Ttaskmaster

Sorry Bobby, I did not.

This one is now ended and the car is gone. Thanks all for your consideration.

Friend of mine has just passed 600k in his '02 model and it's showing no signs of giving up any time soon. He is a mechanic, so it's been looked after (aside from never cleaning the interior) and just shows what you can do if you follow the maintenance schedule. You will likely find the glove box door has snapped off, and the cup holders are broken, but both have easy-fix kits on eBay to get them working again.

I happen to be driving a '53 plate A4 Avant 1.9 TDi 130PD as a replacement for my '53 plate Octavia 1.9 TDi 130PD... same awesome engine, basically, but a far more gentle, subtle drive. The Octavia was a raw driving experience by comparison, a car you could throw around and abuse a little without worrying. The Audi feels far more refined and encourages a more sedate, softer approach to driving. You can still hoon around if you want, but it feels good to just relax and take it easy. I miss a few of the luxury Octy options, but that was from an L&K trim. The Audi isn't quite at the same level and the interior has some kind of plasticote coating that seems subject to wear, but it has other qualities to make up for it. The suspension is wonderfully overengineered and feels great! I do miss the 'fighter jet' green interior/dash lights, but the red is alright especially if you turn the brightness down a little.

Last few days, then this car is gone...

Do you not think a person is capable of judging another's behaviour, without judging who they are as a person? Never told one of your friends or loved ones that they were being a bit of a divvy... or did that one criticism end the entire relationship? OK, let's break it down with typical English pronunciation, vs the best French approximation I can manage in written words... Apologies if my English phonetics sound a litle posh. penchant - 'Pen-chunt' vs 'Porr-shawh' laissez faire - 'Lass-iz Fayr vs 'Liss-ay Ferr' zeitgeist - Not actually a French word, but used to illustrate common italicising of foreign terms. je ne sais quoi - 'Junna say kwah' vs 'zhuh nuh seh kwa' raison d'etre - 'Rey-zonn Det-rah' vs 'rray-zon det-trr' Here I'll also add Voila, which most English speakers now say as 'wah-lah'. Reconnaissance - 'Rik kon-is-sonts' vs 'ruh-kon-iss-sonss' lingerie - 'Lonn-zhah-rey' or 'Lonn-jah-ray' vs 'Lung-zha-rree' connaisseur - 'Con-a-syoo-wah' vs 'Con-is-sur' commandant - 'Com-ann-dant' vs 'Coom-un-duhn'. Even amongst well-spoken, well-educated people, some of whom do interject correct French pronunciation of French and French-origin words, they still utterly disregard similar such words like 'restaurant', hence it is a choice to cherry pick certain terms for effect, and thus pretentious of them. Arguably not even their fault, as we're often fed Anclicised versions of words from the outset, just like we're often fed Anglicised versions of Chinese, Italian, South African, Mexican and Indian foods. Other than the bloke doing their radio adverts, I don't know a single person who correctly pronounces IKEA as 'Ik-ee-ah'... including the staff and their tannoy announcers. To that end, I don't even know who Jayemm is, but I reckon 'Schkoda' is just another one that almost nobody else will adopt, just like almost nobody correctly writes it as 'Škoda'.

VED I understand, but how would PPM replace insurance? When someone smashes into you, 100% their fault, who pays for the damages? How would it eliminate the problem of uninsured hit & run drivers?

