Hello everyone.

 

I have a 2003 Fabia Mk1 and need to replace the radiator. My local salvage yard doesn't have one for the car specifically, but it does have radiators for a Polo and Ibiza (similar model years). From the pictures, they look the same and it would make sense since it's the same platform, but I am still wondering if they would fit. Do any of you have any experience with Polo/Ibiza radiators?

 

Andrej1

Secondhand radiator doesn't make much sense to be honest. It's not a quick and easy job to change it from what I've read/seen so is it worth putting a 15 year old one in?

I bought one as a spare from GSF last year, think it was only about £30 after discounts.

 

I suspect  Polo/Ibiza ones will fit fine though, if you're determined to go that way. In fact, the one I bought was intended for whichever of our cars (Polo 9N and Fabia) need it first, so I'm confident they'll fit, I probably even checked part numbers.

Edited 26 November, 20187 yr by Wino

Agreed, particularly since most issues with modern composite material radiators tend to be where the plastic tanks meet the (usually aluminium) matrix.

As already stated a secondhand radiator is a complete waste of time and money, new ones are cheap enough.

Thanks for the responses. The car was in a minor collision in a parking lot, and we had to replace most of the parts up front, mounting the rad is the least of my problems . I thought new ones would be much more expensive than £30 (or whatever the € equivalent), but sure enough a local parts store is selling them for that. Thanks again for all the advice.

2 hours ago, Andrej1 said:

Thanks for the responses. The car was in a minor collision in a parking lot, and we had to replace most of the parts up front, mounting the rad is the least of my problems . I thought new ones would be much more expensive than £30 (or whatever the € equivalent), but sure enough a local parts store is selling them for that. Thanks again for all the advice.

 

Good news, the lesson today is NEVER assume you have to do something stupid without checking first.