Can anyone tell me whether this is normal, please?

I bought a used 2006 Fabia Estate 1.9 TDI 18 months ago from a Skoda dealership. They sourced it from elsewhere in the country and ran the usual used car checks. They told me it was fine. There were 42k miles on the clock when I bought it with a full dealership service history. In 18 months I've done about 13k miles, most of them around town but with a few longer trips. I don't thrash the car.

I took it in for a 60k mile service yesterday (dealership) and have been told of the following problems. Some of them are obvious wear and tear, but I've listed them all anyway.

- Needs a new cam belt (I was told this was necessary at 4 years or 80k miles)

- Needs a new clutch (the quote says 'clutch worn/crunch gears')

- Front arm bushes split

- Front and rear discs and pads need replacing

- Needs 3 new tyres

- Quite a bad oil leak from the area of the turbo requires investigation

- Needs new wipers front and rear

- Rear washer inoperative

- Needs new brake light bulb

I was quoted £2,000 for this work, plus the cost of investigating and then fixing the oil leak.

I've never had a Skoda before but a friend who's had several sang their praises and recommended this model, and I know this is supposed to be a reliable car. My head spun when I was told of the work that needed doing yesterday, though, and the cost of it. Is it normal for this model of this age and mileage to need this sort of work? I'm particularly horrified about the clutch. I don't ride the clutch, and have never needed a new one before. If all this work really is necessary now, shouldn't something have been obvious when the dealership checked the car 18 months ago?

Please bear with me because I don't know anything about servicing cars. I've been driving for over 30 years, though, and I've never had a list of jobs like this with any previous car. Any advice very welcome.

Cam belt and water pump need doing, but some of the other things you could do your self. Or take it to an indepedant garage/vw skoda specialist for a 2nd opinion. Im sure someone else will be along soon to offer more advice.

Some of those will be way cheaper from a decent local garage, or independant specialist if you'd prefer that.

For instance; tyres (could save even more if you went for budget, but thats your decision) and bushes should be able to be done at your local garage at a fraction of what a dealer will charge. Discs and pads- but them off ebay then get a garage to fit, that'll save a fair bit. As far as I know clutches are never really cheap to buy or fit, but again a local will be much cheaper.

As for rear washer, bulb and wiper replacement- you or a friend could sort those out for a few quid. Halfords trade cards can knock a fair bit off parts prices, ask around see if anyone you know has one (Bosch wipers about half price etc).

Sounds like a decent local will save you a lot of money and set your mind at ease.

Hope this is of some help, hope you get it all remedied soon and cheaply.

A used car check is usually a 'point in time' check like an MOT. It only tells you that at the time you purchased the car, those items were OK. There is no guarantee that in 18 months, the parts will still be OK and unlike an MOT they are unlikely to issue advisories.

You have no idea how the previous owner(s) drove the car. If the car did its 42k in stop/start traffic then the clutch will wear much faster - especially if the previous owner rode the clutch.

All of the items can be done at a good independent VW/Skoda garage.

Many thanks to both of you. I'm going to find a good local garage, and will take it there.

What I'm really wondering, though, is whether this is a normal amount of work to need to be done to this car at this age. To be honest, when I heard the long list of problems yesterday I wondered whether I could ever trust the car again. I know I haven't treated it harshly in the 18 months I've had it, and so unless this is ususal for a Fabia Estate 1.9TDI, or it's simply a duff car, then presumably the previous owner must have thrashed it. Wouldn't that have been obvious when the used car check was done? That's what I'm really wondering.

Would the good local garage be able to tell me whether it really needs a new clutch? The sad truth is that, as a woman driver who knows nothing about fixing cars, it's difficult for me to know whether I can trust what I'm told by service departments :(

Also, if it *is* a duff then is it likely to be okay when I've had these jobs done? (I'm really thinking clutch, front bushes (whatever they are) and oil leak. I've had to have pads/disks/tyres replaced before, of course.) Or would I be better off trying to swap it in for a different car?

Edited 25 May, 201115 yr by FabiaEstate06

There is nothing to suggest it is a duff car. ALL the car check does is tell you that the items were OK at that time. Nothing else would have been promised or should have been expected.

