DutyPaid

New seat belt now fitted by Skoda. All sorted for now. New tyres, new wishbones and new seat belt. Suspension next. Far too hard and looks too low. That's for another day and a new thread. Thanks all.

That's how it seemed with my local garage this morning.

The red and black looks miles better than my white and black.

Wouldn't like 18 inch rims, to be honest. This size seems bang on, I just want something that looks a little nicer. These Michelins are superb. I bought the car a few days ago and have been feeling my way into the motor. With these tyres it is so much fun. Had a 70 mile trip today and was gobsmacked. First time I've give it the beans. Grinning like the Cheshire cat!!

I've sorted it through my local Skoda dealership. I went to a garage this morning and they wouldn't touch a seatbelt repair, referred me to the dealer. That being the case, booked in for Wednesday. More than I'd like to pay,but I'd rather have a new seat belt fitted by Skoda.

Any advice on wheels that suit the Fabia? Not that these don't, I'm just looking for some that aren't black. I purchased this car four days ago and these are what I got.

This is what I have.

Hi, yes I have done this backwards, to be sure. I wasn't considering new wheels until I got these new tyres. Never mind. Thank you.

I want to break up the all black wheel/tyre combo.

Hi, I've just purchased a Fabia vRS estate and I'm thinking about changing the wheels. Don't know exactly what I'm after at this point but is there a place that will px? Take mine for a bit of a saving? Or perhaps ebay etc is the best option. My Fabia currently has 17" wheels. Had 205/40 17 Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tyres fitted all round today but I'm not into the wheels. They're black, look nice but I'd like a bit of gunmetal, or a bit of an accent. There's just too much black going on, would like to offset that with a nice set of silver/gunmetal wheels. Thanks.

Hi, I have just purchased a Fabia vRS Estate and I'm looking to replace the aftermarket head unit that is currently installed. Currently, an Xtrons device is installed. A shocking piece of kit. I'm looking for a good quality unit that will sync with my phone, contacts etc, provide excellent DAB reception and bluetooth streaming from my Samsung phone (I use Tidal). Maybe Satnav, if that's a possibilty. This Xtrons has an aerial on the passenger side of the windscreen. Terrible reception. I'd like this relocating back to the roof. Any advice on what to look at and also looking for a trusted seller and installer in the North West. Sound quality on this Xtrons is also awful. Don't know if that is down to the unit itself or also due to the quality of the Fabia speakers. My old Ford Focus was leagues ahead in audio quality and useabilty. If the standard speakers in the the Fabia are bobbins, then I'd be happy to upragde these also. Sound quality and functionality are important, so I'm looking at higher tier kit. I don't want to cut corners. Advice welcome. Thanks.

Carlston, thank you for the extra info in the edited post above. I'll just get them.

I can see this costing a few quid to fix the couple of flaws. In the main, it's bang on. I hope it's worth it. Last week I was ready to pull the trigger on a 19 plate, Honda Civic 1.0 SR with 9k miles. That would have been 18 grand. I was offered this and went for it. Let's have some fun, right. At the end of the day, I'm happy to spend what I need to get it 100%. Thanks again.

I didn't got for the ball joints, btw. I don't have the quote to hand for the ball joints but I think they were 40 quid a pop. Thanks.

Thanks, Carlston. So I do get the nuts, bolts and screws quoted? Sorry, I'm not a mechanic and not skilled with motor maintenence. I just want to make sure I'm not being sold stuff I don't need. So I accept the extra parts included in the quote? Thank you,.

Fingers crossed. I will let you know in time. Just need to get these remaining issues boxed off so that I can really enjoy it. Thanks again !

Hi and thanks. Four new Michelin Pilot Sport 5's were fitted this afternoon, so sorted now. Hopefully they'll live up to the hype. They do look nice, I must say. Plus, I get £50 back from Michelin for getting four, so the set will cost £430.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 5's were fitted today. Thank you all. I also went to the local Skoda dealership today. Image attached for what they quoted for the wishbones. Do I need to purchase the fifty quid worth of nuts and bolts or just the arms? Also, are these the corret arms? I also asked about the seatbelt and they quoted 136 for a new belt with 105 fitting plus vat, so £290.23 total. Can any garage do this, and for less than for the best part for 3 hundred quid? They quoted £60 for a diagnosis look and fix for free is it will take under 30 minutes. If it can't be sorted in this time I will still have to pay the full £290. The belt is driving me crazy. Can take 20 or 30 attempts to put it on. Do you reckon a garage would be happy to take a look without a diagnosis fee? Seems bonkers to pay £60 or worse, £290 if a squirt of WD40 will do the trick. Thanks again, all. As a new forum member, I must say you've been really helpful. Much appreciated.

Perfect. Thank you, Mick.

A couple more questions, if that's ok? The seatbelt seems to be a pain in the backside. Takes many attempts to get it to release when I jump in. Very frustrating. Is this an easy fix? Also, the head unit has been changed to an Xtrons device. It has the DAB aerial on the windscreen. Audio breaks up all the time. Never had an issue with DAB on my Ford Focus. Great reception, bullet proof. No issues ever. This is terrible. Any advice on better DAB reception? Any car audio experts that can assist? Thank you.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 5's are being fitted tomorrow. Thanks, all, for the input. Thank you, Carlston, for the detailed suspension info.

Thank you, Thomas and Ken. Both of these places are local. I want to get the work done asap, so will call them tomorrow. As for the tyres, I can get the Rainsport 5's fitted to the rears through Asda Tyres for £175.96. I really don't mind getting all four corners sorted. Would it be better to get the same tyre on each corner, rather than keeping the front tyres I currently have and just replacing the rears? It will cost £450 or thereabouts to get four Michelin Pilot Sport 5 or Goodyear Eagle F1 Aysemmetric 6 and I'm fine with that. Thanks.

I think it's between the Michelin and Goodyear. Size is 205/40 17

Hi, I've just signed up to to forum. Hello all. I have just purchased a 2011 Fabia VRS Estate. The MOT is good until April 2023 but there are two advisories that I would like to get sorted. One is "Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement Front (BOTH)" The other is "Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge Rear Lower (BOTH)". My first query is, would anybody be able to recommend a garage in Cheshire/Lancashire to sort the pin/ bush issue? Secondly, tyre choice. I could just replace the rear tyres but would it be a good idea to replace all four? I don't mind sorting all four corners. I'm considering the Goodyear Eagle F1Asymmetric 6. I could just purchase 2 of these for the rears but would it be better to get all four? I've also been looking at the cheaper Avon ZV7. Any advice on tyre choice? Thank you.