noodles

I just would have thought (or at least hoped!) that a new motor would have not started doing this within 6 months though... sigh.... when will my car ever give me the confidence that it will be reliable???

About 6 months ago my starter motor was hanging on so I got it changed by skoda. Now in the last couple of days on cold starts the new one seems to be doing the same. Could it be the bad rain we are having that has got into the starter or is it just likely to be a duff motor that hasnt lasted very well? whats your thoughts? should I just go straight back to the garage and complain without a second thought? Anyone else had problems with starter motors dying so quickly? :confused: Is it just a regular 'thing' with octy's that the starter motors always stick?

rubbish, I used to brag to my mates when I had my metro city X that I often beat big powerful motors* easily. And that car sometimes only ran on 3 cylinders! It was a beast. defn: 'Big powerful motors' = lorrys

as a newbie at the last meet, I can say that they are a friendly bunch, although quite what was going on between a couple of them outside in the carpark for well over an hour, I dont know, but luckily it wasn't part of the 'initiation' ceremony.

ok, soooo the big question, do I wait until the light comes on to change pads? and is the only way to check disc wear by feeling for the size of the lips... (erm... you know what I mean)

which do what? (sorry for being dumb!)

the questions in the title, well do they? if not whats the best way of telling (for an idiot like me) that brake discs and or pads need changing. Its not that I dont believe the garages.... but!!!

do the 312mm setups fit straight on?

Seem a good bunch of people, very open and honest, and even offered me a warranty when they already knew work was needed! However now it seems they are very very expensive, in comparison to other local dealers. They missed the fact that my 4x4 needed haldex service at my 60k miles, and then wanted to charge extra for it outside of the regular service.

well I have just been stung by some rather expensive skoda servicing (IMHO) Must be how they make their money, sell the cars cheaper than others in the VAG group, and then bump up the service prices! I had assumed that due to the great ratings on the customer satisfaction surveys that servicing was ok. Ah well, you live and learn!

ok I need new discs and pads for my car in a few thousand miles. what options do I have away from the standard ones? Bearing in mind I would prefer them to be of 'reasonable' cost and last a long time. the rest of the car is currently standard, but I figure that as the brakes need renewing, now is a good time to maybe upgrade! Would be interested to know how lifespan of performance brakes compares to standard ones as well. And any insurance impacts. I have a mate who could help me fit them myself who has done brakes before, but would prefer them to be fairly simple! cheers!

I had the same, it was very slight, just had my car serviced, one of the coil packs was not in quite right, once this was pushed back home properly, my idle is not completely still.

thanks guys, probably a little bit too far out to warrant the travel for any savings and better service especially as I am pretty happy with the local camberley skoda/seat service centre at the moment, its just the cost!

Anyone got any independant garages that they recommend for servicing in the M3/M4/Newbury/Reading/Bracknell area? Looking to maybe save some money on the skoda service prices. Cheers!

1. Makefish 2. Roo 3. Q 4. seandolan 5. Chris 6. Chorsley 7. Si 8. Stuart ?? 9. Lee 10. Noodles?? But it all depends on if the missus drops the sprog on that day though! Due later on in june, but you never know!

are the 4x4 standard springs more heavy weight? and so less likely to break?

got my 4x4 booked in for 60k longlife service. 300 quid. and I feel hard done by!

In general I find quality varies so much between petrol stations and even days of the week from the same petrol station, now I just usually get whatever from wherever when I need it! although I did buy some optimax a few weeks back, and since then my fuel economy seems to have gone up, even though I only used one tank of it. Maybe it does actually work to clean the engine afterall.

when the cambelt is changed? or should I ask the garage specifically to change it at the same time? What else can be done/should be done at the same time as this and my 60k service to save potential pain later?

Its just over the last couple of days, I am sure I have noticed a little bit of wheelspin from the front wheels on occaisions, which I shouldnt be getting. But as its in for a service soon, will get it checked and as you say any faults should be found via diagnostics.

Mine is at 56k, I guess with wear and tear, and degradation of the sensors etc, plus the air route to the engine is not exactly the most simple of things in the 1.8T when compared to simple na basic engines, so like hodgyvrs, think I am just going to live with it!

so what are the symptoms that alerted you to this fault?

mine had the leaky intercooler pipe fault a while back, but this was replaced... ah well service is up soon and its under warranty, we will see. but interesting to know that other people do have a completely stable idle speed with no variations. I didnt want to make a fuss about a minor problem when ever octavia is the same! Will see what they say and what free parts I can get while I am at it!

when warm, although when cold, it still feels a bit 'lumpy' at the higher idle speed until it warms up. It slows down for a fraction of a second, to only a small degree and then bounces straight back up again. Its more of the classic 'hunting' type behaviour than a definite slow down, but I just think that newer engines should probably not do this, maybe I should try posting a video?