Former

@roottoot I've no doubt VW internal politics and group marketing had to keep the parts and components on the Skoda below their other brands. Even if they'd have put better I'd not be surprised that after 12 years the brakes and suspension could be improved on especially on a car designed to be driven in a spirited manner particularly as a humble 90ps car can't even manage more 6 years out of factory dampers or even 12 months out of their Dealer replacements. What I was trying to get at was to avoid the rushing to change things too soon on a car unknown to the user and not to just look at the popular numbers thing for items rather than as an overall. Often also you can have more fun with less on the public road, think of James Hunt and his A35 van (and yes I know, despite having no interest in roundy-round racing there were other reasons why he had it). No matter how much you have on the right occasion it's never enough until it gets beyond your abilities. If all the drivers aids could really be turn off then less would probably often be enough or more than enough but even the computers can't beat the real world physics and as yet the tyres can't do much more than they ever could even if in fully and correct contact with the road surface, such as it is, non-existent sometimes for the whole of a contact area, thank gawd for those computers. 😄 If 205 aren't enough then why stop at 215, get wider wheels and wider tyres, all these compromises against the traffic light Grand Prix (I suppose it should F1, unless Bernie goes down of course, as if that'd happen. 🤣).

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. On an older second hand car I would been refreshing a few other things that many engineers and mechanics say not to bother with/waste of time but that is just me and my experience, especially on a car I intend to drive in a spirited fashion on the road. It is no wonder I have no money left now.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. Fair enough. Been a long time since I have test driven a car from a garage but over here I think it has been a long time back since you were allowed out in the car by yourself, unless you were known to the garage, far too much paperwork to allow that. I hope you done a few lower speed braking tests before the 90 to zero. That is a good base but it does not usually cover the full maintenance service of car at 90,000 miles but perhaps yours does, if so you look for what has not been carried out, some items are not listed as part of services now but you might carry out if you want to have the car running really well particularly if you intend to drive it hard. Best tuning you can do on the car is to make sure the whole car is fully serviced, maintained and repaired and that often is beyond the usual Dealership/garage full service history. You need a solid base to work and get improvements and upgrades from (those that are actually improvements and upgrades). You do need to compare like with like, if you look a brand 'A', type/model 'B' discs usually their slotted and/or drilled discs are more expensive than their plain discs but you decide how much that price difference matters to you and how important the performance and looks/fashion are, good brakes are good brakes (and the tyres input to this). Again the tyre itself is important - but this is track stuff in which case you would probably want different tyres to the ones for road use or be happy changing tyres a lot (lot) more frequently. I am all for spirited driving but public roads are just that and not race tracks. There is no law against how quick you get to the speed limit here, at least not yet, but such hard driving is very wearing on a vehicle. Though It is great to see some bloke with all the money to have a supercar and not being able to set a launch control so sits embarrassingly at a stop or just limps off 🤣 - this was off the public road. I do not know how things go with your purchase but over here I can think of no reason why provided they are a standard size to the vehicle and wheels you would not be allowed to change to a set of better tyres within the 6 months and then as I put drive the car for that time to get used to it and discover what you want or needs changing or work done and this is the time to improve or upgrade, provided it keeps the overall balance of any system such as braking or suspension. On of the very best tuning aids for a vehicle that is often overlooked, and is generally transferable to similar vehicles is driver training and I say this as a self-admitted (and confirmed by others) not particularly great driver. A trained driver can improve the handling of most cars they drive just by the way they drive it, on the road or track, I know I've been out on the public road with a couple and on tracks with a couple. As with a lot of things in life it is not what you have but how you use it and you do not need to flash it around when you are confident in its use - all this excludes me unfortunately. ☹️ Good luck, one day all this will seem to make more sense.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. If your brake fluid needs changing then do not wait to change it. If you have no firm evidence that it has been changed in the last 18-24 months then change it. You can test the brake fluid for moisture content but if you change it now you know for sure it has been done and when, how and what with. DOT 4 is fine but you can get some DOT 4 fluids that are better than others, ask a good supplier which is best for your needs as there may be different availability in different countries and regions. If you want to change from DOT4 make sure you know the difference between DOT 5 and DOT 5.1. For the brakes, steering and suspension change the tyres first as the tyres have effect on all three, don't wait if you are unhappy with the present tyres even if they are new. But do check your current tyres, even if they are new, that they are not damaged in anyway and that they are all at the correct tyre pressure. If they are brand new they make take a number of miles to be at their best certainly they make be "greasy" for the first 100-200 miles and may take even up to about the first 1,000 miles to settle in my experience. Changing the tyres will change the braking feel. Changing to slots or drilled discs is more about fashion that function but if you are into the fashion think about these later. Good quality brake pads will have more effect, yes coupled with good quality discs but they do not need to be slots or holes. The grip and handling of the tyre is about the design, manufacture and compounds and not the width, 205 is wide and 40 profile on 17" wheels already crashing and bumpy enough (or too much) for normal road unless you have racetrack smooth roads in Finland. We have all done it got a new car and wanted to go to the car toy shop and empty the shelves but you will be better owning and driving the car for a while to find out what you really need and want to do with it to make improvement. Plus whatever money you spend on toys you make need to spend on unexpected repairs, servicing and maintenance with a second hand old car new to you. First priorities are brakes, steering and suspension - tyres cover all three of those so sort them first (along brake fluid if required). Slamming your brakes on at 90mph to a full stop will do nothing to help cheap, crap or good tyres particularly if they are brand new with very few miles on them. I do not expect I have given you the answers you wanted but I hope some of it makes sense and helps and others will be along more into what you were expecting.

