Seanl

No they don't suffer from piston ring wear. They do however suffer from head gasket failure! Most were replaced early on by dealerships though. You can check if its been done by the identification on the right hand side of the gasket as you look into the bay, as its exposed between the bottom end and head. (I forget what it says, but someone will be along to tell you). Mine hasn't been done, and although its low mileage, it doesn't show any sign of going. Its a reasonable engine. Very easy to work on yourself, although not much more powerful in real terms than the 1.2, and higher fuel economy. (Its pretty poor on fuel for a 1400). Your going round in circles though, and your just talking yourself out of every car on the market with the possibility of something happening. You'll end up getting one that has the least amount of reported faults, and sods law says it'll be an absolute dog and cost you a fortune. Its all well and good researching cars and common problems, but just be aware of them, don't let it overrule you better judgement.

I also have the 8v, (well the missus does, but I use it just as much), and we've had it for about 6 months now. 2000 model, and got it with just shy of 39k. We've just crept over the 44k mark, but it passed MOT without so much as an advisary, and all I've had to replace is a faulty thermostat. When looking, insurance was the most important factor as the missus had three accidents inside her first year of driving, and then had a drink drive ban (morning after her Hen) on the second year. Needless to say, insurance quotes were astronomical! Compared to similarly priced and powered fords/vauxhalls/VWs and other French crap, the Fab was BY FAR the cheapest to insure. Most young uns that think they know how to drive before even passing their test are hung up on the stereotype of the Skoda name, so won't go near them. This is for the benefit of us, that actually do know a thing or two about cars!

Don't talk yourself out of buying because of stories on the internet. Remember, nobody ever posts a thread about their car never developing faults. At the end of the day, its getting on a bit now, so there are bound to be the occasional problem, whatever car you get. Used car sales are obligated by law to give you a 3 month warranty. You can pay for the additional cover after that, but its not worth it imho. You've found the forum, and this will help you with the vast majority of minor issues your likely or unlikely to come across.

I've just fitted RCL to my classic Fab which was a bit of a ball ache, and If I'd have known about those fuse kits Phil, I'd have bought a couple! Typical! As for the FM transmitters for Iphone, I've got one (admittedly one lower in the range) but the quality is pretty poor. Its a long way from receiving Radio Two on the radio, RadioTwo!

Most of those, whilst also being on summer/all weather tyres, obviously don't know how to drive in the snow for ****! You don't get more traction by spinning up ffs!

Same engine as in the the mk4 Golf GTI 8v I think. Decent low down torque, and in a car this size, I think 115 bhp is more than enough. Economy is no worse than a 1.4 8v MPI as well.

Is there any evidence of coolant in the oil? This may give you more of an idea. Only other way to positively rule out headgasket is to get a garage to perform a leak down test. No matter what coolant was used, 12 months should be nothing for it. I'd be very much surprised if it was as simple as a fluid issue I'm afraid.

Bloody hell! Mines coming up for 13 years old and I rolled over 44k yesterday! :p

Well after the copious amount of Cider I consumed last night, I'm certainly in the realms of 7 today!

To add to this, late mk3 Golf GTI 8v and 16v, & VR6 (1995 >) also also have 288mm as standard front, and 256mm rear.

I wouldn't bother with the dealer. Your car is nearly six years old now and has average mileage for the year. This imo means its at a period in its life that means price you would get from a sale by staying with main dealer, would be more than its worth than by switching to independent. In my experience the customer service, attention to detail, and standard of work is generally far greater when done by specialists anyway. I never take much notice of dealer history on anything but a new(ish) car.

How far tuned is your car? Just wondering as if highly tuned tuned and accelerating from low down it's common for pinking to occur

I've never ever heard of anything detrimental happening to a car running with a metal impeller though! All across the VAG range of cars, people are moving to metal impeller type. I was under the impression these were available, and were an update on the original plastic ones from the dealer though.............. May be worth contacting your local VW dealer and asking their opinion

WMI can be very affective on FI motors, and is relatively cheap, although you will need to factor in remap costs to get the full benefit. Devils Own have a good reputation.

