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Day 5 with the new VRS 245. Loving the engine and big smiles all round. Getting plenty of looks with the wheels offset against the red. Poverty red rules

And the grammatical errors... You'd think they'd Czech it before they published it.

Been back through the Welsh mountains this evening. Stopping for a brief moment to take in the view. Covered around 500 miles over the past 24 hours. Loved every one, well apart from being stuck behind a tractor for about 20 minutes.

Couldn't take her seriously after she mentioned it being the aspirational car . . . . The Cortina was an aspirational car, the Mondeo never has been, the aspirational choice since before the Mondeo was launched has been the 3 Series. The Mondeo was the car you chose when you couldn't get anything else. In my view it still is. I still remember having a Mondeo hire car three weeks after the launch. It was the first Mondeo I saw and attracted some attention, I would have preferred the Production Manager's 318. Personally: Couldn't live with the interior design, I'm over 14. Had a Ford Kuga hire car a couple of months ago and the infotainment user interface is crap - screen size isn't everything. Ford discount heavily so as a company car driver (as I used to be) I would be paying tax on a fictitious list price that is never paid. They always worked out expensive on the lease, only £30-40 a month less than the 520 or E200 and emissions are traditionally high. They don't wear well. Couldn't live with the outside. Second Gen. Mondeo was a good looking car, this isn't. It is more of a jelly mould than the original Sierra. Its a Ford. I spend a minimum of 2 hours a day in the car, what I look for is a comfortable place to sit, quiet, economical, low cost, reliable, good radio/stereo. Ford haven't met these for some time as I don't care that much about driving dynamics (as long as they are better than a Montego). Most of my miles are motorway and you shouldn't be testing the handling limits on a public road, if I wanted to throw a car around I would get a track day car.

Welsh mountain roads on the way home tonight. Stunning scenery and twisty roads. Put the 245 through its paces And she coped beautifully.

We have a large driveway to the rear of our property that’s shared with 3 other properties. On one occasions my neighbor was in the drive when a car came up and parked. On informing the driver that they couldn’t park there, he’s was bombarded with abuse and informed that there was nothing he could do about it. That is till he pointed out, do you see these gates there? , well I am going out shortly and these gates will be locked behind me, so if you require your car today I suggest you move it now as I might not be back for a while.

I'm pleased to say that it's now all fixed. Called AA homestart and the Polish engineer was soon on the case. Throttle body was fine and all electronic connections and the fault was the brake servo hose had popped off behind the engine. It must have been loosening for a while and the removing of the engine cover finished the job. Now it has a jubilee clip and the engine is running better than ever. The hose coming off of the brake system was the reason that the traction control light was lit.

Yeah i dont want that happening as it would distract me from my sexting!

Nobody bothers to listen to what Labour says now. They change their direction with the slightest of breeze. No doubt it will change again and we all misunderstood what they had previously said.

I followed the recommedation in a tuning mag to cut one turn off each coil spring off on my polo and to lower the car and improve handling. No noticeable difference to the handling but the ride was far too harsh afterwards. Should have learnt my lesson with first car, a mini, replaced the shocks with Spax adjustables. Even on softest setting it was like driving a car with no suspension. Handling was fantastic though! The 1275 engine I dropped in rather than reboring the original 1000cc one certainly made a huge difference, particularly as it already had a large SU carb and Cooper S exhaust by then ( I gave a scrap 1100 engine which I bought to take apart and for spares for £10 in part exchange for the gold seal 1275 engine - bargain at the time)

On Sunday we saw - And And All in Broughty Ferry near Dundee

And this thread gets worse and worse...

