Hi from Melbourne Australia, just bought my wagon so I figured I should make a post about her!

 

It feels like this purchase has been a long time coming.

 

I finally got the ****s with driving my 1991 Corolla AWD wagon 50kms a day in traffic and decided it was time for a new daily that was a bit more comfortable and had some mod cons. Problem was the budget didn't extend to the R36 that I truly craved, and truth be told I probably needed something a bit lighter on fuel than one of those.

 

I also kept thinking I should get a 7 seater, so looked at Caddy vans, Odysseys, Carnivals, and never really fell for any of them.

 

So a review of my wants and needs came back to wanting a small wagon that could cope with kids seats, throwing some stuff in the back, bikes on the roof, and be reasonably economical, and be a bit of fun in the process. 

 

A search of every wagon for sale in Melbourne unearthed this little gem. Skoda Fabia vRS wagon with 35K on the clock and 9 months reg and warranty. Took it for a spin and loved the grunt from its Polo GTi twin charged driveline. Its quirky looking and not common on the road, so appeals to me from that front too.

 

Scared myself a little looking at forums with tales of woe with oil consumption and DSG gearbox fails, but being a later version I am hoping that I dodge some of those bullets. But there is that warranty if I don't.

 

Plans - just drive the bloody thing. Oh and get it polished and tidied up externally, previous owner gave it a moderately hard time in the paint work department.

 

Other than that tinted windows and some roof bars and a bike carrier and she is done. Oh and maybe a blacked out grille.

 

It does need an altitude adjustment but that always compromises ride, so that might just not happen. Everyone seems to rave about the transformation a rear sway bar makes to them, so that sounds like a good  mod to make.

 

Couple of photos to add some colour to the post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A beautiful and good car. DSG7 is the best transmission box you can dream of.

50000km without any trouble about DSG and oil ........ ok max 0.7l/1000km (depends on road trip).

Ours has the CAVE motor, the CTHE is even better.

Take regularly ( f.e. every Saturday) a look at the oil level !

For us (me and my wife) the Skoda is top class.

Welcome aboard SilverRa23

 

Your story sounds not too dissimilar to mine other then the previous car. Had my RS wagon for over 2 years now (brought as a demo model) and has been a great family car. The Eibach lowered springs (which are a factory option in Europe) will only improve the ride and handling.

welcome to the site looks better in estate (wagon) form, and its the best colour too

Welcome aboard SilverRa23

 

Your story sounds not too dissimilar to mine other then the previous car. Had my RS wagon for over 2 years now (brought as a demo model) and has been a great family car. The Eibach lowered springs (which are a factory option in Europe) will only improve the ride and handling.

 

Improving the ride and handling at the same time? What is this black magic you speak of?!

 

I am used to King Springs finest so perhaps I should be keeping an open mind!

Improving the ride and handling at the same time? What is this black magic you speak of?!

 

I am used to King Springs finest so perhaps I should be keeping an open mind!

 

I have King Springs on my Silvia and other then a height drop, as far as the ride goes I can't remember much of a difference. Germany is one of Skoda's bigger markets and all aftermarket parts there need to be approved by the local motoring authority so the quality and ride has to be very good. Either Eibach or H&R Springs will be a noticeable improvement over stock which are too high and too soft. Hence why Skoda sell the Eibach Springs as a factory option in Europe and are fitted by the dealers before delivery. Not sure if any Fabia's came built from the factory with Eibach springs fitted though. 

An update of sorts.. I really should take a photo since its slightly changed now.

 

Tinted the windows, and now running thule roof racks and bike carriers so we could take the bikes away with us over Christmas.

Just come back from a visit to the dealer to check out a few things.

 

1. Oil consumption test is under way as its used 4L of oil in 4000km

2. Booked in for a clutch replacement as the DSG has not been behaving as I think it should. Confirmed by their techs.

3. Updated ECU map put in to fix the occasional rough idle.

 

Also fixed a couple of other minor niggles. Over all I am loving the car, its comfortable, quick and got great space for a relatively small car.

 

Will stick a photo up when I go home this afternoon.

Edited 18 January, 201610 yr by silverra23

Photo from this morning, all shiny after her visit to the dealer.

 

Consider black headlights - it will really suit the rest of the car.

Yes that is on the wishlist with the grille after seeing your build thread... trying to justify the $$ spend to the other half when it could be better spent on the kids is another story

So she has now had her clutch done and the oil squirters done.

 

I am still trying to get the paperwork out of the dealer to tell me what they actually did, I am wondering if they did the breather mod as well.

 

Dealer was great the first two visits, and the wheels fell off this time around. I had to keep calling them to get an update, and now no paperwork a week later despite phone calls and now an email. Sigh. 

 

Still love the car!

This is what the breather mod looks like. If you haven't had it done, the little hose would be further left away from the airbox, almost under the engine cover.

 

 

So nearly 12 months on, and I am in an argument with Skoda Australia about issues with my Fabia.

 

The oil consumption continued and I regularly saw an oil smoke cloud behind me when I took off from the traffic lights. After two more visits they determined that it needed a new engine. However they wanted me to pay 70% of the labour, as it was out of warranty time (by now car is just over 3.5 years on the road and 54,000km). Estimated cost to me $2,400.

 

In addition I complained that the gearbox was still snatch and unpredicatble. Different dealer decided it needed a new clutch again. But no warranty despite this one being less than 12 months old and done about 8,000km. Estimated cost to me $2,600.

 

So Skoda Australia received a very strongly worded letter suggesting they reconsider. Spoke to them  on Friday and they tell me the review is complete and I should be happy with the result... so fingers crossed it is a replacement at no cost  to me, on both fronts!

 

Here she is.. its still a fun car... if only the local distributor wasn't such hard work!

 

 

 

So I have had a win.. Skoda has agreed to cover all costs for the engine and clutch replacement. Waiting on dealer to tell me when to bring it in!