TBH, only the clutch is unexpected.

Here are some comments...

- Needs a new cam belt (I was told this was necessary at 4 years or 80k miles)

Needs to be done based on the age of the car

- Needs a new clutch (the quote says 'clutch worn/crunch gears')

Clutches usually last much longer (100k+ is very common), but poor driving style/stop/start driving reduces life.

- Front arm bushes split

Bushes are made of rubber. Not unusual for some of them to need replacement after 5 years

- Front and rear discs and pads need replacing

Discs often last much longer but depends on driving style (75k is more typical)

- Needs 3 new tyres

Nothing unusual - you should have been aware of the tread depth/wear

- Quite a bad oil leak from the area of the turbo requires investigation

Things go wrong on a 5 year old car.

- Needs new wipers front and rear

Nothing unusual. Need replacing every 1 or 2 years

- Rear washer inoperative

A common fault - could be just a pipe has come off

- Needs new brake light bulb

Nothing unusual

One other think to add...

You have had the car for 18 months, so you must have had at least one MOT. Were there any advisories (orange sheet)?

As mentioned don't feel you HAVE to get a main dealer service if it's out of the dealers used car warranty. It can help convince Skoda to make goodwill payments to unacceptable failures out of warrnty but other than that reason, it is a good chunk cheaper and sometimes higher work standards elsewhere. Google for your local VAG indie specialist?

Cambelt and waterpump would have been due last year anyway, that will be around £250-300 as it's a big job on PD engines.

Front bushes - very very common failure on Fabia - make sure you get the revised 4 pin bushes fitted as they are much tougher, or search on here for the performance alternatives (Polybush, Cupra R bushes). You should be looking at about £180 for that job.

Front discs and pads - fairly routine. Rear discs and pads - probably only need doing due to corrosion. It's a pain these are fitted to non-performance cars as they just wear out due to age and under-use. I had rear discs and pads done for about £150 so fronts should be roughly the same, so about £300 all in.

Clutch is unfortunate, may be wise getting a second opinion if you haven't noticed any problems? Same with turbo leak, wouldn't like to speculate.

All in all it sounds like you've just been diagnosed with a couple years routine problems all in one hit, with the clutch and turbo leak just being extra, unexpected problems. It happens to us all - this year alone I've had washer pump, front bush, rear discs and radiator all fail after over 2 years of trouble-free motoring. Hope you get it sorted, I'm sure you can knock a few hundred off main dealer estimate elsewhere?

Post roughly where you are and I'm sure some members will have trusted garage recommendations for you - it's great peace of mind to find somewhere you trust.

Edited 25 May, 201115 yr by TeebsVRS

If you can say what part of the country you are based in, then I'm sure a local member would be able to point you in the direction of a good indy garage, or pop round and have a look at your car.

Many thanks for the further advice. It's much appreciated.

I had it MOT'd 6 months ago, and the only problem was that a headlight bulb needed replacing. There was no suggestion that there was anything wrong with anything else.

It sounds from what you say as though I've simply been very unlucky with the clutch, and with whatever might lie behind the oil leak problem. I'll take it to a local place and see what they can do for me.

Re:

"Front bushes - very very common failure on Fabia - make sure you get the revised 4 pin bushes fitted as they are much tougher, or search on here for the performance alternatives (Polybush, Cupra R bushes). You should be looking at about £180 for that job."

Bearing in mind that I know nothing of car fixing, a pal has told me that replacing full arms, which have bushes in them, is quicker and cheaper and easier than replacing just the bushes. Is that so? In either event, should a good local garage understand what I mean if I ask for the revised 4 pin bushes?

If anybody could recommend a good local garage in the Preston/Southport/Ormskirk area I'd be very grateful. I'll ask about that in a new thread too, because prolly most people aren't looking in this one any more.

Thanks again to all of you for helping.

...I had it MOT'd 6 months ago, and the only problem was that a headlight bulb needed replacing. There was no suggestion that there was anything wrong with anything else...

If you didn't get an orange sheet as part of the MOT paperwork, then the tyres, brakes, bushes and wipers were working at that time to get a pass and there was sufficient life in them at the time to avoid an advisory.

