Halfpenny

No surprise. Let's not get 'holier than thou' about this. Businesses try to take advantage of consumers and consumers try to take advantages of businesses. I wanted to buy a digital thermometer last week - my friendly neighbourhood pharmacy had a couple left at £15.99 - I think they were about £2.50 a couple of weeks ago. A local appliance seller has massively hiked the price of freezers - ditto on Amazon. In the motor business you have to learn to deal with all sorts. Stay cool, don't get stressed. If I get an offer I don't like I just give them a polite 'no thanks'...

Research from New England Journal of Medicine published on 17th March gives a virus half-life of about 7 hours on plastic and steel surfaces. That means the virus should largely die out after about 72 hours (3 days). So not using the car for three days should render it safe. Bear in mind the virus can be airborne and live in ventilation systems, so if moving a car turn off the blower and open the windows.

TBH I don't know. We have had Vag-Com/VCDS for many years so never tried manual coding.

I fully expect theft, and crime in general, to increase.

We stopped buying anything just over three weeks ago and dumped quite a lot of stuff to the block. Stock level now about 30% of what we normally carry. I did this after I watched a video from China explaining that some of the biggest business losers in Wuhan were car dealerships, unable to make payments on their stocking loans. That got me thinking... The UK car market is built on very shaky foundations. Too much debt throughout the industry, too much financial 'sleight of hand' and too many customers over-bought. Many on leases will not be able to maintain payments. Just look at Pendragon and Lookers - they are now 'penny share' companies. Things are going to get very very ugly.

Yes, you can replace with s/hand. Code the module and program the keys on Channel 21 as per this link: http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Audi_A4_(8E)_Comfort_System As to it being bone dry but faulty - well, its 17 years old and they weren't all that reliable when brand new!

I agree too. Applies to anything French really (and I now include most Nissans in that). Added to Italian crap and quite a few German models, I am rapidly running out of marques I can confidently buy. I have a soft spot for Far Eastern brands (except Nissan).

OK. I have seen Pugs with this set of these apparently unrelated fault codes before. Its the ECU. I suggest you go here: https://www.ecutesting.com/common-faults/peugeot/peugeot-207-ecu-common-anti-pollution-fault/

As I said before, this is a fragile system. We have had a lot of A4s over the years with faults related to comfort module. Look for broken wires at door hinges and faulty sensors (roof position sensor, door switch). The module itself could be faulty. Can you scan it with VCDS ?

Can you give the fault code? Almost anything throws up 'anti pollution fault'. Camshaft sensor going faulty due to water ingress is very common on these - I assume the mechanic has checked that. If you are getting P11A8 then that is a loose chain - not uncommon and quite a big job to fix.

IIRC on the A4 its pass side footwell. If it turns out not to be wet there are other possible faults. These are a fragile system. Even a bad door switch can stop it working. VCDS will help - everyone dealing with VAG cars should have it.

This is a fairly common fault on these although thankfully its a while since we've had one in. Water ingress into comfort control module (located passenger side). Often the carpet is dry but dig down to the module and its soaking wet. Water usually gets in via the rear cover that goes over the roof. You need to get the module out and try to dry everything, check connectors and check for rotted out wiring. If its been wet a long time it may be past fixing - and of course they are not cheap..... If you get it working suggest you get a new battery too - they can be temperamental if the battery is not in good shape. You may need to reset the roof with a manual close/open (ign on). The roof motors are also a bit crap, brushes wear quickly and also can get wet and fail. Not my favourite cars..

No. Not an expert. But I understand elementary maths and statistics. UK Chief Medical Officer says 60-80% of the population likely to get it. If you are a used car dealer you are likely to interact with a lot of people. Therefore you are highly likely, sooner or later, to meet people who have/had Covid-19.

Typical UK. Work within the system and do everything properly and you get screwed. Lie, cheat and break the law and there are generally few consequences. Mate of mine had a cat stolen off a vehicle on his forecourt. Had full colour CCTV and a reg. no. for the police but they told him 'no resources to follow up'. But you put a wheel in a bus lane and its instant £100 fine. My insurance has doubled in the last three years despite us making no claims and having excellent security. I'm told its because more claims have been made in our area..... After almost 60 years I've had it with the UK. I'm semi-retired and spend half the year overseas - soon to increase to 9 months +. I walk around the city where I lived for most of my life and the residents who now live there look at me like 'what are you doing here'.

