Hi all,

First post, thought I'd introduce myself.

Just bought Skoda Fabia 2, think I got a decent deal:

Fabia 2 HTP 70 (1.2)

08 reg

25,000 miles

1 previous female owner

12months MOT

6months tax

Full Skoda service history

Has the white roof and alloys like a blueline

There's 3 faults that I could find:

-Front wheel bearing is just a teeny bit noisey

-Near to needing 2 new tyres

-Body work has quite a few scratches in places and some small chips on door edges (hence price)

£4,000 - seems pretty decent to me, given that the tyres will set me back £150ish and the body work is probably going to be around £200, a future wheel bearing I'm assuming will be in the vicinity of £150?

I'll stick some pics up later.

Oh I also need to top up the coolant slightly (just below the min line), the manual says use only G12 coolant - where's the best place to get this? Also I assume this is pink in colour as that's what's currently in it?

Edited 31 July, 201114 yr by MiNiMaL_FuSS

Welcome and grats ! Hopefully you have trouble free motoring with it

Hi & welcome nice one on the new car

A big welcome MiNiMal. Glad you got a good deal. Sounds as if there's nothing much needs doing. I'd go to my dealer for my G12. Let us all know what you think of that lovely little 3 cylinder engine once you've had the chance to drive it for a bit. The engines are good for huge mileages before needing spannering, as long as it is serviced correctly. So no worries there. Good luck and keep posting.:yes:

Welcome and enjoy the car. Please post some pics if you can would like to see the colour combo.

Took it for it's first long drive today - largely very windy country roads. Here's some early observations:

+Average MPG was 55, with air con on pretty high all the time, and using only supermarket fuel = very impressed.

+The 2nd and 3rd gear pull are amazing for a 1.2 engine, my friend wouldn't believe it was only a 1.2 (I love the fact it dosen't say the engine size on the exterior).

+Incredibly easy to drive and plenty of grip in the corners, not quite as fun as my previous Suzuki Swift, but it is twice the size and gets much better mpg!

+Loads of space and very well built for the money.

-First gear....I mean what first gear? It's for 0-1mph it seems!

-Back window....anybody behind you that's under 5ft is screwed if you reverse!

Overall I really like it, couple of niggles that I'll get used to, part of a new car experience.

Pics to come!

the wheel bearing only makes a noise at 60+, which I assume means it isn't too bad? Think I can get a partially worn bearing replaced under my dealer warranty??

Edited 1 August, 201114 yr by MiNiMaL_FuSS

the wheel bearing only makes a noise at 60+, which I assume means it isn't too bad? Think I can get a partially worn bearing replaced under my dealer warranty??

Yes...if it's under 60k even if it's just out of factory warranty most dealers can put in a good will claim and Skoda will often meet all or most of the cost. In your case it's still on very low miles...so I would suggest getting the wheel bearing problem confirmed definitely as a wheel bearing and not a drive shaft inner bearing. Inner drive shaft bearing usually settle to be there all the time (as do wheel bearings eventually) but wheel bearing will usually make more noise turning into a bend one way or the other and as it continues to wear will be present all the time. You may know but in case not...diagnosis is easy with the suspect wheel jacked securely of course, and after a longish fast run (bear in mind it can sound like one side but can often be the other that's the culprit). With the car on the jack spin the suspect wheel slowly and listen to the noise. Feel for some play...no don't have foreplay!!! I mean wiggle the wheel from top to bottom gently as it's on the jack still. It's best not to kill yourself by having the car fall off the jack as this ruins your day. If the bearing/s sound noisey and you will hear it, then replace both inner and outter bearings for that wheel. They are cheap to buy.

There are also two other things to check...if could just be the bearing needs some adjustment to the outer bearing if there is play. Or....it may not be a wheel bearing or drive shaft at all. My brother in laws Passat was making wheel bearing noises from one wheel at the rear. I listend and listened but could not detect any noise on jacking it up. His car has covered just 50k. In the end it turned out to be worn tyres!! It was the WEAR BARS in the tyre making the noise against the road as a warning it was time to change. That could be your problem too. Good luck. :yes:

