i have recetly bought a skoda fabia tdi comfort with a "sport pack" it baisicaly looks like a vrs but the owner a middle aged woman who doesnt look like the modifing type says its got a sports pack. now i belive this but it has ome aftermarket cheap nasty wheels on it and as this is my second car i want it to be as cheap to insure as possible so i wanted to know if the car came with alloys as standard and if so wich ones because i want to swap back to standard so my car has no modifications for the insurance to be cheaper ive stuck a picture of the car on here so you can see

also if any one has any standard skoda alloys or wants to buy or swap with te ones on my car give me a shout thanks

Yes, I believe it did but not those ones obviously.

imgres

At the time that car was made there was no vRS model to 'copy' and Skoda dealers very often made up their own 'Sport Packs' which used aftermarket alloys so it's quite possible those are the wheels the car originally came with. For a set of genuine Skoda replacements check out the 'For Sale' section on here as they come up regularly - £200 should get you a set of good ones, but remember that by putting vRS alloys on a non-vRS, you are modifying it. Sad, but true.

Thanks for the speedy replys guys, so... Would I be correct in thinking if I left the alloys that come with the car on it then as they where an optional extra from the dealership with the "sports pack" I wouldn't have to declare it as a mod to the car or would I? I was also thinking of putting these wheels on it would this class as a mod aswell ? do you think I could say these came standard or not ? If not I'll just declare it and get a nicer set of alloys

Also what's ride like I like quite a sporty firm ride as standard are they quite bouncy and boaty not sure as I havnt picked it up yet !!

Looks like you have the additional front skirt and the arch trims also, nice little add ons.

Nice looking car in a great colour.

I'm curious by your statement "it baisicaly looks like a vrs" - I'm not sure which elements lead you to suggest that.

Essentially there never was a manufacturer "Sport Pack" option AFAIK - you have a dealer modified Fabia Comfort with different alloys. The manufacturer's version was a specific Model - Fabia Sport - and was released some time after your car was made, in December 2004. I suggest the latter was essentially an "insurance special" trying to capitalise on the success of the vRS.

Hence you'll either have to declare the alloys and any other modifications made by the original dealer, or fit Comfort wheels.

Unfortunately I don't have a pre-facelift Fabia 1 brochure to check what would have been standard at the time. Either someone on here could check if they've got one, or alternatively look at similar cars on Autotrader. However since the Comfort was the base specification, the car would originally had steel wheels and plastic wheel trims. Is it really worth the trouble of swapping from alloys to steels (possibly with new tyres too?) rather than pay a small insurance supplement?

Since you already have the car, it's presumably already insured in any case with the options declared?

Yeah, agreee with DRJ, No alloys as standard on a Fabia Comfort with the sports "trim" accessories fitted.

Fabia sport was a whole different model in it's own right.

The body kit on yours is all standard Skoda parts and look to be really well fitted so could well believe a dealer did it, and yeah, the rear bumper is indeed the same as a vRS's as well as the rear window spoiler.. But those alloys would never have come as standard, even if the dealer fitted them when new. The front bumper skirt and little arch extensions are not so common, and I think make your car look great.

Unfortunately, Like also said above.. anything more than the standard comfort steels and you'll need to declare it to be legal. Not sure about the body kit as genuine accessories fitted at point of sale.

Edited 20 August, 201015 yr by Rob.

Ok well I know nothing whatsoever about skodas so I appoligise for the " looks like a vrs " it's just what it looked like to me rather than a standard fabia I'm sure you can see what I mean though to somone who doesn't know about all the models it would be quite an easy mistake to make.

Ok Ive got the car but havn picked it up yet so no it's not insured although I had a quote but when I do insure it I wanted to make sure it was all decalred but not sure what to declare !! I'll keep the alloys and declare them but what about this body kit the seller said it's a factory fit extra so do I tell this to the insurance company ? I just want it clear in my head wheather this is a factory fit extra or aftermarket so I can explain it to my insurance company as when it comes to mods they don't seem to know what's going on and if I don't realy know what it is either well go round and round in circles !!

