AnnoyingPentium's Adventures - Fabia Fettling and Other Nonsense

[RoverFolkUs]

2 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

To be brief, the car is doing my fucking head in.

As discussed in 'The Grumpy Thread' with @RoverFolkUs, the car is being a petty little bitch. It's inconsistently cutting out or dipping in revs when the clutch is fully depressed... sometimes. It seems to be okay in traffic though.

This wouldn't be half as bad if I had a cheap shed to run about in and when one gets fucked I can switch to the other one. But nawwwwww the driveway just has to be too small, doesn't it? Ignoring that my Mum would definitely throw me out as well, but sure.

Anyway, Saturday will be the day of poking about and a lot of screaming and swearing at the car. If it's nice then I'll conduct the full service a few months early as well. Apprehensive to do so though as knowing my luck this'll turn into something stupidly major because this absolute heap, although the best car I've driven (sometimes), likes to test me and my mechanical abilities, which are next to nada.

Will update this in due course on what I plan to do. John Cleese-ing isn't out of the question quite yet. (See also the Grumpy Thread)

Probably best to post everything in here actually as it'll all get buried in the grumpy thread

[RoverFolkUs]

Hopefully its nothing major and is sortable with relative ease!

[AnnoyingPentium]

5 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Probably best to post everything in here actually as it'll all get buried in the grumpy thread

Definitely. Lets me keep it all in the one place too. 

4 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Hopefully its nothing major and is sortable with relative ease!

I hope so too. I'm beginning to squirrel away money for something better though, or different, currently got enough to get me about 1/50 of this Avensis. 😆

Might be another Fabia though as I do really like them, this one just isn't aging too well compared to others I know of.

[RoverFolkUs]

31 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Definitely. Lets me keep it all in the one place too. 

I hope so too. I'm beginning to squirrel away money for something better though, or different, currently got enough to get me about 1/50 of this Avensis. 😆

Might be another Fabia though as I do really like them, this one just isn't aging too well compared to others I know of.

That Avensis looks good, 90's Toyotas really are bulletproof things

MK2 Fabia maybe? I've always liked the look of them and been less keen on the MK1, the MK5 Polo too is a good alternative if sticking VAG but it comes down to budget I guess

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, RoverFolkUs said:

MK2 Fabia maybe? I've always liked the look of them and been less keen on the MK1

I'm the opposite, actually. I shown my Mum pictures of either and I still got the "that's fugly" reaction. Mind you, the Duster is no prize piece either! The Mk2 estate is nice, but a little outside of my price range, even the rather high-mileage early ones. My Mk1 has just shy of 60k on it and in terms of bodywork it's rust-free, so still plenty life in it yet. Mechanically and electrically is questionable but otherwise it's a good wee motor, sometimes. I'm definitely quite attached to it in a sentimental 'Stockholm Syndrome' kind of way.

3 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

the MK5 Polo too is a good alternative if sticking VAG but it comes down to budget I guess

Also a little outside my price range unfortunately. I do like the Fabia compared to its Polo and Ibiza counterpart as it's definitely very practical and there's less badge snobbery compared to a VW, IMO. As long as you can live with the shite Skoda jokes you're fine. 

Overall, compared to the other shitebuckets I looked at, it was the best thing I could get and for the first year or so, it had mostly been trouble free, just a little "funny" as it has gotten older. I think I've spent about £400 on it ignoring consumables, and a lot of that is labour because some of the stuff was the likes of wheel bearings and C.V. boots. What takes the sting off is that I'm getting "mates rates" on the labour.

11 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

That Avensis looks good, 90's Toyotas really are bulletproof things.

Agreed. Insurance could be a killer for me though. The plan so far is to build up some NCB and then buy something big, saloon-ey, and turn of the millennium. A Vectra B is calling, do I dare answer the phone? 😆

[RoverFolkUs]

5 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

I'm the opposite, actually. I shown my Mum pictures of either and I still got the "that's fugly" reaction. Mind you, the Duster is no prize piece either! The Mk2 estate is nice, but a little outside of my price range, even the rather high-mileage early ones. My Mk1 has just shy of 60k on it and in terms of bodywork it's rust-free, so still plenty life in it yet. Mechanically and electrically is questionable but otherwise it's a good wee motor, sometimes. I'm definitely quite attached to it in a sentimental 'Stockholm Syndrome' kind of way.

Also a little outside my price range unfortunately. I do like the Fabia compared to its Polo and Ibiza counterpart as it's definitely very practical and there's less badge snobbery compared to a VW, IMO. As long as you can live with the shite Skoda jokes you're fine. 

