vRSAnt

Absolutely no "maybe" about it mate 2L BMW diesel is miles off Like comparing the 2.0 TFSI to the old 1.8 ! (if the old 1.8 wasn't 0.2 seconds quicker to 60 that is.......) I agree though I don't believe the 520d is a crap car though its just incredibly common car to see on todays roads, but that doesn't make it crap in any sense, no more than seeing lots of newer shape Octavia 3's makes them crap either. They serve a purpose, both models, whether that be taxi, rep mover, family car, etc etc. On your other points though I'd be tempted to automatically agree, despite having never actually directly experienced such a modern BMW -otherwise BMW would be ripping the hell off of punters and whilst there certainly might be some degree of that, I don't think they quite got to packaging their goods exhorbitantly unreasonably to the same degree as you might see with say, an Apple device. But you know what, its not for me to go down that (expensive or older car) route. Whether perceived or actual comfort (probably the latter), I'm also very much the A-B guy as many others and happy to take the "aldi" style route of Skoda brand. Plus if you get there quicker in the TFSI you don't need so much bells and whistles so badly On price comparison though, it would be fairer to compare with a Superb 280 4x4 ( on comparison price ) as I think if you don't its like comparing apples and pears. As the common denominator is what you can afford with a given amount of money usually unless you want to factor in other costs of ownership as well but are user-variable anyway. In which case Skoda wins, you can't trump a fantastic Superb 280 4x4 at the same price as the rep mover diesel, IMO.

I think you are right, a very small club we are in still https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=skoda+octavia+vrs Roughly 2k total of the TFSI models registered so far? So its probably easy to be convinced they are cheap, common, ten a penny - but far from true for the petrols.

PS - I think at least 2 threads describe this as "normal" and a diesel effect of vaccuum but I'm not entirely convinced and think the brakes could be better. http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/91416-vrs-brake-pedal-going-down/ http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/27858-spongy-brakes/ It could be seals and vaccuum are not as good as they first were ( although I'm honest, the fabia brakes from new have always been a tad "soft" and nothing like a lot of other cars). The net of this sounds like replacing the discs and pads could be expensive and unnecessary then as they still have meat, and better spent looking at other things like maybe seals, pipes, bleeding etc.

Thanks for this. Yes they feel pretty hard on initial pressing with car off, okay a bit spongey, but they only go down part way, far less than when its started. First press with car off does go down almost the same amount, but after 2nd and continuous after that ( car off ) its just rock hard, like most other cars I've had. I should do a better job of describing of what happens when the cars ON. I think many people get the initial "sink" of the pedal when you start right? Its normal ? That what it does at first, sink quite a bit down to its "initial" position If you pump it ( car on) then it does remain firm, but then if you keep continuous firm pressure then it does seem to slide toward the floor very slowly. If you firmly and continuously push hard on the brake it sort of continues to sink, it doesn't reach as far as the left foot clutch pushed in, but its a lot lot closer than if you hadn't started the car with vaccuum assistance, certainly. So this IS looking like vaccuum leak you think ?

Thanks for your thoughts Cheap RNS or RCD 310 came to mind, but looks like can bus upgrade could make this less worthwhile ? To be honest she only wants CD so might just see what I can do, might even be able to fit an older model OEM CD I have somewhere but just with some kind of fascia adapter or replacement Dance/Swing MP3 on ebay ! Actually she just dropped it only as an idea, seems she is quite happy with the unit if it wasn't for scratching and skipping CDs so will probably get her something she really wants (Nickelback tickets for instance and loads of new CD's etc!) rather than a radio - drop in fascia adapter and use of of my older radios temporarily, maybe its possible to clean this once I get out the car ? Mentioned about a dual din touch sensitive unit / android compatible and these are terms that just don't seem to get any reaction from her...not bothered I've a Sony CDX and Symphony CD from a Fabia 1 but that has a high top face lip - thinking maybe that won't fit so might have to be the CDX as the temporary replacement. I'm guessing though cleaning the CD mech on a Dance unit properly ( stopping it scratching discs) might be extremely difficult unless just lucky and its some dirt stuck in the loading discs as well. Anyone want to lend me some more Ed Sheeran CD's to check if they scratch or not after cleaning the Dance unit ?

