Skoda Fabia

spuddy

Looking to buy one in good condtion ~2001, but need some information. As its basically a VW Polo, I presume they are quite reliable?

What trim levels are there & what kit comes with that trim, how expensive are they to run, insurance quotes people have had, what goes wrong with them, what the dealers are like, typical servicing costs, what are they like to drive...
Very importantly, what's the right money to pay for a 2001 model.

Basically I'm looking for everything & anything anyone feels would be of use to know about them.

Thanks

mike65

http://www.carsurvey.org/model_Skoda_Fabia.html

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/car_reviews/main_review.asp?model_id=11012 Beware pop-ups!

Mike.

spuddy

Originally posted by mike65
http://www.carsurvey.org/model_Skoda_Fabia.html

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/car_reviews/main_review.asp?model_id=11012 Beware pop-ups!

Mike.

Thanks Mike, good links but I'm still interested in getting an Irish perspective on the ownership

mike65

http://irishcar.com/skodafabia14tc.htm

Finding in depth owner reviews for Ireland is quite hard. This forum may be your best bet! Anyone here got one?

Mike.

DivX

Spuddy, just to add to Mike65's links, here are a few irish sites relating to the Fabia, IMO looks like a great hatchback, my first car was a Skoda Estelle 1.2L(pre-vw), great little car, jokes were unjustified in its case, very cheap to run.

Irish owners reviews on CBG


Fabia review on Motoringlife.ie


Price guide(dealer) for the Fabia on Carzone.ie

Sleipnir

I think Skoda's get a terrible rap from the general public. Never actually owned one but I have driven one for a few weeks and found it to be grand. Easy on fuel and cheap parts. They're pretty reliable too, no less less so than a VW really.
Afterall, the AA reported that the vehicle they are called out to repair for breakdowns ain't a skoda...it's the Freelander!

DivX

Think alot of the bad impressions expressed were generated by the english motoring press during the '80, the rovers from that era were even way more unreliable and they didn't get half the jokes the Skoda's seemed to hurled at them.

We won't mention lada... now there's a car maker who seems to have long disappeared from our shores, remember a few years back a russian ship docked in cork harbour, load of the lada's bought up and shipped back home to russia, thats brand loyalty for you.

ToxicPaddy

I know a few people who have Fabia's and they have had no problems with them.

Like you said they are essentially a VW polo with a different body, same chassis, same engine and most of the interior fittings are the same.

All you have to do is look at the number of them on the road to see how reliable they are. They dont hold their value simply because they dont have that VW badge on them.

If you go to a site like

www.cbg.ie or www.carzone.ie

and do a search for cars of similar age and engine size with roughly the same mileage then you should have no problems finding what price range you should expect to pay

All small town style cars from the VAG group tend to be of solid build, reliable and fairly cheap to run, but like any small car they can guzzle the juice a bit if you have a heavy foot, like to over rev them a bit or like speeding around a bit too much.

Best of Luck

Tox

spuddy

Thanks to all for the help & information.

Was given a Top Gear mag from a friend with reliability tests they ran, Fabia came in 7th place & ahead of the Polo which came 95th (a suprise to me). The only supermini that did better was the Yaris (came 5th) but there was nearly nothing in it. I know there probably are some people who still look down on Skoda, but its their loss, because as far as i'm concerned the joke's over.

gurramok

Hey, I own a Skoda Fabia !
Its '01 1.4 L Comfort model with nearly 30k on it, have owned it for now 5 weeks.

I love the car and will never gove it away which shows how much I like it
I bought mine from an official Skoda dealer on Prussia st for just 11,000 euro. Deal i got includes a 3.5 yr warranty for parts and yearly servicing.
It is very smooth on the road, have had no problems with it so far.
Comfort describes it, you could nearly use the seats as a bed they are that comfortable

It comes with the usual security features- alarm, immobiliser, c/l and twin airbags, e/l, p/s, heated mirrors. There is even a friggin rain sensor for the wipers to come on themselves.

A 45 litre tank usually notches up about 420 miles on long journeys, trimmings include an indicator which tells you how many miles petrol are left in the tank among other things.

It is a solid and powerful car as described in another post
Handling is the business which is a big factor why I would buy one again.
Boot is also big and deep enough to fit alot of shopping in as well

spuddy

Originally posted by gurramok
Hey, I own a Skoda Fabia !
Its '01 1.4 L Comfort model with nearly 30k on it, have owned it for now 5 weeks.

I love the car and will never gove it away which shows how much I like it
I bought mine from an official Skoda dealer on Prussia st for just 11,000 euro. Deal i got includes a 3.5 yr warranty for parts and yearly servicing.
It is very smooth on the road, have had no problems with it so far.
Comfort describes it, you could nearly use the seats as a bed they are that comfortable

It comes with the usual security features- alarm, immobiliser, c/l and twin airbags, e/l, p/s, heated mirrors. There is even a friggin rain sensor for the wipers to come on themselves.

A 45 litre tank usually notches up about 420 miles on long journeys, trimmings include an indicator which tells you how many miles petrol are left in the tank among other things.

It is a solid and powerful car as described in another post
Handling is the business which is a big factor why I would buy one again.
Boot is also big and deep enough to fit alot of shopping in as well

Great info gurramok, I've been doing some research on the Fabia & wondering did you buy the 1.4 MPI or the 16v version?

gurramok

Its 1.4 MPI model

drpink

I've sourced a Skoda cruise control. Anyone recommend a reliable installer in the South or North?

Many thanks

techie

Holy thread resurrection Batman !!

Alanstrainor

techie wrote: »

Holy thread resurrection Batman !!

Wtf??! That's exactly what i was going to type! Banned for a week for being able to read my mind.

drpink,

Please start a new thread.

Closed.