JoeBloggs

Some reviews on Lidl's wrench mentions Sliverline one who are on Amazon for similar price. Is their reputation is good? Are their products good? This one seems almost identical if not identical to Lidl's. Are those £70-90 ones? What's difference between them and £15 ones other than durability/reliability?

Mind you, I'm still a poor student, so it has to be on cheaper side if possible. All I have is one of those screwdriver with changeable tips set from Asda. What I plan to do is general maintenance. I'm able to do oil change, oil filter, brake pads, tyre, etc. I thought about buying oil extractor pump but decided against it as it doesn't have any other uses. Anyway, my car is 55 plate Fabia Mk1 1.2. It'd be nice if it was possible to buy from Amazon because I have a few vouchers that needs to get used up soon.

Bump.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW-VW-SKODA-FLIP-KEY-FOB-REAR-TRANSMITTER-REMOTE-1J0-959-753-DA-AH-434MHZ-/281236153175?hash=item417afb2357 I want genuine kits - is this key genuine? I can't find non-used ECU unit for reasonable price. The new ones are in £60+ range and used ones are in 20s. Can you point me in right direction for this one?

I plan to follow this guide soon. Here's what I plan to buy: VAG-COM: http://www.amazon.co.uk/VCDS-12-12-0-VAGCOM-VAG-COM/dp/B00IT66BAK The kit: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/REMOTE-KEYLESS-ENTRY-CENTRAL-LOCKING-KIT-SKODA-FABIA-/320655446723 Is this what I need? I have no problem obtaining the software needed for this guide.

Thanks! It was actually stuck. Glad I managed to get it loose!

When I bought a car, the salesman told me that if it's freely turning around, it's locked. If it's stiff to turn, it's unlocked, you just need to turn it after removing the key. Now after leaving a car parked somewhere for 1 month, either I've forgetten how to open the cap or it's stuck. What happened was that I unlocked the cap (a click after key turn anti-clockwise). After removing the key I tried to open it up by turning clockwise, it became very hard to turn and it keeps making that clicking noise as I turn it. So, is it broken or am I doing it wrong? I need urgent answers as fuel tank in the car is nearly empty.

I was keeping it below 2k rpm, sometimes below 1.5k if the road is clear enough so I don't brake and accidentally stall the car. I'll keep it above 2k from now then, thanks. Yeah I agree, shuddering and shaking is quite normal but in this particular situation, the car shakes more violently than usual, while simultaneously showing the power steering light, lasting less than a second all in. I'll post this thread if anything happens.

Today I was driving the car. When coming to stop, the car shuddered for a microsecond and the power steering light came on and off in very quickly. This happened twice. Initially I assumed it was because I was driving very economically, so when coming to stop, I did not downshift early enough, forcing the car to gasp for petrol. But then I tried to purposely stall it at somewhere quiet, it just died quietly. So, it's probably something else (hopefully not!) is wrong with the car.

Thanks.

Oops, I've missed the bit about using multi-grade engine oil. Thanks! Now I think of it, I think I did see white smokes coming out but not much. I'll keep my eyes on it for few days.

This car failed MOT last year due to exhaust issues. I assume what you've described about issues with exhaust is what happened in this case. It's replaced though. The reason why I'm thinking about replacing timing chain or head gasket because there's absolutely no information about its history. I don't know when it was replaced or if it was even replaced at all. I've checked the dipstick, the oil level is little low, so it needs replacing. The only issue is that I don't know what type of oil the previous owner used for this car and I don't know if it's safe to re-fill with different type of oil.

Thanks guys, I'll be using this thread for any "issues" I encounter. Here's two issues: Fuel mileage isn't very good. I put £20 in every week and I drive 30 miles per day for 4 days a week. Fuel price around here is 117.8p. So that calculates to about 32 mpg. That's not very good, I was expecting around upper end of 40 as it was dual carriageway @ 40-60 mph most of the way and I was driving economically. The car vibrates a lot, I almost can feel the vibration on steering wheels. It occurs when the car is at a stop and engine is warm. I think it's a cylinder misfire? If so, then engine light hasn't shown up, so it's probably disconnected or damaged. Is there a way to test if engine light works? Now, I've bought this car from a mate. I didn't mention was that he's bought it off a dodgy bloke. So, no servicing history, except MOTs here and there. I've decided that it's good idea to replace a part that would cost me a lot more to replace if it was to fail right now. I've decided on two parts to replace: Timing chain or head-gasket. Which would you recommend replacing right now? I don't have money to replace both right now so I'll replace second part next year. Lastly, which type of oil should I use? Should I replace the oil or re-fill it?