Thanks, reassuring that you had a situation like me - confidence that a simple all round brake service may help. I'm not against actually - although having said that they don't look in bad shape but like you said its the less obvious things like lubricating the sliding pins etc. If you are gonna take it apart like that for the sake of £140 probably worth making them like new again? Not sure if I should service calipers at the same time ( maybe sent away?). Suppose it would be rude not too if you are going to fully rebuild the brake system to more like new, so guess I'll factor that in. Think I will wait until we have more dependable good weather to be honest as I will bleed brakes with new fluid then when its nice and dry so no chance of hydoscopic effect of fluid while I'm filling? ( although I don't imagine its that "quick" is it so I guess its fine anytime its not raining to replace fluid) If after that I still find the brakes inadequate, well I can look at replacing the vaccuum pipes anyway ! To rule it out is there any sort of hearing of the pipes hiss or something, if I started the car and got someone else to brake so I can check vacuum pipes aren't leaking or anything I wonder ?

Nowhere. I think its classless personally and thats almost all that needs to be said. I don't really care to be honest too much what others think, just a lot of people I've seen approve and find it tasty regardless of what it is, or isn't supposed to be. Thats all I care about too, that its a decent car and I find it a total chore/bore even wasting a minute trying to pidgeon hole the car in class terms ? Though you'd need a fair chunk of wonga to buy something like a nice new Superb or anything mk3 of the higher spec end to be honest so its certainly not a "cheap" or chav car. So it;s laughable to describe as value, explain that to someone whos driving a 10 year old BMW, do they think they really have a higher class car ? From VW's own marketing perpsective it is the ever so slightly cheaper end of their car branding, yes. Lets be honest though its not by much and I think VW even realise this and its almost more about purchasing decisions/direction now moreso than I'll buy a Skoda just because its cheap.

Great hope that makes the difference ! Already got an eezibleeder which I used last time so I could do this myself. I don't think the brakes on the Fabia have ever really been that rock solid though to be honest whether from new or after bleeding ? I'm really impressed by the O3 brakes which is what I'm comparing against for all the 10 years or so I've had the car I don't ever recall being that impressed by the brakes - a bit unfairly admittedly !

Right you are. Nothing wrong with that used responsibly exactly same as the satnav built in once its fully paired that is.

Are you talking about a mirror link stereo ? Thats a completely different story to actually using your phone directly for navigation, which is what my point addressing, where you actually have to control the phone itself with your hands to actually work. To be honest the mirror link situation is more or less almost the same as built in, you actually control from the stereo don't you ? In my mind there is a complete difference between the stereo emulating or controlling the apps on the phone to bring you nav, and navigating direct from your phone itself which is where I think the trouble comes in, if you have to confirm stuff and interact directly with a phone - which you will find hard to avoid to be honest. Otherwise, I haven't a clue how you'd manage to navigate with a phone tucked away invisible lol I think they reported that using a phone directly whilst driving is as disorienting as being drunk didn't they, I hate to think what I'd want to do to someone who stuffed up my car who admitted something like "sorry mate, I was too busy looking at my phone". I think I'd perhaps be held for manslaughter if I was on a bike if that happened and I was still able to move after the injury !

Dont rule out bad bump stops if its going hard over bumps and quite low already I had this and I had fitted my (cut) bump stops the wrong way around. Ideally should have fitted proper ones too. Before I cut them it felt really bouncy like it was riding on the stops. That was a joke and only experience suspension that bad in a Fiat Punto. Then dropped and it was great but crashed and banged really bad. The stop had the had part the wrong way around so on drops was hitting hard plastic instead of the softer part, strange but true. Its probably not this but almost certainly suspension of some kind. I'm only adding this really to share my own experience / explanation of noise just for the sake of it.

