Have sold my '51 Astra SXi as of this Saturday and was looking round for a cheap runaround that had potential to look good and not fall into the blah category (Fiesta, Focus, Astra etc).

Anyway stumbled upon a Fabia via taking an '05 Occy out for a drive... first time in a Skoda, very pleasantly surprised and converted. But the £6K spend on a TDI Occy will have to wait till next year - baby due any day.

So, found a '52 reg Fabia 1.4 MPI 68bhp, bright (almost) VRs blue, great price, low mileage, mint condition, 12 months MOT etc, love it... apart from the horrendous fabric inside... anyway. Definite potential to tweak it to make it look and drive better than stock.

So deposit down and joined Briskoda in excitement of being part of the 'secretly cool club'.

Now, having read up on all the common faults Fabias have - leaking rear doors, sometimes front, flickering lights, PAS problems, rattling this and that, bushings going etc.... I'm really ready to go looking back at a Fiesta or something similar again.

I'm not averse to sitting out the back of my house fixing/ improving/ tweaking my car at all, in fact I like it... but really dont want to buy something thats going to be constant problems and £££s as will be far too busy with a baby for that.

Please someone tell me that not EVERYONE gets the leaky doors, PAS etc etc because what looks like a little bargain is starting to feel like an impending huge mistake....

Shoot as many kittens as you like, what good is a forum that you cant post your first post on!!

Can post a pic of the potential new car if people ask.

Hopester

Edited 19 August, 200916 yr by hopester101

Had a Fabia VRS from new on a 53 plate and 78K miles. The only problem in all that time was the booster hose blew off (not sure if that's what it's called but everyone will know which one) after just over 3 years. Very cheap and trouble free motoring, great car. Oh nearly forgot, I've been through quite a few headlight bulbs and that's it.

OK most people get leaky doors :P

On the + side most will have been fixed under warranty

Bushes fail on any car wear and tear, its like asking if everyone needed a new exhaust after 100K miles

If you are unsure pay a visit to a Ford/ Vauxhall site and have a look at their 'niggles and gripes' list, we will see you back here in about 2 hours

Had a Fabia VRS from new on a 53 plate and 78K miles. The only problem in all that time was the booster hose blew off (not sure if that's what it's called but everyone will know which one) after just over 3 years. Very cheap and trouble free motoring, great car. Oh nearly forgot, I've been through quite a few headlight bulbs and that's it.

hmm see this is good : ) just reading on various sites it felt like it was par for the course that you were going to get problems the same as everyone else and you just accepted them....

It's a great car to drive, totally different to what I'm used to (Astras, Focus, 306 etc) and I like the non-common image etc, plus quite like world rally so know the Skoda heritage.

Just dont want to regret buying one if you know what I mean

I've had 2 Fabia's... An elegance and a vRS. I'd be lieing if I told you the Elegance was faultless.. but the vRS has been fine. I did have leaky doors but that's a seriously easy fix with a sunday spare.

TBH, The Fabia will have no more faults than any other car you buy,.. it's just that they don't have as well maintained a forum for you to find out about them..

You WILL be happy with your Fabia.. And it;s really nice to know you haven't gone with the norm, the interior my have a questionable choice of fabric pattern but the quality and style is so much more solid and quality feeling.

OK most people get leaky doors :P

On the + side most will have been fixed under warranty

Bushes fail on any car wear and tear, its like asking if everyone needed a new exhaust after 100K miles

If you are unsure pay a visit to a Ford/ Vauxhall site and have a look at their 'niggles and gripes' list, we will see you back here in about 2 hours

Ha thanks... yeah I had the feeling that no matter what car you name, there will be a huge list of people saying how **** its been for them, but its what percentage these people are to the total number that own said car!

Am panicking that it feels like 99% of people who own a Fabia have problems, VRs, diesels or just little petrol engines!

Not all Fabia's have the problems mentioned. It's just that this is the place to complain

My first Skoda was a 1400 16V and had no real problems

My dads vrs was the same with the leaking rear doors, his car was out of warranty, but skoda fixed it all for him free of charge which was nice. Some good back up service from some Skoda dealers, might be worth checking the reputation of your local Skoda dealer.

My dads vrs was the same with the leaking rear doors, his car was out of warranty, but skoda fixed it all for him free of charge which was nice. Some good back up service from some Skoda dealers, might be worth checking the reputation of your local Skoda dealer.

