This Skoda Felicia shines in the condition of a new car: the speedometer shows 5,407 kilometers. Now the youngtimer has been auctioned off.
The mystery of who buys a Skoda Felicia and then almost never drives is explained by the Swedish auction house Bilweb in a nutshell: The finance manager of the Skoda car dealership Bohus Motor gave the small car to his daughter. However, after a few months she gave up driving.
Highest bid: 4,220 euros
The Felicia stayed in a warm garage and only came out for regular movement drives and inspections. After 15 years the next owners bought it. They thought the same and didn't use the small Skoda for long distances. The Felicia never even left the city: with one exception, the service was always carried out by an authorized Skoda workshop in Uddevalla, Sweden. Exactly the city where Volvo built the C70 convertible together with Pininfarina until 2013.
From the outside and inside you can see that the Felicia has always been well taken care of: no stone chips on the radiator grille, no scratches on the bumpers, no abrasion or dirt on the seats or armrests. If the steering wheel and exterior mirrors look familiar, you probably drove a VW Polo sometime in the 1990s. Golf III users are also familiar with the small airbag steering wheel with the horn buttons on the right and left of the spokes. When it came to equipment, the first-time buyer was price-conscious: he dispensed with every luxury and took the basic LX equipment. In Germany, a 1995 Skoda Felicia LX cost 15,590 marks in Germany. It was a quarter cheaper than a VW Polo. Now the almost new Felicia has been auctioned off. Estimated value and minimum price were not reached; the highest bid was 43,000 Swedish crowns, the equivalent of 4,220 euros. At least 65,000 Swedish crowns (6,370 euros) had been expected.
Last Skoda on a non-VW platform
The Felicia was the last Skoda not based on a VW platform. The small car is a further development of the previous model Favorit with a body designed by Bertone. The four-cylinder petrol engines with displacements of 1.1 and 1.3 liters came from its predecessor. Some parts - such as the steering wheel and exterior mirrors on this late model - are already from VW. The Wolfsburg-based group also contributed a 1.6-liter petrol engine and a 1.9-liter naturally aspirated diesel. When the red Felicia was first registered for the road in February 2001, its successor, the Fabia I, was already rolling off the assembly line in Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic.
The example that is now being auctioned in Sweden has the Skoda engine with the identifier 136M across the front under the hood. The 10:1 high compression four-cylinder delivers 68 hp. This accelerates the four-door to 162 km/h – it is very likely that no one has ever tried it with this example; Speeding in Sweden is expensive. It would also not be very advisable because the Continental tires with the DOT code 3600 are probably still original equipment. So the tires are almost exactly 21 years old. Incidentally, the 165/70 R 13 format shows that the tire sizes of small cars have also changed since February 2001.
Conclusion
Two careful previous owners made sure that this Skoda Felicia survived in practically new condition. At the same time, it was repeatedly moved and serviced, so that it is not a grandfather clock that belongs in a museum. It is precisely this condition that makes this red four-door so interesting. 20 years ago nobody would have turned around, today he is allowed to take part in youngtimer rallies.
