hello

advice needed (even though im guessing there maybe bias on this page)

i currently have a 60 plate 2.0t vrs octavia, which due to my girlfriend getting a new job with a company car is sitting on my drive not really going any where ...

due to me using the train to get to work i wasnt really bothered about a car as i could use my girlfriends old 206gti but my neigbour has asked about buying it off her , so im tmepted by that offer but thought i would lose to much if i just sold the octavia but due to some good deals on fabia vrs though might treat our selves to one of them

so thought over the weekend about swapping it and getting a fabia vrs .. is this a good idea or bad idea

any comments please .....

It's a great idea, but prepare for a looooong wait if you're going for a new one.

id say the Octavia vRS is a much better car n all respects. Ive had the two as well. thats not to say the Fabia is poor though as its far from it

Personally wouldnt bother, any dealer will still pull your pants down on the Octy trade-in. Fabia vRS is also likely no cheaper to run. Great little car that it is you'll do yourself no favours financially chopping the Octy in, sell it privately if you have to then decide what you wanna do.

I would say sell the Octy first private or trade and then approach a dealer on the wait times. If you want a new one and the wait is 6 months then your save some money by not having a car to run ! Or find a showroom spec car (of which a couple were posted recently under a topic like 'beat the queue) if you want to beat the wait and from memory they were about £ 13,500.

Let us know.

If you want something thats still a Skoda, fun to drive, relatively quick but much cheaper to buy and run than the Octy and Fabia vRS have you considered a Fabia Monte Carlo 1.2 TSi 105?

Personally wouldnt bother, any dealer will still pull your pants down on the Octy trade-in. Fabia vRS is also likely no cheaper to run. Great little car that it is you'll do yourself no favours financially chopping the Octy in, sell it privately if you have to then decide what you wanna do.

Not convinced about that.

Insurance is cheaper, petrol is cheaper, tax is cheaper... pretty much everything is cheaper actually.

This might well be outweighed by any extra you need to spend to get a Fabia, but if you can do a straight swap without spending any cash then the Fabia is certainly a much more frugal proposition.

My average for the last 1500 miles since the day I picked it up is 36mpg and rising, and I regularly get between 40 and 46 mpg on journeys lasting longer than 20 minutes.

L

thanks for all replys

didnt realise there is such a dealy, thanks to the people who have said try a monte carlo may have a look

what a bout a used fabia vrs, there seem to be some crackersa around for about £13k

If I'd had the cash, I'd have swapped my Fab vRS for your Octy!

Not convinced about that.

Insurance is cheaper, petrol is cheaper, tax is cheaper... pretty much everything is cheaper actually.

This might well be outweighed by any extra you need to spend to get a Fabia, but if you can do a straight swap without spending any cash then the Fabia is certainly a much more frugal proposition.

My average for the last 1500 miles since the day I picked it up is 36mpg and rising, and I regularly get between 40 and 46 mpg on journeys lasting longer than 20 minutes.

L

Hi Louis,

Sorry mate but I disagree entirely with this. Insurance is all down to negotiation, the Octy is not significantly more of a risk than the Fabia so i'd expect premiums on the two to be pretty similar if you shopped around.

Driven as nature intended the Fabia is also no more efficient than the Octy, it wont return much better than low to mid 20's on a hard-ish run. Problem with the Fabia is that its very stressed by comparison, sure if you drive the Fabia like an old woman it will return decent MPG but if you regularly use all of those 180 horses (which lets face it you would quite alot) I cant see it being more efficient than a hard driven 2.0 T which breaks much less of a sweat pushing its relatively mild 200 hp. Will therefore have a similar taste for super unleaded, will just need filling more often on account of the smaller tank.

Yes the tax is cheaper but on the grand scheme of things its no big expense.

You've also got to factor in the fairly big loss the OP is going to have to make on the Octy by selling it on. I get the impression they are looking to get rid of the Octy to save money on running costs; I think it would be wholly unsensible to swap the Octy for a car that in certain respects is inferior and in reality will still be expensive (if not just as expensive) to run.

Personally if I was contemplating swapping the car, i'd either look at a less powerful Fabia like the 1.2 TSI 105 Monte Carlo which will still be sporty, plenty quick enough, cheaper to buy and much cheaper to run. Otherwise I'd hold onto the Octy and give the situation a bit more thought.