Okay, I am a bit biased but the estate will be of more use to you I think given what you are searching for. It's just run in at that mileage, It's more practical, better looking IMO and does not have the intricacies of the 'twin hatch' set up - a lovely if expensive idea that was dropped on the later cars. The 3.6 cars are great value (can't believe the price of that estate in the UK...) and built to last - the 3.6 a proven, chain driven unit. I had a problem with my tensioner (rare on these....see my thread elsewhere on the issue...) but the 3.6 has been used in the VAG group for some time, from humble Skoda through VW Passat and to Porsche Cayenne. Its a proven lump. As for the wheels...VAG share many, as long as offset is correct (assume PCD is right i.e. no chavvy spacers ) you can change/sell choose your wheels to suit. Mine came with some upgrades from new (19" summer wheelsand 17" winter ones, lowered and uprated coil overs etc. etc.) and I have bought 18" wheels for winter (equiv. of £500/set alloys and tyres new off an online site). The car works well on the 18's, looks great on the 19's (in my profile photo - I'm a tart ) but when loaded up with family and kit the 19's rub on the rear inside when at speed over 'floats' (IYKWIM), not the fronts as I would have expected (on full lock for example). So, things to look for IMO: 1. History of decent servicing with paperwork so you can call to ask (dealer, independent - no matter). 2. Listen to the engine, hood up, for that tensioner fail. 1:1000 is the issue (brittle plastic as opposed to nylon or similar) and most cars do not have the issue (especially in the UK as so few 3.6's were sold ) 3. The wet box 6Sp DSG unit is a dream and reliable. You can get an idea of dual clutch condition on the drive....like any car, a bit of delay or slip will tell you what you need to know. Mine has similar mileage to that estate in your ad and its still hardly worn (had it looked at when I had the tensioner issue). Oil and filter service should be done on the DSG every 40,000 miles - so yours should have two services done. Important to retain smooth operation (and any hesitancy or mild jerkiness will disappear with this service). 4. Check footwells for damp in you have the sunroof - panoramic or other. Drain holes block...water ingress. Not a biggy to sort but be aware. 5. Check all electrics - a known VAG issue across all its cars but more solid on the Skoda I've found - windows, mirrors etc. 6. Air con is the best I've had on a car - check its gassed up. 7. Electronic struts on rear hatch (if you have them) can fail but are reliable on the whole. Alibaba is your friend there if they do.... 8. Rust surprisingly a non issue in general - rear arches, boot lid/hatch (behind number plate) and on leading edge of bonnet below and around plastic trim above grill - like any car really... Thats about it really - as I said, I'm biased but they are cracking cars to drive and I looked at all the Audi's, BMW's, Jaguars at the time (used but similar ages) and the Superb 3.6 was streets ahead for performance/price, quality of build (really) and space. You can see where cut backs have been made with materials in places but thats why its such good value otherwise Audis S6 would be in real trouble and looking at sales figures the Superb is tonking Passat and A6 sales in europe currently - the Octavia has destroyed A4 sales...foot, shot, in, the..,by VAG. My 3.6 is my first Skoda (purchased used in 2014) and I am very impressed four years on - it's a keeper and will drive it into the ground probably (or maybe, just maybe, go for a used 280 in five years time....) As a footnote, the Suisse Gendarme used the 3.6 estates as fast pursuit cars and run them up past 350,000 kms without issue (I went to the service centre near where I live here in Suisse and spoke to the mechanics about the car....they loved them because they were naturally aspirated, unlike replacement Opel OPC Insignia estates, and were smooth, spacious, comfortable and effing quick). Good luck with your choice/decision and don't hesitate to fire any questions.... Dave

When do you take it back to get the topcoat applied? To me that shade of grey is primer, SWMBO wants one that colour.

Wait, only now I read this right... Are you using Android Auto on your phone as a standalone app, interacting with the phone screen?? It is really meant to be displayed on the car screen and controlled from there. This might explain why your experience is so negative

I had the 1.4 TSI in DSG & mine didn't change up till it was well into the red section, try driving it like you just stole it. Tweaked mine too with a sports air filter DTUK tuningbox & Pedalbox, even then torque was heading south over 4-3/4k revs. Don't fight it, just short shift in the knowledge that you're going as fast as it will go. Finally, brought a vRS245 which I've tweaked too, it spends a lotta time in the red

My LED reverse bulbs arrived unexpectedly quickly and they are beefy looking things. I decided to see how they looked today as I am impatient. The standard bulbs showing just how pathetic they really are here. I wasn’t sure whether to go for these or the ones that were slightly less bright for a bit less cash, and in hindsight these are a little bit overkill. When they came on it akin to igniting collapsed suns in comparison to the weedy originals! I decided to set the brightness to 65 and see how they were there and they are much better. Here the left one is at 65 and the right one at 100! Both at 65 here, and all the better for it IMO. While I was out I also played with the US light coding options to get this look, pretty keen on it as it reminds me of the side marker lights on my old Volvo. Might just keep this Next job, it needs a clean!!

