pick up my VRS on Friday and done just over 300 miles so far... wow even when trying to be nice to it to run it in (3000rpm max, no full throttle) and I`m amazed with the kick it can give! great car and looks fantastic in red!

put some StotchGuard on the seats yesterday and left it to dry, hope this helps them to stay looking good, used 1 and a half tins of 400ml, sound about right?

so far getting around 53mpg out of it, mainly done motorway miles, but it was better mpg on A roads, guess from the lower speed, but still higher than I expected for running in.

I guess its going to be using a bit of oil while running, so I hear anyway. What oil should I get to top it up, I called a dealer at the weekend and they said I have to get "special oil for the PD engine, only sold from VW/Skoda dealers" , is there anything i can get from H@lfords or is that comment correct?

cant wait to get back on the road!!

Cheers

Glad you like the new car Andy. The oil you use needs to be VW spec 505.01. Castrol Longlife produce an oil that meets this spec (the label is endorsed to this effect). Halfords sell it, but when I bought some, it was cheaper from my Skoda dealer.

If you search on the 'My Maintanence' forum you'll find some threads debating other oils like Millers for instance.

On running in, I followed this advice from Daily Telegragh columnist Honest John:

"First 1,000 miles limit to 3,000 rpm but make sure you hit 3k regularly. Next 1,000 miles ( 1k to 2k) limit to 3,500 rpm, but make sure you hit it regularly. Next 1,000 miles (2k to 3k) limit to 4,000 rpm and make sure you hit 4k rpm regularly. After 3k increase your limit to 4,500 rpm, make sure you hit that at least a few times a week. After 4k miles, take it to 4,500 rpm or to the limiter at least a couple of times a week through the gears. That way you will help free off the piston rings, will help stop the engine turning into an oil burner, will help keep the injectors clean and will help prevent soot accumulating in the exhaust system. Though many diesel drivers will be horrified at the thought of extending their engines to 4,500 rpm, doing it just a couple of times a week usually beings an overall economy benefit and is what the MOT tester will do to your engine any way".

I followed this to the letter and after 7,000 miles I have zero oil consumption and very little smoke from the tailpipe.

Hope that helps.

You could - and arguably should - follow the running in advice in the Owners Manual which is specific to modern VAG engines.

on the running in side.... the dealer told me "not to worry" and the handbook (which is generic for all Fabia's) says first 1000km dont exceed 3000rpm....

I`m planning to follow the Honest John rules.... mine appears to be a little smokey at the mo, and with a small whisps of what looks like blue smoke in the black smoke... so I want to make sure that stops

I`ll go to my dealers to get some oil then, best to have some in!

aye my new car is the same a bit smokey, only got around 300-350 miles on the clock as I only got it on wednesday. I'm trying not to excede 2000 revs except when i had a bit play with a honda S2000 of course :P (guess what though... I lost :( )

Not exceeding 2000 rpm could well be labouring the engine, putting un-necessary forces on it.

not if you keep it in low gears

Yet more running in advice from HonestJohn - this time from his FAQs:

10. What is your advice about running in a new car and changing the oil for the first time?

To run a car engine in, it is vital to vary engine speeds during the first 1,000 to 4,000 miles. If you are cruising on a motorway, vary your cruising speed by 10 to 20 mph every 15 minutes or so. Don't over-rev the engine, but don't under-rev it either. Never labour the engine by driving in too high a gear. Unless it is a super-high-performance car, current thinking is to leave the factory filled oil in the engine for the first 12 months or 10,000 miles in order to promote some wear and enable the piston rings and bores to bed themselves in. After that, change the engine oil and filter and consider switching from the semi-synthetic oil the car came with to fully synthetic. Also, have the manual gearbox oil changed to get rid of any swarf thrown off while the box was bedding itself in before the swarf grinds itself into minute particles which get into the bearings and shorten their lives.

...and this...

13. What's the best way to run-in a petrol engine?

Put the car on a rental fleet so it is driven by a lot of different drivers with different driving styles. Seriously, modern petrol engines are built extremely 'tight' so they need a bit of wear during the first 10,000 miles for the piston rings to bed properly into the bores. An early oil change to fully synthetic can prevent this happening, as can driving at low engine revs and driving at steady speeds. So, depending on the engine, self-impose yourself yourself a rev limit of between 4,000 and 5,000 for the first 1,000 miles, and be sure you vary your revs and occasionally reach that limit. After 1,000 miles, common sense dictates that you won't rev the nuts off the thing straight away, but you needn't be too worried about hitting 6,000 rpm occasionally as long as you vary the engine speed. Try never to rev to the rev limiter as the misfire this causes can damage the catalytic converter matrix. Don't change the oil and filter until the first manufacturer recommended change point, or the end of the first year. After that, if you intend keeping the car for a long time I still recommend more frequent oil and filter changes than the manufacturers or their on-board service indicators suggest. It's also a good idea to have the transmission oil changed after the first year to get rid of any swarf which could later be ground up into tiny particles which eventually get into the bearings and accelerate wear.

The full list of HonestJohn's FAQs is here:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/index.htm