Buying a 2001 Fabia Elegance 1.4 16 valve experience

[BalancedOne]

Hello fellow Skoda drivers. I just bought a Fabia on eBay and wanted to share my experience plus ask for some advice from the more experienced owners in here. I got it at auction for £573, Y reg with 84000 on the clock. The advert said it belonged to the late father of the seller. Sold as spares or repairs with FSH, the only problem being that the clutch was on it's way out. So far so good, I went from Croydon to Chippenham to collect the car, about 200 miles round trip, but all worth it, right? I mean, a buyer's dream, great car with relatively low mileage and FSH, Elegance model, owned by a dear old man for the last few years(since 2009 to be exact). Before that, it had one owner from new, another gentleman by the name Church. With me being a religious man, it seemed a match made in, excuse the pun, heaven :-). Now, back to the real world...

I left the house at 11 AM and got to Chippenham at 16.30, after a pretty long 2 bus ride. I did not want to take the train due to the prohibitive and extortionate £57 fare that they were charging. I ended up paying £39 going by bus instead. Not much of a save, but I will not stand for the blatant robbery the train companies are practising these days, out of principle.

So I meet the seller at the coach stop, he picks me up in his relatively new Audi estate. We drive a few miles to the place where the car was kept, having a chat about his late father, why he didn't want the car anymore and things like that. We get there and the first thing untoward that I notice was that the car remote control keys did not work. He mumbled something about the driver's door lock having been changed and he opens the door manually, with the new keys. I thought 'Hmmm, not nice to be told this now...', but hey, what can you do, one can't expect perfection from a car 17 years old. I will fix that, fingers crossed, it won't be too expensive...The next thing that caught my attention was that upon starting the engine, there was a loud squealing noise coming from under the bonnet. It lasted for a second, but it got me thinking. Around the car we go and I notice the rear windscreen wiper stuck in a halfway up position. It looked like it didn't work. I go and sit inside the car and I notice that the CD player had been changed with an aftermarket JVC. Other than that, the car seemed fine. Now, here is me, obviously having been misled by the advertising, having noticed a few irregularities with the car that had never been comprised in the description. What do I do, after having travelled for the best part of 5 hours and ending up in Chippenham with a less than satisfactorily advertised car? I decided to be an honourable man to the end and handed over the £573 that the auction demanded. I distinctly remember the way he clutched at the £3 coins I handed him at the end. He wanted it all, he did. No thought about me, the car not being as advertised, the fact that it had almost 0 fuel inside(it was in the red, of course) and that I would have to spend quite a bit of money to bring it up to working order. 

OK, so I hand the money over and pick up the keys and the (not working)fobs from him and he offers to take me to the nearest petrol station to fill up :-). Great, I think. We get there and he waves goodbye. I fill up and stop the car in the car park, in order to pay for the road tax. Easier said than done. I go online to DVLA only to find out that the car was on a disabled, exempt category. With no way to change that but by going to a participating Post Office and sending off the relevant form. Great, it was a Saturday before a Bank Holiday weekend. No Post Offices were open anymore. And there I was, sat in a car that was illegal to drive as it was. 100 miles away from home. Nice. Hotel booking for 3 days, anyone?

So I call the man. No reply. I text him explaining my conundrum. He keeps me waiting for about 30 minutes before calling back, saying he had to pick the wife up from work and had the phone in the car. He mutters excuses about having no idea about the car being on a disabled category. Then he remembers that he knew something about it. But that he thought one didn't have to pay anything, so it didn't matter, that he and his brother had driven the car like this for ages and it had been fine...and on and on. None of that helping me or easing my situation. He ended up saying that I should drive it to London without worry, seeing that the car was exempt. I reminded him that it may have been that way while his late dad was driving it, but with me as the driver it was a different story. He insisted that the Police would not stop me, as they would see that the car was OK, without the need of a tax to be paid anyway. Again, I reminded him that it would get flagged, seeing that it had been SORN'ed. He looked confused and he said he had no idea of that being the case and that maybe his brother might have done that. OMG!

In the end, I manage to get him to meet me back at the petrol station, to at least give me a receipt for the sale of the car, as I had nothing. He came and apologised for putting me in that situation, but insisting that I would be OK to drive to London and even if I was to get pulled over by the Police or caught by ANPR's I could just say that I had no choice, with it being a Bank Holiday. Very reassuring. I wonder if he would have been just as optimistic about him having to do that, instead of me.

