Hello,

 

We are looking to buy a post-2018 Fabia Estate, ideally looking for a 1.0 TSI (110PS). We're decided on the estate as we need the boot for pram + dog but in a smaller car for city parking. We're going to a franchised dealer this weekend who luckily have a few (they are quite hard to track down!), all very low mileage (<16,000) miles and all quite pricey. Neither of us have owned a Skoda and have previously gone the old banger/private sale route, but now need safety/reliability, so looking for some advice about a potential purchase at a Skoda dealer.

 

- What should we be looking out for fault-wise with this particular model/generation?

- Can anyone advise on negotiating at a franchised dealer, how likely are they to budge from the listed price? Should we expect to be able to get it for within the Honest John expected price range?

- Anything else we should bear in mind?

 

Thanks in advance! 

Here's a post you'd not expect here - my personal opinion.

 

Post 2017 gets you into other build regulations (what and which others would know better than me) and possibly more gadgets and computer stuff but perhaps thinner materials.

 

Personally I'd certainly not go for any cars built during the Covid manufacturing crisis period or the (ongoing) car computer chip shortage but then I'd not get a 2017-on car.  I'm sure there'd be plenty of 2017-on car owners and 2017-on Fabia owners that'd totally disagree with me.

 

Depends on your want or needs whether a 110 or lower Fabia is wanted or needed (a few recent threads on here have discussed this) and what type and manufacturers of old bangers you're used to as to how rough or smooth you find the VW 3-cylinder engine, personally I find my wife's 4-cylinder (1.2, 90) rough sounding, though it performs well.

 

Also depends if you're expecting to keep the car a short, long or very long time before changing and the use you'll put the car to.

 

Low mileage is not always a good thing in itself, it depends on how the mileage was done and how often and long the car sat unused.  A very high mileage car that's used regularly and almost all miles done on motorways will have better wear, other than perhaps the interior.

 

You buy on condition and history, unfortunately service history now often boils down to engine oil and filter changes and not much else but this is considered a "full service history" when often it's not even a full service of the engine let alone the whole car.

 

Plenty of threads and posts on here about buying, servicing and maintenance, repairs, model problems, check for appropriate model and years.

 

IIRC the rear seats don't lay flat but threads and posts are on here about how much you can get in the boots (estate, check appropriate Mk (3)).

 

The Skodas being a VW product have the complex VW computer programs and plenty of the VW/VAG fantastic-plastic everywhere (I accept that many modern cars may well have plenty of plastic instead of metal bits too now).

 

I recommend you read the 'Owner's Manual' for the year (or part year) of the Fabia you are considering as it'll tell you a lot about the car what's available on it for various trim levels and options.  If you read a lot of it you may then know more about the model than the person trying to sell it to you.  Free VWSkoda pdf downloads are available from here. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models

 

Any admitted Recalls can be checked with the VIN here. - https://www.skoda-auto.com/services/recall-campaigns

 

Personally I'd look at an older (the better) Toyota or Honda product - many on here might disagree.

 

Fabia section of site for lots more guidance. - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/166-škoda-fabia/

 

As for negotiating at a Dealership I've no idea how desperate or not they are for sales of used stock at the moment, the salespeople used to make much more money on selling the finance and any other add-ons that the actual car so it might depend on what extra they can sell you, or if the salesperson is well below target at that time or if the particular car needs to be moved on.  At times I've been in sales and (real) customer service so I'm always polite with car salesmen (I'd much sooner deal with women, and women mechanics) but also very firm, I find no pleasure in visiting a car showroom.  Also how up to date and accurate is Honest John's expected price range, I've no idea and it makes no odds if the Sales Manager wants want.  Don't be afraid to push the salesperson as much or more that they push you, keep sending them back to check with the Sales Manager if you are not happy with any part of the proposed deal between you and them.  Same for the Business Manager (or whatever the current term is for the person sorting the finance agreement).

 

Personally if I've pushed them as much as I could or wanted to and the deal still isn't good enough I'm more than happy to either accept the deal is as good as it'll be at this time and buy the car or just walk away - no good having buyer's remorse when it's too late or not being able to consider looking elsewhere.

 

Good luck.

 

Edited 27 April, 20233 yr by nta16

Thanks for the detailed reply, that's really helpful on a number of fronts! Apart from the additional safety elements from the 2018 facelift (I believe it's the front assist braking), we're only looking at such recent models because that's what the dealer has (and they tend to have - have rarely seen an older model) but will have another think based on what you say about the Covid period, I've not read anything about that being a manufacturing quality risk. Good point about the mileage, we can see from the MOT checker that at least one of them seems to have sat off road. 

 

We have been looking at Hondas previously but the appeal of the Fabia is the supermini footprint but with the estate boot, and I couldn't find a Honda in that class...

Don't just take my opinion of course, I dislike modern cars, I had the "joys" of ****Nav and mobile phones many decades back so they hold no appeal to me and I used to like to drive a car doing the thinking rather than be a passenger behind the steering wheel of a car that's already doing a lot of the thinking for me.  Now I'm back to wanting the easiest ride from A to B (always that's in someone else's car where I don't have to worry about the running or driving of the car at all).  I'd not like too modern Toyotas and Hondas either.

 

 

13 minutes ago, behind_blue_eyes_83 said:

Apart from the additional safety elements from the 2018 facelift (I believe it's the front assist braking),

Sorry I'm not sure what additional (if any) safety elements would be on a 2018 facelift, @toot would probably know (pedestrian safety).

