Buying a Fabia

[Dsb]

Hi all,

As you can see I'm new to the forum. I have sold my car (Kia) and currently looking at two Fabia' and I was hoping someone could advise before I go look at them, anything to specifically look out for, the good/bad etc.

Fabia 1:

54 plate 1.2L 12v Classic 5DR with 56k miles on the clock, petrol.

Fabia 2:

05 plate 1.4L 16v Ambiente 5DR with 47K miles on the clock, petrol.

I am leaning towards the 1.2 as it has MOT until December rather than May with the 1.4. Cheaper to insure and tax. The engine being smaller is no problem for me as I have only owned 1.2 - 1.3L engines but is there something else I should be aware of, any major differences? Both look very similar in the photos.

Any advice is much appreciated.

[booke23]

Ambiente is a higher trim level to classic.......some classic's only have radio/cassette!

The 1.4 16v can suffer from premature piston ring wear......expensive to fix.

Look for leaking rear doors.

[booke23]

Oh, and you don't get remote central locking or electric windows as standard on the Classic....that would be enough to put me off.

Edited 10 February, 2013 by booke23

[peter3197]

Oh, and you don't get remote central locking or electric windows as standard on the Classic....that would be enough to put me off.

This can be an advantage as there are less electrical items to go wrong. However numerous classics had both. The ad should give the spec.

[Dsb]

Thanks for the replies.

The classic has central locking (non remote) and a CD player but no electric windows. I can live without this.

In terms of engines, are they both reliable?

Edited 10 February, 2013 by Dsb

[Avalon]

In terms of engines, are they both reliable?

No. You're really best off having a quick search as they aren't without issue and those issues have affected enough people over the years to be a significant consideration.

[mattvrestate]

If your set on getting a petrol ur best off getting a 1.4 mpi (8v)

as said the 16v's are prone to piston slap + the 1.2 has a crap chain with a hydraulic tensioner that after servicing (because of drained oil so loss of oil pressure) can loose tension causing the chain to slip..and the cylinder heads are made of toffee lol !

[hap123ciu]

The early engines on 1.4 16v were prone to piston rings problems. As you are looking at a 05 car, that will have the later bbz code engine. They still like the super 98 Ron petrol to get the full power. The 1.4 mpi is quite thirsty and was provided just on early cars.

Edited 11 February, 2013 by hap123ciu

[Avalon]

The early engines on 1.4 16v were prone to piston rings problems. As you are looking at a 05 car, that will have the later bbz code engine. They still like the super 98 Ron petrol to get the full power. The 1.4 mpi is quite thirsty and was provided just on early cars.

My mpi has managed 41mpg averaged over the last 20k. The 1.2 can return 47mpg but compare the cost per mile of 14.85 pence in the mpi vs 12.95 pence for the HTP and it comes out at £148.47 per 1,000 miles vs £129.52 that's a whole £18.95 saving. It's not quite as big a difference as the mpg figures would suggest.