Hello!

After putting off driving for years due to extortionate insurance costs, I'm finally just about ready to purchase my first car (now I'm old enough to not be deemed too much of a risk at 32!).

I have been looking at Skoda Fabias, either the 1.2 HTP or the 1.4 Diesel due to low insurance premiums, good economy, a decent sized boot for the size of the car (for all my work equipment) and easy enough access to the rear for family if I take them for a drive somewhere.

Everything about buying a used Fabia looked great, until I started digging a bit deeper about potential issues. I stumbled across the not too uncommon leaky door issue, which seems to affect pretty much every car if what you read on the internet is to be believed. This worries me, as it the car is holding water, I would've thought it will make it more susceptible to corrosion, rotting carpets, etc.

Anyway, after finding this fantastic resource online, I thought I may ask if this problem really is as common as it seems to be?

Have any Fabia 1 owners never had such an issue? and have those that have had any issues with corrosion, condensation or even rotting fabrics?

I know the issue is easy enough to fix, (I've watched the video online on how to seal the door carrier) but if the issue has been left unattended by a previous owner, I'd be worried that the car might end up a burden sooner, rather than later. I work to a very limited budget, so I need to know a big purchase like this is likely to last a while.

Any input from Fabia owners, past or present will be much appreciated!

All the best

Gary

Everything about buying a used Fabia looked great, until I started digging a bit deeper about potential issues. I stumbled across the not too uncommon leaky door issue, which seems to affect pretty much every car if what you read on the internet is to be believed. This worries me, as it the car is holding water, I would've thought it will make it more susceptible to corrosion, rotting carpets, etc.

Anyway, after finding this fantastic resource online, I thought I may ask if this problem really is as common as it seems to be?

Have any Fabia 1 owners never had such an issue? and have those that have had any issues with corrosion, condensation or even rotting fabrics?

That'll be me, perhaps I just struck lucky, or it's looming. Mine's June 2000 model and hasn't had any issues with the doors. Carpets are good as, car's solid, so they do exist. After reading the threads here it should be put in a museum

There's one or two other things you could do to look out for too, the power steering angle sensor also comes up a lot. Not major, but it'll cost you £200 to have it rectified at a dealer. First symptoms of this are the flickering dash and headlights, and then the power steering can go funny. Essentially the sensor tells the ECU how much steering assistance is needed, but when it goes, it can be convinced you're doing 70 at parking speeds, meaning essentially no power steering, and at motorway speeds I found it would go light and get VERY twitchy, especially if you hit a bump in the road.

I've not really had any other issues, maybe one or two niggles. My rear wiper used to have a mind of it's own, though more usage appears to have capped that, and my driver's heated seat no longer works, I think that's a switch. Erm, the alarm also blows for fun, especially whilst my remote key's dead so I have to start the engine just to stop it! :( Electric window motors are prone to failure too, and if you go for the 1.4 16v, be prepared to run it on premium unleaded and watch the oil consumption!

I had a 2000 sdi with no problems or leaks and was one of the cheapest to insure. Had over 140k on it.

Then got a 2006 1.2 htp which was also fine with no problems.

Every car has its fair share of problems, you won't go far wrong with a fabia in my opinion. Make sure you buy a good looked after one.

Thanks. Your replies are plenty reassuring. From reading stuff here and elsewhere, you'd think every Fabia would need bailing out after a drive in the rain.

had mine almost three years, it came with full Skoda history at 60K miles. I have it serviced annually and save for a faulty door lock which I've since replaced, it hasn't failed me once. No issues with the door leak either. Mine's 53 plate 1.9TDi.

I've just bought an SDI which I love.

The engine does not have a turbo so there is no turbo lag, and no turbo to fail, also it does not have the PD (high pressure injector) technology so parts are cheaper. Insurance is a bit less than the turbo models.

Not the fastest car ever, it can't go up hills in 5th but it is good on the motorway.

If you need more power the other diesels should be very good.

The doors don't leak on mine but there are a few minor faults, it's done 95k miles so not suprising. To be honest from what I understand the doors leak only when the drainage holes at the bottom of the doors get blocked up, so it probably depends on the life the car has had.

Some things to check going on my experience so far:

The blower works on all 4 speeds, cheap to fix but it can go wrong.

The heating isn't just full on or full cold. The flaps that channel the air can go wrong, not that easy to fix as the dash has to come out.

The heated mirrors work (if the car has them) they can get left on and burn out, about £30 to fix

The rear washer works, on mine the water came out under the front of the car, 20min fix, wheel off and clip a hose back on. Then the water came out into the boot! The rear nozzle was blocked, cleaned it and it now works.

The cambelt should be done at 100 to 150 thousand KM dependent on the model, and it costs about £300 to have done.

