Alasdair1

Fair play. Its you thats considering buying it. £3995 is £3995. last thing you want is to buy it and end up spending a lot more on it. My sons was £1600 which was £700 more than the book value but as it was rust free and reasonable MOT history and 60k on the clock so reckon was worth it as he was learning to drive. Have had to do clutch plus slave,wheel bearing and a few ball joints,window regulator and motor plus new battery and have a couple of swing arms to replace at some time before next MOT but nothing too serious for an 06 plate fabia and so far not too expensive as I do it myself. Alasdair

Probably the best and safest option. Nothing worse than driving a car waiting for something to go bang. Hope its a simple fix. Did the clutch on my sons mk1 1.2 fabia which wasn't too bad but would have been easier if I had garage ramps and it wasn't -4c. His clutch failed instantly with no slipping or noise. First thought gearbox had gone. All that was left was a pile of fibres and was original clutch at 65k. His was a solid flywheel. As said hope its a simple fix Alasdair

Think I read it was that certain cars after emissions fix lost some power and mpg dropped. I think it was an ECU software update. It was after the vw/skoda emisions scandal. You can check by entering VIN into link posted. Alasdair

I assume he fixed the suspension wear. Not sure what upper pin/bush is Perhaps top mount? Lower one is an easier fix. Apart from that looks like a nice car from the pic. Alasdair

Whoever had it previously definitly liked to get the most wear/value out of tyres. I tend to change mine before they hit the legal limit as 1.6mm isn't much grip at all

Just did the same. Mentioned a oil leak from Gbox drive shaft at some point. Check its still not there and has been cleaned up before selling. I class ball joints etc fairly cheap and easy to repair which is just as well considering the number I seem to get through. I was looking for a car for my son and the number of MOT history we checked that had bald tyres with serious rust underneath. some were even down to the canvas which made me think the owner didn.t care much or look after the car. Alasdair

If you havent already check MOT history https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history Its useful to check any fails that may have been hidden or tidied up for MOT. I use it for any advises regarding rust underneath etc

I agree if its only coming on every couple of months that could point to either broken wire or loose/dirty connector. Its possible that at some point the wire has been pulled and may have broken. Alasdair

May be ignition switch. If the lights come on then it could be the part of the switch that starts car has failed. Read on here someone with same problem. Mechanic by passed starter section of switch with button till he got a new one. Alasdair

Factor in a timing belt/water pump plus perhaps clutch and DMF (if it has one) depending on how it was driven/towing in the price if it hasn't been changed recently. I have an octavia 1.6tdi and so far no problems. Its sitting at 110k. Alasdair Meant to add check expansion tank for signs of kseal. If its been added to cure water loss you can see smal particles of coppe in the coolant. Shows up best by shining torch into tank.

5 litres in 2500 is not good at all. is there any signs of an oil leak. It could be puddling on the engine undertray and dropping onto road when driving or it may be failing turbo seals and burning it/valve stem seals etc . are you getting any blue smoke from exhaust? At 5 litres/2500 you would almost be able to just change the oil filter as I reckon the oil would be almost new. Must be costing you a fair bit in oil. Alasdair

Might be worth checking/cleaning connections to starter and check earths. If theres a poor corroded connection it may start slow and as connection heats up gets better. Not sure if anyone recons/repairs starters these days Alasdair

Did you check Schaeffler LUK online cat. If you scroll down you can search by VIN. Click Number plate then change to VIN. You may have to change from UK to global. Not sure if it will narrow it down or help. https://vehiclelifetimesolutions.schaeffler.co.uk/en-gb/catalog Was spot on for my sons fabia mk1 There may be a conversion kit from DMF to solid. Think Valeo do one as well. Not sure about sachs? Alasdair

If the turbo isnt noisy and no smoke then it could be a stuck actuator or perhaps a failed MAP sensor. My octavia used to overboost due to a sticking actuator. The MAP sensor if failed may be sending incorect pressure readings Worth checking them out before replacing turbo. Just rembered when mine did similar and was trying to diagnose fault that a failing n75 valve or pipes can also cause similar problems. Not sure where it is on yours but maye be near egr?

