Hi All, hope this is the best place for this post, if not please feel free to move it.

I bought an 07 Octavia a few months ago. I have sofar been very happy with the car except 1 little problem. After a 5 min drive to the pub after a good few hours trying to learn how to kite surf (more dunking than surfing) i park the car outside the pub for a nice refreshing shandy and a bowl of chilli. I came back out to find the car up agains the wall.

On closer inspection it seemed the handbrake forgot what it was supposed to do for a few moments and in the process placed a nice deep scrape (shiny metal accross the top of the arc) down the front off side wing with a little Kink and minor damage to the wing mirror.

Would it now be better to have the whole pannel replaced or do you think a clean up and respray will work? i will be able to post pictures later if need be. I beleve it to be the metalic storm Blue and wondered about the paint match issues.

And please post any good repair shops in the essex area you think will do a nice cost effective job.

Thanks,

Bad_Shot

Hi.

Piccies would be good so we can see exactly the damage and let you know:thumbup:

Sure it's not a Vectra you have? They're good at letting their own handbrakes off and going for little unmanned jaunts. :lol:

pic's as promised

Did you apply it just enough and then a bit more?

Do you push the button and release when in the right sport, or let it click all the way up?

Why not leave in gear?

Pulled it up till it was tight. thought after only having the car for a few days the handbrake would have been checked. I leave it in gear form now on to be sure. It could have ended up 2 miles away inthe middle of a field if the wheel was pointing a different way....

**** happens just gotta pay for it now!!!

Pulled it up till it was tight.

If I read this right, and your pushing the button in then this is the likely cause.

You were not quite on the ratchet point, and as the pads cooled it slipped, or wasnt on tight enough.

funny you should say this about the handbrake, mine often gives in and its still pulled up, i think it has something to do with how warm the brake fluid is too as if mine has been used quite hard then thats when the handbrake failing is most likely to happen from what ive noticed with mine.

I thought the handbrake opperates with a cam on the rear pads so the brake fluid is not involved ?

mine seems to be affected by how warm the fluid is. this is something ive not noticed on other cars thus why ive mentioned it.

Well i leave it in gear when it is not in use now, even on the flat.

But back to the main point, the damage... what do ppl this would be the best course of action?

Thanks,

I'd proberbly go for a replacement wing, they are not that expensive and should be an easy thing to swap.

I have also been looking for a Haynes manual for the octavia but cant find anything for model newer than 04, any help?

Where should i buy the wing from? im sure a main dealer will not be very cheap or the best place to go.

I'm not sure that i would bother with a new wing as that would mean that more paint would need to be blended in and the potential is that in the future, it would be obvious that a new panel had been fitted. Try a few local bodyshops as a decent one should easily be able to sort that out for you although to ensure that it stays a good job, you'd be best telling them that you intend to keep the car and want the prep to be the best possible. If you do go down the route of a new panel, get a genuine one. It's false economy to get a pattern part for such a new car as patterns aren't usually quite perfect and can take the bodyshop longer to fit and prep than just fixing the existing one.

My son damaged his Fiesta ST, back wheel arch scraped off a wall, damage looked worse than yours and it was repaired (very well I might add) for £400.

This was for removing the dent in the wheel arch, painting the wing and bumper and re-attaching the side skirt.

funny you should say this about the handbrake, mine often gives in and its still pulled up, i think it has something to do with how warm the brake fluid is too as if mine has been used quite hard then thats when the handbrake failing is most likely to happen from what ive noticed with mine.

More likely hot pads cooling, and shrinking so they no longer grip the discs.

Hence applying without pressing button, pull until tight, then a smidge more (say 1-2 clicks).

i have found once stopped, turn off and pump the brakes a few times then pull up the hand brake seems to help.

i have found once stopped, turn off and pump the brakes a few times then pull up the hand brake seems to help.

This is when fluid temp comes into play. As it cools, and the master cylinder releases the pressure, so will the grip on the discs

Mine rolled back in the garage with handbrake on full so when i opened the garage door it scratched the back of the tailgate and it shows on Flamenco Red colour......damn!!!!

Mine never went anywhere, and I solely use the handbrake, probably out of laziness. The way I always do it is I press the foot brake down fully before engaging the handbrake, and you can feel the handbrake go abit higher (probably 1 click) than no foot brake, plus the brake pedal kicking in a bit.