Hello,

 

I am going to be gracing your community having picked up a 1 owner 2008 Octavia Ambiente (2.0TDi BKD) with a genuine 32k miles on the clock.

 

The car has already had a bit of a shock, as in the last 2 days it has already racked up 200 miles (with another 300 to come this weekend) and will most likely exceed it last 3 'annual mileages' before we get to Christmas. Pretty pleased with a combined MPG of 63 so far.

 

Quite pleased with the car, it is absolutely immaculate inside and out with only the styling indicating its age... The condition would be good enough to have just rolled out of the factory.

 

There are always a couple of quirks...

 

1. The wheels need re-balancing (as there is a small amount of vibration at 70mph)

2. The stereo (Stream MP3) is 'lets say' pretty ordinary (especially compared to the Composition Media unit in my wife's 2015 Polo)

3. At motorway speed there is a little more road/tyre/wheel bearing noise than I would ultimately like

 

Some piccies (taken before the garage valeted it):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking good.

 

I too had a vibration at 70mph. It was due to the rear wheel being repaired following an accident and not getting rebalanced after. That's now fixed.

 

The stream MP3 is rubbish. You could consider looking for a new stereo. Bolero, Amundsen or Columbus. An 08 plate car should already have the right CAN gateway to avoid any battery drain issues often associated with upgrading to those stereos.

 

The road noise could be tyres. What are fitted at the moment?

 

One thing I have spotted with the exterior that spoils it are the exhaust pipes. Get some autosol metal polish on them!

 

Edited 30 October, 201510 yr by Phil-E

Also another popular upgrade is the Maxidot dashboard. Bought mine for £50 then another £60 to have fitted and coded;

 

Had wheels balanced this morning and unfortunately that had zero effect.

Will try using the spare wheel (completely unused it would seem) on the corner I suspect to be the problem.

Alternatively is there anyone in the Barnsley / Wakefield area that has a spare set of wheels and tyres that I could try and see whether it is the old tyres already fitted?

I would also recommend having the wheel alignment checked. The Octavia is well known for not being set-up properly (mainly vRS models but can also be the normal models).

 

Find somewhere that does 4 wheel hunter alignment. I recently went to Station Garage at Castleford who have the right gear and know how to use it;

 

http://www.stationgarage.info/

 

Cost me £54.

 

Check your rear tyres for abnormal wear;

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/273591-wear-diagnosis/

Use of spare wheel has definitely improved the noise and vibration, so come to the conclusion that new tyres wouldm't go amiss. The rears are date coded as end of 2007, so are past their best.

I noticed some odd tread wear on the inner edges, with the blocks all being different heights... So will also look to get the alignment checked and adjusted.

Update (should anyone give a damn)...

Had 4 tyres fitted to the car (Dunlop Sport BluResponse) and they have transformed the car.

Finally polished the tailpipes (3 months / almost 5k miles in)

But handwashing it for the first time has made me spot this... Gutted! Also really the first time I have properly seen it in the daylight.

Not sure if I missed that when buying it, or have managed to do it without knowing.

Pics inbound

Ah bugger. Shouldn't cost too much have sorted out. I guess there's no way to prove it was there when you bought it or not.

 

They will welt on some little tacks and pull it out then grind off the tacks and repaint. As it's in a hidden area the paint job doesn't need to be perfect just enough to cover any exposed metal.

Ah bugger. Shouldn't cost too much have sorted out. I guess there's no way to prove it was there when you bought it or not.

 

They will welt on some little tacks and pull it out then grind off the tacks and repaint. As it's in a hidden area the paint job doesn't need to be perfect just enough to cover any exposed metal.

 

To be honest I am just going to leave it for now and have it done when I start to consider selling the car... As it has no effect on how the car drives, and you have to look for it to see it.

 

Have bigger fish to fry right now. (Thankfully nothing to do with the car).

Hello and welcome nice skoda

Adam