willias400

Yes, ouch, there was a big hit and I wouldn't have done it had I not sold my previous house and got some money out of it etc. We needed something bigger so took the loss. It could have been worse as I got a fair discount when I bought it. Funny thing was I had a call from Skoda UK about three days after I changed wanting to know if all was well with the Fabia. She was very shocked it had already gone as she'd never had that before, but we had a laugh about it. I should have taken the opportunity to provide feedback that a MK3 VRS is required! I'm very chuffed with the Leon. It's light to drive, maybe too light in some respects but for an estate it handles so well. The engine takes me back to my old VAG PD TDi days as they've managed to get that 'shove in the back' feeling again from low down in the revs which I think has been missing. The acceleration is great for such a big car, it pulls very well. It's not as quick as the Fabia but much more refined and a great motorway cruiser. It's so comfortable too, it has lumber support, well placed arm rest etc. You can sit down very low in the car which I prefer. One of my only minor grumbles with the Fabia. It's a low car anyway and reasonably wide, which probably explains the handling. It's lower than my partners BMW 1 series F20 on the drive. If I had one minor issue, the boot isn't as big as you'd think. It supposedly has 587 litres with the seats up which is one of the biggest in its class and the reason I didn't opt for a 3 series BMW or C class Merc. The thing is, with most new estates now, the rear end is very nicely shaped, it's not squared off as they used to be and whilst this helps the look of the car, it does affect space inside. It has a variable boot floor which helps drop it down, but it is quite shallow with the boot floor level with the bumper etc. There is still enough room for our big dogs which is what we wanted, but the boot isn't as deep as the Fabias as that's a taller car. We can get loads more on the back seats though which is what we wanted ultimately too. As mentioned I tried to get an Octavia VRS but they are rare, popular and pricey, so it was either the Leon ST, a VW Passat (177), or a Skoda Superb (170). The Leon won on kit, looks, price and performance. I can just about squeeze it into my garage too which I think I would have struggled with on the other two. Cheers.

Indeed, but hopefully it will benefit someone on here. It already has paintwork protection on too so don't let them sell you that!

All, Just to let you know that with a heavy heart I traded in my near enough new 14 plate Fabia VRS Estate last weekend. It just wasn't big enough unfortunately as we discovered when we tried to go away for the weekend in it a couple of weeks back. We ended up taking my partners hatchback as we could get more stuff in the back seat with the dogs in the boot. Loved the car, but I'd come into some cash so traded up for an ex showroom demo Seat Leon ST FR 184PS TDI with all the bells and whistles. I'm more of a diesel man it has to be said and tried to get an Octavia VRS estate, but couldn't find anything close to the price and spec of the Leon. If anyone wants a nice one it's at Westgate in Grimsby. It's up for £15k. They only gave me £12k for it so you'll have some bargaining power! :-) It only has 1,200 miles on the clock and a lot of that was done just driving up to Grimsby! There's not a mark on it and it hasn't used any oil.....yet! I'll wish you all the best with your Fabias and pop back on every now and again. Cheers.

Buy it! Go on you know you want to its a steal lol!

I actually like it. Reminds me a bit of the MK1.

Thanks for the responses and votes so far everyone. All very good stuff and interesting valid points of view. I propose to gather it all together at some point and email it into Skoda for what its worth. As mentioned in the press it said the VRS has always sold well in the UK, but do we have any international members wishing to provide any input?

I was offered a big fat '0' discount off a factory order!

It does affect your discount if you have the 0% PCP deal as the dealer doesn't get a kick back from the finance company that they can include, but in this case £500 is rubbish. For what it's worth I got three times that two months ago with 0%. It could well have been as I had a 'stock' car which Skoda would probably want to shift, so they passed on a discount to the dealer, who knows. I'd say shop around.

Yeah, that's what I paid. There's not a dealer that close and I work from home so it was easier for me to have it delivered for the money. I saw plenty of the cream coloured ones but not many black ones for the VRS that I needed.

I also did this over the bank holiday. Paid a little more off ebay but the part came from Rainworth Skoda. took me about 15 mins as I got in a mess with the alarm sensor wiring as I though I had to take it out but I didn't realise the whole block came off and transferred initially - doh! There's always one isn't there! Anyway, great little mod.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/skoda/fabia/64262/skoda-fabia-2014-price-and-release-date Found it!

Very good point! Never thought of that. Is there any way of posting this in the MK1 forum too without re-posting? Admins? @ISamge - I could have sworn I read somewhere that they said they like making cars like this so if there is a demand they would consider it. Apparently the MK2 only ever really sold in the UK. I've been searching but can't find the article. It wasn't the Top Gear one.

Indeed. Keeps them in profit I guess!

I got a VW MDI to lightning cable off ebay last week. It was £39. Apparently they started at around £70 ish when they first came out but prices are coming down. It works anyway! I tried getting the cheaper MDI to USB and hooking up my apple USB lightning cable but it wouldn't recognise it. Only the MDI to lightning cable seems to work. I know others have used 4 to 5 converters but I think you have to use an Apple one or it won't work with the cheaper replicas.

Ok, so here's an interesting concept, possibly one worth putting to Skoda. At the moment, the VRS model is being dropped for the Fabia MK3. Skoda management did say that if there were enough interest however, they would consider making one. So, the question is, if there were a MK3, would you be interested? If so, what would be on your wish list? What if they were to drop in a TSI and TDI engine? Realistically the new 189PS from the forthcoming Polo GTI and the existing 150PS diesel unit? DSG and Manual options? Opinions and replies very much welcomed.

