Liger1956

You are best Googling for pressure gauge adjustment and calibration as there is more than one way to do it.

The correct way to do it would be to take the needle off the shaft with a special tool or 2 flat bladed screwdrivers and then re install it in the correct position. By bending the bourdon tube you may have altered the calibration. However as it is a cheap Chinese gauge I doubt that it would read accurately anyway. What are you using it for that needs an accurate vacuum reading?

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/guidelines/ See section 8

How confident are you in doing some of the repairs yoursef or do you have a competent friend who could help? Front Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases (6.1.2 (a)) - Does not say where the leak is but probably needs at least a new section. Better left to an exhaust place. Nearside Power steering pipe/hose excessively damaged leaking (2.1.5 (g) (i)) - Only appears to need a new piece of pipe that should be available as a pattern part, in my opinion, and not a new rack. Nearside Rear Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii)) - Could be just a new bulb needed that you could replace Windscreen washer not working (3.5 (a)) - Needs investigation. Is the washer reservoir empty, blown fuse (does the back washer work?), a pipe come off or the nozzles blocked? Nearside Headlamp lens seriously defective (4.1.1 (b) (ii)) - If the lenses are cloudy, it does not say what is wrong with them, then polishing them externally with a mild abrasive (DIY kits are available) may be sufficient for it to pass the MOT Offside Headlamp lens seriously defective (4.1.1 (b) (ii)) - See above Nearside Rear Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (5.3.2 (b)) - Unless you are competent this is best left to the garage to replace. Offside Front Inner Suspension arm pin or bush excessively worn Front (5.3.4 (a) (i)) - As above Parking brake lever has excessive movement indicating incorrect adjustment (1.1.6 (c)) - Could just need the cable adjusting which is a DIY fix if you are competent. Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i)) - Should be fixed by adjusting the cable. Emissions unable to be completed exhaust leak (8.2.1.2 (d)) - Hopefully it will pass the emmisions check when the exhaust leak is fixed. If you can do the "easy" fixes then I would ask the garage to itemise the costs of the other ones and then shop around. As regards whether you should save or scrap the car it is your decision. You would need to do some research as to what you can get for your money and the size/type of car that you need. Buying a second hand car, especially within your budget, has some risks and it is always better to take someone else with you when buying a car if only to distract the salesperson whilst you inspect it properly.

What did it fail the MOT on?

How do you check whether the software is up to date and what is the latest version? As the car is a 2021 model sold by a non franchised dealer so there will only be a limited warranty.

@Evolution13 Thanks for the good advice. There were extra items such as pollen filter changes on the sparse service record printout but I will check better on Saturday when I go and see the car with my son as it is currently at a storage site and not at the one it is advertised as being sold from. It has had 5 "services" in it's lifetime so about 1 per year. We will definitely do a representative road test of both urban and motorway roads. The salesman did say that it had been a company car and I know that there are some company car drivers who look after their cars as if it were their own but there are others who abuse them.

Thanks for that. The gearbox oil was changed at 41,000 miles but the sparse printed service record does not say whether the gearbox filter was changed at the same time.

My son's 2008 Honda Civic has failed it's MOT dramatically on chassis corrosion and he needs a new car. He has found this https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510227347540 Does anyone have any pointers as to what to look for when viewing it? Does the 1.4 TSi have any problems such as drinking oil? Also will the DSG be a 6 or 7 speed and is it wet or dry clutch? It has a full dealer service history but that may not include things like DSG oil change and brake fluid change. I have had my 2012 Diesel MK2 Octavia all of it's life so I am a bit out of the loop on modern petrol Octavia's. Any advice will be gratefully received.

Congratulations on your new, to you, car. I would suggest that you do not modify anything on it for the first few weeks. Drive it, make sure EVERYTHING works as it should and enjoy it. If you do find any problems then the seller cannot blame them on anything that you have done.

Does this video help?

Welcome to the forum. Lincoln was my old stomping ground.

Ask them what version of VCDS they are using and which cable as the older cables will not work fully with newer cars.

When I changed mine earlier this year I found that they were much easier to remove with the engine hot.

That should be a standard function of the 13 pin (or 12s) socket fitted with the towbar.

Is this the first time that you have tried to get the drain plug out? Can you get a thin piece of metal (small screwdriver) under the collar of the drain plug and try to put some pressure on it (lever it outwards) as you unscrew it? Unfortunately if it it as bad as you say your may need the sump helicoiling or replacing.

If you only have the standard bulbs you will not have any ballasts which, I understand, are used to make the HID bulbs light. Have you changed anything prior to the problems occurring?

Have you chaged te headlight bulbs to HID? I have read of back emf from the ballasts causing problems with the BCM .

When I replaced my rear springs a few years ago due to one breaking it was a minefield trying to decide which were the correct ones. Eventually I took a wheel off and managed to find the coloured marks on the springs. As I have owned the car from new I knew that the ones fitted were original.

We are going to the Azores in September and will be on Santa Maria, Sao Miguel and Terceira islands. Does anyone have any experience of decent car hire companies that are either in the airports or run a shuttle bus that are not horrendously expensive or so cheap that they are liable to rip you off with charges for scratches that they have not recorded or other charges? We want to hire a Fiat Panda sized car as there are only the two of us. We normally take out the full zero excess option but for some of the cheaper companies this appears to be a separate insurance policy and I have read of some people having difficulty getting the information from the hire company to be able to claim back their excess. Also any experience of the wait times at airports together a car would be useful.

It would help to know what the actual engine code is. My 2012 Octavia II 2.0 TDI has 4 indetical glow plugs.

I have a Panasonic TZ70 with a 30x optical zoom, screen and viewfinder that I bought "refurbished" from eBay (I think) many moons ago. It is full of features and gives excellent results.

Would it not be easier just to buy a flush fitting adaptor? e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255973877338

Glad that you have got it sorted. When I had a glowplug error on my Mk 2 Octavia I measured the resistances whilst they were installed. Three read 0.5 ohm and the faulty one was 43.3 ohm. I did actually change them all as I figured if one had gone then the rest would follow.

If you look under the bonnet behind the lights is there any non factory wiring obvious? Have the lights on the car been modified to HID or LED?