I have a MkII 1.4 at the moment and it'll be 12 years old in few months. I like it as it's 'less complicated' compared to todays cars. I'm currently looking at a MkIII 1.2 estate. It looks more pleasing on the eye, has more 'oomph' and room, the silvery dashboard insert scratches easily, inside plastic looks cheaper. It would be a mixed feelings upgrade, not sure about a small turbo, but on the other side with the 1.4's mpg the 1.2 would give me more excitement.

The current car is worth about 1500-2000 quid, in good nick bar the squeaky front bushes and noisy clutch bearing, the estate I'm looking at is 10400 pounds, both on the irish market. The current one is a yellow colour, the other is white. While I like bright colour but it'd be nice to be able to get around 'unnoticed'.
What are the experience of those who have made a move from MkII to III? Was it worth it? The shape of I and III appeals to me more. And looking for something small and practical.
I even toyed with the idea of Ibiza, Polo 1.4 ACT's, for more sleeper surprise. Ibiza is small, Polo is dear, the Fabia III had the 1.2 110 as the top petrol.

Thank you!

What sort of model, mileage, transmission type and how old is the one you are looking at? 

IS your existing 1.4 auto or manual (I presume the latter with clutch bearing problem) and what mileage? Have you had quotes to fix the issues on your existing car to retain it? What annual mileage do you do?

 

I'm in a similar situation running a 17 year old car that is under threat that any major expenditure will mean disposal. Also looking at a Fabia Estate as a potential replacement as I think it is quite unique and exceptional value in our Australian market place.

Trouble is the current vehicle is mechanically and structurally sound, economical and drives quite well, so it is difficult to justify a new car on my current negligible mileage.

I refilled the tank yesterday after only 200 km in 3 weeks with 11 litres purely  because petrol prices were at the low point of our local price cycle at Australian $1 a litre.

Funny thing is when I handed over my 'rewards' card to get another four cents a litre off I was told I had accrued an additional A$10 reward that I could apply. Ended up paying 56 cents.

I may have some previously unknown Scottish lineage.

Edited 2 November, 20205 yr by Gerrycan

I had reservations on moving from a simple bought new 1.4 16V 2002 VW Polo to a new 2015 1.2TSI 16V VW Polo - for my wife, though it has become the most used family car due to its quick/easy enough way it gets around and excellent fuel economy.

 

Currently, or at least back in mid 2015 there was no simple  alternative engine choice so it "had" to be moving forward onto running a smaller but turbo charged petrol engine for our envisaged usage - 32K miles and 5 years and also 3 months later - so far so good and I plan on keeping it until it is 10/12 years old as we don't use cars as status symbols!

11 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

What sort of model, mileage, transmission type and how old is the one you are looking at? 

IS your existing 1.4 auto or manual (I presume the latter with clutch bearing problem) and what mileage? Have you had quotes to fix the issues on your existing car to retain it? What annual mileage do you do?

 

09' Fabia with bi-halogen headlights, maxi-dot, small leather pack (wheel, handbrake, gearstick), it's called Ambition here, which is a paddy-spec really, no AC, 2 electric windows and it ends here, can't mention any more. Manual, 117k km on clock, so it's not a big mileage for a soon to be 12 years old.
It's in good nick, timing belt changed 3 years ago, new discs and pads 2 years ago. No quotes yet as not too bad at the moment but I can hear that there's something which going to go at some stage. The 1.4's gearbox is prone to fail on (shaft) bearings. Doing 10-12k kms per year which is average.  I'm in the same boots as you are: this is a sound car, never let me down over 5 years and 56k kms.
The one I'm looking at is a 16', 26k kms on the clock which is below average for a 4 year old, has the 1.2 with 6 speed. Ant this one has no AC either.

 

6 hours ago, rum4mo said:

32K miles and 5 years and also 3 months later - so far so good and I plan on keeping it until it is 10/12 years old as we don't use cars as status symbols!

So you've had over 5 years happy motoring. Is sounds good to me, I keep cars for a longer period. Wish I had a shed or something with a cover, I'd keep them longer. Simple things like changing oil is a pain in the bottom as I do it in an open carpark. For this reason, better changing before gets to old.

My move was from a 1.4 Roomster and the first thing I noticed was the extra shove from the turbo and the significant MPG improvement - 42 to 57 mpg. Wanted another Roomster really but they stopped boo hoo. Never mind, I have been v.happy with my 1.2 estate and on a long run it will do 60 mpg have to agree with rum4mo