I just have a few questions about them. I've seen a 1.3 glxi Y reg, 60k for sale locally and thought it would be a good 1st car for him.

What things should I be looking for when I go see it?

How easy is it to get parts for them?

It's Y reg so will VAGCOM work on it?

Generally how reliable are they? Common faults and how easy are they to rectify?

What are they like to drive? Will it be an easy car to drive for a new driver? I expect so.

Thanks in advance

Martyn

Rust - tailgate, wheel arches

Corroded dampers - see http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/71370-skoda-felicia-damper-failure/

If temp gauge gives a low reading the thermostat probably needs replacement (easy to fix)

bad connection in ignition barrel prevents starter to turn

From posting here I've got the impression that the head gasket is a weak spot with the 1.3 engine. Since it's a pushrod engine, valve clearence may need adjustment.

Lots of second hand spares and a fair supply of new parts too. I know that a few Felicia owners here rely on Jorily - http://www.jorily.com/ - but he's not the only one.

Pretty sure VAGCOM works, but others will confirm.

I guess the glxi has PAS otherwise your brother might find the steering a bit heavy. Otherwise I agree, it's easy to handle, and easy to get a grasp of the mechanics - it's not only a big plastic cover beneath the bonnet, you can identify the alternator, starter, water pump and so on.

i got mine after a 1300 fiesta. what a difference. Its a GLXi an yes it does have PAS.

The stat was duff, the alternator reg pack got replaced, and the mid and rear exhaust. other than a mysterious knock on nearside front wheel, its a great little driver.

way better than Fords and vauxhalls of same year, for fraction of the cash

In the last five years I've replaced the :

coolant fan switch,

starter motor,

clutch cable three times,???, :wonder:

clutch(£200 odd Mr Clutch),

steering rack gaiters,

CV gaiters,

Exhaust.

I plonk in half a can of Kseal twice a year (head gasket insurance) .

Done some filling/painting...

I would buy another,I believe the above is what you could get anyway,not Felicia exclusive.

Now on 72k,still does up to 50 odd mpg in the summer,minimal oil.

I feel it can go a lot further.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-happiest-motorists-drive--a-skoda-1123339.html

Edited 11 April, 201016 yr by iansmith

Just to point out, a duff head gasket isnt the death knell it is on many old cars, it is relatively easy to replace on the felly.

Issues also include leaking sunroofs and windscreen rubbers

The suspension is very soft, so do not expect wonderful cornering on a standard et-up; saying that, go back to something with a harder suspension straight from driving a felly and the newer car feels jittery and uncomfortable!!

I prefer the ride in my sons felly to my big Toyota.

As also mentioned, a well maintained car can often reach 50mpg combined, try getting THAT out of most newer cars!!! (without using the devils fuel)

Issues also include leaking sunroofs and windscreen rubbers

:yes:

Forgot about that one though I've suffered myself...

Inspect the car a rainy day, look for water dripping down in the front footwells (especially passenger side), put your hand under the dashboard from below, there's a spongy sound insulation there, if moist/wet the windscreen rubber seal needs to be replaced.

I've got the reg and it's actually a 1.3 Classic. It's still going to have power steering isn't it but no ABS?

Very few fellys had ABS; in fact, has ANYONE come across such a beast??

The specs are here

(http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/equipment/Detail.aspx?deriv=18704)

Went to see the car today. Clean inside and out. Signs of rust on arches but that's expected but is very early signs. Car had done 56k with Full Dealer Service history, EVERY old MOT and tax disc and 2 owners from new. I think it may have had a bit of spray at one point on the front wing but the work is perfect and unless you really look hard it's hard to spot. I only spotted it because I looked at the car for a good hour.

Took it for a spin up the bypass and back and drove well. After driving my Fabia vRS I was expecting this to be a dog but no it's surprisingly nippy to drive. Handles fairly safely and predictably which is good. Did an emergency stop once the brakes had warmed up. They were a bit numb at first because the car hadn't been driven for a while plus i'm used to 312mm brakes on my vRS which really do stop. It stopped straight and true. There's no pulling and it rides OK. Reminds me a lot of my 1.4 8V Astra Mk3 which was my 1st car. It has enough go so that he won't get fed up of it but not too much so he'll hurt himself. He's pretty responsible anyway. He doesn't drink and wants to join the police force.

