Skoda Fabia 1.2 MK1 for my learner daughter
Discussion
Hi all,
I'd been looking for a car for my daughter who's been taking driving lessons for a few months. Main requirements were for something safe, insurable, simple (as she'd like to learn how to maintain it), and reliable. And cheap.
TL;DR - bought a decent Skoda Fabia for £800. Now here's the story:
I'd been looking at local Facebook marketplace posts, narrowly missing out on a decent Mini One at a good price, then went to see a Citroen C1. A yellow one. She really liked it, but it was obvious the guy was an amateur dealer, and admitted as much. Not a problem in itself, but despite a new MOT the rear silencer was starting to blow, the clutch engaged right at the top of its travel (ok, maybe adjustable, but didn't fancy that) and tyres were nasty and mismatched. Passed on that.
Then went on the off chance to see a Skoda Fabia. 1.2 engine, so economical and insurable, 5 doors, and red. Sensible milage (65K ish), and allegedly a couple of lady owners. Yeah, right.
We arrived at the guy's house, to see him starting to wash it with a dish sponge and washing up bowl. This thing was very dusty, clearly it had been standing for a little while. And the battery was flat. And there's a little mould on the dashboard. And the bumper ends had popped out a bit and the front number plate had a crack, and there's a scrape on the rear bumper. The vendor told me his story - he'd bought the car for his daughter who'd gone overseas and decided to stay for a few months so the car had sat there. He'd damaged the bumpers when moving his van - the FB photos showed it undamaged, so OK, maybe. The paperwork actually bore this out! Before him, one lady owner, and history until a couple of years ago. He hadn't sent off the V5, so still one lady owner!
A jump start had it going instantly, and looking a bit deeper it had 4 Conti tyres (although one is a different style), no smoke, an immaculate, albeit dirty, interior, no shiny steering wheel, good seat bolsters and so on. A spirited drive up and down the road - and what a little peach! Great steering, gearchange and brakes. Everything works except the rear washer. No lip on the brake disks even!
£800 later and we're on the way home, and it does 70 smoothly, willingly, quietly (relatively). My daughter spend the afternoon cleaning the interior, and it's come up very well. The rear washer is a common problem where the pipe pops off behind the air filter, easy fix, took me less than 5 minutes. The brake booster vacuum line is starting to split, that's an easy fix too.
I'm just hoping my daughter doesn't give it a silly name:
Incidentally, I learned something useful - insuring same or next day costs a lot more than insuring 5 days later. I saved £140 on that!
I'd been looking for a car for my daughter who's been taking driving lessons for a few months. Main requirements were for something safe, insurable, simple (as she'd like to learn how to maintain it), and reliable. And cheap.
TL;DR - bought a decent Skoda Fabia for £800. Now here's the story:
I'd been looking at local Facebook marketplace posts, narrowly missing out on a decent Mini One at a good price, then went to see a Citroen C1. A yellow one. She really liked it, but it was obvious the guy was an amateur dealer, and admitted as much. Not a problem in itself, but despite a new MOT the rear silencer was starting to blow, the clutch engaged right at the top of its travel (ok, maybe adjustable, but didn't fancy that) and tyres were nasty and mismatched. Passed on that.
Then went on the off chance to see a Skoda Fabia. 1.2 engine, so economical and insurable, 5 doors, and red. Sensible milage (65K ish), and allegedly a couple of lady owners. Yeah, right.
We arrived at the guy's house, to see him starting to wash it with a dish sponge and washing up bowl. This thing was very dusty, clearly it had been standing for a little while. And the battery was flat. And there's a little mould on the dashboard. And the bumper ends had popped out a bit and the front number plate had a crack, and there's a scrape on the rear bumper. The vendor told me his story - he'd bought the car for his daughter who'd gone overseas and decided to stay for a few months so the car had sat there. He'd damaged the bumpers when moving his van - the FB photos showed it undamaged, so OK, maybe. The paperwork actually bore this out! Before him, one lady owner, and history until a couple of years ago. He hadn't sent off the V5, so still one lady owner!
