Tramell

New E10 eco-petrol baffles a quarter of motorists - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58398606 It certainly has me confused. To date I have tried always to use 99 RON Shell or Tesco to fill up - I get an overall 40 MPG. I know that the price of petrol is rocketing; I don't know if this is in any way connected with the new fuel. Anyone have an answer to whether E10 is safe to use in my car

I have a 2013 Mk 2 Skoda Fabia VRS. On a recent trip, the passenger side DRL was struck by a stone (I imagine); the result is that the glass is cracked and water would be able to get inside the unit. I want to replace the unit but I can't find a source for a replacement - can anyone help please?

My apologies for resurrecting an ancient thread - but it is both clear and helpful - thanks to the OP. I have a 2013 Mk 2 Skoda Fabia VRS. On a recent trip, the passenger side DRL was struck by a stone (I imagine); the result is that the glass is cracked and water would be able to get inside the unit. I want to replace the unit but I can't find a source for a replacement - can anyone help please?

Are you serious? I thought that you were these tyres #1 fan? I was even considering them for my next tyrechange. Do you still stand by your revised negative opinion of them or have you now had second thoughts?

Good news about the Octavia 1.4 being different from and not suffering the same the same problems as the Fabia 1.4. As to the 7 speed DSG it seems as if there have been problems with slow or unexpected changes, strange noises and a Skoda recall for an oil change.

Reading through the Fabia forum one can't escape the impression that the Fabia 1.4 TSI engine and the seven speed DSG gearbox are disasters and that Skoda themselves are ignoring people's concerns. Is the same true of the latest Octavia, particularly the 1.4 litre petrol version and the 2 litre VRS?

Did you ever try calibrating your GPS? I have a Garmin GPS (that I use on land). I believe that it uses atmospheric pressure to report altitude since triangulation based on satellites isn't accurate enough. Once calibrated it seems to tally pretty closely with OS maps. I have used it and two other GPS devices to check my TomTom and they all give almost identical speed readings - 75 mph on the speedo is 70 mph actual, etc. I use my TomTom to give me an accurate speed reading almost as much as for navigation, particularly on the Continent with kph. Incidentally, why on earth would a marine GPS even need to report altitude??

In general I would agree that you should never let your car run out of fuel. However, the last couple of times I have been driving back to the UK from the French Alps (a 500 mile trip) I would dearly love to know fairly accurately how far I can travel on whatever is left in my tank when it reads empty. All I can say is that when you have had the car for a while you will get a feel for how many miles you can do when your gauge is approaching empty, make sure you are carrying a can of fuel and let the car run out a few times - that has worked for me in the past.

It was seeing how popular the Scout is with people in French Ski resorts that first made me look at Skoda.

Likewise - recently returned from Flaine - snow was pretty mediocre this year. I tend to listen to plays that I have downloaded from the BBC each week (LINK) because listening to CDs, a USB MemoryStick or MP3 player almost always leads to moaning from someone or other in the car. ps - l'Beu is probably my favourite Grand Massif restaurant

WHAT??? CCTV footage shows that the lorry driver was in the wrong but the Police simply don't care. Sorry about the car, fortunately the damage doesn't look too awful, could have been so very much worse.

The new Nissan Qashqai is voted "Car of the year" According to What Car?, it "was an instant hit with style-conscious buyers". Style conscious buyers ??? Look at the damned thing (LINK), the front end looks like some gurning Disney cartoon character - YUK!

It seems a little odd to say the least that the Skoda CSR wasn't aware of this reason but then it seems equally odd that Skoda have managed to overcome the "Puny Alternator", petrol engine and heated windscreen conundrum in some cases? The only (possibly) useful advice I can offer is that a colleague of mine used to have a diesel Nissan Qashqai with which she was so pleased that I considered getting one. However, she traded it in for a petrol Octavia when she got fed up with the DPF light coming on all the time. She says that the Octavia seems a far less agricultural car and she would never go back to any diesel. I don't know what your driving requirements are but I really think that car dealers should be compelled to find out what sort of driving anyone buying a diesel expects and to advise strongly against buying one unless you do a reasonable mileage and frequently run at decent speeds for half an hour. It is just plain irresponsible to sell a diesel as a town run-about Back on topic, I can understand why you would be incandescent with rage at Skoda's incompetence. Whilst they do seem to be held in high regard, they really don't appear to be a very customer focused organisation do they?.

If you have run in 30 or so new cars, unless you are a senior citizen I suspect that you may not go in for long-term car ownership or have much interest in how long a car lasts for a subsequent owner (¡caveat emptor!) However much experience you have got with running-in cars, I suspect that your interest in avoiding warranty claims is less of an issue than Skoda's is, regardless of any possible strategy of built-in obsolescence on their their part As to driving it like you stole it, perhaps you might like to read back a bit in the thread - calm down dear, it is only a discussion and I am just reiterating the manufacturer's advice and expressing a personal point of view.