So he hands me the receipt, 'Car sold as spares or repair, sold as seen'. And I start praying while driving back to London. In the end, I got back home without any problems, but certainly not stress-free. Where I notice that the petrol filling cap flap did not close and I could not fix that by reinserting the detached cable...and that the brake disks are pretty rusted and worn out and the car squels upon braking...and that the CD player and the surrounding trims pop out upon accelerating...that the tyres have very low thread and a couple have chucks bitten off the side of them(he only pictured the best looking one, saying that they all had been replaced recently...he forgot to mention that the replacements had been second hand, used...)...that the seat wells are rusted and won't- allow for the seat to travel forward or backward...that the mirror control knob has a mind of its own and adjusting them is a nightmare that takes about 10 minutes...that the electric windows work intermitentlly, while the back windows can only be controlled from the front, but not the rear...while the wife noticing a few more dents and scratches that were not supposed to be there, according to the description...where will it end :-)?

Here I am now, needing some advice regarding this. I have decided to fix the car myself and invoice the seller for the expense, seeing that the faults were not mentioned in the advert. I know some people may say 'good luck with that mate'. But I am still hoping he will try to avoid a negative feedback and the potential adverse reaction he might experience from eBay as a result. I am saying that due to the fact that my faith in following procedure had been restored. I was on the phone with eBay today, regarding 2 unpaid case situation I had experienced. The buyers did not answer my 2 invoices(each) sent to them after the sale. They advised me that I should write to the buyers and explain that buying and not paying on eBay is tantamount to theft and that I should file reports with the Police, while they will provide all the relevant information and aid to them, in order to gain payment or the items back. I did that and almost immediately I received emails from the buyers, saying that they will pay(first one) and return the item back to me(the other). So here we are, good old threats do work, in the end. Sadly, the times where people were true and honest to each other seem to have died, or they are slowly getting there...

Tomorrow morning I shall be visiting my mechanic friend at his garage. I will then find the extent of the extra problems this car has, if any. My concern is that he might find a few more, lurking beneath the hood...Updates to follow :-).

 

Kind regards, Michael

Edited 8 May, 2018 by BalancedOne
Grammar corrections.

[sepulchrave]

Bad luck, however most of what you describe sounds like it's happened because the cars been stood a long time, things should start to work better with regular use.

 

The tax situation isn't ideal but for what it's worth you generally have a 14 day grace period to sort it and once you have it sorted you'll be charged from May 1st anyway so no harm no foul and no need to lose any sleep over it.

 

Let us know of anything major you find during the course of the resto and we'll be more than happy to help.

[BalancedOne]

Yes, TLC always works magic on most things, doesn't it :-)? Thanks for the encouraging words Sepu. It seems like I am in the right place for help and advice. I will come back with the latest tomorrow evening ;-)

[retro]

That does sound like a horror story, hopefully it is all good news from now on. Maybe it would be worth phoning eBay again and see what they say?

[davidwhite]

I'm guessing this story is repeated day in day out with the popularity of eBay, gumtree etc

 

my advice 

don't yourself in a situation where you feel you have to buy the car to enable to get home, ie arrange a lift or take a spare driver with you 

if you are not happy with the condition of the car ( not as described ) walk away and file a complaint with eBay immediately ( never part with cash, the sold a seen invoice basically infers you bought the car warts and all )

 

theres an old saying

" if it sounds to good to be true.............. "

 

genuinely good old luck maybe you will be lucky once the age or lack of use niggles have been sorted 

[Auric Goldfinger]

15 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

 

The tax situation isn't ideal but for what it's worth you generally have a 14 day grace period to sort it and once you have it sorted you'll be charged from May 1st anyway so no harm no foul and no need to lose any sleep over it.

 

 

 

I think the 14 days grace no long exists, if it ever did. I think this stems from allowing you to display an out of date tax disc for 14 days until your new one arrived.  Car needs to be taxed from day one

 

 

 

 

Edited 9 May, 2018 by Auric Goldfinger

[JWvrs25]

I would say a £500 car sold as spares/repairs is what you recieved, obviously not what you were expecting but the seller was obviously aware there were a few issues so tried covering themself by adding the spares/repairs clause.

I think most of those issues are not a big deal and things you would have to sort out on any fabia at some point. I paid £2000 for a 120k mile car with FSH and it required quite a bit of money and work to bring it to a safe/reasonable standard even though it was sold as perfectly fine. Didn't bother me as you'd expect things to be worn with any second hand car. 

[BalancedOne]

Yes, you are all correct in what you are saying. And you seem to be a nice bunch of people in here, I am glad I have joined :-).

I shouldn't have expected perfection or a mint condition on a 17 year old car. And the most important part of a car is still the engine, which seems to run fine. I can already say that it is more economical that the 1.2 I had in the Corsa that I previously drove. It has used about £10 worth of petrol over a distance of about 120 miles(I put in 30 quid in and the needle went to 3/4 of a tank, it was half empty when I got back home). I wonder what the 1.9 diesel engines can achieve, if a petrol one does that.