Sorry if this is a bit of a dumb post just wanna get my insurance correct and don't know sweet fa about the fabia models so I thought I'd ask some people who know !

Sorry - I missed some of the interim responses while I was researching/typing out my original response.

Apologies too for not recognising a non-vRS bodykit.

In theory you have to declare anything non-standard from manufacturer's spec not as it left the dealers. I've had to declare rear parking sensors on my new vRS.

In this case you'll have to declare "bodykit" fitted - which is more of a problem than the alloys...

Ok well I know nothing whatsoever about skodas so I appoligise for the " looks like a vrs " it's just what it looked like to me rather than a standard fabia I'm sure you can see what I mean though to somone who doesn't know about all the models it would be quite an easy mistake to make.

Ok Ive got the car but havn picked it up yet so no it's not insured although I had a quote but when I do insure it I wanted to make sure it was all decalred but not sure what to declare !! I'll keep the alloys and declare them but what about this body kit the seller said it's a factory fit extra so do I tell this to the insurance company ? I just want it clear in my head wheather this is a factory fit extra or aftermarket so I can explain it to my insurance company as when it comes to mods they don't seem to know what's going on and if I don't realy know what it is either well go round and round in circles !!

Sorry if this is a bit of a dumb post just wanna get my insurance correct and don't know sweet fa about the fabia models so I thought I'd ask some people who know !

OK - I've now seen this response after just posting. Apologies for upsetting you.

A vRS front bumper looks significantly different to the car you're buying and there wasn't a back view to see what that one looked like.

I suggest you check what the insurance would be with a bodykit and alloys and take a decision. Is it too late to pull out of the sale? Possibly citing wrong information being given out as the reason.

Check out THIS POST from someone getting rid of a set of standard wheels off a Fabia Comfort.

It does look quite tidy, you will have to declare the body add ons (as missp does as she has the same front bumper spoiler) but they didnt change her premium anyhow.

I say just ring your insurance company and state as it is, then call around. I doubt with it not being a performance model it wil make a lot of difference.

If you have the full optional accessories dealer body kit (don't think it was ever "factory" fitted on a non vrs or sport spec Fabia) then the items that are fitted over the original spec, are...

Front Bumper Spoiler / Skirt

Rear Bumper Skirt

Rear Window / Roof Spoiler

Wheel Arch extensions.. (But they're more like an arch trim, to be honest)

You most likely also have the chrome exhaust trim piece to go with the rear skirt.

Can't really tell for sure from that picture but these original dealer optional parts are what I'd assume a Skoda dealer would have called a "Sports Pack"

Edited 20 August, 201015 yr by Rob.

I spoke to my local dealership and they have said the body kit is a dealer fit optional extra so as it has left the dealership brand new with it on I'm hoping that it won't matter but I will ask my insurance company later for a re-quote and see what they say. I'm thinking there going to say it's a bodykit and alloys on there so I'm going to have to pay a huge premium wich is ashame as I quite liked the car it was ideal realy. But it's not to late I can still pull out saying the insurance is too expensive because of the body kit.

If I could prove to the insurance company ( in the event of an accident ) that i thought it was a factory fit extra wich it kind of is, not sure if dealer fit counts?! And that it was on there when I bought it I wonder if this would get me of I'll definatly declare the alloys though as they don't even look standard, it also gives me scope to change them at some point if I fancy it. Do you have to decalre it when you change from one set of alloys to another ?

Thanks for your help guys you've been great

If you dont mind me asking how old are you?

Actually, looking hard at your pic, i'm not convinced you have the Rear bumper skirt or the Roof spoiler.. but I could be wrong, it's very hard to tell.

Do you have to decalre it when you change from one set of alloys to another ?

