octavia98

On the speedo reading 76 at 70 thing. As I recall, there is a requirement for speedos to read higher speeds or accurately, but NEVER under. I have a Magellan hand held GPS & the cars I've 'tested' all read over by the best part of 10mph at 70, so indicated 80 is actually 71ish probably. The error gets less at lower speeds though, so 30 indicated is about 28.

The more I look at Tourans, the more I think I might be onto something. Of course, an Octy II estate is very high up on my shortlist too! Gotta be a 1.9 TDi! I don't think the Touran quite falls into the crap Zafira/Picasso catagory, for me anyway, having read lots of reviews. The Octy I really does run out of rear leg room for bigger children/adults so for the Octy II to be top of the list, I'd want a big improvement. Don't really like being kicked in the back on long journeys... My 3 are quite far apart in age range though. Eldest at 13yrs, youngest 14mnths with a 10y/o in between. I guess if yours are all younger, a late Octy 1 would do you fine for at least a few years. Oh, and congrats on the expected arrival! Should have mentioned that earlier!

Just thought I'd throw in a totally different approach... Probably not practical for most due to various reasons. I've got a Linux PC (Mepis, KDE) which I use to rip CDs using Konqueror. either Konq recognises the tracks straight away or a click on the options down the side soon lets me get to the tracks if it's a 'funny' CD that only shows various .exe files etc. on mounting. I use .ogg format, which is supposedly better than MP3. Bit rate at 112 by default which probably equates to 192 mp3 or maybe even a tad better. Obviously, players that handle .ogg files are a bit scarce. I've got a Samsung YP-U3 & use Amarok to 'sync' it. So, as I said at the top, a different approach...

don't know if anyone else mentioned this but the other factor to consider is driveability. Having got used to diesel grunt, petrols can be hard work for me...

As mentioned elsewhere, I'm looking at alternatives to my current Mk1 Octy due to growing (In size, not numbers, at the mo.) family issues. Octy mk2 is on the short list as is VW Touran at the moment. We need the boot room due to 3 young uns and a large dog! We're thinking a Touran would future proof against any potention additions to the family... The TDI is without doubt the way I'm going to go again. I believe the PDs don't like bio too much though... Have a read through http://briskoda.net/forums/general-car-chat/biodiesel-use/96374/ for clarification...

I started a thread not too long ago about getting an Octy II to replace the Octy I. Another possibility has cropped up. We're quite liking the look of the VW Touran at the mo, due to it appearing to have loads of rear leg room and still a pretty handy load area with seats 6 & 7 out of the way. (A row which may be handy from time to time...) Anyone have any experience of both cars, to compare? Fortunately, I'm in no rush whatsoever to say goodbye to the Octy I so am making the most of hopefully finding a car that will be the right one! The Octy comes close but we got quite an old one that's showing a few probs now, and the rear leg room is becoming an issue.

Not much point in nicking software if you can get pretty much anything you need FOSS!

Signed as fuel costs increase the cost of just about everything! I believe the Govt. need to give us something back to slow the economic slowdown.

Nope, me either on the vane thing... Check the elec windows, c/locking & mirror adjustment. If anything is suspect, could be a sign of water getting into the wiring.

I'll certainly have a look at a Mondeo if I happen to see one at the time... As for performance, before the Octy, I was driving a Citroen ZX estate with the 1.9D engine so I thought it was amazing initially. It still feels adequate so I think a 1.9 TDI with a few more horses than the current one would be fine!

Don't forget to do the old 'cage mod'!

Funny old thing stylistic taste, isn't it? Personally, I like it with the chrome and the black bits! I think the chrome goes well with the 'main' grille and the un colour coded side vents add a bit of contrast. If they were colour coded, I think it'd look a bit 'narrow'.

Right, won't waste any more time thinking of alternatives then. Will keep the Octy 1 through the summer, then start looking for a mk II that's been nicely run in for me... Am thinking I'll be wanting at least an Elegance (The mk 1 is a GLX.) TDi. A blue one would be nice, I think... (Anyone thinking of selling anything like that in a few months, put me in the diary...)

Honda looks nice but the boot's too small, I fear! Some 200 litres smaller than an Octy according to the specs! I need to get a pushchair and a Labrador in there pretty regularly... On that front, I believe the Mondeo is more than capable but... Call me odd, but I love driving something a little out of the ordinary. I'm sure there are a few that'd agree but I actually enjoy the looks if incredulity when I say I drive a Skoda. BTW, what would everyone recommend as far as specific model is concerned? I'm a bit concerned about the recent thread about the dual mass flywheels... Apart from that, tramsmission type doesn't particularly bother me, especially as the auto is DSG.

Yep, I'm getting more and more convinced there's no point looking anywhere else! No-one's come up with any other suggestions so far either!

Our old Octavia I is fast waering out having given us coming up for 2 yrs service. We're considering replacing her later in the year with an early (04/05) mk2. I've been having a half hearted browse on the interweb at other makes/models that might fit the bill & might have a little look at Passats when the time comes... Any other suggestions, or should I just go with my initial thoughts and go for another Octavia? Gotta be an estate & I'm quite happy with the whole diesel thing. Probably the main reason the old Octavia is going to have to go in the not too distant future is I still haven't got the electrical probs I posted about ages ago sorted! She's starting to get a bit frayed at the seams in other ways too...

OK, how about SVO is skating on thin ice! Proper commercial biodiesel should be fine. (10% blend stuff) Confusing innit?

Hello & welcome! With a 90 bhp Octavia, you should have no probs. There was a recent thread where we concluded you could put around 10% straight veg oil in with little or no harm done. I believe oil with a high rapeseed content is best... (You might want to check that...)

Red LED is more not working than working at odd times. I can get the doors to deadlock sometimes but at other times not... I've been meaning to make a full list of the symptoms but they tend to change from time to time... Which is why it would initially seem to have been a CCU issue...:confused:

Well, Inde-Tech tried a replacemend CCU but still no good, so it's off with door trim & up with carpet & check wiring next job, when I can spare the car for a couple of days... I have to say, the guys at I-T have been great going through this to try & find what's up! I'd recommend 'em!

To pick up on the OT part of this thread, when I was in 'The Trade' many yers ago, I was told that a car was the customer's 2nd biggest investment, 1st being house, so treat it & them with respect! Made sense to me.

Just found out about these yesterday. They look great! I'd be tempted to install AntiX on one if I ever got my hands on one. The Xandros Linux that comes as standard is pretty similar to what I'm used to but I'm a bit dubious about it being very true to the usual spirit behind most other Linux distros. I'm not a hard core GPL only or nothing type but...

Symptoms are/were: It was making 'a funny noise' for a while, then refused to power up beyond the on/off button flashing orange. A bit of research lead me to believe the most likely prob was the PSU. The fan in the PSU seemed seized, so I ordered a new one (Complete PSU). The twerp who sold me it sent it set to 115v so of course it blew! No refund as I should have checked & probably set it that way myself, apparently... Anyway, I decided to replace the fan in the failed PSU but that hasn't improved matters. Being reluctant to throw more money at it, I've decide to get rid & get something else at some point. Luckily we can use swmbo's laptop so the family is not totally stuck without a PC. Would just be nice to have a desktop/file & print server running 24x7 again, at some point.

Well, replaced the fan but still no good so am giving up. :( If anyone is interested in a Dell Optiplex GX280 with a duff PSU and slightly battered case, then have a look at Ebay item 250204566609. Thanks for the advise all!