Are Fabia's any good?

Freeman

I am looking at buying a 2003 Skoda Fabia for my sister. This will be her first car. Are there any reliability problems with this car? I know it has pretty much the same components as the VW Polo. What is the resale like on it? The one I am looking at is a low mileage Fabia 1.2 Classic HTP54, is this a good model? As far as I can make out the classic is the lowest grade and I can only guess that HTP54 relates to 54BHP (dunno what HTP means). This one has a full 3 year service history. Any advice welcome.

fletch

I would avoid the Classic model to be honest, go for the Comfort one at least. The Classic has windy windows, no central locking. The comfort comes with electric windows, remote central locking, electric mirrors, body coloured mouldings etc....other than that....great little run around car. Although I'd say with 54bhp it ain't gonna be the quickest off the line.

colm_mcm

There are far better options, even the identically engined Polo or Ibiza are more modern and stylish. Only buy a Classic model if it's an out and out bargain, they're very basic.

Supercell

Can only speak from a service perspective as my 02 Fabia Comfordline 1.4L is a totally different beast.

People here talk about Toyota have the very best after sales service compaired to the rest..but I'd argue Skoda are pretty close..at least the Prussia Street branch in Dublin.
I didnt buy the car off them but they treated me like I did, they quoted a service cost over the phone and matched that afterwards. They then had someone call me several days after the service to check that I was happy with how I was treated and the quality of the work done.
Needless to say , wasnt expecting this at all from a car dealer especially one I hadn't bought a car originally from.
The hubcaps were scratched to hell by the prev female owner and enquired how much for a new set..the service guy said honestly an official set are over priced and could get a set far cheaper online or a no name brand for about a quarter of the price he could sell them too me at. I went on ebay and now have four perfect wheel trims identical to the official ones (the ebay seller claimed they were original..that may or may not be true..but I dont care).

Overall very impressed with the Skoda experience so far. Also the car never breaking down so far is a positive too!!

colm_mcm

Skoda dealers are generally decent, but the Fabia is getting a bit long in the tooth, and there are lots of clever small cars out there.

Dilbert75

Mother has had a 2000 1.4 Mpi (8V 54 bhp) since 2004. She's only had one problem - failure of a turn angle sensor on the steering - and it was fixed for free by the dealer, despite being long out of warranty. There are one or two other issues - for example one of the electric window switches could do with being replaced, though it works perfectly - but nothing that would even bother me. It costs around €130 per year to service in the dealers (admittedly low mileage), starts first time, is comfortable and is solid enough even for open roads.

I had the car for about 1500 miles a few months ago when I was between cars and it was excellent - I thought seriously about buying one but ended up sticking to the original plan and bought a 00 Octavia.

In my experience, they're a fine little car - good value for money, reliable, unpretentious.

It BeeMee

HTP = High Torque Performance, which I think means higher torque at lower revs.

My Dad has a '04 1.2 since new. No problems with it at all, apx 45 mpg (as a runaround). Yes it can be a little slow off the line but that's not necessarily a bad thing for a "first car", is it?

I agree with Fletch, tho, and avoid the Classic version if possible. It would be worth a few extra quid to up to a Comfort/Ambiante spec....

colm_mcm

Just buy an Ibiza!

Stky10

I test drove one about a month or two ago for my younger brother. He was looking for his first car so he didn't have insurance yet, so I was helping him out.

Short story:- Trim was cheap and nasty and falling to pieces. Drove ok, but didn't like the brakes, way too sensitive and harsh. I'd only go for one if styling means nothing and cost is the most important criteria.

ds20prefecture

Fabia was the first crop of VAG products to use the new polo sized platform. It is a fine car, with (to my eyes) much sharper lines than the newer Polo. The Ibiza is a more handsome car, but the packaging isn't as good. My sister ran a Fabia 1.2 comfort for two years with no problems and minimal running costs. Avoid dublin dealers - they're fine to deal with (particulary Prussia St as stated) but have twice the labour costs of those outside of Dublin. I can recommend Shaws in Longford.

To my eyes, the only competitor that matches the Skoda's blend of quality, ride, handling and packaging is the Honda Jazz, but they are a lot more expensive.

The new Fiat Panda is a better car overall than both, particularly in diesel. But is a category smaller in size.

Dilbert75

On a test drive the brakes may seem sharp but you will recalibrate yourself to that very quickly. The only thing I didn't really like was the light steering. Apparently the level of assistance is adjustable by a dealer or anyone who has a full version of VAG-COM.

Irish Salfordia

I have the 1.9 standard diesel which has been used as a driving school car. Had it for nearly three years now with almost 70,000 on the clock.

One of the best and most reliable cars i have ever had. Driving school cars get VERY BADLY ABUSED. Nothing i have had before has ever stood up to so much use. Yes its gettng a bit dated now, but billiant car

Freeman

Thanks for all the replies, didn't think it would attract so much interest I was looking at the Fabia because I was getting a good deal on it for my sis, but it didn't work out in the end.

She needs a car for running around Dublin in, maybe the odd spin in the country and for the run down to Galway every 2 weeks or so. It's her first car, she wants a small car that will be cheap to run, tax and insure and that is reliable. That's why I thought the Fabia would be a good choice. Her budget is €4000.