Its just coming up to two and a half years and 25k miles since I bought my new Vrs and I would really like this car apart from a dubious feeling about the build quality,water leaks ,whining gearbox and an interior with the worst squeaks and rattles of any car i have owned, and believe me i've owned some sheds.It feels like a ten year old car.

Also the dealers are indifferent at best.

Now maybe my car is in the minority or i am very fussy,but I wonder how Skoda fair so well in the JD power rankings,is it because people get swept up with the 'perceived quality' in so much as the more that you are told something is great,the more you are inclined to agree with them.

Audi fare worse than Skoda in these surveys,but in my experience they are vastly superior in build quality and reliability,yes i know they are more expensive but is price taken as a factor when compiling the top 100 lists?

This is just my opinion and i'm sure that the majority of you are more than happy with your cars,and believe me I still like the fundamentals of this car,but this was my first brand new car and I feel a little cheated.

I know mines not a Fabia but after 3 octavias and now a Superb with the only trouble so far being a faulty injector and thats in over 70,000 miles between them I would have to say they are my most reliable cars yet, as for rattles and squeeks so far ....none, did have a rattle in the Superb for a couple of weeks until I found out it was my sunglasses in the armrest

I've had my Superb for about a year now and have had a very good look at it.

Although there are dubious aspects in the build specification of this vehicle (when will VAG realise that properly plated nuts and bolts don't rust, but the rubbish that they fit rust before your eyes) the actual build standard of the vehicle is good.

Apart from mediocre paint finish and a paint run that should never have escaped final inspection (in the middle of the rear wing) I can't fault the assembly - anywhere. Luckily, I don't care about the paint run as I bought this vehicle as a working tool.

The standard of work done (or more likely not done) by the dealers is another story. I think the best efforts of our friends in the Czech Republic are completely thwarted by the gross incompetence of the VAG dealers in the UK.

rotodiesel.

It is a bit of a shame you have such niggles.

In general I think the Fabia is quite well put together, especially compared to other cars I've worked on.

Are you running lowered suspension?

Had most marques now, and the Skoda is the best by far in terms of reliability and build (and I have owned VW and an Audi).

ALL cars will rattle now and then, its called physics........bad roads + cars made with 1000's of screwed in and welded parts WILL = rattles.........fact. Far too many people on here are hung up on the odd rattle and squeak, get over it there aint a car that at some point wont produce the odd knock or rattle.

Dare I suggest that you maybe have what is technically known as a lemon??

Hi,

My Fabia vRS is same age and mileage and the gearbox whines. Unlike you, I haven't owned the car from new so if it suffered from the other faults you mention they must have been rectified prior to my ownership - March this year. Back to the gearbox. I've been in discussion with the dealer for weeks on this issue and finally have managed to convince them to fit a new gearbox, under warranty of course. Other than that and a few minor issues the car has been very reliable.

Like you, I've had a few Audis and I agree 100% that when it comes to absence of cabin rattles Audi are in a league all of their own.

Audi fare worse than Skoda in these surveys,but in my experience they are vastly superior in build quality and reliability,yes i know they are more expensive but is price taken as a factor when compiling the top 100 lists?

I don't think the surveys factor in the price, but the owners do.

Bearing in mind that the Audi and the Skoda are substantially the same car, I'd be a lot more critical of a fault if I'd paid £25k than if I paid £15k.

When people considered that they were buying into Audi and VW for a bargain basement price, they didn't mind a few niggles, but seeing as the prices seem to have crept up, it will be interesting to see if that remains the case

I've got a 54 plate and so far, have had no problems... so far.

Its just coming up to two and a half years and 25k miles since I bought my new Vrs and I would really like this car apart from a dubious feeling about the build quality,water leaks ,whining gearbox and an interior with the worst squeaks and rattles of any car i have owned, and believe me i've owned some sheds.It feels like a ten year old car.

Also the dealers are indifferent at best.

Now maybe my car is in the minority or i am very fussy,but I wonder how Skoda fair so well in the JD power rankings,is it because people get swept up with the 'perceived quality' in so much as the more that you are told something is great,the more you are inclined to agree with them.

Audi fare worse than Skoda in these surveys,but in my experience they are vastly superior in build quality and reliability,yes i know they are more expensive but is price taken as a factor when compiling the top 100 lists?

This is just my opinion and i'm sure that the majority of you are more than happy with your cars,and believe me I still like the fundamentals of this car,but this was my first brand new car and I feel a little cheated.

I completely agree. I'm guessing at two and a half years old your car pre-dates the stutter issue, which has completely ruined my ownership experience. That aside the car is just not very well made and that a modern car should not at least be waterproof is beyond belief. Also, I have a ten year old VW Transporter van, which doesn't rattle at all, so it can be done.