I'm new to Skoda's myself.

I have a 2005 Series 1 Fabia 1.2

This was purchased with the intention of teaching my daughter to learn to drive - dropped down from a big Citroen.

All cars have their issues - the Fabia feels solid and there's enough information on here to deal with any problems, also the car appears easy to work on - nothing could have been worse than the Citroen C8.

I would say take both engine'd Fabia's for a test drive. I didn't like the 1.4 diesel, didn't have enough go when pulling off in traffic - found the 1.2 petrol much better for this. It may have been the car, but I was steering towards petrol anyway after my nightmare with diesel.

Sorry to hijack the thread - I have a 2005 1.2 Fabia, which is listed as 64bhp - checked the power on the V5 and this lines up with 64bhp. As the majority of 1.2's listed on ebay and other sites come back as 54bhp, even though they are the same engine. How does mine manage to generate the extra 10bhp ??

Edited 19 November, 201213 yr by Shandy_Fabia

The 64 bhp version has twin cams and 4 valves per cylinder - and can be cheaper to insure than the 54 bhp version (as discovered by IRaceForPies when he insured his) Don't automatically discount the VRS though, at your age the insurance won't be too high and the running costs will be no higher than the smaller engined versions, but you will have way more fun

...Sorry to hijack the thread - I have a 2005 1.2 Fabia, which is listed as 64bhp - checked the power on the V5 and this lines up with 64bhp. As the majority of 1.2's listed on ebay and other sites come back as 54bhp, even though they are the same engine. How does mine manage to generate the extra 10bhp ??

There are two slightly different 1.2 engines that were fitted to Mk1 Fabias. A 2-valve per cylinder, 6 in total, which is the 54bhp one; and a 4-valve per cylinder, 12 in total, which is the 64bhp one that you have. The torque profile differs as you might expect, the 6v being slightly better at very low revs, and the 12v having rather more 'go' at higher revs, which explains the extra 10bhp.

If you have had problems with diesels in the past, the SDI should avoid most of the pitfalls of modern diesels. It doesn't have the expensive electronic high pressure injectors, and there is no turbo. The petrol will be good as well and may even be cheaper, but I wouldn't expect it to do high milages without wearing out (150,000 is ok for a SDI I wouldn't want a petrol with that many miles). Having said that there are a lot of low milage petrol cars around at very good prices. I think people often pay a lot more money to get a diesel even though they will never recoup the costs with a 5-10mpg gain ubless they do a lot of miles.

One thing I have noticed is that the Skoda dealers are very reasonably priced. I dont know why some people still call them "stealers" to be honest. I just bought some mats and a washer jet, the mats were £30 which is cheaper than on ebay, and the washer jet was £2 rather than £5 on ebay.

Thanks again for all the replies.

Am i right in thinking that if the torque is better at very low revs, then this is good for saving fuel, as you may not have to give it as much gas to get moving (so long as you're not in a hurry!)?

I should explain that the reason I've put off driving so long is because I'm Type 1 Diabetic, which added a grand to insurance quotes I got when I was younger, completely killing any motivation to actually get a car. About 8-10 years ago I was quoted nearly four grand insurance for a diesel Ford Fiesta

Although it still seems to affect it a bit, it's not as much as it was. I still doubt I could afford to insure a VRS though! Just something that moves when I tell it to will do for now, even if it does it at a fairly sedate pace.

Hi I brought a 54 plate fabia 1.2 htp back in April. It's my fist car and I absolutely love it! Can't go wrong haven't had any problems yet (touch wood)

Good luck!

Regarding the torque versus consumption, I think you really have to research the MPG figures it doesn't always work as you might expect. I personally do prefer low revving torquey engines though, just more relaxing to drive.

I remember reading that the 8v 1.4 is the old Skoda engine and the 16v 1.4 is the newer VW engine.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/skoda/fabia

This is useful, its an MPG tracking site and has real consumption figures. The petrols give about 35mpg the diesels around 50mpg. Its a good idea to work out how much difference this makes depending on your annual mileage. I would not worry too much about a 1.2 vs a 1.4 petrol it will be insignificant unless you do a lot of miles.

I just did a quick calculation and if you do 6000 miles a year a diesel might save around £250 a year. Getting a petrol car that does 35mpg instead of 30mpg will save about £170 a year.

So basically if you can save a few hundred pounds because you get lower insurance on a small petrol than a diesel, or if one type of petrol model is cheaper than another this will outweigh the fuel costs.

