mydadscar

Bris24.......I wonder though if that would cause concern with possible car insurance claims

…..I hope people did get that amount but I’ve seen several people’s reports saying they received just £350 from that £2K + payout, adding they wonder if the ‘kindly’ lawyers have kept the rest!

You misunderstood me….from my earlier post in this thread I was not saying I would give my local MP a donation or pay his expenses. I stated that since the VW scam I had emailed his office demanding government action towards payouts….he told me the government where aware of and where dealing with the situation.

Doh! I’ll have to email my local MP again!

Were those payments a real thing?

Yes, after the scandal broke there were some, myself to a degree, who didn’t really take to the fact of having to get the retro fit to be ‘cleaner’ meant having the car seen to. However, my car proves it’s okay. My previous car was a petrol Astra 1.6 auto and that only returned 30-40 maximum on any run, so my theory is I’m using much less fuel and therefore I’m not as pollutant ! im very annoyed that overseas owners of VW, Skoda, Audi I believe have had payments made to them. I chased my local MP (Con…as in con!) who provided info saying the government were onto it. This has all gone very quiet now and methinks nothing will come of it.

Yes it had the VW scandal emission retro ‘refit’…..curiosity asks why you reckon not? …..but the car broke down some months after and had a new injector (no 1) at cost to Skoda…..no refund for work lost that day!

I hope this can help anyone with car alarm siren problems....mine was driving me mad! My car had been developing intermittent alarm siren problems. I scoured this forum and saw info about replacing the internal batteries in the sealed unit, requiring prizing open the sealed type unit. (Last weekend I was in Torquay, it was hot and whether this was a factor the alarm could not 'bleating' after several minutes from locking. This was much worse than ever before). Due to the car's age and mileage (110000) I deferred to replacing the unit as I'm not up to working much on my car. The breakdown was close to £188 from VW and my kindly mechanic only charged me £30 to take the wheel and arch 'covers' off, release the unit and replace with the new one. With vat it was about £259. If you are able to do it it will save the mechanics fee. All now seems good with the alarm. Here are pics for anyone interested of the old unit which easily sits in your hand and probably weighs less than my iPhone. My mechanic says they now have watch batteries as a power source ?! There is visible evidence of leakage from the batteries on one solder point from battery to the board. Some leakage got onto my arm and caused a slight 'burning' sensation so it had definitely been leaking which I assume after 12 years would be reasonable to expect. Therefore I would say don't buy a second hand one! Pics of the old unit.....the newer units have a different letter in the code now.

My diesel 2011 Skoda Octavia 1.6tdi at 110000 miles shows me up to an 'average' 76mpg on an easy levelish run in good weather ! (A3 in Surrey). Normally it gets around 60-65mpg and a bit less if loaded up and in winter and around 50+ for short trips near home. These are 'averages' only set across driving conditions, load in the car and your right foot My car had a new fuel pump and filter (Bosch) and new Glowplugs recently but that appears to have made mileage just a little better perhaps. I'm pretty sure your Air Con needs power from the engineto operate which may reduce your mpg but honestly, with mine switched on I'm getting well over 60mpg on a good road. (Maybe you could also check the fuel filter maybe which is sitting within easy reach on the left side as you open the bonnet under a bolted cover....its a cheap part to replace).

Thanks.

Yes I've just been looking up about the battery and its life span....I'll mention it to my mechanic on the next service. I've never heard of this battery problem from anyone so interesting. Thanks.

Thanks John....thats something else to remember then!

Never knew the alarm had a built in battery…is this a late Reg model or early like mine which is 2011.

Thanks Radiogaga....it certainly has been, I was looking at further Skoda adverts! I know just a tiny bit more about car mechanics now but its more than obvious that auto diagnostics play a big part for mechanics now and a cars electrical system doesn't always show the real problem!

It appears at last the car is running/starting okay. With a new fuel tank pump, both engine housed relay and under dashboard relay replaced and new battery, then the glowplugs (car was at 110000 miles) and....ridding the mice that had subsequently set up home, eating some of the battery cover! (The alternator was working fine). Replacing ALL of these and then deciding to replace the glowplugs although on test they were 'okay', I had read there is a faint possiblility that an internal shorting in a plug can occur....hence maybe my battery always going flat? No problem with the battery now. Start up is fine and driving the circuit where the car faltered in the past uphill has been okay. Heres hoping then.