cheeky

A couple of times around here I've seen a Morgan with the plate MOR645M - an ecstatic take on the marque :-)

I know everybody has their own personal thoughts and recommendations on this topic but thought I'd add my recent experience. Originally came with Contis which were fine, but then I replaced the front ones with Pirelli PZero Nero which were equally good but noticeably quieter. Then when these were due to be replaced, I got a pair of Kumho Ecsta KU31 which I couldn't praise highly enough, a really good tyre and superb value. When these became in need of replacement, which also coincided with the original Contis on the rear needing replacing too, I though a set of Kumhos would be great. Phoned around and got a set for about £300 locally but once fitted I realised they'd given me Kumho Ecsta KH11 rather than KU31. I couldn't believe the difference. It felt like driving on ice the whole time, even with just a tiny bit of dampness. I never felt safe - be it in the corners or heavy braking. They were also very noisy and the ride was much firmer. I decided I didn't want to go through this winter with them on the car so as soon as I could afford it, I replaced them (even though they'd only done about 8000 miles - and strangely the front ones were a lot more worn than I'd have expected). This time I plumped for Goodyear Eagle GSD3 - after phoning around got a set of 4 locally for £340 or so (granted a little more than blackcircles) and I haven't looked back. The difference is amazing. Apart from them looking great, the ride has improved, they're vastly quieter than the KH11's and the grip is phenomenally better, especially in the wet. Granted the initial turn-in isn't as crisp but once turning-in, it's much more linear (the KH11's would turn in eagerly to start with but then shift almost immediately into understeer) and controllable. I suppose the flip side will probably be a short tyre life, but then none of the previous fronts have managed much more than 18k. Not that this bothers me; the vRS is a car I'm now back in love with, having really not enjoyed this year with the KH11's on it.

An update to my earlier post from Jan 07: Whereas the (customer) service did seem good, in hindsight I'm not so pleased with the actual work carried out. Won't go into details but after my local garage did a service and noted that Caffyns hadn't stamped the service book, so I phoned to ask if they could do it retrospectively, which they agreed to (even though they couldn't actually print me off an invoice as I had mislaid mine). Within minutes, I had a call expressing concern that I had taken my car "out of franchise" despite it being out of warranty. It was taken to a VAG specialist that all of my family members have been using for 20+ years without any problem. Sadly I didn't have the presence of mind to query Caffyns' efficiency over the three years I was taking it to them (like their inability to notice the brake lights weren't working at the PDI and them fobbing me off for 25000 miles before having my gearbox looked at). Service and cambelt due imminently so shall be getting quotes from my local specialist and Saunders Abbott.

Both my rear doors leaked; both seals replaced under warranty by Caffyns in Tunbridge Wells and the problem hasn't come back.

Well having had a long run and covered nearly 1000 miles since the "fix", the knock is back. The dealer will be getting a ring tomorrow. Trouble is I have no real idea what's causing it and it's rather intermittent, so of course it never performs properly when I take it to the garage.

Oh, perhaps I should check exactly what's been done and get them to change this dogbone mount as well before the warranty expires in 3 weeks if all they did was the greasing fix. I was shown a printout of a Skoda bulletin but it was whisked away before I could really see anything more than some text and a couple of photos. Just as it's approaching 3 years old, I think I've finally got the car that I should have had from the very beginning.

My Fabia vRS, 3 years old this month with 45k on the clock, had been making a knocking noise over bumps. I thought it was from the rear suspension to start with, then the front suspension. First or second visit to the dealers, the technician assumed it was the ARB links as per: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/fabia/knocking-noise-front-maybe-broken-anti-roll-bar/73402/ But after inspection was told these were ok. He tightened a few bits and off I went but it was still no better. Went in again the other week to get it sorted before the warranty expires at the end of this month. When I picked it up, was told they'd carried out a service bulletin from Skoda connected with a gearbox mount which I was told only affects vRS models. Did a search on here but couldn't find anything about it. Anyway, the good news is that it seems to have solved the problem.

