So i had this 13 plate car since October 2015 as a second owner bought from an ex seat dealership with 30 000 miles and FSH from Skoda. Out of 4 cars I owned this is the first which is new-ish, diesel and comfortable....but i am having constant problems with it, and comparing it to my gf's car, her brother's cars and everyone else i know, i'm he only one to be known with the car issues.

 

So far over a period of 1 year and half:

• had a cooler housing leak -£200
• dog mount failure - £50
• injector failure - £790
• emission software done (without permission) - £0
• remap (because i hated the way it drove after the update) - £350
• passenger mount - £80
• anti roll bar bushes - £10
• ignition switch - £30
• boost leak O ring replacement - £12
• and now hopefully a water pump leak or EGR cooler leak (still to be diagnosed) - £ 490 (belt + pump)

 

Total £2012 !! No maintenance costs included here.

 

Not it has 65 000 miles. 

 

Can i just mention I care for this car more than anyone I know, service it every 7000 miles, clean it once a week, check oil, coolant, tyres, brakes regularly. I use only 'good' fuels no supermarkets, I use premium every 2 tanks and yet it hits me with crap like this all the time.

 

I like the car, very economical, nice power, comfortable on motorways but i'm wondering if this is the universe telling me to get rid of it before anything major happens.  Is this normal at all?

 

I have 8 months of finance on it. What would you do? Sell it? Keep it?

 

Edited 5 January, 20188 yr by Bertie90

What year is the car?  Are the issues you've had common with this model/year of Fabia or have you just been unlucky? Perhaps the previous owner got rid without being honest about any known issues? 

 

IF you were to replace the car, will you buy new/nearly and have some level of security by means of a warranty OR will you be taking your chances on another car which may cost you just as much, potentially more?  The way I see this is that you at least know the car, you've spent a fair bit of cash keeping it working and evidently in good condition; why pass it to someone else who will benefit from all your time, effort and expense? 

 

Then there's this part of your post:

 

15 minutes ago, Bertie90 said:

I like the car

 

That's the thing that would make me really want keep hold of it for now. 

 

The last car I owned (SEAT Leon FR) was faultless, 2.5 years and 60k without even a single warning light on the dash.  Despite all this I really didn't like the car, I should have but I didn't.  I ended up getting rid of it because I didn't enjoy driving it or even looking at it.  

Edited 5 January, 20188 yr by penguin17

Keep it once it is finally sorted out with a new water pump.

Lots of dosh you have spent to now have the devil you know.

What is the point of going getting another used one that previous owners might not of looked after well from new.

 

PS

You could go buy a £12,000 car Used or New and it will be worth £2,000 less or maybe more 12 months later.

Cars cost money, purchase and depreciation, £2,000-£3,000 maybe a year unless you buy keepers and once you have them 5-10 

years they are maybe just £1,000 a year over your ownership. 

All depends what you buy.

Edited 5 January, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

15 minutes ago, penguin17 said:

What year is the car?  Are the issues you've had common with this model/year of Fabia or have you just been unlucky? Perhaps the previous owner got rid without being honest about any known issues? 

 

IF you were to replace the car, will you buy new/nearly and have some level of security by means of a warranty OR will you be taking your chances on another car which may cost you just as much, potentially more?  The way I see this is that you at least know the car, you've spent a fair bit of cash keeping it working and evidently in good condition; why pass it to someone else who will benefit from all your time, effort and expense? 

It a 2013 model, I have researched a fair bit and it's all diesel issues really, DPFs EGRs Injectors usual stuff. I wouldn't say common to this vehicle, just common to the 1.6 tdi. I bought it from a dealer with 1 year skoda warranty left on it. and had no issues whilst on warranty. 

19 minutes ago, AwaoffSki said:

Lots of dosh you have spent to now have the devil you know.

What is the point of going getting another used one that previous owners might not of looked after well from new.

I agree. Better of the devil you know. 

 

Thanks both 

I’ve got an app that tracks how much I’ve spent since I bought mine in October 2016 this is not including the cost of the car!

You've spent about £250 on repairs over 2yrs time. Not bad! Don't count mechanical damage (mount/brackets) or remaps etc. Where is the problem? 

2 hours ago, AMD87 said:

I’ve got an app that tracks how much I’ve spent since I bought mine in October 2016 this is not including the cost of the car!

i have a spreadsheet where I record and add things i'm planing to buy with links etc. how long have you owned your car for? 

October 2016

Sounds like you have got the car back to tip top condition, the previous owner was not so proud, I think you should keep it,  I ran a  tdi fabia for 130,000 miles with no issues, from new, we now have a diesel Monte Carlo bought second hand, it has a number of small niggles, coolant alarm, water in wheel well, instrument cluster not fitted correctly, missing soundproofing, dents added by my son...

The egr should be fine if you take it on a decent regular run, not just popping to the shops. What happened to the injectors? Did you try a professional cleaning?

15 hours ago, Nedge68 said:

I ran a  tdi fabia for 130,000 miles with no issues, from new,

Was it a PD engine?

 

15 hours ago, Nedge68 said:

The egr should be fine if you take it on a decent regular run, not just popping to the shops.

Once a tank i give it a 30 min run on motorway at 30000 rpm 4th gear. 

15 hours ago, Nedge68 said:

What happened to the injectors? Did you try a professional cleaning?

The car was juddering hesitating at low revs. No warning lights no idling problems. Couldn't drive it lower that 15000 rpm. Injector was replaced by skoda. it failed 1 month after the 3 year warranty expired. I have told skoda about this before but they said "we can't find the issue".

Was that a Skoda Main Dealership you told,  a Franchised business. 

& was it a Master Tech that said he or she 'Can't find the issue'?   

' Well if you can not be ar5ed you may well not, all the gear, some idea, & just tell them, 'do one and do not waste my time!'

 

Use a good Independent Specialist interested in fixing things at a fair price.

1 hour ago, AwaoffSki said:

Was that a Skoda Main Dealership you told,  a Franchised business. 

& was it a Master Tech that said he or she 'Can't find the issue'?   

' Well if you can not be ar5ed you may well not, all the gear, some idea, & just tell them, 'do one and do not waste my time!'

 

Use a good Independent Specialist interested in fixing things at a fair price.

It's Motorline Skoda, so i believe it's a main dealership. 

 

The person who told me that was the rep at the counter where i did all my service bookings and repairs.

 

You live and learn. 

Hi Bertie, 

yes it was a 1.4 PD engine, unfortunately garages will happily sell you a diesel even if is not suitable for the journeys you are doing, I don’t think you should consider a diesel unless you are doing 20k a year, the new CR engines don’t like short runs, with many people suffering EGR problems, perhaps they should have been directed towards a Petrol engine. I have had injector problems with my CR engine no warning lights ( Skoda dealership failed to identify any fault.)

but a Terraclean sorted it out for £110.

12 hours ago, Bertie90 said:

 

Once a tank i give it a 30 min run on motorway at 30000 rpm 4th gear. 

 

Poor valves 

12 hours ago, Nedge68 said:

I have had injector problems with my CR engine no warning lights ( Skoda dealership failed to identify any fault.)

but a Terraclean sorted it out for £110.

 

There is a topic here about Terraclean that put me off seeing what people experienced after having it done. Knock on wood the other 3 don't fail.

 

please Car God, let this be a issue free year! (apart from the coolant leak)