WillM82

17 February, 2018

1 hour ago, Rybu79 said:

Require 2 of each part number

5JA827250B

&

5JA827249B

Thanks Rybu79

The parts numbers come up as Rapid stoppers too, in case people can't find them as Octavia

5 July, 2017

Probably more of a Superb competitor, I prefer the look of the Superb, don't like the current trend for a 3rd side window.

However it is great to see another option for a 5 door fastback. They are a dying breed, about 15 years ago you could choose from Lagunas, Xantias/C5s, Accords, Primeras, Avensises etc., these days the only real options are Mondeo, Insignia, Skodas or go 'premium' with the Audi A5 or the proportionally challenged 3/5 BMW GT models.

5 July, 2017

Mine must be a secret panoramic model, because it feels like a goldfish bowl the windscreen is that big.

If you want a letterbox, try something like an Alfa Romeo GTV. I struggled to see some traffic lights the windscreen was that short. Did mean I rarely used the sun visors though!

5 July, 2017

Very occasionally on startup I'll see a message to check third brake light.

The first time it occurred was during a frosty evening in March, then it occurred this morning after it was parked up in yesterday's heavy rain.

Stopped at a busy junction I quickly turned the car off and on again (the IT diagnosis approach) and it went away.

Is this a sign of water ingress causing a bad connection, faulty seal etc.?

Thanks

5 May, 2017

1 minute ago, Gobsheene said:

I see we live on the same side of the Irish Sea, the "felt spec" fad we have here really does go beyond belief. Cars lowered at the back, springs not in the front or ones from the wrong car and plumes of smoke the likes you'd see from a frigging power plant and the car going nowhere.

Gagh.

Ha, you know what I was getting at! If I'd put "Felt Spec", someone from Croydon or Slough or Auchtermuchty wouldn't have a clue!

There are sporting diesels, the VRS models and GT TDi models prove that, but a knackered 306 XUD with the suspension springs clamped down with a G clamp isn't.

5 May, 2017

Quote

That is a pretty sweet Subaru, and the VRS is nice too, @tubbytommy

My original rant though was at inexplicable mods that made no sense, your cars are tasteful and look the business.

Kenwood stickers across the back - that's fair enough, doesn't impair front visibility, not that different from tinting the rear window.

And the "shopping list", well when I fitted a K&N filter to the Saab I put the small sticker on the lower rear window, surely the is just the same as that taken to the next level, displaying the equipment fitted to the car? Not a dangerous nor inexplicable mod.

And yes I'm a grumpy old man

9 years ago I was driving this...

5 May, 2017

I appreciate that modifications are all subjective, that they come in fads, and that I've made minor modifications to cars I've owned myself in the past that others would see as tacky - big mudflaps, debadging, those cheap ebay flimsy plastic "M3" spoilers etc.

I've lived through the Max Power era and seen all sorts of weird and wacky bodykits, but I don't understand some of the current fads:

- No front numberplate / numberplate in the windscreen. I appreciate that in publicity shots, cars won't have a front plate. I even get Alfa Romeo or Evo-style side mounting, to allow air in to an intercooler. But I don't get the trend of ripping the front numberplate off and placing it in the windscreen. It just looks like it has fallen off and needs to be put on again.

- Words all over the windscreen. I once read about a car dealer who got done for taking a test drive with the price and feature list stickers on the windscreen of a car they were selling. Now people are doing it to their own cars. I appreciate that this is probably an evolution from the old fashioned "Rothmans Rally" sun strips, but how do people see the road for all the stickers? And what do they do at MOT time - peel them off and put them back on again?

- Wheels that foul the arches and the "camber" look. Popular in the dub scene. I can appreciate lowering a car a little to get a better stance, but when tyres start rubbing bodywork you've gone too far. When you can't negotiate speed humps, and drive along country roads at a crawl in case of potholes you've taken it too far. The "camber" thing too just looks like your car has been dropped and axle snapped.

- Diesel smoke, usually from a Peugeot 306 diesel, open up the fuel lines such that when they accelerate they put out a huge cloud of black smoke. Not particularly sporty.

5 May, 2017

That was what I meant by pre-programmed in.

I haven't bothered. Not a fan of the touchscreen, yes the maxidot allows me to change stations (my poverty spec has a DAB radio but doesn't have wheel controls!) but trying to press presets while on the move is borderline dangerous.