Yeah I’ll call them back tomorrow and ask specifically what it is! Probably an air con software upgrade! HA Honestly if my dealer calls me again about my air con needs servicing I’m throwing a GDPR request to reticence all my details.,

Firstly this is my first ever new car at the age of 40.. and it's fantastic. I am coming from a 15 year old VW 2.8 4motion passat, which was a well specced nice car, but obviously I have jumped up a decade and a half. I got this through work and wanted something without a 20 week wait, so basically I got a pre built car which was sitting in Germany. It took just over 3 weeks for the car to arrive. As it was already built I didn't have much spec choice.. My local dealer sent me a list of all Hatch and Estate cars available in the UK and I choose the one closest to my spec.. minimum was front parking sensors and heated front seats.. So my car is a 2.0T dsg combi in Meteor grey with front sensors and rear parking sensors, heated front seats, spare wheel and electric tailgate. I wasn't convinced on the colour, but it was that or black and I personally think the estate is too large for black and it doesn't show off or contrast the black features of the sportline (grill, mirrors, roof bars). Only thing so far are dsg pedal extensions from Aliexpress.. No plans for the car apart from keep it clean.. now choice of wax? I have Collinete and also has a AG lifeshine kit.. Only issue is trying to run it in!! :-)

Selling my 59 plate Octavia as I'm upgrading to something bigger 79,500 miles, I'm the second owner. Elegance trim - cruise control, climate control, elec windows all round, etc Nothing major wrong with it, alloys a little scuffed and a couple of small scratches, nothing unexpected for it's age. New brake discs and pads all round less than 1000 miles ago. MOT until Jan 2019 I think the aircon could do with a regass. Westfalia detachable tow bar with dedicated electrics, 13pin socket. Dog guard in the back, along with roof bars if you want them. Bluetooth hands free (self install but oem parts) Located in South Derby near East Midlands airport. £3800

OH BEE hav But then theblokes in F1 have a solution- removable steering wheel.

Have a look here @Damo:http://www.theskodashop.co.uk/product/Grille_Surround_-_Black_5E0853761AF9R Has gone up a little though

I was just tagging on for the ride :P

I'd a really bad droning noise on mines about 18 months ago which turned out to be the rear tyres as it disappeared after fitting news tyres and having the alignment done... Tyres where seriously worn on the inside. Same noise returned about 4 months ago, more news tyres, and alignment ... I'd put the old front tyres on the back and they where pretty worn but the noise was still there and it was the NSR bearing that had gone yet noise was virtually identical...

I have these bulbs in my interior https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-6-SMD-LED-Pure-White-LED-501-T10-W5W-Interior-Light-bulbs-SUPER-BRIGHT/330974765508?hash=item4d0fa221c4:g:JugAAOSw7ThUqGgl Very good quality & only has 6 smd's per each bulb but are very bright to be fair, I think I used 6 led bulbs in my interior (Just for headlining lights front & rear) but was cheaper before for a pack of 8 or 10, something like £8.99 or £9.99 but they work faultlessly & have been for years. (I'll try & find the thread from ages ago about led's etc) Here is that thread. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/304984-upgrade-vrs-interior-lights/ I have these ones in my glove-box & inside the rear boot from Ali-express https://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-Power-4pcs-lot-T10-Canbus-Car-Led-Light-Error-Free-W5W-WY5W-Auto-Interior-License/2036929238.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.4ff94c4ddK2puP Make sure to choose white colour, these are mega bright & lights up the whole boot area. Boot Thread https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/413880-upgrading-boot-lighting/

Did you try the volume knob on the infotainment system as well as the one on the steering wheel? There have been cases where the knob on the steering wheel has failed, but the one on the infotainment system still works.

