Work has one shoved in the corner of the yard doing nothing and i could do with a commuter. is there any normal things to look out for?? im going to have a read about on here also but wondered if any of you felly peoples could put me on the straight!

Thanks

oh, i think its an estate too!

weren't you after a twist n go?

yep i was.. things have changed since, i no longer have to commute to the other side of london so a cheap 2nd car will do.

what about a little Fabia 1.9SDi?

Good little cars these... I prefer the vw engined ones myself but the 1.3 mpi unit is actually quite good. They always rot around the rear arches and the front inner wings and along the bottom of the rear windsreen... The headlight height adjusters never work either. But parts are really cheap for these cars and they are dead easy to work on even for DIYers..

what about a little Fabia 1.9SDi?

cant afford a fabia bud or id have a vrs. lol this felly is pretty much being given to me so cant grumble...

haha don't look a gift horse then should be cheepy on the ins, tax running costs, plus easy to work on. It'll keep you drier than a twist n go fo sho!

Things to look for - As a general rule I'd say read the "my car doesn't work" threads on the first 3 pages of this forum?

Thermostat is very common to fail.

Temperature sensor (check dash guage reads ok).

Check boot for rust too.

Check for a whine in 5th gear.

Phil

They're cracking little cars, usually with excellent heaters, just what you want this time of year.

May have to change the thermostat on my own! The coolant flows even on startup. Never gets up to 90.

Headgasket!! White substances on the oil cap, dodgey coolant.

Damp under the dash!

All the regular stuff!

Hi Rs-Gee-W8, ^ +1, can be a great little workhorse for commuting & more!

Have dropped you a PM that may help.

Cheers,

Rob

May have to change the thermostat on my own! The coolant flows even on startup. Never gets up to 90.

Headgasket!! White substances on the oil cap, dodgey coolant.

Damp under the dash!

All the regular stuff!

If you never get it up to temp, that's prime conditions for condensation-born mayonaisse, so new thermostat and clean the inside of the rocker cover before worrying about HGF unless you have evidence of oil in the coolant.

If you never get it up to temp, that's prime conditions for condensation-born mayonaisse, so new thermostat and clean the inside of the rocker cover before worrying about HGF unless you have evidence of oil in the coolant.

Yup. When I went to look at my old felicia I was armed with stuff to check.

There was some mayo under the cap but know what I knew and no evidence of white smoke or oil in the coolant and realising that water was circulating round straight away I knew it would just be the thermostat.

I changed this and the mayo never came back as it could then get up to temp.

Phil

so i had a look around said car today.

Started from cold on the button, no tapping rattling or smoke. Clutch felt a little heavy but bit and stalled as it should. turns out its a 1.6 SLXI.

Got some rust on he rear arches and some lacquer peal on the bonnet. Needs new front brakes as there lipped but has MOT and tax till late 2013. Still awating on a decisive number from my boss and i should have this hopfully soon. The 1.6`s economical?

If you never get it up to temp, that's prime conditions for condensation-born mayonaisse, so new thermostat and clean the inside of the rocker cover before worrying about HGF unless you have evidence of oil in the coolant.

I've no mayo and it doesn't get up to temperature. I was just saying I need a new thermostat.

looks like quite a straight motor that one, ive seen a lot worse, you'll get around 40mpg+ from it..... it could be the next drift legend that car :-)

drift Legend?? Its FWD aint it?

As Tom said seen a lot worse. For a 1.6 you'll find the mpg pretty agreeable

ha.. of course its front wheel drive, but its got a lot of potential..

Looks good Gee. I wouldn't let you get a motorbike! The first person I did an led dash conversion for got a bike and is now the second person younger than me to die this year :-(

looks good mine is now a 1.6mpi and a slxi but added aircon i think the mpg is good for a 1.6 only thing my 1.6 has is oil on top off spark plugs and uses 1l off oil to 200+ miles but got another 1.6 to go in

looks good mine is now a 1.6mpi and a slxi but added aircon i think the mpg is good for a 1.6 only thing my 1.6 has is oil on top off spark plugs and uses 1l off oil to 200+ miles but got another 1.6 to go in

Another 1.6L of oil won't get you far

Look a pretty tidy motor really. The 1.6 should be spot on and is a pretty decent motor tbh.

looks good mine is now a 1.6mpi and a slxi but added aircon i think the mpg is good for a 1.6 only thing my 1.6 has is oil on top off spark plugs and uses 1l off oil to 200+ miles but got another 1.6 to go in

Think this is fairly common on this 1.6. Think it's the valves. Do you get a lot of smoke/oil out the exhaust.