The car's only bad points are some stone chips that were touched up on the bottom of the bumper but not very well and I think the middle bit of the exhaust is blowing. The car has 3mths MOT left but the garage will put a full MOT on it for us. I managed to get him down to £1200 which I thought was a lot for a Felicia but he wouldn't come down any lower unless I didn't want the MOT on top, then he'd knock off another £100. Plus with FDSH and it's condition my brother and I am happy with it.

Very few fellys had ABS; in fact, has ANYONE come across such a beast??

The specs are here

(http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/equipment/Detail.aspx?deriv=18704)

L&K have ABS.

As long as you're happy

I'd want and expect 2 for that price

i have a 96' Felicia L&K with ABS

As long as you're happy

I'd want and expect 2 for that price

I anticipated someone saying this.

Small cars are not cheap anymore. There aren't that many tidy examples about because of scrappage and quite a few being written off by young drivers. Originally I wanted him to get a Corsa but everyone I saw had been accident repaired or was in bad condition or was far too much or was full of tacky mods and you just knew the guts had been screwed out of it. I'd love to get that Felicia for about £6-£800 and maybe I could have if it was a private sale but it's at a garage, it has full dealer service history and all the old MOT's and today it's rare to find a car especially an old Skoda with full history let alone dealer history.

Yeah, I was looking the other week, prices for Fellys are getting scary, a nice "R" reg went on fleabay for £900!!; and there are a lot being advertised in the £800-£1200 region if you do an internet search, both private and dealer.

@gritdog, I forgot the L&K had ABS, but so few were made!! It was an option I believe on the SLXI, but never heard of one with it fitted. Oh, sad to hear your L&K has died.

Constantly astonished when reading about second hand car pricing in the UK. £1200 would get me a Felicia with 100,000 miles on the clock and badly corroded wheel arches and tailgate.

I guess that the full MOT also means that the dealer has to fix the leaking exhaust?

Don't worry about the lack of ABS brakes - who needs'em Or seriously: Not a bad thing learning to control a car without it. We've just been through the worst winter for well over a decade, and I haven't lost grip once - nor having experienced the ABS working when driving SWMBO's Octy. If you know how to handle an Old Skool car, you can minimise the risk for unpleasant surprises. Still, you can't eliminate the risk altogether, so I won't deny the usefulness of ABS.

Edited 13 April, 201016 yr by swedishskoda

Yeah, secondhand car prices of that era have gone up a lot. I bought an R-reg Fel 1.3 in 2006 to use as a recce car, and it was £380 at the time. I'd get more than that for it now. I got my Mum a Felicia diesel estate that had been sat for 4 years for £150, took about £100 to get it MOTed, and now it's probably worth about £8-900 (R-reg, 80k miles, good condition). And I bought a Y reg Focus 2 years ago for £1000 and I'd get about £1400 for that now. And getting hold of scrappers isn't as cheap as it used to be - I bought a fair few to provide me with spares for the rally car, and they used to go for £50 or so (had one estate with alloys for £30 once). You'd be looking at more like £150+ now. The scrappage scheme has done me a favour, 'cos I have three cars that are all worth way more now than they were when I bought them!

@ our foreign friends

2nd hand Skodas, especially pre Fabia models, have always been dirt cheap because of the stigma attached to the Skoda badge.

Nowadays, with the excellent quality of the Fabia, the Octavia and the Superb well established, people do not consider the brand such a joke.

This stigma was so bad that, when the Octavia was launched, the UK price was substantially lower than that on mainland Europe, to try and tempt people to try it.

The only cars held in lower esteem were Polski-Fiat (Lada) and Dacia

I guess that the full MOT also means that the dealer has to fix the leaking exhaust?

Don't worry about the lack of ABS brakes - who needs'em Or seriously: Not a bad thing learning to control a car without it. We've just been through the worst winter for well over a decade, and I haven't lost grip once - nor having experienced the ABS working when driving SWMBO's Octy. If you know how to handle an Old Skool car, you can minimise the risk for unpleasant surprises. Still, you can't eliminate the risk altogether, so I won't deny the usefulness of ABS.

Yeah I hope so. It's going for an MOT today so we'll see. As for ABS I agree it's useful to have but like you say it's better for him to learn in an old skool car to get experience. I learned more about driving and handling in my 1st car (Astra Mk3) than I have in all my other cars. The old Nissan Cabstar in work doesn't have ABS but it's fine just takes a bit of getting used to.

I always held Fiat in lower esteem than any car. Even the roof rotted on a mate's strada. Czech engineers were always clever and well trained. It was fools who serviced the cars incorretly that led to wheels falling off. But the rear endined skoda was a bit of a rare machine, but it worked and did it's job.