A brand new Fabia or a second hand 330d I have around 12k to spend. If I chip the Fabia I can give it some decent power. The only problem is, all I see on this board is people complaining of clutch problems.:confused:

It would all depend on what you want out of the car to be honest.

The Fabia vRS is a very capable small car with decent performance - brand new there is not much that even comes close when you take performance and value for money into account.

The BMW 330d would be a different animal altogether - it should be much more refined due to its 6 cylinder engine (far better mechanical balance so much less vibrations) it will have more space available and it is also rear wheel drive.

If it was my money I would go for the Fabia vRS out of those two (I'm not keen on BMWs despite them being RWD), but if it had to be diesel I would also look at a Superb 130 TDI PD and the Octavia II 140 TDI.

Hope this helps.

I don't know about the six cylinder BMW, but I drove the 160 bhp one series deisel, and it vibrated twice as bad as my fabia, so much so, that the guy I was with who was gonna but it, decided not to after driving the vrs!

BMW all the way

Chris

What are your criteria?

For £12k you could have a very nice Honda Integra Type R or an S2000

But if you've decided on the Fabia or the BMW I'd go with the Beemer.

Hmmm.Two absolutely totally different cars.

Sit a Skoda fabia side by side with a 330d and I know what I would prefer!

If you can afford to run the BMW buy it

Hopw come you have these 2 cars in your sights? Is it just what is available at the moment?

I drive a Superb 1.9 130Tdi and a friend of mine had a 330d. There is no comparison. The BMW was in a completely different league. Mine is like a tractor along side it and I am guessing that the Superb is more refined than the Fabia. It's a strange comparison though, they are quite different cars for quite different jobs. I certainly know which will see a better return when you sell it, and it wont be the Furby.

The 330d is obviously the higher performer, probably better handling and almost certainly more refined. However, as has been said, depends on what you want it for. I personally would think carefully before buying a larger diesel because of the miles I do every year - mpg is important and while the BMW 3 litre diesel unit is efficient, it's still gonna drink the juice more than a 1.9tdi. Insurance on the 330d I would imagine is considerably higher.

Finally, if you do get a 330d, make sure you get one that's fitted with the optional indicators.

The Fabia scores because of it's blend of qualities at a price of £12k brand new. It's quick, cheapish to run, cheap to insure, looks a bit sporty, quirky and has a bit of charisma.

The 330 is a luxury car from a premium brand manufacturer. It should be leagues ahead of the Skoda in almost every department and will cost significantly more to run and insure (unless you are very unlucky with the Skoda!!!). For 12k though it will be an older car with a lot of miles compared to the brand new vRS.

Only thing you can do is have a look at a few of each in the flesh and do a few miles of test driving.

OR you could pop along to a BMW forum and ask the same question - I can only imagine some of the replies!

A lot depends on what you need out of your car, as has been said it's quite a strange combination of cars.

Running costs are going to be the biggest factor -- the BMW will be more expensive to run than the Fabia,however if that doesnt bother you then obviously the beemer is going to be smoother,quiter and more comfortablle - that said if it were me I'd have the Fabia - can't stand BMW's

Other than that there are quite a few other options,within the Skoda range and obviously other makers.

If you don't think the Fabia is quick enough with its 130bhp then dont buy one - yes you can chip them but this will put strain on things like the cllutch - although this really depends on how you treat it

I am guessing that the Superb is more refined than the Fabia.

Surprisingly not - we've a Superb 130 at work that I do a hell of a lot of miles in and it's significantly noisier than the Fabia.

As far as which car goes, at 12K I'd think the 330 is pretty old, and you're going to have pretty serious repair bills if anything fails. I'd go new or newish.

Surprisingly not - we've a Superb 130 at work that I do a hell of a lot of miles in and it's significantly noisier than the Fabia.

As far as which car goes' date=' at 12K I'd think the 330 is pretty old, and you're going to have pretty serious repair bills if anything fails. I'd go new or newish.[/quote']

That's what worries me and having bills which run could into thousands is :eek: Think I'll buy a Fabia and buy a new clutch before I get it remapped.

That's what worries me and having bills which run could into thousands is :eek: Think I'll buy a Fabia and buy a new clutch before I get it remapped.

You may well find you get the vRS remapped and not suffer any clutch problems. There are people on here like that. All depends on how you treat it. Seems a bit daft to me to upgrade the clutch before the remap, when there won't be anything wrong with the standard one at that point :confused:

If you are concerned, put the money aside to cover an upgrade, should the need arise.

On your choice I'd go with the Fabia. People are asking why you're putting these two side by side, but I know what you're thinking as I did exactly the same thing about a year ago! The 3.0d BMW unit is one of the best diesel out there: quiet, refined and quick. There's also a very nicely setup chassis to go with it. But I was put off by the potential for large bills and the fact I'd have to buy one with 60k+ on the clock.

Good luck, whatever you choose. Let us all know how you get on

Steve

Yeah will do. Also, have you noticed pretty much all 330D have full BMWSH because without it they lose thousands. Have you seen the price of a level 2 service. :(