Hi there,

Looking at the age of your car, the cam-belt should have been done last year (I guess the age criterion is in case the rubber starts to deteriorate). As I'm sure you know, it's just one of those expenses (the previous owner of mine paid £750 for the cam-belt and 50k service on mine at a dealers...). :(

For the standard wear-and-tear ones, apparently the bushes are a common fault on the Fabia. VW seem to suggest that the wipers should be replaced on a yearly basis (I think they should be < £20 for the fronts), and it's an easy thing to replace them. You can check the tyres yourself to make sure the dealers aren't being "over-zealous" in their recommendation - the legal limit's 1.6mm of tread, although I'd replace at 2mm. Obviously, any nasty cuts or nails in them ...

The inoperative rear washer is probably the fluid line coming off - this is due to an imperfect design, and can be a DIY fix (linky).

The bulb is almost literally pennies, and can be replaced in about 2 mins with the aid of the manual - no point in paying someone else to do, it really!

Can't really comment on the clutch, as it really depends on how the previous owner drove it. With my parents cars, my dad's was on its original clutch at 196k, van on its second at ~270k, and my mum's had been through 3 at 193k.

The turbo, on the other hand, sounds like it could do with being looked at.

The last MOT done by the previous owner of mine had the clutch (high biting point), bushes, and discs down as needing replacement (this was done by a main dealer). When I had my MOT done at my local council testing centre, I showed them the previous MOT advisory and asked them to check them to make sure things were OK, and they couldn't find anything wrong. Sometimes dealers can be a bit "over-cautious" on advising when items need replacing. Perhaps talk to your local council MOT testing station and see if they'll give it a look over, based on the wear-and-tear work that has been advised? They should be able to give you an impartial opinion.

Don't know if that's any help?

Many thanks for the further advice. It's much appreciated.

I had it MOT'd 6 months ago, and the only problem was that a headlight bulb needed replacing. There was no suggestion that there was anything wrong with anything else.

It sounds from what you say as though I've simply been very unlucky with the clutch, and with whatever might lie behind the oil leak problem. I'll take it to a local place and see what they can do for me.

Re:

"Front bushes - very very common failure on Fabia - make sure you get the revised 4 pin bushes fitted as they are much tougher, or search on here for the performance alternatives (Polybush, Cupra R bushes). You should be looking at about £180 for that job."

Bearing in mind that I know nothing of car fixing, a pal has told me that replacing full arms, which have bushes in them, is quicker and cheaper and easier than replacing just the bushes. Is that so? In either event, should a good local garage understand what I mean if I ask for the revised 4 pin bushes?

If anybody could recommend a good local garage in the Preston/Southport/Ormskirk area I'd be very grateful. I'll ask about that in a new thread too, because prolly most people aren't looking in this one any more.

Thanks again to all of you for helping.

I would be very surprised if changing the whole console arms would work out cheaper, they are about £75 each whereas I just bought a pair of bushes for £23. Console arms would be easier to do straight swop, rather than faffing about pressing new bushes into the old arms, but I can't see the labour time making it cheaper on average. A VAG specialist garage should understand the 4 pin bush reference (Plus you will sound knowledgeable!), any other garage you may just need to confirm that they need to order the latest revision bush design, but I think that's all that Skoda supply now.

Perhaps post what area you are from and I'm sure some one can recommend you a local garage

Awesome gti are in the south of Manchester and are experts in all things VAG. Many members of this forum use them and they will give an honest opinion of what really needs attention. http://www.awesome-gti.co.uk/

Perhaps post what area you are from and I'm sure some one can recommend you a local garage

From another thread,

Hi there,

Can anybody suggest a good independent garage for a Fabia Estate 1.9 TDI in the Preston/Southport/Ormskirk area?

Many thanks for any help.

Front bushes - very very common failure on Fabia - make sure you get the revised 4 pin bushes fitted as they are much tougher, or search on here for the performance alternatives (Polybush, Cupra R bushes). You should be looking at about £180 for that job.

That is a lot of money! I paid £80 to my local independant for the new bushes a couple of weeks ago!