Hello

I been a long time lurker on this forum but first post.

Am looking for a cheap reliable car. Am not intrested in performance.

Looking to spend around £4-£5K and looking at Fabia Estates, prob the 1.4tdi.

I know of the door seal problem, but did that get sorted by the end of the production or would it still be a problem for a late model Fabia 1 ? Any other problems with the Fabia 1 that should put me off ?

What are the advantages for the Fabia 2 ? Any problems with the Fabia 2 tech that could go wrong and cost me dear ?

The 2 cars I am looking at are a 2006 Fabia 1 1.9tdi Elegance Estate with 31K miles and full service history and the other is 2009 Fabia 2 estate 1.4tdi but 132K miles. Only £500 difference between them.

Any advice is greatfully recieved ? am looking to keep the car for a good long while but only do about 10,000 a year.

Cheers

Andy :-)

Edited 28 September, 201213 yr by Arlie71

common problem with fabia 2 is the electric window failure, do a search on this forum and you'll see countless electric window faults.

I've had both, the fabia I is better built quality wise. Very solid a bit like a vw or audi, the fabia II has a few corners cuts with cheap squeaky hard plastics and trim.

However Fabia II is more spacious, is a narrower but taller car.

I'd pick the low mileage if the price is right and condition is good/fully serviced and no expenses spared. However I'd pick a Fabia II depending on price again. Price is the single biggest factor for myself

Edited 28 September, 201213 yr by fabia55

Thanks for the reply Fabia 55.

I think I am being drawn to the mark 1.

Anyone else got more advice ?

Also might be going to view the mark 1 this weekend, any hints on what to look for ?

Cheers

Andy :-)

I wouldn't bother with a 132k miles car if you are planning to keep ur for a long time. I'm sure you could find a fabia2 with less miles within your budget. Fabia 1 with the 1.9tdi engine very solid and reliable choice. Looks very dated tho and I can tell you the interior is not as nice as the Fabia 2 (i have owned both).

Also had both marks of Fabia in the family all petrol 1.2 mind (HTP & TSI) and just ordered our 5th. I liked the mark one a lot, however as another poster suggested they are now getting on and an important point for me anyway, is the more recently built mk II's have an improved design of front suspension carrier, wishbones and bushes (think that came in, in 2009 MY10 :wonder: ).

Again as others have advised, I would look for as new as possible MkII, with a lower more sensible miles within your budget.

TP

Thanks for all the replies.

I think will start to look at the Fabia mark 2s.

Cheers

Andy :-)

<p>As said i would not buy a car with 132k on the clock, no way at all. I have a 2006 Mk1 1.9TDI Elegance and love it. We had the door seal thingy sorted years ago and have owned it since nearly new, we have had no issues at all with it apart from the door seal (done under warranty). We like it so much we are now looking for another to swap my 316ti BMW for. If you can find a late Mk1 1.9TDI with as high a spec as possible, this is the route i would go down.... oh hang, scrub that, thats what i am doing ! So i don't want you looking for the same bloody cars as i am !

I have had both models too and my Mk1 was a 1.9 TdiPD Elegance Estate. I liked it a lot but always found the door seals a pain. Had them done twice and the car always seemed to feel damp and misted up a lot on the inside in winter. Then there is the cambelt to change on the Mk 1 ( I'm not sure which of the MK 2 are chain other than the 1.2's.) The Mk 1 feels a lot heavier and as such does seem to be solid but the new materials on the Mk2 are robust. I personally prefer the Mk 2 but agree, find a lower mileage one. All said, you won't be buying a bad car with the 1.9Tdi Mk1 model if you can find a good one as that particular engine is in demand. Good Luck

Thanks Hudson and Horkin (an excellent name for a Gentlemans Outfitters I am sure :-) ).

Things have changed a bit since I first posted, as always happens when you start to go and view a few cars you eye gets drawn to the next level up. So am now looking at Octavias, specifically the 1.6FSI. Reason for choosing that one is to avoid the DPF, cambelt changes, possible DMF and also they seem to be cheaper than the 1.9TDi.

Am going to start a topic on the Octavia 2 thread if you want to follow.

Thanks again to you all, I been reading the forums for a while and its nice to have genuine helpful replies compared to some other forums !!.

Cheers

Andy :-)

The door seal problem was present in my 2007 Fabia vRS so, no, it was never fixed in production.