Hey everyone,

I have a few quick questions about 2000 model Fabia Elegance.

It has power windows all around, do the power window switches in the rear of the car light up and do the four driver control switches at the front light up?

I have seen one picture of a Fabia at night and the instrument lighting seemed very dim particularly the heater/aircon control nobs. Do these illuminate brightly or are they very dim and is there a brightness control nob?

One more question, is £3000 a good price for a 1.4 Fabia, Elegence with 55,000 miles on the clock? It has full service history and the body is immaculate, it's a tad worn inside but can only be expected for a car this age. Is it over priced or should I haggle it down, and if so what would be a good price?

Thanks everyone!

Sounds expensive in my opinion, esp if its a 16v as it could be troublesome at that age.

RE the lights, they all light up on mine, but it only has front power windows. There is a switch that allows the brightness to be changed. While it isn't great (camera sucks without the flash, flash ruins it) here is what its like at night with the illumination about 75-100%.

In Sunny Suffolk I would say thats overpriced but who knows in your area.

£3k, I paid £2300 for a 2002 '52' Fabia 1.9TDi Comfort with FSH and 109700 on the clock.

i think 3 grand is massively overpriced, i've got a 2.0 elegance and i can confirm that all of the front and rear window switches do light up green all the time the side ights are switched on and there is a little slider to the right of the steering wheel for setting the brightness

Thanks everyone, that's a massive help.

I'm from Australia and we don't have Skoda, it's all about Japanese cars over in Oz and Holdens which are Australian made and designed but owned by GM motors. I know not much about Skoda Fabia's.

I had a feelin that £3000 was a bit excessive, and I have read on various sites that the model can have air con, leaking foot well and electric faults amoung other things.

I like the car though very much, I like the shape and it's sturdy, built like a brick **** house (scuse French). Are VW still building cars to survive a war or what?!?!? hehe I here that Skoda used to be an unpopular brand once upon a time. I read that VW took over about 15 years back and that the current Fabia is a POLO incognito.

The car has heated seats which i'm looking forward to as your winters freeze me to the very core, last winter it got down to negative 10 degree's down south and my poor old 1989 Corolla's doors froze shut and there was actully ice on the inside of the sunroof (it leaks) anyway .........

Sooooooo i'll haggle, try and get it down to £2500. It dosen't have a CD player and the rear R) window switch has a hole in it, so I guess I can use that to get a bit knocked off.

Anyone else got any tips anything I can use as levredge to get the price knocked down?

Triggerfish, thanks for the pic!!

Get the car checked by either the RAC or the AA, ensure the car has FSH. And a common problem with these engines is worn piston rings

Unless that particular car has a chocolate fountain or something else you're really keen on, then walk away. It's waaaay too much money and it has stuff wrong with it. Even if you haggled him down to £2500 it's still too much money. You can get a 2003 vRS for £4500 for goodness sakes. There are plenty about and if you like the petrol then try a TDI diesel, then you'll really smile. Not only do they go like the clappers, they are very fuel efficient too.

Have a look in the For Sale section to get an idea on private sale prices. Generally, if someone has a reasonable post count and has been a member a while, they are the kind of people who look after their cars and they'll happily sell to a fellow member at less than you would pay a dealer.

Also - if you want a real bargain on a well-made car then an Octavia may be better. It's a Golf underneath, rather than a Polo, and they are excellent, and very, very well made, but they have no image to speak of other than as taxis and the residuals are not great compared to Fabias which always seem overpriced to me.

A 110bhp Octavia diesel would be a great car, or, if you can stretch the insurance then there are loads of white, ex-police, Ovtavia vRS's about which have the 180bhp petrol (usually remapped to 210bhp+) from the Audi TT and Golf GTi in them, and they are really nice, been serviced to death (no self-respecting member of the constabulary wants to break down), but they tend to be a bit worn inside. Those seem to go for between £2000 and £3000 and they are bargains.

I owned one of these for a good 7 years or so - everything you mentioned does light up ok, and I would agree that it is overpriced. I am assuming that this is the 1.4 16v AUB engine - so watch out for piston ring wear!

Pete