Chappers.

We're all doomed, doomed I tell you!

Unfortunately you have probably suffered at the hands of the civilian phone operators that answer all of the calls that go through to the main call centres for the individual forces - they only have scant training with regards to any legislation and make some very bizarre decisions sometimes - usually to the detriment of the person making the call in the first place. A much better and informative service would be provided if the call-takers were either police officers (too expensive) or had much better and in depth training into legislation (too expensive).

Lock barrel is goosed and, unless you want to retrofit remote central locking then the dealer will need to order you a new one.

I'm of the same opinion about the mapping - I don't expect to get continuous updates throughout the life of the vehicle, but I do expect it to come with the latest version when it was delivered. The door handle as I said has been treated to a squirt of oil - most of it has dribbled down the side of the door.

You know the fix, I know the fix, I tried telling them about the fix but they denied all knowledge that it exists. Unfortunately we are talking about the same dealer as well. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

My Blackline has gone in for it's first service today, and yet again I have been struck by the apparent lacklustre service and disinterest provided by my local dealer. I had informed the dealer of a few issues that also needed looking at, including the drives door handle sticking, a whistling that has recently started and is apparent between 40-50mph and also the fact that the mapping software/version is out of date compared to some of the other Blackline's that have also been delivered. To be fair, less than 2 hours after dropping the car off I received a call to inform me that the car was ready for collection so off I popped to collect it. The SatNav issue was dismissed by the service department as "you need to download an update onto the SD card". Despite asking where & how this download exists all they answered was "online, and you put it in the SD card slot". The door handle has been sorted by squirting it with WD40 (or similar) - no problems with that however I cannot see where the so called "mini valet" has occurred as the car is just as filthy as it was when it was dropped off and the mats haven't been vacuumed either. The whistle was not traced so they asked if I would go for a test drive with the technician. Absolutely no problem with this and so off we went for a spin. Sure enough the whistle presented itself to the technician - who hardly said anything but agreed that it was there and would be annoying. Back we go to the dealer to be then told by the service manager that the technician does not know where the whistle is coming from and can I take it back in to them next week for the master technician to have a look at it! I even suggested at the time that it sounds like it is coming from the grill which is a known issue with a rectification available - apparently no one knows about it. I was going to see about taking a new vRS out, however I have to admit that every time I have any interaction with the dealership I get more & more convinced that I will be taking my business elsewhere next time. I really do like my Blackline and the new vRS seems like the next logical step, however I have to admit to being very dubious about remaining with the brand based on my dealership experience over the past 12 months. (Sorry about the rant, just venting my frustration I suppose)

I've just called Skoda UK after yet another less than impressive visit to my local dealers for it's first service. My local dealer have dismissed the update as "you need to download it onto an SD card". I did try telling them that it was not quite that easy and they were unable/unwilling to tell me where I can obtain this magical "update" from in order to put it onto an SD card in order to update my maps to that of other Blackline users. The advisor from Skoda UK was about to go off duty but has promised that she will make contact with their parts department and call me back tomorrow with an update on this.

I've had a few of these calls and the wife usually rolls her eyes when she realised that I'm on the phone to them again. I love winding them up and can spend quite some time at it. The best reaction I had after 10 minutes of keeping them on the phone acting stupid (not difficult for me if I'm honest) and telling them that I was scared that my faulty computer would catch fire and kill all of my family in a horrific inferno was the chap telling me to switch off the computer, open a window and throw it out! He then called me an unrepeatable name that I wasn't christened before hanging up.

I doubt very much that it is conducting (or is even equipped with the necessary hardware) for speed monitoring. If it is liveried up as a Network Rail vehicle then it may well be conducting checks for people contravening the red traffic signals, stopping on the yellow hatchings. It will probably have some kind of ANPR equipment, but then most filling stations and out of town shopping centre car-parks have them as well these days.

Obviously it's always worth trying prices elsewhere, but I've always found them competitive & will try and price match on the rare occasions that they aren't cheapest.

It sounds to me that when you were stopped by the police previously they were referring to the Insurance details being in your name - not the registration details (both these can/are checked at the roadside, hence when the NIP was sent out it would still be addressed to the registered keeper, not the insured driver. Dare I ask the name of the ex-police officer? There are a few out there locally and not all of the same standards or ability with some using more poetic licence with their history and experience than others.

I've done a bit more research, and another downside to Virgin is that they use the T-Mobile transmitters and only move onto the Orange network when there is no T-Mobile coverage. I'm currently with Orange and have been very pleased with them, especially since they merged with T-Mobile and became "EE" - however the difference is the Orange/T-Mobile customers get full use of their network and their handset will automatically pair to the strongest signal which is not how Virgin works unfortunately. I've invested in a 3 PAYG SIM to try it out, and I have to admit that their data speeds are awesome - unfortunately a few colleagues report plenty of times when they cannot make calls due to having no signal when they are out and about. I've approached Orange and their SIM only deals are not great tbh, however I can transfer my current discount onto the SIM only which brings Unlimited calls/texts and 1GB of data for £15.75. Current favourite however is T-Mobile (exactly the same coverage and data speeds etc as Orange) who are doing 1000 minutes, unlimited text & 3GB of date for £16. I'm more than happy with the coverage that EE offer and their data speeds are usually a lot faster than O2 or Vodafone (neither of which work in our office).

What were the issues that you had with them?

I've discounted anything that runs on either the Vodafone or O2 networks as their data speeds are very slow (and don't work at all when I'm at work).

