MikeTheThinker

I would suspect wear somewhere (oil pump?) that is masked by the thicker fresh oil but as the oil ages and thins the problem recurs.

Whilst spending time in my temporary home and also back at my real home the mobile signal coverage is best described as "fickle". My phone is set up for wifi calling but that means I seem to have to find an approximately 150mm zone, stand on one leg and don't dare move by more than a few mm or I lose the call. To put it mildly, it's frustrating. And yes, I have put it rather less than mildly on a number of occasions too! A friend wot reckons he noze fings says a Mesh Wifi would be the dog's danglies here, but whilst I've played with wifi repeaters in the past they didn't give me a uniform signal zone as the phone has to swap wifi signals as you move about the house. Any suggestions of what to do (and not to do) out there, please? I'm on a pension so I'm not looking at the gold-plated end of solutions

I tried to see the wheel size but couldn't work it out from your photo. It looks like a 15 or 16" ...

VW Touran I believe.

May be useful to know that the part numbers for an '07 preFL door (diagram HERE) is the same as that for a FL '08 door (HERE), and I suspect the part numbers are consistent for all the mk2 Octys.

From your description it sounds as though your car is a petrol model. What model and what engine?

May I suggest you treat it as you would treat wheel studs/nuts after refitting; check them after a couple of hundred miles for tightness and - especially in this case where there is only one fastener holding things together, and not four or five - continue to check at appropriate intervals. Regardless of your success in managing to overcome the cross thread do keep in mind that the strength of the connection is now and never can be up to the level of the original undamaged part.

Take a look at this LINK for skoda-parts.com which shows the bolt in question plus a list of all Octavias it fits (and it looks like all mk2s).

According to the parts catalogue for an '07 combi/estate HERE it's M14 x 1.5 x 70, although it doesn't say if the bolt is high tensile or not.

I think you might be looking for a "spoiler, wheel housing liner in plastic", parts diagram HERE.

Are there any other differences in such extended wheel bolts (other than the length, of course)?

This would suggest the cooling system has air in it. The cure for such used to be to bleed the top hose or thermostat whilst ensuring the coolant header bottle is kept topped up, but I've never done such for an Octy. If I get a chance later I'll take a look see at Mr Haynes' bible and update you.

It could be just an airlock. Try feeling the radiator top hose to see if it gets hot and feels like it has water in it. Watch your fingers!

Vevor is based in Shanghai and operates worldwide so you may be able to get a better shipping deal from somewhere other than the UK.

My guess would be for sound damping as the complex fibre surface will dissapate sound better than a hard plastic surface.

Same part number; see parts catalogue pages: 2011 Octy estate, 2013 Octy estate. That said, it's a know weak point on Octy estates so maybe stripping off the internal plastics and tackling the corrosion from both sides? Use plenty of rust killer after you've cleaned down the area, rustproof prime and then fill/paint as @MicMacsuggests. Take extra care around the number plate lights as there are a number of fiddly nooks and crannies.

UK insurers work to about 60% of the value of the vehicle to write it off. I don't know about repair costs where you are but a working estimate where I am (north west England) is around 3-400 per panel to straighten and respray. The insurers will be uncomfortable about repairs to the rear quarter as it's part of the main body shell. I would look closely at the damage to the rear wheel/suspension setup as that affects your safety and not just how the car looks. I don't know about shipping costs (but I can find out of you wish) but I have a rear bumper bar you can have if that's any use. I took it off when I fitted a towbar so it's in good nick - although probably needs a wash by now Alternatively you could take a look around locally for someone who has fitted a towbar as they'll have the same part surplus.

I assume this means you don't have the factory fit roof rails fitted? One option would be to source a pair of roof rails (plenty available from breakers) as the mounting holes should already be there in the roof under the protective rubber strips. Alternatively, how about a temporary roof rack/bars? Search for soft roof rack or roof bag, Here are some on Amazon for example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roof-Bag/s?k=Roof+Bag

So that puts my qualitative reports in their place!

I've checked a number of my cars (3x Octy mk2, 1x Octy mk1, 2x Citroen Xantia) against Google[tm] maps (including the speed display before it was provided by maps) and have found around 10% over-read on the car speedos. I did have plans to set up a dash cam inside the car to record both speedo and satnav but the project died as I couldn't find anywhere non-destructive to mount the camera to see both displays. I'm sure there's an app out there somewhere that will do the magic on a smartphone ... BTW I did also carry out speedo checks pre-Google by holding a steady indicated speed on the motorway whilst my passenger used a stopwatch to time the mile marker posts. I can't find my notes from those experiments (some on two wheels) but IIRC the 10% figure was still about right.

If you take a look at the Scout extra plastic trims HERE you can see what is included. They do provide some extra protection - especially to the sills - but I'm not sure about the wheel arch benefits. The wheel arch trims on my Scout are great at collecting mud and will sprout moss if not thoroughly cleaned out regularly!

If you take a look at the parts catalogue entry HERE for a 2007 1Z Octy you can see that the wing (what you called the fender) is the same for all Octy models of that year (and, as far as I know, for all mk2 Octys). The model differentiations are almost entirely in the plastics - for example there are three front bumper types. Note that you will need to use a hot air gun to soften the polyurethane adhesive inside the top of the wing, and I'd recommend replacing the two foam rubber supports/dampers under the wing.

Which panel specifically are you looking at? AFAIK all the Scout body mods are in the plastics.

Have a quick search on fleabay; there's plenty of mk2 Octys being broken. I suspect you'll struggle to find a brown one, though 😞

I used to have the privelege of riding socially with some Police motorcyclists. Their sense of humour definitely rubbed off on me and they taught me the meaning of the GLF sign