SEVrs

Car now sold. Thanks to everyone who expressed an interest.

Update and some better photos. Mileage was actually just 83,000. MoT Due and January 2019. As far as I am aware absolutely nothing needs doing...everything seems spot on. Photos may have to be split into a few posts due to file size. As you can see, I've been over-pessimistic in the description and the car has come up to what I hope you can agree is about as good as one of these gets. Paint has been polished in 4 stages using a DAS-Pro and Menzerna polishes to remove swirl marks from cleaning and then the surface sealed with Carlack Sealant before a final coat of Meguairs Tech Wax to finish it all off. This has saved the lucky new owner at least £150 in paint correction! Inside is lovely too as you can see from the photos. Snap this one up quick before someone else beats you to it! Two enquiries with one possible viewing as yet unconfirmed. Get back to me soon guys as its strictly first come, first served.

No one was biting your head off. You asked a question, it was answered. If you don't work and don't have money then running a car like this, and maintaining it, takes money. You were advised to get yours reconditioned and I told you how much Garrett replacement would cost you. A replacement turbo for £90? I don't think so. If it looks like a free lunch, such things generally don't exist. A knackered turbo as a donor for a refurb would cost you more than £90...buyer beware. Recon might just be possible for £300 but unless you know who did the work, how good they are, if it's been properly balanced and that the bearings are A1, then it could prove costly. I won't offer any more as clearly you don't seem to want advice from this forum. Good luck with it anyway.

Car now fully washed, polished, waxed and valeted. Decent photos to come tomorrow. Looking round it in detail, I'm surprised at just how good it is for a 2007 car. No stand-out body issues anywhere and cleaned and polished up to a gleaming finish...event the wheels don't look that bad now they've been done! Interior leather will all be treated to a coating of Lanolin and beeswax leather conditioner and the inside will have every nook and cranny cleaned and polished up. This could pass for a car less than half it's age. It's my wife's daily drive and having jumped an and taken it for a spin, it never ceases to put a big wide grin on my face...superb performer and rock solid, safe handling. It's such a shame that nothing as good or well made as these have since been built by Skoda....simple, reliable, economical, bomb-proof and fun motoring.

New under £300? No chance. My Garret cost me £780 plus fitting a year ago!!!

The car is Nr 057 of a limited run of 1000

I'll post a few more on separate posts as it's telling me I've exceeded 20mB (odd as the file is only 6mb!) Once the car has been thoroughly cleaned and polished I'll upload some decent photos but at least you can see from these that it's a decent tidy example and not messed about with.

