Hi All,

Just joined your forum today. Left my mark on your introductions page:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/194869-hello-from-a-potential-fabia-vrs-owner/

Interested in purchasing a vRS to replace my thirsty Clio 172. Was interested in a 56 plate car at a local dealership that has done 98k miles but with only one owner and a full service history. The high mileage doesn't put me off too much. The car is less than 5 years old so it must have racked up that distance mostly on the motorway. I know the 'motorway miles' description is a bit of a myth but it must be fairly sound and secure, after all the Fabia is a well built and solid car, certainly better than my Clio. Can anyone on here support or challenge my opinion. I have researched most of the common faults extensively so I have a pretty good idea of what I should be looking for in my extensive inspection. Should I be aware of any other issues which may affect a car of this mileage?

Your help will be much appreciated and I may very soon be a fellow Fabia owner :-)

Well, as the (only) owner of an 06 plate vRS with over 120,000 miles on the clock I'm going to say, no, 98,000 is fine for a 56 plate car, but then I would say that wouldn't I?

I'm coming into the big money zone. I've already had my second cambelt swap and I'm waiting on the Turbo or the clutch to go next. I'll almost certainly get a new turbo in the next few months and swap out the old one before it goes bang and takes half the top of the engine with it.

Businesses ditch 100-120,000 mile cars for a reason. If the car is in good condition (mine only had one person in it 99% of it's life so the interior is in pretty good shape) and you're getting the car cheap enough to cover anything major that could go wrong soon after you buy it, then fine. OTherwise, leave it. There are plenty on the market.

Think of it like this - webuyanycar.com would probably offer you £2750 for an otherwise perfect 56 plate vRS with 100,000 miles on the clock. That's bottom of trade. What are you paying?

Short answer, so long as it has been looked after and serviced properly - no!

Even with full service history I'd have a look through to make sure everything is in order like cambelt and waterpump has been changed etc etc.

I wouldn't be put off by a high milage diesel car as long as all the service history is in order.

Mines an 06 with 81k on it and it runs like a dream

dont let it scare you, if its coming from a dealer then it should have a warranty. check the book for VAG stamps thats about it!

Im on a 54plate with 102,000 on the clock and alls i need to change is the Temp sender as its got a mind of its own atm.... TBH i bought the car with 89,000 miles on the clock, i have needed to do the console bushes 1 rear caliper and this temp sender, and i think thats good going in my books!

They want £5295. That's below the Parkers trade price for a 56 plate of 'average' mileage. Based on what you tell me I should have plenty of bargaining power. What do you think I should be paying assuming the service history is completely up to date but it may be awaiting a new turbo at around 120k?

Well, as the (only) owner of an 06 plate vRS with over 120,000 miles on the clock I'm going to say, no, 98,000 is fine for a 56 plate car, but then I would say that wouldn't I?

I'm coming into the big money zone. I've already had my second cambelt swap and I'm waiting on the Turbo or the clutch to go next. I'll almost certainly get a new turbo in the next few months and swap out the old one before it goes bang and takes half the top of the engine with it.

Businesses ditch 100-120,000 mile cars for a reason. If the car is in good condition (mine only had one person in it 99% of it's life so the interior is in pretty good shape) and you're getting the car cheap enough to cover anything major that could go wrong soon after you buy it, then fine. OTherwise, leave it. There are plenty on the market.

Think of it like this - webuyanycar.com would probably offer you £2750 for an otherwise perfect 56 plate vRS with 100,000 miles on the clock. That's bottom of trade. What are you paying?

I can't see why you would want to change the turbo at 120k miles unless it has gone faulty. A colleague of mine has an Audi A4 with the 1.9TDI engine - his car has done over 200k miles on the original clutch and turbo and still runs very well, and my old Furby (with the 100bhp TDI engine) got to 130k miles on the original clutch and turbo when I parted with it and is still going strong two years later.

They want £5295. That's below the Parkers trade price for a 56 plate of 'average' mileage. Based on what you tell me I should have plenty of bargaining power. What do you think I should be paying assuming the service history is completely up to date but it may be awaiting a new turbo at around 120k?

That seems very expensive, but I wouldn't worry about the mileage if it has an FSH.

Yes worth possibly 3.75 - 4k private

Wouldnt pay more than mid 4's for it

98k in 4 years! Dunno bout that mate, i've got an sdi classic estate with only 62 on the clock, 02 plate! Plenty more fish in the sea... ;-)

As the others as said look at the service history and check the cambelt has been changed. I'm on 138k miles on my PD100 Fabia and bought 2 years ago with 110k miles

Mines a 1.4 tdi just over 90k miles on it - will be 4 in August mixed roads though 65 -> 70% motorway. Doesn't get hammered every day but it has it's moments. Just looking at changing wishbone bushes for the first time, cam belt done last year. Regular oil & filter changes are what's required.

I wouldnt let high miles put you off.

I bout my first Fabia vRS with 106k on it, and it was still going fine on 131k when i got rid, that was original clutch & turbo.

Although to be fair, the clutch needed doing, but car was written off before i got the chance to replace it.

I went from a 172 to a VRS in November and haven't been dissapointed, real world performance is pretty similar and the economy is way ahead.

