Slamby

Car is now Sold.

Company car forces sale. #420 of 1000. 123k miles. I bought it in June 2010 on 38,500 miles. Comes with a few common mods: Eibach lowering springs, 312mm brakes and a Shark map. Would be easy enough to put back to standard. Map has improved average MPG by 8% (53 vs 49MPG), and it drives so much better too. I have the STS, so can put the standard map back on it if you like, but no idea why you would. I also have the original springs if you want them. For original 288mm brakes you’d need discs, pads, callipers and carriers I guess, which I don’t have, though again I’ve no idea why you’d not keep the 312mm, as they are significantly better. It’s had the 19mm EGR adaption, to get rid of the flat spot on the BLT engine. Tyres are Dunlop Wintersport 3D, with 4mm tread. I also have a set of 16” Spider alloys running P Zero Neros. Tread is 8mm on one pair and 5mm on the other. Buyer gets first refusal on these at £250 extra. Pic on car at bottom of post. Cambelt was last done April 2012 on 70,299, so it’s due I guess (can’t remember the intervals or mileages). Has the usual Special Edition specs: Metallic blue paint, red calipers, leather seats with blue stitching and piping, electric front windows, cruise control, air con. Good bits Car still drives very well, and it’s never been ragged (I’m 42). Engine, clutch, and gearbox are all still very good. Paintwork is generally very good overall, with no flaking of the lacquer. There are some stone chips and light scratches, as you’d expect. As I’ve been working from home until recently, the car has been garaged pretty much the whole time it’s not been driven, and so hasn’t been as exposed to the elements as some. Interior and seats still in very good nick. I have all receipts and previous MOTs etc. Not so good bits Of all the cars I’ve had, this seems to have been the unluckiest for 3rd party damage! A white van man on a Devon country lane forced me into a ditch, hence the dent in the front wing. I’m guessing a new wing is needed due to the position of the dent. There is also a car park dent on the back nearside door. PDR would sort that. The boot has a bad scratch: a SmART repair should be possible on this. The wheels could do with a refurb, and there is a little bit of rust beginning to bubble through on the sills. This has been one of my favourite cars and I still love it. Despite the “bad” list, it’s really a very good car, and I’m hoping it’ll go to someone who will look after it, and get the bodywork sorted. I was planning to do it myself, but haven’t got around to it and it’s taking up room in the garage now so has to go one way or another. Viewing near Holywell, North Wales (CH8). Any questions give me a shout. Car is now SOLD.

That was my initial thought, and obviously the first port of call when I drop it back, but they don't usually make such simple errors. Would be handy to know if anyone else has come across this issue.

Cambelt and service done recently. Since the work, the EML comes on pretty much on any light-throttle cruising run, where it never did before. Car appears to drive fine for the most part, though idle can be quite lumpy, sometimes when hot or sometimes when cold, but it's not all the time. Final symptom is that the trip computer is now even more wildly optomistic on average MPG: I drove from North Wales to Bolton the other evening, and it confidentely claimed I'd averaged 80MPG! Actual fuel consumption appears about the same as before. It has had the BLT stutter gasket fitted previously, but that was about 9 months ago, and the EML light never came on in all that time, despite quite a bit of mileage. I haven't managed to get it back to the garage yet, but wondered how a cambelt and/or service could change how the car behaves? EML I'm 99% sure will be related to EGR, but is the EGR system affected/taken off when doing the cambelt? Any other ideas? Car was perfect before, so I'm a little confused as to what's gone wrong. The garage have always done brilliant work before, on all 4 of my last cars. Ta in advance.

Fit the gasket. I did and it solved the hesitation. Doubt you'd have to do anything to the map, but I'm not an expert.

I've got pitting on mine, and decided to give up trying to get it shiny. Autosol and very fine wire wool bring up everything very nice, but the pitting is still there and stays black, which is a shame. I think the metal itself is damaged, so not sure what else I can do.

I would vote Shark, as they do nice smooth progressive maps. It's not really about getting the highest willy-waving BHP figure; to me drivability is what you're looking for, and a Shark map gives you that without shredding your clutch with a spiky map. The STS is straightforward to use, and provided your car is in good condition, there's no reason not to opt for it. Not quite as good as visiting them, but has advantages in that you can put the original map back on, or an imobilising map. Also, if you sell your car, you can put the original map back on it, and use the STS to map another (compatible) car.

Disagree. I think they look really nice, and an improvement over the standard ones.

I had a BMW Alpina B3 3.3 that was one of the most sorted cars I've ever had. Just really good at getting you from A to B as effortlessly as possible. Comfortable yet handled really well; went when you put your foot down, but still managed 30 to the gallon while I owned it. Running costs were too high though. Tyres alone were a lot, and because it was an Alpina, any specialist parts that weren't from the BMW parts bin were going to be extremely expensive. Oh, and unfortunately Alpinas depreciate like a brick dropped off a cliff. Second favourite, and the best really from a practical and running cost point of view is the Fabia. I've had a Lexus IS200 from new, which was nice enough, but lacked power, and the interior was a bit of a mish-mash. On my list of cars to get is a V8 of some description, probably an S4 Avant, and I really really really really want an Alfa GTV V6. Not as a daily driver though, obviously!

A tiny bit bouncy, being under-damped as you'd expect from keeping the stock dampers. Still a whole lot better than the standard setup. A little stiffer, but still comfortable. In an ideal world, I'd probably opt for H&R springs and Bilstein dampers, but you're talking a fair bit more dosh than just a set of springs.

You can go to Shark, use one of their dealers more local to you, or get an STS which is sent out to you and you upload the map via the OBD port on the car. Very simple process.

Forget Vipre. Write off the cost. How much will he have paid if he uses it? And how much will he have paid if he doesn't use it? The same. Well why not get him to the point where he can use his computer properly then? It's not going to let him use his computer how he wants, and is basically going to be a pain in the arse all the while it's installed. It's not the answer you wanted, but honestly uninstall the thing, put Microsoft Security Essentials on instead, and let him download, install, and use stuff. People think they get better protection from paid AV, but it's not true, and even the likes of AVG are getting quite intrusive in the user experience nowadays. MSE with Windows firewall is enough protection.

Yes.

That's a bargain for anyone with £11k. I'd have it if I had the spare cash, because it's the best looking and set up Fabia vRS I've seen. Basically, it's what I'd have if I had the money to modify a Fabia. Shame to see it go, and I hope it goes to an enthusiast who will look after it.

Snap. Well, the GSP bit anyway. I got a Travall guard, but I've heard the Skoda one is similar, and might even be better/cheaper.