My Skoda ownership has taking this route over the last 25 years.

 

Felicia 1.3 Hatch

Fabia 1.4 Estate

Octavia 1.4 Hatch

Superb 1.4 Estate

 

I've bought a new to me estate!  Why, well the Octavia hatchback was killed by a Hungarian driver two weeks ago. He decided that yellow lights at a junction does not mean proceed with caution and check junction for cars that are turning.

 

It is a 2013 model, basic edition, no frills, less to go wrong.  Has had a waterpump replaced, FSH and 83K on the clocks.

 

Clean exterior and interior. All in good condition.

 

Only things I've seen that are an issue is the sticking fuel cap solenoid mechanism, will lube that and replace fuse for the 12V sockets in the car.

 

Jet washed it at the local Morrisons, gave it a good hose down and it looks great.

 

Looking forward to reading about any fixes, solutions, upgrades etc.

First fuel fill up after a nice drive, some motorways and lots of urban driving. 37mgp.  Good enough for what I do.  I did fill up with Shell and then topped up with BP.  Costs the same as supermarket stuff, so may as well treat the car to good cleaning agents.

 

Replaced fuse for the 12V sockets and all is well.  Fitted a "Black Box Fitted" sticker so I can drive quietly without bumper crawlers.  Enjoying the space and comfort of this version of Skoda.  My family love the space and how much quieter the car is on the motorway, huge estate boot is a real boon as I'm moving son back to his digs in September, so will be an easy job this time around.

 

The only thing I need to do is change all the tyres to one type.  They are all different and although with decent enough tread on them, they don't track as well as they should.  It does annoy me when people have a nice car and do not bother keeping things properly with good tyres and so on.

Picked up some door sill protectors, chromed NOS for £27 delivered.  Should be a nice look and protect the sills from the dog as well.

On 25/08/2022 at 07:39, makman said:

First fuel fill up after a nice drive, some motorways and lots of urban driving. 37mgp.

 

The only thing I need to do is change all the tyres to one type. 

 

Yours is 2013 - is it a facelift model? It would have stop start, cruise etc if it was. My facelift 1.4tsi twin door does mid to late 40's mpg on most journeys although 50 is achievable. but it's late 30's- early 40's around town. Not bad for a petrol bus though. If it's still on variable servicing move to fixed intervals - your cam chain will thank you.

 

Can I recommend a set of Michelin Crossclimate's - I fitted to mine a few years ago and it was way quieter than the the original Continental summer tyres (205/55r16). They have been fabulous in all sorts of weather conditions from 40+ deg C in Europe to northern wintry conditions - their forte is the incredibly wet stuff though, fabulous. Way way better than the Uniroyal Rainsport's fitted to my sons previous Octavia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 27 August, 20223 yr by bigjohn

Mine is not the stop start version nor does it have cruise control. Basic S Model on a 13 reg.  I tend to get the car serviced annually regardless of mileage, so it will see fresh oil at either 7k or 10k if I have driven across Europe and back.  Thanks for the tyre recommendation, I was looking at those Michelins, I put Michelin bike tyres on my motorcycles as a preference as well.  Well made, good grip and decent enough mileage as well. 

Edited 28 August, 20223 yr by makman

My car is slightly newer but has done over 100k miles however I'd suggest you undue a couple of screws on the wheel arch liner each side front/rear near the sills to see what's behind. There is a design flaw especially on the front that traps all sorts of carp. Easy to clean out and rust proof but if left then eventually it would rot out.

It's also worth finding the drain channel at low level entering the sill front/rear and checking if clear, one of mine wasn't! I used a thin knitting needle to insert. I also squirted Dinitrol deep into the sills front/rear.

 

All the above jobs are quick and easy - if not a bit messy!

 

Photos before/after + rust proofing sills:-

 

 

 

Edited 28 August, 20223 yr by bigjohn

Thanks that is extremely helpful and I am hands on for that sort of work. I will get around to doing that sooner rather than later.  I've got Kurust gel in the garage and some Hammerite paint in silver to seal any bare metal as well.

