Hi,

I'm looking at a 2002 Fabia 8v 1.4MPI. with 33K on the clock. This would be for my Mrs. I own a Fabia 05 VRS

I'm looking at buying it off a mate but on looking at it i found a few things and would appreciate any advice on the issues.....

1. I noticed the Cam Chain was making hell of a noise, sounded like a bag of bolts. Is this just the tensioner or a characteristic of the engine?
   
2. I noticed a knocking noise when going over rough road. Could this be the console bushes? (Although the car only done 33K !?)
   
3. The rear wiper doesnt work?
   
4. The sound from the radio seems to only work if you tap it?
   

Ive checked the service record and its been serviced up to 22K which was in 2009

All MOT check out and it currently has a 12mnth ticket on it.

They want £1600

Any advice on the issues would be great. Or should i just keep looking? I just though if it was just a few slight issues it would be a bargin. I know a mechanic who can do any work really cheaply if required as he did all my VRS bushes and servicing.

Cheers!

Well of course you can try and get the price knocked down a little bit

Anyway, radio, sounds like an easy fix, at worse replace it.

rear wiper is a common fault i asume, could be another easy fix.

What doesnt sound right to me tho is the noise from the chain & knocking noise from the rear, as well as the age of the car. ME personally would question the mileage abit more, 33k miles is very low for a 10 year old car.... but then you have to keep in mind it doesnt take long for the timing chain to rattle even when they have just been fitted.

Hope this helps you out.

There is no tensioner on the chain on the 1.4 mpi AFAIK. Being noisy enough to be bothersome at 33k miles seems highly improbable, unless the car has been severely neglected, or worse clocked.

IIRC console bushes are common issue, due to the originals being a voided design. On a car of this age they'll probably have been replaced already, and need doing again. Just make sure the improved parts are fitted. Rubber deteriorates with age, rather than mechanical wear.

Rear wiper could be a fuse, the motor, the stalk, wiring (possibly in the rubber bellows between car and bootlid) or the Central Electrics control unit thingy. I suspect the latter would prove the most expensive to sort. Remember the rear wiper is not required to function for the MOT. After checking the fuse, try putting the front wipers on, and put the car into reverse gear. If this brings the rear wiper to do a sweep, it suggests a fault with the wiper stalk.

Has it been serviced based on mileage, or on age?

Edited 27 March, 201214 yr by anewman

Thanks for the advice, it looks like its been serviced on mileage hence not being serviced since 2009! I think this is just going to be a can of worms there is alot wrong for a car that has so few mile on it which says to me its been abused / or clocked! :no:

Think im gonna sack this one off, ive seen another just down the road - Its a 1.4 16V version with 36K on it and the comfort spec. I'd rather pay a little more for peace of mind, and i think im right in saying the 16v version is a better engine?

Thanks again

Hi Capers, what reg etc. is the 1.4 16v? Some have 75bhp, others 100 (like mine ) someone with more knowledge than me will be able to give you all thw 1.4 16v variants i should think.

As for common faults to look out for, the only one that I'd add to the few mentioned above is the car being lumpy on idle after it's up to temperature. This was the case with mine but all i needed to do was change the coolant temperature sensor.

Just thought i'd let you know as that plus a couple of other small things (rear wiper not working, like yours) meant i could knock the price down. HTH

(obviously there are other common faults like water ingress into passenger footwell but 1. you have a VRS so probably already know this and 2. buying in this hot weather, you'll never know )

Instead of speculating about clocking why not just check the old MOT's, if they're missing then look online. The bushes on a lot of cars haven't been changed, it depends on how obvious the issue was, conciousness the owner was and/or if the MOT tester ever picked up on it but if they've not changed the oil since 2009 then i'd run (not walk) away.

For comparison I paid £1500 for a Y reg (2001) with 21k on the clock and full annual service history. I've since had to do the aux belt, BFC + nipples, coolant, fuel filter, plugs and angle sensor with the drive shaft seals and gearbox fluid, bushes, drop links and wishbones still to do before it's up to my standard, then I can clean it! When you buy a car that's a decade old you have to expect things to have deteriorated with age.

The knocking is more likely to be the ARB bushes, they caused a hell of a knock on my GF's 1.4 MPi. Almost as common as the console bushes but frequently overlooked. Also the ARB can shift sideways and knock against the alloy subframe (the metal will be shiny here) when the bushes get loose.

Timing chain rattle seems common at any age, I don't think you can pin it down to a time/distance, basically they all rattle.