KenONeill

like pretty much every other car in the World you mean?

Sorry, if Lane Enforce worked correctly as a "safety device" there'd be no need to "get used to it" since it would never activate unless someone made a mistake.

Also @AnnoyingPentium - The very last mk1s were registered when they were registered. I was asking for information NOT dependent on the date of first registration.

Turn the entertainment OFF. Loosen wheel bolts on affected bolts one turn. Drive slowly until you hear a rumble from the loosened wheels. Tighten bolts and return home. Remove now loose bolts and wheels. Do other work. Now apply Copaslip or lithium grease to mating faces before refitting wheels.

Ok, telling us what's already been done is not a "long post" but "very helpful". Did the mechanician understand that you were using the car to pull a caravan several hundred miles? You're right about "pas grave", but if he did he may have said "plus grave" (very serious) and you misunderstood his accent? A classic failure mode on VAG cars is for the springs to break high up near the "pig tail", and even diagnosing that beyond a lower ride height requires a wheel off inspection on the relevant corner. As for what I'd do, whilst in France get the rear springs replaced. Think about getting specialist towing dampers (eg Monroe Ride Leveller adjustable gas pressurised dampers) after you get back to the UK.

Does the car have coolant temperature gauges?

OK, can you state exactly the engine capacity and trim level badges please? (eg 1.9 TDi Elegance, 1.2 TDi 2) This will at least clear up whether the car is a late mk1 or a mk2.

When is the smaller wheel on the outside whilst turning if you have different sizes front and rear!?

As @KeithCheetham suggests, you don't actually need a VAG specialist here; any Bosch Diesel or TurnerTune shop will do the needful.

As I thought, you need to have the physical shape airbag unit required for the "new" steering wheel. I have no experience of airbag encoding so can't advise you there. I can make an alternative suggestion though, that you get an all leather steering glove to cover the rim of your old wheel (been there, done that, works nicely).

You mean health issues like arthritis, heart problems, kidney failure?..

Makes a fresh MoT less of an issue, because he's not obviously trying to hide stuff.

Not sure about removing and replacing the moulding, but be very sure that the seat covers are designed to allow correct operation of your side bags.

If those are a standard VAG wheel, the relevant information will be literally cast into the wheels. The format will be something like 16x6.5 ET42 59.5 5x112. Breaking that down 16x6.5 is the wheel diameter and width in inches, ET42 is the wheel offset in millimetres, 59.5 is the centre mount diameter in mm, and 5x112 is the number of wheel bolts and the Pitch Circle Diameter in mm.

I think you've missed my point; if the vendor is reluctant to get a fresh MoT, then you should presume that there's a testable (but not always visible) fault on the car.

You don't have to do that; what people are saying is that you should be rightly suspicious of a vendor who is reluctant to sell a car with a fresh MOT.

What, exactly, are you planning to do here? I can think of several possibilities and don't want to waste time on the wrong one(s).

In which context, where is the supplying dealer based? Knowing that makes it easier to give right advice on how to escalate.

What does this even mean? Short shifting a gearbox (manual or automatic) can mean either "changing gear earlier" (to keep the revs down) or modifying the gear linkage to reduce the travel between ratios. Quick shift usually means either moving the lever faster or reducing the time an auto (or automated manual) spends in neutral between gears.

Now guess why they're often known as "Skoda Main Stealers".

Well, here's an independent testimony to the advantages and disadvantages.

Why bother? All you have to do is not stop just because the nav says say, "Tebay Services 1 mile". (Tebay used because most people I know stop there without being explicitly told).

Might I suggest Finnegan's Smoothrite; all the toughness, heat resistance and anti-corrosives of Hammerite, but in a smooth finish.

Seems fair; also, maybe it's a comment on the Tv I was watching on, but I couldn't see these "hybrid activated" LEDs that the commentators kept going on about.

Or corrosion of the lips where the pad doesn't rub on the disc.