Edited 22 November, 201213 yr by Dunkuk

We have two fabia's (thats how much we love um !), we bought our Mk1 2006 plated 1.9PD TDI Elegance when it was 5 months only, absolutely love it, so much so that two weeks ago i change my BMW 3 series for a 2010 1.6CR TDI Elegance..... we did have the water issue with the Mk1 but had it sorted under warranty with Skoda, as i understand it was not a major fix and can be done by DIY without too many issues, since then we have had the 1.9TDI remaped and the fuel economy has gone up and the response and general drive has improved. It is like a go kart ! My wife and i only mentioned the other day that the car will have to fall down around our ears before we change it, it is that good. We both don't do the miles regarding if a diesel is the best compared to a petrol, but what i do like about them is the mid range torque, this is something you don't really get with petrol, since the remap it has the same power as a VRS but looks like a boring family runabout.... until we take off at the lights ! When my warranty on the newer 1.6CR runs out in about a year i will also be getting that remaped, again this is something you gain very little with in a petrol. Overall, as said all cars have some issues, but for the price i think a Mk1 Fabia is a great choice.

Edited 22 November, 201213 yr by Hudson1

2006 1.2 HTP here. 70k on the clock. I love my car to bits! It feels rock solid, compared to other similar aged cars I have been in.

Only issue I had that was a bit of a bother was the rear door carriers. All cars of a similar chassis have the same issue where some water can leak during heavy rain due to poor seals. Problem can be fixed if you have a drill, riveter and some silicone sealant, which is what I did. Haven't had a problem since!

I also have had some steering rack issues. They were related to an incident it had with it's previous owner (went into a ditch and nailed the NS front wheel, creating a leak in the steering rack). Since it's replacement, it's been absolutely fine.

Fans are great, they'll blow your face off. AC is very powerful. Car can get up to speed very reasonably from standing. Excellent low end torque considering it's a petrol and the engine size. Understeering is common for me in the wet, but it could be my driving or tyres (likely both). Motorway driving is very comfortable and overtaking is nice on the motorway if you're at at the 3.5k sweet spot. Drove up to North Yorkshire from Portsmouth in the last month with no issues and only 1 stop. I've hit a peak of 61 MPG in the summer. Common values to work are 38-43 MPG.

Hope that helps!

Edited 22 November, 201213 yr by Mrnorm

Thanks again for your replies.

Looks like the 1.2 petrol will be the best for me then, as it's a good couple of hundred cheaper on insurance than diesel or the 1.4 from the quotes I've got so far.

Having relatively recently become the 'looker-afterer' of a 1.2 for my girlfriend, it's encouraging to see how many owners on this thread are saying how happy they are with them. :sun: I'm certainly impressed, excepting the rear door seal issue which has affected ours. Every car has it's equivalent, at least every affordable one.

Anyone got one (a 1.2) on higher than 103K miles?

Guess that's not much more than average mileage for an 05 reg.

Hello again!

I thought I'd revive this thread as I'm still intent on putting myself off ever buying anything through researching potential problems to death! :think:

Anyway. I've narrowed down my choices to either a 1.2 HTP 12v Ambiente 64HP (2005) or a 1.4 16v Sport 75HP (2005).

At the moment the sport is looking the better option for me, as I guess it will be a bit more comfortable on the motorway, with little difference in fuel consumption for driving at a steady 70mph? Also both are quite cheap (relatively speaking) on insurance.

I've read plenty of horror stories about bore ovalisation due to leaky fuel injectors/piston ring failure on VAG 1.4 engines though, but I can't find anything to confirm if the engine in the sport model is effected the same.

Does anyone know if this might be the case? If it is, I'll probably avoid the Sport, plumping for the HTP engined car instead.

Also, has anyone had any dealings with used car warranties? I can't decide if it's worth it, or whether just keeping a 'Just In Case' fund to one side is a better option.

Any help that can shed any light on these things will be much appreciated! :sun:

Don't talk yourself out of buying because of stories on the internet. Remember, nobody ever posts a thread about their car never developing faults. At the end of the day, its getting on a bit now, so there are bound to be the occasional problem, whatever car you get. Used car sales are obligated by law to give you a 3 month warranty. You can pay for the additional cover after that, but its not worth it imho. You've found the forum, and this will help you with the vast majority of minor issues your likely or unlikely to come across.

That'll be me, perhaps I just struck lucky, or it's looming. Mine's June 2000 model and hasn't had any issues with the doors. Carpets are good as, car's solid, so they do exist. After reading the threads here it should be put in a museum

There's one or two other things you could do to look out for too, the power steering angle sensor also comes up a lot. Not major, but it'll cost you £200 to have it rectified at a dealer. First symptoms of this are the flickering dash and headlights, and then the power steering can go funny. Essentially the sensor tells the ECU how much steering assistance is needed, but when it goes, it can be convinced you're doing 70 at parking speeds, meaning essentially no power steering, and at motorway speeds I found it would go light and get VERY twitchy, especially if you hit a bump in the road.