For free? Unlikely!

If your car has had the EA189 emissions fix then it is highly recommended to 'rollback' to a pre-fix file before going for a power remap. This then fully removes the fix software, giving you back the original performance and none of the premature issues with EGR/DPF etc, and then you can safely remap on that basis. I have the CR140 and will be looking to rollback then remap in due course. At the moment I am still covered by the TBM so wouldn't be wise to rollback while there is still some sort of cover in place.

Thanks. I'm more worried about losing a letter and then looking like I've lost a tooth!! Lol

So yesterday we were at the adaptations place (Des Gosling, near Derby) with her new car and I must say they were in general very good, finding solutions to the issues she has with extremely weak fingers etc. But when I asked about wanting the boot 12v socket to only be live with the ignition on (so she can leave her electric scooter plugged in permantly without flattening the battery) I got somewhat blank looks. I said I though that the fuse could be moved between 2 locations to give aux. socket either permanently live or live only with ignition. More blank looks. The general thing seemed to be that they do their thing with accelerator ring, brake lever and chair hoist but they don’t fiddle with the car settings, that is for Skoda to do. Sales people at the Skoda dealership seem equally clueless! I’m sure someone (master tech) at the dealership may know, but there is a communication barrier! Anyway I am confident that I can move the fuse. The steering is pretty light already, but I am slightly concerned about the brake sensitivity as her arms are very weak. Where you mention adjusting the brake response, is this something I can do with VCDS? Which module, the ABS? At this stage I don’t know if it will need adjusting (she hasn’t got the car yet) but if it does it might be easier for me to do it than traipse back to the dealer for more blank looks! She is desperate to get the car in time for a planned trip to wales this weekend so won’t want it in the dealers any longer than necessary! As to that dealership in general, I take back some of the nice things I said earlier. The sales lady left abruptly last week, we only found this out when we rang to check on progress. Passed onto a new guy who wasn’t really interested as he’s away on holiday today. Passed on to another guy, but lots of misinformation eg the adaptors said the PDI had already been done, the dealer said it hasn’t (and the washer fluid was empty so I suspect the latter is correct. Apparently Motability need 4 days notice of the handover but the garage didn’t notify them that they received the car last week - current salesman said “Oh did we?” When she pointed this out to him today. Not holding our breaths to get the car by the weekend despite the adaptors pulling the stops out to get the car finished this morning. Otherwise, it looks very nice with the petrol blue paint and pale leather trim. Can’t wait to have a play with it!

Thats what i thought with the VIN, but wanted to be sure. I only ask as i need to replace the bearing carrier assembly (previous owner loved a windy gun and stripped some threads) and was going to change the hub and bearing at the same time, ordering parts is nightmare if you us the the Reg! Hopefully i have uploaded the pictures correctly.

I bought these and they fit perfectly in the Interior lights but need modifying for Boot or Footwell. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01ANKIW4M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not used personally, but everything I've seen from other forums suggests it's not worth the cost (around £100 iirc). Unless you are having specific issues, I would not look at getting it done.

Is that a link to the less powerful ones ? OR could you pop one up please ?

You haven’t accidentally muted the system, on the Yeti if you pressed the volume roller on the steering wheel, I presume the Kodiaq is the same. The only thing I’ve noticed on the Kodiaq is is if you accidentally touch the power button on the screen, this mutes the sound.

So when are you ordering? IMO the colour only suits black trim such as the gloss black accents on the Sportline. I seen a Karoq with chrome trim in MG, last week.....erm erm

I will have the mic, and maybe the dome light if you can do a better deal if I buy both, although if the buttons are beige it will look guff in my caddy. PM me, please, and I will sort out the mic anyway.

apparently that flow device it's an upgrade. I spoke to an audi technician and he said that the MAF will read better. Doesn't really restrict much airflow as the holes are big but it's to do with reducing turbulence and better readings. I have removed my one and re-installed it. No difference.I left it in just in case my car brakes down again and it needs to go back to Skoda. Any reason for them will be a good one not to fix your car (FOC)