I don't judge the people... merely their behaviour and their reasons behind it. For example, a penchant for laissez faire attitudes might be more appropriate in the current linguistic evolutionary zeitgeist.... In matters of print and publishing, some foreign words are even italicised, to indicate that they are foreign or that the reader may not immediately know their meaning as they are not common in native vernacular. The pretention comes from using such words, particularly when perfectly acceptable terms already exist, either to add flavour to one's speech and thus imply a higher level of cultural and educational status, or to suggest that the existing alternatives and thus the native language are not good enough. Typically one does it to add a certain 'je ne sais quoi', nay a 'raison d'etre', to their articulation, in the concordant fashion of individuals uttering parlance bespattered with loquiacious verbosity in fora, where such practice just makes 'em sound like a hoity-toity pillock. It's on the same level as calling someone Raymondo, or trying to talkski very slowski so localskis can understandski. One of my academic fortes is English Language and etymology, about a third of which comprises words and phrases of French language origin, either as adopted words or just included ones. Almost none of them, regardless of the speakers' accents, socio-educational staus or foreign language proficiencies, are pronounced in any way that a French speaker would consider acceptable. Reconnaissance, lingerie, connaisseur, commandant, justice, sovereign, counsel, dinner, soup, restaurant... all very Frenchy words. French itself is essentially vulgarised Latin. It's then been filtered through evolved Brythonic, then Celtic, then Latin and finally Germanic languages before finally being integrated into the existing mish-mash that was spoken in the British Isles at the time. It gets even worse when the original French spelling remains, yet the meanings differ.

Nope. It's the fault of the foreigners, for invading us and forcing their language/culture upon us. The French and Yanks can get very upset over the British use of Lef-tenant instead of Lieutenant, and even more upset when you point out that it's actually from the Old French form 'Leuftenant' which means their version is technically incorrect! Besides, most languages will have their own forms, spellings and domestic pronunciation of foreign places, names, words and even film titles, either because there is no direct translation, or because the domestic language simply does not have the same linguistic sounds as the original. Having to learn all the French, German, Italian and Spanish words for not just British places, but their own as well was a nightmare. I ended up doing one exam speaking a mix of French and German in one sentence. Something akin to "Es tut mir leid, je nais parle Franzosisch", while also completely forgetting the German for toilets... and then kicking myself when I found it was 'toiletten'. Oriental people get stereotyped by 'Flied Lice', yet many Brits are equally challenged by the Welsh 'll' sound and some of the others found in most European languages. I'm lucky in that, while I couldn't remember enough of the vocab, I was good enough at the pronunciations and accents to earn the praise of my language teachers - German, French, Turkish and Afrikaans, with a smatterin' o' Latin. Unless you make the effort to pronounce every 'foreign' word 'correctly', particularly those that are integrated into your native language, then it is pretty pretentious and done merely for effect. People think it makes them cultured and cosmopolitan, or something, yet it falls apart when they inevitably use the Anglicised version of other foreign words. As for foreign friends' names - Not only do most people Anglicise those, they often shorten them. Muhammad becomes Mo or Hamza, in the same way Barry becomes Baz and Elizabeth becomes Lizzy. It's our way of showing appreciation and acceptance, even though some other cultures consider it offensive. As far as correcting people goes, I once spoke about a Bugatti and called it a "Boo ga' tee". I got utterly reamed by a posh-sounding toff type, who informed my 'uncultured, uncouth, barbaric retarded' self that it was properly pronounced "B'yew-gatt-ee". I then spewed off a string of other Italian brands and terms (Armani, spaghetti, Versace, etc) in the best stereotypical Italian accent I could muster, but was met with even greater pretention. About the only one he didn't fall for was "Vur-say-ss"... and this was a top English student at a grammar school. My dad's name was Michael. How many people around the world pronounce it 'Mikh-hai-ell' as per the original Hebrew, though? Just Anglicise everything as per the natural progression and development of language, and be content with that, I guess.

Dunno about the cameras, but I've started seeing Pay Per Mile policies appear on insurance quotes. Didn't care enough to even look at how they work, but it could well be a 'thing' for some people in the next few years... a bit like the PCP-type deals where you never ultimately own a car, just pay to rent one and then start again with a new model every three years.

Yes indeed, chap. Is there anything specific you're after?

It's more that we Anglicise foreign words to such a great extent, that it sounds pretentious when people try to un-Anglicise them, mainly because no-one does it uniformly or consistently. It's only on certain words when doing so makes them feel sophisticated. As it happens, my mate is working on a 'Porsh' today!