Thanks, er well, I think thanks as it's not great news! 🙃 I'm thinking if the dampers have been leaking a while and the previous set had been leaking a while too then perhaps the lack dampening might hasten a spring or two breaking, Sod's Law be typical to have to replace a spring not long after having the replacement (to the replacement) dampers, er, replaced.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. Obviously I've not seen or know the video you mean but my guesses are that it's a matter of H&S, potential damage /doing the job well /tidiness. The clips are metal springs with edges so if they fly off and hit say an unprotected eye it really might not be a joke or laughing matter. If they spring off they could land somewhere and cause damage or future potential damage by getting trapped in something or scratching paintwork and same with not tidying them away for disposal. They should just lift and remain on with perhaps a better made strut and some care but as we know things don't always workout the way we'd hope so perhaps the reason to suggest care.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. Well done and thanks for reporting back. I should have put the video up as it shows and reminds you to use a prop as additional and protective support whilst changing the struts as it's something you might forget in the urge to get the job done.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. That can depend on how big and wide the wheels and tyres are. In my neck of the woods there's a panic if snow settles yet mobile hills of snow will be on the road with ****holes in the snow for drivers to look out of or if you're lucky the wipers have been forced to clear a couple of arcs, obviously the rush to get somewhere is now even greater with sometimes great cubes of snow being dumped with the motion. Some friends lived at Castle Bolton, N. Yorks. for a while, above the snow line, and they said one time the village got snowed in, they couldn't get their Scooby off the slopping drive because of the ice and even the Landies didn't make it all the way up the hill to the village but they watched a small old Vauxhall (Nova IIRC) slowly but steadily climb the hill and make it to the top and into the village, narrow wheels and tyres. In the late 70s early 80s when I had a 1966 (VP) 1100 I went out to a village that others hadn't bothered to that day as no one had told me about it, it might have been that I was expecting more from a FWD but I didn't find it much better than a small RWD. Having said that I drove my wife's Cortina Mk3 (2000E) in the start of the 1990s and I let her have my Skoda Estelle 2 because of the laying snow and the Cortina was hopeless, I had to work hard to get it around the back streets of town - but it did have low profile wider tyres 185/70 R13.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. We usually don't get too much snow here being in the middle of the country but a couple of recent winters has seen proper snow and we can get it cold or very cold in winter. Summer tyre performance starts going off at 10c (or they might say 99c for some reason now) for the (very) odd time that could be a summer's day even here (snowed once in June IIRC). Being old I've always had summer tyres, never mud and snow, winter or all seasons tyres but most of my cars have had sensible sized wheels and tyres so easier to handle even with RWD, even if I'm not that great a driver I am aware of adapting the driving to the circumstances and conditions. Having 145 or 155 width tyres helped. 😁

I thought it'd be something to do with "smart" phones or devices but I don't own any and rarely use them so wouldn't know for sure. Their screen size and the fact the touch screens alignment don't go well with my wonky eyes and don't seem to work well with the skin on my fingertips. I was fed up with the drop out with mobile phones 30+ years ago and over the last x-number of years receptions seem to have gone back to nearly as it was then, "Hello, can your hear me? Hello.". They have their uses and can be very useful, particularly when they work but I find them so frustrating when they don't work or work as they should and yet the users just expect it and put up with it, just imagine if they were in as parts of cars . . . oh, dear. 😄

