Newbie to Skoda and forums

[Brianleeds]

Hi

 

Never had a Skoda before, or been on a 'forum' so please tell me if I am doing anything wrong.

 

Just bought a brand new VRS estate in 'Fire Engine' red (it fits in all my golf gear!) and got 900 miles on the clock.  I am 66 years old, live in Leeds, and thought it would be fun to have a lively car for a few years before I 'shuffle off'.

 

Found this forum, registered, and am having my first 'go' at posting - so please tell me if I do anything wrong.

 

So far - fantastic!  After 3 weeks it is the most fun I have had in a car ever.  It will probably kill me - but I shall die happy!

 

From reading the other 'posts' on this forum you all look like very helpful, friendly and knowledgeable people, so I guess this is the place to get answers to all the questions I am bound to have going forward.

 

Previous cars - 4 Focus Zetec TDCI estates (all of which were 're-mapped') - this is the first petrol car I have had for over 15 years.  Initial questions:-

 

1)  What is the best petrol to buy to get performance and economy?

2)  Do I get my Fabia re-mapped?  Will this help with economy (MPG)?  The 'basic' I have got is plenty lively enough for now!

 

Sorry if I have gone on too much and broken any 'rules' - but like I said, I am new to this - and Skoda - but you all seem so friendly and helpful - any advice/comment will be appreciated.

[Ootohere]

Welcome to the forum.

Have fun with it.

 

I would recommend Tesco Momentum 99,  but others go for Shell V-Power Nitro.

Best you run it on 98 ron or better.

I would not run a Twincharger on 95 ron.

 

If you re-map you are invalidating your Skoda Warranty, so need to decide yourself on that.

http://goapr.co.uk

 

george

[Sparkly]

Hi Brian,

 

Welcome to Brisky, a commendable start there, nothing to worry about.  Really glad to hear you are enjoying the Fabia.  There's a healthy bunch of us on here with various Skoda from the Yorkshire area.

 

"Helpful, friendly and knowledgeable" can be both relative and subjective!

 

I think most on here will suggest you only run on RON98 fuel to get the most out of the car, keep it healthy and get the most miles.  Probably cost to mile there is no gain, but the car will thank you for it. Tesco Momentum and Shell Vpower would be the top options for what my opinion is worth.

 

If you remap I can only pass on my experiences from having an APR Remap carried out by Awesome GTI at the far side of Manchester from where we are.  APR have a very good name (generally, you will always find someone, somewhere on a forum who disagrees), the map has been trouble free, has made the car very sprightly indeed and on a run it can at motorway speeds return 2-3 mpg better than previous, all of which is lost as soon as you show it a B road.  Honestly i don't pay huge attention to the frequency of my fill ups but under same driving conditions I think i am about evens on fuel, if I "enjoy" the car it uses more.

 

Get a photo of your car up on here, if you need any help posting pictures etc feel free to send me a message and I'll pass on some instructions.

 

I have grown to subscribe to a few internet forums and i can say with zero bias that you have started with far and away the best, for me Briskoda is a fantastic community.

 

My best piece of advice would be to have a practice using the search function so that you can more easily look for any existing posts on the subject matter you want to find out about.  This will save you starting topics that have been answered many times over.  No problem if you do, most members will just post a link to content that already exists on the matter.

[Brianleeds]

Thanks George - I knew I was in the right place for advice, and you are my first reply - thank you!

 

I got a significant improvement on my diesel cars with re-mapping - both MPG and performance - so may have to have a think about the Skoda.

 

I had already wondered about Tesco Momentum (always ran the diesels on BP) but a lot of folks seem to say supermarket fuel is not good for the car.  I want to  a) have some fun in it.... not wreck it and....  c) keep motoring cost to a minimum - aged pensioner now !

[Brianleeds]

Freedom - thank you!  What a friendly and useful post.  Now I KNOW I am in the right place!  Sorry if I get some stuff wrong - I used to build computers in my own business, but this 'forum thing' is all new to me!

