19 and after a VRS

[ultra_joel88]

Hello all. Looking to trade my corsa c 1.2 in for a fabia vrs, 03 or 04 model soon.

Got a decent insurance quote of £1250 p/a so thought I'd go for it.

Looking to spend around 7.5k and get one with 45k or less miles. Doable?

Is there anything to look out for on these cars? Any known faults apart from this stutter?

What sort of power can you get out of them? What is the best remap to get? Was looking at the blue flame exhausts on ebay... they look awesome especially the one with the sports cat! Would that still pass MOT? Are they worth getting?

Thanks for any help. Joel

[TDi Vrs]

hi there welcome to briskoda there is often a few for sale in the classified section

[Joff]

03 or 04 should be within that price, but the might be close on the mileage. Also, the stutter isn't present on engines in those years.

Check the service books and receipts if present. Engine oil needs to be to VAG spec so you'll be fine with dealers or VAG specialists but may want to double check at other independant garages.

Check the interior is clean or that you've got a suitably reduced price for seats with stains or marks on them as the interior is a pig to keep clean.

Power with a remap (all generic maps are pretty similar so go with a tuner local to yourself for peace of mind should anything go wrong) will be in the region of 170bhp with around 290 Torques (). Performance isn't groundbreaking - it's not a supercar after all but you will be left with a very capable little hatch.

A Jabbasport anti roll bar (search on here or visit their website) tightens the cornering up as it can be a bit woolly as standard.

A Seat Ibiza PD160 air intake pipe and a performance filter (eg Pipercross) will be all you need to get more air in for a generic remap. It's not necessary to increase the airflow, but it all helps.

[ScoobyChris]

One thing on the insurance would be to ask your company ahead of any modding if they'll touch you with a remap (and if so how much!) as lots of insurers seem to be black flagging modded vRS's now and at 19 you may not have a lot of companies to choose from as it is

Exhausts on a diesel won't really make any performance difference but if you like the look of it, then you could just get the backbox. You won't have any issues passing an MOT with or without a cat (as diesels are checked on particulate emissions rather than CO2)

The things to look out for are well documented on here, and most are easily fixable so not deal breakers....

Chris

[ultra_joel88]

how would the insurance company know that you've had a remap though?

the £1250 is with admiral though i might try brentacre as I've heard they are good for VAG cars.

I know its probably going to be biased lol, but would you still take the VRS over an Astra Coupe 1.8 SE2 and SEAT Ibiza 1.9 Sport?

[robmawer]

Originally Posted by ultra_joel88

how would the insurance company know that you've had a remap though?

They probably wouldn't, unless you had an accident and they wanted to investigate the vehicle. At which point they'd discover the remap, void your insurance, so as well as being faced with paying to repair accident damage, you potentially open yourself up for a charge of driving without insurance...


Rob.

[Snoopie]

They would quite easily find out... The advice is there to be taken.

I would take the vRS over the car's you mentioned yes, I had one at 18. And for a 3rd car, it was a phenomenal step up.

[ultra_joel88]

better declare it then. maybe ill just wait until im 21

[ultra_joel88]

Originally Posted by Snoopie

They would quite easily find out... The advice is there to be taken.

I would take the vRS over the car's you mentioned yes, I had one at 18. And for a 3rd car, it was a phenomenal step up.

with whom were you insured?

[ultra_joel88]

also sorry to be a pain but does the fabia vrs have an alarm as standard?

[ScoobyChris]

Originally Posted by ultra_joel88

also sorry to be a pain but does the fabia vrs have an alarm as standard?

Yup - Thatcham approved Cat 1

Chris

[toonartist]

Originally Posted by ultra_joel88

also sorry to be a pain but does the fabia vrs have an alarm as standard?

Yeah it does.... not sure of the spec but I am sure someone here will know!

[ultra_joel88]

One thing I don't like about the VRS is that it sits very high.

Is it worth dropping them down say 40mm on a suspension kit or would this just cause problems and compromise the handling?

Also... how much would it cost to retro-fit HID headlamps?

[toonartist]

Originally Posted by ultra_joel88

One thing I don't like about the VRS is that it sits very high.

Is it worth dropping them down say 40mm on a suspension kit or would this just cause problems and compromise the handling?

Also... how much would it cost to retro-fit HID headlamps?

The eibach sports springs will drop the car an additional 25mm as the vrs is 15mm lower than standard Fabia's and to be honest, that's enough otherwise you could loose your sump over speed humps etc.

If you change the springs though on a car that has done 40k plus miles you would be best to change over the shock absorbers as well.... eibach's are canny but if you do a search you will see a few other options!!

The HID kits can be picked up for about £125 for the better ones and are easy enough to fit but if you want to tuck the balist unites out of the way, you are besst taking of the wheel arch covers andstashing them as far up to the lights as poss..... wires reach nicely and less cramped to get to the remaining lights!!!

[ultra_joel88]

But aren't the normal fabia headlamps DE as opposed to projector?

In a projector the lamp concentrates the light through one lamp where as in DE it just reflects off the back of the entire headlamp... if you fit HIDS to these it can dazzle oncoming drivers and will fail mot due to a lack of washers and auto levelling surely?

[Johnwg]

Originally Posted by ultra_joel88

But aren't the normal fabia headlamps DE as opposed to projector?

In a projector the lamp concentrates the light through one lamp where as in DE it just reflects off the back of the entire headlamp... if you fit HIDS to these it can dazzle oncoming drivers and will fail mot due to a lack of washers and auto levelling surely?

The normal headlamps are just fine, leave them alone and put the money towards paying your insurance

[ScoobyChris]

Originally Posted by Johnwg

The normal headlamps are just fine, leave them alone and put the money towards paying your insurance

Agreed - 35 quid will buy you uprated bulbs which will make a huge difference

Chris

[Disco_Mikey]

Ive just bought myself a vRS.
Im only 20, and im paying £640 p/a, fully comp...

Try phoning around, or Compare quotes for car, home, travel & life insurance | moneysupermarket UK

[kebaros]

I thought mine had an alarm but its never gone off.............hopefully thats because no theiving toe rag has had his mits on it.

[lewisgraham]

go threw the folks if your strugling for decent insurence i am 17 and been looking for a vrs but going to go for a golf gt tdi 3 door 150 bhp model instead, bit more and iv been getting quotes of around 500 threw them, its not about your age to be able to handle the cars it how mature you are at the age !