PS I haven't lost vaccuum assistance for ages. I think it was on a handful of occasions, maybe after driving spiritedly then approaching a junction and at the very last part of braking that I've noticed it. Maybe not for about a year to be honest was last time I actually noticed it, so far from frequently happening. Maybe about once a year if that lol in all the 10 or so years I've had the car from new. Is it possible to experience that infrequently without a full on vaccuum fault.

I've had a good, proper look round all the pipes connected to the silver vaccuum at the right facing the engine ( pipes seem to go everywhere, to coolant, fuel filter, water, etc, and to the back then back around to where the brake fluid is) If there is a split, its certainly far from obvious so not badly deteriorated that I can see ! Hence why I'm thinking maybe its just bleeding ? Its actually quite spongy (ish) even without the vaccuum assistance without being turned over. Nothing at all really as bad as when vaccuum kicks in and the pedal then drops on start where it seems, but not rock hard either. Both off, and car on, both seem to benefit from repeated pumping to get the brake hard. WIth the car on and pushing pedal it does initially sink as mentioned, and sort of continue to slowly do so but never hits right to the floor. Almost tempted to drop into a specialist and have it sorted properly at this point, although shouldn't need to as I have 2 cars !

My wife needs a new radio for her II for her b/day as the DANCE has started to get worse than it always was . Any ideas on supported stereos on the sub £200 category ? Not looking for all singing dancing brand as its only a £2kish car HTP. Would prefer something with USB/card support and OEM if possible Wouldn't rule out a cheap chinese thing with all bells and whistles like XTONS so long as its reliable. That said the DANCE has never been reliable always skipped for her, like many have found. Any ideas if something like RCD510 may work ? 56D 035 190A Thanks in advance

IF you are looking for a temporary measure the £20 ish seatbelt style ones aren't perfect, but can do a good job and pretty secure for what they are worth. A bit noisy though.

As we all know everything needs maintenance at some point or another. Even car bodywork gets paintchips or wear. H/Lamps are not excluded. I don't like the sounds of lacquer, as we all know what lacquer is like on wheels. Yes it protects for a while, but its a pain once it goes through and doesn't last forever unless you are really careful. But....Lights are at the front of the car where everyone elses stones get kicked up etc Probably last long enough though that you've probably decided to do something else/got hold of more lamps by the sounds of it you have an alladins den full of em anyway

I've previously serviced ( about 3-4 years ago now can't recall exactly ) brakes all round with Pagid all round and was generally good. On an 06 Fabia. Don't do the miles so much now hence why they have lasted. Since I've owned the car on rare occasion got complete loss of (vacuum?) assistance, but literally just a handful of times in many, many years, so far from frequent. If anything I've just lost a "progressive" feeling of the brakes is the key thing, I am assuming a good all round bleed might help a lot but not sure about the drop and overall function of the pedal itself. Compared to Mk3 octy where you can literally start breaking, then if you wanted just keep pushing to stop on a dime, its a far greater effort on the Fabia but will stop, and passed MOTs. Other than usual wear of the brakes, other than a bit of an imbalance at the back with a stuck caliper on the rear, requiring a new pad they are otherwise pretty solid all around despite being used, but break powers not so good so presuming maybe just a brake fluid change would be in order as thats also a few years Would it be premature to pay the £130 ish for a new all round pads and discs set Pagids from ECP at the same time ? Would there be any point ? Could even go further and look at servicing or replacing the calipers too ? Or would it be better spent JUST bleeding the brakes and replacing the vacuum hoses ? I had a bit of a look and feel under the bonnet just to satify and I just don't see any obvious splits etc though. Could I start car and get someone to pump brake while feeling around the pipes to get any feeling of loss perhaps ? I wonder as a cheap version 1 check could maybe clean all the pipes and literally wrap in tape just to get a cheap immediate feel for whether this might be a deterioration somewhere ? Thanks for any ideas

Thats pricey. I got mine a whole year plate newer (14) only a tadge more expensive than that and similar miles too, and that was at least 6 mths ago. Canton+satnav too. From a dealer. Try and knock them down a bit I'd say, at least a K.