 

I shall have a go at Tesco Momentum, but until I get a few thousand miles on it I guess it will not loosen up, so it might be hard to monitor.  My last 3 cars were re-mapped by VTune in Leeds - great results, but I don't want to invalidate the 3 year warranty, so might have to put off re-mapping the Fabia!

[Ootohere]

Tesco Momentum is 5 pence or more a litre less than Shell V Power, so £2.50 a tank less,

 i would be prepared to pay £2.50 more to buy it, (& i am tight.)

 

too much experience of Shell Stations and tank mix ups.

Tesco are quick to compensate, if there is ever an error with a Tanker & a station they are responsible for.

http://petrolprices.com

 

PS, 'FREEDOM'.  means we have paid for 'Briskoda' membership, well wo rh the £12 IMO (& i am tight.)

[lfc958]

Welcome to Brisky

 

I have a question about wanting to remap an already decently tuned hot estate, it is quite a light car for the power it has, & i am sure you 'could' easily spin the wheels trying to very briskly take off from standing,despite having the DSG gearbox.

 

I would suggest you drive the car for a while to learn its characteristics in various weathers, then decide if you want to push up the power.

 

Hope you enjoy the car.

[Ootohere]

The wheels spin on an non brisk takeoffs, until you know how to give it the correct throttle.

An extra 20-30 bhp really has no adverse effect as far as that goes.

 

We have yet to hear of any Mk2 vRS Estates with the CTHE Engine/ECU that have had a remap.

 

Also waiting to see the PS/BHP they put out standard when on a Dyno.

 

A Standard CTHE from late 2012 do seem to be a bit faster or at least performs differently from a Standard CAVE.

Different Balance of the longer overhang Estate, and firmer rear springs seem to give  nice handling and sometimes possibly better front grip, including at take off.

[Brianleeds]

Hi Honarary.  I agree - I need to get a few more miles on the clock before doing anything.  MPG is my main concern - the Fabia VRS is quite 'frisky' enough for now! .....but SOOOOO much fun !

 

As a 'newbie' to forums, I am clicking on "reply to this topic" to send my responses - is this the right way to do it?  Sorry, I am 67 (21 in my head!) and new to all this - but you guys are so helpful and friendly - I don't want to screw up - just get some help and VERY informed advice from all you guys.

[PDIBK]

Yes - reply to topic is the right place.

 

The user name is the name displayed in top right, not the status below the avatar (the picture).  So sk4gw (George) has replied, Sparkly and then lfc948.

 

I am PDIBK.  As much sense in selscting a username as in selecting passwords and other things.

 

As for being a pensioner - I keep forgetting my Dad is 62 now - he doesn't seem it or "act" it.  He has a Fabia Elegance 1.2 TSI 105 DSG and I reckon he would love the VRS, but can't persuade my Mum!

[awfabia]

Welcome, Brian. You've come to the right forum, really friendly and good advice.

Until last week the five Fabias in my little picture alongside were all in my family so you can see we're quite keen!

Two of them are estates which are so roomy for a small car. The mark one is approaching 140,000 miles with few problems. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I did mine until replaced by a Yeti. 75,000 miles with front discs & pads the only 'non-service' items of expenditure.

[Big Sheep]

Hi Brian,

 

Welcome onboard. The relatively small number of us in the country who own a Fabia vRS know that we have a car almost unparalled by anything else for the same money. It's great for stress free commuting and can be surprisingly economical when not pushed. However I find it very difficult not to drive in a spirited manner whenever I get in the car .

My vote is with Tesco Momentum 99. I never used supermarket fuel before owning the vRS but Momentum 99 is fine and can be had for a good price.

 

This forum is one of the best!

[vxh26]

<snip>

I am 66 years old, live in Leeds, and thought it would be fun to have a lively car for a few years before I 'shuffle off'.

<snip.

Congratulations on a very wise decision Brian - it just goes to show that age and experience count for a great deal.