Short answer is that as far as I understand it not everyone can or does view the signature (or the profile(?) at the side). Longer answer, you will I am sure understand. Someone put something like (I do not remember the exact wording) that my posts are authoritative beyond my level of knowledge (or lack of I suppose) so I added the note in my signature. Then someone else that disagreed with what I put agreed with the sentiment as it was repeated in the thread by the first person. This was despite being able to see the signature and it was actually the first person making out in a derogatory way that I thought I was some sort of expert in the subject. So I have added the note to my posts so no one can say they're not warned when that note is at least at the start of that post. I have not bothered here as you know I never claim to be an expert or have any higher or in-depth knowledge only experiences and you know I often/sometimes try to encourage people to check and cross reference information and seek out the information for themselves which is why I often leave hyperlinks and sometimes to views or information that might be different or opposite to mine. I am not interested in even trying to please everyone, or anyone all the time, but I do prefer to at least start with getting along but if that is not possible so be it, nothing anyone need lose sleep over or really care about on a forum about such unimportant things like cars. Just putting cars are unimportant on a forum like this will upset people and you might disagree which is OK and you can react as you see fit, I think generally people can agree to disagree and still rub along. Sorry I have gone on a bit, but you did ask. 🤣

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. Personally I'd only take tests like that as a generalisation, very limited specifics there, I'm not saying it's a bad test but it only gives some idea of a range that may apply generally but not necessarily that accurately widely.

You had me at "Battery and charging system", Jerry. :swoon and tears:

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. "Build date" - Thanks. For the small cost I thought I'd buy the info. Service was very good I'd say allowing for the sales system communication delays the return was just about instant. With all the codes perhaps a good number of questions rise from the info but I'm sure those can be decoded too. One of the things I was curious about was the build date as I thought l pretty much already had this and unless there was some critical time build/production divide for parts/components/ factory software it'd be near enough. My reasoning was the car does existing without the computers and the computers need the programs installed (whatever it's called) for them or the car to existing (do we exist without a computer's say so). On an OBDeleven vehicle history log report from a scan, done by someone else on their machine and not by me with any machine, there was coding dates at 27-5-15 for programing type stuff and as I knew the car was first (UK) registered on 30/9/15 I thought it was reasonable for build date to be 27-5-15 or near enough. The car data report I got from the eBay seller had "Date of Production 28.05.2015". Perhaps it was just a coincidence, wrong assumption or interpretation of the information by me as I'm certainly no expert in car production, computers or their programing but it might be a way of working out production date if the date isn't too critical. Back in the old days I've twice had to pay additional "road tax" (RFL) because the production dates were 1 day and possibly 4 days out of "the grace period" back when build dates were logged in books and a lot less reliable certainty and accuracy of the information. Another time at change of how the rates were calculated I went into a large range of increased tax by 6cc.

No problem. Sometimes you have to look for the item number in the string but other times like yours they're very easy as it's just a matter of copying just to the end of the item number. Happy to pass it on, as someone did for me.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. I reset the valve clearances or "checked/adjusted the tappets" on my (recently former) A-series 1275 engine only a matter of weeks ago as part of the annual service (don't bother at six-months service). You get noise even if they're adjusted correctly (not that I'm any good at it) that's partly why the aftermarket alloy rocker covers are fitted, that and bling, and vanity/ego if you have a name on it or put on it. Then of course you can colour match it to the engine bay, the car body, your racing team colours or your favourite nail polish. They do of course add a few hp (or fraction of with an A-series).

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. Each to their own, that and the all black one I see down the road look very plain and stubby particularly in those colours. Personally I think you would need a big hammer to add interest to the body and panel shapes. A difference to what appeals in different areas and countries perhaps. ETA: I think your car looks fine and the protective stripes lined up with the bumpers looks fine too.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. Just for info. - To save virtual ink and screen space, you can shorten the eBay link to just the item number. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265881626043 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265872809553