The only other niggle I had was the expensive road tax. I can't understand how they can charge you more for one car, even though it is more economical? The road tax for the Corsa was about £130 for the whole year, if I'm not mistaken. Now, I have paid £126 for 6 months. I think it is because the Corsa was 75bhp, whereas the Fabia has 100. 

In your opinion, is the 1.4 petrol engine better than the 1.9 diesel, in terms of expenses, power and maintenance wise? Could someone who has had experience with both give me an idea? I had a look around the net, but I couldn't find any helpful comparisons.

 

[sepulchrave]

7 minutes ago, BalancedOne said:

Yes, you are all correct in what you are saying. And you seem to be a nice bunch of people in here, I am glad I have joined :-).

I shouldn't have expected perfection or a mint condition on a 17 year old car. And the most important part of a car is still the engine, which seems to run fine. I can already say that it is more economical that the 1.2 I had in the Corsa that I previously drove. It has used about £10 worth of petrol over a distance of about 120 miles(I put in 30 quid in and the needle went to 3/4 of a tank, it was half empty when I got back home). I wonder what the 1.9 diesel engines can achieve, if a petrol one does that.

The only other niggle I had was the expensive road tax. I can't understand how they can charge you more for one car, even though it is more economical? The road tax for the Corsa was about £130 for the whole year, if I'm not mistaken. Now, I have paid £126 for 6 months. I think it is because the Corsa was 75bhp, whereas the Fabia has 100. 

In your opinion, is the 1.4 petrol engine better than the 1.9 diesel, in terms of expenses, power and maintenance wise? Could someone who has had experience with both give me an idea? I had a look around the net, but I couldn't find any helpful comparisons.

 

 

The road tax is higher because it's newer than the Corsa, if you had a 1.4 16V 100PS like mine registered before March 2001 it's only £155 per year.

 

The 1.9 PD100 engine is the most reliable and fuel efficient engine fitted in the Skoda range, however unless you do the mileage you really won't benefit and the servicing costs are higher.

 

The 1.4 16V is reliable and zippy, it makes a better city car and is significantly lighter than the diesels. It need premium grade petrol and a good spanking from time to time.

[BalancedOne]

Lol...I liked the bit about the spanking at the end :-P. Thanks for the info, I will stick with the 1.4 for now, then, as I mostly drive locally, short distances and no real daily commute.

The Corsa was actually a 2003 reg, whereas the Fabia is a 2001 plate, 31.03.2001 first registration. Maybe it is down to laws and the dates they had been passed. I seem to have been unlucky, it was March already.

Do you suggest I should look into engine testing/optimization, or are these engines fine as they are? I was thinking that after 17 years, an engine could benefit from a tune-up.

[JWvrs25]

tax is based on co2 emissions, the skoda has an older engine being a 2001 so the emissions will be higher than the corsa which probably emits less co2 so it sits in a lower category

A service is all that should be needed and keep driving it. Theres nothing to 'tune up' on them.

[sepulchrave]

1 hour ago, BalancedOne said:

I was thinking that after 17 years, an engine could benefit from a tune-up.

 

An Italian tune works best on these, keep it filled up with 98/99 RON petrol and buzz her up to the redline whenever the opportunity presents itself, you don't get the full 100PS until 6500 RPM remember and peak torque isn't until about 4500 RPM either so go for it, the old fella that owned it prior to the pair of country bumpkins you bought it from will not have spanked it properly in its entire life so you've a lot of cobwebs to blow out.

[retro]

Is this the same 1.4 as used in the lupo? A mate of mine has done some "interesting" mods to his including an ignition cut just to make it spit flames! One day he will grow up. He has also fitted a gti throttle body and a few other bits to it. Maybe this could be done to the fabia engine as it is apparently bigger.

 

As for the question about diesel ones and mpg etc. I get roughly 500-550 miles from a tank of bp ultimate and it costs about £60 to fill up including letting the air out and filling it again. 

[sepulchrave]

10 minutes ago, retro said:

Is this the same 1.4 as used in the lupo? A mate of mine has done some "interesting" mods to his including an ignition cut just to make it spit flames! One day he will grow up. He has also fitted a gti throttle body and a few other bits to it. Maybe this could be done to the fabia engine as it is apparently bigger.

 

As for the question about diesel ones and mpg etc. I get roughly 500-550 miles from a tank of bp ultimate and it costs about £60 to fill up including letting the air out and filling it again. 

 

A bigger throttle body will not help on this engine, it's fly by wire and won't run properly if you fit a different sized unit since the ECU will have no idea how much to open it.

[fabdavrav]

4 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

 

The 1.4 16V is reliable and zippy, it makes a better city car and is significantly lighter than the diesels. It need premium grade petrol and a good spanking from time to time.

 

The above^^^^

 

Having had one from new in Feb 2001 & sold it Jan 2015..& the current owner has it taxed & mot'd...

