j0hn

In today’s post… Not had a chance to see if it does the job yet, as Mrs j0hn has had the car all day, so will probably be a weekend job. Also not including the costs here as it will be used for several vehicles and not just to Octavia. But every successful bit of coding and fault finding is money saved, right? Also in today’s post… I’ve seen these shiny key tops/caps floating about but they seem to be harder to track down now, even with the part number, if you don’t want an R/GTI/GTD version. I found this on Vinted of all places and had £30 in my balance - this cost £12.44 (but it wasn’t real money!) Arrived packaged and with a Hella branded label and VW part code. With the new keypad buttons and the shiny cap, it feels like a new key - it always seems to make a difference on a new-to-you car and must add 5 bhp. Nice to be able to make some changes without having to strip the key to pieces. I went looking on eBay and there are lots of knackered looking keys with scratched caps, but I found one from a Tiguan with a pretty new looking cap and got that for a tenner, so will do that job once it arrives. Costs this time Key cap - £12.44 Total costs so far: £365.74

Fitted the Gucci valve caps at the weekend and replaced the parcel shelf string holder. Never before, or since, have I been excited about having a small plastic peg to hang something off. The other thing I’d like to do is tidy up this bit of cable. I don’t think it’ll hide behind a bit of trim, so might have to be some transparent cable clips put to use. I got a decent price for my HEX+CAN lead and spent the money on a HEX V2. I bought the 10-VIN version as I’ll be expected to use it across our three VW AG cars, plus the other two or three in the family. Handy tip - the unlimited VIN version is £500, but the 10-VIN version is £300 and the upgrade to unlimited VINs is £170. The savings alone could be enough to buy a pint of lager in any number of London pubs or airport bars. Costs this post String hook - £0.85 Total cost so far: £353.30

It turns out, I can’t do any coding at the moment. My HEX+CAN lead is too old for the HEX+CAN architecture, so it’s time to move on old faithful and replace it with a HEX V2. In the meantime I bought some new keypads to freshen up the keys. The old keypad was looking a bit tired… I was expecting to have to take the key to bits, but the pad can be replaced by unscrewing and removing the key cap once the battery cover is off. Not bad for £5.99 for two from Amazon I also had a….well, let’s say ‘aftermarket part’ lying around that I decided to put to use. I originally intended to put it on my T6, but then I did something even more daft, and fitted a Bentley fuel cap. So the Aliexpress special went onto the Octavia. I think this was about £35…. Lots of nooks and crannies on the car have never had a good scrub, so that will go on the list. Costs this post: Keypads - £5.99 Fuel cap - £39.58 £45.57 Costs to date: £352.45

I've compiled my list of jobs in order of what I've remembered... Coding: Intelligent light assistant (already have Lane Assist, so should be easy enough) Traffic sign recognition Cornering fogs if this is not already on Check door modules (for whether they will support folding mirrors or need replacing - probably the latter on account of the car not having folding mirrors....) Servicing (ASAP): DSG - quoted £400 odd from VRS in Northampton and £225 at Unit 18 in Milton Keynes Parts/retrofits: She-wee screen wash wossname Replace the buttons on all three keys as these are well worn Replace the master window switch as one of the switches is knackered Replace the missing parcel shelf string hook Retrofit power fold mirrors Boot mat and boot netting Front OPS (park sensors) Coilovers or springs I'd like a big screen Columbus MIB 3 or 4 or whatever, but it's not essential And I think that's it. I've got DB9 four pots on the van and I might consider a set in the future (or the Macan/Q5 brakes go straight on don't they). I know a bloke at Aston Martin and they come in at a reasonable cost for a brand new set, but it's another nearly £400 for the hardware to fit them.

