Alasdair1

Was looking for a car for my son to learn to drive in and looked at Polo and Fabia manual. Went for the Fabia as it seemed slightly more roomey and there were more 5 door available at time. Daughter had an UP! and it was pretty simple and very basic but gave her no probems at all. I reckon take a test drive in a few and see which one you like best. They are all VW underneath. Alasdair

Mate used to put nailvarnish on nuts and bolts that needed removed for servicing. Put his van in for brakes problem. When he picked it up they said they had checked brakes and cleaned them up and they were fine. Werent too happy when he pointed out that the purple nailvarnish was still on the wheel nuts on rear and asked them how they checked/cleaned drum brakes with wheels on. He refused to pay bill and has never been back. Alasdair

Try removing dash(with baattery disconnected) Clean dash connector and refit. My Octavia had a few dim lights, ABS,DPF and a few others plus fog light symbol on all the time. I realised it was electrical as no DPF fitted. On refitting cluster after cleaning it cured itself. It may also be a dry joint on cluster or poor earth as Pete said. Meant Cluster not dash Alasdair

My folks had one with a lot more miles and gearbox/engine never gave them any probs. They had a clutch replaced at about 100k. If the gearbox is smooth with no noises/whines/crunches I would just repair the bearings/seals and at the same time the clutch if the gearbox has to be removed. Probably worth doing the slave cylinder at the same time.

It could also be a fuel problem? Perhaps its draining back to tank and takes a couple of times to prime system again or its letting air in somewhere? Alasdair

Not sure re superb but had a test drive a while back in a mk2 Laurin klement with really nice leather seats. Slightly firmer than the cloth ones in mine but very comfartable. Not sure how readily available they may be but worth a look. I assume the fittings will be the same. Alasdair

If they damaged it while working on it its down to them to repair/make good. Main problem may be proving it was them? When you pick up a car from a garage dealer or not you trust them that its been done right. I don't know anyone who inspects a car before leaving the garage . Check with CAB as said. If the dealer has refused to repair it you could always point out that any publicity of that kind won't help their reputation. By the sound of it you wont be using them again anyway. Alasdair

Might be worth getting it scanned with vcds as it may ping up something your reader can't read. Check any connectors/wiring that you have disconnected or are in the vicinity of any work you have done in case you dislodged them. Alasdair

Have same problem again. Thats now 4 cars with the same symptoms. 2 octavia, 1 fabia and a seat. Random working and then wiper stops somwhere on rear window then randomly starts again and eventualliy fails to move. Previously I just replaced motors but will check for dry solder joints. It always decides to fail in winter when you needit most. Thanks Alasdair

Its a shame there making engines smaller and more complicated. The 1.9tdi was brilliant and gave me no bother apart from a failed glow plug(which I never bothered replacing) I used to get 40-50mpg around town and 60-70mpg on long runs. The 1.6tdi does need to be driven a bit harder but as said so far no problems. I think all models will have their specific problems but generally I find them pretty reliable as long as they have a good service record and the maintanance is kept up. I have heard the early 1.4 tsi had problems with oil consumption etc but I think they were fitted to the MK2 octavia and MK2 fabia. Someone on here will advise you on what to look for etc. Good luck its as you say a bit of a minefield choosing a new car. Alasdair

I have a 2012 MK2 1.6tdi. Think its one of the last MK2. Bought it as my 08 plate was like yours getting past it. So far so good with no real problems. It does have a DPF so we try and take it out for a longish run every week as it usually gets short runs every day. If your only doing short runs then petrol is probably better. I have read that DSG can be problematic if not maintained. I think its every 40k they need serviced so if the car your looking at is near that it will need done. Not sure of the cost etc.

