Hello all greetings from Scotland, 

 

I recently picked up a MK1 Fabia vrs - 99k miles, red, black and white interior, and most importantly... unmolested.

 

After owning it for only a month now I am in love with the way the car drives, the way the power is delivered is like nothing I've ever driven before. that may sound like quite an extreme statement, especially as I work in a car dealership and get to drive a plethora of cars daily, but even when compared to the driving experience from a golf R, Cupra Leon or polo GTI, Id still take the Fab out for a blast on a twisty B road. The car feels very special to me as my previous car was a Audi a3 8v with a 1.0 3cyl engine packing a gutless 116hp - although it cannot be faulted as a comfortable, reliable daily driver that Is relatively cheap to run. Not cheap to buy though, I took this car out on finance and mildly regretted in after the first monthly payment left my account. Coincidently the car only ended up lasting 6 weeks before I was t-boned by a Dacia duster. Typical.

 

On the search for a new car I stumbled across the fab which I had never really considered buying, but after doing some due diligence and seen the brilliant reviews of the car itself and the pd130 engine it was a no brainer from there. 

 

She's far from perfect but I am excited to have a car that I can dump some money and time into to make my own, not only to have a sick car but also to learn some stuff about working on cars.

 

As far as my plans for the car I am not the biggest fan of the reeky ones but I know the engine is effortlessly capable of making more power, but to be honest for now the 130bhp is plenty for the icy cold Scottish winter. 

 

Maintenance before mods 

 

Getting a health check done on the car at work - luckily one of our technicians has been a Skoda Master tech since before I was even born so I know its in good hands. Cosmetically I would like to sort out the rust, refurb the alloys (am I better just getting new ones?) and the black and white seats need a very very deep clean.

 

Any advice, suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Best Regards,

 

Reuben.

Hello Reuben 

 

The Mk1 vRS is an enigmatic and brilliant car.  Simple enough to look after, and as you've found the PD130 has plenty of grunt.  Can't remember who it was now, but someone over on UKPassats remapped their PD130, only to start to discover where the weaker points of the drivetrain were at some expense.  If it ain't broke.... (Although in fairness I'm probably going back 15-20 years and remapping has come on a fair bit since then).

 

WRT the wheels, I'd look at what you have.  It's surprising how much can be improved with a little DIY, but if they're too far gone, then a good set of spiders can be had for reasonable money.

 

Gaz

Hi Gav, thanks for your response, spider wheels definitely worth looking into.

 

Cheers,

 

Reuben.