OT: Anyone here got / had a Skoda Fabia? Thoughts please?

[T i m]

Hi all,

Daughters trusty 1.2 Corsa forges on with a second hand alternator and

205,000+ miles under it's belt but it's not going to do so for ever.

So, we are thinking about a potential replacement and whilst the Corsa seems to be a bit like a Tardis re what range of stuff it's carried, she fancies something more like an estate. She likes the idea that it's still a car, not an MPV etc (and has driven works panel estate-cars etc).

So, the Fabia looks like it might tick some of the boxes but we don't know what they might be like in everyday use and how expensive they are to run etc? We have only ever had one Seat (Ibiza, Sport) in the family and not for that long but it seemed to go ok?

It looks like they can do reasonable mpg (she would want a petrol version) and I'm guessing, not particularly knickable and being estate-like, possibly cheaper because they are less desirable than a saloon / hatch?

Anyone aware of any repair horror stories, like expensive dual-mass flywheels or dodgy electronics?

If she was to go for one, what would be the best sort of year / version to get the most useful features without any unnecessary complication?

If not the Fabia, what else? [1]

Cheers, T i m

[1] She's not particularly bothered about cars (as long as they start, stop, are reliable, carry her and her stuff and are reasonable to run and maintain etc) and values my (our) input re any replacement. ;-)

[Theo]

What vintage?

I was having a look at few cars back and its predecessor the Felicia didn't look too bad; the previous Favorit was quite... rustic. The Fabia was too new at that point. The handy thing about them was they had estates with tiny engines, which meant they fitted in lower tax and insurance brackets, and had decent mpg. Obviously performance wasn't going to be great.

reviews that tell you what might go wrong - but every car has an enormous list, it doesn't mean you'll have any. A handy list of things to check on a viewing perhaps.

Theo

[John Miller]

Couple of friends have Fabias and swear by them. One of them has had at least three one after the other. No experience myself but my wife has a

2016 Skoda Citigo which is a great little car and has proved very reliable and cheap to run. I've got a 2017 Skoda Superb estate which is a lovely car and has been very reliable. John M

[Robert]

The Briskoda forums are a good source of info and opinions on Skoda and very well mannered.

[R D S]

Had a Leon FR for about 8 years, it was one of my favourite cars and the one we spent the least on. I don't recall spending on anything other than clutch, exhaust, tyres, brakes and other consumables.

[Bev]

Mum had a Fabia Hatchback for around 8 years before she sold it to her friend's son.

Family elsewhere have had Fabias for years now ranging from a *very* old one - may even have been the predecessor to the Fabia through more recent hatchback models to a current Fabia estate. They seem very happy with them. I would say that the luggage space in them seems very tight but I've nothing of a comparable size to compare them with.

No-one appears to have had problems with any of them - or they have kept very quiet if they have. The number of repeat buys should be a good indicator though.

[RJH]

I rate them - a few friends have/had a Fabia and reports are they're reliable and cheap to run. They're also quite refined and well screwed together for a 'cheap' car.

I had a 2003 Cupra for a couple of years, marvellous. Sold it at 120,000 with no faults in my ownership, except the coil packs which were changed by SEAT FOC.

[Graham Harrison]

I have a '63 Yeti. No issues. Big diesel perhaps not THE most economic but I like it.

[T i m]

I guess that comes down to 'What money'?

What we normally do / prefer is to get a car though the family and that's how she came by the Corsa (b/f's Dads car, similar with our Meriva when my Dad died a few years back). That allows several things:

1) It's 'known' ... and we generally know what the warts are when we get given / buy it (eg, if it is being 'upgraded' to a newer / better car because of a known fault we would also know what they were).[1]

2) We don't have to go looking for it.

3) We don't have the option on what it is, taking away a load of decisions, other than yes / no. ;-)

A mate offered us a little 4X4 of some sort a while back but whist it was fairly new (compared to what we normally run) and in very good condition (money no object with the PO), it wasn't likely to be affordable re insurance or running costs so it was a simple 'no thanks'.

So, we have never been to a dealer (ever) to buy a car or even bought one out of the paper or interwebs.

Rustic wouldn't bother her. One of her favourite looking vehicles is the Unimog. ;-)

That was my initial draw but do I see that the estate is only available in a slightly sporty version, like the 'BMW touring'?

No, as long as it's not a liability under std UK road conditions, that's all that would be needed.

That said, she's now quite used to her own car being reasonably 'nippy' (fairly light / basic 16V 1.2) but also drives a selection of works vehicles that are often dire.