After a week of driving, EPC and engine light has appeared. It only seems to appear when I turn the car key half-way on, it won't disappear after few seconds like normally it does. The lights completely disappears when I actually start the car. Is this an issue?

One more question, the display located between tachometer and speed dial, isn't showing anything. Is the screen damaged? If so, how much to replace it?

Regarding to question #3, can you elaborate little bit more about central locking? I've also just bought the car and I wondered about central locking as well.

No.

This car is 55 plate. The car key look like this. If central locking is fitted on this car, how do I use it?

Thanks everyone. I've received the car yesterday. I've put 50 miles into this car already. There's no petrol smell on this car. however, I do have a few more questions: 1. I was given one key. It's plain key, no remote control or anything like that. How much does it cost me to get a key with remote control built in? 2. I have issues with door lock system. If a door is opened, it won't lock when shut until I push the locking pin (What's the name for it?) down. This can be annoying when I have to go around the car pushing the pins down.

Thanks and apologies for confusion regarding to issue #4. I don't have the car with me, so I was describing from my memory. I don't think there was ever a blue cap at bottom left in the engine bay at all. The blue cap I was describing is to right of the battery, not top right. I think this is windscreen washer fluid.

I've got it off a mate at extremely discounted price. It has a few issues that needs fixing. I'm hoping one of you guys/gals could help me with this. Issue #1: The battery cover is damaged/loose, it has some tape holding it. I'm worried about potential electrical problems with rainwater. Issue #2. I can see ground below the car if I look in the area slightly left to engine's cam-belt. Is this normal? Issue #3. The car slightly smells of petrol when starting the car. While I have only started the car twice, once inside the dealership (My mate owns a dealership) where there's all sorts of petrol lying around. The smell was pretty strong. Second time was outside the dealership, I did smell petrol but it's very faint. Is this something I should worry? Issue #4: The clear/cloud white plastic tube similar to windscreen fluid reservoir at bottom left sitting in top-right corner of engine compartment has broken blue caps, it won't close. Does it need urgent attention? Finally, the manual wasn't really clear (English isn't my first language) about light switch. To clarify this: If I want to use dipped headlights at night, I should turn the switch clockwise up to one notch. Up to second notch is for full beam headlights. For fog lights, I should turn it up to two notches and pull the switch?

If I remember correctly from my last thread, this car should have a timing chain. This means that engine won't be damaged when timing chain snaps or is it true for only on non-interference engines regardless whether timing chain or belt is used?

Thanks, I'm a newbie when it comes to cars.

I may be buying this car tomorrow. I checked it out today at a dealership, although it was a short check as I didn't have enough time. I will check it more thoroughly tomorrow. Only thing I can say about the car is that shifter feels quite rigid when shifting the car into various gears which is a good sign I think and the external looks good. HPI report states it is all good. They also have an inspection report which states everything is in working order. Only problem I can find is that there's a disparity regarding to number of owners as the service booklet mentioned third owner while V5C and HPI stated it had 2 owners but I think this can be ignored. I'm still quite confused about insurance/tax/V5C thing. Someone told me that to legally drive off from the lot, I should get V5C slip (signed by me and the dealer and dealer has to send the rest off to DVLA), tax it at a post office then insure it. Now, the original question - Are these cars any good when compared to hatchbacks or estates are essentially lengthened version of a hatchback with no changes? Edit: This car is classic 1.2 litre petrol version.

Thanks! I've found a good '07 1.4 and certainly, the insurance premium does seem go down. Here's me hoping it won't get sold in next few days. Does anyone have a list of things I should do regularly to maintain a car, for example, changing brake pads, timing chain/belt, oil, etc? I'm total newbie to this type of thing as nobody in my family have a car. Is servicing done once a year or ...?