Hi there,

 

I'm in the process of buying my first car, and I've always wanted a Fabia.

 

My issue is that my budget is pretty limited (max £3.5k), so I'm looking for advice on buying a Fabia with a relatively high mileage

 

Specifically, I'm interested in a 2012 1.6 Diesel with 140k miles on the clock, with just one previous owner.

 

So, I was wondering:

 

• Is there value in spending on a  car with this high mileage? Or am I asking for trouble?
• What exactly would you ask a dealer for info on when viewing the car?
• What should you 100% check before parting with any cash?

 

Any advice would be really appreciated

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

Welcome.  The car will likely have had the Emissions fix, so the software and flow device fitted. Check on that and members on the Fabia MK2 section should be able to help.

 

You may want to think about where you will drive it, too as a diesel of that age will almost certainly incur fees to drive in to certain cities, which will start to become the norm over the next decade. Thats why I am having to sell my Greenline later this year!

Nice to see another Irish person on here.

Is this the car?

 https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/skoda-fabia-2012/26375612

I recognized the brick office behind the car. 

It looks to be a 105hp tdi and has nice oem alloys but the passenger side looks to have been sideswiped at some point at its life and that front passengers tyre looks to be low on air. That sideswipe doesnt look to be recent either, you can see some surface rust forming in the pictures. As others have said it more than likely has had the fix done to it, my car has too. I would hope you could find a cleaner fabia cheaper but the way the irish car market is now you need to be constantly on the lookout for a decent car and you need to be able to move straight away. In fact, theres a 2014 monte carlo tdi going for 9,900 euro on donedeal! I find adverts and facebook marketplace to be better for finding cars nowadays, dont bother getting a northern car because our government has decided to tax the ever loving **** out of diesels coming through. 

I have a 1.6 tdi fabia and it has been nothing short of brilliant in my time having it. I personally wouldnt go for that car. Considering the price, miles, spec and the state of the paintwork on the passengers side, I would think you could find a cheaper fabia within budget. My own fabia didn't cost that much to buy (not including vrt mind) and it was a Monte Carlo to boot. 

If you want a fabia like this to be your first car then be prepared to be fobbed off by insurance. My fabia is my first car to get insured on and it was a battle. If you plan on insuring it with yourself as the main driver then be prepared to pay the price of the car in insurance alone (provided you don't have any previous experience and have only just gotten your licence). If your parents were the main drivers and you were a named driver then be prepared to pay around 1700 euro, thats around the price I was getting for any car to insure that way. I wouldnt go for a boxy mo or anything like that, not a big fan of something that you knowingly pay to spy on you. If you are hell bent on getting insured as the main driver then consider a 1.2 tsi, they are meant to be a very good engine too.

To end this wall of text on a high note, welcome. This is a great forum for skodas and is full some very knowledgable and enthusiastic owners that are more than happy to help you with any questions or problems you might encounter. If you do end up getting a fabia, why not document it on the projects page, plenty of threads there of people customising and finding ways to improve their cars.

I have a 2010 1.6TDI Elegance, it has reasonably low mileage of just over 80k, it has been a great car, it's not worth a great deal now but with high 50's for the MPG and a low tax bracket it would take a lot to beat it in terms of value, i have had hardly any issues with it and it is currently running just fine and for its age is in great condition.

 

I agree though that the tide on diesel is turning so in the future there may well be zones where the oil burners are taxed but for now i am happy to be getting to and from work as cheaply as possible..... especially when i see some of my work colleagues paying mad money every month on a new shiny thing via PCP...... and most still live with their mum and dad :(

 

 

15 hours ago, DieselMonte said:

My own fabia didn't cost that much to buy (not including vrt mind) and it was a Monte Carlo to boot. 

 

I have never seen a Fabia with two boots! (Unless you count the ones the driver is wearing).