Just purchased a VRS again :) :) What kills these cars?

[cyber_killer]

Hi All,

I had VRS years ago and the Ibiza FR. I have always wanted to get a standard one again, and found it difficult finding one.

One come up for sale near me, lass owned it for last 12 years dad a mechanic had changed oil regular on it. It is a 2004 but the body work is crap… driving it had no knocks or bangs and runs perfect.   

It currently parked up 100 mile away ☹ As I did not have room for it before the lock down.

 

Why are so many people breaking these cars? What kills them? Is there anything I should check on the car before ploughing lots of money into it..  I probably over paid for the car, but I did not buy it to make money on it.

 

As soon as I can get my hands on it, I intend on getting body work sorted maybe full respray and then cambelt  full kit, brakes strip down etc and good check over. Anything anyone would recommend doing? 

 

I do a lot of miles with work, and this is doing to be my main car 😊 I think these engines go on for ever, no complicated DPFS etc to worry about. I do not intend on having it mapped and want to keep it 100% standard. My last ones were mapped etc but I was 10 years younger and now I need it to cover a lot of miles. I may consider a MAP actually but Ill post about that when I am thinking it, as I need reliability and economy.

 

Suppose I am just interested why I see lots of these been broken for spares, yet they look like they are in good condition. 

[sepulchrave]

What kills these cars are moronic mouthbreathing infant drivers revving them too hard instead of letting the torque do the work, brutal standing starts murder the drivetrain and stuff that breaks but is hard to fix gets ignored.

[cyber_killer]

Thanks

 

So the engines / gear boxes go and then they are broken for spares? Ah well i think mine is all ok fingers crossed on that front. I was making sure there is not a common place they rot out or something. 

[sepulchrave]

8 minutes ago, cyber_killer said:

Thanks

 

So the engines / gear boxes go and then they are broken for spares? Ah well i think mine is all ok fingers crossed on that front. I was making sure there is not a common place they rot out or something. 

 

They don't rust, that's why so many are still on the road after twenty years.

[duck]

A lot of them have rusty sills, stone damage and if its not noticed the sills get rust patches, also seen some with rust around the rear arches.

 

I think a lot are getting broken for spares as the owners think they can get more money back that way, they spend some cash on mods and then realise they cannot make the money back when selling and so break them, some also seem to have a few issues and don't have the finances or skills to fix them and so cut their losses and break them.

 

If your feeling brave look on the Fabia VRS groups on facebook and you will see what I mean!

[cyber_killer]

This is where i see so many of them been broken on facebook. Mine has rusty sills and because has a dent on rear quarter that has rusted. I cannot wait to get it all sorted and on the road. My main thing is the A/C has to work I love my A/C.  It would have been the perfect time to do it all at the moment on the drive, but it is so far away 😞 Instead I have been fixing Fiestas. 

[niceyellow vrs]

I've broken plenty of Fabia VRS' for spares purely because they often come up for cheap money and then sell easily in parts. They're popular with children who like to spend money on bits for these ultimate racing machines.

I've never spent more than £400 on one and that usually sees me about a £1000 of profit by breaking it.

 

[Boatman1]

Resprayed my sills last year last year (am not a bodywork guy) and look good also the rear arch where the two panels meet had some bubbles in the paint from rust.. Used 2 part clearcoat in a tin which I got from the USA expensive but gives a nice hard finish. also got the AC system recharged, working well and changed the gear box oil which has improved the gear changes. Car also got a 180bhp remap, Second hand Audi TT discs and calipers in front, new Bilstein 2 matched struts and springs, new top mounts and RARB all recommended by the guys on this site. The car runs like a dream and the handling is pin point accurate. 06 plate thanks for the advice guys, Sepulchrave was one of them.

PS Also gave the wheels a fresh powder coating gun grey it's a black vrs. Have had the car since 12 months old. Had a weird breakdown 2 months ago, the wheel on the alternator parted company with the main body. It was the original part.

