driftwood

First, a gripe. I received e-mail notification that this thread has been updated: but when I click on the link, it takes me to the beginning of the thread and, despite searching, I cannot find that post, thereby confirming my abhorrence of web forums :-( I agree with everything Cepheuz says and would like to add comments, but how can I without a mechanism to quote him/her? Web-fora suck! Usenet was and is the way to conduct discussions.

First, a gripe :-( I received an e-mail notification of update to this thread:

Yes, hence my words 'probably not representative ...'. I went to my local (newbie) Skoda franchisee (Underwoods, Colchester) yesterday. Viewed a 1.9 Octy estate. He fumbled around to give me a p/ex price, but the asking price, 12,5K GBP, VAT paid, is a bargain! I am not out to impress anyone, just want a workhorse. I think that yu are wrong to generalise. If it is clean and mechanically sound, it is worth every penny. Forget Glass's guide, what is reliable transport worth to you?

I bought my Fun new in May, 1999 (replacing a Favorit). OK, so it's kind of a "factory custom" already, but I am heartened to read in this thread that performance and handling are more important than cosmetics. Wolves in sheeps' clothing? When I registered here a couple of years ago, I found too much about superficial cosmetics, which is why I didn't bother coming back until now. The Fun has been laid up for a year and I have splashed some cash to get it back on the road. Seriously interested in geting some more oomph out of it. Insurance premiums and fuel consumption will be less of an issue when I move it to Russia. Any advice on "winterising"? I have a HD battery and will maybe need spiked tyres.

I was referring to how they monitor their users and "serve" them with targetted advertising. No, thanks.

Good to read such positive reports! :-) I bought a 2nd-hand Favorit in Edinburgh, then started using Porters in Marks Tey, who no longer have a franchise, before buying my Fun from them. Since Underwoods would take me two bus rides and Hayes only one, that's another reason to use them.

If you value your privacy, I would recommend avoiding anything from the Gogle stable and as for Google Groups ... God give me strength :-(

Driving with anticipation of events should make brakes almost redundant, except for stopping on inclines and emergencies. Every time you brake to slow a car, it just throws gas-money out the window, never mind wear and tear on "disposables"/"service items".

I largely agree. I had a 1.3 Favorit estate which would not hold cruising speed on inclines. 1.6 Felicia Fun has more grunt. 38 MPG and tyres last 40,000 miles. Probably not representative of all Felicias, but a 1999 80k mile Fun, Item number: 110324127140 just sold on eBay, after 20 bids, for £1,220, and another, Item number: 190270553574, is offered for .£1,695.

Another week? I hesitate to ask; promotion, retirement, another job? Good luck for whatever. FWIW the work that was done was fine - I just got a shock when I got the bill :-( I could've bought a 2nd-hand Favorit for that! :-) Thanks. Nothing to be seen or felt above the wheel/tyre, inside the arch. It can be disconcerting, after rain, to leave 2 little p*ss trails on the road with water from the sills(?), but Porter's said that it was nothing to worry about. I also read (here?) somewhere that these particular models were left standing on a quay for 6 months because they had "missed the season"(?). My priority is structural integrity, rather than cosmetics, so maybe there will come a time for some welding. The depreciation curve must be flattenning by now. How is depreciation on newer Skodas, compared to other makes?

Спасибо. You are from Stourbridge? I spent 3 years in Brum, 1980-83, around Soho Road and Winson Green, Had a Honda CX500 stolen not a stones throw from the prison :-( Used to go to Dudley Zoo for a Saturday afternoon drink, before the licensing laws were relaxed. The giraffe often used to say, "The high-balls are on me!" :-)

I did in 1995 - Woughton Marina, junction of H8 and V8. Girlfriends Astra was stolen there :-( Then again from 05/2005 until 03/2006 - 3 Horseshoes at Drayton Parslow (sp?), then Medbourne. Drinking in Netherfield :-) Thanks. Apologies for earlier misunderstanding.

Поздравления, КЛБ! Вы еще старше чем я!:-) Right! Like I said elsewhere, I got 44k miles out of the original tyres. They started to perish before wearing down to legal minimum. 38-ish mpg and I only get 44 from my Triumph Trophy. No mechanical problems whatsoever, touch wood. Ignition was a bit iffy when the battery was knackered. How many other vehicles convert from 2 to 4-seater! Handy for transporting PCs. Also, as a company vehicle, being a "van", it reduced my personal tax liability :-) My Fun is in UK. Only automatic Jap-crap available to me in Nsk :-( Still, better than the Lada Sputnik I had in Ufa, Bashkortostan :-) Dodge? I was driving a Pontiac Bonneville (7 litre?) in Tennessee, 1987. Also, 1980, AMC Eagle, Olds Cutlass, some Rent-a-Wreck in Phoenix and a Mustang in San Diego. Variety is the spice of life, although I miss my '77 BMW R60/7 having parted with it after 14 years of ownership :-( Later BMW, 1985 K100RT, didn't like standing outside in Edinburgh winters - centre stand collapsed and brake nipples would shear off. Brass monkeys? :-) Somewhere along the way: 1977 anniversary edition H-D Sportster (kick-start only) and 1988 (7 months old) HD ElectraGlide Classic, cream and Champagne gold. Recent: 1978 (? T-reg) Mercedes D207 home-brew camper van. Current: 96 Triumph Trophy triple.

Спасибо. You must be the guy I nearly met last year. Had my cam-belt changed at Pillings, while working in MK, 29/07/06. They gave me a Fabia 2.0 litre loaner. Any experience of symmetrical corrosion on rear wheel arch inners? (Truckman top _always_ fitted.) Double skinned arches, I believe. Regards, Миша