Hello , ive been looking for a fabia recently with the intention to be willing to travel for one , but this has just cropped up for sale and its only 10 miles away from my house. Its within my budget but has done 88k miles which is slightly more than i would of hoped , is there anything to be concerned about at this millege or are they strong engines ?

also if someone could look at the advert and let me know what they think ? also i have never brought my own car before so would it be appropriate to haggle them down ? i can also notice that the front lower grills seem to be missing ?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201302125301470/sort/default/usedcars/price-to/2000/model/fabia/make/skoda/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/nn141gj/page/1/quicksearch/true/radius/60?logcode=p

i know its a pointless post but it would be nice to get some re assurance

thanks

For less than a grand it looks ok to me - obviously test drive etc - the mileage is less than 9K a year - read the forum about usual niggles and use your then gained knowledge to haggle after the test drive and inspection -I would be making an opening offer of £825 cash

The fact its a trade sale will mean you will have little room for haggling on the asking price. The positive on that though is that you have a bit of come back should anything go wrong within the warranty period given. You could get more for your money by buying private, but you won't get that reassurance of a warranty. Early 8v engines could suffer with problematic HGs, but with it having decent mileage, that would suggest its been replaced in the past with the upgraded HG.

Other than that, its the usual fabia issues tbh. Leaking rear door seals, thermostat, bushes etc. Its not bad for the price being a trade seller tbh, and its worth a look as your close. If your unsure after seeing it though, wait it out for a better one.

If this model has a cam belt, you would do well to see a receipt for its last change or ask for them to replace before sale. Belts good for around 4 years.

Road test for knocking console bushes or see receipt for them having been changed in last 4 years.

Both my sons have Fabia 1s and they're great cars. You'll love it!

I bought a 51plate 1.4 Fabia in Feb 2010 and still to this day its not given me any problems (touch wood), It had no service history, 7 owners and 97k on the clock. Its now on just under 109K and starts first time every morning no problems what so ever. Its going in the garage tomorrow to get its chain replaced, not because it needs to, but because i dont know when it was last done. You could buy a car that lasts for years to come and get your monies worth, or it could play up and you end up spending more money than its worth, theres two ways it could go.

Looking at the pictures, me personally would pay attention to the actual seller aswell as the other vehicles around. Go look at the other vehicles conditions thats on the premises and if its a company then use your friend Google to do a little research and see if anyone has made any complaints about them(ie bought a car and it was scrapped a day after).

When your test driving it, try pay close attention to every knock and cranny you hear, inspect the vehicle as much as possible, every dint, crack, rust. Also when you return from the test drive check for any oil or anything where the vehicle was parked up when you drove off at the start.

See if you can book a second test drive aswell and see if it feels the same.

Also do a mytextcheck on the car, see if anything comes back.

Im sure other people will add to this, mostly common sense but some people dont have that  

I would be very interested why the lower grill is missing, new reg plate on the front but not the back. I'd have a very careful look at the front for possible accident damage.

The chain has a 120k interval, you change it when you can't stand the noise.

The mpi (8v engine) will cost you a little more in VED each year and 41mpg is my average over the last 20k.

As it's trade and the budget end of the market they're not going to move much on price. You can however push to get work done.

Start with the basics. You want oil, plugs, filters, brake fluid (2 yr interval), coolant (5 yr interval) are all very cheap/easy.

Drop links: Generally knock over uneven ground/bumps. A new set is circa £16.

Angle sensor: Power steering weight changes, can go totally (scary), headlights/dash lights dim (easy to spot in dark) and you usually find the pump is constantly kicking in/out (you can hear it at the passenger side front corner behind the fog light (or the plastic cover where the fog light would be). You ideally want the car on a ramp and the part is 70ish after rebate.

Thermostat/sensor: Not getting up to 90c in 2 miles and holding it constantly, genuine kit £40ish

ARB bushes: Knocking when cornering, easier to check when wheel is off but you can do it as per the console bushes which brings me to...

Console bushes: Knocking when turning/cornering, put car on full right lock then check the left side, the old bush was vertical only, new ones are x shaped. if it looks like the photo below it needs replacing. Cheap parts but not that straight forward, if going DIY then Powerflex is the best option but more expensive.

Door leaks: Check rear carpets for moisture, the noise proofing is quite thick so it may not feel damp. Look at the technical guides section, possibly better to DIY this as you then know it's been done right. Few tubes of silicon.

HG: Revised spec should have a T on the front right hand side as you face the engine bay.

Aux belt: It cracks with age, £8 and simple to replace. Have a close look for cracking.

Rear wiper jets: Usually pop off in the engine bay, 30 sec fix. Can pop off behind the interior trim which is more of a pita.

Rocker cover: Seal fails as do the nuts/washer, weeps oil which travels down to the block and settles at the HG which looks bad. Very easy to fix and under £4. Take the engine cover off to check this.

They aren't bad little cars and a great first car as parts are generally cheap and they're easy to work on

Console bush with tear showing:

Rocker cover with weeping oil:

looks a cheap motor but ****k it go in with your size 10's and offer £700 he can only say no then work to get £800 to get cheep you have to be cheeky

Thanks for all the response , is 88k anything to worry about on one of these engines ? , because my basic situation is that i want a car that i can jump into and not have to worry about it breaking down on me, i was hoping to get a car with around 71k on it , although this doesn't seem like much difference it is the difference in mileage i would acumalate over 2 years. I am in no rush to buy a car and 1k is all i can afford at the moment , but if i was to wait until the start of summer i could potentialy get something with less miles on. I didn't even notice the new front number plate on the car either, thanks for the heads up

Another option would be that i have seen a 1.4 16v close to me for sale aswell with 76k miles on it and full service history , but these engines are prone to piston ring failure arn't they ?

16v is unfortunately known to have a few issues including ring failure.

The mpi is an engine design with 50+ years of proven reliability, it's not as refined but it's easier to work on and it's common failings tend to be cheap/easy to fix, that said while i've never had my car fail on me they all will sooner or later. As for the front yes it does have the lower grills missing and a new plate, but the bumper seems right (rubbing strip on d/s is old, p/s looks newer but could just be damper) as does the spacing, it also looks to have a mark on the p/s front bumper which would suggest it's not been resprayed. I'd say go and have a look, you've got little to loose and with the advice provided you've got enough to be able to make an informed choice and see what sort of information the seller has/can provide. Also look at the back plate gives a good indication of why the front may have been renewed, a crack or other significant defect such as de-laminating is enough to fail an MOT for example but check it as it could have had a little front end action (classic's don't usually have ABS so will lock up if you do an emergency stop).