Hi All,

My little sister is after her first car and I have started to convince her that a Fabia is the right way to go, however I know very little about them. So was after some advice.

has the meet the following

budget £1500ish

has to be the 1.4 as cheap insurance

as new as possible

be within 50ish miles of bath/bristol

would like to know common faults?

costs to run etc

Thanks

Dom

Wouldn't the 1.2 petrol be cheaper to insure, as it's group 2 (IIRC)? My neighbour's dad has one, and is very happy with it.

For issues, most Fabia's seem to suffer from leaking rear door carrier seals, which leads to interior condensation. The "flap" part of the wheel-arch liner (which overhangs the sill) can rub the paint on either end of the sill, causing bare metal to show and rust. I think there may be some electrical issues to do with the steering angle sensor (or my memory may be playing tricks on me). I believe the 1.4 16v petrol seems to suffer from piston ring issues.

I'd suggest working through this thread, too: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/213819-the-extremely-useful-fabia-1-topic/

++EDIT: HonestJohn has a list of common issues on his write-up, although there are a few inconsistencies/inaccuracies, and not all of them apply to all models of the car.

AutoTrader gives the following cars within 60 miles of Bath University in the £1,000-2,000 bracket: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/skoda/fabia/postcode/ba27ay/radius/60/seller-type/trade_adverts/sort/default/price-to/2000/price-from/1000. Haven't looked at any of them, but it's a starting point, if only on price/specification/availability!

Edited 12 April, 201214 yr by martinch

Cheers for the reply, the 1.2 i believe is a later model which cannot be bought in her price range, there are a few tidy ones around but wanted to do some research before getting her to buy one. The piston ring issue sounds slightly concerning if anyone can shed anymore light on that?

I bought a 51 plate 1.4 8v Fabia Comfort with 97k miles from a car dealer in January last year for £1495 (its had 7 owners!) and i can honestly say ive NEVER had a problem with it, first time starter even when stood over a weekend. Ive only just (the other day) had to change the thermostat which was nakared as i noticed the temperature wasnt the usual behaviour. Personally, your either going to be lucky and buy a belter like i have (touch wood) or your going to pick a car thats gunna cost you more, its a 50/50 chance with any car.

As for fuel, i put in between £45-52 and i get atleast 300 miles. I brimmed it up at the beginning of the month (payday), and im still on half a tank (but my house to work is only 5 miles there so 10 a day).

Im only 21 and my insurance was A LOT cheaper insuring a fabia than a Clio, Punto, Fiesta, all other known brands for youngsters like myself, which obviously led me to buying one.

Cheers for the reply, the 1.2 i believe is a later model which cannot be bought in her price range

Ah, a quick look on Wikipedia reveals that you're right - 2003 onwards (my neighbour's dad's one's an 04, and just assumed it was present since the introduction of the vehicle). Doh!

there are a few tidy ones around but wanted to do some research before getting her to buy one.

It is a fairly common question on here (or was about 6 months to a year ago) - searching may bring something up (or just a random mass of posts :p). HonestJohn has a random list of issues (some may not apply to certain models): http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/skoda/fabia-2000/?section=bad

The piston ring issue sounds slightly concerning if anyone can shed anymore light on that?

Beyond it beginning to use a lot of oil, I can't remember any more about it than that (primarily as mine isn't one of them, so I tend not to pay too much attention to it!). Maybe have a read of this: http://www.briskoda....il-consumption/

First mistake is assuming a newer car is in some way better, they have the same safety rating like for like but newer cars tend to cost more to buy/insure and you'll loose more in depreciation. To get in your price range you'll also find they have higher mileage, buy on condition and history, not age.

The 1.4 16v has a higher power output but more reliability issues and is belt driven (read you will probably find you need to pay a few hundred quid to change the belt/pump sooner rather than later), the 1.2 needs expensive fuel or it suffers reliability wise long term, you don't know what the previous owners put in so be wary and is also belt driven, as pointed out it's also newer, the 1.4 8v mpi is lower powered (68bhp) but chain driven (120k interval for change), out of the three is probably the least likely to cause agro and as it usually came in basic trim levels so she'd get group 3 insurance, it will cost a little more to tax though. Don't let the power put you off it's quite capable of three figures and will cruise happily at 70mph all day long.

I paid £1500 for a 2001 1.4mpi Classic with 21k on it 2 months ago, it does 42mpg average over the last 4k and it's been reliable. In general tyres tend to be 14" so they're cheap (I paid £110 for two Michelin Energy Savers fitted and balanced, I couldn't buy one 17" tyre worth fitting on the other car for that!). It's the same with other parts, a new set of disc's and pads is only £40ish and a service is about the same in parts and very easy to do yourself. If you can find an a/c car they came with the trip computer, you may be lucky and get central locking but don't count on it, a Thatcham approved steering lock may bring her insurance down slightly as could an alarm but check with the insurance company first, i'd be in no hurry to spend a few hundred on securing it if you only get £20 a year knocked off.

Weak spots on the whole range are steering angle sensors, thermostats, coolant sensors, bushes, drop links, rear door seals etc. Check the service history and the MOT's match up with any invoices and don't be afraid to call the garage who did any work and check if you've got doubts. Coolant should have been changed every 5 years and the brake fluid every two. On the 1.4 8v mpi Oil changes want to be every 10k *OR* 12 months and a nice wedge of receipts/invoices and the old MOT certificates make you feel a little more relaxed when it comes to handing over the cash.