Silverline

I think the fact that a new car no longer comes with a proper spare wheel is despicable........I was looking at a Mk111 but because they still have cam belts and the option of a spare wheel I am now looking at other makes that have a cam chain and a full sized alloy spare wheel, namely a KIA Optima!! THINK ON SKODA and all those other manufacturers who are saving money and kidding you its for economy by getting to car buyer to buy ,as an extra, something that should STLL be a standard item.

Had a look at a few, love the bonnet line and that pressing behind the rear number plate that looks a bit like an envelope! I intend to wait a few months and get a used one , or maybe leave Skoda and go for a KIA Optima!

I read somewhere that the Rapid is about the same size as the MK1 Octavia, as each mark seems to get bigger this might well be right, can anyone confirm this?

They were indeed quite common during the 60s and reading this revue I just wonder why they became the butt of so many jokes? I always felt the styling never did it any favours but on the other hand it is contemporary for it's time but I remember seeing "B" registered ones about, that's 1964 and bye that time the design perhaps had not moved on sufficiently?

Lovely colour, the wife has a KA in a sort of yellow/lemon and I think it looks great, I was thumbing through a Rapid brochure and noticed this shade, if I was in the running for a Rapid I would probably go for this shade.

Whats with these "twitters" they similar to "tweeters"? lol

I hope you get it all sorted to your satisfaction, as mentioned at least you have evidence.

Thanks for this.

Another point , the theory about damaged teeth on the starter ring is a sound one but surely if that was the problem its only happened once since the last motor change some 42 days ago. I would have thought the odds against not hitting the chipped teeth would be far higher than that, although I admit the car can go for days without being used.........just a thought!

I'm probably pushing my luck now but it has not happened since last Friday after the new battery was fitted, not that I am saying that has anything to do with it. I have noticed over the period that it has happened with three different motors, or at least two as I suspect the second motor was the first cleaned up, that the problem does not seem to occur when the engine is stone cold. This morning after a bitterly cold night it took three attempts to fire the engine up and each time the starter fully engaged and it went on later to do a warm start without problems.

Thanks everyone for your input

Can confirm, ALH

Sorry, I will check tomorrow when it's light, all I can say is its the 1.9TD 90bhp version.

Hello, I don't have a fault code to quote, presumably I would need a main dealer for that info? The last time it happened and this was after 5 or more weeks of everything being fine, was when it was first started after a new battery was fitted. The other battery was ok but at 9 years old I decided to treat the car to a new one. I am considering asking a main dealer to hook it up to check for any problem codes. Since the last "bad " start the others about six have been fine.

I will be really interested in what you find.

The problem with my car is that if I wait it will eventually start, added to that why and how how would the starter ring loose teeth? It was fine one moment then suddenly I have this odd problem. Another point is from what I remember of the conversation , we did have a long conversation and its possible I miss understood what he said but from memory was when they fitted the second motor when it was making that odd noise the crank was turning! They seemed to be implying that fuel line/filter was the problem and presumably the electronics were deliberately disabling part of the engine! Another interesting point is that it only seems to happen when the engine is warm ie stopped for a relatively shortish time, if it is stone cold like the it was with the two starts today, it is fine.

ladies and Gents, I know I am now becoming a bore but I still have a problem with the starter motor on my 04 Octavia TD. Earlier this year the starter developed a fault, I can only describe is as making a whirring noise but not actually turning the engine over. I took the car to a local garage with a decent reputation and they removed the motor and from what I can make out it went to a local rebuilder, to be honest I,m not sure if I got the same motor back or a replacement as long as it worked properly I wasn't really bothered. All went well for about three weeks then exactly the same thing happened again so the car was returned. When I collected the car I was informed that they had the chap over who does the re-builds I was under the impression he wanted to look at the teeth on the starter ring but when I asked about that nothing was mentioned, as far as I can remember anyway to cut a long story short another starter was fitted but the same thing occurred then they did some research. maybe even this site, I don't exactly know but they decided to fault was the fuel filter they changed it and apparently all was well. From memory the conversation went something like; the fuel filter was faulty semi-blocked? and this was resulting in the cars electronics disabling the starter, to be frank I did not entirely buy this because as far as I am concerned, not that I, am any expert, the starter motor was turning but not engaging, I would have assumed that if there is such a feature than disables the starter then surely there would be total silence? Anyway all has been well until today when I decided to have a new battery fitted, as the old one was nine years old and after it had been fitted I was called over and informed the starter was causing problems, it did start after a few attempts but clearly the old problem had returned. So, what exactly is happening, have I another duff starter, its been on the car over a month and been fine, or is there some truth in this fuel filter theory? If as I assume, since I can hear a "wizzing" sound the motor is turning but not always pre-engaging is this likely to cause any wear on the starter ring and /or to the motor? Finally id the fuel filter could be the problem then what's wrong, it was replaced and if there is a problem with the fuel side would it be detected by a diagnostic check? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for that, I did just wonder if I was pushing my luck, the battery has a green indicator and I could not see the green part but I was looking in bright sunlight, when the car was recently serviced the chap who did it told me the green indicator was still just visible so I assume its electrolyte level is ok.

I have the original battery in my Mk 1 04 TD, I'm considering changing it because of it's age. How long have you had your original battery?

So, what defines a "reliable" car, presumably one that does not fail whilst its been driven? I assume that's the definition a lot of people would use but that clouds the issue because it could easily refer to a vehicle that has had numerous faults that did not actually bring it to a halt but at the same time had never actually broken down.

I was afraid someone would say that!

Oh and another thing, do they all come with a plastic right angled thingy that allows you to carry an empty cola bottle crate with out it, I mean the crate, moving?......if they all come with that then its clincher for me Look at 7:39

I want a spare wheel ! What exactly is a "repair kit" ?

I only really mentioned the invites as there seemed to be several variations on the launch dates, as there still seems to be. I might pop along but having spend a lot of money recently on my MK 1, I'm not really in the market for a new car. I actually prefer them when they are about three months.

Talking of the MK111 , just had two invites to the launch at local dealers, Trust Skoda, Stourbridge and Autosales, Bilston stating the launch days are 16th-17th March. For what it's worth I think the MK111 looks really sharp.