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. A good quality (horizontal not portrait if using a phone please) photo or photos can often help because your car might not remain as it left the factory with others before you making alterations. Not that I know what the original factory set up looks like but others will. Dirty electrical connectors can cause lots of issues, sometimes just giving them a careful but good clean with electrical contact cleaner spray and perhaps if required using something like a clean used toothbrush, can clean them enough to resolve the poor connection. Sometimes you may need more than these for a good cleaning. The blower motor turns the 'fan' so if that connection is bad then that could be the cause of the issue - but as I have put I do not know your car and am not an electrical expert in any way but that is where I would start. Again a photo(s) might help with conformation of this - and others with better eyes and more experience and knowledge may also be able to spot other items not as factory standard or might potentially cause issues. Good luck.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. Also always a good idea to check the age and moisture content of the brake fluid and flush clean and replace at regular intervals. If you don't know how long the brake fluid has been in the vehicle or it's close on the moisture or it looks dirty then flush clean and replace ASAP.

ETA: Sorry I missed Warrior193's post when I posted this post. Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. Depends on what was used electrically but yes it might have topped the battery up but this might not be to fully recharged and bear in mind a 6 year old battery won't have the capabilities of a new battery. The seatbelt fault might just need the connector firmly pushing together or if the battery has got too low it can put the computer's and their programs on a merge electric diet which they don't like and can cause they to play up. With a battery not too low the computer might reset itself or you might be able to speed things up by clearing any error codes stored.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. My wife has a 2015 Mk3 1.2 TSI (90) and I have years of experience of recharging and reviving car batteries for neighbours and friends. It's all very easy stuff but to do it properly and fully can often require two things that some don't posses - time and patience. I have had a couple of failures where it was just too late or the battery had been flogged to death. If you want to try and revive it I may be able to help you or it might be too late anyway or you may prefer to replace with new now anyway. Do read the (Driver's Handbook) Operator's Manual about battery replacement or ask here if you don't know about things like battery coding on these cars (I didn't). If for any reason you don't have the paper printed copy you can download a pdf copy from the following link. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models For the seatbelt warning I don't quite understand what you mean but again I always recommend reading the Driver's Handbook (Operator's Manual) as that gives loads of information and with things like this that don't crop up often you could thinking it does something it doesn't. If you can say which seat and more info on what warning(s), I assume front if your expecting a noise and you go above a certain speed(? I forget the details now, I'd have to be in the car to find out or read the Driver's Handbook) then yes a constant low drain will deplete the battery eventually but a charged or new battery in good condition should take a while. But your battery might be 6 years old of use and abuse, it's not been fully recharged and the very hot and extreme weather we had won't have helped it or the charging system. Fully charging or changing the battery might even help with the seatbelt issue (no guarantees on that though). If you want to read them, as they used to say on Blue Peter, here's two I prepared earlier. - The following also gives different info related to your issues.

Thanks, unfortunately it has to be a Skoda Dealership part, that they usually hold or offer as an alternative for the warranty, unless that includes Koni.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. I never even though about 16" wheels but where suitable I'm a big fan of smaller, narrower wheels and narrower tyres with sensible (higher) profile sidewalls. As has already been put and on another thread, particularly here the wheels and tyre sizes are often well over the top fashion stuff. With the state of our roads you need all the 'rubber' and air suspension you can get.

Please note - I am not a mechanic or expert in anything. If you can get a direct connection from the battery to the (disconnected) blower motor and earth you could power up the blower motor to run it for a short time to listen, feel, smell if the motor might be seizing. Obviously do not do it for too long or you might kill the motor/bearing. You can get electric probes that power up things like this too. I do not suppose the blower motor or fan are easy to get at but if the fan and/or motor shaft, and/or motor, are covered in debris this can add weight and take away balance perhaps to the fan and perhaps restrict cooling or build heat for the motor. I use a cheap vacuum cleaner in reverse, connecting the hose (nozzle) to what would normally be the exhaust for vacuuming and this gives a powerful blowing which shifts more dirt, debris and dust than a vacuum cleaner. Any sticking debris I use clean plastic probes of any available source - thin plastic or wood handles or sticks or such like, if long enough ice-cream sticks are handy as they are also nicely rounded at the ends or you can cut them to required shapes Of course the muck goes every where so after (if successful) I would use the vacuum cleaner to vacuum out as much of the disturbed muck as I could and in conjunction with the blower motor running I would vacuum, whilst brushing, one (or set of) vent/outlet at a time with the others closed. The blowing is very powerful so if there are any flimsy parts consider they might get damaged or literally blown away. All a lot easier if you can get the blower unit out and apart. Good luck.