The passenger side window on my car seems to be playing up and making some nasty noises, two options i can strip it and see if i can fix it, or i can take the car to a garage to fix it.

i have an idea of what is wrong and how much the parts will cost, curious about labour costs, how much do garages charge, and how do they charge, is pricing on how long it actually takes or does every job has a timescale and that is the price?

and has anyone had to strip the door of a MK 1 Octavia down to look at the mechanism?

I would have a look my self. Window mechanisms are usually a bolt or rivet come loose if they are making a noise or try spraying wd40 down the rubber runners.

http://passionford.com/forum/general-discussion/256831-skoda-octavia-door-card-advice-or-anyone-with-some-guesses.html
some info here on door card removal

or if you can post a picture of the door card I can tell you where the screws/clips are. or try to

Stripped and cleaned the drivers one on my fathers 98 primera and it was easy as, but when i was repairing the locks on my old 99 passat the insides of the vw door which may be similar to yours wasnt terribly inviting. What does the great Haynes say??

Go to a scrappy to the new part. You will have to remove it from the donor vehicle yourself and you can a practice on that and see how it all goes together.

Might be a bit late for a mk1 octavia now, but the regulator on the passenger side window of my mk4 Golf broke. As they were plastic and people complained about them they extended the warranty on them, so I got it replaced for free. This was a while ago mind – 4 years or so.

Hang on…

my point was you might be able to get it done free. I wasn't saying it's definitely the regulator.

Though I'd better clear that up.