One of the reasons I got a decent price on my Fabia was a messed-up air vent on the passenger's side, close to the door. It's nothing really bad: one of those horizontal plastic strips that you can rotate to control the air flow has a broken peg and doesn't stay down properly.

Now I'd like to replace it but I don't think it would be worthy to buy it new, not being an electronic component or a vital engine part. What is the part number? Where can I buy that air vent second hand?

If I was still living in Italy I would just nip in the closest scrapyard, as those guys do a brisk trade on the side on this kind of components and parts, but I'm not sure it works the same here.

And by the way, is it difficult to replace an air vent? I don't see any visible screw, so I reckon I have to pop it out with a screwdriver (risking scratches all around the vent) or disassemble the front (which could be annoyingly tricky).

Any advice is appreciated!

I had this on my combi when I bought it.

Prise it out gently and if you are lucky (as I was) you can rebuild it with patience and superglue to look perfect from the outside.

I didn't want a new item that would stand out from the rest of the aged dashboard ... and I'm too tight to pay for a new one

I had the same problem, found these guys useful:

cars dismantled by Roadside Rescue for all your skospares

The vent is held in by 4 spring clips, care fully prise out using screwdriver/credit card (old one)

have a look at this thread http://www.briskoda.net/forums/fabia/sat-nav-fabia-vrs/74953/?highlight=sat+nav+vent skudmissile looks like he might have one going spare