£1500 car - priorities for maintenance

Horseunderwater

Definitely ditch the big chains for car servicing they rip you off big time and often do stuff not needed and miss stuff that should be done and worse charge for something and do not do it. Been there and done that.
I now have a garage that does my cars and fixes the things it should do and all for very reasonable labour of £40/hour - they will even source 2nd hand parts if that is better for the vehicle - light fittings and stuff.
First and foremost - drive the car for a little longer before you do anything to it. 2 weeks is not long enough to hear any sounds or squeaks etc. Yes the Cambelt is the first job, but wait a month or so and find a decent garage - preferably from word of mouth if you can. Sometimes a skoda garage can do a good job on a skoda as they know the cars well. But independents are normally the way to go for older cars - they should have diagnostics for all models these days.
You can check brake fluid yourself simply by looking at the level in the resevoir, but if the light has not come on that should not be needed. Normally changing that once every 18 months or so it all that is needed. Certainly not every year. Brakes on the car if they are not making ay noise and are working fine can wait for a while. If they are visible through the wheels you should be able to see any wear yourself. 9mm on a pad is well within spec. Learn to do light bulb changes and windscreen wipers yourself and you will save £'s too. Doing a pre MOT check will show up any problems in advance and if you do them yourself your car will not then fail for the stupid things.

Weird_Nev

Absolutely:
Cam belt, and whilst the car is in the garage do a proper oil service: Engine oil and filters.
You then have your start point.
On an older diesel I'd do oil changes every 10,000 miles at the absolute maximum, preferably 6,000 miles/6 months. That'll preserve your turbo.
If you're in any way mechanically minded and you intend on keeping the car a while, learn how to do oil changes yourself and you'll save yourself £100 a pop on a basic service.

But honestly, putting off a £300 cam belt change could leave you with a heap of scrap, and a £1000 bill to get the car back on the road. It's not worth it, do it ASAP to protect your investment.

Clutch and brakes: If you've not noticed any ill effects, leave it until you do, then address them. Clutches don't go heavy as they wear, they slip. Perhaps you could get the garage to grease the clutch cable whilst they do the cam belt? Find a good local independant with proper mechanics. Don't rely on chains.

mad_rich

Thanks all for the help. The MSE advice is unanimous:D: do the cambelt sooner rather than later, and leave the rest for a while. Thats what I'll do. I'll give it another month or so to see if anything else crops up.

Interesting about the clutch and cold weather/ cold engine, andygb. Hydraulic so needs to be warm? I've noticed it most when leaving my street (narrow gap between parked cars and I'm having to slip the clutch to stay in control). I'll try to remember to compare it with returning in a warm car. The vibration is always there, though, just at the top of the pedal. If nothing else its a good reminder not to ride the clutch!

Both are something I can live with. As long as I'm not damaging anything.

I know the correct oil is important, but how important? I'm going to ask Halfords if they truly used proper VW 505.01 oil. If they didn't, should I change it now - at my expense if necessary? Its only been in 2 weeks.

6,000 miles / 6 months between oil changes really necessary? Skoda say 10,000/ 1 year using the correct oil. I'll do it more often if it will really help.

Brake fluid was 4 years old so needed replacing. Halfords changed it the day before Kwik Fit inspected. From what I understand, it's hard to imagine the boiling point going so low (170 deg) as to need replacement that quickly. So either Kwiki Fit are mistaken/ lying, or Halfords didn't replace it?

diesel_dog

I'll echo what the others have said about changing the cam belt, along with an oil and filters change and to get a decent local garage that won't lift your leg with silly prices.

Like any car, enjoy it, look after it when it needs something, drive it and don't look for faults

Those engines go forever if looked after properly.

Horseunderwater

Would be easy enough to check brake fluids. Open up filler cap and look inside. If it all looks nice and clean it will be fine but if it looks a litle murky as moisture makes it do that, then Halfords did you over. Oh and wipe the cap before opening it so that no dirt gets inside too prior to opening.
10k services are more than fine for a skoda for the oil changes or once per year whichever is sooner. Modern diesels no longer need such frequent changes. And using a good quality synth oil is a good idea as it protects the engine a lot longer.

Ultrasonic

mad_rich wrote: »

it's quite fast in 1st even with no gas).

Just to say I think that's perfectly normal - or at least the 1.9TDi in my Octavia felt like that to me when I first got it but I'm perfectly used to it now.

mad_rich

Have checked the brake fluid and it seems pretty clear to me, althoug I have nothing to compare it to. I don't know what to make of it.

Assuming Halfords used DOT 4 fluid, as specified by Skoda, it should have a boiling point when new of 255deg, or 165 when knackered. Apparently, it's 170. So it seems that either:

• They used DOT 2
• They didn't replace it at all
• They replaced it correctly and it immediately became contaminated
• The other garage made a mistake
• They other garage is trying to pull a fast one

Could there be a leak somewhere which has allowed the brake fluid to become that contaminated within 24 hours?

I'm going to take it to the independent VW specialist who offered an assessment on the clutch, and I'll ask them to test the boiling point when they do that. Hopefully they'll do this for free or a small charge. I've already pretty much made up my mind that they will get the business for the cambelt as long as they look OK when I meet them.

andygb

mad_rich wrote: »

I know the correct oil is important, but how important? I'm going to ask Halfords if they truly used proper VW 505.01 oil. If they didn't, should I change it now - at my expense if necessary? Its only been in 2 weeks.

6,000 miles / 6 months between oil changes really necessary? Skoda say 10,000/ 1 year using the correct oil. I'll do it more often if it will really help.

The correct oil specification (not make) is very important to the "pd" engine, particularly in relation to the injectors.
Apparently it is a lot cheaper in supermarkets in France, than over here, or look for special offers on Eurocarparts and the like.
Beware if buying Castrol though, because they sell it in 4 and 1 litre containers, and you need 4.3 litres for that engine;)
I use Shell Ultra Helix which comes in 5 litre containers.

Joe_Horner

mad_rich wrote: »

Could there be a leak somewhere which has allowed the brake fluid to become that contaminated within 24 hours?

Not a chance.

One or other (or both) of Halfrauds or KF are fishing for work using "it's safety innit" to try and scare you into paying. Incidentally, the "wet" boiling point of Dot 4 (ie: when it's absorbed as much moisture as it can) is specified as 155 deg C, so at 170 it's not there yet anyway

Sadly, when it comes to brakes, steering and tyres that tactic works far more often than it should. People are gullible when they're told something by "experts", especially when it's backed up with measurements, and a LOT of needless tyres and brake parts get sold that way.

That's why it pays to steer clear of the big chains - their core business is selling exhausts, tyres and brake parts.

mad_rich

Joe_Horner wrote: »

That's why it pays to steer clear of the big chains - their core business is selling exhausts, tyres and brake parts.

Lesson learned.

I was aware the fluid needed changing. (Every 2 years in the service book, and last done Feb 2010.) And I was happy with the price, £30. but I take the point that safety is a very easy sell.

Interestingly, I was surprised Halfords didn't give me any measurements. Both the free check from ATS and the independent garage the previous owner used came with an impressive range of statistics (tyre inventory and tread depth, disc and pad thickness x 4, battery level, antifreeze strength). Very useful for seeing how much life is left in components.