Lovely desirable 2007 Mk1 SE model, . Genuine very low 85K mileage for year...you won't see many these days with lower miles than this (most are over 100K miles by now). Used daily. This model is in overall good condition for the age (2007) and comes with the usual SE refinements including leather seats, tinted glass and metallic blue paint. It had the later, more powerful BLT engine as stock which was closer to 150BHP from standard. Recent new OE spec (red) brake caliper which I had to source from Germany. New battery 18 months ago. New upgraded Garret turbo fitted 18 months ago at 75K miles at a cost of £1300. This was a brand new up-rated turbo over the weaker stock KKK item and delivers a little more boost but without any noticeable increase in lag and ensures long term reliability. This motor should be good for 300K miles. Car has never been thrashed and only two owners from new. One lady owner before me (missus of a garage mechanic) and then me. As I am in middle age and my boy racer days are long behind me, you can be assured that whilst I've never laboured the engine and it gets regular gentle blasts at steady speed, it has never, ever been thrashed or mis-treated. This is a good 'un. Whiteline anti-roll bar; Car handles great with this fitted and no need for pointless harsh ride lowered springs. Quantum "economy" map (approx 165BHP) so fantastic economy (62mpg long term average but closer to 75mpg on a motorway run at the speed limit with one all time best over 80 odd miles of 80mpg driving gently!). This map isn't as fierce as some so transmission gets a far easier time but it does make mid-range grunt appreciably more than standard, giving a really spirited drive with loads of overtaking oomph when needed. EGR valve mapped out, and blanking plate fitted to turbo manifold so no nasty gumming up of inlet manifold, which itself was removed at 54K miles and dipped to clean out all the gunk that builds when these modern diesels are used to potter about letting oil mist from crank case breather mix with egr sooty gasses (hence the mapping out of the egr). Usual fabia door seal mods done after 50K miles when the usual problem of water ingress started between the door skins and car has remained bone dry ever since. Garret turbo (factory new, not a refurb) was fitted as original KKK turbo let go at 75K miles, Whole intake system and inter-cooler cleaned out at the turbo renewal time. Car has full service history and has been well maintained throughout it's life so is in mechanically tip-top condition as you'd expect. Photos to follow after car gets a good wash and polish! Overall not mint with some expected minor signs of wear and tear but no visible dings or dents. The odd minor blemish to paintwork but polishes up to look fabulous. Wheels are a little tatty with brake dust baked on in places and some lacquer wear, all to be expected on any of these cars by now but nothing that a refurb wouldn't address to get them mint. Only fault I can find is one of the rear seat down catches has broken but easy to open with a little home made ingenuity! I bought a spare new cruise control stalk as the cruise switch never worked on it, but never got round to fitting it. I will supply this to the lucky new owner. Car drives and handles like a dream. Am looking for £3,900 ono for this appreciating classic Fabia...the best fabia ever made! The price is fair considering all the work done, and reflects the genuine low miles and money spent and you won't find much better at the price anywhere. Sensible offers of course considered. Grab it while you can...One like this I suspect won't hang around long. Getting harder and harder to find decent examples of these...

Been using Millers Long life, 505.1 and 505.2 approved oil and did notice a slight improvement in both fuel economy and power. It's only a few mpg on average but when I set the trip from the last service almost a year ago, the VRS has averaged 65mpg, up a few mpg from the oil it previously used which I think was Quantum. Just bought a litre of Motul 505.1 specific 5w/40 which I understand to be "VW Approved" to top up between services.

+1 My VRS has done it ever since I bought it 2 years go at ever cold start up and there's no running or oil consumption problems.

Suzuki Celerio?

V5 confirms BLT....my mistake.....confused it with our earlier model doh! Yes, Bacon Lettuce & Tomato engine it is

Mine is a 2007 registered SE and is an ASZ.

There's not a lot to choose between a well set up vRS or a comfort model for...errrr...comfort! (imho) so the 1.9vRS SE gets my vote. Ours has been a real workhorse, covering long distances in comfort, with reasonable luggage space, total reliability and outstanding economy as well as performance. It has been used for everything from family getaways to tip runs/school runs, for shopping and for fun. How many 1.4 engined versions manage high 70's mpg I wonder? There hasn't been such a good fun, reliable, economical performance hatch made yet that comes close imho. Whilst they may be short on toys and gimmicks, they deliver where it counts. Even the insurance group is cheap. My vote goes to the ASZ engined 2007 SE model, the last, and the best of the MK1 vRS models imho. I have had earlier BLT models but the interiors let them down and the gearing didn't seem as optimised.

TENs isn't so much under-rated, as unknown by many I suspect. For those who don't know what a Tens machine is, "TENS" stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation It works simply by sending various types of electrical pulse grouping into the skin which trigger muscle reflexes, helping in many cases to alleviate pain, loosen stiff muscles and help in everything from stiffness and pain to simple muscle relaxation. There is no clinical evidence yet to suggest that it is a clinical remedy, but anecdotal evidence from TENS users shows quite an encouraging percentage of users who do gain benefit (including myself!). The secret is in choosing one with a variety of pulsing and massage settings , using the correct level setting and knowing the best places to place the gel backed pads to. You do have to be careful as the machines are a nerve as well as muscle stimulator, and placing pads on the inside or outside just below the elbow joint for example, to try and relieve tennis elbow will trigger nerve reactions in the hands and fingers, often painfully. They shouldn't be directly placed on the spine either nor anywhere on the head. Typical applications include lower, mid and upper back, shoulders/upper arms and legs. Those wearing pace makers or who have a dicky heart deffo shouldn't use one! The level they are set at also determines how effective they are. I was told to use them at a strength setting that is just about bearable and no less. It's amazing just how much pain can be inflicted by a couple of AA batteries!

