Some of the more regular forum members may have noticed that I've been rather quiet of late? Well, unfortunately, my brother died just before Christmas and it hit me rather hard. He'd been "poorly" for some time following a heart attack but seemed to be getting along Ok and was on the list for a bypass operation. Unfortunately they just didn't get round to him in time. I've had great support from Mrs J and the rest of the family which is allowing me to get my head back into "normal service mode". He lived alone and never married so has no dependents, but some of his friends have been in touch to offer support. So, all in all, I'm now in a much better place and I'll be "lurking" around, in my usual way, on the forum. Just felt I owed it to you all to explain my "absence".
Of course his solicitor has been in touch about winding up his business - he was a sole trader - and all his other affairs and he seems to have left me quite a few challenges in this respect! We've been buzzing up and down the A7 - roughly an hour and a half each way - on average twice a week and the poor old Ibiza is taking a bit of a bashing and it's knocking the miles up. Those that have read some of my posts will know this car has had it's problems, most dramatically when it chewed it's final drive on the M5 and needed a new gearbox. At that time the garage advised slight wear was evident in the O/S driveshaft inner (plunge) joint. This has not really got any worse and AVW have checked it out and said yes there is play in it but not really enough to merit replacing it yet. However there's also now a little "jingly/jangly" noise from the bell housing which I'm guessing is most likely to be a loose or broken friction plate spring - doesn't sound like any release bearing I've ever heard, too "tinkly". Add to this that the strut top mounts make a rubbery creak when going over speed humps and my confidence in it is severely challenged. Consequently I've been half heartedly looking at what I might replace it with for the last couple of months and making a nuisance of myself around the dealer showrooms and service advisors. I've seen quite a number of vehicles I quite fancied but then went on to find reasons why I shouldn't buy one - Wet cam belts, Timing chain setups with well known problems, Dual mass flywheels, concentric clutch slave cylinders (what a silly idea they are) well known problems with infotainment equipment, and so on and so on.
The worry over the possibility of the Ibiza deciding to let us down, maybe on the top of Middleton Moor on the A7, in the cold and wet with maybe no mobile signal, has not been helpful in reducing my anxiety levels. So, last Thursday, Mrs J said "Look Jock" (I know it's going to be "serious stuff" when she speaks like this) "The Ibiza is just coming up on 8 years old and you've not been happy with it for the last year or so. Do you know what you want to replace it with?" Well, after so many weeks, nay months, I've come to the conclusion that I should stick with the "Devil I know" and buy another VAG product. "Right" she said "tomorrow we're going to go and try some out"!
We set out to look at vehicles around 12 to 18 months old and, as I'm not at all fussy to own a "premium badge" we concentrated on the Skoda and Seat brands. I've very recently become aware of the Skoda Scala so was interested to see one in the flesh but also tempted by the Ibiza, Fabia and Arona. Anyway, to cut a long story short, and sitting the diminutive Mrs J in a variety of VAG products, We turned up a Skoda Scala SE Technology 1.0 litre 110 HP in non metallic "energy" blue non metallic paint - which is just fine by me - pre-reg 73 plate with 10 miles on the clock at £5,000 below list and £5,400 trade in on the Ibiza (one of the other dealers offered us nearly £1,000 less). We've paid to reserve first option on it when it's delivered to them next week (apparently it's in the port at this time) and there seems to be some slight confusion over whether it's an SE "Technology" spec or a more basic SE - I'd be happy with either as the simpler electronics on the SE gives me all I need but like the wheels on the Technology version more. There's a face lift version due to come on sale this spring - probably with the new reg numbers - but it has some features I'm not so happy with so this model will suit me just fine!
Anyway, watch this space! I'll get some photos of it when we go to see it and post them here. Must say the thought of a new car is cheering me up a bit too.
Of course his solicitor has been in touch about winding up his business - he was a sole trader - and all his other affairs and he seems to have left me quite a few challenges in this respect! We've been buzzing up and down the A7 - roughly an hour and a half each way - on average twice a week and the poor old Ibiza is taking a bit of a bashing and it's knocking the miles up. Those that have read some of my posts will know this car has had it's problems, most dramatically when it chewed it's final drive on the M5 and needed a new gearbox. At that time the garage advised slight wear was evident in the O/S driveshaft inner (plunge) joint. This has not really got any worse and AVW have checked it out and said yes there is play in it but not really enough to merit replacing it yet. However there's also now a little "jingly/jangly" noise from the bell housing which I'm guessing is most likely to be a loose or broken friction plate spring - doesn't sound like any release bearing I've ever heard, too "tinkly". Add to this that the strut top mounts make a rubbery creak when going over speed humps and my confidence in it is severely challenged. Consequently I've been half heartedly looking at what I might replace it with for the last couple of months and making a nuisance of myself around the dealer showrooms and service advisors. I've seen quite a number of vehicles I quite fancied but then went on to find reasons why I shouldn't buy one - Wet cam belts, Timing chain setups with well known problems, Dual mass flywheels, concentric clutch slave cylinders (what a silly idea they are) well known problems with infotainment equipment, and so on and so on.
The worry over the possibility of the Ibiza deciding to let us down, maybe on the top of Middleton Moor on the A7, in the cold and wet with maybe no mobile signal, has not been helpful in reducing my anxiety levels. So, last Thursday, Mrs J said "Look Jock" (I know it's going to be "serious stuff" when she speaks like this) "The Ibiza is just coming up on 8 years old and you've not been happy with it for the last year or so. Do you know what you want to replace it with?" Well, after so many weeks, nay months, I've come to the conclusion that I should stick with the "Devil I know" and buy another VAG product. "Right" she said "tomorrow we're going to go and try some out"!
We set out to look at vehicles around 12 to 18 months old and, as I'm not at all fussy to own a "premium badge" we concentrated on the Skoda and Seat brands. I've very recently become aware of the Skoda Scala so was interested to see one in the flesh but also tempted by the Ibiza, Fabia and Arona. Anyway, to cut a long story short, and sitting the diminutive Mrs J in a variety of VAG products, We turned up a Skoda Scala SE Technology 1.0 litre 110 HP in non metallic "energy" blue non metallic paint - which is just fine by me - pre-reg 73 plate with 10 miles on the clock at £5,000 below list and £5,400 trade in on the Ibiza (one of the other dealers offered us nearly £1,000 less). We've paid to reserve first option on it when it's delivered to them next week (apparently it's in the port at this time) and there seems to be some slight confusion over whether it's an SE "Technology" spec or a more basic SE - I'd be happy with either as the simpler electronics on the SE gives me all I need but like the wheels on the Technology version more. There's a face lift version due to come on sale this spring - probably with the new reg numbers - but it has some features I'm not so happy with so this model will suit me just fine!
Anyway, watch this space! I'll get some photos of it when we go to see it and post them here. Must say the thought of a new car is cheering me up a bit too.