It's in my diary

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys Sorry Steve, couldn't make the other Friday - next time I hope.

Just treated myself to a second car, almost like a classic but probably not old enough to count as one: 1990 H-reg Golf GTI 8v, 5 door - totally standard, even down to the original steel wheels. It's been my sister's since 1993 when she bought it from the company my dad worked for at the time. It has full history and every MoT (including some failure notes ) since 93. It's done almost 90k, so it's not perfect but it starts, goes and stops (brakes are better than the Fab actually). And it certainly feels more balanced than the Fab too. It needs a few repairs and some TLC but the interior is immaculate, especially bearing in mind it's been ferrying a couple of kids around for the past couple of years. And I've got it insured under a classic policy - fully comp, max 3k a year for

Shame they've changed to font of the Fabia badge on the back too - the old one is a really classic script IMHO.

And conversely there's a tiny country lane off the A249 in Kent which is marked with a blue dual carriageway sign as one lane is separated from the other by some trees etc, so technically you can do 70 there. Not that even I'd do that lol Streetmap.co.uk- search results

Had a few problems with my car lately (the usual Fabia leaking rear doors plus a failed electric window motor) so have seen a fair amount of the service department lately. Can honestly say I can't fault the service I receive; always happy to fit me in at short notice and provide a courtesy car.

Just spoke to Skoda CS hoping to get some clarification on something which actually seems to be dealt with nicely on some threads here. My service spanner indicator came on a week or two back, surprised me as it was given a 30k service only 6 months ago. The history is: New Oct 04 10k lube service May 05 20k main service Dec 05 30k lube service Jul 06 Now service indicator at 36k. I guess because it's a year since the last major service. Strangely though it never came up with a reminder in Oct 05? My dealer told me it would be ok til 40k, but I don't want to risk invalidating the warranty so I checked with Skoda CS who basically said go by what the indicator says, followed by a caveat that these often don't get reset properly. So it looks like yet another trip to the dealer for a service I can ill afford right now. Been seeing too much of the dealer lately sorting out various leaks and a failed electric window motor. God help me when the warranty runs out! I wonder if an extension is available...

Might be able to make this - first trip of any length on the Kumho's I'm about to go buy RIP Pirelli P-Zero's after 18000 miles.

Mine' been awful the past few months, all windows sopping wet inside and it would take about 10 mins before I could see enough to be able to drive. Discovered both back doors leaking which have been fixed by my friendly dealer (thanks Teresa). Is now vastly improved but still slightly mists up at the drop of a hat (like through a short - 420 metres - tunnel where I set it to recirculate). Thank god for aircon...

At the tender age of 37, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and mild hypolipidemia (?sp?) which means my lipid levels are too high (as I understand it lipids are an even worse form of bad cholesterol). I was immediately put on to a blood pressure medication, which made me permanently tired for a while until my body got used to operating at a "normal" blood pressure. Was also told to exercise more (which I'm not good at doing) and to seriously cut back on: potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, crackers and even bananas (plus of course take-aways and ready meals). I did this for several months but it actually made only a negligible difference so I was prescribed tablets for those and then an increased dose. They make me a bit crotchety and less able to cope with stress. I know I should take more exercise and will rejoin a gym soon I hope and start using my push-bike more as I'm sure that will help. Although the change in diet didn't have the desired effect on my lipid levels, I have felt a lot better for a generally more healthy diet. As an aside, I've had the problem that I couldn't get a critical illness policy to cover my massive new mortgage due to the recent diagnosis; apparently in a year or two that won't be a problem provided my health is fine.

Should be able to make it provided I've done enough packing up of my goods and chattels to be able to spare the time.

Vianden in Luxembourg is lovely, as is Clervaux. The whole region is very pleasant.

I understood most of the delay was down to Skoda UK allegedly not allowing the problem to be investigated and the fact that I'm too lazy to take the car to the garage any more than I have to. Better late than never... I'm planning on keeping the car at least another 3-4 years.