Lancia Delta I reckon too...

I suffer from a bad back (prolapsed discs in lower back) and have done for years, and been hospitalised on several occasions following accidents where my back has been injured. Worst thing you can do with pulled muscles is to lay still as sometimes the back causes the lower muscles unaffected to bind up tight to protect the back from movement and further injury as a natural reaction. This can make the pain worse and result in a very stiff lower back so the last thing you should do is completely to rest up. Don't carry anything heavy for a while or twist, as twisting from the waist is one of the primary causes of pulled/torn lower back muscles along with over straining (bending and lifting without bending the knees...always keep a straight back when lifting!). As Chris mentions, also avoid any activity like the one that caused the injury until healed. My back specialist advised me to take painkillers, a mix of anti-inflams and analgesics (paracetamol, co-dydramol, Zaipan for bad pain etc.). The immediate steps are: 1. Ice pack (wrapped in tea towel or similar) to the affected area as described above; 2. rest for the first day only, taking anti inflammatory tablets (ibuprofen, or if that doesn't relive local inflammation, etoricoxib 60mg once per day on prescription only...this is a fantastic anti inflam for back injuries) and analgesics to lessen pain during the day; 3. best exercise to help muscle recovery starting one day later is walking, as the action of the hip movement on the lower back muscles gently stretches out the muscles which may have bunched up which are pulling down on the spine and causing more pain and stiffness. This gentle exercise will NOT make torn back muscles worse. It's essential for a rapid recovery unless muscles have been badly torn (you wouldn't be able to walk if they were!) followed by application of an ice pack. Even with a badly pulled muscles, doing the above will have you back to normal usually within a week unless the injury is severe. I sometimes use Alo-Vera heat cream (doesn't smell as bad as deep heat!) to help mask the pain. TENS machine can also be very effective at pain relief for the lower back. You can pick them up from most chemists for about ten to fifteen quid these days. Most effective time for anti-inflams to do their job apparently is at night when you are asleep, so whatever way you dose them out, make sure you take some just before sleep.

I've only tried the Quantum maps (they offer 3 different ones: Economy, mild performance and performance). On the performance map, the car was putting out about 180BHP but smoked massively and the torque came in a bit too low causing wheelspin in 4th gear (!). It was unusable really. The middle map was the best compromise for power/torque but still smoked too much on 3/4 throttle. The "economy" map saw 165BHP (up from the std car's 150 BHP which is surprisingly what the ASZ engine pumped out) and this was the best real-world map with little to no smoke, a more tractable ride and usable power. 0-60 times were a shade over 7 seconds (timed) best and averaged 7.5. On reflection, with the reports from Fabooka, I would now go to them in future. I will say this though, we've had over 75mpg on a run from the Quantum map which is the best we've ever had from a 1.9tdi engine and locally with short trips it still returns 55mpg plus unless booted.

That didn't last long :clap: Lexus GS300

Crikey...(scratches head)...OK, try this one:

Ford Zephyr?

I live not too far away and can highly recommend the guys just off the A38 near Slimbridge for bodywork repairs. We had serious damage ot the rear offside of our Merc last year and they did an immaculate repair job for very reasonable money. I think they were called Dursley Prospect Autobodies, and should be in the phone book.

DMF I would have thought would chatter a lot on tickover in neutral if on its way out? Could be the bearing. Clutch plates can produce lots of friction material dust which can build up and clog the actuating arms/bearings, this making the clutch a bit hit and miss and stiffer. A friend has just been landed with a £600 bill for stripping the clutch and replacing a broken actuator arm for this very reason.

CB125