Hello, so after a long time of searching through Honda's, Toyota's and Seat's i've chosen to go with Skoda Fabia 1.9TDI(mk1). I am not a badge snob, and I do believe this car is well-built and overlooked. Out of all the selection(Yaris, Jazz, Passat, Leon, Fiesta) I think this car will bring more with the same amount of cash I will pay for it. There are a few things I value the most - comfort, cheap repairs and low running-costs. I have a Civic 98 which does 8-9liters per 100km and I pour anywhere around 20-80EUR on repairs even though I do only about 600-700km. Now the Fabia will cost me 1800-2200EUR, and I do have a lot of questions.

1) Is it really low-maintenance?

2) Is it really cheap to fix?

3) Does it really take only 5-6liters/100km?

4) We have particularly cold winters(-20C), are there any problems with cold starts?

5) Is it comfy?

These are the questions before considering to check one out.

And then there are the questions that come with actually buying one:

6) What clues should I look for that might cause problems in the future?

7) What should I ask the owner?

8) What are the main problems with this car?

You see, I want this car to serve me for at least 2-4 years that's why I am looking deeply into it. If anyone could at least partially answer these questions I would be more than happy. Thank you in advance 

I've had my fabia vrs for 4 years now, very easy to service, oil, air, pollen filters, brake pads, glow plugs, shocks, rear top mounts. These are what I've had to do to mine, I've got basic mechanical knowledge. These cars are prone to having leaky back doors, there are threads on here and YouTube that will help you. Briskoda is a very helpful community and helped me out in the past. Parts over here are easy to source from this site.

We have cold winters (-5C) for a couple of hours each year.

Seats are comfy in the vrs, not the best looking as they get dirty rather quickly.

Check the coolant cap for any white gunk, caused by head gasket failure.

Service history, timing belt changed and when.

On the vrs the turbos are prone to self destructing.

These are good solid cars, cracking economy with some performance.

Check out the fabia section on other bits of info.

Hope this will help in you purchasing the car in question.

Happy motoring.

I will offer some comment:-

1) Is it really low-maintenance?

I think so - except for the cambelt which needs to be changed every 4/5 years or ~60k miles at price of perhaps 500 euro

2) Is it really cheap to fix? Good parts availabilty so I would say yes.

3) Does it really take only 5-6liters/100km? Yes - less than 5 for steady run on good road at modest speed

4) We have particularly cold winters(-20C), are there any problems with cold starts? Not if fuel is liquid- normally the fuel station deals with this.

5) Is it comfy? yes, I find it so

These are the questions before considering to check one out.

And then there are the questions that come with actually buying one:

6) What clues should I look for that might cause problems in the future? Need service history same as other cars, lppk out for water leaks - can be fixed

7) What should I ask the owner? has the correct oil been used in servicing = I think this is 505.2 or 507 - vital

8) What are the main problems with this car? wrong oil = worn cam, old cambelt = broken engine

I will offer some comment:-

1) Is it really low-maintenance?

I think so - except for the cambelt which needs to be changed every 4/5 years or ~60k miles at price of perhaps 500 euro

2) Is it really cheap to fix? Good parts availabilty so I would say yes.

3) Does it really take only 5-6liters/100km? Yes - less than 5 for steady run on good road at modest speed

4) We have particularly cold winters(-20C), are there any problems with cold starts? Not if fuel is liquid- normally the fuel station deals with this.

5) Is it comfy? yes, I find it so

These are the questions before considering to check one out.

And then there are the questions that come with actually buying one:

6) What clues should I look for that might cause problems in the future? Need service history same as other cars, lppk out for water leaks - can be fixed

7) What should I ask the owner? has the correct oil been used in servicing = I think this is 505.2 or 507 - vital

8) What are the main problems with this car? wrong oil = worn cam, old cambelt = broken engine

 

How can I check the cambelt, just to be sure?

Maybe it would be best to just do an oil change as soon as I buy it?

You can't really check the belt though it is easy to release a couple of clips and look at it - possibly a really old belt might show up - look for evidence that it has been changed recently i.e. receipt from garage. Most change the rollers and water pump at the same time as they are all in the same place and the labour to get in there is most of the cost.

 

If the car has been run for a significant mileage with inferior oil it is too late - the cam will probably be worn.