Edited 16 June, 201115 yr by pipsyp

Personally wouldnt bother, any dealer will still pull your pants down on the Octy trade-in. Fabia vRS is also likely no cheaper to run. Great little car that it is you'll do yourself no favours financially chopping the Octy in, sell it privately if you have to then decide what you wanna do.

couldnt be any more wrong.

My octavia was at least 10mpg worse in every scenario of driving you could throw at it. I also get the same amount of miles on average to a tank despite having 20 litres less fuel. every time i fill up im saving £30. so if i fill up twice a month, as well as save £20 insurance i make that a nice little £80 per month saving. For guys doing larger mileage id bet the'll be even better off than i am.

im thinking you've never owned an OCtavia vRS?

@ Pipsy, I have just been to london NW10, from an ME7 postcode to seea guy guy on SCN that i was buying an intake from. so 60 miles ish. I left at 5 and got there at 7 due to the rush hour traffic and i averaged 35.3mpg. I then had a few runs against his, let him have a go at mine and then nailed it back and my average had actually increased to 36.1

Driving from plymouth to kent when my daughter broke her arm i managed 235miles to half a tank and i was booting it so i could get to the hosiptal. the octavia would also have used half tank from personal experience yet has a much bigger tank.

Commuting to work in the morning 9 miles ill average 37mpg+, in the octavia i was rarely above 28mpg around town, let alone in rush hour.

On a motorway @ 70mph i can easily achieve 47mpg (cannot get it higher despite trying). the octavia vRS best i ever achieved was 42mpg and that was a one off, more often than not id average 37-39mpg on a long journey.

you are 100% wrong. Im basing this on my own experience not just opinion.

@ the OP, i think if your after lower running costs whilst still having rivalling performance then the fabia vRS is bang on the money.

Me personnaly i sold my octavia because i got bored of it and fancy a change (had it longer than any other car) ive only bought the fabia as an interim car for a year or so until my job becomes more stationary, then ill sell up and buy something big. I 100% think the octavia vRS is a better car in every aspect apart from running costs. I loved it and would happily buy one again, I might even trade the fabia for the new octavia when im finished

Sorry Sy but it depends on how much cheaper really doesnt it?

My point is that on the grand scheme of things a Fabia vRS isnt a cheap car to run. MPG isnt good when driven hard. Also no disrespect but your Octy was running 340hp.....

Also have briefly had a MK5 Golf GTi so can confirm a comparison.

Hi Louis,

Sorry mate but I disagree entirely with this. Insurance is all down to negotiation, the Octy is not significantly more of a risk than the Fabia so i'd expect premiums on the two to be pretty similar if you shopped around.

my fabia vrs is half the price to insure as my octavia vrs mk1.

Driven as nature intended the Fabia is also no more efficient than the Octy, it wont return much better than low to mid 20's on a hard-ish run. Problem with the Fabia is that its very stressed by comparison, sure if you drive the Fabia like an old woman it will return decent MPG but if you regularly use all of those 180 horses (which lets face it you would quite alot) I cant see it being more efficient than a hard driven 2.0 T which breaks much less of a sweat pushing its relatively mild 200 hp. Will therefore have a similar taste for super unleaded, will just need filling more often on account of the smaller tank.

I think if you are driving the fabia "as nature intended" all the time, the police should be taking a keen interest in your day to day activities.... On balance (considering "normal" everyday driving) the fabia uses significantly less fuel than the much heavier and bigger engined octavia.

Yes the tax is cheaper but on the grand scheme of things its no big expense.

You've also got to factor in the fairly big loss the OP is going to have to make on the Octy by selling it on. I get the impression they are looking to get rid of the Octy to save money on running costs; I think it would be wholly unsensible to swap the Octy for a car that in certain respects is inferior and in reality will still be expensive (if not just as expensive) to run.

As I said in my post, subject to getting rid of the octy for a sensible price or it's just not worth it. No financial decision should be made off the back of Internet hearsay or assumptions. The op should borrow a fabia for an afternoon, do some real world driving and then whip out a calculator and do the maths.

