Fabia estate or?
Discussion
Hi all, sorry for a what car thread but looking for some educated opinions.
The situation is I am on the lookout for a replacement car for my partner. She becomes a little too attached to her cars and has to be dragged kicking and screaming to change car but her old 1994 Nissan Sunny (yes I know
) is really on its last legs. She has owned it for 6 years and has finally come round to the idea that it is not realistically going to get through another MOT. The thing is this old banger has a deceptively large boot which with the rear seats down will comfortably enable a decent sized bicycle to fit inside and the hatch to close. She wants any new car to be able to accommodate her bike also and many of the obvious smaller cars will not do this. It has also been incredibly reliable. I had convinced her that a Skoda Fabia estate was the way forward based on the size of the load area and the marque's reputation for reliability. She has been offered a reasonable deal on a low mileage 1 owner 2004 1.4 estate that is at our local main dealer and was seriously considering buying it however a work colleague has warned her that these suffer from head gasket problems and she is having second thoughts. Having looked at sites such as Honest John there do appear to be more problems than I expected with these cars. Indeed the car in question is currently having an 'engine repair' before it is ready for sale. Thing is I am really struggling to find an alternative that fits all her requirements and am thinking of recommending she buys the Skoda providing we can negotiate a years warranty in the price. So what do you think - buy the Skoda or can you suggest something else? Budget is up to £4500.
Her requirements are in order of importance;
1- Reliability - she will keep the car for some time and although she covers fairly low mileage, due to the nature of her work she often travels alone at odd hours
2 - Ability to load a bicycle in the back without removing wheels etc
3 - Low tax & insurance so ideally 1500cc or below
4 - Comfortable & reasonable performance for motorway use
5 - Oh of course the female undefinable of not looking horrible and being a nice colour
Over to you, thanks for any help.
The situation is I am on the lookout for a replacement car for my partner. She becomes a little too attached to her cars and has to be dragged kicking and screaming to change car but her old 1994 Nissan Sunny (yes I know
) is really on its last legs. She has owned it for 6 years and has finally come round to the idea that it is not realistically going to get through another MOT. The thing is this old banger has a deceptively large boot which with the rear seats down will comfortably enable a decent sized bicycle to fit inside and the hatch to close. She wants any new car to be able to accommodate her bike also and many of the obvious smaller cars will not do this. It has also been incredibly reliable. I had convinced her that a Skoda Fabia estate was the way forward based on the size of the load area and the marque's reputation for reliability. She has been offered a reasonable deal on a low mileage 1 owner 2004 1.4 estate that is at our local main dealer and was seriously considering buying it however a work colleague has warned her that these suffer from head gasket problems and she is having second thoughts. Having looked at sites such as Honest John there do appear to be more problems than I expected with these cars. Indeed the car in question is currently having an 'engine repair' before it is ready for sale. Thing is I am really struggling to find an alternative that fits all her requirements and am thinking of recommending she buys the Skoda providing we can negotiate a years warranty in the price. So what do you think - buy the Skoda or can you suggest something else? Budget is up to £4500.Her requirements are in order of importance;
1- Reliability - she will keep the car for some time and although she covers fairly low mileage, due to the nature of her work she often travels alone at odd hours
2 - Ability to load a bicycle in the back without removing wheels etc
3 - Low tax & insurance so ideally 1500cc or below
4 - Comfortable & reasonable performance for motorway use
5 - Oh of course the female undefinable of not looking horrible and being a nice colour
Over to you, thanks for any help.
I'd recommend one in a flash; my dad has an 05 plate Elegance 1.9tdi (top spec & top engine for estate) which I've done a fair few miles in both driving & as a passenger. Fairly roomy, slightly load space with seats down than my mk2 Astra, if not as wide, which in turn I would imagine is similar to the Sunny? His has been very reliable, only problem so far in 2 years and ~40,000 miles has been front bushes, which is apparently a very common fault and pretty cheap to fix. Comfortable, feels like a car from the class above. Easy 45-50mpg around town and 70 on motorway without being too careful, but a nice slug of performance when needs be. 
I've no ideas what the lesser specced models/smaller engines are like but would definitely recommend them based upon his one
I've no ideas what the lesser specced models/smaller engines are like but would definitely recommend them based upon his one
Blackwedge said:
She has been offered a reasonable deal on a low mileage 1 owner 2004 1.4 estate that is at our local main dealer and was seriously considering buying it however a work colleague has warned her that these suffer from head gasket problems and she is having second thoughts
Do you know which 1.4 engine it has? There were, to my knowledge, three different 1.4s available in the mark 1 Fabia. The 68bhp 8 valve 1.4 is a Skoda designed engine from the Felicia (the Fabia's predecessor), and the 16 valve 1.4 engines are VW designed units that come in 75bhp or 100bhp versions. The alleged head gasket issues probably only effects one of the engines.Both my mother and brother drive the 8 valve versions of the Fabia and their 2001 and 2004 cars have been practically faultless, certainly nothing major of HG related. The older 68bhp 8 valve engine is no rocket ship but it has been reliable, economical and suites the car rather well, but to be fair I haven't driven either of the 16 valve versions.