If you go on Skoda Uk website, contact us page between 8am & 8pm 7 days a week theres a live chat banner at the bottom. http://www.skoda.co.uk/about-us/contact-us If you give them your 8 digit order number which should start with a 2, then they should be able to give you an order update within minutes. I was unable to obtain any info without it however others have been able to just give their name and other details. You get a different person each time you chat so pester them as often as you like until you are satisfied with the info, I know I do

I saw a MkII TFSI make short work of a line of traffic on the A52 in 2007. I then owned a really nice 2004 Mondeo Zetec S diesel in good nick and lowish mileage which pulled very well but liked the 'rarity' of them and wanted the extra zip of the VRS, so in Jan 2008 I drove to a dealers in York with my wife and we test drove a Skoda UK car with 6000 miles on the clock which appeared competitively priced. The negotiation had 2 problems, my P/X was lower than I reasonably wanted even though I had looked at retail prices and deducted a decent margin. I was also told that they'd made a mistake and the screen price was incorrect. It was supposedly too cheap by £750 because it had auto aircon and park sensors! I countered by leaving immediately, saying we were going for a pizza and then home. I left them my mobile number and said if you want a sale, increase my PX by £500 to an honest/reasonable price and the screen price is what I would pay. I got a call about 30 minutes later whilst eating our pizzas, agreeing the terms, I placed a deposit and collected it the next week. Sales basics - Treat people fairly and they will buy a good product.

Did consider the diesel but had my heart set on a 220 TSI. Thankfully however my dealer has managed to locate a stock 220 Sportline for me with 90% of the options I wanted so have decided to go for that. Understand it won't be for everyone but got a Dragon Skin Sportline which is what I really wanted! (Spent 3 months convincing myself I'm brave enough for the colour!) When he searched all the new 220's Skoda UK had in stock only 14 came up on his search, and only one of which was Dragon Skin. So it's likely I've got one of the very last Dragon Skin 220's in the country. Made up

Hi everyone. First time poster, and would just like to start my saying what a great forum this is as all you members are very supportive and informative. I've been reading this thread for a while as I purchased a 1.5 SE L DSG Quartz Grey back on March 25th and would just like to add my experience so far. As this is the first time I've purchased a new car (my 17 year old SEAT 2.3 V5 Toledo finally went to meet its maker), I've been trying to get to grips with the whole process from ordering > build week > delivery. I've just been told that my car is due to be built next week, so I was wondering how long a car takes to "build"?? I've got the impressions it's about a week, but having read that the factory will shut in July it would be nice to know that it should roll off production line before 1st July !! Just to give some background as to my experience with Skoda and their random builds, I originally contacted Motorline in Dartford via CarWow on 22nd March who originally told me lead time was 12 weeks. Went for a test drive on 24th March, and the first thing they told me before I got in the car was that lead time had doubled to 24 weeks. As I'd set my heart on a Karoq I decided it was worth the wait. Signed on the dotted link on 25th March. As it's my first new car, I went a bit mad on the extras as I pretty much threw in the whole lot like ACC, Park Assist, Auto Light Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition, Driver Assistance Package, Electric Boot, Heated Steering Wheel with DSG Paddles, Electric Seats with memory function. Sure most of those will never get used but I just got a bit over enthusiastic !! I got an email yesterday to say it's due to be build next week. I've been unable to clarify if this is confirmed or still estimated as my contact at Motorline has now gone on holiday for a couple of weeks. She mentioned in email that looking at a July collection so looking at this forum, I guess that'll be end of July, which would be about 18 weeks, slightly better than I was originally quoted. Am I right with about a week on production line ?? I know I'm still a long way off from the Karoq being on the drive, but I'm so excited. Can't wait to experience that "new car smell"

Wise up his looks awful.. even he knows it :-)..

My TDi 150 was Ordered Feb 2018 (delivered 28/04/18) and has the 7-Speed DSG. Now that would suggest that 150's ordered from January would get the 7-speed but not sure if the 190 TDI was included in that, as I know the Petrols weren't included. Wouldn't make sense to change the gearbox on only the 150 TDi though...

