I was quoted £650-1000 for repair so would think by the time the engine is opened up then £1000 for other problems may be about right

It is up to them to destroy my card details and not store them on there computers but this is a guideline set down by card companies They did not do that either Raydetinu, do you really think it acceptable to withdraw money from your bank account without your express permission, read Admirals reviews, they do Given the fact they can automatically renew and then 24 days later suggests they can automatically cancel which they did again without my permission. Seems to me they can do what the hell they like. It is the first time I have come across this system in 36 years of driving and arranging insurance for 4 vehicles a year so forgive me if I did not know they are moving the goal posts. Each time I have rang Admiral I have been met with delays on a rep answering the phone. I do not have online billing and await my invoices to check how long I have spent contacting Admiral This site has a reviews section. Try looking at the reviews for Admiral insurance, wish I had Not Admiral below We are currently at loggerheads with a holiday insurance, 3 months after a claim because Heathrow had closed all runways and we had driven from Newcastle to Heathrow to get on a connecting flight 2 non fault claims to insurance companies took 18months each to sort I could go on but if you think the insurance companies are trustworthy then more the fool you I DONT

Admiral Insurance are currently trying to make me pay for a renewal on a car insurance for a car I got rid off before the policy expired. As it happens they were unable to collect money from my bank. I did try to confirm cancellation of the policy on the phone but I waited for 6-8minutes to speak to a representative and then had to go to work. They have now put the ??debt?? in the hands of a debt recovery agent, spoke to them, asked if there was a dispute, then I would have to go back to Admiral Rang Admiral again they said I no longer had a policy with them and could not send me a copy of the proposal form Admiral even have the cheek to charge 8p per minute to telephone them. Gladiator part of the Admiral group have just lost my van insurance My girlfriend is not going to renew with them Admiral

A friend of mines son has an 05 1200 polo with the same problems as it happens number 3 cylinder low on compression (same as daughters) and he has removed the head. He has worked on engines of all types for years, bikes cars trucks. I spoke to him last night and he says number 3 exhaust valve is crazed with cracks and the car has only done 30k And vw dont think there is a problem. Head in sand springs to mind!

Considering VW are basically treating consumers as guinea pigs with more contractual get out clauses than I would know what to do with I think fit for purpose is slipping from VW's ethics even with there expensive R&D department As to offering alternatives to grinding the top of the valve stem, not sure what else to do, not as if I would expect them to remove 5mm As to the last comment with regard to machine shops the company I am talking to have been in business for over 40years that i know off Cut backs in machine shops will largely be due to more reliable cars in general and a crazy institution that thought scraping cars would save the planet I am no financial wizard but even 5 years ago I could see trouble ahead when financial institutions were offering people credit even if you had County court judgements

The engine/cylinder head guy I spoke to and I mentioned the issues with clearances and he says he could grind a small amount of the top of the valve to counter this problem with valve clearance

I have done a compression test on my daughters car and 1 cylinder is very low on compression. She has 2 kids and short of cash after christmas so she is running around in mazda demio I have been in touch with a local engine shop and he is seeing a lot of polo's with valve problems rather than piston/rings/bores problems. He has advised me to remove head and he feels sure he can repair it. My daughters car has a full service history but not all VW so I would guess she/we will have to go it alone with parts and labour Very poor design from VW so along with Renault (girlfriend has a Megane) they are both off my I wan't list

As allready said on Blinky123 thread my daughters polo can probably be added to the long list of compression issues with this model her car has done 40K miles, have VW improved the replacement cylinder heads or is just a case of pay up and wait another 40k to see if it goes again She is checking service records I will probably do the repair myself but will pay a visit to local VW dealer for thier comments

New to this site and it has allready given an insight to a problem with daughters 2005 VW 1.2 polo This posting has had over 10000 views suggesting there is a lot of people out there with polo problems The more I look the more I am finding issues with this model of engine, is there a national register of problems with Polo I will probably have a go at the repairs to her car that has only done 40k and misfiring and vibrating suggesting the loss of compression not helped by VW allready removing 1 of the cylinders lol Strange thing is she bumped a little mazda demio that prior to bump she had no problems with and she had to have a newer car (not the old banger) that I repaired for £70 in used parts and walked thrugh another MOT and now wants it back lol