I purchased a 2009 Skoda Fabia 1.9L diesel engine with 34,000 miles for £1,400 in March of this year. It was formerly my late grandfathers and I purchased it from the estate for what I felt was a good deal at the time. In the last year 8 months I have put around 10,000 miles on it. (I average around 15,000 a year - mainly motorway driving) 

 
Now, for the question, how long can this car realistically last? 
I understand it has the famous VW PD engine? Which is renowned for looking after you, provided you look after it… 

I would be interesting to hear the opinion of others. My family have owned VW passats since 1998 and swear by them. The only problem I find is that it rattles a lot and probably isn’t built for the motorway? But otherwise is runs smoothly.
 

Is there anything I should be aware of about this specific model, or the Fabia in general?

 

Thanks! 

Keep on top of maintenance and fixing any body rust that might appear and that could easily be good for a decade or more.

12 minutes ago, AWP94 said:

it rattles a lot

The engine or the car generally?

 

The car rattles at 60-70 - I mean, it doesn’t really fully rattle and shake like a little Ford KA - perhaps it is just some of the furnishings where it is built more cheaply?  I am coming out of a Lexus GS300 so it may just be me but I’ve wondered if it’s because it’s a small little hatch not really designed for motorway driving compared to the octavia or saloon counterpart perhaps? - 

34k on it?

mileage wise its not even broken in yet  keep it serviced and it will do another 166000 easily and then probably another 200000 after that

 

as for the rattles, its probably just age related trim rattles. its 12 yrs old after all, so theres 12yrs of thermal flex and stretch and usage going on. its not gonna be as tight as it was new.

 like you we purchased a 2008 1.9 TDI in 2010 from father in laws estate we were still running the car until November 2019 until it was written off by a careless driver with no insurance, all we kept doing was oil and filter every year fuel and air filter every 2 years,  give it a good blast at least once a week to keep the turbo soot free no rust issues and the only other issue was the control arm bushes but on advice from a good mate replaced them with Seat Cupra solid bushes and they lasted from 2011 until car was trashed, battery lasted 8 years and we were still on the original exhaust, we averaged around 12000 every year, by the way the engine is still running in my mates car with now 135000 on the motor so look after the car and it will look after you

4 hours ago, AWP94 said:

Now, for the question, how long can this car realistically last? 

 

Longer than any of us in this thread.

 

As Wino says, keep on top of the body work to prevent rust. That's what killed my Grandad's 2008 Fiat Punto 1.4, had only done 84k too. Always keep your mind on preventative maintenance too.

 

Make sure to look after it mechanically too, these PD diesel Fabia's can be tough little critters.

Edited 9 November, 20214 yr by AnnoyingPentium
Additional Information.

PD engines are robust but only takes one duff oil change to kill them, this means you have to be careful where you get the service work done, find a decent independent VW specialist and stick with them.

My Greenline has clocked up around 160,000 despite having the engine changed at around 50,00 under warranty as the oil pump had an issue. 

As mentioned, change the oil and filter at EVERY interval and with the correct grade. Brand is less important but proper grade is essential.