I'm sure I've read some threads about this a while age on here. Indeed I phoned my insurer at the time for clarification and was told that I DID NOT need to disclose factory-fit optional equipment. Well, I've been having a bit of an argument with various insurers the last couple of days regarding what they term as "modifications" but don't actually seem to define anywhere. It first came up when getting a quote from one insurer and the fact that my Fabia came out of the factory with xenons, cruise, sunroof, passenger airbags and deactivation switch put the quote up quite considerably. I then thought I should check with my current insurer before accepting their renewal for the middle of next month. This time I was told i DID have to declare them, luckily there was no impact on their price. There are a couple of points which I feel are not adequately handled by the insurance industry: a) they ask if the car has been modified. Mine hasn't been modified (no re-map, no brake converstion, standard wheels and tyres, standard suspension, standard ICE). However, it seems the insurance industry's definition of the term "modification" includes optional equipment, even stuff the car was built in the factory with. I complained that this isn't made clear and that most people's definition of modifications would not be factory equipment. if I bought a used car and wasn't at all interested in cars, how would I know what was standard on it and what wasn't? E.g. I go to a non-franchise car lot and see something I literally "like the look of", say a Polo which is 5 or 6 years old and it has aircon and that's what makes me go for it. How would I know whether that particular car came with the aircon as standard or whether it was an option the first owner paid more for? I say this as I wanted aircon on my last car, a W-reg Polo SE, but accepted one without this option as it was available and I would have had to wait for one with AC. However, within a year or two, aircon HAD become an item of standard equipment on the Polo SE. c) I accused them of using this as a potential way of weeviling their way out of paying a claim by saying "You didn't tell us you paid extra for metallic paint" etc. At least I am apparently wrong here as one would - allegedly - be given the opportunity to pay any additional premium for that insurance year to upgrade the policy to cover you. I was SO infuriated with my insurer's attitude (that they could not possibly make things any clearer), I am contemplating an official complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman. My neighbour works for them so I might have a quiet word and see whether it's worthwhile or just a waste of time (I suspect the latter). So, just a word of warning. I'm glad I found this out before a big claim. Might be worth checking with your own insurers for anyone out there who's paid extra for factory-fit equipment on their car. Caveat emptor indeed.

Or have a mental age of 12 lol

As per other two threads just posted/updated, I'm really chuffed to have a Fabia vRS in the state it should be. Looking forward to going for a gentle pootle tonight She just needs some TLC now, beyond the wash I gave her at lunchtime (whereupon it promptly rained!). As they say, these things come in threes. I think the third was the courtesy car lent to me for the day: totally basic Fabia 1.2 54bhp Classic (with Plus Pack). I had a big grin on my face the whole time I was driving it. Not exactly rapid but really good fun. I don't even smile like that driving the vRS... So thank you to the area technical bod and to Caffyns Tunbridge Wells Skoda who were friendly, efficient and helpful as always.

I remember some threads (which I conveniently can't find now) about a noise from the back of the Fabia vRS when going over bumps and sleeping policemen etc. A kind of echo to the suspension if you like, not exactly at the same time as the suspension noise. Mine was suffering and yesterday it was in the workshop and it seems to have been cured [touches wood]. Not sure exactly what was the fault as they did three things: a) adjust the rubber bungs that the rear seat backs rest on when upright; re-attach a rear brake pipe which had become unclipped & c) tighten up the mounting points of the exhaust heatshield. I think the last is most likely to have been the culprit.

Well, I'm VERY happy to report that after a blunt email to Caffyns in Tunbridge Wells, copied to Skoda UK Customers Services, my car's been in for its 30k oil change and was inspected by the area technical chap. The gear linkage has been adjusted manually and now it's "one of the best I've driven" according to said technician. With my main gripe on this car now sorted, I'm a happy bunny and am now not dreading journeys through town anymore.