ive become bored of the way my fabia sdi crawls up hills so ive decided to see if i can trade it in for a tdi,ive seen a few on autotrader but they are private sales which will require me selling my car 1st to have enough money,where would be a good place to get a tdi with p/x on my sdi but not for the price that dealers sell at?

im a noob when it comes to selling/buying cars etc,what sort of things should i be looking for on a tdi to make sure its in good nick?

thanks guys.

Quick search on the Trader turned up a couple of TDIs at traders...

Buy a used SKODA FABIA - Auto Trader UK

As for what to look for, make sure all electrical gadgets work, car has a full service history, tyre wear is even, panels are straight, etc and then all the usual Fabia things like dry carpets, etc. On the test drive, make sure the car pulls keenly in each gear and that it drives like your Fabia with no untoward knocks, bangs or dash lights. If you can afford it, the Elegance is a nicer place to be than the Comfort.

Chris

Quick search on the Trader turned up a couple of TDIs at traders...

Buy a used SKODA FABIA - Auto Trader UK

As for what to look for, make sure all electrical gadgets work, car has a full service history, tyre wear is even, panels are straight, etc and then all the usual Fabia things like dry carpets, etc. On the test drive, make sure the car pulls keenly in each gear and that it drives like your Fabia with no untoward knocks, bangs or dash lights. If you can afford it, the Elegance is a nicer place to be than the Comfort.

Chris

And have a look at the specs for each of each year first - e'g the 04 Classic doesn't have central locking or remote boot release-- but overall the 1.4 TDI ---not fast, but not a snail - best of all - hates filling stations -

ive become bored of the way my fabia sdi crawls up hills so ive decided to see if i can trade it in for a td

You won't regret it, although something to bear in mind is you'll do 5-10MPG less in the TDI than in the SDI - the SDI was always very forgiving with fuel economy no matter how hard it was driven

My PD100 would make bang on 50mpg no matter how I drove it (normally hard! ) and that was also with or without the tuning box. Others achieved over 70mpg in it, but we did arrive places late!

Having been in a 1.4 TDI and a 1.9 TDI, I think I'd pick the 1.9 as it's much more relaxed to drive and not that much less economical. You can also get an Elegance trim then with the groovey seat covers

Chris

I've sometimes toyed with the idea of changing mine for somthing with less miles. Having owned one, I would really only concider another 1.9TDI and it would have to be the Elegance - all the toys. Yes a vRS would be nice, but so far they all seem to be too expensive or too thrashed.

I recently pxd my "Y" SDI classic for a Jan 06 TDI elegance. The classic had done 95K and felt like it would go on for ever. It was pretty immaculate and when I sold it Id had most of the typical faults fixed (suspension bushes etc etc) but the pas was intermittently troublesome and after 4 years I didnt want more repair bills. I actually like the SDI engine, liked the sound and the easy low speed drive, although I wanted more motorway power. I also really missed having electric windows and the Fabia needs air con. The SDI is fantastically economical though.

I paid a difference of £6K. Maybe too much but the new car has the electric sunroof I wanted (hard to find) and was in the colour I wanted (Sahara). It is also one owner, low mileage, immaculate.

The new car feels different and has a more solidly built feel to it - not sure why it is. The first day I had it I noticed condensation on the windows - thought here we go, door seals (last one needed front seals replaced under warranty) but carpets are dry and it hasnt happened again.

When I test drove it I looked out for any sign of a pull to the left (hard to cure Im told) but it was ok. Also for any squeaks or groans (Im neuotic about that) - the classic had the dashboard creak that drives you nuts (have to stuff a cloth hard behind it to stop it) but this one is fine. I checked the electrics (windows etc) and ok - I think these problems were probably sorted by the time this car was built.

One thing the later TDI engines can suffer from is the "stutter"/hesitation thing mentioned in other treads. Although its mainly VRS models that are affected it seems, the 100bhp can have it too. Ive noticed it a little in mine occasionally. I also find the new car not quite so easy to drive smoothly in low speed stop/start conditions. Im going to try getting the EGR gasket changed. Not sure if Skoda will do it under warranty.

One strange thing is that the headlight beams seem a lot poorer. Maybe they just need adjustment. If not I'll try some of the brighter bulbs mentioned here. I notice too that when parking the headlights intermittently dim when im turning the wheels - wonder if the battery is ok.

By the way I fitted PIAA wiper blades as recommended here to cure a squeak, and I agree that they are great.

The fuel consumption is worse than I expected - about 52 measured with the "brim to brim" method. Maybe I was spoiled with the SDI, but other people seem to get a lot more out of their TDIs and I wonder if that EGR thing might have something to do with it. The engine seems effortless, although the increase in power not perhaps as huge as you might expect unless you rev more than I usually do (I notice the improvement mainly on motorways and on hills). I love the cruise control.

Overall I really like this car, even more than the last one.