Overall, compared to the other shitebuckets I looked at, it was the best thing I could get and for the first year or so, it had mostly been trouble free, just a little "funny" as it has gotten older. I think I've spent about £400 on it ignoring consumables, and a lot of that is labour because some of the stuff was the likes of wheel bearings and C.V. boots. What takes the sting off is that I'm getting "mates rates" on the labour.

Agreed. Insurance could be a killer for me though. The plan so far is to build up some NCB and then buy something big, saloon-ey, and turn of the millennium. A Vectra B is calling, do I dare answer the phone? 😆

I do hear what you're saying about the MK2 Fabia!

Maybe better the devil you know and stick with yours, as you say only 60k and I recall its just passed its MOT recently so no upcoming worries there

Badge snobbery has never bothered me one bit, I've had 3x Rovers and a Daewoo lol 😂

£400 for a years worth of repairs sounds reasonable. I would say £500-1000 per year maintenance/repairs (garage retail prices) on cars over 8 years old in regular use is about right

Decline the call immediately. If its too late and you've already answered, hang up at your earliest opportunity without delay. ORL VOXALLS R SHIT

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, RoverFolkUs said:

I do hear what you're saying about the MK2 Fabia!

Maybe better the devil you know and stick with yours, as you say only 60k and I recall its just passed its MOT recently so no upcoming worries there.

...

£400 for a years worth of repairs sounds reasonable. I would say £500-1000 per year maintenance/repairs (garage retail prices) on cars over 8 years old in regular use is about right

Aye, that's what bumped the cost up as much, or it wouldn't have been much over about £150ish.

2 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Badge snobbery has never bothered me one bit, I've had 3x Rovers and a Daewoo lol 😂

Cars that I very much appreciate too! I like the 25 since my best friend's Mum had an early 2000s pale green one around 2010-2014.

4 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Decline the call immediately. If its too late and you've already answered, hang up at your earliest opportunity without delay. ORL VOXALLS R SHIT

Send it to answer-phone? 🤣

Jokes aside, my Grandad had a Vectra B 1.8, as seen in my signature as part of the former family fleet. It was nice except for an EML that never switched off but didn't affect the power, eventually the bulb blew, so that was the end of that. Lol.

[RoverFolkUs]

23 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Aye, that's what bumped the cost up as much, or it wouldn't have been much over about £150ish.

Cars that I very much appreciate too! I like the 25 since my best friend's Mum had an early 2000s pale green one around 2010-2014.

Send it to answer-phone? 🤣

Jokes aside, my Grandad had a Vectra B 1.8, as seen in my signature as part of the former family fleet. It was nice except for an EML that never switched off but didn't affect the power, eventually the bulb blew, so that was the end of that. Lol.

My 25 was on a W-reg so year 2000, in that dark green colour. Suffered OMGHGF which was it's demise

Vectras aren't that bad, just very boring and vauxhall-y. I nearly got a Vectra C last year instead of Focus #2 but it had a couple of suspicious undisclosed faults which put me off. Hugely spacious inside and massive boot space if that's something one would need

[AnnoyingPentium]

7 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

My 25 was on a W-reg so year 2000, in that dark green colour. Suffered OMGHGF which was it's demise

Sorry to hear that. This 25 was lighter than the colour you describe I think. A bit like this.

7 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Hugely spacious inside and massive boot space if that's something one would need

Definitely, I saw an estate version of the B in SRI 150 guise in the Asda car park the other day and very much liked it.

[SiC]

17 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

It's inconsistently cutting out or dipping in revs when the clutch is fully depressed... sometimes. It seems to be okay in traffic though.

Is the throttle body clean?

Any vac leaks? What's the long/short term trims on OBD like?

Does this have/need a clutch switch? Some cars have one to rise the revs to prevent stalling when the clutch is dipped. 

 

[SiC]

On 3/13/2022 at 10:03 AM, AnnoyingPentium said:

Fabia's electrics are pretty prone to massive hissy fits and tantrums whenever I ask the electric windows to do anything

What's the earths like? Try putting a jump lead between the negative terminal on the battery and somewhere on the car body, then trying the window again.

On 3/13/2022 at 10:03 AM, AnnoyingPentium said:

Once I got the liner off, I took it round the side of the house and subjected it to a damned good hosing down to get some of the dirt and other crap off of it.

For the future, you shouldn't need to remove the liner to get at the pump. The liners are pretty flexible plastic. It should be possible to only undo the front half and then bend it out of the way. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

Is the throttle body clean?

It was the last time I had it off. Will check again though.

