Jiggz

Yep, there is bamboo in my boot right now! ;)

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. Very, very much appreciated. The Rivnut makes sense. I have never used one before which is why it never occurred to me, I guess. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Good morning to all from Portugal. We have a 2003 Mk 1 Fabia hatchback with 335000km on it - probably the most honest little car I have had. It is amazing, owes us nothing and we look after it in the hope that it soldiers on awhile longer. About a year ago, whilst I was away, HerLoveliness opened the hatchback, and then closed it, during which process the right hand side gas strut parted company from its lower securing point and....smashed the rear glass. Big Drama! During the glass replacement, my guess is the service guy either removed and refitted the screw-in nipple, or tightened it and stripped the thread. Otherwise, we suspect the car was possibly repaired after some accident before we bought it and something went awry during that repair process. Whatever, the result is that the damn thing comes away from the body occasionally and the strut comes loose again etc. Luckily we haven't smashed another piece of glass. I initially tried a Loc-tite fix, which didn't last. Then I actually bogged the nipple in with epoxy, which lasted a good while but once the summer began and the black car (why does anyone make a car black?) stood in the Portuguese sun a bit, the high temperature caused the epoxy to let go (that particular epoxy lets go around 85degrees C). Luckily no smashed glass. Now, before I move onto the next repair attempt (possibly a drill, tap and M8 Helicoil, or else a higher temp epoxy putty plug and drill and tap for M8) it occurred to me to ask - is this a thing on these cars? Are these mountings known for coming undone? Is there some simple 'get-a-this and do-a-that' commonly known repair? Thoughts, recommendations, suggestions all appreciated. Thanks to everyone, and have a superb weekend!

South Africa - where there are plenty of VW's and Audis, very few Seats and zero Skodas.

Yes, indeed. We did a 3 week road trip around the country immediately after purchasing it and damn, it does everything you ask of it! Iit carries enough, goes well, sips diesel...I can't fault it. It's not an A4 Audi Avant with leather and fine handling, but it does everything you need it to do. It's possibly the most honest car I have ever owned. I found that older cars here in Portugal have really tatty interiors, a result I think of standing in the sun in 40degree weather year after year...the plastic outgasses and gets brittle and then things just break. I chose this car because the interior is really, really good. It stood undercover most of its life. Paintwork clearcoat has a few issues but the interior is perfect. I really like the little car. It's black so it gets cooking inside very quickly when parked on a sunny day so I will for sure vinyl wrap the roof in white soon. Maybe add some sound deadening in places. Other than that - I cant think of anything I would change. I am searching the forums to identify a suitable VAGCom diagnostic tool = not a phone based one ideally. I have never had a need for one before, but I will need one for, at the minimum, resetting service intervals etc. I have an ABS light on - it's not the fusible link near the battery. Probably a sensor which I can change easily enough. I will probably be acquiring a VW T4 diesel bus soon as well so a scanner tool that would work on both would be nice. Yeh....Skoda....not a brand we have where I come from but....nothing wrong with them at all.

Hi everyone 20 000kms later, I have to say I am quite impressed by the little Skoda Fabia Break 1.4 TDI (Mark 1) that we bought on our arrival in Portugal a year ago. It's a really great little motot for what we paid for it. I have replaced front tyres and brake pads, but I am going to have to deal with a few other issues before its annual inspection next month. Hence my arrival here. I am a qualified diesel mechanic, a Marine Engineer and watchmaker and come from a long, long line of VW/Audi people. I will be doing whatever work is done on this car myself, so.....expect some questions, and know I am grateful for any and all answers.