12 hours ago, makman said:

Thanks that is extremely helpful and I am hands on for that sort of work. I will get around to doing that sooner rather than later.  I've got Kurust gel in the garage and some Hammerite paint in silver to seal any bare metal as well.

 

Myself - I love Owatrol oil (Rust inhibitor) that sets to a kind of resin finish. Seems to handle road spray very well - and you can see through it afterwards to keep an eye on it.

Inside sections/sills/door bottoms, bonnet front, boot edge I use Dinitrol.

 

I wish I had done this to my previous 2003 Superb when younger that I bought in 2005 and sold in 2015 after putting a large commute mileage on it. The new owner(who I know) recently said it has just been scrapped due to a terminal MOT rust prognosis on the sills - If I'd done a bit of work a decade or so ago it'd still be going strong. Saying that he's had 7 years reliable motoring and put another 100k miles on it. I used to restore / preserve cars but when doing an awful / long commute for decades bodywork then seemed the least of my troubles.

 

Now I've retired I've decided to try and make my 1.4tsi a keeper. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 29 August, 20223 yr by bigjohn

Both sides were rather full of leaves, dirt and road dust. Cleared them out. Both sides had rubber plugs on the sills which were in good condition and holding up.  I sprayed it out with ACF50 for now.  Will use some Owatrol etc when I get some in or a bitumen spray. 

5 hours ago, makman said:

 Both sides had rubber plugs on the sills which were in good condition and holding up. 

 

 

Hmm, sound like that's a difference between the facelift and pre facelift models. Mine has no sill rubber bungs. There is a small drain channel at the front and rear of each sill ie at the bottom of all that rubbish!! I got the Dinitrol flowing - probably a little too much and didn't wait long enough as some flowed out as I set off.

 

The reason I first checked is I walked past a very early mkII (2008?) a while ago that had rusting sills at the front - and I've got a bit more time on my hands these days!! A friend of mine has a Golf (circa 2010?) that had the same design issue but even worse - VW put in extra foam bits around the wheelarch I think are for extra soundproofing which were soaked through with water(Rust will love that!).

 

PS - I don't recommend bitumen spray on its own. I found things can rust underneath the bitumen and track along - almost makes it worse! - and you can't see it until it's too late. I did have success with Waxoyl underseal if pre painted with clean engine oil the day before (at least) - and yes it does cover but makes a right royal mess - but it works. A few years ago I re visited a Morris 1000 I'd restored in 1988 and the oil/Waxoyl underseal was still tacky and made your hands mucky if you touched it.  Not bad for over 3 decades ago. I'd also blatted a mix of hot clean oil/Waxoyl into cavities. All was rust free except for the bottom of the boot lid - which had been perfect at the time of restoration(should have rustproofed at the time!).  Again I found Waxoyl on its own kind of sat on top of layered rust, ok if metal in good condition - mixed with oil it soaks in nicely. Dinitrol seems to soak in /protect straight out of the tin - so these days that's what I use internally and obviously Owatrol Oil if exposed to the elements - which that part you've photographed is. It's a design flaw in that everything from the plenum above drains through that area and any solid-ish bits are trapped.

 

Edited 30 August, 20223 yr by bigjohn

I've used ACF50 for a while on motorcycles for keeping exposed areas of metal corrosion free and at the time my 10 year old Triumph would be cleaned each spring and look brand new, except for a couple of bolt heads that had started rusting under a previous owners care.

Full Rubber boot liner has arrived. That will keep boot carpet nice and clean. Especially since we now have a dog as well...

Door Sills fitted!

 

Saturday will see the car having Michelin CrossClimate 2 Fitted all round.  They are all mismatched tyres and with winter weather now arriving and a drive to France next weekend, I want decent rubber.

 

Kwikfit had a deal on, so £349 all fitted/balanced etc...  A good tyre for the car and hopefully better than the Continental EcoSport 6's I had on the Octavia.

10 miles of driving on the new tyres and a sidewall split as I had to try and get past a wide SUV parked on our road and clipped a kerb. BANG.  Replacement tyre sorted today and KwikFit knocked a bit off the price, which is good of them.