Gaz

I went up Beachy Head last night, just before sundown. The clouds had other ideas, but just as I went to drive off the Sun peeked out from under a cloud: It's funny how I can never quite catch the warm glow that was below it. Gaz

Don't have mine any more, but did thoroughly enjoy owning it. It was the first car I bought new. I traded it in for the Golf GTI I have now (same engine, drive train & chassis, more or less). I had mine remapped to Stage 1 (Revo), which took it to north of 300bhp, and made things quite a lot more interesting. It started out as a 220ps. Would I have another vRS? Yes, I certainly would 😎 Gaz EDIT: Have a read up on DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) issues, before you decide on a diesel - they don't like short journeys/low miles.

That's an interesting question, with a range of answers, e.g.: The search facility on Brisky works well - you can find the answer(s) to most questions simply by rummaging Gaz

Hello Sean Are you going for a manual, or a DSG? Do you do enough miles to warrant going for a diesel? (20k upwards is a general consensus). In answer to your questions, yes, if looked after they can be both reliable and economical. You should find a vRS a world of difference to your Insignia. I had a Petrol vRS and on a run I'd easily get into the early 40's mpg. Gaz

Ciao dudekv Gaz

Kudos 👍😎 Gaz

Nope (well yes, but the DSG might not be the typical auto you're thinking about). Technically a DSG is an automated manual - it has two clutches rather than a torque converter. MPG will be far more affected by the way it's driven, and looked after. On a recent 500 mile round trip, my 2.0 GTI with a DSG averaged 46mpg, and more efficient engines get better. To quote Dave, from this thread: 'Not only is the DSG nicer to drive but my 1.8TSI DSG gives better mpg figures than the 1.4TSI manual despite me driving it enthusiastically(!).' Diesel Particulate Filter removal/gutting. The DPF gets clogged if it does shorter journeys and can be expensive to resolve and a pain in the arse in between. A very general rule of thumb is a diesel won't be financially advantageous unless the car is doing upwards of 20k miles a year. Gaz

I'm a +1 on George's (root toot) comments and was also going to mention Dave's recent acquisition. DSG's are great, not at all scary. I don't think manual's are necessarily a 'safer option'. We've the DQ200 dry clutch DSG in our 1.8TSI Polo GTI and it's been faultless and a peach 👍 Gaz

If you 'need' the same level of reliability as a Honda, and for the same length of time, you might be better off looking somewhere other than VAG IMHO. Gaz

Hello Youssef I loved owning my Mk3 Octy - such a versatile car Gaz

Hello Tom Gaz

Aye. In the second photo there appears to be a good wear lip on the outer edge of the disc at 6:30-ish, with the groove making it all the way to disc edge. But two grooves around (counter clockwise) at about 4:00 the groove's not even making it to the edge of the disc. In both photo's there's a noticeable wear line about 2/3 of the way in to the area of the wear face, and it looks like there's a wear lip on the innermost edge. Perhaps just well worn discs, as George alluded to. Gaz

Have you tried a simple recalibration? Dependent on age and model this might be helpful: Gaz

Think that's what Andy was getting at; the depth of the grooves not being uniform around the disc, so the shallower ones have already worn away. Warping could also account for it, but I reckon that'd be horrendous to drive. Gaz

Hello and welcome Pete Gaz

Hello Daz Gaz

We drove down to Italy just before Covid stopped any travelling. We came in from the North, via Stelvio, and stayed mostly around the lakes, at Salo, Lonato, Como and Bergamo. Beautiful area 😎, although we want to travel further South next time, and perhaps brush up on our italian because it's currently shameful 🙄 Gaz

Ciao Daniele Where in Italy are you? Gaz

Hello from just along the coast Gaz

Hello and welcome GSH Gaz

https://www.cazoo.co.uk/300-point-inspection-report/ '67 - Coolant: Adjust coolant content if necessary' - I guess 'adjusting' isn't the same as topping up 🙄 'In addition to a thorough inspection, our technicians take each used car for a full road test to check its engine performance, steering and brakes and to ensure that it's in full working order.' - All good then 👍 Inspection and technicians seemingly not particularly trustworthy then. Surprise, surprise. Gaz Edit: This one made me chuckle - '13 - Keys: Check at least one key is present'

Same for me. Mrs Gaz has a '65 plate, so the 1.8 with the DQ200 dry seven speed DSG. While I can drive it, it's just a bit too cramped for me (6'4") in the driving seat to be a daily driver. The vRS on the other hand was just right. G

Mrs Gaz has a 2015 Polo GTI DSG - her first DSG and she'll never go back to a manual. While I've got a Golf GTI now, my previous car was a 2015 Octavia vRS DSG. All three DSG's we've had have, like ords', been faultless. I really can't see a reason to change. Manual's are so last season 😇 Gaz

Welcome back Zac Gaz

If your car is losing oil and it's not from leaks, or going out through the coolant system (e.g. 'mixing' and head gasket failure), then it's leaving the engine through the combustion process (or a bit further along) as there's no other way for it to leave the engine. After that it's a case of working out why that's happening. I agree with Bogdan regarding piston rings. Dry and wet compression tests and visual inspection might help reveal. But there are other causes - valve stem seals, turbo seals, a faulty PCV. If your mechanic can't work out what's happening, then I'd respectfully suggest you need a mechanic with more of an idea. Gaz