The fuel consumption is worse than I expected - about 52 measured with the "brim to brim" method. Maybe I was spoiled with the SDI, but other people seem to get a lot more out of their TDIs and I wonder if that EGR thing might have something to do with it.

I've been wondering the same thing..

I've swapped an old PD100 estate for a new one (another PD100 estate) - and I've noticed my fuel consumption's got a few mpg worse. My old PD100 would still do 55 mpg with 200K+ mileage, but like yours, my new one is nearer 51/52. Granted I now have roof rails, but I can't imagine they'd make such a difference.

I've been wondering if the engine changes necessary to move from Euro3 standards of emissions to Euro4 means the fuel consumption has got worse.

I'm running my second 1.9 TDI Elegance hatch (old one was an 03 plate, new one is an 06). The 1.4 engine would probably be OK but I love the 1.9 - nice and grunty. Many later 1.9s do seem to have the stutter - it's curable though.

I agree with ScoobyChris and teedeeye about finding an Elegance if you can. Much nicer car for an extra couple of hundred quid.

As for economy - can't seem to get much more than 55 mpg from mine at the moment (have done better in the past) but I don't think that's too bad given the performance.

I'm still on my first 1.9 TDI Elegance Hatch and at 84000 miles is feeling nicely run in. I've had the car from new (2000) and it has been great in terms of comfort/power/economy and would certainly agree that its worth having the Elegance spec for all the bells and whistles and including the heated sets!! Normally can achieve 55mpg but depends on the weight of the boot.

Also have looked at changing for a VRS but agree that prices are too high (especially for someone approaching state pension age at an ever increasing rate) so considering that my TDI still looks like new, have been interested in going the route of Teedeeye and fit a Dragon Tuning Box + possibly VRS 16" alloys

(Eibach shocks already fitted), so would appreciate hearing of experience of running a 100TDI with the tuning box etc.

...so would appreciate hearing of experience of running a 100TDI with the tuning box etc.

I'd love to tell you, but mine is still with Dragon having been sent back for a bit of tweeking . Before sending it back, I only ran with it for about 500 miles so it's a bit too early to give a full report. I can say that it was definitly a good deal quicker through the revs - easily braeking traction in 2nd/3rd in the wet. The digital boxes are set to increase fuelling after about 1800rpm - to coincide with boost coming in. The upside of this is less strain on transmission components at very low revs togeather with a huge lump of torque from 1800-2500rpm. Personally I like this sort of torque delivery - it's what makes the PD TDI's so much fun to drive IMO (some may disagree prefering a smoother petrol like delivery). The downside ot these boxes is a slight but noticeable jump in acceleration when on a very light throttle at said 1800rpm (particularly noticeable in 2nd) and no real increase in power/torque over 4000rpm (unlike a remap) - mine just flew to an indicated 120mph then... it was done, no more to give. I did get through one complete tank full and despite a bit of 'testing' my mpg was exactly the same as on the previous fill (48.5mpg - calculated) and still zero smoke out back. To be honest, the pros and cons of these boxes have been discussed to death, but I loved mine and cannot wait to get it back from Dragon.

Incidently, there are a few here that have gone down the full remap route with the PD100 - most claim 145/150bhp.

My first long trip was a return trip from Cornwall to Scotland which sold me on the merits of the TDI. Marvellous machine for what it is. Thanks for the info which certainly moves me more towards a Dragon Tuning Box. What was the problem if you needed to return to Dragon? Also what wheel/tyre combination are you using?

Realise all this has been discussed many times before but seeing your details on this thread just opened it up again.

What was the problem if you needed to return to Dragon? Also what wheel/tyre combination are you using?

Realise all this has been discussed many times before but seeing your details on this thread just opened it up again.

There was absolutly no problem with my Dragon box as such, in fact 9/10 people would probably have been very happy to leave alone. Mine is an older 7 pin model - which gives 7 degrees of increased fueling. Performance was great on the max setting but I was still getting absolutely no smoke under any load conditions. To my mind this meant that I had not reached/breeched the optimum/maximum fueling my engine could handle. I queried this with Dragon and to their massive credit they offered to up the settings on the box for me - free of charge! Aftersales and customer care is another huge benefit of choosing one of the Dragon systems.

As for wheels/tyres, I'm currently running on the std 14" elegance alloys with 185/65-14's. Come this weekend, that may well change .

Sounds as though Dragon are an A1 company - it shows in ths customer after sales service. Would be interested to hear about your possible wheel/tyre change. I first thought of upgrading to 15" elegance alloys but these seem thin on the ground, so possibly will go for 16" VRS alloys - but what about speedometer calibration?

Thanks for all the info.

...so possibly will go for 16" VRS alloys - but what about speedometer calibration?

Thanks for all the info.

16" vRS wheels with the standard 205/45 tyres give as near as damn it the same rolling radius as 185/15-14's. There are plenty of online tyre size calculators like this Tyre Calculator - Alloy Wheels - Specialist supplier of alloy wheels and tyres packages, 0% Finance and Fast Delivery where you can play with different options.

HTH