Okay folks, the time has come for me to end my existing contract with Orange and go for a cheaper, SIM only deal (I have a decent Nexus 4 handset). I'm not a big user of either talk time or text messages, but even though I'm connected to Wifi at home, my data usage is creeping up each month - I'm also planning on using the "cloud" a little more in the future so either a very high, or ideally unlimited data allowance would be ideal. So far I've narrowed it down to two options: Virgin do an unlimited everything package for £15 a month on a rolling contract - benefits being that they piggyback off my existing network so I know the coverage will be good and it is on a 30 day contract so I can leave whenever I want. Disadvantage being that I've heard that they regularly throttle back the download speeds for all customers and their "unlimited" data is subject to 3.5Gb limits a month whereby they drop you to 354kbs for the remainder of that month. Three do their "one" plan which is truly unlimited data (with tethering capability), 2000 minutes talktime (plus 5000 minutes 3 to 3 a month), 5000 texts for £15 a months on a 12 month contract (£18 on a rolling contract). Downside is that I am still unsure on their overall coverage. Has anyone had experience of both? I know that location can make a big difference, and I'm planning on getting a 3 PAYG SIM to try it out locally for a couple of weeks, but experience of others nationally (with rough locations) would be appreciated. I'm fairly sure that 3 will offer the better data speeds, however fast internet is not a lot of use if it's only available in a handful of locations! I know this has been asked before, but a brief search reveals that it was about 12 months ago when this was last asked and a lot can happen in 12 months (especially with stories of 3G speeds being throttled by EE to allow for their 4G services to expand). I'm not interested in 4G services at the moment either. Many thanks in advance.

The first time I saw it I didn't like it (but then I'm not a great fan of red cars, and I wasn't sure about the black wheels on my Blackline when I ordered it either), however looking at it again the black on red is starting to grow. I can't help but feel that a couple of other discrete bits of black on there would pull the whole look together. Have you thought about getting the rear windows tinted?

Some are nosier than others. Our last 1.9 Octy at work had a turbo sound so loud that more than one "passenger" thought that I had left the wailers on. It managed 115,000 miles of very hard use in it's two years before it was retired. The identical (but 2 year older) car before that preceded it had an almost silent turbo - well two actually as the first one expired quite dramatically at about 55k with no prior warning.

That's what's missing - there is no other black on your Octy at the moment so the wheels look out of place. A few black highlights (or are black bits lowlights?) like the Citigo has should give it a "theme".

Even if I take the wife's car in at the same time as mine, we still don't have enough wheels to fit all of those!

Sidelights (unless used to illuminate a vehicle which is parked overnight) are a complete waste of time and (IMO) should be disabled when the vehicle is moving. If the weather necessitates an increase in visibility then dipped beam everytime. I have to admit that I am not a great fan of DRL's. They just add to the light pollution and this will only increase as more & more vehicles appear on the road with them fitted. It is a case of legislation being imposed to try and negate the impact of those with below par driving skills & training. I can see why the legislation has been imposed, however it is not a substitute for increased driver training before people are let loose in a vehicle. The amount of people out there that see a car as a mobile sofa with no idea on safety and maintenance is shocking. Unfortunately, car manufacturers now see this as another marketing strategy - the latest Nissan Note (maybe another model from them) is being advertised on TV as coming with a "Safety Shield" Safety Shield technology, Around View Monitor and NissanConnect multimedia and satellite navigation system, makes every journey safer, more connected and completely carefree. The biggest contribution to safety is the person behind the wheel - relying more & more on gadgets & technology is making roads more dangerous, not safer. The biggest contribution to the reduction is road deaths/serious injuries is in the structural integrity of the vehicles themselves. Unfortunately, every time a new piece of technology is introduced, drivers become reliant on it - hence many people wondering why, even though their car has ABS fitted, they have just driven into the car in front of them that they had been following literally inches behind. Or why, even though they have Traction Control, it won't go up a snow & ice covered incline. Now the colder weather is coming, I'm going to try and stop myself from going on about the dangerous out there that insist on only clearing apost box sized slit of ice from their windscreen before driving off. At this point I will stop the rant & rave, as I could go on until this post wins the title of longest rant on Briskoda!

Part of the heyday of BL production? Not quite the same as the SD1, but from the same "company" a story that is quite popular in the Land Rover world regarding their legendary lack of panel fit and seals: A select group of Land Rover production staff went of a training mission to a Japanese car factory to see how they produced their vehicles. The staff in the factory demonstrated the panel fit and door seals by placing a dog inside, shutting all the windows/vents and closing the door and leaving the dog in the vehicle overnight. The next morning the dog had suffocated. Impressed by the test, the Landy production staff returned to the UK and tried the same experiment on the Defender. When they returned to the vehicle the next morning the dog had escaped.

From checking today I have to ask if you were round my house measuring the depth last night? O/S is just over 4mm but the N/S is just under, so not very impressive really. Best start looking at potential replacements as they'll need swapping before the really bad weather comes - although I don't bother with winter tyres I refuse to struggle through slush & snow with worn summers on.

Mine does that.

If you hit the throttle straight away it can be a bit jerky - I put this down to the DSG not allowing the clutch to slip enough to smooth out the initial take up of drive. I caught mine out the other day when I had slowed for a roundabout and at the last moment saw a gap that I went for by mashing the throttle - nearly gave myself whiplash!