 

Welcome to what I believe to be a brilliant forum with some informed, patient, enthusiastic and helpful people.  I hope you get a great many years enjoyable driving from your "Fire engine" - perhaps you will eventually get a telegram from King Charles and can offer him a drive in it

Edited 7 February, 2014 by vxh26

[austenw90]

It's great to see that the Fabia vRS's attract more mature buyers as well. Being 23 I sometimes get stick and judgement from people who believe it is a "boy racer" car. They couldn't be more wrong! These cars are simply good value, cheap to run and insure (£350 for me) and drive very well.

Good luck and enjoy it.

Edited 7 February, 2014 by austenw90

[O.C.D.]

Yes - reply to topic is the right place.

 

The user name is the name displayed in top right, not the status below the avatar (the picture).  So sk4gw (George) has replied, Sparkly and then lfc948.

 

Displayed in top left. :think:

[Brianleeds]

It's great to see that the Fabia vRS's attract more mature buyers as well. Being 23 I sometimes get stick and judgement from people who believe it is a "boy racer" car. They couldn't be more wrong! These cars are simply good value, cheap to run and insure (£350 for me) and drive very well.

Good luck and enjoy it.

 

Hi austenw90

 

"more mature buyers" - very diplomatic! Old guys like me should not ... a) be allowed on 'foums' without a full training course on how to use them and..... be allowed to buy cars like the VRS - a pensioner in a 'hot hatch' is quite scary....but SOOO much fun!

 

Who do you insure with?  At 23 a premium of £350 seems quite low.  My insurers (LV) have imposed an excess of £500 on my policy now.  Policy is up for renewal mid-March, so I'd like to do some early research to try and find the best option for my new toy.

[Ootohere]

Can i suggest SAGA.  

 

 But you might need to take a quote on, House Contents,  Building, Holiday,& Pet Insurance so set about 1 hour aside

for the phone call..

But that might keep knocking another 5% off with each Quote.

Then once you say 'still too expensive', they might offer a price match.

 

One good benefits other than a good price once they know you will not accept the ridiculous first quotes.

Any driver covered fully Comp driving your car in a Medical Emergency.

Plenty other good bits and pieces and good customer services IMO.

 

george

[austenw90]

Hi austenw90

 

"more mature buyers" - very diplomatic! Old guys like me should not ... a) be allowed on 'foums' without a full training course on how to use them and..... be allowed to buy cars like the VRS - a pensioner in a 'hot hatch' is quite scary....but SOOO much fun!

 

Who do you insure with?  At 23 a premium of £350 seems quite low.  My insurers (LV) have imposed an excess of £500 on my policy now.  Policy is up for renewal mid-March, so I'd like to do some early research to try and find the best option for my new toy.

Hi Brian, through Elephant / Admiral. I had literally just renewed my previous car (Fiat Bravo 2.0 Diesel) at that price and when I called to amend it to the Fabia, bank card in hand anticipating having to spend out, they said no extra charges are applicable... Result!

Fingers crossed for you next month, hopefully you can find a good deal.

[pirving]

If you go to saga' get a quote then ask to go to the customer service/retention team for a better price

[DisplayName]

It's great to see that the Fabia vRS's attract more mature buyers as well. Being 23 I sometimes get stick and judgement from people who believe it is a "boy racer" car. They couldn't be more wrong! These cars are simply good value, cheap to run and insure (£350 for me) and drive very well.

Good luck and enjoy it.

Wow thats a fantastic insurance price!! I'm paying about £1000 to insure my 1.4 TDI!! But I live in what is probably considered a high risk area, and wrote off my C4 in the snow a couple of years ago :( No points on my license though!

[austenw90]

Wow thats a fantastic insurance price!! I'm paying about £1000 to insure my 1.4 TDI!! But I live in what is probably considered a high risk area, and wrote off my C4 in the snow a couple of years ago :( No points on my license though!

Just double checked the paper work now, it was £352 but that excluded insurance premium tax which added £21.12 making it £373.12. All quotes I got for the vRS indicated it would be nearer £600 so as you can imagine it was pretty good news when they said no extra charges, it will be interesting to see what next years renewal is.

This is with 6 years driving experience and 5 years NCD, 15k miles per year including business use.

EDIT: and no fixed penalties or endorsements.

Edited 10 February, 2014 by austenw90