I cant make my mind up what to do. With the current rises in tax and petrol, Im thinking it may be time to switch to an oil burner.

If I do change it will be a case of selling my Octavia and whatever I get for it I will buy a Fabia vRS. Say £6500 (?) will get a medium milage 53 plate fabia. So the age will be very simular to the octavia.

I'm trying it to get my head around the cost of changing, things Im concidering are:

1) Retaining number plate of current car = £105

2) Cambelt on fabia as they are due around the age I'm looking at = £350

3) Service, if needed= £200

4) Tax, If not got long left = £120

Total cost of changing could be on top of purchasing a Fabia vRS = £775

I put around £40 of petrol in a week and get around 28MPG, Im not sure what the fabia does and current diesel prices.

I do want to keep the Octavia, but I thinking I could save a bit of money each month.

Ive been thinking of changing for a while, but its a hard decision, are there any other things to concider ???

I did post a while back about buying my dads Passat PD130 Highline, but the problem buying that is my dad has no idea when his new car will be ready, so It could mean a long time without a car.

Oh! the main thing that worries me is I know my car and on changing I could buy a lemon.

Matt

I put around £40 of petrol in a week and get around 28MPG, Im not sure what the fabia does and current diesel prices.

Say you managed 45mpg from the new fabia (as a guide I've averaged 52MPG since I got it and don't drive like a Grandad) you'd be putting in around 62% of the quantity of fuel - so in petrol that would be £12.40.. as Diesel is about 6% more expensive than Petrol you can instead call that £13.14 (approximately! ) meaning a per-week saving of £6.86 (on fuel alone) and a saving per-year of approx. £357 (the cost of the cambelt)

I'd say buy a smart car

Oh! the main thing that worries me is I know my car and on changing I could buy a lemon.

This is a very valid point and what put me off buying a car of similar age to the Mondeo when I changed. I think an oil burner is only really worthwhile if you're doing big miles - the gap between petrol (95 RON) and diesel in these parts is almost 10p which means I can still run a petrol car and do 20k miles a year and be better off.

My own experience of the Fabia was that it didn't wear miles very well after the warranty expired :(

Chris

I think an oil burner is only really worthwhile if you're doing big miles

I totally agree, I'm doing short trips since my change in jobs and I get just over 300 miles to a tank. If I could afford to change cars I'd go for a petrol motor. Trips down south have given me quite a bit over 400 miles to a tank, so I know how much better the Fab could be in a different situation. Combine that with the higher price of diesel and the more expensive services, it's a fun car, but probably not the smartest choice for me at the moment.

Change from a 208bhp Mk1 Octy to a 130bhp Diesel Fabia for the sake of £30 a month... :confused:

Keep the Octavia mate.

I'd say buy a smart car

Mmmmm Braubus Roadster.