I may be looking at getting a used Fabia Diesel costing no more than £6k (and hopefully closer to £5 - 5.5k). Having had a Fabia 1.2TSi for 4 years, and now an Octavia 1.4TSi, I'm pretty familiar with the cars. This 2nd car will be used for mainly long journeys by myself - 640 miles round trip, of which it's motorway or dual apart from the 5 miles at either end - so I think that makes diesel worthwhile. I also want cruise control and climate control so that makes it an Elegance in standard spec or an SE+ with options.

 

I'm aware of the different power outputs of the engine, but as far as motorway cruising is concerned, is there a vast difference between the 3? The couple of cars I've looked at online so far have been quite high mileage (50k +) on 61/12 plates, but I'm thinking that you can only get those sort of miles accrued if doing motorway runs so likely to have fewer DPF problems.  Does that seem sensible thinking?

 

Are there any issues to be looking for on cars with these miles?  How can I check the DPF is OK? And am I being too blinkered towards Skoda?  Alternatives appear to be the Corsa 1.3 Ecoflex, the Citroen C3 and its French siblings, and the Nissan Note. Does anyone have any experience with these? I don't think there are many Fiestas around with cruise control at my budget.

 

There are also 1.7 Astras and 1.6 TDCi Focuses around at the right price, but I don't really need a car that big, as we've got the Octavia estate as our main car.

 

Any thoughts and observations kindly received.

 

Thanks, and happy new year

Edited 1 January, 201610 yr by just music

Of your other options, I've never been impressed with any Corsa I've driven, and they tend to be horribly long-geared.

I have friends with a C3, and they're looking to change due to a mix of unreliability and needing 3 weeks for Citroen (a direct dealership, not a franchise) to get any spares that aren't basic service items.

Of your other options, I've never been impressed with any Corsa I've driven, and they tend to be horribly long-geared.

I have friends with a C3, and they're looking to change due to a mix of unreliability and needing 3 weeks for Citroen (a direct dealership, not a franchise) to get any spares that aren't basic service items.

I've recently tried a brand new diesel, I found it better than previous loud tiring Corsas

My Fabia Scout 1.6 CR is up for sale

I've had it for nearly a year and it has been faultless. Great car, nice to drive and returning 55mpg easy. I had been doing 600 miles a week and it fitted the bill perfectly, comfy and cruise control etc are a blessing.

Edited 2 January, 201610 yr by Tech1e

I have a 1.4tdi Fabia 3 80bhp, and mine is a 57 plate, this means I have no dpf to think about, I don't know when the dpfs came on Fabia's, I guess 2009 (I'm sure someone knows)

I find the power just fine, however, the gearing isn't perfect, with them all been 5 speed boxes, they are happier at 60/65,(2k ish rpm at 60) and more like 2.5k rpm at 70

I have cruise control and climate with it been the '3' I believe the highest spec ??(I think early models are called 1,2,3 and after a certian point become SE and so on)

And I'm glad to have the cruise and climate control.

Mpg, 60mph =60mpg for me, the highest is 74 and that was a solid 50mph motorway run, in town driving I usually get no less than 45mpg.

Things to check, timing belt (not a problem but when I was sold mine as a used car from a skoda main dealer, it was overdue by around double the time limit of 4 years on pre 2009 models)

I've had one failure, steering rack began to weep, and cost approx £300-£350 iirc and the belt was about the same, this was at a very small garage that I usually use.

Hope I've been helpful !

If you do get one with a DPF, ensure you do the region AS SOON AS POSSIBLE when the light comes on, if it does... Limp mode is a pain, forced region is about £180 at the dealers and DPF removal, inc software, will set you back aroud £400. It will pass a current MOT after it but as and when legislation changes, a new filter will be the only option. Hopefully prices will drop by then from around £1200 as currently bandied about!

The 2009 1.4 tdi Greenline has a 3 cyl 80 hp motor. I bought it as a "job-car" and it has served me well during the passed 100.000 kms with no major flaws.

The rear muffler is a bit rotten by now but doesnt leak, I think thats about it.

My major objection to this particular model is the high sound level in the cabin, which may emancipate from a sparse sound insulation to keep the weight of the car down- it is as said a "Greenline" model supposed to be a bit more environment-friendly than other models.

But its a rocket, will mostly win every red-light race... due to a great torque and keeping motorway speeds are not a problem at all if you can stand the sound level.

If I should keep it - which I wont as Im retiring this spring, one car will do then - Id give it a complementary rust protection treatment.