Hi all!

Just joined this forum to ask: Should I get the Fabia Estate Greenline version or Octavia Estate Greenline version and would either of these cars be right (or good enough) for me.

I am a musician and will require the car for getting me to gigs with a drumkit and single guitar amp + 1 other passenger. The gigs I do are usually within 50miles (or less) of my home so we're looking at a round trip of 100 miles or so, once or twice a week. In the week day I'll need it to get me to students homes and or schools where I teach. This will be a shorter distance of around 60 miles return (or less) and I won't need to fill the car with gear or passengers.

I'm looking to do less than 10k miles a year with the car but I want something that's as cheap as possible to run. I've read about the low low tax on these two models and also how economic they are fuel wise. The questions I have are: Will these cars suffer from being lower performance than other larger engine models? Will this increase maintenance costs? Is there a better car out there for my needs? Lastly, is it advisable to get a nearly new car? I'm young, only 23 and have been driving for 3 years but my car is dying and I need a new one that I intend to keep for as long as I can.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

P.S. Admins, I'm posting this is the Skoda and Octavia sections as I'm not sure which will give me the best response so apologies for the slight double post.

Personally I would go for size because you never know what the future holds and the difference in running cost is minimal. And Octavias are less of an old mans car. (sorry to all the Fabia owners out there)

Personally I would go for size because you never know what the future holds and the difference in running cost is minimal. And Octavias are less of an old mans car. (sorry to all the Fabia owners out there)

Ah okay. So you would go for the Octavia Greenline as it's bigger, right? It's a 1.6 so should have enough power for the eventuality that one day I'll start doing gigs much further afield. I know the other Octavia diesels have a lot more performance power. Doesn't having less performance power mean more wear and tear on the car? Thanks for your feedback by the way.

Depends how you want to drive it, how far, how loaded up, etc.

if its doing short, light trips then petrol, longer heavier journeys, diesel.

My dad had a 1.8 petrol focus, I had a 1.9 Diesel Octavia, we had 1 pallett of building blocks to collect. I took 2/3 of the pallet in my car because dads couldnt move with 1/3 of them..... I could bareley feel the weight apart from when I hit a pot hole.

Depends how you want to drive it, how far, how loaded up, etc.

if its doing short, light trips then petrol, longer heavier journeys, diesel.

My dad had a 1.8 petrol focus, I had a 1.9 Diesel Octavia, we had 1 pallett of building blocks to collect. I took 2/3 of the pallet in my car because dads couldnt move with 1/3 of them..... I could bareley feel the weight apart from when I hit a pot hole.

Ah okay, that's good advice. Do you think the Fabia II Greenline which is a 1.2 will hold up fine carrying a full drum kit, two people and amp over a long journey (we're talking 250kg or less). I currently run a diesel and don't think I'll change in my line of work so I agree with you there.

Yes it would, but it would be a boring (or sensible) drive. 250kg is what, 1 american or 3 english people.

Octavia over fabia all day long. Its not just extra space your getting, its quality as well.

Hmmm...it's seeming more that way. I just read this review: http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/skoda/fabia/first-drives/skoda-fabia-greenline-ii

Especially since the apparent 'real world' fuel economy of the Fabia II Greenline is closer to that of the 1.6 engine version or cars from the Octavia range. So it seems the Octavia is looking better. What are people's thoughts on which engine size (diesel) would benefit me best? I don't see many second hand Octavia Greenlines...are they any good? Seems like reviews favour the 1.6TDi which will give me good performance, fairly low tax and is quite economical. I hope the insurance isn't very high on these models. Hopefully lower than my 1.7TDi Astra. What are people's thoughts?

Many thanks for all the help so far guys. I'm a complete noob at this.

Road tax is cheap on any of the 1.6 TDI Skodas - £20 per year. It is free on the Greenlines.

You need to look carefully, as some things don't come on the greenlines that you might be looking at second hand - nice wheels, extra options etc. For the £20 a year extra, you might be better off with a 1.6 TDI and if the Fabia is big enough, go Fabia.

If you need more space, prefer the feel of a larger car (as suggested above, the Octavia feels much nicer, more upmarket), and they are similar in cost, then go for the Octavia, with the engine suited.

I had a Greenline Superb - 105BHP 1.9TDI. No problems hauling stuff about (admittedly, only 2 kids, all their junk and a dog on occassion), compared to my previous 2.0 PD 140 Octavia Estate. BUT, I did a family holiday to France, in my Fabia Monte Carlo 1.6 TDI. Me, wife, 2 kids (now bigger), a week's worth of family holiday stuff, boot full, roof box on etc etc. No problem whatsoever. Mine is just a hatch - so can you cram an amp and drum kit in with the seats down?

My other thought would be do you need a diesel for 10000 miles a year? It is a slight concern, thinking DPF worries, mileage that diesel shows it's returns etc.

Could be better off in a petrol - you'll need to do 15-20k a year to break even on the price difference when purchasing.

Could be better off in a petrol - you'll need to do 15-20k a year to break even on the price difference when purchasing.

Alot of independent journo tests have shown this to be true these days

Was another £1500 for a diesel Rapid and only available with 5 speed box. Prefer a nice 6 speed manual.

Road tax is cheap on any of the 1.6 TDI Skodas - £20 per year. It is free on the Greenlines.

