is under consumer law and is completely separate from any commercial contract between the dealer and Skoda UK. If the dealer claims they need to await for approval from Skoda UK it is simple lie (they are legally unconnected, so not dependant on each other). How and when dealer gets reimbursed from Skoda UK is not your problem, and not relevant to your rejection timetable, because you are outside the commercial contract with Skoda UK.

If these rims would be totally black it would be amazing!