Yes...if it's under 60k even if it's just out of factory warranty most dealers can put in a good will claim and Skoda will often meet all or most of the cost. In your case it's still on very low miles...so I would suggest getting the wheel bearing problem confirmed definitely as a wheel bearing and not a drive shaft inner bearing. Inner drive shaft bearing usually settle to be there all the time (as do wheel bearings eventually) but wheel bearing will usually make more noise turning into a bend one way or the other and as it continues to wear will be present all the time. You may know but in case not...diagnosis is easy with the suspect wheel jacked securely of course, and after a longish fast run (bear in mind it can sound like one side but can often be the other that's the culprit). With the car on the jack spin the suspect wheel slowly and listen to the noise. Feel for some play...no don't have foreplay!!! I mean wiggle the wheel from top to bottom gently as it's on the jack still. It's best not to kill yourself by having the car fall off the jack as this ruins your day. If the bearing/s sound noisey and you will hear it, then replace both inner and outter bearings for that wheel. They are cheap to buy.

There are also two other things to check...if could just be the bearing needs some adjustment to the outer bearing if there is play. Or....it may not be a wheel bearing or drive shaft at all. My brother in laws Passat was making wheel bearing noises from one wheel at the rear. I listend and listened but could not detect any noise on jacking it up. His car has covered just 50k. In the end it turned out to be worn tyres!! It was the WEAR BARS in the tyre making the noise against the road as a warning it was time to change. That could be your problem too. Good luck. :yes:

Thanks, I'll pop it over to a local mate of mine, as he's a very handy mechanical type and will tell me for sure.

Interestingly the front right tyre (which is the bearing I suspected) is definitely the worst tyre.

I bought it from a used car dealer (I'm the second owner), so I may be able to get him to do the work under his own 3 month warranty. I doubt he has any sway over Skoda to get a goodwill repair? Is there anyway I can contact Skoda Directly about a possible good will repair? As I'd rather an actual Skoda dealer did it if possible (my guy is a touch on the dodgy side).

Edited 1 August, 201114 yr by MiNiMaL_FuSS

You can of course contact Skoda directly, but my guess is they will say to take it to the dealer you bought it from. His own warranty insurance that all dealers have in order to cover things like this will indeed cover this item although he probably will just get on and do the job without making a claim since it won't be worth it. It will cost him almost nothing to replace a set of bearing on your car and it takes no time at all. Give him a chance first to identify it but it does sound increasingly as if it's a tyre that's making the noise.

Well well, after checking my MOT history online, it seems that my dealer kindly forgot to give me the advisory notice with my MOT, tisk.

Here's what I found:

Advisory Notice issued

Nearside Front Front constant velocity joint gaiter deteriorated (2.5.C.1a)

I know that just means the rubber boot that seals the CV joint is worn, which isn't a big issue if it's caught early enough.

could this cause the noise I originally assumed was a wheel bearing? (+a mechanic assumed was a wheel bearing! Thought he'd spot it!)

1st gear in my TSI is very... short and I almost immediately change to 2nd because there's a lot of in gear punch in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th.

If it's an advisory, it should be something that's sorted fairly quickly to avoid a problem, but at time of testing it was safe. But I doubt that's causing your noise, but yes it could have some bearing (pardon the pun!) on the noise you are hearing. CV's do get worn and do make noise but usually they click when turning. If however, the lubricant has leached out due to a tear in the gaiter and also allowed grit in, then you'll certainly need to get it done v/soon. Again it's no big deal and should be covered by your supplying dealer I would have thought considering the noise you are getting. Give them a shove in that direction and see what happens.

If it's an advisory, it should be something that's sorted fairly quickly to avoid a problem, but at time of testing it was safe. But I doubt that's causing your noise, but yes it could have some bearing (pardon the pun!) on the noise you are hearing. CV's do get worn and do make noise but usually they click when turning. If however, the lubricant has leached out due to a tear in the gaiter and also allowed grit in, then you'll certainly need to get it done v/soon. Again it's no big deal and should be covered by your supplying dealer I would have thought considering the noise you are getting. Give them a shove in that direction and see what happens.

Yup I'll pop it round tomorrow and ask for it to be fixed. I'll also get them to have a looksy at the wheel bearing while their there.

I might try and squeeze them for a little money off a new front/right tyre as well, as it hasn't got long to go...but I did know that when I bought it and it did pass it's MOT, but nothing ventured nothing gained.

Any good tyre deals on at the moment? I tend to favour Toyo's at about £75 a corner?