Most modern car engines are well sealed against water so long as you don't go mad with the pressure, that is with the exception of the alternator. So avoid washing the alternator. We have a valeter and my instructions to him are low pressure wash on cold or slightly warm engine (never wash hot engine). Then blow off excess water with airline. Then start engine and run (with A/C on) for 5 minutes to dry off. Let it cool down a bit and then apply some engine dressing. Had a bad experience with a washed engine a few years ago. I had a hospital appointment. Someone was using my car so grabbed the keys to an Alfa that had just been valeted. Drove about 4 miles into town with no problem. Arrived at the busiest junction in town. Cars all around me. Alfa starts missing and cuts out right when I am in the centre lane in the middle of the junction. Bloody nightmare getting it to the kerb. Nobody helping just blowing horns. Seems water had got blasted under engine cover onto coils. Let it dry out and it was OK. Missed my appointment though.

You will do.

I don't think you grasp the statistics associated with this pandemic. Coronavirus is over ten times as contagious as flu. It has a fatality rate 10-20 times that of flu. Most people will only by mildly affected, but enough will be made seriously ill to cause the NHS to go into meltdown. The government are estimating around 150000 people will need intensive care. The UK has 4000 intensive care beds and not enough IC trained nurses to staff them all. Scotland has 190 IC beds. 70% are already in use. Per head of population we have one-third the European average of IC beds. We are not well equipped to tackle this. To bring it back to car dealing, we decided two weeks ago not to buy any more stock. Our stock is at about 50%. I suggest plan for the worst but hope for the best. Failing to plan is planning to fail. My gut feeling is this will run for six months or more and many businesses will fail.

Yes, I think the bonnet changed in 2010. 2010-on is 5J0823031B. I believe before 2010 its same number but 'A'. On 2010-on its same as the Roomster bonnet. Body parts catalogue here: https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/fabia/fab/2009-608/8/823-823010/ You can edit model/year etc as you wish.

Looking at some of the comments on here what I would say is who needs the over-qualified so-called 'experts' of the World Health Organisation sitting on their over-paid fat backsides dishing out doom and gloom? Project Fear mark 2 ! Never trust an expert! They could all be fired and replaced with a panel of randomly-chosen used car dealers. With an added bonus that once they have sorted Coronavirus and got the economy back on an even keel the same guys can crack on with a comprehensive international trade deal and get Brexit done and dusted by Christmas. The fish-stealing Froggies and emission-cheating Jerries won't know what's hit 'em!

My youngest daughter is in the travel business. Apparently going forward most NEW travel policies now exclude losses due to Coronavirus. If you act quickly you may still find a policy that gives cover.

Autotrader don't sell cars, but seem to make quite a lot of money.

Brexit hasn't really happened yet and this virus hasn't properly arrived in the UK yet. Its arrived in Italy though and already over 460 people have died in the last few days. Its NOT flu, its about ten times more deadly than flu. Hence the travel restrictions in Italy. Anyone who runs a real business (i.e. not a kerbside/backyard trader) should take the threat seriously and plan for a lean few months. Hopefully it won't hit as hard as some expect, but in business its best to plan for the worst and hope for the best.

LOL! Are you serious? The virus made its way from central China to places like Italy and Iran. I doubt the Channel is much of an impediment. Agree. For example, my youngest daughter works for one of the big travel companies. Bookings have dropped off a cliff. Company are talking about unpaid leave... she and her boyfriend have bills to pay.....

Italy has much better healthcare than UK and their hospitals are being completely overwhelmed. They are not even looking at anyone over 65 years old or who has cancer or diabetes. This will be the UK in a few weeks' time. Yes we survived wars in the past, but at huge cost and many millions died. Don't be complacent. I agree with CCC that those sitting on a lot of debt will be the first to fall.

I just had to sit down and take a few deep breaths when I read that....