[VanhireBoys]

The stages in a cars life unfortunately !

 

Stage 1 Car new - out on finance or lease PCP - servicing fone to the letter of the interval

 

Stage 2 3+ years Car will see a new owner as it's traded in for another new one - New owner will get services off a reputable independent garage - most issues will be addressed

 

Stage 3 6+ years some major service items may need attention at this stage and spurious parts will be widely fitted 

 

Stage 4 10+ years the car is well down the food chain- servicing could be skipped and the cars survival will depend on it's owner

 

Stage  5 15+ years the car model is now starting to get culled over minor issues- rust is necoming a problem and breaking for spares is common less than sympathetic driving kill off surviving cars as well

 

Stage 6 20+ years the car becomes a rarity on the road and some cherished examples are being put away.

 

Stage 7 30+ cars reach classic status and values go away up and any surviving cars are getting restored and  shown

 

I've seen this cycle with the 89-95 Cavalier- I had 9 of them at the time driving one or another for over 15 years ! I saw us doing all sorts 

 

The Fabia vRS got a mention in the Paper as a future classic ! If you have a low mileage one - standard now is the time to put her away 

 

Another is the Audi TT Mk1 99-02 - the hairdresser reputation is long forgotten- now is the time to get one - prices will go up and this time next year they will go through the roof !!

 

 

 

 

[FinnVrs]

I dont know, i have driven my VRS now about 230000 miles and it still doing fine. Orginall turbo/clutch/etc..I havent open engine at all.

 

Yes i have change those things what have to change like brake disc pads and so on..

 

[edbostan]

19 minutes ago, FinnVrs said:

I dont know, i have driven my VRS now about 230000 miles and it still doing fine. Orginall turbo/clutch/etc..I havent open engine at all.

 

Yes i have change those things what have to change like brake disc pads and so on..

 

Remarkable achievement especially surviving the Finnish winters. 

[Guest BigJase88]

14 hours ago, VanhireBoys said:

The stages in a cars life unfortunately !

 

Stage 1 Car new - out on finance or lease PCP - servicing fone to the letter of the interval

 

Stage 2 3+ years Car will see a new owner as it's traded in for another new one - New owner will get services off a reputable independent garage - most issues will be addressed

 

Stage 3 6+ years some major service items may need attention at this stage and spurious parts will be widely fitted 

 

Stage 4 10+ years the car is well down the food chain- servicing could be skipped and the cars survival will depend on it's owner

 

Stage  5 15+ years the car model is now starting to get culled over minor issues- rust is necoming a problem and breaking for spares is common less than sympathetic driving kill off surviving cars as well

 

Stage 6 20+ years the car becomes a rarity on the road and some cherished examples are being put away.

 

Stage 7 30+ cars reach classic status and values go away up and any surviving cars are getting restored and  shown

 

I've seen this cycle with the 89-95 Cavalier- I had 9 of them at the time driving one or another for over 15 years ! I saw us doing all sorts 

 

The Fabia vRS got a mention in the Paper as a future classic ! If you have a low mileage one - standard now is the time to put her away 

 

Another is the Audi TT Mk1 99-02 - the hairdresser reputation is long forgotten- now is the time to get one - prices will go up and this time next year they will go through the roof !!

 

 

 

 

My pal has an Audi TT 225 in Nogaro Blue (£2750 option when new and only 9 examples ever specced in 225 and nogaro blue) locked up in his garage, he bought it for £1300 on 99k miles 3 years ago, been in the garage since

Edited 15 April, 2020 by BigJase88

[Rob.]

When I moved mine on it was because it hit middle age and started to become needy.

 

The turbo bearing let go, luckily it was just really noisy so I knew and it was a cheap refurb.

 

This, though, must have restored my power to max as then I noticed the clutch was slipping. back then the wisdom was to do the DMF at the same time, not sure if that's still the case but if it is and you want OEM parts that bill is HUGE!