With the demise of the Daewoo Lacetti a few months ago, I've been looking out for a replacement which is a bit more sturdy and capacious than the Daihatsu for transporting the family about. We still have the Mercedes, but a 3rd car is always useful! An opportunity presented itself in the shape of a 2005 Skoda Fabia hatchback for £800, with some service history and only 90k miles it seemed ideal.

I took a day off work and rode the train to sunny Bristol to collect

Bit of a beast I think you'll agree? Its a 1.4 litre 16v 'Sport' which means it has the interior from the top-of-the-range vRS model and 75BHP to propel it along. Its been resprayed by a previous owner with a not-quite-the-right-shade silver with comedy overspray and runs on the bonnet, drivers door and rear bumper, but is a solid enough car underneath.

Its got a short snagging list, the passenger front door lock module is broken, meaning it doesn't lock or unlock on the remote locking, and the car doesn't know if the door is open or closed, so the interior light doesn't work with that door open. I have a replacement which came with the car which I'll get around to fixing in a few weeks.

Its also probably due a cambelt. Its been done at least once in its life, evidenced by tippex marks on the cams, but no evidence whether that was 14 weeks ago, or 14 years ago. I've got a belt & water pump kit on the way, along with the appropriate locking tools so will document that in due course too. 

While its no ball of fire, it did manage an impressive indicated 53.3MPG on the way back from collection, which is probably a real-world 45-48mpg, in the current climate of £1.90 (and rising) per litre unleaded, its a bit more palatable than the 32mpg of the Mercedes.

Modifications so far have extended as far as fitting a set of rubber floor mats to protect the factory carpets, and topping it up with screenwash.