You need to look carefully, as some things don't come on the greenlines that you might be looking at second hand - nice wheels, extra options etc. For the £20 a year extra, you might be better off with a 1.6 TDI and if the Fabia is big enough, go Fabia.

If you need more space, prefer the feel of a larger car (as suggested above, the Octavia feels much nicer, more upmarket), and they are similar in cost, then go for the Octavia, with the engine suited.

I had a Greenline Superb - 105BHP 1.9TDI. No problems hauling stuff about (admittedly, only 2 kids, all their junk and a dog on occassion), compared to my previous 2.0 PD 140 Octavia Estate. BUT, I did a family holiday to France, in my Fabia Monte Carlo 1.6 TDI. Me, wife, 2 kids (now bigger), a week's worth of family holiday stuff, boot full, roof box on etc etc. No problem whatsoever.

Hmm I hadn't considered this. I guess it partly depends on what is available nearish to where I live at the time I decide to buy. Those engines you're talking about there seem considerably bigger than the 1.2 Fabia Greenline which was what I initially considered but am shifting away from it over to the Octavia based on what I'm reading. I have doubts as to whether the 1.2 would take my gear around comfortably. Perhaps it would I don't know.

Mine is just a hatch - so can you cram an amp and drum kit in with the seats down?

I don't think a hatchback would quite cut it. Having owned an Estate I don't think I'll go smaller while I'm still a gigging musician. It's the large drums and their bulky hard cases that do it.

My other thought would be do you need a diesel for 10000 miles a year? It is a slight concern, thinking DPF worries, mileage that diesel shows it's returns etc.

This is something I hadn't really considered at all. So diesels are more expensive to buy initially right? But the idea being you earn back the cost in fuel savings over time? This next car I buy I intend to keep for as long as possible if it runs well with no major problems and I may end up doing more than 10k in a year. What are the most economic petrol engines for the Octavia and Fabias then?

Many thanks to all again.

1.2 tsi 86 and 105 in the fabia are most economical. 1.6cr tdi 90 and 105 are pretty good and offer good mpg and power.

Would take you 4 ish years to get £1500 extra you paid for the diesel car back at 10k miles a year.

I've just seen a Fabia 1.6 Diesel in my home town for just under £10k. It's only got 7,000 miles on the clock. Does this seem like a good deal? I'd probably buy it on finance and trade in my old car for it. What do people think. A good deal?

Not bad - just bare in mind you can get a brand new one for £11 - £12k.

Not bad - just bare in mind you can get a brand new one for £11 - £12k.

Oh right, where from? I thought they were more like 14k +

Monte Carlo tech is £12,990 otr. Granted its not an estate.

Other fabia models are vat free currently...

Elegance and Scout model with good options £13k.

Edited 9 April, 201313 yr by Ad Lav

Monte Carlo tech is £12,990 otr. Granted its not an estate.

Other fabia models are vat free currently...

Elegance and Scout model with good options £13k.

Ah okay, thanks. I think I need the estate version though so which the aforementioned is. Seems like a good deal, I'm going to test it out tomorrow hopefully. Any ideas on things to check, look out for, what sort of finance deals I should decline. (I don't know much about the current market and what is a good offer and a bad one). Many thanks.

Drivethedeal.com or any dealership open to a bit of haggling :-)

Well the vat off offer takes almost £3k off a £15k list price car.

Finance is 6% or so over 3 years. Best chat to a

Dealer tell then what you're after

I can suggest a dealer in south east I just got my 3rd Skoda from.

Well the vat off offer takes almost £3k off a £15k list price car.

Finance is 6% or so over 3 years. Best chat to a

Dealer tell then what you're after

I can suggest a dealer in south east I just got my 3rd Skoda from.

Someone once told me never to buy a new car as the minute you buy it it'll depreciate in value dramatically. Do you guys agree with this advice? I forgot about the VAT off offer though, still 12k is a lot, but 6% is amazing! Is that from Skoda or another dealer or something? That Drivethedeal.com website looks good. It's about 9% from them. I've just been browsing the website of dealership where I saw the car and the finance offer is 16.7%! D: So that 10k car becomes over 13k. Unless I got for a lease purchase and then it's 10.6% APR.

What's the dealer in the South East you'd recommend?

Caffyns in Tunbridge Wells, both my parents and myself have now had 6 cars from them.

Used car finance is more yes.

Just bought a new Rapid and they matched another offer with a good part ex price.

The vat off counters any depreciation especially if you keep it for 3+ years

Caffyns in Tunbridge Wells, both my parents and myself have now had 6 cars from them.

I'll check them out! Thanks.

The vat off counters any depreciation especially if you keep it for 3+ years

Hmmm...so if I can afford it, is this my best option? As I intend to keep this car as long as possible. Where is the best place to buy a new car from and does it normally take a long time to arrive because they build it after the order is placed right? Many thanks for all your help by the way.

It takes up to 12 weeks for some cars to arrive. My new car took 2 weeks as they had one in the spec I wanted albeit in two different colours ready for delivery.

Forum is supposed to be helpful

Chat to Jim or Russell at caffyns sales.

If finance is suitable and you can afford repayments then its the way to go.

They will explain the differing finance options, just tell them how much you can afford to pay and go from there.