;-)

Absolutely, thanks Theo. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] A mate sold me his Rover 218SD for £100 (with more than that in the way of road tax on it) because 'he was fed up spending money on it'. It came with a list of faults that was likely to cost him a load more to get fixed that I had done myself for next to nothing when I gave him a lift to collect his new car a couple of weeks later. I scrapped it ~8 years later for more than I paid for it and had spent next to nothing on it the whole time I had it. ;-)

[Andrew]

I am on my third Astra 1.6 petrol estate. Never had an unexpected failure, only normal wear-n-tear parts, apart from air-con on the current Astra H which has lost its gas. Being 10 years old I am not going to get that fixed.

[T i m]

<snip>

Thanks very much for the general Skoda feedback John.

Many many years ago I needed to hire a car (for company use) and chose a Skoda Estelle, just for the fun of it.

It was different but did all I asked of it for the time I had it. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. I saw a TV show where they had 3 similar size cars in a shopping centre and had covered up all the badges. They asked a group to go over all three vehicles and finally stand by the one they preferred. 'Most' ended up in front of what was the Skoda, till they peeled the tape off the badges and then most moved to one of the other two vehicles! ;-(

[T i m]

<snip.

I was just thinking on about the 'whatever else' option and you Superb and had a quick Google to remind myself what they looked like and it reminds me of my Sierra Estate. ;-)

I'm wondering if it could be one of those strange things were even though it's a bigger car, it's not considered a bigger risk by the insurance Co's and because everything is a bit bigger, might actually last longer (so work out cheaper overall)?

She's nearly 30 and the insurance on her Corsa is pretty reasonable but It was going to cost a lot more to add her to our Meriva policy (but next to nothing to add her on the kitcar)?

What sort of MPG do you typically see and from what (engine) model please John?

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

<snip>

Noted, thanks. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[charles]

except the back seats did not fold down to give a flat surface. No use for carrying my harp.

[T i m]

I like the idea of a 'little brother' model, where they take an existing / established model and use that as the basic platform for a more 'budget' version of something similar. Like I think they did (or do?) with Kia (was it) when the old model Astra becomes their 'XYZ' model (making use of most of the tooling and parts etc).

I first came across such with outboard motors where this years Johnson will become next years Evinrude or a Fiat becoming a Lada etc.

I think it's good that all the effort and cost that went into developing what turns out over time to be a 'good car' can be utilised to the best effect.

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Good to hear. ;-)

That's how they should all be though eh, if looked after reasonably?

And that was good as well (I did one on a mates Polo).

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

It will be interested for daughter to compare one with the back of her Corsa that was used several times for removals between London and Scotland!

I even designed a flat-pack wood-turning lathe bench that would go diagonally across the back and take the lathe on top for use and inside for storage. That went from here to Scotland in the back of the Corsa, along with the lathe itself, all the tools, some bits of turning wood and loads and loads of other stuff! Ok, one of the rear springs finally broke but she replaced both of them herself. ;-)

Thanks for that. Looks like it's all 'thumbs up' so far. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Bev]

You could have a look at the Skoda Octavia estate which is between the two and has a very large 'boot' if its space you want. The Octavia Hatchback is also a good buy for space without going full-on estate.

There was a short-lived one (Rapid) that was between Fabia and Octavia in size a few years ago but didn't sell particularly well (AFAIK) because it did fall between the two stools and this could also be worth checking out.

As a marque I'd say Skoda were pretty good overall.

[T i m]

<snip>

I think she would like the styling (I do) and it looks pretty capacious in the back, but she really needs to try to get something with lowish running (fuel) costs as it all adds up.

Her ex drives into London from Suffolk daily and that's how he can afford to rent a 3 bed house on his own.

Equally he could have a smaller place closer to work because his fuel bill would be considerably smaller.

I know which I would choose but then I've hated any form of commuting!

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Ah, that was another good thing with the Sierra Estate then, the loading area was *very* flat (as it is with our Meriva).

I think the Rover 218SD folded pretty flat ... but that and having no 'lip' at the back and a reasonably large opening at the tailgate all play a part.

The bulbous tailgate glass on the Sierra Estate meant that even if something looked like it was sticking out the back, when you closed the tailgate down (carefully obviously) it often went it without any issues.

My Sinclair C5 would go in backwards and the shape of it's front seemed to mimic exactly the back of the Sierra (like it was made for it), and C5's are bigger than you might think. ;-)

Cheers, T i m