I can only think the JD Power respondents are easily satisfied and quite happy with mediocrity.

As for the dealers and Skoda UK; a more incompetent and ignorant bunch of morons I have never met - and I've owned Fords in the past!

71k and frankly the build quality was never an issue on mine.

I've had mine for about a month and I'm pretty happy with it.

Yes there are a few little rattles but mostly due to me changing the headunit and having stuff in the door pockets etc.

Lets not forget that Skoda is still the BUDGET brand of the VAG group, probably even more so than SEAT, so there will be a few odd rattles here and there.

The only major issues I had with mine was the passenger buckle vibrating on the centre console... and some passenger rear side wind noise at 60mph+. This was due to a small 2mm gap in the black sealant.... which I easily sorted with some clear sealant and masking tape from halfords and now its gone.

But mechancial build quality (which is arguably more important) seems to be spot on with mine.

And TBH coming from a Corsa C (which lets not forget, the Fabia was realeased as a competitor to) the quality is leagues ahead... yet the Corsa outsold it 10x over. Crazy British public and their fickle ways.

Once upon a time I wouldn't have touched a Skoda with a barge pole. That all changed when I took a spin in a Furby vRS.

For what you pay for them they are, in my opinion, in a world of their own when balanced with the parts, build quality and engine. The only issue I have with mine is that the Symphony doesn't always do as it's told.

As a mechanic in my local VW dealership said after the 30k service: "It's just about the same as a golf. All your paying extra for is the badge."

The thing is, Skoda are a VAG group car, and VW/Audi etc are only average for reliability anyway. So same components means same mean time between failures and the factory build quality cannot affect the quality of the components.

In my experience the Fabia is average. I had the leaking doors (which is inexcusable), but also brake faults and the gearbox rebuilt due to 2nd gear selection issues. The car in itself I can just about forgive, and TBH I now really like it, but I won't be having another purely down to the poor attitude shown by SUK and most of the dealers I have come into contact with in the Manchester area (except Parkside who ended up sorting the car out).

I don't believe Skoda are any worse than GM/Ford etc, but they certainly, in my opinion, don't deserve the elevated JD Power position either.

Also, all of my cars with any kind of sports/stiffened suspension have rattled, my Astra Sport sounded like a orchestra of squeaky trim. The suspension combined with crap UK roads would make anything squeak and rattle.

With all the problems I have had with my 3 yr old Vrs ( I bought it 4 weeks ago) with two new head gaskets and oil still getting into the water coolant I have lost faith in Skoda.

I don't think you are helped living by living in the east midlands - we're not blessed with the best dealers around here.

The thing is, Skoda are a VAG group car, and VW/Audi etc are only average for reliability anyway. So same components means same mean time between failures and the factory build quality cannot affect the quality of the components.

In my experience the Fabia is average. I had the leaking doors (which is inexcusable), but also brake faults and the gearbox rebuilt due to 2nd gear selection issues. The car in itself I can just about forgive, and TBH I now really like it, but I won't be having another purely down to the poor attitude shown by SUK and most of the dealers I have come into contact with in the Manchester area (except Parkside who ended up sorting the car out).

I don't believe Skoda are any worse than GM/Ford etc, but they certainly, in my opinion, don't deserve the elevated JD Power position either.

Also, all of my cars with any kind of sports/stiffened suspension have rattled, my Astra Sport sounded like a orchestra of squeaky trim. The suspension combined with crap UK roads would make anything squeak and rattle.

Listen long enough and ALL cars will rattle, sqeak etc, I dont car what make it is, Skoda, Audi, Ferrari or Rolls Royce. Been saying it for so many years, I am boring myself:rolleyes:

Listen long enough and ALL cars will rattle, sqeak etc, I dont car what make it is, Skoda, Audi, Ferrari or Rolls Royce. Been saying it for so many years, I am boring myself:rolleyes:

My Octavia developed 2 annoying rattles and my Fabia developed a high-pitch electrical whine..

The Octavia ones turned out to be the (genuine) Nokia car holder and my outrageously expensive watch strap.

The Fabia whine turned out to be the cheap phone charger plugged into the cigarette lighter.

All the bits that Skoda put on have been fine.

My old Citroen on the other hand...

It WILL still rattle or creak or vibrate or knock, NOT all the time, but as you go over speed humps, potholes, dips in the road etc all cars will react.

Take mine, I do not have a constant rattle, but now and again something will creak, maybe slightly knock depending on the road surface, listen hard and yours, no matter what you drive, will do the same. Intermittent I know, but still there (unless you are really unlucky and have a real constant rattler).

