seaweasel

Bought our Octavia nearly new from Howard Abraham about 2 years ago from a chap called Wilson. Was very helpful, no pressure, and everything went smoothly. Have been pleased with after service too - clutch unexpectedly went a few weeks later, I had Skoda Assistance/RAC out and we dumped it on the forecourt that night. Had a call from them the next morning saying that it was covered under warranty, parts were ordered and courtesy car would be ready to pick up at lunchtime. Guy who seems to run service desk is friendly enough. First service also included a warranty suspension fix when I asked them to check a noise. Can't say regarding the other sales guys, but everyone I've dealt with has been good so far.

OK, false alarm maybe as I've just found a couple of Fabias closer by and hopefully with working locks! Sorry if this is getting into new thread territory, but any recommendations between the 1.2 HTP 64 Blueline and the 2.0 MPI? Both 2003, assuming the MPI has the better spec (foglights, so Elegance? - 1.2 doesn't mention aircon but both have alloys). MPI about 83k, HTP about 91k, £100 between them. I know there's also £100 quid between the road tax - to be honest the priority is getting a cheap reliable commuter (both have a year MOT, one's a small dealer), but I've wanted a VRS since they came out and the MPI sounds more fun! I take it the 1.2's probably more solid? Will see if they're still about tomorrow and try and have a look.

Thanks Phil. I do have a OBD cable (though never got VAG-COM working!) and occasionally can get a loan of a dedicated diag unit so if I go see this one will check those if I can. Cheers.

So I gave up on my old Passat and just sold it, one of the main problems was central locking which I tried to fix (unsuccessfully!). I don't need another large car and would like to be an all-Skoda household so I'm looking to get a cheap (sub £1000) Fabia as a second runabout for me. Have found a couple that look promising, and one seems great (haven't seen yet) with the exception of central locking! The seller helpfully told me on the phone that it's not working for any doors and car can only be locked from inside. What I wanted to check was whether it's the same root cause as my Passat, I know that a lot of VAG vehicles of about 10-15 years old have bother with microswitches failing in the lock assembly, thereby confusing the CL system. I don't expect a forum diagnosis on a car I haven't seen yet let alone driven, but wanted to know if it's if it's common on the older Fabias, and if so, what it's like to fix (was a swine on the B5). Thanks.

Ah right. Thanks for the quick reply.

Quick, hopefully easy question - are the tail lights (lens) on the Facelift MKII estate the same as the 2004-09 model? Have a 2011 and need to replace the left one, wanted to check. Cheers.

Saw a Felicia pickup on the way back from buying poultry feed this morning, think there's probably even less chance of a Fabia pickup than a convertible! Makes such a difference having the Octavia Estate for the monthly feed run by the way, quarter of a ton in the back no problem!

Yup, any iPod or iPhone will output the audio through the dock connector, I thought the HU could read AAC, OGG etc over MDI from flash storage or a HDD though? Don't have any plans to get the upgrade however, the SD card is working fine with MP3s so will just have to do the odd bit of transcoding!

Ah well, mustn't have read that page in the manual properly! It's odd that it will read more formats over MDI than from the SD card. Thanks Chris.

My nice big SD card arrived today and I've been trying it out with the Amundsen in my Octavia. I was under the impression that it will read AAC files but it only seems to find the MP3s. I could be wrong but from digging on Google I found some references to other VAG units playing AAC but I wasn't sure if this was with a newer firmware version or over MDI. So my questions are, will the Amundsend see AAC files with the right firmware, and how do I find my FW version? Also, if this is the case, will it work with SD cards or only over MDI (which I don't have unfortunately). Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks AMI-Burnside, will look into that.

This will work with any iOS device (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad) but it will erase all data. Also useful if an update to your device fails or it won't start up past the Apple logo (you can always sync again or restore from backup). Connect your device to your computer with iTunes open Hold down the sleep/wake and home buttons for eight seconds then release the sleep/wake button (continue holding down the home button) The screen should normally remain black and after a few seconds iTunes will tell you that your device is in recovery mode and has to be restored Click OK and then Restore This should restore it as a new device.

Ah that sucks. Quick question for you all. Do the Skoda systems use filenames or ID3 tags for music read from the SD slot?

Storage is crazy these days, my first Mac must have been around the same time as your PC - 16MHz, 8MB RAM and an 80MB hard drive! Even flash storage in the last few years, I think I have an old 512MB SD card kicking about from a Windows Mobile smartphone (if you could call it that!), it can't be any more than 5 years old. Shall order a nice cheap 32GB card next week I think. samuir1974, did you ever get your car back?

I notice 7dayahop are down to £17.99 for these. Also found a guy in eBay doing them for about £15: http://bit.ly/xR6bgY I'm trying not to cheap out on stuff for my new Octavia but how have people been getting on with these bargain cards, any more issues or working well enough?

Thanks alkip.

Hi guys Just got a nearly new Octavia estate, my first Skoda. Previous car was an old Vauxhall that had trouble starting, stopping or changing gear so I'm quite excited to have a nice new car that works! Have been after a Skoda for quite a while, and although it's not a VRS, it's quick enough for my purposes and I'm a rather happy. Have a quick question while I'm here. Can anyone recommend somewhere to get a decent heavy duty but not outrageously expensive car cover (it needs protection from cats and turkeys). Have ordered a cheap one off eBay but not sure it will be claw proof! Cheers.