I'm looking at buying a S/H Fabia that's been advertised through work - the owner wants a quick sale and is offering it for £500.

It's a 2000 / 2001 Mk I, with about 45, 000 on the clock, is being MoT'd at the moment with any work needed to be done before the sale the engine is a 1.4 petrol (though not sure if a 8v or 16v) - he bought it as a cheap runaround and has owned it for six months - there has been only one previous owner, there is full Skoda main dealer service history for the time the first owner had it.

Apart from the usual hints and tips about buying a second hand car, are there any specific problems areas or things specific to the Fabia and the 1.4 engines that I shoud keep an eye out for?

Any help gratefully recieved.

Thanks.

From what I can gather...

The 16v engines have a nasty habit of developing Piston ring failure, and also have an issue with accumulating gunk in multiple areas over time (EGR valve, Throttle body, etc)

The 8v engines are as most people refer to them, a tractor. They'll go and go, but don't expect refinement, or economy, or much in the way of speed. However very easy to maintain, and as i'm finding so far an ideal first car to tinker around with

The quick key regarding what engine you have is looking for the letters mpi on the back. mpi = 8v.

With all mk1 fabias, there's the inherent door seal issues that can be sorted for a tenner tops, and multiple random electrical woes - and even though i've not heard it that often anymore (i've read around a fair bit!) power steering pump failure.

I bought mine for £600 a little while back - and i'm about to become a member of the 6 figure club - so getting one at 45k with a FSH is a bit of a no-brainer. Sounds like a very good buy!

The 8v engines are as most people refer to them, a tractor. They'll go and go, but don't expect refinement, or economy, or much in the way of speed. However very easy to maintain, and as i'm finding so far an ideal first car to tinker around with

The quick key regarding what engine you have is looking for the letters mpi on the back. mpi = 8v.

With all mk1 fabias, there's the inherent door seal issues that can be sorted for a tenner tops, and multiple random electrical woes - and even though i've not heard it that often anymore (i've read around a fair bit!) power steering pump failure.

I bought mine for £600 a little while back - and i'm about to become a member of the 6 figure club - so getting one at 45k with a FSH is a bit of a no-brainer. Sounds like a very good buy!

We got ours last week, MY2003 reg in June 2005 but we are in Singapore.

Yes, the car goes as fast and sounds as loud as a tractor and I want to try and do something about it,

that is if there's anything that can be done to "refine" it a little.

Pretty happy with the way the car drives except for the serious lack of power (subjective, of cos)

and the "ponding" in the car after a downpour or a wash.

Try to indentify the problem now. ......

Appreciate if you can give me some tips at my thread :

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/165011-fabia-14mpi-manual-6yame/

£500 is a great price, even if it needs work later on - you'll still be better off than buying the equivalent year / model at a dealer, which tend to have a screen price of about £1500-2000.