Michaeldavis39

So youve covered over the spare wheel i see- if i did this on my hatch the carpet cover wouldnt fit but thanks for showing us. The booming noise i had has gone doing the things i did along with most of the droning which these cars suffer from over certain rough road surfaces hence fitting the dampers on the rear beam which i did too. Have you driven your car over a rough country road yet to see if youve got rid of the droning??

Noms the boom in my car is a lot better, not the best but bearable thankfully. If you read back in what i have done and do the same yourself you will achieve same result- a lot of time, money and effort but well worth it if you want to keep the car - cheaper actually than trading it back in for a facelift model which was my alternative - i too had not had my car very long before i discovered this awful noise. Michael

Well I used a FL number plate on Euro parts website and it did not list any different part number to the MK3 non FL- unless all the replacement parts for both models have the better dampers? Michael

No photos of dampers fitted on the MK3 facelift? I wonder if dampers from the MK4 would fit? Anyone any ideas? Michael

Can you photo the dampers please- maybe a makers name and part number with photo could help please? What do you mean rear wheel spacers? Any photos to show this? Thanks very much Michael

No follow up to my question? Can the owners of facelift MK3 cars not shed a light on why their cars are so much quieter than the MK3 cars please? Michael

So the big question is what have Skoda done between the two versions of car for there to be such a dufference- can the owners of the newer cars have a look for anything obvious that they can take pictures of to show us please??? Michael

Just drove my car with half the back seat folded down because I had a long item to carry and the noise was awful- clearly this nvh is coming from around the rear suspension area and into the boot. In the summer I'm going to be pulling interior panels off and sound deadening the wheel arches then squirting more of the expanding foam - never, ever had this awful noise in any car in the past 34 years unbelievable.

Yep £481 so far but it's less than the money I would have lost if I just sold the car and bought something else and it would not have been a Skoda after this experience hence reason for doing it. Michael

Well after fitting a Volvo harmonic damper to my axle beam, fitting silent sound deadening pads to the spare wheel well and under the back seat, squirting some foam into the front drivers side A pillar( too cold now in UK to go further with this) also replacing the tailgate stops for the new heavily sprung stops, putting some sound proofing felt under back seat and in the foot well, fitting a spare wheel and tool kit plus a full set of the rubber Skoda mats interior and boot area, fitting the full size engine tray and the middle large undershield I can say that my car is much better than it was when I first got it a month ago. I haven't finished with these modifications as I need to change front tyres for Goodyear all season ones, order more dampers, squirt more foam next year in warm weather and add more sound insulation under the front carpets, fitting sound deadening pads to the rear wheel arches after taking out the carpet - then I will have done as much as is possible to make the car more pleasant to be in when driving- it's a lot of work but I've seen be benefits on every single upgrade - the best two so far were the foam and the Volvo damper. Michael

Well my car isn't under warranty anymore and only done 15 thousand miles so not worried- my mechanic friend reassured me as he knows the design of these engines and belts so that will be my standpoint for my car everyone else makes their own choice. Michael

Bit puzzled by what you say Dave, the printout I have is Skoda service schedule not a made up dealer schedule - therefore it is recommended by the manufacturer Skoda - the dealer follows the manufacturers schedule and I'm thinking perhaps that some "dealers" are making up their own schedules perhaps so that they can make more profit from doing unnecessary work- to change a simple belt should not cost anywhere near what some dealers charge- and do they actually change the belt is my question. I say this as I have had two secondhand cars both with service history and both with receipts for work charged to previous owners- on both cars I and my mechanic friend were horrified to find huge bills for work which simply was not done- disgusting which is why I only ever go to my friend as he's honest and even shows me the parts he's removed and I can see what was wrong with them. I know not all garages are dishonest. Michael

Warrior I remember those Charades they were the most economical car on the planet at one time they apparently did over 100mpg - none on UK roads now as I think they rusted away. Michael

"Which is NOT what Skoda UK say" Well it's what Skoda Bristol Street Motors Darlington say and I have the print out from their service dept to prove it - I've seen many cambelts changed at my mechanic friend's garage and can say that in last ten years I can't remember seeing a worn out belt - even he says he can't see the point in changing them nowadays but it pays the bills for him and customer gets peace of mind I guess. Michael

Yes H15 that's it, any better versions of this bulb that show white instead if a warm soft orangey glow on drl? Michael

I got a 5 year old SE 1.4Tsi with 14 thousand miles on for £9k last month so you should get a very low mileage newer car than mine in your budget- the engine is an absolute cracker, 55mpg on motorway and 47mpg around the doors I can't complain at that, plus mine is £30 a year road tax and lifetime cambelt with just inspections at service intervals- mechanic friend said these belts run in oil which is why they last so long I don't know but it makes for a really cheap maintenance schedule as well as cheap running costs for a family car- what's not to like? Michael

Here's mine 1.4TSi SE 14,000 on the clock when I bought it a month ago. Nice car only had one small scratch in the laquer low down on a door and a few stone chips otherwise just like a new car- I didn't expect anything less with such low mileage. One thing that really lets it down is the boominess from the cabin and rumbling from suspension through the body. I have spent the last few weekends adding sound deadening pads to the boot and wheel well plus fitting a new spare wheel with accessories kit and all this has helped reduce the boominess to a point where it no longer hurts my ears driving to work on country lanes- when I bought the car I tested it on dual carriageway and did not notice this noise issue. I've also replaced the tailgate stoppers for the modified spring type and this made an immediate difference to the boominess- it still affects the car and the only other thing I'm going to do is buy Goodyear all season tyres for the front and get rid of the current Hankooks which I'm hoping will reduce the current tyre noise too.

Funny so your about the same age as me - the young ones these days won't know what we are talking about! I've got a MK3 Octavia and would love to change the daylight running lights from a yellow tint to something that looks more in keeping with today's new cars ie white- any ideas what bulb could do that- from what I understand the sidelight bulb is also the headlight bulb when the headlights are switched on - never seen bulbs like that but then I'm new to Skoda as my last car was a Citroen from 2007 so I've got some catching up to do tech wise. Michael

Ooo tell us more about your "goodies" Dave- which one did you get was it Bill lol or am I showing my age ermm

I had bonnet struts on my 2007 Citroen C5 which by Skoda standards I would say was a better built car - quieter, no bottle cap issue, no booming, same size interior but better folding for seats- why didn't Skoda make the Octavia seat base fold forward like Citroen did years ago?? I had bonnet insulation on that car standard too!

I agree after seeing new cap fitted to the MK4 I was sold straight away. Going to get some bonnet struts next- can't understand why such a large bonnet didn't have them fitted from factory- the MK4 has bonnet struts too! Michael

I tried that but it kept moving so anyway better designed one is already ordered and I will be pleased to fit it Michael

The problem with the original cap is you have to have one hand on the cap to stop it from flipping back on whilst trying to pour water in- I've never ever in my 34 years of driving had such a stupid washer bottle cap as the original in this car hence wanting to fit the better designed one. Michael

Brilliant thank you very much- ordered. Michael