Probably because I am not English native speaker, I always see his nick as "themanwithonion".

Ok. I'm getting there slowly. Has anyone here had this roll back carried out on the Monte Carlo? What are the effects of not having it rolled back. I.e. what has this fix done to my car? Will it die?

Day 8 – Berlin to Göttingen to Aachen This morning, I was going to have to find my car. Remembering the ordeal I suffered after parking five days ago, I was not looking forward to this. I made sure I had my phone with me this time. I even had my compass (well, it’s always attached to my knapsack). There was a lift in the hotel to the garage four floors below. I decided against taking a pocket full of bread crumbs and a ration of water. So, the doors opened, I stepped out... I could SEE my car about 50 feet away! I couldn’t tell if I felt more stupid or relieved. How? That sorted, we turned down the gracious offer of a €20/head breakfast in the hotel and returned to Einstein’s. The counter chap recognised us. “Same again?” he asked. I stopped at hotel reception to pay my bill. Now, I knew that parking was €25/day, and I was willing to pay it for the security and convenience. Still, when she said €125 for parking, I felt like I’d been mugged. Nevermind, we had a really nice stay. Sing, “On the road again”. Today, we had a 400-miler ahead of us. I never would have tried that distance on the bike, well, not with Jo on the back. But the car, air con, cruise control, tunes... and at 100 mph we got to Göttingen a bit early. The only attraction of this town is that it was just off the A2 and it was lunchtime. Turns out, Göttingen is a pretty little town. Susan got me to the entrance of the car park, then we followed my map to find Zum Szültenbürger, Prinzenstraße 7. It was a beautiful day and it seemed the whole town was out basking in the sun. The pedestrian precinct had its share of Harley’s and tattoo parlours. Definitely a working class town. I couldn’t tell if the people we saw were on a lunch break or just unemployed. Göttingen My restaurant had a table outside in the shade for us. We got our bottle of mineralwasser and studied the German menu. No English here. Ah, another dish to tick off my list: Schweinshaxe. Jo had her fall back Caesarsalat with half a chicken draped across the top. My ham hock/pork knuckle arrived. Schweinshaxe I surrender! My eyes bulged and I accepted the challenge. It was delicious. I ate half, then a bit more and a little bit more, then I surrendered. I was grateful for the walk back to the car park. The Jag in front of me was having trouble negotiating the down ramps, making two point turns before committing to each ramp. My Škoda is longer than the Jag, but we made it down unscathed. Stop. Push Susan’s buttons, next stop Aachen. We had a couple Autobahn adventures that made us a bit late arriving at our hotel. First, Susan seems to be able to cope with traffic jams, but not roadworks. We were instructed to leave the Autobahn "due to current traffic conditions". Well done, Susan! I could see the stopped traffic from the parallel rural road we were on. We crossed under the ‘Bahn, turned west, then... The road was closed. Susan? I ignored the signs and carried on up the road. The signs weren’t kidding. I stopped at a petrol station and Jo availed herself of the services while I tried to use the sat/nav map to find out where the heck we were. I didn’t bother with printed maps. Why bother? Well, I knew we needed to head west, so we drove back to the first closed sign and followed the Germans. Turns out there was a signposted diversion that took us to the next main town. It was slow, but we were moving. Once there, I reprogrammed Susan and, sure enough, she got us back on the motorway just the other side of the traffic jams. The downside of 100 mph traffic is accidents. When they happen, they’re big ones. Fortunately, this mishap was on the eastbound carriageway. Peering over the central divide, we could see an articulated lorry sideways across the three lanes and a vehicle carrier on its side, cars still strapped to its trailer. And, a 10-mile tailback. We could see a dozen rescue vehicles stuck in the tailback, lights flashing. The police were diverting traffic off the motorway at the next exit, but that was creating its own tailback. We took a break at a motorway services just before Köln. The last of the big spenders bought a couple apples and we munched on those in the sun until we were ready for the final slog into Aachen. Susan parked us in front of our hotel (Hotel Benelux, Franzstr. 21-23) but by the time I got the car parked, unpacked, settled in our room, it was almost 8 pm. Still, it was a beautiful warm evening in Aachen. Getting a late start in Aachen And, what a beautiful place! Who knew? Well, Douglas knew. I had chosen Wiesbaden for our stopover, but Douglas said he thought Aachen would be more interesting place. Turns out to be Charlemagne’s seat in Germany, and the cathedral is amazing. Tonight, though, we only had time for dinner. I was trying to avoid the Rathaus restaurant (Ratskeller Aachen, Markt 40). The reviews said “overpriced” “rude staff” “disappointing food”. But, it looked like the only place that might still be serving. Well, the staff were delighful, the rack of lamb was excellent and, compared to Berlin, it was a bargain. Aachen Dom Rathaus (town hall) restaurant bottom right And later that evening... On our way back to the hotel, we were surprised by the aggressive behaviour of one of the towns many homeless people. He was shouting, almost screaming, and flailing his arms about and breaking bottles. You really did not want to get in his way. Let’s call him Luther, for he was to play a further part in this narrative. Tomorrow...