I paid £5500 for mine with FSH and 66k on and I managed to get £2200 part ex for my 172 with 71k on the clock, which I thought was pretty reasonable considering the clio needed a big service and the alarm replacing. I assume you need to part-ex and that's why you're looking at dealer cars, but i definitely reckon you can get a better deal than this, even at a dealer, just shop around a bit if you've got the luxury of time. One thing i regret is not waiting for one with options particularly leather seats, as i find standard VRS interior gets marked up depressingly quickly.

Also i wouldn't expect that by buying a VAG car you are going to get trouble free motoring, I did around about 40k in my Clio over 3 years and had zero problems with it other than replacing the odd shock absorber and servicing costs. Since I have had my VRS the brakes have gummed up and needed a £60 service to sort them out, the front end has started creaking, one of the air vents has broken, the interior light switch broke and the turbo pipes have gone. The latter is something you should defintiely look out for on a test drive - Floor it in 3rd/4th and listen for a shriekey whistle (above the smooth turbo whistle) at around 2.5k rpm. This is a ball-ache to sort out as the OEM pipes have a design flaw so you're looking at around £200 for a replacement set of custom ones (getting my replacements from SFS soon). Also the OEM stereo is ****e (although the speaker set up is better than clio in my opinion) so expect to buy another if you like to listen to CDs without them skipping all the time. Sorry give the down sides to VRS ownership but that's the stuff you want to know, right? In terms of mechanical build quality and general screwed-togetherness though, you are right the fabia is definitely a league above the clio.

In summary, shop around (if you can) as you can get a better deal than the one you quotes and look out for the boost-leak whistle.

Good luck!!

I went from a 172 to a VRS in November and haven't been dissapointed, real world performance is pretty similar and the economy is way ahead.

I paid £5500 for mine with FSH and 66k on and I managed to get £2200 part ex for my 172 with 71k on the clock, which I thought was pretty reasonable considering the clio needed a big service and the alarm replacing. I assume you need to part-ex and that's why you're looking at dealer cars, but i definitely reckon you can get a better deal than this, even at a dealer, just shop around a bit if you've got the luxury of time. One thing i regret is not waiting for one with options particularly leather seats, as i find standard VRS interior gets marked up depressingly quickly.

Also i wouldn't expect that by buying a VAG car you are going to get trouble free motoring, I did around about 40k in my Clio over 3 years and had zero problems with it other than replacing the odd shock absorber and servicing costs. Since I have had my VRS the brakes have gummed up and needed a £60 service to sort them out, the front end has started creaking, one of the air vents has broken, the interior light switch broke and the turbo pipes have gone. The latter is something you should defintiely look out for on a test drive - Floor it in 3rd/4th and listen for a shriekey whistle (above the smooth turbo whistle) at around 2.5k rpm. This is a ball-ache to sort out as the OEM pipes have a design flaw so you're looking at around £200 for a replacement set of custom ones (getting my replacements from SFS soon). Also the OEM stereo is ****e (although the speaker set up is better than clio in my opinion) so expect to buy another if you like to listen to CDs without them skipping all the time. Sorry give the down sides to VRS ownership but that's the stuff you want to know, right? In terms of mechanical build quality and general screwed-togetherness though, you are right the fabia is definitely a league above the clio.

In summary, shop around (if you can) as you can get a better deal than the one you quotes and look out for the boost-leak whistle.

Good luck!!

How old was your Clio when you sold it? From the looks of it you got a very good deal! I just bought the car above last weekend - so I'm now a vRS owner. I think I got a reasonable deal. I had the vRS valued by Glass' before I committed to purchase and the price (£5295) was spot on. I managed to get £1695 for my Clio in PX and that was in line with the Glass' price for a 2002 Clio 172 with 71k on the clock. The dealer wasn't prepared to go anywhere beyond that. The truth is that the vRS is a desirable motor at the moment and the Clio 172 just isn't. None of the Clios on ebay are selling, even the ones with no reserve at stupidly little money. People just don't want them, so I was happy to get rid of mine at the recommended Glass' PX price. With regards to the vRS I'm very happy. The service history is impeccable :-) oil changes every 6k, cambelt and waterpump done at prescribed mileage, very smart interior and exterior. Thanks for the advice on the turbo; it don't remember hearing anything that sounded like a boost leak whistle, but I will keep my ears peeled.

Enjoy the VRS mate, sounds like a genuine motor

mines an 04 reg and its done 104k going strong. As mentioned it is over priced, and at 100K it will need a service with a cambelt/waterpump most likely, mines just had it done. if your paying a decent amount, id definitly be wanting that included in the price

Elliott

Fair enough, sounds like the one you bought checks out. You can't put a price on piece of mind eh?

My clio was an 02 (full fat) with a stainless exhaust and a hd clutch (not that this probably made any difference to the price i got!). You make a good point about the VRS being a desirable motor at the mo, fuel prices weren't quite as high when I sold my clio :( Anyway, I'm glad i did and like other people are saying, the VRS should be good for many more miles than the clio so even if it does require a bit of money spent now (mine does!!) it should be still going strong in a few years.

Enjoy your new motor!