petrolbloke

Did you replace the seals in the calipers or just the pistons? Have you checked for fluid leaks from the calipers, bleed screws and connections? Please don't keep driving it - it sounds quite dangerous at the moment!

What's wrong with it and where did you advertise it? Be interested to hear more about the comparison with the 230. I have been thinking about replacing mine with something newer (late mk2/early mk3 Octavia) or something non-Skoda.

Ouch! Do you know what caused it? What's the plan for the car? Hopefully worth repairing!

A decent compromise might be fitting the TT bushes in the front wishbones. Mine also has a polybush in the dogbone - I went for the Powerflex diesel one (a bit softer than the petrol one, but stiffer than the standard one).

You could just remove it. Mine was removed years ago and is still on the original exhaust now.

Doesn't look good! Any more photos? Private sales are "sold as seen", consumer rights laws apply to sales by dealers. IIRC cars sold dealers should generally be roadworthy unless sold as spares/repairs with disclosed fault(s). Whether or not it's worth pursuing the dealer depends on a number of things: Likelihood of ever getting ££ back from them if it went to small claims and it turned out in your favour. Age & mileage of the car and how much you paid for it compared to the market rate The description of the car Whether you asked about corrosion and the dealer's answer(s) Whether or not the dealer knew about the fault & potential severity of it before selling it to you. How much you value your time and the potential stress of taking it further A couple of other options: Contact your bank and request a chargeback. Leave the dealer some online reviews Contact citizens advice and any trade bodies the dealer is a member of I think what I would do is source a clean second hand subframe and get it fitted to the 130. While you're there it might be worth doing ARB bushes and wishbone bushes as well.

Hmm I don't think that oil used to be to spec, maybe it's changed in the last few years. It'll probably be fine but when there are better oils available for £20 (or less if you're lucky to be able to buy from TPS) then I'd use one of those.

Slightly off topic but unless you've parked it in the sea then you should have some comeback against the dealer. How did you pay for it? Who informed you the subframe is rotten?

Aux belt will need to come off to do the cambelt and costs £10-20 extra to replace. While you're in there I would also check the following: Breather hoses (prone to disintegrating) - lots of people replace them with silicone ones. Dipstick (also prone to disintegrating) Ignition coils - part numbers will give you a clue if they've ever been replaced or if the free upgrade has been carried out When the ignition coils are out, check for oil down the spark plug holes (leaking rocker cover gasket) Spark plugs are NGK PFR6Q IIRC, they do last quite a while.

I believe racks from cars on the same platform will fit. If your car has ESP then fitting a TT rack will upset it (because of the steering angle sensor). I fitted a refurbed rack from Western Power Steering towards the end of last year - car hasn't done many miles since but all is fine so far.

RE the front placement - make sure the jack is towards the front of those rails - they are not sufficiently strong further back. I sometimes put the jack on the subframe bolt (with a rubber hockey puck).

Wow, some top bodging there! I'd recommend replacing the sump.

Heater matrix? Housing for the thermostat or CTS? Mine had a small leak from the coolant temperature sensor (CTS) housing, new housing fixed it. It wasn't obvious that was where it was from initially.

Out of interest do you know what the settings difference is? You can't adjust camber on the VRS, but I think the Cupra R wishbones are slotted to allow some adjustment of the ball joint. I think a bit of toe out on a FWD car can help but might wear the tyres more on the inside edge. If you are using it on track you will probably want more camber on the front in order to keep the tyre flatter to the road through corners. On my old Clio I had about 2-2.5 degrees I think.

I believe they are the same. Beware buying cheap parts though - there is a good chance they'll wear out much quicker than decent ones. (I'm talking about the bushes in the wishbone here)

Don't think I've seen them in DIY type places. You could replace it with a jubilee clip (careful not to over-tighten!). If you want to replace it with one of the same type then you could try looking for similar cars being broken for spares on eBay/Facebook etc or the wanted section. Failing that I expect dealers will still be able to get them.

I think I remember seeing that one! Have you got the contact details of the person who bought yours, could you enquire about buying it back? Apart from the one posted in the classifieds here last week I haven't seen any others that sounded good recently.

It's good stuff and has no doubt helped me a number of times but it has its limits!

84k, barely run in! As above there's nothing major there. The things in the minor defects section are easily DIYable - there are threads on here about replacing rear numberplate lights and YouTube videos about replacing track rod ends. The rod ends themselves are cheap (I just bought a pair from GSF for ~£24) but the tracking should be checked & adjusted after. If the track rod ends have never been changed or your tracking hasn't been adjusted in the last few years they could be a bit seized on though. The top mount ("Front Upper Macpherson strut pin or bush") is cheap parts-wise but a bit more labour intensive than the track rod ends and the tracking should also be checked/adjusted after doing that.

What's the mileage and what's the list of issues from the MOT? Did it fail or is it just advisories? It looks tidy enough to be worth saving from that photo. I've been close to replacing mine a few times (including very recently) but I just can't seem to do it! It's difficult to replace it with something as practical, quick and cheap to run.

Well I don't think you'll lose any money on it. Some other cars like Clio 172/182s and Civic Type Rs have been going up in value the last couple of years. I don't think the market for the mk1 VRS is a strong as it is for those, but I wouldn't bet against good ones going up in value a bit. Edit: Let me know if you decide to sell it

I'm not sure your shock/spring choice will be stiff enough for the R888r tyres. May be better than cheap/old/crap coilovers but they'll still be too soft on track I think. Never heard of the shock puncturing the CV boot but it sounds like a deathtrap! Maybe if the bolt that goes through the hub was not done up enough, snapped or missing entirely it could happen, not sure.

Wouldn't be my first choice, bit heavy, soft suspension, tendency to understeer. A Clio 172/182, MX-5 or MR2 all make decent budget track cars.

I had the same 'fun' with the driver's side on mine. Eventually managed to do it with a spring compressor or two but it was very awkward.

There are quite a lot of things that can make these run like a bag of rubbish - not heard of the charcoal canister being one of them but I am not an expert either. Can you give some more details?