Day 4 – Berlin You could hear the sound of silence all night long in this lovely hotel room, but at 0600, sharp, the kitchen staff trundled their trolley across the courtyard cobbles and, as usual, our windows were open. Wide awake now. This was to happen every am except Sunday. Breakfast was not included with this hotel, which suits me fine. Get out, get started on this cold, rainy day. We’d seen the Einstein Coffe Shop opposite the Gendarmenmarkt the night before and returned for Früstück. Order at the counter and carry your stuff to a table/counter. We got a table on this busy Friday morning, but when Joanna joined me to point at the yogurt she wanted, we lost the table to four very sly and quick OAPs. Never mind. The breakfast was quite good: slightly sweet yogurt with fresh fruit, still warm croissant and nice coffee. We headed west today. Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, Kulturforum, KaDeWe in the KuDamm. But first, we needed to dress warmer. On the way back to the hotel, we popped into a Lidl. We bought a large bottle of mineral water and a bottle of Dornfelder (a quite nice German red wine) for the grand price of £2.36. 25 cents of that was the Pfand, the bottle deposit. As in Köln, we saw a lot of homeless people. Some were begging, but many were rifling through the litter bins looking for recyclables and carrying large bags of empty bottles. Checkpoint Charlie, Friedrichstraße, Berlin So, recharged, we passed Checkpoint Charlie and took the obligatory photos. More fun was the Trabant museum down the road. TrabiWorld. Then a monument to Currywurst: a giant sausage in a bun held aloft by the Berlin bear. Finally, and more seriously, The Wall. Or, what’s left of it. They finally had to fence it off to keep souvenir hunters at bay. A couple neo-classical buildings, then Potsdamer Platz built on the rubble of WWII. Trabiworld Currywurst The Wall We finally got to our destination, the Kunztforum, several art galleries clustered together. Our building was open, but the exhibit was closed. We took pictures of the gallery and ate lunch in the cafeteria. It wasn’t bad: beef stroganoff on noodles. And a beer. No more Kölsch here, Berliner Pils. The Boxers, Keith Haring Kunstgewerbemuseum Kupferstichkabinett interior. No show today Still under umbrellas, we marched on to Küfurstendamm, the locals call it the KüDamm. This area used to be the heart of the American sector of West Berlin, until the wall came down and Berlin was reunified. The Kaufhaus des Westens, or KaDeWe, is Berlin’s Harrods. We were headed for some retail therapy. Across the street from KaDeWe was a street market offering a polar opposite shopping choice. As Harrods is full of tourists, so is KaDeWe. I headed for the men’s department, looking for a pair of chinos as all of mine are too big for me now. Ralph Lauren. £130! You must be kidding. We headed for the top floor – the food hall. Wow! A mecca for foodies. We sat around a central square feeding station and watched as the short order cooks fried us up a Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelsosse. A Bitburger Pils, Jo’s Riesling. This was much better! The KaDeWe food hall Very expensive sparkling wine I had a German family on my left shoulder, eight eyes watching me eat my last bites of potato pancake, then my last sip of beer, (Jo had gone to the candy section, so I was milking this) then gather my stuff into my knapsack, then leave a tip... Quick! Grab his stool! We checked out a display of Champagne. One bottle was €5,500. That is not a typo. Then, gold eggs. No kidding. Then American whiskey brands I’ve never heard of. Ah, a deli! I bought a couple ends of Italian sausage: Salami crudo al Barolo, Salsicca Modena it says here. They would go nicely with my bottle of Dornfelder in the hotel room. Jo bought gifts to bring home. She had to take a picture of a display of Cartwright & Butler biscuits from