My main car four cars ago (if you see what I mean) was a 1994 BMW525iSE Touring. These came as standard with "wire wheel" lookalike alloys that must rate as the most horrendous alloy wheels ever designed to clean. However my car was fitted with BMW 540 alloys - nice smooth five spokers, which have been the easiest wheels I've ever had to clean.

When I checked with the insurers they advised that since they were the same size as the standard fitment and since they were still BMW branded wheels, that there would be not supplement - if they'd been bigger or aftermarket ones there would have been.

On that logic since you'd already have declared aftermarket alloys then changing from one set to another shouldn't need re-declaration unless they're described by make and/or size in your insurance schedule.

Actually, looking hard at your pic, i'm not convinced you have the Rear bumper skirt or the Roof spoiler.. but I could be wrong, it's very hard to tell.

I downloaded the photo and enlarged in Paint Shop Pro - I think the rear spoiler's there but couldn't tell otherwise much beyond the front bumper. It seems to have gone from Autotrader too...

does that help looks like it's got what rob said the whole "sport kit". Can I say that seat looks lovley in that photo I love black on White looks real mordern n nice, so when you girfriend decalred her car she just said it's got a sports pack dealerfit body kit ?? Also what alloys has that got and has that skoda been lowered in that photo looks nice. I eventualy plan to lower it change the wheels as the aftermarket alloys look a bit cheap and remap it maybe next year.

Just for your info I'm 21 so insurance is still a bit of a pain for me with 2 years no claims the premium at the moment for the fabia without the bodykit or alloys is £650 a year comprehensive wich indont mind paying but much more n I dnt realy fancy it as I've ot a project car ( polo g40 turbo ) wich when my insuance come up for renewal In April I shall put my full no claims on maybe a multicar policy with Adrian flux and try and insure this as my daily so it needs to be reasonably cheap.

Yup.. Very vRS'y from the back.. but no Exhaust trim piece.. one less thing to declare

p.s. This car has some fantastic styling potential.. Great color and a rare front end.. nice!

Edited 20 August, 201015 yr by Rob.

I agree - much more convincing from behind. Just an exhaust trim and a new badge...

My Fabia's insured with Flux Direct - they were very cheap and are easy to deal with on the phone - the switch of my vRS was done late owing to the registration plate change being delayed, but they were perfectly happy to keep reissuing certificate - even though they all had the same registration number on!

Thanks for all your help guys you've been realy helpful. My plans for the car are a better set of rims, any suggestions ?? Lowering using some springs n dampers as it's a daily some comfortable ones, a remap and maybe some smoked/ black hid headlights and a black grill n that's it. Will leave it standard untill I get both cars on flux though I'll just gather and store my parts till then

Edited 20 August, 201015 yr by dub-disaster

Just to update phoned my insurance company ( direct line ) and they said it is a mod and won't insure me untill I'm over 25 with it or evan just alloys they won't untill I'm over 25 ! I've been with them 6 months now n realy don't want to lose out on 6 months no claims bouns as I've only got two years an need all I can get, I do realy want this car though if I try adrain flux I'd have to start my no claims all over again . Any suggestions of what I can do ??

Commiserations - but the good news is that at least you've found this out now rather than it happening after an accident when the consequences could have been a lot worse.

Unfortunately you're now realising the problems young people, especially young men, now encounter when they try to insure a car - though Direct Line probably aren't the best company when it comes to modifications.

The £650 you've been quoted for this car unmodified is more than I'm paying for all my vehicles combined (£220 + £290 + £70 = £580) - check out my signature and look forward to when you're 53 !!! :p (except by then perhaps there won't be any cars...)

Might be able to pick up another bumper and swap them over for the rear, and I think the extra front bit is only an add on to the standard bumper, but not sure if it's bonded or what so might be able to remove it. (Think Kablam on here has one fitted, might be worth asking him how it's attached?)

For what it's worth, I feel your pain. £100 to add better brakes, £70 to lower the car (on top of my £1,600 premium!). If I change two things I've matched my parents policy and am about half way to insuring an Ariel Atom if I was 53.