For load capacity, ease of ownership, and all round cheap running costs including insurance:
Mk2 FORD Focus, 1.6TDCI.
Owned mine just over a year, 36,000 miles added to its clock. Serviced regularly at a cost of £45 of parts.
Insurance group 5 or 6 I think it was, ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE INSIDE compared to anything else I tried, and I only have £3500 for a 2005 model. Admitidly mine had 80k on when only 4year old, but drove like a charm.
Would seriously consider another, despite me getting used to SAAB luxury.
The focus fitted 2bikes in the back regularly...... Tyres/brakes all cheap.
Mk2 FORD Focus, 1.6TDCI.
Owned mine just over a year, 36,000 miles added to its clock. Serviced regularly at a cost of £45 of parts.
Insurance group 5 or 6 I think it was, ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE INSIDE compared to anything else I tried, and I only have £3500 for a 2005 model. Admitidly mine had 80k on when only 4year old, but drove like a charm.
Would seriously consider another, despite me getting used to SAAB luxury.
The focus fitted 2bikes in the back regularly...... Tyres/brakes all cheap.
5dr post 2001 Civic.
Fabia nice size estate car but still rather crude, girlfriend had one and whilst most parts are common with Polos etc, the general ride and standard of the car is not as refined as the Ibiza or Polo she had before. If either of these came as an estate car post 2003 then she'd have bought one. Diesel Fabias seem to demand a premium, £4500 should get a nice late petrol model.
Fabia nice size estate car but still rather crude, girlfriend had one and whilst most parts are common with Polos etc, the general ride and standard of the car is not as refined as the Ibiza or Polo she had before. If either of these came as an estate car post 2003 then she'd have bought one. Diesel Fabias seem to demand a premium, £4500 should get a nice late petrol model.
My first 2 thoughts were Ford Focus and the Honda Civic - and there they are ^^^^
My missus had a X plate 1.4 fabia from new. Trouble free motoring apart from 2 dodgy alternators that kept spiking, back doors sticking due to lack of use and the slats on one of the dashboard vents breaking in the shut position. The only reason that we wouldn't buy another is that I couldn't cope with the seats - they absolutely trashed my back to the point I needed physiotherapy if I was in the car for more than an hour. She, however, had no such problems.
My missus had a X plate 1.4 fabia from new. Trouble free motoring apart from 2 dodgy alternators that kept spiking, back doors sticking due to lack of use and the slats on one of the dashboard vents breaking in the shut position. The only reason that we wouldn't buy another is that I couldn't cope with the seats - they absolutely trashed my back to the point I needed physiotherapy if I was in the car for more than an hour. She, however, had no such problems.
GoodDoc said:
Do you know which 1.4 engine it has? There were, to my knowledge, three different 1.4s available in the mark 1 Fabia. The 68bhp 8 valve 1.4 is a Skoda designed engine from the Felicia (the Fabia's predecessor), and the 16 valve 1.4 engines are VW designed units that come in 75bhp or 100bhp versions. The alleged head gasket issues probably only effects one of the engines.
Both my mother and brother drive the 8 valve versions of the Fabia and their 2001 and 2004 cars have been practically faultless, certainly nothing major of HG related. The older 68bhp 8 valve engine is no rocket ship but it has been reliable, economical and suites the car rather well, but to be fair I haven't driven either of the 16 valve versions.
I thought the 8v was a slightly more powerful version of the 1.4 60 from the Polo 6N?Both my mother and brother drive the 8 valve versions of the Fabia and their 2001 and 2004 cars have been practically faultless, certainly nothing major of HG related. The older 68bhp 8 valve engine is no rocket ship but it has been reliable, economical and suites the car rather well, but to be fair I haven't driven either of the 16 valve versions.
The 16v is the same 1.4 VAG use today but its starting to be phased on in favour of the 1.2 TSI. It isn't very economical, expect mid 30s town and mid 40s on a run but it can drop to as low as late 20s in urban usage. Nice enough to drive though and quite nippy. Fairly simple design so unlikely to require any expensive maintenance other than cambelt replacement etc.
alfa pint said:
The only reason that we wouldn't buy another is that I couldn't cope with the seats - they absolutely trashed my back to the point I needed physiotherapy if I was in the car for more than an hour. She, however, had no such problems.