If its a DMF then when it goes completely can cause a fair bit of damage. If its a Solid flywheel your engine may have a balance shaft that is chain driven which also drives oil pump. It could be the chain thats stretched or worn causing the rattle. If I remember some of the 1.4tdi were prone to that. At160k then unless the car is in really good condition replacing gearbox would perhaps be too expensive even if you got a low mileage second hand one as you would be advised to do the clutch slave etc at the same time and if its a DMF that as well. Not sure how big a job the balance shaft chain/sprocket is. Found this on here Alasdair

Thats what my mechanic freind says as well. If its the release bearing then it will gradually get worse. and as long as its not a DMF it should be ok. If its a DMF it can be fairly catastrophic if it fails completely. If its the gearbox itself then its going to have to come out and be repaired/replaced anyway. It may be one of these faults that you have to leave and let it get worse to properly diagnose it. Not sure if it will help but try bleeding clutch it can't do any harm. Alasdair

Does sound like a bad release bearing ,unusual but not impossible to fail after 20k unless the person who replaced clutch just replaced clutch disk for a cheaper option or used cheap parts. Either way if its gearbox or clutch/bearing the box will have to come out to check. Do you know who did the clutch previously and how long ago as it may be covered if your lucky by waranty? Can't think of any way to inspect without removal or anything else that may be causing rattle. Alasdair

Had a quick look on line and some say solid but some say DMF. Perhaps someone on here will confirm what is fitted. I am prretty sure its solid but not 100% Tried the sachs online catalogue but couldn't access the flywheel section. Alasdair

I think your correct with a solid flywheel but might be worth checking. Whats the engine code for the 1.4tdi pd that you have. If its solid then may be gearbox noise or a bad release bearing.

Glad to here it and hopefully you wont see the AA for years. Weird how a sensor can affect the car and not ping up fault codes. Suppose its similar to old cars with a stuck choke. Alasdair

I would use steel seal. Its supposed to be better for blown head gaskets but a bit more expensive. My local motorfactors sell it and they are pretty good. I used Kseal as thats all I could get on holiday. Turned out the head was cracked in two places between valves. Think K seal is better for cracks rather than HG . Kseal also leaves a residue with little copper particles in the expansion tank which are noticeable if your tryig to sell car. Steel head I think is not noticeable. https://steelseal.co.uk/ Hope it helps

Had a head gasket on my toyota people carrier go. Used Kseal to keep me going as we were using it on holiday. Lasted for a couple of months. Also heard good results from steelhead. Supposedly better than Kseal. Not sure where you are but I did buy an octavia from a garage in Kirkintiloch. Vw specialists and were really decent to deal with. Proper old school garage as well. Father and son were running it at the time (4-5years ago) If its not too far might be worth a call. https://www.thecrossgarageltd.co.uk/ Alasdair

Have had a few fail on cars etc with these symptoms. 1. slow to turn over engine with new battery was coils in motor failing resulting in half speed. 2. Not enaging due to faulty solanoid, 3. Enaged but didn't disengage. Not sure why as it melted it.(father drove 100 miles without realising) 4. simple fix due to bad wiring/earth etc. If its randomly not turning over it could also be ignition switch failing or wiring to motor. Alasdair

Maybe chain has snapped at exactly the right point to avoid valve damage or as engine wasn't running damage was avoided. Long shot I know. Hope its just a new timing kit required. Alasdair

I have always managed to just bleed the caliper that was replaced unless for some reason the brake fluid was allowed to drain out while replacing caliper and got so low it allowed air in to master. Reckon it may be air still in rear pipes somewhere unless its just the new pads etc wearing in. Also check servo is working ok. My sons brakes were feeling odd. Not spongy but not that positive and it was the vaccum hose to the servo that had split. Alasdair