numskull

For numerous reasons, like those the OP cites and others, I stopped using main dealers as soon as the 5 year warranty expired. Find a decent VAG specialist and stick with them.

Unfortunately, they will. I bought some of the cheap clones on ebay in ‘21. As others have said, they were slightly too small, but I gently pulled the side lugs out with a pair of needle pliers and they’re fine. Yes, the chrome has become dull over the last 3 years but they haven’t bubbled-up on the edge like the OE units did. They were so cheap, I bought three sets; that reminds me, I really must change them over.

Yep, you’re correct; there is a spring which is supposed to force the seat back down when the handle’s pulled. In our case, it doesn’t work on the twin seat, but the single seat falls down fine.

^^^^ Yep, it was Fcuuuukk when I was given the price!

Unfortunately the water pump replacement on the EA888 2.0 engine is £800+…☹️

Water pump failure certainly is a common and very expensive OOW issue too. But I’d never heard of a thermistor unit leaking, hence my question if that could be mistaken for a water pump failure, or vice-versa.

Interesting. Could that also be mistaken for a water pump failure, or should the staining be in a different position?

AS? You have balls bigger a superyachts fenders…

Yes, ^^^^ would make complete sense.

Hey? AS? Why don’t you consider converting it to a 2 door coupe whilst your thinking about fitting a pano roof… 🤩

Sorry, but what does “fried” mean? This is a standard VAG rear caliper, used on literally dozens of VAG models, not a £75,000 Red Bull F1 unit (yeah, that was fried!).

What’s the mileage on the car? What’s the rest of the car like, so the interior and bodywork like? The Christmas tree lights on the dash could also be caused by a failed wheel sensor. I’d be very sceptical that the caliper needs to be replaced; ask them exactly how it’s been damaged.

My thought would be a no.

Our 2016 unit is absolutely like new and, after 40+ years of manual gearboxes, I keep my hand on there 90% of the time.

Very similar build-up scenario to my knackered battery last October, using the CTEK to try and save it etc. but it finally died with a now dead cell when we were away in Ireland. Fortunately the RAC came out over the border and replaced my original 2016 OE MOLL EFB with an RAC branded Varta AGM. Thank gawd I had battery cover.

What specs are the cars? Putting that aside, I went from a MKI 140 and MKII 170 Superb Diesels to a MKIII 280TSI. I had the diesels as I was doing a 22k PA commute. If that hadn’t been the case I’d’ve had petrol engine types. I’m not sure how the 220 stacks-up against the 280 in terms of MPG, but I have a silly short commute of 5 miles round trip twice a day and I get a real world average of 24mpg. On the other hand, I’ve just done a drive to Liverpool, which was 198 miles and I’ve averaged 38.4, including 25 miles crawling on the M25 and in the contraflows on the M40/42. So that is probably 8-10mpg less than I used to get in the MKII but frankly, the two cars are like chalk and cheese. Personally, for 12k PA, I’d go for the petrol over the diesel.

Normal I’d say. The oil in both the TDI’s we had looked like that a couple of ‘000 miles after it’d been changed! 😂

The tyre ratings are for the external noise they generate, not the internal noise, but certainly the Conti All Season I now have are substantially quieter in the car than the P7’s they replaced.

I wonder if an early SD/DVD unit would be backwards compatible?

I’m interested to know how you chose the quietest tyres.

I think the 190 comes with the 7 speed DSG which can, anecdotally, be problematic. Yes, they do need to be serviced. It’s a chain driven cam set. I don’t have experience of the 190 version of the EA888 engine, but they all suffer from leaking water pumps which is an expensive repair. I rarely get above 24mpg on my very short commute; Eco mode definitely helps. Best I’ve managed on a decent 180 Mile run is 39 mpg, which included the odd spirited sprint and keeping cruise set at 75mph. Its the best car I’ve owned.

I wish I could get this enabled. On two occasions now, I’ve inadvertently pressed the hatch open switch whilst in traffic. It’s a royal PITA to have to get out and shut the bloody thing!

Yeah - kiss that one bye-bye….

We had a few CVT equipped demo Fiestas in the early ‘90’s. It was a disconcerting experience initially, but I found it was a good system and, of course, no torque latency. I know Toyota and Honda use CVT, which are for more advanced now, in a number of their models.

Absolutely brilliant - well done! 👍🏻