 

Again I'm not sure what you mean by front front assist braking, my wife's 2015 has the thing that gives a warning and then applies the brakes if it think you're too close to the car in front (deactivates if a large leaf gets in front of the sensor) and possibly loads of other electronic systems for assisted braking in various circumstances, some assisted braking systems have been on cars for a couple of decades now (others much longer).

 

I can't decry any safety devices but if you've been driving really old bangers then you're probably more aware than modern drivers only used to newer cars and the best thing is for the driver to be fully alert of driving conditions and situations rather than perhaps fiddling with all the distracting toys on very modern, or even older, cars.

 

The quality and wear of the tyres fitted to any vehicle will make a difference to it's braking performance (and the way the car is being driven).

 

Get as much information as you can from as many sources as you can and cross reference they're correct.

 

You may find, as almost all Fabia owners here, that you like the model, it was the roomiest interior in it's class when my wife bought hers, but that depends on how big you are and how many in it, we're short and fat and rarely carry more than just the two of us ( I do notice the difference when driving with two or more passengers than just wife my wife as passenger but the car is still very capable where we are at least.  Don't get too worried about horsepower (PS / KW) figures, I've run cars with much, much less, easily at motorway speeds and up steep inclines without any problems.  Going along normally you use very little of the power available, it's only getting going from standstill and keeping speed up steep inclines or very heavily loaded where you use more of the available power.

 

Thank you again for the replies and advice! We've now test driven three manual Fabia Estates at three trim levels and would have gone for last one except partner could smell split milk and has had previous experience of it never ever coming out of upholstery!

 

A new option has come up for us which we're considering because I haven't driven for over ten years and am looking to make things as simple as possible with a baby on the way - an automatic. I'm trying to follow the saga of the 7-speed dry gearbox over many various forum posts but it quickly gets into quite technical detail so thought I'd try for some simple recommendations on this thread. 

 

Will a Mark III Fabia (Nov 2018) have a DQ200 gearbox and should we be worried about this after the earlier failures have supposedly been addressed? Is there a good reason to steer clear?

All 1.0 TSI will have a DQ200 DSG if they have a DSG. 

Really not anything to worry about.

 

Well yes earlier issues have been addressed,  we never know how those are after 5 years until 5 years on, so that is from now with a 2018.

Still i would buy one with a DQ200.

 

As for with a GPF which you have with a 2018 1.0 TSI, well we will get to know how they are after 5 or 6 years.

So far so good, or not many stories of bad.

 

I reckon you will be fine if you get a good car.

So service history.  Spark Plugs replaced by now, the cam belt replacement is due according to Skoda, so do you want one already done, or are you not bothered and you will leave that expense for a year or 3 and you will pay for that? 

 

If buying a Skoda Approved Used Car with a Skoda Warranty then it should be serviced to the Manufacturers Guidelines, Recommendations, Schedule / Spec.

That means the Cam Belt should be replaced at 5 years.   Sauce for the Goose, sauce for the gander.  Fairs fair with Skoda / VW / Dealers. The write the rules. 

 

Buying from others, car supermarkets etc, then know what servicing should be done and if a Service History or FMDSH, then what was actually done.

 

Edited 3 May, 20233 yr by toot

Yes milk is to be avoided as it can sometimes get into more than the upholstery, you might have been able to get it out but only time would really tell and how much.

 

As you have probably learnt these automatics are not automatics as they were in older cars, personally I'd avoid them but very many here would not doubt totally disagree with me and have good reports about them.  I think the manual gearboxes already have enough modern complexity. 

 

@toot will have the long and short about these boxes and what it is for a 2018 Fabia.  He's posted whilst I'm still one-finger typing. 😄

 

You don't see as many owners report as much on 4 and 5-year old cars as on older cars for understandable reasons and you can't give too much trust to commercial motor trade sites and reports but you need to cross reference any information you get with other reliable sources as much as you can.  Many VW owners can be very loyal to the marque so are more forgiving than the likes of me that give warts and all to the marques I've had (never had a VW but Skoda before VW took it over).

 

Thanks both, really helpful! 

10 minutes ago, toot said:

As for with a GPF which you have with a 2018 1.0 TSI, well we will get to know how they are after 5 or 6 years.

So far so good, or not many stories of bad.

Yes modern petrol cars may not be so good at puttering around short distances at low revs and speed do remember to read the relevant 2018 Fabia 'Owner's Manual' for what, if any, extra with driving them might be required to keep the GPF and computer program happy. Free VWSkoda pdf downloads are available from here. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models

 

In case I forgot, do check the car's battery is in good condition and in a good state of charge and keep it that way.  Even if the car starts and the lights seem bright enough the battery can still be too low for the computer systems and by the time you get the warning messages and lights it can be a bit late and all sorts of unexpected issues and warning can surface and your battery may not fully recover.  Some fine they also need the occasional use of an appropriate battery charger and maintainer in addition to the car's use.  At this age depending on previous owners and the car's use or lack of the battery may have already been (prematurely) changed or need changing (or charging).  Don't not think a Dealership or garage will necessarily do the right think with a battery or try to short change you with any warranty.

 

That doesn't mean all Dealerships and garages are bad, or wholly bad, or that they don't have some good employees.

 

Do bear in mind most "servicing" done now is just about an engine oil & filter change which isn't even a proper engine service let alone whole car service so if there is any collaborating paperwork do study it carefully, put it in reverse chronological order and check it all ties up.  If the annual service was only done at 18-months or later then it wasn't an annual service (or more likely engine oil and filter change) may not be the end of the world but could be a bargaining chip if all else is good with the car and you want it.