5 May, 2017

9 hours ago, guitarman001 said:

@WillM82 looking at your pics again... you have the two rubber stoppers screwed most of the way out? Does screwing them all the way in have no effect?

No difference, boot is easier to close with them screwed in, might leave them like that.

4 May, 2017

Have never seen that in the status.

Usually when it is running a DPF, the status just says "Start Stop unavailable / Engine needs to be running"

3 May, 2017

Is there not a point where the DPF gets inevitably clogged up by soot, that it needs replaced as part of maintenance?

Some people have said not to switch it off when it is performing a DPF, it would've been useful if some sort of indication was present - other than high idle / no stop start / fans.

3 May, 2017

The station logos seem to need pre-programmed in. Perhaps your station name has changed (eg. Xfm to RadioX, Citybeat to Q etc.) and it can no longer find an appropriate logo?

The only logo I have is for World Service, which seems to be sent over the airwaves, not sure why other stations can't or won't do this.

3 May, 2017

I tend to just leave it in D. On previous automatics I would've selected P when sat in traffic for a while, bad habit as others have suggested in case you are shunted. Only really used N for MOT testing, when it was getting a brake check.

My Octavia is my 3rd automatic. My commute is half urban in stop start traffic, an autobox was a must.

1st autobox was a Honda Accord coupe, big 2 door thing that they brought over from the US, had an old fashioned autobox with 4 speeds and a big T shaped gearstick. We had bad snow when I was driving it, it had a D2 mode which took off in 2nd gear, and it handled the snow just fine.

Strangely it didn't hold on a hill, you would either need to balance the brake and accelerator or hold it on the handbrake.

2nd was a Saab 9-3 1.8t (really a 2 litre petrol) saloon, it had a weird resonance at 1800rpm that felt like it was in the wrong gear, and it was heavy on fuel, but otherwise no issues with the box. This had a semi-auto +/- mode that I never used. The full kickdown was fantastic, it would rev all the way to the limiter before changing up, making it sound like an old touring car.

3rd is the current Octavia. Originally looked at a Toledo or Rapid hatchback, but the former was rare in DSG, and the latter was only available as the sportback estate in DSG. DSG is a different beast to the old slushmatics, more of an automated manual. So it provides manual style gearchanges, 7 speeds and great fuel economy. I guess the downside is potential long term reliability - DSG7s have a bad reputation, and I guess like manuals the clutches will eventually go - and there will be 2 to replace - so potentially pricey future maintenance.

Also my first car with stop-start, I try to gauge if I'm going to be stopped a while, if not I'll balance the brake slightly, if so then full brake.

One thing I noticed, when opening the door to buzz the awkwardly positioned buzzer to get security to open the barrier at the drop off point at the maternity hospital, is that when stop start has stopped it, it is in Park, and you open the door, you need to manually restart it.

3 May, 2017

Got the last of the sticker adhesive off with the powerhose and sponge after giving it a good wash at the weekend.

As others have said, I really dislike dealer stickers.

They aren't paying me to advertise for them, if anything I'm paying them for the privilege of driving around with a car with their name on it!

Though on the other hand, it is nice sometimes to see a classic (or near-classic like early 90s Favorits/Felicias) car with an original dealer sticker.

Numberplate dealer tags are another thing, technically legally required, the used car dealer I bought mine from is part of a Hyundai dealer, so mine has a little tab at the bottom of the plates with a Hyundai dealer name on it.

No big deal, I will probably re-register it on a Northern Ireland numberplate at some point, and order a fancyplates.com set of plates - standard font, possibly a small Skoda logo on the bottom (had previous in the past, and on my wife's car with a little SEAT logo, never had issues at MOT time).

3 May, 2017

17 hours ago, guitarman001 said:

Try imgur... Photobucket is the worst - especially for mobiles.

So! I opened the boot of the Fiesta and Mokka and bot have rubber stops... but they don't seem to be adjustable.

Does anybody else have a VW platform car (or any other car!) and could they check the boot rubber stops?

Our Leon has 2 rubber stoppers they look like the VW ones I've seen, not as easily asjustable as the Octavia. I don't want to mess with it too much, as it isn't a concern on the Leon.

3 May, 2017

What sort of hose length does the Karscher have?

The Bosch annoys me as the hose isn't that long so you need to move the base unit about, which means the lead and garden hose get caught behind walls and wheels, it all gets tangled up.