[retro]

2 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

 

A bigger throttle body will not help on this engine, it's fly by wire and won't run properly if you fit a different sized unit since the ECU will have no idea how much to open it.

I will double check what he has done tomorrow and report back. He has definitely fitted a different throttle body though.

[sepulchrave]

13 minutes ago, retro said:

I will double check what he has done tomorrow and report back. He has definitely fitted a different throttle body though.

 

I'm not saying he hasn't, I'm just saying there's no point since the standard throttle body is plenty big enough and fitting an oversize one would be impossible for the ECU to handle since it isn't re-mappable.

[davidwhite]

Hi,

 

having had had both the 1.4 petrol and the 1.9 tdi we used to get 40-44 mpg out of the petrol in general use obviously if you were to use all the beans all the time this may lower the mpg

 

in the diesel 55 mpg on average over 10 years but I've had 64.6 on a run from Yorkshire to Heathrow just going with the flow....

 

in in all fairness your car is what it is 17 years old with 17 year old technology just think of it as a cheap runner around and enjoy the refinement ( at least over the corsa )

[king_o]

I bought a 2001 Fabia 1.9tdi Elegance last year with 123k on it, it now has 140k and has never let me down. I enjoyed it that much (first time Skoda owner) - that I have just bought a 2006 VRS...........still using 2001 Fabia for work etc until I decide what to do with it.

Just for info, I regularly get at least 55mpg in the 1.9tdi Elegance and when I drove the VRS home after buying (~450mls) I was getting 55 - 60mpg

[retro]

On 09/05/2018 at 18:07, sepulchrave said:

 

I'm not saying he hasn't, I'm just saying there's no point since the standard throttle body is plenty big enough and fitting an oversize one would be impossible for the ECU to handle since it isn't re-mappable.

I asked him and he said he fitted a lupo sport intake manifold, lupo sport throttle body and 4 branch manifold woth straight through exhaust. I know nothing about these engines so don't know of it actually would make a difference but he said it makes a massive difference to how it performs.

[sepulchrave]

30 minutes ago, retro said:

I asked him and he said he fitted a lupo sport intake manifold, lupo sport throttle body and 4 branch manifold woth straight through exhaust. I know nothing about these engines so don't know of it actually would make a difference but he said it makes a massive difference to how it performs.

 

The 100PS engine in the Fabia is exactly the same as the 100PS Lupo Sport engine, so he'd just be swapping identical parts for no gain. Utterly pointless.

 

The exhaust on your mates VW Kitten Rocket is probably what's making the difference to how it feels, without a remap there's no more power available and you can't remap them, you have to use a piggyback ECU.

[skidpan]

On 09/05/2018 at 00:23, BalancedOne said:

I have decided to fix the car myself and invoice the seller for the expense

 

You have no legal rights against a private seller unless they have made grossly exaggerated claims in the advert. In truth it seems that they missed out some important facts and despite noticing some of them you went ahead and bought it anyway.

 

No point regretting it now, too late, you should have run away.

 

At the end of the day its a 17 years old car thus realistically its at the end of its life.

 

Learn from your experience, if you want a tip top car buy a new one.

[rum4mo]

@skidpan, ouch, but sadly very true as the original advert is quoted as saying "sold as spares or repair" - I'd think any claw back for issues would stop right there.

[alfalincs]

I'm with Skidpan as well.....and funnily enough our 02 Fabia 1.4 Automatic failed its MOT yesterday with a steady list of faults and I'm wondering what to do with it as the estimated repair cost from the garage is about £800. I'm pretty sure I can do the rear wheel bearing, the brake flexis, the handbrake cable, the strut top bearing assuming I can find my spring compressors after 25 years (the last time I used them was on our Favorit...) and the leaking thermostat housing .  Parts cost....£150-tops at a guestimate

 

The one I don't think I can do on my drive is the anti roll bar bushes at the front as my drive isn't flat by any means, so thats probably a £150 garage bill I can't duck.

 

And the radio doesn't work (aerial or speaker wires U/S) and the aircon is in need of recharge......so where do you stop describing the faults on an old car?  The tax on the Auto is a whopping £290 a year, so my question is...Is it worth the effort. The car is not pristine by a long chalk, but it is..or was...used daily as a go to work and back mule.

 

Is it worth the effort to fix ?

Edited 13 May, 2018 by alfalincs

[sepulchrave]

19 minutes ago, alfalincs said:

The one I don't think I can do on my drive is the anti roll bar bushes at the front as my drive isn't flat by any means, so thats probably a £150 garage bill I can't duck.

 

Au contraire, FARB bushes are easy to do, if you take the front wheel off you'll see it right there in front of you, use an axle stand and put a jack under the wishbone to take the tension out of the roll bar. Make sure you buy new bushes with new brackets because the threads can strip out removing the bolts.