I've not really had any other issues, maybe one or two niggles. My rear wiper used to have a mind of it's own, though more usage appears to have capped that, and my driver's heated seat no longer works, I think that's a switch. Erm, the alarm also blows for fun, especially whilst my remote key's dead so I have to start the engine just to stop it! :( Electric window motors are prone to failure too, and if you go for the 1.4 16v, be prepared to run it on premium unleaded and watch the oil consumption!

Quick question, I have a 1.4 16v, am I meant to be running it on the premium stuff :S :L

I've read plenty of horror stories about bore ovalisation due to leaky fuel injectors/piston ring failure on VAG 1.4 engines though, but I can't find anything to confirm if the engine in the sport model is effected the same.

I believe the 1.4 in the Sport would suffer the same ring problems, as the sport model just has "sport" trim but with standard engines.

However it doesn't seem to be very common....In 6 months of frequenting this forum, I've only read 1 or 2 instances of ring wear causing problems. But if it does happen It'll cost you....as you can imagine the engine has to be completely dismantled to replace them.

I purchased a Y reg 1.4 8v mpi Classic 11 months ago, its the most basic car i've ever owned in every sense and was only ever intended as a stop gap but it's ended up staying. I do a minimum of 90+ miles a day and had a 1.9 TDI Octavia DSG previously, it was faster, gave better mpg and a nicer place to be but even with that sort of mileage a diesel doesn't make much financial sense.

It's averaged 41.13 mpg or more importantly 14.8p average cost per mile in fuel over the last 17k. (the other 10k this year was done on two wheels). An oil burner will come in somewhere between 11.x p and 12.x p a mile from a previous thread, so saving circa £30 per thousand miles. For that you'll pay higher insurance, greater service costs, tyre/disc/pad wear, the risk of DMF/Clutch failure, turbo failure and a cam belt/pump to change at 4 years/60k costing £210-399 depending who you use.

The mpi is basic, simple and easy to work on, parts are cheap but you pay slightly higher road tax, it'll sit at 70+ all day long, tyres are cheap at £112 for a pair of 14" energy savers fitted vs £298 for 17" PS3's the Leon), it has no turbo to go pop, no timing belt to change as it's chain driven with 120k intervals, service costs are circa £15 for an oil/filter change or £30 including plugs/air filter and it's easy to do the job yourself. If you don't fancy the mess it's £35 for an oil/filter change from a fast fit chain.

It's not all roses and frugality though. Like any car a fabia will have issues. I've replaced an aux belt, angle sensor, drop links, console bushes, wishbones, ball joints, driveshaft seal, wheel bearing with another one to do, rocker cover gasket, thermostat and housing and 4 bleed nipples. The parts are cheap, they're easy to fit and on a 12 y/o car nothing on that list is that unusual, it however doesn't leak!

In general I think the fabia is a solid platform and gives good value 2nd hand but I'd personally take an 8v mpi over the 1.4 16v or the 1.2's as they're not without more significant issues (have a search on here and Honest John). I'd also personally take an SDI or TDI in preference to the 16v 1.4 or 1.2's as well, it's a well proven engine but you tend to pay a slight premium.

I still have a 2.0 PD140 Leon Sport DSG on the drive if I get bored

I also have the 8v, (well the missus does, but I use it just as much), and we've had it for about 6 months now. 2000 model, and got it with just shy of 39k. We've just crept over the 44k mark, but it passed MOT without so much as an advisary, and all I've had to replace is a faulty thermostat. When looking, insurance was the most important factor as the missus had three accidents inside her first year of driving, and then had a drink drive ban (morning after her Hen) on the second year. Needless to say, insurance quotes were astronomical! Compared to similarly priced and powered fords/vauxhalls/VWs and other French crap, the Fab was BY FAR the cheapest to insure. Most young uns that think they know how to drive before even passing their test are hung up on the stereotype of the Skoda name, so won't go near them. This is for the benefit of us, that actually do know a thing or two about cars!

I believe the 1.4 in the Sport would suffer the same ring problems, as the sport model just has "sport" trim but with standard engines.

OK. I thought this may not be the case as the engine in the Sport is only 75bhp (which is why it's cheap to insure). Looking at the wikipedia page for the Skoda Fabia, it's a different engine. I suppose my question would be better rephrased as 'Does the piston ring issue affect all Skoda 1.4 engines'. The 8v MPi is a modified version of the old Skoda 1.3 engine, if I'm not mistaken? I suppose it might be why 1.4s tend to be cheaper than 1.2s, due to worry of it expoding or something!

It's pretty much the only niggle I have left now. I like the idea of the slightly more powerful 1.4, but don't want to go for it if it's likely to write itself off in the first year... I'll have my attention occupied with trying not to write it off myself!