I have seen many thready recently complaining about unreliability (not just the PD130 stutter) and wish to know, just how many of you find your Skoda reliable...

being a driving instructor, I need my car.. no car = no income, I've run my furby vRS for 58k now in about 19 months, and so far I've had a new gearbox, (the mountings broke, not the gearbox itself, I still drove it to the dealers) they said they'd never heard of it happening before, and I know none on here have had the specific problem I had, however, i was satisfied with the conclusion, new mountings, new gearbox, new driveshafts, and compensation for loss of earnings for a week.

All in all that's it for 19 months and 58k. SO I'm happy. (I used to have citroens, and they were very poor by comparison, off the road regulaly, with no compensation..)

are you happy or not? (particulaly interested in comments from driving instructors/Taxi drivers/high mileage drivers ect...)

Cheers!

note: this is my first 'poll' thread, hope I set it up right!

The reason why you see mostly negative threads is because people come here to complain or seek solution to a problem.

My ex car (Octy vRS) had 132K on the clock when I sold it and the only notable problems were a snapped spring and a split brake hose over a period of 5 years.

I am a picky sod when it comes to cars, and tend to change them at the slightest fault, hence having had 6/7 new cars in the last 7 years.

My Fabia is my first 'used' car since 1999, and I have been impressed by its fault free running.

The W.O. has said that I can have a new one next year, but atm I am happy to spend money 'improving' (cough) this one, as opposed to buying a new '07' plate of whatever variety.

She has even said I can have an Octavia vRS diesel estate (with extras circa £20k) as I prefer estates, but, up to press I am keeping my stonechipped, mucky seated,scratched, ultimately reliable Fabia.

It does get abuse, and so far has just wanted more......

Time will tell I suppose.

Never had a problem with mine. Although, it's about 6-7 months old...

I had to vote no unfortunately , although my Fabia has never left me stranded apart from having a flat battery (old age killed it!) I have had to fit a new steering rack at 33K miles due to leaky seals , which cost £677 all in. I suppose it could happen to any car (in fact saw an E46 BMW on 'The Garage' on Discovery Channel getting a new rack for the exact same reason) but to happen at such a low milage is dissapointing. As for my Octavias the Slxi never missed a beat , But the vRS needed 2 coil packs under warranty and a new drivers seat base due to frayage , again nothing major.

Very happy so far, but only beena skoda owner for about 3 months.

I think I am one of the unlucky ones. Even though the things are only small it does get to you when they happen. Firstly the brakes squealed at the back and the disks were replaced on the advice of the dealer only to find out they did it again after 60 miles. The car stutters at first when cold, hopefully this is just the AFM playing up and not something mega expensive. The anti roll bar at the front had broken it's mounts and needed replacing plus I have just broken the near side front coil spring and got given the wrong ones by the so called parts specialist. It's not been quite what I expected so far but I do really like the car and am going to get it running sweet if it kills me!

First one , yes , second one , no

Where is ScoobyChris when you need him :P Have a feeling he may vote No

Mine's been good as gold so far, up to the point where the thermostat failed and I ended up sorting that out today

Beyond that the only problem has been normal wear & tear (brake pads, cambelt & related items) and a bit of plastic trim that dropped out once post taking delivery.

It will clock over 60k this month, assuming my normal working week resumes

i've had a constant problem with my management light coming on, to which has been in the garage 7 times to get fixed, 2days later it comes back on, got to the point where i thought it can just stay on. yesterday its went off again, so i dont know how long that will last. my water pump is also knackered, need to put water in the car every day (should really get that fixed). other than that i cant say i've had any major issues. car is a 51plate with 41k currently on the clock.

am i happy with its reliability?

yes.

I guess it depends what is meant by reliable. My take on it would be nothing at all goes wrong and all the car needs is regular servicing, but others seem to define reliability as not being left stranded or nothing major.

I guess coming from cheap 'n' nasty Japanese cars, I was expecting a lot more of the famed German build quality and longevity

Chris

not had any major problems with my Fabia VRS , only had a glovebox lid changed under warranty .Fixed the door water leaks myself , had to change a set of front pads last Thursday at 37k miles , then proceeded to smoke them on a track day on Friday , when i have to admit the car got thrashed , but its still running sweet as a nut , and the gears feel better now as well

Yes, another happy Skoda owner here.

I'm on my 3rd Fabia, a barely run-in 05 vRS with just 12k on the clock (I bought it used several months ago with only 8.5k on the clock).

Previously, owned a 2001 1.4 16v Comfort which had 54k on the clock when I traded it in and have just passed down to my dad a 2004 1.9 tdi Elegance, which had done 56,000 miles in just over 2 and a half years.

Do loads of motorway driving thru the week and escape to Northern Scotland for holidays/weekends away etc.

Only things I've ever had to change are tyres and bulbs. Also promised dad that he can have a new grille roundel on the Elegance, as that has weathered a bit.

Would certainly have another if the new look Fabia isn't upto my expectations!

I'm happy with my car, few minor issues but only been to the dealers once

I've had three Fabias (all new) and they've varied:

2000 (X) 1.4 8v Classic

This was a fantastic car - the only issue I had with it was when the hose fell off the rear wash wipe. The dealer fixed it in 15 minutes with no fuss. I only got rid of it as I needed something with a little more go for the motorway.

2002 (52) 1.4 16v Comfort

ARGH!!! The worst car I've owned for faults. The ECU was flash programmed, replaced and flash programmed again. The number of bits that were replaced was beyond a joke. In the end I walked onto the Skoda stand at the 2004 motor show and said "I'd like to talk to someone about a problematic Fabia" - oddly I was dealt with very quickly - can't imagine why LOL. Eventually it was diagnosed as a wiring problem but by then I'd lost confidence so I changed it.