Heard pretty good things re Skoda mechs, my local dealership will either be Claybank in Manchester (Eccles) or Simpsons in Preston... anyone any experience with these?

Thanks for your replys by the way guys, setting me to rest a bit more, stressed enough with The Boy due to arrive any minute as it is!!

its like asking if everyone needed a new exhaust after 100K miles

hahaha bugger off

I would guess that 99% of people who own a car for a length of time will have problems, especially once it reaches 5 years +. With any brand from Merc. to Skoda you are in the hands of lady luck wether you get a good one or a bad one.

I would guess that 99% of people who own a car for a length of time will have problems, especially once it reaches 5 years +. With any brand from Merc. to Skoda you are in the hands of lady luck wether you get a good one or a bad one.

Fair comment. Have been really lucky with my Astra, never a thing gone wrong with it, most I ever needed was a brake light bulb at MOT.

Bloody spoiled!

Pre purchase and modding defo got potential dont you think

I'm on my second Fabia 'comfort' - the first a 1.4mpi and now this a 1.9tdi.

They have both had little problems, but which cars don't, lol.

The one I have now is 10 years old next year and has 145k on the clock (as of the other day) so I guess depending on different circumstances depends on the faults that might occur.

My Fabia is my first Skoda . . . Ive come across nothing that would make me tell a friend not to bother!

Worth remembering that most people only post about problems. The Fabia scores 74 on the reliability index, which is well above average, and better than the VW 6N Polo on which it is based.

Built to a price, but build quality is excellent for the money you spend. I remember when Ford had terrible gearbox problems with the early Focus, something like a 40% failure rate within 6 months. BMW Mini One 47 recalls and counting

If you want to be really busy as a mechanic buy a Mercedes. If you want a car that never goes wrong, buy a Lexus, but be prepared to be very bored into the bargain.

Most common Fabia problem is leaky rear door carrier seals. 20 minutes per side to fix.

Most cars with electro mechanical PAS will have lights flicker at idle speed, as the pump can take 60 amps. PAS pump failure is pretty rare.

Console bushes should last 30K to 60K on 1.4 petrol. VRS kills then quicker due to massive torque causing wishbone fore and aft movement.

Moggy,

Cough 9N cough,

Typo?

Pre purchase and modding defo got potential dont you think

Thats a crackin clean wee car you've got

I've had 3 skoda's so far - a 54 Fabia vRS, 56 Octy L&K and now an 07 Fabia vRS SE. My folks have a 56 Fabia Elegance and my brother's girlfriend has a 53 Fabia Classic. No problems whatsoever apart from my first Fabia having the leaky doors.

Moggy,

Cough 9N cough,

Typo?

Old age mate

On my first skoda. Not quite 1000 miles but its great. Have had fun with the dealer and still am, but its not the cars fault, just the previous owner. Have had the dash out while fitting my stereo and BT kit and have to say it looks well built. Its all screwed in rather than clips and plenty of sound deadening to really impressed. Would definitely buy another when it comes to getting a bigger car

HI, to make you feel better my 2003 fabia vrs is on 111,000 miles and all that has been changed is brake pads and disks and bulbs (and obviously the service fluids). I have to say it is the most dependable car i have ever owned and am very reluctant to get rid of it. You always get the odd lemon in any make of car (i had an 03 plate audi A4 that was a whole heap of trouble)

Also worth noting that there are rarely any problems that are going to cost that to repair much with it being a skoda. the things that tend to be posted on here are quick fixes or niggles, and as this forum is so helpful you wont need to try hard to get some assistance.

Good luck.

Bought a Fabia 1.2 Comfort second hand for SWMBO just over two years ago. Total work required (except routine maintenance):

• Two new front tyres
  

Bought myself a new Fabia vRS just afterwards. Total work required (except routine maintenance):

• Two new front tyres
  
• Gasket replacement to fix BLT 'stutter' (under warranty).
  

Like the other posts have said - this is a well maintained forum and although there might appear to be a lot of complaints almost everyone is very happy with their Fabia(s)

Pre purchase and modding defo got potential dont you think

very clean little car that mate, do us a favour hopester get a proggresion thread going if you planning on a spot of modding, i reckon nice and smooth, slammed, and some euro wheels, am a big fan of that blue colour as well. :orb_cool:

Neither of our Fabias have had anything go wrong that wasn't DIY, except the bushes at around 60k on both...