freelunch

When you fit the part, make sure that when you open the front door, the trim does not lift the rear door trim. My mechanic had to reseat the front door trim as well.

My local mechanic (south London) charged me £76.10 for the part. I used to get my window trim fixed by the dealer until my warranty expired. It has always been a problem. I tried gluing it in place with a silicone glue. (I thought it might flex in heat and cold.) But running down the autoroute at 90 mph, I heard it start flapping and before I could pull over, it ripped off. My mechanic assured me that the strip was cosmetic and the door/window would not leak while we were waiting for the part.

While my fuel gauge has been pretty accurate, I always reset my trip odometer at each fill up as a backup.

I got some XtremeAuto touchup paint on Amazon. The colour match was excellent (Corrida Red) and it was cheap. The included brush was a bit clumsy, so I got a finer brush. Worked for rock chips and a bigger gash, which you don't notice from 10 feet away.

Over 8 years, my 2.0 tsi has averaged 36 mpg. I measure at the pump. The worst tankful was 26.5 mpg, the best 43.1 mpg. I do a lot of town driving, but take an extended trip most years. Having come from a 2.0 Brera, I'm happy with the mileage. I only do about 4K miles a year.

Yes. Now I'm turning the ICE unit off before I switch off the car to see if that helps. Turn it on after the car warms up a bit. Except, I only drive the thing once every two weeks, so it will be a while yet.

Thanks for the reply, but I do not have OTA.

Dear Superb owners. I have started a thread here: ICE Is anyone else experiencing very sluggish ICE start up during this cold weather, of have I got other problems? Thanks.

My Superb is 8+ years old. My AGM Halfords battery is four years old. Just lately, the Columbus ICE takes ages to start up, lots of pinwheeling. I am hoping it is just the cold weather causing the problem, but the unit is over eight years old and the Halfords battery is just four years old. The car starts fine, even after being parked for two weeks. The Columbus unit worked perfectly during our month-long holiday Sept-Oct, except for having to reboot a couple times when the navigation got confused. Please tell me it's just the freezing weather! Thanks.

My eight-year-old passed its M.O.T. with no advisories. This comes on the heels of a 2,646 mile tour of Portugal, Spain and France over 30 days. I had to have the water pump replaced before I went, but the car never missed a beat. Well, aside from losing some window trim on the autoroute at 85 mph. We spent nights in León, Santiago de Compostela, Vigo, Porto, Salamanca, Logroño, Bielsa, Sète, Grenoble, Colmar and Laon. I'm knackered! We had two days of rain (Santiago and Colmar) wore t-shirts and sandals in the beginning, winter coats by the end. I lost and had to replace my plug adapter, my laptop charger and my cap. I lost my phone on the second day of our trip, but ran back to the restaurant and the waiter was holding it. I lost my phone on the 26th day of our trip, but ran back and the barman was holding it. Sheesh! Santiago was a major disappointment. We were looking forward to our return after 19 years, but the town is a certifiable victim of over-tourism. Sète and Porto were the most fun.

My local mechanic has ordered the part. Says it will be about £60-70.

I'm taking the car in for its M.O.T. tomorrow. I'll see if the mechanic can fix it or if I have to go to the dealer.

I have had a couple issues with the window trim on my 66-reg Sportline. These were fixed by the dealer under warranty. While doing 85 mph in France last week, the trim on the near side back door lifted and was completely ripped off. On the drive to the Chunnel, we had fierce wind and rain. The back seat remained dry. So, my question is: is the window trim purely cosmetic? The car is out of warranty and I haven't taken it to the dealer for service since. I doubt they would do a good will repair. Any idea of cost, or if a breaker might have such a thing? Thanks.

The test drive to Folkestone was a success, except: I needed a service stop before we reached Folkestone. Saw the "Services" sign board too late, hit the brakes, hard left into the slip road, hit a low curb with both front wheels. Bang! So, today I took the Big Red Bus to have the wheels balanced and aligned. Both front rims were warped on the inside, but not the outside. The damage was slight, did not affect the balancing and the mechanic said it was cosmetic only, not to worry. The fronts are now on the rear. The cost of peace of mind is £110. Oh, yeah: The mechanic had to drive the car to the end of the road to turn it around for some reason. This was the first time I've seen my car going and coming. I thought, "That's a good looking car!"

I'm running it down to Folkestone tomorrow to make sure it's water tight before I start a month-long drive to Porto and back. I'll let you know how I get on. The car has been a great servant for the past nine years.

Thanks for ripping up my silver lining. 😢

I asked about that - he said I had a chain.

According to VW Parts UK, I got a bargain! thermostat housing

Picked up the car today - I must say much quicker than I thought. Final bill: £1,587.80. The big surprise for me was the cost of the thermostat housing?

Took my car in for its ninth annual service today - a month early, because I want to get it ready for a 2,500 mile trip to Spain, Portugal and France over a month. Apparently, after 30K miles, the car needs a water pump. Man said £900 for the parts/service. Also needs rear disks and pads. I bet I'm looking at £1,500 or more. This car has never cost me any real money until now. It's been a great car. Nuts!!! A guess a few less Michelin-starred meals on this trip. Nuts!!!

Exactly. I told Admiral that I was not playing that game.

I was with Chris Knott brokers for a few years and last year they couldn't find anyone to insure me (I'm 78) I went with Admiral for £700 (I live in central London and park on the street). After a year of only having to bill me, they sent this year's premium, which was an increase of £100. I did a GoCompare and ended up with Aviva for £400. Admiral called and said they would match the offer.

Not helpful, I know, but I love to tell this story: we locked ourselves out of a VW Golf on the Isle of Skye many years ago. We were just around the corner from the local police station and the twenty-something constable came to have a look. In under a minute, he had us in the car. "I wasn't always a policeman," he said.

I took a similar dealer's car with 1,700 miles on the clock for a test drive and over 26 miles tried every variation of manual and auto with the DSG, including red lining a few times. I'm still driving that car seven years later without a hitch.

I have a 66-reg 220ps TSI from new. My average mileage from the first tank is just over 36 mpg. I have always taken measurements from the pump as the in-car readout is usually pretty optimistic. I live in London, so a lot of urban miles. My best tank was 43.1 mpg, my worst 26.5 mpg.