A jump start had it going instantly, and looking a bit deeper it had 4 Conti tyres (although one is a different style), no smoke, an immaculate, albeit dirty, interior, no shiny steering wheel, good seat bolsters and so on. A spirited drive up and down the road - and what a little peach! Great steering, gearchange and brakes. Everything works except the rear washer. No lip on the brake disks even!
£800 later and we're on the way home, and it does 70 smoothly, willingly, quietly (relatively). My daughter spend the afternoon cleaning the interior, and it's come up very well. The rear washer is a common problem where the pipe pops off behind the air filter, easy fix, took me less than 5 minutes. The brake booster vacuum line is starting to split, that's an easy fix too.
I'm just hoping my daughter doesn't give it a silly name:
Incidentally, I learned something useful - insuring same or next day costs a lot more than insuring 5 days later. I saved £140 on that!
Down and out said:
When you wash it or it rains, check the rear footwells. Most of them leak and causes steaming up but it's quite an easy fix involving the rear door cards coming off and the window carrier being sealed.
Thanks, it does steam up when sitting, we're airing it out today but will have the door cards off! Great tip, much appreciated.And she's called it "Sammi the Skoda".
Booked it in to a local garage I trust for an oil change and a good going over too, will do air filter and plugs myself but can't be bothered getting under a car and dealing with oil disposal.
Little update - we gave it a good wash and it came up very nicely. No water in the footwells which is nice. Ordered a new brake booster vacuum pipe, pulled the air filter which is like new, pulled a spark plug which looks like the "good" example in every Haynes manual ever and checked the tyres again which all look like new Conti's - although one is a different model. Tons of tread left.
All good so far!
All good so far!
It drives beautifully. The clutch and gear change are just lovely. It understeers a bit when pushed (I may possibly have had some fun driving it home, and my gf in her Cooper S may have been left a little way behind) but it's quiet at 70, rides well, seats are German-hard but the driver's is height adjustable which is perfect for us.
Off to get the new brake vacuum hose now. I'm seriously worried that I may get attached to it. Not the hose....
Off to get the new brake vacuum hose now. I'm seriously worried that I may get attached to it. Not the hose....
gman88667733 said:
What's the leg room for the driver like? I struggle to fit into most cars as I have long legs and my knees get stuck on the steering wheel. However, I found that in a VW UP i had more space than in some really big SUVs.
Any chance we could see some interior photos?
Leg room is fine. I'm 5' 9" and with the seat on its lowest setting it was too low for me. The seat goes way back. I'll grab some photos in a bit.Any chance we could see some interior photos?
OK, brake vacuum pipe done. Nice and easy, just needed a Jubilee clip from my box of bits to replace the rubbish OEM clamps.
Here are the interior pics - seat is down/back all the way, that's my leg at full stretch, I can just about reach the footwell behind the pedals with my toe stretched. 31" inside leg.
HTH!
Here are the interior pics - seat is down/back all the way, that's my leg at full stretch, I can just about reach the footwell behind the pedals with my toe stretched. 31" inside leg.
HTH!
MrBig said:
If its misting up inside change the cabin filter. Chances are that will sort it if the rear doors aren't leaking as you say, but even if it doesn't it almost certainly needs doing anyway.
Good call, didn't know there was one! I pulled it, and most of a dead tree fell out. New one on order for tomorrow (love Amazon Prime, cheaper than ECP and much faster). And some spark plugs, may as well do the service properly.Blanco92 said:
...In 2004 VW modified the 1.2 engine with a revised timing chain tensioner... many 1.2s of this vintage didn’t last beyond 60k as the tensioner would slip on start-up causing valve damage. As yours is a 54 and has lasted all these years... it possibly has the tensioner as standard....
Nice car! I believe the 1.2 HTP in the Fabia is different from the VW/SEAT offering at the time, later the HTP was put into the rest of the VAG cars. I'll cross my fingers I guess... and research a bit, thanks for the tip.OK, got her checked out by my local garage. The guy there is very diligent, at least he was when he failed my old Range Rover. One oil change and an MOT-style inspection with extra poking about got me this to-do list:
Cabin filter and plugs will be here today, service light's been reset, and I'm looking forward to showing my daughter how to wrench a bit!
