martingump

I'm gonna cure my engine stutter once and for all.... I'm gonna buy a Fiat Grande Punto 1.9 Turbo Diesel!

Can I please be added!!! I've managed to achieve 82000 miles now in my Fabia VRS. The car was registered on 17th March 2006... That makes me the youngest member of the High Mileage Club!! The sad news is.... the car has never been more than 30 miles from my house!!!:P Us driving Instructors don't travel too far!

I'm sorry to do this to you all... but as a driving instructor who teaches in a Fabia VRS, I guess some of my students are the youngest! It's not uncommon for a first driving lesson as a 17th birthday present. So, students on 17th birthday are a regular feature. I have taught a 14 year old off the public highway, and she was ASTONISHINGLY good! Just to make all you young 'uns weap.... my insurance cost is LESS than £500 per annum, for ANY licenced driver (including provisional licence holders, when they comply with the licence requirements).... with or without me in the car! Some 17 year olds who've passed borrow the car for the weekend! Now then.... where'd I go for a Re-Map??? :P

I probably own the highest mileage Fabia VRS with a BLT engine :( The car is ABSOLUTELY STANDARD and has been thoroughly maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's requirement. I've done 75000 miles on an early 2006 model. It suffered with the stutter at about 45000 miles and had the gasket replaced by Wings Of Peterborough (but only after i'd looked on here and TOLD THEM what was wrong with it!!!!). I thought that this would be the end of my woes... alas not! The car has always suffered with a lumpy idle and what I regard as poor performance. There has always been large soot and smoke emissions from the exhaust and what I regard as poor acceleration. The response to accelerator inputs was also poor. I've also noticed a strange high pitched whistle from the turbo under heavy engine loads. At 73000 miles Engine Management warning light came on. Car taken to Vindis in Cambridge. EGR valve itself found faulty. and was replaced, along with gasket (modified). Car no better. Turbo boost pressure control system was analysed and found to be faulty. It seems that this control system had the turbo continuously performing at 'overboost' and this (I think!) has lead to failure of the turbo itself, resulting in the funny high-pitched noise under load. So, at 74000 miles I've had EGR gasket & valve replaced, turbo boost control system replaced and a new turbo. I estimate repairs to total

This was the dealership I sat in for 20 mins waiting to BUY my Furby!!! I knew the model, colour and price and was just waiting to place my order. It was fairly obvious that the sales staff were in a meeting in the Sales Managers office. I could see them! Not one of them wanted to sell me a car! I explained a member of staff who described himself as 'the company accountant' that all I wanted to do was place the order. He didn't seem overly interested... so I didn't seem interested either! I went elsewhere! I got a phone call 8 MONTHS later, asking me if I was still looking for a car! I could still be sat waiting in the showroom... nobody would have noticed or cared! Customer care.... it's pants at Vindis! I haven't been back since!

Do I get an entry 'cos of the rate of miles...? I have an 06 Furby VRS with 65000 on it, and climbing at the rate of 1300 miles per week! I know I'm not up to the 80000 required, but it's a driving school car and gets... erm... abused! It's stood up extreamly well thus far... just standard Furby VRS stutter (gasket cured it!), 2 blown bulbs and a buckled wheel (due to water-filled deep pot hole! ). No rattles, squeaks or breakdowns. Which is better than some of my instructor collegues in their MINIs (so far 100% breakdown rate of local instructors running MINIs!) and Corsas (15% breakdown rate!). Would I have another....? Skoda, make me a 170bhp 2.0 Turbodiesel Mk2 Furby VRS, and I'll batter my way to the front of the queue!

My Furby (06 Vrs WITH Stutter!) has just finished it's first year of service. I've managed to enjoy the car for 52000 miles. I was wondering, has anyone done any more in a Furby in a year? Only problems have been heater flappy bits, Stutter and 2 blown bulbs! 9/10 for reliability.

This one's easy... Open the window! :P

An old addage... You buy horsepower, you drive torque! Give me a diesel anyday! The 0-60 is over in seconds, whereas I spend hours behind the wheel!

AH-HA! Now I know who's nicked my DUSTBINS!!!

I'm 6'4".... but I can't read the scales 'cos me beer gut's in the way! Doctor said I should loose weight.... I told her that with and ar*e the size of hers, living in a glass house, she shouldn't throw stones!! Then I left the surgery.... before I was thrown out!!

I've never seen a dead cow's bum look so good!

Are blokes supposed to be pink??? I'm getting a complex.... I'm pink all over :(

Am convinced that storms are my mother-in-law casting spells on me! :(

I just thought you should be aware, that there used to be an annual competition to SWIM from Starcross to Exmouth! My father-in-law (now aged 80!) used to be a regular contestant. Must have been a good thing, as he married a woman that was 26 years younger than him! (and I bet there's still life in the old dog.... when he's given half a chance!) You could try that!

After Clarkson's comments last week about the Furby Vrs...... Do I care?? I'm still licking my wounds! I hurt easily! :shiner:

Well Count yerself lucky you've got a Skoda. I too am a driving instructor. A fellow instructor in Huntingdon runs a MINI One diesel. It died on 10th Feb 2006 on the A14. Just a sudden loss of power, while on a lesson. The A14 is one of the most congested dual carriageways in the country, with huge amounts of freight moving to the east coast ports, not the kind of place you want your car to die with a novice at the wheel. The local BMW MINI dealer couldn't find what was wrong with the car, and kept it 6 WEEKS!!!! The dealer failed to offer this instructor a replacement car while the dead MINI was off the road. The fault was eventually fixed when the car was returned to the factory, after said instructor threatened to go to the local press!!! It cost her

Could you please attatch a zoom lens to the camera for the next set of piccys you post. My Mother-In-Law lives in Starcross, and I'd like to keep an eye on the old w*tch! On the subject of the commute, you could a) catch the ferry b)paddle (it's not very deep accross the sand-banks) c)call out the lifeboat and have half a dozen beefy men carry you accross

Just thought I'd say 'ello. I'm Martin from Cambridgeshire, and now the proud owner of a Fabia Vrs in Silver. Now, you may think I'm bonkers, but I've extensively modified my Fabia.... by covering it with 'L' Plates! Yep, am a driving instructor and find the 'furby' ideal for the job. I particularly like the way it'll leave BMW 3 series of less than 3000cc for dead in the gears. Pupils laugh like mad when some up-start middle manager gets wasted down a slip-road! I'm hopefully training my pupils to love Skodas, and wondered if I could get a commission for every Fabia a pupil buys?