Hi all

I've owned my Mk1 Octy (2001Y, 1.6 Ambiente) since Sept 07, and it's been my favourite car. Six months ago, we were offered a free Mazda 323F (complete with pop up headlights!) so I accepted and let my insurance on the Skoda lapse- it's in a private carpark so I figured that'd be the best thing.

I tried to sell the Octy, but it seems like we picked the worst possible time to get rid of a car - no bites at all. With summer now on the horizon my thoughts turned to re-insuring it, since it's a great roadtrip car, got me to Lyon and back last summer in much comfort and economy!

With jumpleads in hand, I started the Octy (battery completely flat). Now, unfortunately, whilst the car started okay, there are so many problems I really don't know what to do with it.

The biggest problem, and what probably dictates whether it's make or break, is the brakes. At leat one of the rear brakes has completely seized, which I discovered after shifting the car about a foot. That wheel simply didn't turn, but scored a series of lines in the asphalt.

The upholstery has developed a mild case of mould. Not a massive issue, just slightly unpleasant.

The indicators appear to have given up - annoying, since I replaced a faulty relay about 8 months ago.

The air-con too seems to have discharged pressure, no cold air for me :(

Now, I'm sure many of you have the smallest violins in the world out, and are busy fiddling away for me. So I have a question. What do I do with my Skoda? To a certain extent I've lost my faith in it, and gnawing at the back of my mind is that there could be a whole raft of other problems that I haven't found in my cursory inspection. Is it worth trying to get it repaired? If it's going to cost me in excess of £500 to get it up to scratch, I don't know if I could afford it. Sell it to the breakers? The engine appears to be fine, and bodywork is good too, so I'm loath to give up a sound chassis.

I'm going to ring round mechanics tomorrow to get some advice, but could any of you kind folk give me your opinions of it?

Cheers all,

Phil

The rear brake shouldn't be too much of a problem once you have got the drum off, a new wheel cylinder possibly. The upholstery might come back with a good clean. The aircon probably wants re gassing. The indicator just needs to be checked out.

I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if the car was in a private car park could you not have gone there and run the car around once a week?

Aah, hindsight! Yes, I really should have done. I'm kicking myself, I knew that cars don't like to sit fallow for a while. Is removing the drum a big job? I'm not much of a mechanic, and would prefer to take it down to a garage if possible...

It's not a big job, but brakes are not too be messed with if you don't know what you are doing. If you jack the car up & place it on axle stands and remove the wheel, a 'firm tap' on the drum with a hammer might free the brakes just so you can move the car easily.

Try hitting the brake drum with a hammer and block of wood, you might be able to do it with the car on the ground, leave the car in gear when you do it, handbrake off of course.

Another question - when you moved the car, did you try and move it both ways, or only forwards? Quite often, if you have a "stuck on" brake, if you try and make the car reverse, it frees itself because the problem is with the self-servoing action actually pulling the shoe on harder.

Also, "best practice" for leaving a car standing like this is to chock the wheels, and leave the handbrake off!

I did try it in first and reverse, but I didn't want to rev it too hard in reverse as it's parked right up against a wall! Thanks for the responses, I think it'll be best to try and get it back on the road, and just deal with the issues as and when they crop up. I might be relying on you guys for info though

Another issue I noticed, but forgot to mention - remote central locking no longer works. I assume that's because the battery depleted, so I'll need to 're-bind' the car with the key. That correct? If so, how do I go about doing it??

Also, does anyone know the deal with getting a SORN car back on the road? It seems like a catch-22: can't drive it to an MOT because it doesn't have tax, can't get tax because no MOT!

Thanks guys

Also, does anyone know the deal with getting a SORN car back on the road? It seems like a catch-22: can't drive it to an MOT because it doesn't have tax, can't get tax because no MOT!

Thanks guys

Pre-book an MOT at a local garage and make sure they note the registration. You are allowed to drive a non-txed, non-mot'd car to an mot station and back. If you get stopped, the police will check.

NB: You still need insurance.