Beverley, Yorkshire. Never heard of ‘em. KaDeWe says they only offer the best products, so maybe Jo could never afford them before. We circled the top floor perimeter, peering over diners to take in the view, then bailed. I saw the U-Bahn across the street. No! We’re walking. Oh, okay... We saw half a million euros on a lorry, walked through the Tiergarten past the Luiseninsel and finally stopped for a drink in the Sony Centre. I had a Heineken. Only international brands in the Sony Centre. Nice building, though. The Sony Store, roof detail, Potsdamer Platz What's left of a rich man's mansion from 1944, Potsdamer Platz Leaving, we saw a fragment of a stately home, framed like a painting, to showcase the only part of this ex-mansion that had been spared in August 1944. Ooh! That restaurant is on my list! I went inside the Lutter & Wegner (Restaurant Kaisersaal, Bellevuestr. 1) and made a reservation for later in the evening, then we completed our walk back to the hotel. Wine, sausage, bed. 19:30 came far too quickly. I was dressed and peering out the hotel window at the sky, noticing that the rain was finally slacking off. Stupidly, we decided to walk back to Potsdamer Platz. Too far to turn back, the heaven’s opened, lightning flashed across the sky and we realised how little shelter there was between us and our destination. Even under umbrellas, we were soaked to the knees by the time we got there. Lutter & Wegner, Potsdamer Platz Obviously, the weather had discouraged other diners on this Friday night and we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Our Croatian waiter, who spoke five languages, complimented me on my German and lightened up a bit. Took good care of us. They had a special Spargel menu on tonight. Germans love the white asparagus and prepare it in a myriad of styles. I love the Spargelcremesuppe, and that’s what I had to start. I misinterpreted my main meal, thinking I was getting ham with a bit of Spargel on the side, when I got a huge portion of Spargel and a bit of ham on the side. Spargeled out, I just ate the tips and left the rest. Jo had a bass filet, which she pronounced delicious and we had a bottle of Riesling Sekt. Sidebar: The Sekt Story. This I read in the Lutter & Wegner menu: The word “Sekt” originates, indirectly, from Shakespeare. As the story goes, in 1825, well-known actor Ludwig Devrient was at Berlin wine bar Lutter und Wegner. In that era’s German translations of Shakespeare, the playwright’s sack, or sherry, was translated as Sect, the German term for sweet Spanish wine. Devrient quoted Henry IV, where Falstaff demands, “Bringe er mit Sect, Schurke!” (“Give me a cup of sack, rogue!”) Since his usual drink was Champagne, the waiter served him accordingly. “Sekt” soon became a popular name for sparkling wine. In 1925, when “Champagne” could no longer be used for German wines, it became the official designation. Sekt is to Germany what Prosecco is to Italy, both a cheaper alternative to Champagne. So, now we were wet inside, too. But, the rain had stopped and we had a nice stroll home. Ooh, that place looks nice, and that place... we never took this route again.

How quickly does the code come back if you clear it? Assuming it's quick but not immediate, I'd be tempted to: - Clear the code - Have the emissions fix - Get Skoda to fit a new EGR (before 160k) - Remove the fix Simples

I met the block that cracked the VAG keys, they were university researchers and VAG hit them with the fully force of a gagging order, no expense spared on the lawyers. I guess the cars with contactless keys will continue to run after starting because if your battery runs out the supplier would get sued when your car cuts out in the middle of the M1 and you get ****ted by a lorry. Fingerprint readers still have a poor reliability rate. PIN pads are a PITA and really were not that hard to bypass anyway. Mechanical keys worked remarkably well really.