1 hour ago, SiC said:

Any vac leaks? What's the long/short term trims on OBD like?

Haven't checked vac leaks yet. My OBD " kit" isn't advanced enough for that.

1 hour ago, SiC said:

Does this have/need a clutch switch? Some cars have one to rise the revs to prevent stalling when the clutch is dipped. 

Will have to check.

1 hour ago, SiC said:

What's the earths like? Try putting a jump lead between the negative terminal on the battery and somewhere on the car body, then trying the window again.

Will do, thanks.

1 hour ago, SiC said:

For the future, you shouldn't need to remove the liner to get at the pump. The liners are pretty flexible plastic. It should be possible to only undo the front half and then bend it out of the way. 

That's what I did the first time it went, but both my Grampa and I had bother with it, so we just took the liner off.

You've given me a lot to think about, SiC. I'll start working my way through those.

[SiC]

5 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Haven't checked vac leaks yet. My OBD " kit" isn't advanced enough for that.

Generic OBD should give long/short term trims on most ECUs. Iirc if the number is negative, it's reducing fueling. Positive number is increasing fueling.

Unmetered air iirc gives positive numbers.

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 minute ago, SiC said:

Generic OBD should give long/short term trims on most ECUs. Iirc if the number is negative, it's reducing fueling. Positive number is increasing fueling.

Unmetered air iirc gives positive numbers.

I'll have a poke about. My code reader is a £10 Aldi special and I'm not quite sure it wants to see the Fabia anymore as I keep getting 'link error' - will check it when I'm home.

[RoverFolkUs]

5 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

I'll have a poke about. My code reader is a £10 Aldi special and I'm not quite sure it wants to see the Fabia anymore as I keep getting 'link error' - will check it when I'm home.

Pick yourself up one of the £4 Bluetooth ones from eBay. They connect to your phone, if you've got an android I recommend using it in conjunction with the "Car Scanner" app from play store. 

It gives basic live data including fuel trims, can read most codes and clear engine ones

[AnnoyingPentium]

2 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Pick yourself up one of the £4 Bluetooth ones from eBay. They connect to your phone, if you've got an android I recommend using it in conjunction with the "Car Scanner" app from play store. 

It gives basic live data including fuel trims, can read most codes and clear engine ones

Cheers! Do you reckon one of the below would do?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363322230987

[RoverFolkUs]

3 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Cheers! Do you reckon one of the below would do?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363322230987

Yeah mine looks like that, not sure what the CD is all about though as mine didn't come with one and I didn't need one

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, RoverFolkUs said:

Yeah mine looks like that, not sure what the CD is all about though as mine didn't come with one and I didn't need one

The CD makes no sense to me either considering I'd be using it with a phone. Anyway, I'll get one of those ordered up.

[RoverFolkUs]

[RoverFolkUs]

That's my little setup and it's £1.50 cheaper

 

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, RoverFolkUs said:

Thanks, looks like a snazzy little thing for a wee cheapie. I've ordered the slightly more expensive one but it'll be fine, I don't grudge it. Will definitely help with narrowing stuff down because my car is often very cryptic with everything. 😆

[RoverFolkUs]

Just now, AnnoyingPentium said:

Thanks, looks like a snazzy little thing for a wee cheapie. I've ordered the slightly more expensive one but it'll be fine, I don't grudge it. Will definitely help with narrowing stuff down because my car is often very cryptic with everything. 😆

Mine has gone up to £4.37 now (I took those screenshots a few weeks ago now)

The bast'wards 😅

Hopefully it's more forthcoming than the Audi* special

 

(*Since Audi and Aldi are interchangeable, I thought I'd switch things up )

 

[tapir]

On 3/14/2022 at 9:35 PM, AnnoyingPentium said:

To be brief, the car is doing my fucking head in.

As discussed in 'The Grumpy Thread' with @RoverFolkUs, the car is being a petty little bitch. It's inconsistently cutting out or dipping in revs when the clutch is fully depressed... sometimes. It seems to be okay in traffic though.

This wouldn't be half as bad if I had a cheap shed to run about in and when one gets fucked I can switch to the other one. But nawwwwww the driveway just has to be too small, doesn't it? Ignoring that my Mum would definitely throw me out as well, but sure.

Anyway, Saturday will be the day of poking about and a lot of screaming and swearing at the car. If it's nice then I'll conduct the full service a few months early as well. Apprehensive to do so though as knowing my luck this'll turn into something stupidly major because this absolute heap, although the best car I've driven (sometimes), likes to test me and my mechanical abilities, which are next to nada.

