marge

I've got one, and it's an excellent car. Biggest issue is the DPF. It's not really integrated with the PD engine. The common rail TDI that the facelift cars have is apparently much better in this regard. Chances are with 190bhp the DPF will be history anyway. Mine gave me so much grief I had it deleted and got it remapped to 180bhp. The chassis is generally solid, all the VW group cars based on the mk5 Golf are well engineered and built. I'm a service manager in a family run tyre place, and have done countless wheel alignments on Golfs, Leons, A3s and Octys. Plenty have mega miles, and are still on original running gear. More than can be said for plenty of other makes. The rear eccentric adjusters seize around 80-90k, so they'd need replacing if the back end's out. The only other problem is with the air con. I've had two garages trying to fix my AC, and neither of them could find a leak. If I get it regassed, it's all gone within a week! Common problem apparently. Great car though, really good on our so-called first world roads. Completely unstoppable in all the snow we had last winter too. Regards, Marge

Hi folks. I've had my Scout for getting on for four years, and i think it's time to replace some of its running gear. It's done just over 107k, and is starting to feel a bit baggy. The brakes could do with being replaced too. I'm planning to start with the front end, and have got a quote from my nearest Skoda stealer, which is fairly high. I don't want to skimp and buy pattern parts, cos I'm fairly sure everything ( bar the brakes) is original, and itsThe Scout is definitely a keeper, so it's worth the outlay to replace parts before they wear out. Before I hand over plenty of my hard earned, I'm wondering if there's some decent quality aftermarket shocks, springs, brake pads etc, that might improve the car still further. The jiggly ride on the standard shocks has always been a negative point, so solving this would be brilliant. Any advice? Regards, Marge

Hi. My stepdaughter has a Fabia 1.9SDI, which is a bit of a banger. It was MOTd in late November, but it seems to have some weird brake problem. I haven't actually experienced this when I've driven it, but apparently the brake pedal sometimes sinks to the floor leaving her with next to no brakes for a short distance. I was wondering if this is a common problem with Mk1 Fabias. It's booked in for a cambelt change with a local mechanic this week, but I'd prefer it if he didn't have to charge her for going through the entire brake system. Regards Marge

Hi folks. Think I may have added yet another thing to my Fun to do list. Thought I'd try to remove the rusty bolts in the front of the roof today. I was convinced they'd be seized up, so was pleasantly surprised when they turned quite easily.....and continued to turn. Absolutely no sign of actually undoing. I presume there's some kind of threaded insert in there. Anyone have any idea? Regards Marge

Hi folks. As above really. My stepdaughter has a fairly well neglected Mk1 Fabia 1.9SDI, and is also skint. It has no service history, but I've known the car for around 3 years. It hasn't covered many miles in that time, and obviously if it was my car I'd have changed it by now. I'm wondering how to break it to her that it should be done ASAP, unless the intervals on a 54bhp non-turbo diesel are exceptionally long. Regards, Marge

Quick update: The Fabia definitely doesn't have a manual lock override on the doors. Looking at the Parkers website this morning tells me that the Classic model for that year had central locking as an option only. The absence of the rocker switch suggests this one doesn't have it. We've managed to lock the rear doors by holding the door handle out and pressing the button down. I think the drivers door lock is knackered. The previous owner hardly ever bothered locking it, apparently. Regards, Marge

Brilliant, thanks. I'll give it a go tomorrow. Marge

Hi folks. My stepdaughter bought a Fabia 1.9SDI Classic today. Quick backstory; It's a car that's been known to me for several years. My boss's mate bought it 3-4 years ago, but didn't seem to have any mechanical sympathy. It would periodically spend a week or two at my work, while my boss replaced brakes, exhaust, tyres etc. Two months ago, the owner decided he couldn't be bothered with it anymore and was going to scrap it. My boss stepped in and got it collected. Did a bit more work, put it through an mot and put it up for sale. It was kicking around at work for a while, and my stepdaughter decided she was interested, having recently been rear ended by an uninsured moron in her now-knackered Punto. The issue is this: she can only lock the passenger side front door. I tried locking the drivers door when she picked it up today, but the lock hardly turns. Obviously snapping the one and only key off in the lock trying to force it was a complete no-no. The Fabia being a basic Classic with wind up windows and non tinted windows (!) I'm guessing it wouldn't have had remote central locking. It doesn't have a switch to control the central locking like my old and current Octavia has. Therefore does the drivers door lock control the C/L? There doesnt seem to be any way to manually lock and unlock the doors from the inside. Although it's not the best example of a mk1 Fabia, she has to park on the road and is a bit concerned about it being unlocked overnight. Does anyone know the best way to sort it out? Regards, Marge

Hi all. My Scout has recently developed some mist/fog/moisture in its offside headlight. It's really annoying, since both headlights were replaced by the dealer before I bought the car so it really spoils the look of it. Not to mention not helping being able to see when driving at night. They were replaced because the adjuster motors had given up. Obviously it's difficult to dry something out when it's cold and damp, but is there anything I can do? Regards, Marge

Marge / Storm Blue / 2.0 TDi PD / 2008MY 58 plate

Thanks for all the replies. Am pondering over some steelies, but wonder if it might look rubbish with them. At least I know what to look for now. Regards Marge

Hi folks. I currently have an '08 plate Octavia Scout which has the standard 17" alloys. In my shed I have a full set of Goodyear winter tyres, which are 205/55/16. Can anyone tell me what VW group 16" wheels(other than those from other Octavia IIs) I would need to buy to fit the winter tyres to? Regards Marge

Ah. Patience it is then. Off on holiday next week, but itching to get it started. Hopefully the weather won't be too bad during October and November. Regards Marge

Good point Ricardo. Guess I'll see how the sills look when I remove the covers. I've read on here that sills are not available for the pickup, so I'll have to see. On the subject of, does anyone know how the sill covers are attached? And how to get them off? Regards Marge

First thing to do is sort the rust out. Cut out the rotten areas, and fabricate and weld in new sections. I basically plan to restore it, but probably (hopefully) not a bare shell job. It's actually in relatively good nick, the interior is pretty good, no splits or tears in the seats or carpets. I might modify it slightly, better stereo, bigger wheels, maybe lower it. Would need a respray to look really good I think. Just gonna see how it goes really, I'll make it solid first, then go from there. Regards Marge