Nick_Micouris

Blimey! Well, I guess I will remove all of the bits too and see it it helps with the price. At least that way, I can't blame the sprayer for damaging the interior at all!! What colour is yours? Mine is LA9V - the metallic black - looks like the same as yours, am I right?

Thanks, Louie, I guess it would be worth it to me, I would like it to look as mint and as factory perfect as poss. Any ideas what I should expect to pay for a full exterior respray? I was thinking that I should remove and refit all glass etc.

Since my C appeared on Top Gear all the way back in November '03, the bodywork has started to bear the brunt of London life and has the odd ding and very minor scrape in all sorts of wierd places (roof being one of them...) as well as the usual chips on the bonnet. Anyway, I was thinking that I should get a full respray, but am not sure what to expect to pay at a decent bodyshop and to see if people thought it was worth doing on a car of my age. The car still runs perfectly and has been really well maintained, but is now on 97k. If it was yours, would you get it restored to its original body condition? I have no plans to sell her, but just wanted to see what people thought. Also, when doing a full respray,is it advisable to order new side rubbing strips, window seals and roof runners etc? Thanks in advance! :)

hah! Okay mate, thought they were really expensive at Halfords and I don't need one yet. Is there not a specific size needed?

anyone know what size the battery should be for the VR for the BOsch silver?

Need a new battery for my rado - it is the VR6 without aircon, but elec seats etc and I have an amp for my stereo. Anyone know which battery I should buy and also of any good retailers online?

Thanks, Henny!

Nice one, thanks - does anyone know if there is any point in buying the OEM matrix or whether I should buy one from Europarts?

Thanks so much!! :) Will go and buy the pipe tonight. By bypassing it, am I just cutting off the internal heating system? Do I need to replace the matrix sharpish or is it not a problem?

Hi all, Been away for some time and now back and have a problem... My heater matrix has just blown and I really need to be using the car a lot. Does anyone know how to bypass the matrix and what I need to do to do this? On another note, I have not got much time to change the matrix at the moment. Dealer told me that the part was £100+vat, the GSF one is much cheaper. Is the quality the same from GSF?

yeah - I know - can't believe that they still make them like that! Whereabouts in East London are you by the way?

Hello Mr Ots! Yeah - I actually just had a go at moving the controls with the blower off and it worked, but I think I have some kind of problem there as it is still stiff! Nice Rado, btw! :)

anyone??

Hi All, Just picked up our Lupo 1.4s - had a brilliant drive home and was adjusting the heater. All well until it got stick on the face direction on the rotary heater controls. It was actually quite stiff, but it moved all the way round and then would not go back beyond the face direction!!! I dont want to force it for fear of snapping something. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do!? Anyone on here have a Lupo or have any experience with them? Thanks, Nick

seems it was a wiring fault for sure! On the retest, my co2 reading was 0.1% - superb!! :)

well, we did replace the front pipe last year, so you never know.... it could have been me... Whatever happens, I suppose the proof of the repair will be in the MOT retest! What I did find stranfe is that he said - "before you go for your MOT, make sure the car is warmed up". Not sure why he needed to tell me that as I didnt think they would test it until it was warm anyway!!

failed my MOT on emissions at the weekend and I went to VW to get a diagnostic check done with the VAG computer VAS 5052 and the readout gave the following: Vehicle System 01 Engine electronics 021906258AG MOTOR Coding 1 ---------- 02 Interrogate fault memory: 3 Fault/notes detected 00525 003 Lambda Probe -G39 No signal 00561 014 Mixture adaption Adaptation limit (add.) exceeded 00561 014 Mixture adaption Adaptation limit (add.) exceeded He was adamant that the Lambda probe was not faulty and that the wiring between the Lambda and the ECU was at fault and I gave him £50 cash to sort it as a private job. Took him about an hour to sort. Off to get my MOT retest and I sure hope that it was a wiring issue. He didnt make it clear which wires were faulty but wanted me to understand that I had been given a real bargain! In truth, if the wires really were faulty in the engine bay, then I suppose £50 is great. Has anyone else had a similar thing? I would have thought that the lambda probe was dead, myself but it seems not. If the lambda probe was dead would it have given it a different reading to "no signal"?

well, no - he gave me an estimate! Clever...

the dealer has now decided that they can't do it for £150 - the price is now £210 Not sure I am happy with this lot to be honest. Anyway - I think I won;t bother going to the Stealers - does anyone know of any really good bodyshops in the NE London / Essex area?

Cheers Chris! in London, the words reputable and cheap are not even applicable!!

thanks for getting back to me everyone. I have my doubts about how good a job they will do for the cash, too to be honest! What do people know about getting the job done by scuff repair companies? Should I think about going down this route - do people think this spray job would be a better idea?

yeah - I will check that thet aren't doing an invisible repair job on it! They have their own bodyshop at the dealership (odd in itself, I think) and they had some top cars in there, Aston Martins etc!

yeah - tell me about it!!! well, I guess I will go for it!

sorry corradowales, I see you have said £80 a panel where you are. I thought it would be more given the colour, too! Brilliant black metallic.

what would you say it should cost?