Will update this in due course on what I plan to do. John Cleese-ing isn't out of the question quite yet. (See also the Grumpy Thread)

My advice would be to persevere with it, it's a low mileage fabia and well spec'd. You have a wealth of knowledge on here (and on Briskoda), any old car will have a host of grumbles but you live with them or fix them when they get too bad, Keep plugging on and work through the issues, you will learn lots and hopefully enjoy the process of fixing. Buying something newer/different is just a leap into the unknown (and most people sells cars because of issues or damage)...

[AnnoyingPentium]

5 minutes ago, tapir said:

My advice would be to persevere with it, it's a low mileage fabia and well spec'd. You have a wealth of knowledge on here (and on Briskoda), any old car will have a host of grumbles but you live with them or fix them when they get too bad, Keep plugging on and work through the issues, you will learn lots and hopefully enjoy the process of fixing. Buying something newer/different is just a leap into the unknown (and most people sells cars because of issues or damage)...

Thank you so much. I needed to hear this.

It's nice that this car is helping me get to grips with fixing cars and that because it's never something I've had experience with before. It's just getting a wee tad annoying to be poking at it all the time when it's the only car I'm able to drive since although I am insured for my Mum's, she needs it for working. 

The spec and mileage is something I wouldn't be able to get again. Plus I pulled the door cards apart to replace the speakers, so it better bloody last. 😆

[RoverFolkUs]

I should have said what @tapir said, but I was too busy trying to overcome my irrational "dislike" of the MK1 Fabia  😂

I need to like them, they arent bad. And much better imo than their French counterparts!

[RoverFolkUs]

I forgot to reply to you about the Rover 25

Mine was in the same colour green as that

I'm sure it had steel wheels but I cant fully remember. Its rather tricky to cast my mind back to just under 15 years ago!

Bloody hell, 15 years ago, where did that time go!! I remember the day I took it into be P/Xed like it was yesterday (steam chuffing from under the bonnet )  - for the aforementioned Daewoo!

[AnnoyingPentium]

5 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

I should have said what @tapir said, but I was too busy trying to overcome my irrational "dislike" of the MK1 Fabia  😂

I need to like them, they arent bad. And much better imo than their French counterparts!

If you can look past the exterior design, they're nice cars to be in. Not exactly going to set the world on fire in terms of driving dynamics but definitely beats walking, or the bus. Practical too. If it wasn't for the 3-point seatbelt (only factory standard as of 2004) then you could have the rear seats whipped out in a matter of seconds.

They've aged alright too, just some common stupid faults, but each car will have it's own common faults. Very little or no rust on most of them too, usual places seem to be the sills on them.

Just now, RoverFolkUs said:

I forgot to reply to you about the Rover 25

Mine was in the same colour green as that

I'm sure it had steel wheels but I cant fully remember. Its rather tricky to cast my mind back to just under 15 years ago!

Bloody hell, 15 years ago, where did that time go!! I remember the day I took it into be P/Xed like it was yesterday (steam chuffing from under the bonnet )  - for the aforementioned Daewoo!

I do like a 25. If the tax was cheaper then it'd have made a nice wee spare motor for the household. Alas, the Dacia Duster we have is too reliable to warrant a spare, touch wood.

[RoverFolkUs]

1 minute ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

If you can look past the exterior design, they're nice cars to be in. Not exactly going to set the world on fire in terms of driving dynamics but definitely beats walking, or the bus. Practical too. If it wasn't for the 3-point seatbelt (only factory standard as of 2004) then you could have the rear seats whipped out in a matter of seconds.

They've aged alright too, just some common stupid faults, but each car will have it's own common faults. Very little or no rust on most of them too, usual places seem to be the sills on them.

I do like a 25. If the tax was cheaper then it'd have made a nice wee spare motor for the household. Alas, the Dacia Duster we have is too reliable to warrant a spare, touch wood.

Yeah there's no reason at all for me to be dismissive of them. A 1.9TDi PD130 would be brilliant fun! Though costs maybe excess for you based on what you describe re insurance

Hang on scratch that, I'm supposed to be helping convince you to keep this Fabia! 

Even the Rover 25 with the 1.1 K-Series is in the £210 VED band, which is silly for a 1.1L! For comparison, my 1.6 Focus is £210 a year and my old 1.6 45 was £235 at the time (would be £250 now)

Since my 25 was a 1.4 and a pre-2001 model, it was buttons to tax in the small engine tax bracket back in 2007! Probably about £120 per year off the top of my head.

[RoverFolkUs]

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203113467265?

Oooh  

[RoverFolkUs]

.... Just browsing, honest 'guv