I did my sons and it took a while to bed in properly. First I thought it was slipping and what had I done wrong and had a bit of judder but after a day or two was smooth. Was a fair bit of smoke from front of car at first but reckon it was the old clutch fluid burning off as I replaced the slave cylinder as his was leaking slightly. Run the car for a few days and if it doesnt improve speak to mechanic again. £900 for a new clutch and full service isnt a bad price at all these days. Was quoted £700 plus vat just to do the clutch on his fabia so I did it myself. Alasdair

I know what you mean. I went from a 1.9tdi bxe to a 1.6tdi. Same horse power but took me a while to get used to 1.6tdi. I find you need to keep revs higher to get power unlike the torque from the 1.9tdi. Same here got nearly 100mph just to see and it still had a bit more to give. Alasdair

Wonder if its been remapped before you got it. Have seen a few octavia diesels remapped (obviously badly) and they all have black soot on the tailgate. Not sure how you would be able to tell but someone on here may know. Alasdair

If you have a scrap yard near you see if they have any that might fit. Take your car and try a few from skoda/audis etc Alasdair

I agree. I put a tank of premium diesel through mine every month or two. Reckon it keeps engine cleaner. Might be worth swapping air filter for another brand if it doesnt work. Have read that some brands arent so good. I use mann or febi on mine and no probs. Alasdair

Reckon its probably 6Q0711051. Have mistaken the 0 for a Q before on parts. I think its Fabia Mk1 but also vw polo and perhaps seat ibiza if your looking at scrapyards

May be that the mechanism is worn out and flaps are trying to close/open. Mine sounded like a motor stopping every time I turned off ignition plus a tick tik tick sound after for about 5 secs. Cold and hot still worked but not sure if it was working properly originally as sound was there when I bought car second hand. Never used AC as it was needing recharged and never did get round to investigating it properly as it still worked. Alasdair

Had weird dash lights on my old octavia. Some dim others bright. Fog light symbol on when lights were on all the time (full and dip) plus dim battery light and dim DPF and a few others. I worked out it was an electrical fault as it didnt have a DPF. Removed cluster and cleaned contacts and then reconnected and it was fine. The connector at rear of cluster was either loose or had some corosion. Remember to disconnect battery if you are removing cluster to stop imobilser coming on.

Cant view clip but it may be the flaps on the climatronic system. They can be reset but it may be that they are worn. My old octavia used to make a weird noise/low hum that faded away every time I switched off engine. Alasdair.

Might be worth replacing it as they arent that expensive. Have seen some online for around £30 Cant see it breaking and if it does it needs replaced anyway. Alasdair

Mine was an 08 plate. I got it when it was about 10 year old and it had a few bits of rust around the rear panel just before the rear wheels. I tried to keep on top of it but alas it was a bit down hill after that. Still lasted another 7 years but underneath became bad with bad sub frame corosion. Saying that it was only the last couple of years that holes started appearing in sills. Managed to cover them for a year but last year would have taken a lot of time and effort for MOT so bought a cheapish 12 plate. Its developing rust in exactly the same places (front wheel arch, rear numberplate and rear panels in front of rear wheels. but sills seem to be better painted. Did notice when changing timing belt that there is a lot of crap behind front wheel arch plastic that was causing corosion so removed both sides and gave a good clean pus waxoil. It depends what part of the country it comes from. Up in Inverness they use a lot of salt so cars tend to die much earlier no matter what you do. My sons 06 plate fabia mk1 came from I think somerset and has virtually no rust at all. Alasdair

If its at the rear my old octavia was the same but mine had started to rust. I glued a rubber bung in each side to cover it up for an MOT in case they came back with weld a patch on it as the sills on mine are past it. Reckon its a drain hole but I know what you mean about the rough edges. Squirt a good load of waxoil in as far as you can. Alasdair

Sons 06 plate fabia mk1 1.2htp with 70k. Brilliant car had a few ball joints etc and rear brakes plus a new clutch and repair to window motor plus regulator. Its got no rust on body plus underneath pretty spotless as well. Must get underneath treated before dreaded winter salt and do somethig about the faded headlights. Alasdair

MIne was the same. Couldnt get handbrake to hold car no matter how much I adjusted it. One of the levers was seized so handbrake puting all force to one side. The rear one that was seized was also binding quite badly. Before adjusting check that the cables to each caliper are actually moving as well. If one or both cable are seized or stiff you can put handbrake on but it doesnt release properly which causes binding. Alasdair