Hello guys & girls. I'm looking for some advice on which specification Fabia would be best for me. I'll give a quick lowdown of my current situation.

I'm just 17, making insurance the most important thing of all. This also means I need to keep running costs as low as possible, as I do not have a huge amount of money to flash. Going against all stereotypes, I'm not bothered about speed, bodykits or big sound systems, I just want a clean looking car that gets me from A to B, and will be a good platform for me to gather experience behind the wheel. The Fabia seems to suit the application perfectly, with its low insurance groups across the range as well as the preconcieved judgements people still make, therefore making them hardly the most desirable car for thieves to nick.

My budget for the vehicle is £1500, and I would be very reluctant to go any higher, unless it was a car I really felt was ideal. I'm also looking to get my own insurance, as I would be reluctant to go on my mums policy and run the risk of not having the insurnace company pay out, or prosecution.

I'm planning on having a good hard search in a few weeks time, as I'm currently undergoing a Lifeguard training course, that'll hopefully get me some part time work.

My current belief is that the 1.4 Classic would be a good option, with its low insurance group (2) and a good bit of grunt to help get me up to speed. However I have come across after just a couple of hours of research that the head gaskets can wear, leakage in the footwell, and a whole host of electrical problems. What about the 1.2, would that serve as a better car for me? I would also consider a diesel, without doubt. However I have heard about problems with the 1.9 SDI spec, so I'm holding my judgement on that one.

Would greatly appreciate any advice, thanks.

Tom.

Hi and welcome, I'll get to the point

Size requirements? If its just you and your furry dice most of the time would you need a small sized 5 door?

Safety - It is however stable on the motorways compared to corsa/yaris/saxo etc.. Do you go on motorways often? long journeys? That will merge into the warrant of a diesel.

I had the 1.4 classic and it was nice enough to drive (with rear arb), but on hind sight, I may have been better off with the Yaris (which I had for a 2nd car).

Some on the other hand love large cars for reasons which are above me.. so alot of personal choice vs practicality vs costs.

Edited 20 October, 201015 yr by JLneonhug

Hello guys & girls. I'm looking for some advice on which specification Fabia would be best for me. I'll give a quick lowdown of my current situation.

I'm just 17, making insurance the most important thing of all. This also means I need to keep running costs as low as possible, as I do not have a huge amount of money to flash. Going against all stereotypes, I'm not bothered about speed, bodykits or big sound systems, I just want a clean looking car that gets me from A to B, and will be a good platform for me to gather experience behind the wheel. The Fabia seems to suit the application perfectly, with its low insurance groups across the range as well as the preconcieved judgements people still make, therefore making them hardly the most desirable car for thieves to nick.

My budget for the vehicle is £1500, and I would be very reluctant to go any higher, unless it was a car I really felt was ideal. I'm also looking to get my own insurance, as I would be reluctant to go on my mums policy and run the risk of not having the insurnace company pay out, or prosecution.

I'm planning on having a good hard search in a few weeks time, as I'm currently undergoing a Lifeguard training course, that'll hopefully get me some part time work.

My current belief is that the 1.4 Classic would be a good option, with its low insurance group (2) and a good bit of grunt to help get me up to speed. However I have come across after just a couple of hours of research that the head gaskets can wear, leakage in the footwell, and a whole host of electrical problems. What about the 1.2, would that serve as a better car for me? I would also consider a diesel, without doubt. However I have heard about problems with the 1.9 SDI spec, so I'm holding my judgement on that one.

Would greatly appreciate any advice, thanks.

Tom.

Hi mate all the common faults excluding the headgasket are quite prevelant accross all the models i.e power steering faults, leaky back doors etc

Personally, I'd see if I could stretch to the Comfort spec - get eletric windows, central (sometimes remote) locking, trip computer, eletric mirrors, ABS (I think) and front fog lights and air con (although this maybe an optional extra).

Try and advoid the 1.4 16v though as the engine can suffer big failures in the piston rings. The 1.4 8v/MPi had a revised head gasket I believe, so I think most of them will have that now.

Edited 20 October, 201015 yr by TriggerFish

My missus had a 1.2 Fabia as her first car - great little thing around town, very economical but lacking on power. Also due to the lack of weight from the 3 cylinder engine it tended to understeer if you did push it into corners.

The 1.9SDI is by all accounts bulletproof, although quite sluggish. It maybe worth you checking on insurance levels for a 1.9TDI - very nice to drive and doesn't suffer from the handling issues the 1.2 does.

All the fabia suffer from the leaky door carriers giving wet carpets, but thats quite a simple DIY job to fix. The powersteering issues that people mention are usually pretty painless, mine suffers from it and so did the 1.2. Basically its some issue with the pump when starting up from cold, the PAS light comes on and the steering gets real heavy, a quick switch off of the ignition and back on has always fixed it for me.

I would probably recommend the 1.4mpi. Great for a first car, fairly economical and shoudn't be too heavy on insurance. As has been mentioned, try and aim for a Comfort spec, the central locking, electric windows and air con really make the car a nice place to be I'm pretty sure even the most basic spec (Classic) will come with the basics (PAS, ABS etc), at least the 1.2 did.

