My girlfriend is about to sit her driving test and we agetting are looking at 2nd car. The favourite is a afabia, probably estate. We've seen a decent 56 plate 1.2 with lowish miles that looks ok. Any advice on what to look for or avoid? General fabia things too as it may end up being a 1.4 or diesel depending on what crops up. She'd prefer an estate for bike carrying duties, etc.

Cheers,

Jack

I'd go for a 1.4TDI or 1.9 TDI if you are going for an estate, the lower powered petrol models suffer when the car is laden.

If you buy from a Skoda dealer you benefit from a years ext warranty and piece of mind etc etc.

Just look out for leaky doors, suspension bushes, will go think of more...

Make sure it had Wheels..........and doors! oh Dont forget the Engine! gotta make sure that it has an engine!

I'd go for a 1.4TDI or 1.9 TDI if you are going for an estate, the lower powered petrol models suffer when the car is laden.

If you buy from a Skoda dealer you benefit from a years ext warranty and piece of mind etc etc.

Just look out for leaky doors, suspension bushes, will go think of more...

Whats the situation with the leaky doors, has a permanent fix been found yet or has everyone got this problem but doesnt mention it

Make sure when buying a fabia always always make sure its got a skoda badge at the front and rear, if its got a renault badge at the front but a skoda at the back probably shouldnt go for it.

I have a leaky rear door, fixing it this weekend if the weather is good. Its an easy fix just requires some basic car ripping apart ability and some sealant!

Whats the situation with the leaky doors, has a permanent fix been found yet or has everyone got this problem but doesnt mention it

Yep there's a few guides on here (including mine) to sort leaky door seals, just need to pull the door card off and lace it with sealant!

works 100% of the time every time!

John

if you go for a fabia, then at some point you will need to change the bushes at the front, on test drive listen for knocking from front when going over bumpy roads or speed ramps..... if you do hear a knock dont worry it aint the end of the world, just use it as a bargaining tool, allow at least £150 to get them changed, or if getting from dealer get them to do it for you....

works 100% of the time every time!

...unless you get a dealer to do it!

As the others have said, the main one is the leaking rear door carrier (link), and some of the sensors can fail/play up - think steering sensor and MAF are the ones to look for.

Also, have a check of the sills in front of the rear wheels - where there's a flap in the wheel arch lining, the lining can rub on the paintwork and actually rub the paint off - obviously if this continues un-noticed for too long, you get rust.

If you find a 1.4 petrol check the service history is regular oil changes. The rings are a weak point and the tell tale sign is too much smoke coming out of the exhaust when hot. otherwise treat it as any other car.

another good thing to look at is the brakes they can sometimes warp and not be very noticable, electrics can be a good one to look for aswell as the water seeps down and can damage some of the door micro switches. other than that and the previous mentioned treat it like you would any other seccond hand car

"Buying a Fabia - What to look for?"

Something else I'd say. A whole heap of trouble, most of which are known faults (I'd say design flaws).