Retro-fitting centre armrest

[stevebedford]

My dealer has quoted £245 to retro-fit a centre armrest but I can buy one for £131 and fit it myself

http://www.theskodashop.co.uk/product/Retro-Fitting_Centre_Arm_Rest_DAO700001  Am I missing something or is there a lot of work involved.  The dealer price seems a bit excessive to me

[fabiamk2SE]

Spunds about right, yeah.

From what iv read in the past, the oem armrest is easy enough to fit, and does where that rectangular thing is infront of the rear cupholder.

Do you have a dsg or manual?

Only reason i havent got one yet is because iv heard many reports of it getting in the way when trying to change gear or use handbrake.

Im yet to have a sit in a fabia with one fitted before i buy

[Binzie]

I have one and love it !

 

came with the car so no idea how hard it was to fit 

[ursus262]

£245 seems a bit steep to be honest.  There are plenty of aftermarket options that you can fit yourself, for much less money too.

[pirving]

Got one for sixty quid off eBay second hand but mint. Fitted in about one hour max. Only fiddly bit was the screw with a fancy head holding rear of centre console down , located in rear cup holder - dealer helped with this twice. Armrest is essential

[pirving]

Forgot to mention I've got a manual; as long as your wrist can bend and you've got a little strength in your fingers, no problems with handbrake on and off. Doesn't at all affect gear lever.

[Prykey]

My dealer has quoted £245 to retro-fit a centre armrest but I can buy one for £131 and fit it myself

http://www.theskodashop.co.uk/product/Retro-Fitting_Centre_Arm_Rest_DAO700001  Am I missing something or is there a lot of work involved.  The dealer price seems a bit excessive to me

 

Let me know how you get on if you go for a self install as I'm contemplating getting one and like you I've been quoted a similar amount to supply and fit by the dealer.

[Prykey]

Got one for sixty quid off eBay second hand but mint. Fitted in about one hour max. Only fiddly bit was the screw with a fancy head holding rear of centre console down , located in rear cup holder - dealer helped with this twice. Armrest is essential

 

Was that a Torx screw (star shaped bit)?

[pirving]

Yup. Dealer unscrewed and left it with me. I fitted oem armrest with bogstandard broad flatend long screwdriver; service was due shortly after and asked them to put back in then. Rear end of centre console needs to be pulled up, I chocked it up off the floor while positioning and screwing the metal internal part of the armrest into the pre-tapped holes in the floor. Plastic outer cover then just clips round the metal innards.. My recommendation is get the oem armrest and fit it yourself. I looked at the non-skoda rests and read they can sometimes flex, especially if just screwed into the plastic of the rear centre console. Hope this helps.

[Prykey]

Yup. Dealer unscrewed and left it with me. I fitted oem armrest with bogstandard broad flatend long screwdriver; service was due shortly after and asked them to put back in then. Rear end of centre console needs to be pulled up, I chocked it up off the floor while positioning and screwing the metal internal part of the armrest into the pre-tapped holes in the floor. Plastic outer cover then just clips round the metal innards.. My recommendation is get the oem armrest and fit it yourself. I looked at the non-skoda rests and read they can sometimes flex, especially if just screwed into the plastic of the rear centre console. Hope this helps.

 

Thank you for your reply, this does help a great deal.

[Diesel Estate]

Hi

 

I have Elegance Estate with one fitted by the factory.  The only problem is that is squeaks when in the fully vertical, rear, position inbetween the seats!

 

I have tried to pull it towards the front of the car which seems to help but it is going into the dealers on Monday.

[stevebedford]

OEM armrest ordered and I'll let you know how I get on at the weekend fitting it

[Prykey]

OEM armrest ordered and I'll let you know how I get on at the weekend fitting it

 

Cheers Steve, does it come with fitting instructions?

[XJRTim]

I will be interested to hear this too.

[pirving]

Any problems, just ask. I check the site10amish and 9pmish.

[wrightcnc2009]

I got quoted £237.50 when looking to add to a new vrs that was already built without the armrest.

[Prykey]

I got quoted £237.50 when looking to add to a new vrs that was already built without the armrest.

 

As the armrest is approx. £130 that's still £100 for what sounds like removing a trinket tray and putting in 4-bolts, that's why I'm waiting for Steve to advise on what's required and the degree of difficulty.

[pirving]

Prykey, you got it in one. Trinket tray out, 4 bolts in to secure base of rest, clip on armrest surround, job done.

[stevebedford]

As the armrest is approx. £130 that's still £100 for what sounds like removing a trinket tray and putting in 4-bolts, that's why I'm waiting for Steve to advise on what's required and the degree of difficulty.

The armrest comes as a complete kit with all bolts and fitting instructions in the box.  It took 40 minutes to fit in total!  The carpet needs to be eased over the new plastic casting to get it flat to the floor.  It helps having a small telescopic magnet thingy to feed the bolts through the trinket tray opening to get them into the holes but otherwise it was a very straight forward job to do.  It's also worth having a small torch to hand to see where you are feeding these bolts.  One minor thing to watch is that the long bolt into the bottom of the casting of the armrest is an allen key head and not a torx screw head.

 

The armrest is black (DAO700001) but the photo on the instructions is grey so there maybe other colours available to order if anyone wants them.  Not a problem for me as I wanted black.

 

One final point is the box label and the instructions say it is for a Roomster but it fits the Mk2 Fabia no problems.  All the bits are well made and worth the money - mine hade "made in Germany" stickers on it.  I still cannot see why the dealer wanted to charge £110 to fit it mind you........

[paulthebigp]

Steve ..... have a monte carlo and wud also like a black armrest .... what website did u get the black one off please mate

[Prykey]

Steve ..... have a monte carlo and wud also like a black armrest .... what website did u get the black one off please mate

 

The OEM Armrest from a Skoda Dealer comes in Black the Part Number is DAO700001 http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/339768-front-arm-rest/

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 20 January, 2015 by Prykey

[Raymo]

Steve ..... have a monte carlo and wud also like a black armrest .... what website did u get the black one off please mate

Just got one from here

 

http://www.theskodashop.co.uk/product/Centre_Arm_Rest_(Fabia_08%3E14)_DAO700001

 

really easy to fit & as stevebedford has stated, took about 40mins being really careful and reading the instructions a few times just to be sure lol, they are a little heavy on the price but the quality & fit is perfect, one thing that threw me was joining the alloy bracket to the alloy lower part of the armrest with an allen bolt that looks like there is no receiving thread that it goes into, its just a bare hole, none the less it worked and does what its supposed to do, just seams strange to have a threaded bolt and no female threaded counterpart lol