dgexafs

Diesel is currently high as the Chinese use massive amounts of it for electricity generation. The chinese government sets the price of all fuels, and thus Sinopec (Chinese Oil Co) had to sell Petrol / Diesel at a loss when oil was $150 a barrell. Sensibly they reduced the amount they refined to minimise their losses, and thus China sucked in Diesel Galore to fill the gaps typically on contracts that last 3 months - 1 year - this shorted the market and hence diesel is so slow in falling. Good news on the horizon is there is a new distillates refinery in Rotterdam due to open next year massively increasing the amount of diesel availalble, then it should drop back nicely.. so drag for the big boys they want to drag there heels for a while knowing fully well you are going to have no excuse in the near future!

Not seen your post earlier, mine was £180 ish recently (for the 60K fixed) service. Added rather more for a cambelt change & water pump as 4 years old (£300 ish). needed an MOt to add insult to by bank balance, but got through that without any extras... All done at main dealers

Had my Octavia serviced yesterday, and i only wish that all dealers were this helpful / friendly. Service was excellent - didn't even have to make my own coffee. Will definetly be going back to these guys in future, even though i have several others closer to home (none of whom i would trust my car with). If you want your car looks after properly i would certinaly give these guys the nod. :thumbup:

Thanks Ar Cool C for the info, It was definitely very wet / moist here recently as it was chucking it down and the car steamed up very badly when we got out! The boot / carpets aren't wet at present - i have had water coming in earlier in the year from the boot seal and rear door drivers side which has been stopped by covering the seals with a generous amount of silicone lubricant spray (2 weeks, no leaks yet!) I found when i turned it on that i got some clearing (ca 1 cm around the element lines) after ca 15 minutes switched on, but not a complete clear (even after 30 mins - i am aware that it cuts off after ca. 10 mins so i turned it of and then on again after ca 15). Would the screen clear more slowly if its covered with grime?? its now been cleaned and i am waiting to see how it works next time it steams up.

My heated rear screen seems to have become very slow at clearing all of a sudden (> 15 mins and still not fully clear). Does any one have any ideas what this could be?? Would it be covered by my "Skoda Approved Car Extended Warranty"? I have checked the fuse - its fine, and have cleaned the glass with windolene (haven't been able to check if this helps yet as it has not steamed up since i cleaned it!!.

Lightcliffe are now selling Nissans and have a nice (temporary) new sign!... They are remaining as approved VW service / warranty work centre at present - although this may change in the future. Not sure about DMkeith in Halifax, DMK bought the Lightcliffe site in Huddersfield some months ago, i am not aware of a second skoda dealer in Halifax (mind you i live on the other side of the pennines and only pop across to get the car serviced / looked at).

recently had my MOT and some warranty work completed (windscreen, faulty washer on rear) and has always had great service from them... However, as of today they are no more, as they are now a Nissan dealer, apparantely they will cotinue in the short term at least to be a VAG approved repair and service centre, but this is not likely in the longer term. No particular reason given - "the powers that be have decided to go Nissan" was the reason given. Mod's Note: Dealer entry amended to reflect change to Authorised Repairer only. TY for highlighting this change of status.

I went through 3 levers in 3 days - eventually i had the bonnet catch changed to make it a little eaier to open. Nowadays, i hold it in place at the top whilst pulling the bonnet with my other hand - i have managed not to break one in 4 month now!!

Thanks Guys, i'll give it a whirl when it stops raining dave

My rear screenwash (and wiper for a short time) stopped working so i had the boot trim off to have a see what the issue was. I managed to get the boot trim off OK however i am having trouble getting it back on properly. I have searched the forums and can see people say its a pain to get back on but no suggestions as to the best method to get it back on, could someone please tell me whats the best way to do it?? start at the top / bottom?? thanks dave.

Mines a 54 plate, octy II classic , 1.9 TDI Easy enough to check if t his is the problem, just turn off the child locks and the lighter works again. dave

Thats exactkly the same problem i had with the rad - takes about 2 hours to fix. When you get it back i would still drive it with the heating on for 10 mins , stop and fill up your reservoir as it will almost certainly be low (due to releasing air locks) nothing worse than the ding ding ding and flashing coolant lights when in the outside lane of the motorway!!

My power socket doesn't work due to the child locks being "on" to stop little fingers being fried..

Mark, I would expect the fault would be covered as you are within the 3 year / 60 k warranty period. If the head gasket has gone the oil filler cap (should) have sludge on it. One query, did they do anything to the coolant system during your service?? After my radidator was replaced, i emptied the expansion tank twice and since then it has been stable ever since... My understanding was that there are a number of potential air locks which are a pain to clear (lack of bleed valves). One thing to try - fil the reservoir up, let the car run up to warm and then turn the heating up to maximum (the heating circuit runs off the main coolant circuit apparantely) for a few mins and then hopefully the problem may have left left you. Good luck getting it fixed. Dave

We have had speed bumps (deep things across the whole road) for about 2 years now and a 20 mph speed limit (school nearby), and cars now go faster up our road than before the humps as idiots floor it between each set of bumps and then locking up at the last second. They then roar off down the hill (now a thirty zone) to make up the time they lost through the rest of the estate.