3 May, 2017

Thanks Svend, that's very kind of you. The polo there looks great. What was the issue - hand prints from oil? Old bird doo?

I do like to keep the car clean and free from blemishes, but I no longer have the time to regularly fully detail it, a weekly-fortnightly wash and polish if I'm lucky now :(

I need to look at the other half's Leon next, the matt part of the wing and some scratches that annoy me (but not her) on the rear door. I think I covered them with colour magic temporarily but they need a proper touch up pen.

3 May, 2017

14 hours ago, Chris_VRS said:

First pic looks like a flatting mark - someone previously may have attacked that area with some wetsanding action to remove bird lime etching or similar.

Bootlid does indeed look like suncream defects but these would usually be a creamy white colour rather than greasy marks.

Both can be rectified with some localised machine polishing - would probably take all of 20mins.

Please don't use t-cut it is one of the most abrasive polishes available to everyone on the high street - you'll make both area's far worse.

Super Resin is ever so slightly abrasive but contains a ton of fillers so should be viewed as a paint cleanser rather than an abrasive polish - this make temporarily fill/mask these defects but they'll reappear after a couple of washes and in doing so washing away the fillers.

cheers

Chris

Thanks Chris.

The C pillar from the first pic, it isn't really visible from the pic, but it looks like whatever it was has run, like a liquid. Perhaps as you say someone has wet sanded.

We have a section on the wing of my wife's Leon where bird dung was left too long then scrubbed off that has left it matt, it too needs a good rectification.

Could the bootlid fingerprints be oil, as in the car being worked on before I picked it up?

Have been warned off T-Cut as it seems to be harshly abrasive on paint on modern European cars. I've had the bottle for years but might consign it to a "do not touch" / "Japanese car paint only" section of the garage

Don't have a machine polisher, might phone round some bodyshops.

Did get rid of them temporarily after a quick wash with a tiny amount of super resin, polish, then wax. But as you say, like last time I got rid of them, they'll be back.

10 hours ago, Svend said:

Those finger prints look like oils either from children's fingers or moisturisers.

I come across them all the time, normal locations are as on yours, the top of the doors, B pillars, bootlids and rear wings. Trick is to use a polish and keep going. Use the polish till the cloudy marks have gone, and then continue for a few more wipes. If you don't, it'll look like it's gone for about a week or so. It's annoying but other than constantly telling children to only use the door handles and telling the other half to use the door handles because her favourite hand moisturiser is leaving marks and the ensuing argument isn't worth the hassle.

Treat the car to a good wax or sealant to act as a sacrificial layer.

Thanks Svend.

Gave the area a quick resin, then the car a polish - paying special attention to these areas, and a wax. No longer visible, though as above it may be temporary again. As it wasn't a machine polish I'll keep an eye until they reappear.

I think the fingerprints were there from when I got the car, not sure if oil from when they serviced it before I picked it up, I asked the dealer and was just told a good wash will get it out.

I'm just glad that they aren't "full respray" defects, the C pillar stain reminded me of the time I tried to patch up the paintwork on a Peugeot and it didn't go well.... :(

2 May, 2017

Despite being cleaned yesterday the car is dirty and sand dust covered again.

But you can see the bad patch on the pillar, and the fingerprints

2 May, 2017

2 May, 2017

2 May, 2017

Avoid the cheap Bosch power washers.

I used mine yesterday and it reminded me why I rarely use it.

The hose is quite short, so you need to cart the base unit around, which means the hose and lead into it also needs dragged along, and these get caught behind wheels, fences etc.

And the pressure is barely any more than I'd get from the regular hose.

2 May, 2017

I noticed this when I first got the car a few months ago, I thought maybe it was a greasy mechanic's hand, a quick polish with the colour magic and it seemed to go away, but yesterday I shampooed it and today in the sunshine I can see it is back.

Basically, the top of the C pillar, there is a patch that almost looks like a bad respray that has ran.

Also there are fingerprints on the bootlid, look similar.

(I have read elsewhere that fingerprints can be caused by suncream etc.)

I'll try and get pictures, if I can capture the light correctly with my camera phone.

Would there be any tips for remedying, or at least blending these defects?

I've read that Autoglym Super Resin does a good job. I'm loath to use T Cut.

2 May, 2017

One side buffer where the felt square is still in place

And the lower stoppers

2 May, 2017

Pictures of my side buffers

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