Not tall by any chance are you? I find the same with any new-ish car with posture-pedic seats, such as civic/focus/jazz/punto/etc. Yet mother/OH etc (all a foot shorter than me) have no problems at all?I find 90s sports seats the best.... recaro's especially suit me. Yet everyone else hates the "hardness"
alfa pint said:
The only reason that we wouldn't buy another is that I couldn't cope with the seats - they absolutely trashed my back to the point I needed physiotherapy if I was in the car for more than an hour. She, however, had no such problems.
Agree the seats in the Mk1 Fabia aren't great. I have had access to a 55 plate 1.9tdi estate since new and its cavernous and pretty rapid. On a long journey the seats do my back in, the steering wheel isn't very nice to hold and the gear knob plasticy. Also the door elbow rest is hard plastic. Everything is high quality - just not terribly ergonomic.The car as a whole package is excellent, and easy to work on - e.g. I changed the cambelt on it in a couple of hours. It has never broken down, or in fact broken at all.
My sister had a 1.4 8v 51 plate hatchback for 4 years from new that was totally reliable (aside from occasionally sticking handbrake shoes).
I'd look at an Octavia hatch maybe for better cabin ergonomics? They are Golf platform but have a bigger load area.
mgmrw2003 said:
alfa pint said:
The only reason that we wouldn't buy another is that I couldn't cope with the seats - they absolutely trashed my back to the point I needed physiotherapy if I was in the car for more than an hour. She, however, had no such problems.
Not tall by any chance are you? I find the same with any new-ish car with posture-pedic seats, such as civic/focus/jazz/punto/etc. Yet mother/OH etc (all a foot shorter than me) have no problems at all?I find 90s sports seats the best.... recaro's especially suit me. Yet everyone else hates the "hardness"
alfa pint said:
I wish! Short legs, long back. I'm 5'9" - if my legs were proportional I'd be nearly 6'. But yes, many new car seats cause me dramas, the recaros in my old capri were blissful. The momo seats in the alfa are infamously uncomfortable, but I find them perfect (if lacking side support). Even the seats in the missus volvo aren't as good as I was hoping for.
Im 6ft7, with height in my torso........ Anything new causes me agony.Best I've found are: 1/2 leather recaros found in rovers from the 90s, OR Volvo C70 coupe on a 2001 plate ..... They were lovely. the full black leathers in puma's were good too, had a set of them grafted into a mk3
mk2 punto, mk2 focus, 2004 polo, and 2006 shogun sport warrior..... They're the worst by far
va1o said:
I thought the 8v was a slightly more powerful version of the 1.4 60 from the Polo 6N?
The 16v is the same 1.4 VAG use today but its starting to be phased on in favour of the 1.2 TSI. It isn't very economical, expect mid 30s town and mid 40s on a run but it can drop to as low as late 20s in urban usage. Nice enough to drive though and quite nippy. Fairly simple design so unlikely to require any expensive maintenance other than cambelt replacement etc.
I'm happy to be corrected, but I believe the 68bhp 1.4 8 valve in the Fabia is a development of the 1.3 pushrod engine that Skoda used in the Favorit (and maybe even the Estelle). The 60bhp 1.4 8 valve used in the 6N Polo is a more modern overhead camshaft design. The 16v is the same 1.4 VAG use today but its starting to be phased on in favour of the 1.2 TSI. It isn't very economical, expect mid 30s town and mid 40s on a run but it can drop to as low as late 20s in urban usage. Nice enough to drive though and quite nippy. Fairly simple design so unlikely to require any expensive maintenance other than cambelt replacement etc.
Despite similar power and torque figures they are very different engines inside. The pushrod Skoda engine was dropped around 2004 and Skoda have used only VAG group engines ever since.
still cant help but feel for the cash you're talking, a 1600tdci mk2 Focus would represent far better value in terms of purchase and running costs.
£4k gets a sound one with average miles, load capacity is vast, they drive awesome for a work wagon, well built, 50+mpg average, and cost pennies to service.....
plus no VAG link
£4k gets a sound one with average miles, load capacity is vast, they drive awesome for a work wagon, well built, 50+mpg average, and cost pennies to service.....
plus no VAG link
va1o said:
Actually yes you are right. The world of VAG engines is a confusing one...
Now that we can agree on. I have a 2006 Octavia with one of the versions of the 140bhp 2.0TDi PD engine. I say one of the versions because it turns out there are a couple of different 140bhp 2.0TDi PD engine, some of which are single cam 8 valves, and some are twin cam 16 valves units. I have no idea why as they all seem to have identical power and torque figures. Still trying to find out why similar engines have such different internals.
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