Would just spraying with very fine oil like WD40 not do a similar job ! Whats supposed to be in it / so good about it ? Most of the fine polishes have a "carrier" so hence why at first they may not look so good, because you actually haven't cleaned them off properly with fine spirit or something, to get an error-check on the scratches so far. Hence....just adding a similar oil to the carrier in fine polishes ( or just polishing more and more frequently hence reintroducing the carrier oil in the polish again ) - or just polishing it properly like Hutchy - is gonna keep them tided over without expensive "barrier method" products But .... I've never had headlights go that milky in the first place. What causes it, lack of regular washing or something ? At 10 year old its just edging towards being more scratched than it was when new, but never THAT bad to get to "bitty" status. I just wash my car one a week or so, seems to keep them in reasonable form and just wonder what do people do ? Drive on the beach or something !

You do appreciate you can and would be prosecuted for using a phone whilst driving if you rely on that for nav and actually using the screen interactively when they caught you then I can't see any reason they can't argue you were using the phone ? If you happen to just have a call you also answered or text incoming you might find yourself buggered there. I think at best for overuse of a car satnav to the point of affecting your driving would just be due care and attention. No thanks !

On the same vein as just "twisting the wires together and hoping for the best"

I hope the person who was responsible for it ends up reading this. Message for you - you drive like a total dildo mate ! Correction, some women actually find those useful, whilst the kid driving this car has no talent whatsoever and will be no use to a woman whatsoever.

I find the Amundsen works well enough to be honest Fully intergrated is always best for best control and clear information whilst driving too. What a distraction it would be if your phone cradle or screen mount falls off whilst driving? Plus not really oriented around control whilst driving either. I hope all of you users of alternative are factoring that in and don't touch your phones or navs whilst driving. The built in is somewhat more intuitive and marginally more usable but even that really shouldn't be used whilst driving. Just want to press that home, particularly as I've been a multi-vehicle person having cycled, motorcycled and driven in my past, don't forget your in control of a dangerous heavy vehicle and its easy to get distracted by electronics and gizmos. The job of a good satnav/entertainment is to keep it simple and work simply and effectively around the user/driver.

The how many left is based on registered vehicles, its not without some foundation of truth as its based on registrations. Why have they dropped ? *ho hum* Hence not through reliability but from people selling them etc, those stats must mean something which is that they are definitely becoming more niche was my point ? My point about lemons wasn't about cars ability or reliability, but in terms of its practical ownership in that sense was what I already said made it a "practicality" lemon so I think this has chosen to be overread a bit. I'm sure it would make a great weekend car, fun car, I don't dispute, I'd even have one on the basis of being quite a good unusual sporty car ( if I had room, I've already got Fabia 1 vRS, Octy Petrol, wifes 1.2 and been gifted at some point a MGF VVC so I really don't need a car like that anyway). It looks good and very very cheap so I can certainly understand why someone with the cash to pay £400 a year on tax would keep as a cheap "toy". But Its the overal ownership thing I was talking about, you'd be a bit mad to use it for an every day car, making it an everyday car lemon was my point ( which if was read in the context of what I was saying was obvious, I wasn't slating the car).

All sorted and drove first time in a while, not long after I'd been out in the Octy (after spending ages polishing the bastar'd given the colour really lends it to look filthy and even washing it isn't enough). Yellow car is far more forgiving, just a bucket of water of it and it looks great again ! Great fun, running nicely apart from brakes were a bit tarnished, now taking to work tomorrow !