Edited 20 October, 201015 yr by Simonbt

If it were me, I'd look at either the 1.2 petrol, or the 1.9 diesel. My neighbour's dad has the 1.2 petrol (actually the reason I got mine, after having a look at theirs!), and despite not liking smaller engines, loves it. I really like my 1.9TDi - much nicer/easier to drive than the 1.3/1.4CTDi Corsa & Fiesta I've also driven, due to it actually having low-down torque. Having said that, being insurance group 6 (on the 1-20 scale), my first years' insurance as a new driver was £1,200 fully comp (living in a group A post code, and being well into my 20's), so that might rule it out, although that halved with 1 years' NCD. I've had a brief experience of the 1.4TDi from the Mk II Fabia (courtesy car), and it was very much like the 1.4 CDTi Fiesta my instructor had - rather anaemic low-down (felt like you needed to push it, and always felt as though it was close to stalling when pulling away, unless you gave it a bit of "gas"), although it was fine once going along (and had a bit more "go" than the Fiesta).

I found that there was surprisingly little difference in insurance for me for the 1.2 (group 2) and 1.9TDi (group 9) - about £100, so I plumped with the big diesel. Given that I've got an average of 52mpg (measured) on mostly urban driving out of it since I've had it, it's more than made up the increased insurance premiums.

I'd say see if you can find a Comfort/Ambiente trim model - worth it for the A/C, remote central locking, and front fog lights, IMHO.

Don't know if that's any help..?

If your able to insure a Yaris 1.3 SR or the Yaris T Sport they are much of a better car In terms of reliability, handling, and maintenance cost.

The 1.4 Fabias are known to have many problems, I would personally stay away from the 1.4 model.

The 1.4 8V MPI Fabia doesnt suffer from many problems, apart from the usual ones on all Fabias/Polos/Ibizas

Rear door carriers leaking - easy fix £10 max

Front Wishbone Rear Bush

Scooshy hose pops off in the cold to stop pipe bursting , just pop it back on

Thats it really , Im fully comprehensive on my 1.4 Fabia , 18 , and living in fairly good area , £1800 for my first year of driving

For a first car I'd have thought that a Fiesta or Corsa would be more economical to maintain. If you've got your heart set on a Furby then at the age you'll be looking at for £1500 I can't imagine they'd be much price differential between the different trim levels all else being equal. The Comfort gives you the front fogs, central locking, trip computer, front electric windows, heated electric wing mirrors and air conditioning which are all nice to have but are also extra things to go wrong. Engine-wise I'm not entirely sure if the 1.2 petrol and 1.4 tdi were available early on. Both would be the mostly highly recommended if you can afford them in terms of a compromise between refinement, economy and power. The earlier 1.4 mpi petrol is thirsty and the 1.9 sdi diesel reliable but slow by all accounts. The 1.4 16v petrol and 1.9 tdi are probably a wee bit powerful and more expensive to tax and insure as a first car. All of them have known faults, there is no escaping it! Diesels are usually a little dearer to buy and service so you need to do a certain minimum annual mileage to make the extra fuel economy worthwhile, probably around 10,000 miles. The key in the second hand market is to have some flexibility and try and pick a good one. Good luck!

Edited 20 October, 201015 yr by tag1_uk

The Comfort gives you the front fogs, central locking, trip computer, front electric windows, heated electric wing mirrors and air conditioning which are all nice to have but are also extra things to go wrong.

In the 05/04 catalogue air conditioning is listed as standard only on the Elegance and the vRS - optional on the others including the Comfort at £550 - other extras you've listed are shown as being on the Comfort.

I would say the 1.4mpi was horrific on fuel consumption, and it is reflected in the official figures and co2 rating/tax band. If I bought again I'd look at the 1.2htp or 1.9sdi. All things equal I am sure the 1.2htp is a more sensible choice, it has nearly the same bhp and better fuel consumption, less carbon dioxides, bad for the trees, good for the planet. The 1.2 replaced the 1.4mpi as the 1.4mpi would not meet future emissions requirements. That said the 1.4mpi is a bullet proof engine other than the aforementioned head gasket issues which have hopefully been resolved in most cars.

Oh and regarding insurance, get as many quotes as possible, see http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/compare-cheap-car-insurance?dd I would also add your mum as a named driver to your own policy, even if she will never touch the car and would be covered under her own policy anyway, as this can bring the cost down quite a bit. You have to try every trick possible to bring the insurance price down, without lying though.

Edited 21 October, 201015 yr by anewman

Just remembered there's some of the original brochures hosted here, if it helps work out what came with what spec:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/99352-fabia-6y-electronic-brochures/

In your circumstances I'd say get an SDI.

They are forgiving and easy to drive.

My Mrs is a pretty new driver too.

It has an engine that can easily cope with distance

driving or town.£90 a year road tax. ( Just done ours)

Super duper fuel economy :yes:

Not as slow as their reputation suggests.

You've just got to rev them thats all.

Oh yes, and no DMF to go wrong either.

Just a normal SMF and clutch.

We love ours and we have a vRS too.

But if we had to do a really long journey...

without a shadow of a doubt...

for comfort and economy we'd use the SDI

Just remembered there's some of the original brochures hosted here, if it helps work out what came with what spec:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/99352-fabia-6y-electronic-brochures/

None of those cover pre-facelift cars - I haven't found one that does yet. I'm using a hard-copy for my responses...

Stuff the Fabia

Peugeot 306 dturbo / hdi

None of those cover pre-facelift cars - I haven't found one that does yet. I'm using a hard-copy for my responses...

True ... I just thought the one labelled Oct 04 might be useable as a guide ... it's certainly correct when looking at what's on my pre-facelift 54 plate Fabia ...

Stuff the Fabia

Peugeot 306 dturbo / hdi

+1 But get a D turbo. Less to go wrong with and if the insurance let you you can get 100bhp or so from turning the pump up.

Handle great and lowish insurance group.