Here it is. http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/60114-how-to-fix-noisy-fabia-ventilation-fan/

Leaves stuck behind the fan. They get behind by dropping down through the scuttle panel. Have a search, there is a guide for how to remove them.

What exactly did he say? If its just the input shaft bearing, these can be had for very little, and its not a big or hard job to replace it, its just the labour cost to remove and refit the gearbox. Add £50 tops to the quote he gave you for a new bearing and to fit it, and I reckon that should see you well. Get a few quotes from elsewhere too so you can try to keep costs down to a bare minimum would be my recommendation.

Wheel bearing will rumble at any speed with clutch engaged or not, so doesn't sound like its that tbh. When you hear the noise, dip the clutch. If the noise is still present, its unlikely to be gearbox or clutch related, which is only a good thing. Get the dealer to look over it if I were you, as they may be reluctant to do anything if it proves to costly for them. Elec window switch is probably the most likely cause. If you have a multimeter, check it out yourself as you may be able to pick one up from a scrappy or from one being broken on here for pence. If the interior had recently been valeted, it may explain the damp seat. Try to dry it out, then maybe give it a hose down around the door seal to see if that is indeed the cause. Again get as much out of the dealership as possible, as the longer it goes on, the less likely the are to shell out on full repair.

Oh................................. I stand corrected then.

Power steering is electric, hence having no fluid reservoir! Its very common when at idle, when you turn the steering wheel, for your lights to dim if they are on. This is obviously as the PAS motor is taking alot of juice. Steering whine at full lock is just the motor squeeling a bit as it hits the end stop. As mentioned, give it a good italian tune up and see how you get on! If not, then batteries don't cost the earth as long as you stay away from Halfrauds! Would deffo give it a good service though seeing as though its been sat for so long mate.

I've bought a couple of used vw fobs already of the bay of E for a couple of quid a pop, so thats the plan anyway. Any key cutting service will provide and cut a decent quality blank for fitting to the fob. Will report back in when all is done.

I bought the rclick rcl kit yesterday! Will hopefully arrive by the end of the week so will try to fit it the weekend (weather dependant) and do a write up if it helps anyone. I bought one a few years ago for my mk3 golf, to convert from standard cl to rcl. worked a treat and was good as gold the whole time I had the car. Only negative was whats already mentioned, the actual blank was thin and poor quality.

I' d still grease the coil myself. Being a plastic adjuster, when they have been on a while the road grit and salt will harden on the thread. You try moving the adjuster and you may strip the threads on that. At least with a bit of grease on the coil itself', it will be relatively easy to clean off after so less likely to clog and knacker your adjuster.

Missus has an 8v, which I often drive. Not a bad car at all to be honest. You may well be disappointed in its performance, and its handling isn't very good either. It sits up like a scared dog, and with seriously thin wheels it doesn't corner well in the wet! But that can obviously be remedied. MPG is actually pretty poor compared to others in the same catagory as well. 30-35 mpg around town, and 40-45 tops on a run. Other than that, its pretty solid. As mentioned above, early ones can suffer with head gasket problems, so make sure you check oil/coolant contamination. Again mentioned, oil filler cap can give false worry if only used for short journeys and not run up to temp, or the stat is faulty. If its high milage, chances are its had HG done previously anyway. Only problem we've had was a dodgy thermostat as well which caused a bit of worry with creamy filler cap, but once changed and taken on a decent run, all was well. Under-rated cars imo, they won't really depreciate any more, and will last for a long time yet. Always around with very little milage, and insurance is the cheapest of any car we could find on the market! (The reason we got it, as the missus had 3 accidents in her first year driving!). Hope this helps mate.

VAGCOM won't show anything like that mate. Get a multimeter and check the contacts on the back of the switch with it on and off. Thats the only way to confirm if the switch is at fault or not, and if its getting supply. At least you can then trace the rest of it before or after the switch too. You can get a very basic multimeter for just a couple of quid now so will save you time and money in the long run