Personally if I was contemplating swapping the car, i'd either look at a less powerful Fabia like the 1.2 TSI 105 Monte Carlo which will still be sporty, plenty quick enough, cheaper to buy and much cheaper to run. Otherwise I'd hold onto the Octy and give the situation a bit more thought.

Very nice car too, although for the same money you can get a 2nd hand vrs and I get the impression this car will be for fun rather than saving fuel...

Sorry Sy but it depends on how much cheaper really doesnt it?

My point is that on the grand scheme of things a Fabia vRS isnt a cheap car to run. MPG isnt good when driven hard. Also no disrespect but your Octy was running 340hp.....

Also have briefly had a MK5 Golf GTi so can confirm a comparison.

280Hp, but the mpg remained largely unchanged,and if anything it was better on fuel once mapped. also my fabia is mapped. But i was basing it on standard vs standard. either way the fabia still wins hands down in the running costs.

Fair shout guys will have to agree to disagree. Point all along is for someone wanting a much cheaper car to run than the Octy in my opinion Fabia vRS isnt the car. Dont understand how it can be great sums cheaper with only 20hp less, similar insurance costs if youre savvy and lets face it still has a keen taste for a large drop of super unleaded.

@louis, in response to your post I'm way over 25 now so shopping around I have no doubt I could insure an Octy vRS for similar money to the Fabia. Also I dont drive my car like a tool all the time but youre lying if you said you didnt buy the car to exploit its performance now and again. My car experiences v mixed driving and will return mid 30s if driven v gently, as soon as you open the taps it doesnt better mid late 20s, really not v good and not significantly better than the Octy that i'd change the car to a Fabia to save plenty of money.....you just wouldbnt

@david alcock, completely your choice at the end of the day, my argument is from the head....I cant rationalise how you'd save significantly on running costs by changing to the Fabia as truthfully fuel economy alone whilst is better than the (cty really isnt what I'd call fantastic. If the decision is being made by the heart, you're not overly bothered about the still relatively high running costs and want a car with similar performance then yes the Fabia is a great little car and may suit you well, if thats the case definitely take it for a drive first. Also buying a nearly new one would probably be the thing to do.

Fuel economy is academic for the OP he said takes the train to work and rarely uses the car

I'd keep the Octy

Thats a fair point. For me the big issue would be the potential loss I would be making on selling what is the nicer car. If it was bought on the VAT deal it wont b so bad but if it was bought used for 20k or so thats a big pounding to take on the swap. If the car isnt seeing a great deal of use anyway i'd stick with the Octy myself. Would have bought one over the Fabia if the car had wholly been for myself.

For me the big issue would be the potential loss I would be making on selling what is the nicer car. If it was bought on the VAT deal it wont b so bad but if it was bought used for 20k or so thats a big pounding to take on the swap. If the car isnt seeing a great deal of use anyway i'd stick with the Octy myself.

Just what I was thinking.

I'd just keep the Octy.

Thats a fair point. For me the big issue would be the potential loss I would be making on selling what is the nicer car. If it was bought on the VAT deal it wont b so bad but if it was bought used for 20k or so thats a big pounding to take on the swap. If the car isnt seeing a great deal of use anyway i'd stick with the Octy myself. Would have bought one over the Fabia if the car had wholly been for myself.

I agree. As a trade-in I would guess that depending on age/mileage a 60plate Octavia VRS will be at best a straight swap for a new Fabia VRS (2nd hand Skoda dealer prices are £15.5-16k for a Nov 2010 Octavia VRS, trade-in will be significantly lower than this and a new Fabia VRS is ~£14.5 under the VAT free offer with no options or extra discount). As soon as the new Fabia is driven off the forecourt it will lose ~£2k in value. This will outweigh any savings in running costs for a few years, especially if the mileage is low. Given this then if the OP is happy with Octavia why change?

Edited 17 June, 201115 yr by testme27

My car experiences v mixed driving and will return mid 30s if driven v gently, as soon as you open the taps it doesnt better mid late 20s, really not v good and not significantly better than the Octy that i'd change the car to a Fabia to save plenty of money.....you just wouldbnt

how many miles have you managed? Mine gets used as designed a fair amount and i get way better fuel economy than you

I get 45 mpg in my 400 mile old vRS estate so its do-able. High 20's to early 30's if hooning about.