Shall I keep or sell my Fabia VRS mk1?

[Fabio123]

Hey fellow Briskodians,

 

I’m after some initial advice on my near 15 yr old Fabia VRS mk1, shall I keep, or sell?

 

The car has done 102,000 miles, FSH, 8 years Official dealer stamp, 7 years VW Specialist stamps.

The first owner had it for approx 8 yrs, old lady had it, did local runs put 19,000 on the clock.  7 years me, average 15,000 motorway miles a year

 

Apart from usual maintenance, pads, disks, cam belts etc.. It had Injectors reconditioned under warranty, (to try and solve idle engine judder) and console bushes changed and uprated, in 2014/15.

On July 2019 replaced master cylinder, full clutch kit, flywheel, (all oem parts).  March - July 2020 – Alloy wheels refurbished, both rear callipers replaced, (with oem), EGR valve replaced, (with oem), battery replaced.

 

The car drives very well, it has been well maintained, turbo is responsive, just wear and tear on bodywork due to motorway miles, bodywork excellent, (was autoglymed in the past), bumper, spoiler, wing mirrors etc faded, due to the car being red.  I may also be doing less miles in the short term at least, poss 8,000 miles a year max.

 

My questions are, after taking a big hit on costs in the last 12 mths, could anyone say what else could go wrong at this stage?  (I appreciate no one can say for sure, but an indication would help).  2 x mechanics tell me to keep it.  What do you guys think, and why? 

Without seeing it, could you any of you hazard a guess to what it could be worth, (prices vary on autotrader and ebay, so a bit unsure).

If I replaced, it would be for a petrol, something 3-5 yrs old, similar in terms of size, poss a Polo 1.4, Polo GTI 1.8, or even Suzuki Swift sport, (a bit of power would be nice to have, not as essential).

 

Any help is much appreciated.

[StevesTruck]

As long as you like it and it's not rusty, I'd stick with it. Low mileage won't really cause a PD any problems compared to a modern diesel. 

[Fabio123]

Thank Steve, I absolutely love it, and its not rusty.  My concern was more that with issues coming at once, could things like the radiator, turbo or other things go soon, it would too tough for me to take!

 

And i've heard so many negative things about modern diesels that i wouldn't get one.

[Breezy_Pete]

This reads very much like a for sale ad. So yes, you want to sell it. Use the correct part of the forum, please.

[Fabio123]

Hi Wino, apologies if it looks that way, however its not intended to, i'd edit the post if i could to make it look less that way.  It was to get as much detail across as poss, as im in a quandary on what to do.  If i do sell, then of course i'll put in classified with pics etc... 

 

[VanhireBoys]

Keep Keep Keep ! Or maybe I wasn't clear enough Keep 

 

You have minded that car so well and somebody else will only get the benefit

 

What can you replace it with ? Sommit modern and boring !

 

If you keep her in the manner she is accustomed to then for sure she will last at least another 15 years and 200k miles ! 

[gav_is_con]

Keep. 102k Miles is nothing for that car. Yes things will go wrong but hopefully nothing too expensive, what you save on depreciation you may spend on some repairs. Nothing gives the bang for the buck this vRS gives with economy to boot. These will become collectors items if not already and yours is a keeper 

[Titanium_Man]

Keep it. Had mine for 10 years this January and like you not much maintenance needed at all.
 

You could sell this car and end up with a lemon, so I would change it only when I had to. 
 

Mine is an ‘05 on 145k and do between 6 & 9k a year. (Average is 7 over the last 10 years) and only had to replace one boost hose, lower engine mount and DMF. Oh, my cam belt did snap, but that was after the garage told me it wasn’t due and 6 weeks later it went!  

Edited 18 July, 2020 by jars

[Fabio123]

Thanks all for the replies, I appreciate the feedback.

 

All the points are really good, and very convincing, so I've decided.... I'm keeping my Fab!!

 

PS Jars, I'm glad you still have yours, I can imagine a cambelt snap potentially being v bad.

[Titanium_Man]

1 hour ago, Fabio123 said:

Thanks all for the replies, I appreciate the feedback.

 

All the points are really good, and very convincing, so I've decided.... I'm keeping my Fab!!

 

PS Jars, I'm glad you still have yours, I can imagine a cambelt snap potentially being v bad.

It was never it doubt whether to keep mine or not. The garage were good about it given their mechanic’s insistence that it was not due when I challenged him, so only cost me £500 in the end to put it all right. 

Edited 18 July, 2020 by jars

[StevesTruck]

19 hours ago, Fabio123 said:

Thank Steve, I absolutely love it, and its not rusty.  My concern was more that with issues coming at once, could things like the radiator, turbo or other things go soon, it would too tough for me to take!

 

And i've heard so many negative things about modern diesels that i wouldn't get one.

 

There's the question, anything can break on any car. Generally speaking though, as long as you turn it off as soon as it happens, something like a turbo or a rad going isn't the end of the world. Either one could be changed in a couple of hours. As above, worst case is cambelt. You're looking at about £300 to change that and the water pump (do change the water pump and get a genuine one fitted) before the event happens. Head gaskets can leak if you've giving it a lot of beans, and similarly, clutches wear fast if you give them a hard time. 

[Fabio123]

5 hours ago, jars said:

It was never it doubt whether to keep mine or not. The garage were good about it given their mechanic’s insistence that it was not due when I challenged him, so only cost me £500 in the end to put it all right. 

That's good of them, the belts and pump are one job I always get done when due, for that reason.

[Fabio123]

4 hours ago, StevesTruck said:

 

There's the question, anything can break on any car. Generally speaking though, as long as you turn it off as soon as it happens, something like a turbo or a rad going isn't the end of the world. Either one could be changed in a couple of hours. As above, worst case is cambelt. You're looking at about £300 to change that and the water pump (do change the water pump and get a genuine one fitted) before the event happens. Head gaskets can leak if you've giving it a lot of beans, and similarly, clutches wear fast if you give them a hard time. 

You're right about those points, as im getting older, my driving habits have changed too, which will help preserve it longer.  My garage only use oem parts, or uprated, so that really helps with things like the belts, and pump.

[davidwhite]

Pleased to read you’ve decided to keep your car imho opinion the mk1 Fabia is one of Skodas better product the fact yours is a vrs is just icing on the cake

my wife had a mk1 1.9 tdi elegance 2007 from new for 11 years and I know deep down she still regrets selling it ( but I’m wise enough not to mention it !! ) and she still cringed every time she sees it being driven around 

[Fabio123]

2 hours ago, davidwhite said:

Pleased to read you’ve decided to keep your car imho opinion the mk1 Fabia is one of Skodas better product the fact yours is a vrs is just icing on the cake

my wife had a mk1 1.9 tdi elegance 2007 from new for 11 years and I know deep down she still regrets selling it ( but I’m wise enough not to mention it !! ) and she still cringed every time she sees it being driven around 

Thanks David, I'm glad too.  Around the time i got mine, I tried convincing others to get a Skoda to suit their needs, none of them would take me on, which was surprising!  Shame she sold it, i can imagine the regret, as the thought alone of me asking if i should sell, didn't sit well with me.