Is this suggestion based on any engineering theory or just on emotion? In the IT world RTFM is a commonly ignored acronym - I believe that it stands for Read the Fine Manual (or something like that) Based on that, I would offer you the following advice from the manufacturer of your car: During the first operating hours the engine has higher internal friction than later until all of the moving parts have harmonised. The driving style which you adopt during the first 1500 kilometres plays a decisive part in the success of running in your car. (Manual page 126 of 259) Essentially Skoda suggest that for the first 1,000 kilometres you should not allow the revs to go above 75% of the maximum permissible engine speed and not use full throttle and then gradually increase the revs used for the next 500 kilometres. I would suspect that anyone who advises you to "drive it like you've stolen it" is not in the habit of owning a car for the long-term.

This man speaks sense! So much so that I consulted the linked manual (page 126 of 259). Essentially it suggests that for the first 1,000 kilometres you should not allow the revs to go above ¾ of the maximum permissible engine speed and not use full throttle and then gradually increase the revs used for the next 500 kilometres. It also offers the warning: During the first operating hours the engine has higher internal friction than later until all of the moving parts have harmonised. The driving style which you adopt during the first 1500 kilometres plays a decisive part in the success of running in your car. Personally I would ALWAYS get the oil completely drained and refilled and the filter changed after the first 1,000 kilometres tops - but then I do tend to keep my car beyond the warranty period I have seen people suggest that you should thrash your engine from day one (this may well already have been done on your behalf by some thoughtless delivery muppet). I simply can't believe that this is a good idea.

My (independent) dealer always uses Forte Engine Flush when he changes the oil in my car. I can't say that I am convinced of the benefits but he swears by it. He is reasonably priced, very accommodating and has never let me down in any way. Perhaps it would make sense to use it on your first oil change?

I just can't imagine what twisted mind causes someone to key a car??? Perhaps if the owner in some way upsets someone (repeatedly making a noise at night, driving dangerously, parking inconsiderately) you can just about understand it but to do it to a complete stranger simply because they take care of their car??? Having read through the posts offering advice and sympathy, the only explanation I can think of is some moron working at a respray shop. You have my sympathy.

Thanks for the response John69. I suspected that it applied to the rear fog lamps, had something to do with not causing confusion with the brake lights and even that it might only apply to members of the Armed Forces in Germany - does it not apply to any misguided Brit who might to choose to take a holiday in Germany? However, I think that before my brain exploded I saw some mention of bi-Xenon lamps? What really baffles me is why nobody at Skoda (or VAG) appears to have anticipated the possibility of people travelling between the UK & mainland Europe and provided a cheaper, simpler solution? Perhaps like optional accessories it is just another hidden "Gotcha!" to permit further extortion by the dealers. Having investigated this further, I have just discovered the most enlightening "Octavia III VCDS Adaptations" thread and seen that you can get a VCDS Interface Package to connect your ECU to a laptop for as little as £263 - SOOPER!

I can't work out whether I have picked up completely the wrong end of the stick here or entered some alternative reality at the end of the universe. The impression I get is that it you may get stung by a dealer for anywhere between €100 and €400 or more just to be able to take your 21st century Skoda Octavia to Europe??? Please say it aint so :( For decades I have been able either to swap a lever in the headlamp housing of my car or stick some black insulating tape over the headlamps to drive on Continental European roads. Can it really be that this now has to be achieved by a very expensive brain surgeon with the aid of a computer and since when have you had to fool about with your rear fog lamps? MADNESS, UTTER MADNESS!

It is most gratifying to see how many people are owning up here to having bought the wrong car. Have a very Happy New Year . . . and . . . do try to take more care over your next transport purchase

As the AA say: "If you are buying a new car and plan to use it mainly for town-based, stop/start driving it would be wise to avoid a diesel car fitted with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) because of the possible hassle of incomplete 'DPF regeneration'." I guess it would be too much to expect dealers to make the effort to ask details about the typical driving undertaken by prospective purchasers? Funny how much difference there is between your average car salesman and someone selling boots, clothing, snowboards, etc. in Snow & Rock, Ellis Brigham or North Face? I guess one group are enthusiasts and the other are sharks I wonder whether a dealer might have a case to answer in civil law if they missold a car to someone from a legal background?

I would suggest that your use of the words "sadly" and "many" is misguided. An alternative view would be that very fortunately, the UK Government Scrappage scheme got many unloved, unsafe, worthless heaps of junk off the road to be replaced by modern cars with a seven year warranty and many safety and convenience features at a £2,000 discount

How did you manage to remove the damage without leaving a trace? Did you have to respray at all?

Women on the other hand do tend to have a superior grasp of punctuation and spelling