Strictly I don't think there's a lot of need for this, as I am not sure the new car will be a 'project' car, but anyway. Are you sitting comfortably.....? Once upon a time, a long long time ago, I had a pre facelift Mk II Octavia RS. You can read all about it here. It was an '07 car that I bought in 2011 with fewer than 60k miles on it and owned it for the next 6 years. By the time I'd had my fun with it, it was a R-Tech hybrid K03 with 330 bhp and 400 lbs ft. All the routine maintenance came at once, it was keyed down one side, the door bottom had started going rusty and it was only worth anything if I broke it. So I did and RIP TF51 VRS/KU07 EFY. I think the NQSBBK lived on in India, the engine found its way across to the Netherlands, the interior into Mk II Scirocco and the plate popped up on another silver vRS, and so on and so forth. When I broke the vRS I bought a dreadful 2001 E46 320d for 300 quid to run, while I decided what to do. The answer was to get rid of it as quickly as possible, and I ended up with a 2007 Altea FR PD170. When something electrical went wrong with it 60k miles later, I got a 2013 Audi A4 Avant SE Technik, which was very nice and after 5 years replaced it with a 2017 Audi A6 S-Line Black Edition TDI Ultra. Aside from the overly long title, the A6 was a really nice car, but there were a few things that always nagged me about it including the driving position and that we didn't really have a justification for two diesel vehicles. I wanted a 7.5 Golf GTI PP, but with an age and mileage stipulation, I couldn't find one in budget. I also, before I bought the A6, couldn't find an Octavia vRS in budget either and since when could you get a lightly used £49k Audi (mine had MMI Touch, Pano roof, ambient lighting, etc.) for less than the price of a used, same-age Octavia or Golf? I made a snap, slightly over-reactive decision about cars on Friday afternoon after seeing the freshly refurbished wheels on the T6 we've got get kerbed inside 36 hours of them being done and advertised the Audi for sale. By half ten on the following Monday, it was gone and by lunchtime I was driving the replacement - a 2019 Octavia III vRS in Rallye Green. Being 2019, it's a 245 model (rather than a '245' edition) and, as you can see, has the 19" Extreme wheels, which I believe were a £665 cost option in 2019 and that's it. I still have my HEX+CAN lead I bought in 2011 when I bought the silver vRS. It must have saved me a fortune over the last 14 years (and probably remains the principal reason I've stuck with cars in the VW-AG group), so the first order is to code in ILA and traffic sign recognition, as I believe it can be done if the car is fitted with a Lane Assist camera. First impressions are that it's very competent. There's a noticeable difference in the materials used in the Skoda and my previous A6. It's definitely quite fast and the clever electronic diff gives plenty of grip (my main reason for wanting the GTI PP). It needed a pair of front tyres, so I have had a pair of Pilot Sport 5 fitted. I also treated myself to a new keyring and some fancy valve caps... Costs this post: Tyres £271.98 Keyring £5.90 Valve caps £14.50 x2 (bought a spare set) Total £306.88 Costs to date £306.88

OPS - Optical Parking System (i.e., front parking sensors)

Hello everybody. Having parted ways with my ‘07 Octavia in 2017, I didn’t think I’d be back with another one as I actually didn’t think I’d have the budget for one. I last used the forum when I ran my 2007 hybrid turbo 350 bhp/400 lbs ft TFSI vRS as a daily and then broke it as nobody was interested in buying it outright (and only wanted £4K) How it started: And how it’s going…. After the silver one there was 2001 BMW 320d 270k stop fal 2007 Seat Altea PD170 2013 Audi A4 Avant TDIe (actually rather lovely) 2017 Audi A6 Avant Ultra S-Line Black Ed (even lovelier) But we also have an Abt kitted T6 Kombi and a petrol car is the order of the day with the commutes getting shorter and shorter. So now we have this rather mint Rallye Green with black pack vRS 245. I assume the 19s are options. Retrofits needed - folding mirrors and front OPS. And that’ll do pig. Cheers

That's better! You can add me to this list @Gizmo. NN8 Wellingborough, Northants. Hex + CAN