I just dont get why so many people get so hung up about it:rolleyes: I've read thread where people have ripped out the dash just to whack 1/2 ton of foam behind it to stop a slight creak/groan.......screw that I have better things to do/worry about:P

When I had my Fabia it had a few rattles, a couple from the dashboard which were there a lot of the time, but more annoying was the drivers side door card would vibrate with even the smallest amount of bass and this was the standard cd/radio!! A wheel bearing went, fuse went on a cold day that took the wipers out and the alarm went into a mind of its own one day and that turned out to be a loose connection somewhere.

It WILL still rattle or creak or vibrate or knock, NOT all the time, but as you go over speed humps, potholes, dips in the road etc all cars will react.

Take mine, I do not have a constant rattle, but now and again something will creak, maybe slightly knock depending on the road surface, listen hard and yours, no matter what you drive, will do the same. Intermittent I know, but still there (unless you are really unlucky and have a real constant rattler).

I just dont get why so many people get so hung up about it:rolleyes: I've read thread where people have ripped out the dash just to whack 1/2 ton of foam behind it to stop a slight creak/groan.......screw that I have better things to do/worry about:P

Not necessarilly, my 6.5 year old, 65,000 mile Polo has no creaks, rattles or squeaks and never has done from the day it was picked up new from the dealer. My works Renault Kangoo doesn't either and that is over 4 years old. My Fabia squeaks radomly from different locations on each drive, as did my Astra.

...The Fabia is VW platform car based on Polo chassis as you all know and also the gearbox people are complaining about its VAG too, so if theres a problem with it in a Fabia you will have the same problem in a Seat/Audi/VW.

We know that Skoda design thier own cars in house and that they have very modern factories which they are assembled, so I think it is still this british stigma attached to the brand "SKODA"; when people hear it they upturn thier noses and think rubbish, not as good as a VW.

Every single car on the road suffers "build quality" issues and faults in its design.

Also, Skoda sales in Germany, the land of "build quality" are getting higher each year, and if anyone is going to hate a Skoda its going to be the Germans, but they dont, they see it as a cheap VAG car and thus a bargain and not worth the extra just for a stupid piece of plastic on the bonnet that says some ridiculess self percieved personal statement about its owner.

Not necessarilly, my 6.5 year old, 65,000 mile Polo has no creaks, rattles or squeaks and never has done from the day it was picked up new from the dealer. My works Renault Kangoo doesn't either and that is over 4 years old. My Fabia squeaks radomly from different locations on each drive, as did my Astra.

I would bet my house that BOTH cars, when driving on our hideously bad roads, produce the odd creak, vibration or rattle, there isnt a car built yet that would'nt react to adverse road surfaces, unless they invent a car that is a solid mass and has no screwed in, welded OR moving parts.

Bought my second Fabia (an 06 1.9 TDi) at the end of June. Based on my experience they are well made and reliable. Convinced my Grandad to get one (a 53 1.2 12v) and he's very happy. I have seen some horror stories on some sites about Fabias though. And I can't imagine a Honda having a 'stutter'.

Car dealers in general seem to vary a lot. I have always got all my servicing done at the dealer in Birmingham and they are fine. My first Fabia came from Farmers in Nottingham and they seemed very good. My Grandad's came from Farmers in Leicester and they seemed pretty good too. My latest car came from Clock Garage in Derby. Some BAD experiences there.

I bought a SDI Fabia Estate from a friend at 800 under market value with a steering fault.

Getting the fault repaired will cost £700 (Unless somebody out there can get me a used steering pump...If so please contact [email protected])

I have owned Nissans and Toyotas for the last 8 years and have never had any faults except tyres and exhausts (And a brake line on a Toyota).

VAG = QUALITY= MYTH.

Statistically no more reliable than a Ford.

As for my Furby...The front windows rattle when down, and it is as basic as you can get.

It seems chunky and clunky, but I will be buying Jap next time....Spending £700 on a budget car is a false economy.

Anybody out there want a Fabia Estate for £3k?

The original post regards audi as better, well I work for a 4 star hotel and drive the owners audi A8 4.2 litre engine 53 plate. had to pick up some guests from oxenholme station and just as I got there the warning light came on dash for engine heating poblem. As I arrived at the station some 1/2 mile away stream was coming from under the bonnet eventaully RAC arrived and said thermostsat stuck on closed will require cylinder head replacement or even new engine!!!!!!!!!! Imagine how much that going to cost at audi dealer just shows no matter what car you gonna have probs whatever.