- Front tyres a bit low on tread, not a fail and will need doing at some point. They're premium Contis at the moment.
- Front wipers not great. Probably because the Demon Shine got on the screen, but that's a cheap thing anyway. The ones on it are Bosch
- Front CV boot split at the end, no hole and keeping the grease in. He reckoned it would be an advisory and there's no rush to do it. Quoted me £80 for that.
Cabin filter and plugs will be here today, service light's been reset, and I'm looking forward to showing my daughter how to wrench a bit!
We've been out on a couple of drives around the local country roads. My first time being driven by a learner... and she's not too bad. Since she's been learning on a diesel, the need for more revs is taking her a bit of getting used to, and she seems unwilling to brake firmly when needed. It's nice to see that the Skoda can take corners a little more quickly that it really should...
She seems to have been taught "left foot up, then right foot down" rather than both at once. Some interesting stalls and revving results!
Any tips for driving with a learner that will help me keep what's left of my hair?
She seems to have been taught "left foot up, then right foot down" rather than both at once. Some interesting stalls and revving results!
Any tips for driving with a learner that will help me keep what's left of my hair?
Sheepshanks said:
How old are the other tyres?
Apologies if you're aware of this, and I know not everyone agrees, but I wouldn't put new tyres on the front of a kids car and leave older ones on the back. If you are only going to change two, put the new ones on the back
One is newer than the other, I haven't checked the dates, plenty of tread on both. The reason for changing the fronts is that it's FWD, all the weight is at the front, it steers at the front and I doubt she'll go fast enough that oversteer will be a problem! Unless there's something I don't understand. Apologies if you're aware of this, and I know not everyone agrees, but I wouldn't put new tyres on the front of a kids car and leave older ones on the back. If you are only going to change two, put the new ones on the back
She does understand the clutch - I must say, I'm used to more torquey engines and this does need more revs from a standing start. However, it can pull from walking speed in second. She just needs more practise.
I decided to put the tyres on the front. The rears have plenty of meat on, and it steers rather better now! I also realised that her occasionally jerky clutch control was partly down to sitting too close to the pedals. One notch back and she's smoother already!
How do I get the big dent out of the passenger footwell that's gradually appearing?
How do I get the big dent out of the passenger footwell that's gradually appearing?
I had to follow this up with (probably) a final post. She passed this morning! One minor, which is apparently amazing. There followed the joy of new driver insurance, and moving the car's home to her mum's which is rather more expensive for the insurance.
It turned out that the least extortionate option was the Co-Op Young Driver black box policy, in her name with me as a named driver. £1543 a year - ouch - but at least she can earn some NCD and it's all above board. The Skoda is now in her name, at her main address, 10K a year SDP & commuting.
I am so very proud today!
It turned out that the least extortionate option was the Co-Op Young Driver black box policy, in her name with me as a named driver. £1543 a year - ouch - but at least she can earn some NCD and it's all above board. The Skoda is now in her name, at her main address, 10K a year SDP & commuting.
I am so very proud today!
An update a year or so on. The Skoda has been unerringly reliable, except for the battery going flat occasionally. The poor thing has been bounced off a number of static objects, and last week got part exchanged for a 2012 Corsa. It fetched £250 as it was cosmetically pretty sad by this point and was about due for an MOT. It did its job, and was a great first car.
Tons of room inside and quite fun to drive, except on motorways and dual carriageways where 70mph saw it running at 3500 rpm and it was a bit susceptible to crosswinds and high sided vehicle turbulence.
It also turns out that having manual windows, no central locking and no air con gets the p*ss taken by your 19-25 year old mates who have better cars.
Tons of room inside and quite fun to drive, except on motorways and dual carriageways where 70mph saw it running at 3500 rpm and it was a bit susceptible to crosswinds and high sided vehicle turbulence.
It also turns out that having manual windows, no central locking and no air con gets the p*ss taken by your 19-25 year old mates who have better cars.
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