I'm sure things are pronounced differently, but it always sounds so pretentious when people try and approximate native-language pronunciation of certain words, brands, etc... Suddenly I drive a "Schk-eau-dah" and it's a model "Ock-TAAAAAHH-vee-ah", I wear "Nai-key sneakers", yet I still go to a "rest-ront" instead of a "rrey-stah-rraor" and shop at "Eye-kee-yah" instead of "Ick-ee-uh".

Greetings all, For a limited time, I have available a 2003 Octavia 1.9 diesel, dark blue in L&K trim, if anyone wants to come and take some parts off it. Pay whatever you feel the part(s) are worth. It only needs the wheels for when any remnant gets taken away in September. Leather heated seats - I'd like about £200 for the set. Xenon headlight units - I'd like about £100. Open to offers, though. Everything is entirely up for grabs. I'm breaking this to help fund some school Stage-Club activities for my daughter, so no specific prices, but donations gratefully accepted. Or if you fancy taking the whole thing I'm open to offers - It's SORNed and MoT expired, but runs well and drives pretty good despite several previous owners. Paintwork has been abused, tracking is off, the tyres are somewhat worn, the aircon has gone (compressor, probably), as has the boot central locking (key works fine) and rear washer pump. 1 key, full spare wheel, tools, 6 CD changer with original Symphony cassette stereo, and tatty original documents. Located near Reading, just south of J11 on the M4. PM me to make arrangements. Many thanks, Tasky.

In general, I would suggest ignoring anything marketed for "gaming". It's overpriced junk. Focus on office chairs, especially 'operator' chairs designed for 24 hour use, such as dispatchers, reception, security or similar. They usually have quite firm padding, but this is what makes them so supportive and comfortable over long periods. You can find a Pledge Solar for quite reasonable money and it has a wealth of adjustment. Ticks all your boxes and beyond, including inflatable lumbar support.

Are these DIY setups and amateur-operated speed guns actually admissible as evidence against drivers? I would have thought only certifiably calibrated kit and professionally trained operators would be accepted...

One big problem I have with this way of thinking... They want to impose restrictions on the first six months of a new driver's life, but those six months or so are precisely when they're just getting their confidence up. It seems to me that it's the period afterward, ie 17-24, in which their overconfidence and kittensery come into play and make them do the stupid things. But more than that, looking around at my most recent experiences, this one fifth of KSIs only "involved "but was not necessarily the fault of, the younger driver. Lately I've seen white vans racing each other, Tesla drivers being complete nobs because they think power is superior to skill, and large exec/saloon cars being whanged about because they think watching Top Gear makes them skilled. Mostly male drivers and not one looked below 35.

I have the same issue and was planning the same solution. I figured swapping the spray top for one off a WD40 can with the straw would let me poke the latter through a tiny hole or two and get to it that way.

Sens-ORRs... H-whh-eels... Poll-you-tion... I kinda miss the fancy way they used to speak back then. I think only Joanna Lumley still maintains such a manner!

Yeah, but EVs do it ugly.... real ugly!

IIRC, it was optional on some trim levels, while included on others. Select the drop-down for your pre-upgrade trim: https://www.parkers.co.uk/skoda/octavia/hatchback-1998/specs/ You certainly should either be able to buy the appropriate fittings, or just nick them off another trim model.

So was mine... It's gone back up now, but only by £100.

Easy solution, then - Buy yourself a s****y new monitor!! Gigabyte are seriously coming out with some winning products at the minute.

Oh... well that's annoying, and a little sad to hear. In that case, I guess it's down to flipping a coin, really, or going through a supplier like Euro Car Parts and checking reviews of any specific aftermarket brands.

I've used Central Panels twice and recommended several times - https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=centralpanels&store_name=centralpanels&_oac=1&_nkw=octavia Their own site is usually better:https://www.centralpanels.co.uk/product-category/skoda/skoda-octavia-1996-2004/ I've had other regulators go, and quite quickly, but both the ones from CP (Front-Right and Rear-Left) have lasted over 5 years, with no worries.