2004 (04) vRS

I put 35k on this in about two years and it never let me down. The brakes felt a bit weak (but that was true with the first Fabia too) and it blew a few bulbs but it was a great car. My reasons for selling this car were that I was sick of the boy racers and I felt I was getting too used to the power and perhaps starting to take too many risks.

My dad bought a new 2004 (54) vRS (facelift model) and he's had no problems with it either. It's due for its second service soon and he's more than happy with it - although the quote for the service knocked the wind out of him. He's also finding the boy racers a bit of a problem.

Overall the experience has been positive. For all the problems with the second one it only put me in a layby once and then restarting the engine killed most of the warning lights. I now drive a golf but would seriously consider returning depening on what the next Fabia looks like - the Octavia is too big for my current needs and the Roomster just doesn't appeal.

My Fabia was ok upto a year old then the drive belt pulley bearing seized up, since that was replaced had no further problems with the car itself, so maybe that was due to a dodgy batch of bearings that Skoda got from somewhere.

Wait another few years then see if its been reliable.

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Happy with the car? Yes, less has broken than I expected.

Happy with the dealers? No, they have gone downhill over the last 2 years.

Just racked up 20,000kms in 3 months, happy with the car so far , touch wood.

My Wife's on her 3rd Skoda and I'm on my 4th........Happy .."What do you think"..

Its not been as good as expected. Trips back to the dealership for diagnosis / repair have been frequent.

1. rear exhaust heatshield worked loose

2. front shock absorber mountings (rattle)

3. front anti roll bar (knocking)

4. water leaks

5. noise from engine

6. ancillaries carriers re-sealed

7. multibelt and tensioner re-newed (engine noise)

8. fuel temp sender re-newed

9. more water leaks

10. more engine noise

11. alternator pulley re-newed

12. all blower actuator motors re-newed (only hot air from blower)

13. dash rattle

14. MORE engine noise

15. Alternator re-newed

16. OSF door re-sealed again (water leak)

17. blower motor actuator for recirculation re-newed

18. Mooing from rear - not fixed (putting up with it)

19. 2x stereos (volume control faulty)

21. Gearbox mount (noisey)

22. 2x Rear washer pipe

24. steering contact spiral (horn beeped when i turned corners)

I think that this generally covers my 3years of ownership and 30k miles. Thank god for warranties as that list would have cost a fortune - so now i'm out of warranty I am at the stage where I have to decided do I keep it and hope everything that is likely to give up has already been replaced or do I get something nice and reliable lieka Japanese vehicle?

Happy with the car? Yes, less has broken than I expected.

Happy with the dealers? No, they have gone downhill over the last 2 years.

Must admit when a dealer cannot find the fault on an overheating car due to a thermostat (!!) even though I told them it was not the hoses, the coolant reservoir/cap nor a problem with the head gasket (even though they claimed it was..) they loose my business.

That's two dealers of my list :thumbdwn:

Got mine done at a VW dealership for a service, and my next service will be done at APS as they're nearby, sorted my car out properly, and are able to fit some tweaks I want fitting.

To put this into perspective, I got ripped off on my 10k service with the first dealer, they charged me for annual but didnt do an annual

Other dealer was ok on the price, but did not spot my brake pads were nearly on the metal at the front even though they had it on the ramp :confused:

Plus assuming my headgasket had blown before checking the basics is beyond a joke.

We also have a Kia Picanto and it was purchased in Whitstable (nr Canterbury). Local dealer is in Swindon. Called them up to get it registered for servicing and to get them to replace some bulbs (bumper off job, I can't be *rsed and SWMBO won't let me ). They have a number of 'whilst you wait' slots available several days a week AND they told me about a recall on an engine related part which they would also sort out FOC at the same time. Very much better, called back as discussed, reserved a slot for me whilst awaiting SWMBOs hours to come through.

Normally I'd expect a week or two wait before I can even book my car in...

Had to vote no.

While my car has not left me stranded as yet, it has spent far more time than should be expected from car of it's age in the garage. Some of that time may be down to incompentant dealer staff, however a lot of it wasn't.

I am completely sure that the cost for fixing these problems would have been approaching the cost of the car should I have had to pay for them to be fixed out of my own pocket at a main dealers.

No it isn't good, and yes my car has spent far more time in the dealers than a ford focus of the same age, a toyota, a 250k mile citroen, a 150k mile 306 and even an ancient old ford fiesta.

IMHO that is not good enough and from what I have heard it isn't just skoda but the VAG group as a whole that are having quality issues.

Things that has broken is a engine mount, rear wiper, rear washer yet pipe, leaking CV joint, drop links, drivers seat rock, replaced gear stick.

To be honest I think its pretty good. Never used the breakdown service.

I brought a 95 favorit estate for £500 over 2 years ago, hasnt missed a beat.

Makes a nice change after the brand new mondeo 130 tdci Ghia x estate I had before it which spent 1/3rd of its time at the dealers with them scratching theirs heads as it chewed its way through 3 clutchs a gearbox 2 sets of tyres and a heck of a lot of engine bay electricals in 9,000 miles. Ford were pleasant enough to offer a free service as a good will gesture.

I brought a cheap old banger of the grounds that it would save me money if it lasted 3 months. It flew though another mot a month ago requiring a bulb to pass again. Its never left me stranded its never threatened not to get me home. Shame Im going to have to part with it soon for a 7 seater due to growing family. Im going to miss that sort of trouble free cheap motoring :(.

Definetely a happy skoda owner.