I'd be willing to sign! It could well be that VAG don't want the competition for the Polo GTI, Audi S1, or Ibiza Cupra though as the VRS always outsold them. It's not just Ford and Mini though is it, there are others, such as the Corsa VXR, albeit long in the tooth, with questionable reliability also and sky high running costs, but Vauxhall offer HUGE discounts and good finance to shift them in high quantities. Skoda shifted a fair few Fabia VRSssss when they did the no VAT deal and 0% finance etc. People like a good deal and discount etc. I think the MK3 has real potential as the Fabia model has always been a big seller. If they got a VRS model right it would sell. More options as standard, i.e. climate control, arm rest etc. the right engines i.e. petrol and diesel versions, some slightly better individual colour and style options as with the Mini and DS3 for example. People expect value for money with Skoda so it would have to be priced right too. They may be better dropping the twin charger as it has such a bad reputation now in favour of another turbo. The Monte and the VRS would need to follow the same line as the Ibiza FR and Cupra i.e. the Cupra is the best looking and spec'd top model, whereas at the moment the Monte gets better styling than the VRS.

I think there are a number of factors but the biggest one being sales as the big boss at Skoda fairly recently mentioned. It's a real shame too as the new Fabia looks good, or at least from the pictures I've seen anyway. I'd love to see a VRS model. The Monte's seem to fly out of the showroom and in my opinion actually look nicer than the VRS, so Skoda are bound to go down that route for profit. All show and no go I think someone mentioned, although I don't want to start an argument! People seem to like the look but don't want the higher tax, insurance, fuel bills (petrol and oil!) etc. Which is obviously another point, if the twin charger continued to be used, many people will be put off now by the potential oil usage and reliability. It is a shame to lose the Fabia VRS, especially when the Octavia sells so well also, but there's another point, it has the option of petrol or diesel. Again, most people plump for diesel due to running costs etc. but there is no diesel option for the Fabia. As the mark 1 VRS sold so well, maybe they should have followed Seat's lead and dropped the 2.0 CR TDI in a Fabia as well? I've owned one and it's not exactly a hot hatch by any means with 143PS, but it would probably boost sales and could handle a decent remap. The new 184PS version would be great in a Fabia but would never make it into production, again due to limited sales potential. It seems to be quite a specific market and it looks as though Skoda are leaving it up to their VAG cousins to cater to the smaller sports buyers.

For what its worth I took my first long run yesterday in my VRS down to Heathrow to drop my mom off. I followed a 1.2 TSI Fabia estate for a short while down the A43 past Silverstone until the lady driving it left me standing! She was certainly making it move so I don't think they are that slow. I presume it was the 105 PS. Had I not still been running mine in or had my nervous mom on board I would have gone after her to see what they can do.

Thanks George. I actually get more flashes from people at night when I have my headlights and side lights on as they think I have fog lights switched on too. It may actually help losing them altogether but then there are the legalities I guess. Personally I have no issue with them, but it does seem to rather annoy other drivers who think they know better and it's not even like I do many miles. Shame Skoda ditched the switch really or didn't use the same set up as the Monte. DRL's should be in the main light unit with the side lights and the fogs should be down below, but I'm sure this has been said many times.

Yep, just pulled my cover off and it's exactly the same as above. There is a big hole on the right where the switch would/should be. I reckon they must have removed it from the latest versions. It's bit of a pain that as I wanted to turn mine off. I've read someone on here has pulled the fuse and the car is still running fine. Anyone know which one it is off hand?

Agreed. I didn't pay anything for the warranty cover with Vauxhall, its standard now on all new cars for them. Yes, it was new. 0% 5 year finance, lifetime warranty, enormous discount etc. They do some amazing deals, but then they have to sell in large numbers I guess, hence poor residuals. I was quite impressed with my last Astra (latest shape). For a 2.0 diesel it wasn't exactly quick, or frugal for that matter, but fairly comfortable, handled reasonably and looked okay ish. Shame there are so many and they are slightly uninspiring.

...but for what it's worth, my last Vauxhall came with their lifetime warranty i.e. 100k miles for the first owner only which I think is a good deal. They do HUGE discounts on new cars too, but then the cars are overpriced for what they are in my opinion and residuals are awful on them. Kia do a good one too. Now that cars in general are getting more reliable you'd think more manufacturers might follow suit, but it's all about the money I guess.

I bought the extra 2 years warranty with mine last month to make it up to 5 years from the standard 3. They just added it on without asking as they do at dealers to make more money lol! I didn't argue having read some of the issues on here before buying and thought it was a worthwhile investment given the discount I got anyway. It's on a 42 month 0% PCP so I may not have it for the full 60 months of warranty, it all depends on whether I get issues with it or not and if the space in it works out okay for us longer term. If its a good one I may keep it and pay the bulk payment at the end. If not I'll probably trade up to an Octavia VRS DSG estate.

I think it tells you on the inside of the fuel flap to use 98, or at least it does on mine and it did on my old Ibiza too. Given some of the issues posted on here it seems like its asking for trouble using 95 Ant. :think:

I bought mine from stock last month and the dealer let me see exactly what was available sitting at the docks for all dealers to pick from. There were only 4 VRS'sss. Two white estates, one red estate and a white hatch, that was it. They all had various options. It doesn't seem that there are many sitting around unless dealers have ordered them in but then can't shift them. It could have been due to the new 14 plate though when I signed the deal. I would have preferred metallic or pearlescent etc. but I could only get a flat colour from stock. The discount was the deal sealer in the end.