keith3289

An argument with a pothole last night meant a new tyre today - but fortunately it seems nothing more. A new tyre also means the almost obligatory free tracking check... The results were 8 on both sides on the gauges at the back, and -1 and +2 at the front. Unclear what the units of measurement were, but "degrees" were mentioned in relation to the front figures. I was told that my car's wheels were supposed to be "parallel" and so apparently the numbers didn't matter as long as the backs were the same as each other, and the fronts were the negative of each other. I didn't end up get the tracking adjusted, and one of the staff even told me afterwards that he wouldn't have got it done either. However, is any of the above correct? OK, it was 8 on both sides at the back, but surely if it had come out as 5 on both sides that would be due to the wheels being different to how they are, although it would still (by the above logic) be OK? And at the front, couldn't they have either adjusted it so the readings were -1 and +1, or -2 and +2 to satisfy the above criteria - but surely that again would be two different alignments, and only one of these (or even some other amount) is correct?

In that case, any tips for cold days on preventing the screen misting over on the inside (or re-freezing on the outside) before the glass has a chance to warm up? Parking in a garage is not an option!

The fact you are restricting your search to diesels is why there is so little choice for this price. Given that diesels are only cost-effective if you do lots of miles, you should not be surprised that they are all high-milers.

Judge for yourselves what "approved" means: http://www.skoda.co.uk/used-cars/advantages-of-skoda-used-cars

Unless the cambelt has actually snapped, I don't see that this is the case. I don't see that being "approved" means you don't need to inspect the service history at the time of buying - at which point the fact it had not had its cambelt changed could have been spotted and surely negotiated on. Skoda's list of what "approved" means does not include up to date service history.

Just been to Halfords - £10 "weekly" offer on 4L of 5W40 VW 502/505 spec oil.

I don't suppose you will have to take these as part of the sale...

Agreed, what's the point of long-life oil if the car drinks it all in a few thousand miles. Mine has needed an extra 3 litres in the last 10,000 miles.

This happened to me about a year ago - very similar problem and solution to 07 vRS Taxi.

Poor idea IMO... if you can't see the speedometer it means light is poor and you should have your lights on.

It only costs less above around 40mph... But I would agree that aircon is the only way to genuinely stay cooler in a car if the temperature's high enough.

I find that too, although it is unusual for mine to read more than 2 or 3 after about 15 minutes. Quite often I put it on auto and then turn it down by one click. It still increases and decreases speed automatically to adjust the temperature, but at least it is always one click quieter than it would have been.

In my previous car (a Hyundai Coupe) the only way I could prevent it from misting up in the rain was to switch the aircon on, which would demist it almost instantly. Not noticed it to be such an issue with the Octavia.

Given how quickly the car seems to get through oil, the idea of using "long life" oil seems a total misnomer. Halfords brand, and whatever quotes the VW numbers is what goes in.

Cold temperatures *don't* kill bacteria, otherwise re-freezing ice cream would be OK... The purpose of running it regularly is to help maintain the system.

I certainly prefer this description of silver to some of the others...

I have the exact same tyres with the exact same problem! The cracking appears to be related to the wavy square pattern on the edge of the sidewall, as it runs above and below these squares (just visible below the cracking the photo). The car came with them 15 months ago, so I don't know how old they are, only that they looked very good at the time! Can anyone with these please advise which number is the date code? I can't see anything particularly obvious, apart from a biggish four digit number in an oval, "0610". I assume from "21/11" I'm only going to be able to tell the year and even if I've found the right number it doesn't mean it's June! Given that I've got a 1000+ mile in a week drive coming up, including two 300-mile runs, I'm planning to play it safe and get them changed.

Neither, I completely dispute your interpretation of "rare" for the reasons I've given. By your interpretation that 2.6% is "rare", virtually every different model of car on the road is "rare". If there were 100 different models of car you can buy (which is an underestimate), and one counted for 1% (a sensible estimate for the Skoda Octavia, all trim levels, based on 2.6% being all Skodas), it would be averagely common, it simply would not be "rare" by any reasonable interpretation or definition. Similarly, a car you will statistically see every few minutes at any location on any motorway, is not "rare" - and that would be based on 0.1% of cars (eg 10% of Octavias), not 2.6% of all cars, and you claimed even that could be considered rare.

Clearly a joker... 2.6% is 1 in 40 cars - you would see one every 2 minutes on virtually every slightly trafficked road. Even 1 in 1000 cars and you would see one every 3 minutes on a major motorway. Given the number of different cars on sale (even down to the make and model, "Skoda Octavia" level), any car accounting for even 1% is clearly going to be common. A "rare" car is one you are unlikely to see, not one you are statistically bound to see at least once every journey.

Very understated - which I think is the point. But then I bought a silver one, which is a colour notable by its absence from this thread so far...

No, this is not correct. Your no claims discount is not affected, but your insurer can change your underlying premium however they decide - you'll just get the same % discount off that premium. Bear in mind some insurers increase your premium on renewal simply because you're not a new customer. Shopping around at renewal time is the best bet.

Not on mine!

I use Shell every time or in an emergency Tesco's premium fuel. Partly because it does seem to go better than with BP, partly because I have a Shell loyalty card, and probably mainly that they're the only branded station to match the lowest local price. I can't remember the last time I saw a BP garage that wasn't more expensive than most others locally, even ones on the same street - I really get the impression some people only use BP because it has "British" in its name (probably the same people who used to buy Rovers). Perceived variance aside, day to day differences can be down to the weather conditions (humidity and temperature especially) if nothing else.

I've only had my VRS a year, and I must admit I'm beginning to wonder what the point is. 80-90% of the time I'm in traffic or stuck behind "40mph-everywhere" (including through 30s) people. Most of the rest of the time it's unsafe to exploit the VRS any more than a more modest car. *ALL* of the time, the performance I cannot use kills the MPG and costs me extra in insurance and tax. Is there much point in having a car with more than about 150bhp in south east England? Planning a road-trip to the Scottish Highlands later this year, so perhaps I'll see the point then!