Hi, posting on behalf of my GF's mum.

She bought a 1.4 petrol '55 Fabia second hand 14 months ago from a big skoda dealer.

It had only done 3,000 miles from new - an old lady had it.

It broke down twice - the first time just 2 weeks after the dealer's 1yr warantee

This is what the garage says it needs doing....

New...

Cylinder Head, Valves and camshaft

head bolts

Head gasket

inlet seal

and something to do with the manifold.

that's after 13,000 miles!!!!!

they quoted around £1,500

Naturally, she doesn't want to pay as she is on a v.low income.

What chance does she stand of getting skoda to fix it?

It obviously had something wrong from the start to break so soon.

Depends on the diagnosis of the problem.

What version of the 1.4 is it (can you describe the badge on the back or get the engine code out of the sticker at the front of the service log book)?

Certain engines had a known problems, but if you pass that information back people should be able to give you a more specific answer.

55-plate will be the 1.4 16v, in which case AFAIK it'll be the 100bhp version unless it's an automatic. The only recurring problem I know on them is excess wear on the piston rings, which isn't a fault listed by the garage.

I don't know about something wrong from the start - it could just be a classic case of why low mileage cars are best avoided. It's possible the engine and/or drivetrain was suffering from internal corrosion or something nasty like that. Although, you do say that 10000 (presumably breakdown-free) miles were put on it in a year, which ought to rule out any incipient fault to do with lack of use...

To my mind, that sort of repair list would normally only be seen if you'd suffered cambelt failure, which is hardly the sort of fault you can mistake as something else. The car certainly wouldn't be a runner. If it still runs (however roughly), then a second opinion is in order IMHO...

sorry guys - it's a 1.2 - not sure of model at the moment....

and it does still run.

she had an auto electritian look at it and he thought it was an electrical fault.....

If it's an electrical fault, it's "just one of those things" I'm afraid. If there's already an auto electrician on the case, then he'll probably can sort it sensibly.

I'd write to Skoda Cust Services and the big Skoda dealer explaining your situation, that after 2 weeks out of warranty X and Y happened and now Z

Then just see what happens from there.

thanks for all your responses...

good news! skoda are paying for all the parts and labour!

might be worth remembering if something similar happens to you or a friend.

Thats great news! Does seem very low miles indead for major problems like that to show up!

Hope the problem gets fixed and all is well!

Phil

What made Skoda say that they'd fix it for free btw

It's great news, was just curious if they'd took the initiative or if someone from say WhatCars Helpline assisted in their decision?

Or if your girlfriends mum is quite a foxy lady........

That's VERY good news! I'd be interested to hear what was actually wrong...

I would hazard a guess at a burnt exhaust valve, not sealing correctly and giving a misfire. If this is the case a Skoda dealer will change the head rather than repair.

Really great that all has been sorted out for you:Excellent news:thumbup: However I would personally avoid ow mileage granny driven cars as they tend to be used for short runs to the post office and paper shop and so never get properly warmed up,They also get driven too gently.A car needs to have a bit of a run and get used hard occasionally IMHO:)