MikeyMacbeth

Thanks Phil-E - that's exactly the info I was looking for - speaking as a fellow IT geek it's good to know someone's broken the car maintenance trail so to speak :-) Was the brake pad & disc change difficult/expensive & what tools did you need ? just had the garage do mine (plus new battery) & cost me £300 (also inc new Baro sensor) @fabdavrav - it's a 16v 84bhp (from memory - will double check). What would you recommend as a bi-annual service procedure to keep it in good nick ? I'm keen to cut down on costs and learn to do what a garage would do for a 6 monthly service so : oil change, air & oil filters, spark plugs , gear box oil (how often?), check tyres, wipers etc. Average milage should be ~7000 from now on but for previous two years was ~12000 as I managed to cut my commute by getting a better paid and more local job :-) Have now picked up a cheap OBD2 on ebay and the Torque Android app - my inner geek is loving the data that combo gives me :-) - only bug bear is the obd2 scanner (£6.99) keeps dropping connection - buy cheap, buy twice I guess :-( Now keeping my eyes peeled on ebay/freecycle etc for the Haynes manual going cheap plus a socket set etc

Thanks All!

Hi All, Having had a few issues with my Fabia recently I've been wondering about picking up a OBD reader on Ebay to try and diagnose any faults/issues that occur - does anyone have any recommendations on what to look for? I'd also like to get a bit more hands-on and do some basic servicing etc myself (I'm reasonably handy but never really got into car maintenance being more of a computer geek!) What would people recommend as a beginners car tool kit and a good source of info on basic car maintenance? (don't worry - I'm not about to start attempting an engine rebuild or anything major! - just enough maintenance to keep things tickety boo) The only Haynes manual I can find online seems to cover up to 2006 models - mine is a 2007 56 reg 5 door petrol manual Fabia 1.4 - would that manual still be useful? Mikey

Hi Everyone, Been having a browse around these forums last couple of days and have to say impressed with the knowledge and friendliness in these here parts! I've been a skoda owner for the the last 10+ years now and never even known about these forums :-) - which I suppose goes to show that I've not (until recently alas...) had too many problems with the car! Unfortunately my current skoda's had a few issues in recent 12 months - new clutch, gearbox, part of the exhaust, discs & pads & wheel bearings, faulty barometer(?) sensor but still overall been a happy fabia fella (I guess you can expect a few issues at 8 years old!) I've got a couple of questions for you all but I'll post those in the relevant sub forums. I'd put a piccy of the car in my sig but would be too embarrassed to until it's had a wash :-) Mikey