Skoda Fabia 1.4

Ive had this car for 2 years and done about 22,000 miles in it.

i have had no problems at all to speak of, the sunroof leaked and sometimes still does but thats not the car it was fitted after market, one time the washers stopped working because the water froze and pushed off the tube to the rear window it cost 35 quid to put right but thats all.

good points performs well and drives great very stable and quiet at speed will hold motorway speeds all day long and mpg is good.

it is very comfortable and solid and feels safe at speed as well as round town.

the first mot i needed new tires all round but again thats just tires, they wear out the other thing it needed was a bulb, this time when i took it it needed er....... another bulb, by the way this car is x reg and year 2000 so to say it only needed bulbs over 2 mots (apart from consumables like tires) is expected for a car thats a couple of years old but not for a car that is 12 years old.....

there is still no rust on it and the paint has not even faded and it is RED which is common to fade to a salmon pink matt on most cars.

i am very happy with this car and before it i owned a golf and before that i owned a mercedes ( theres a reccession dont you know :) so i have also had Jaguars and big old american things and nissan micras depending on my financial position at the time and i can honestly say i like this car the best it does what it does well and i am not planning on getting rid of it any time soon.

the one thing i dislike about this car is that the cigarette lighter is down near the hand brake so its awkward for a sat nav or anything else you want to plug in and put on the dash however i bought an extention lead for the cigarette lighter which i run down the passenger seat side to stop me catching it when using the hand brake or changing gear but it is a small thing to complain about :P

to sum up i have had nothing but start first turn reliability from this car

one thing to point out is that the 1.4mpi has what seems to be a misfire when ticking over i was concerned at first but the forums and the skoda mechs all say the same thing ... this is normal it is to keep the emmissions lower for ticking over it drops out the odd beat... this has never had any effect on the driving it is only occasionally on idle but they all do it and after a while you dont notice any more it is definately not an ecu problem its just a quirk of the design as i say i noticed this on day 1 and it has never changed or caused a problem in 2 yrs and 22.000 miles

I bought this car second hand as an antidote to troublesome motoring in a '67 MKII Cortina 1600E and BOY! was I in for a shock. The Fabia is GREAT. once you get past the fact that it doesn't look cool (and what does after a classic like the ford) but actually, the car is understated and refined. It ain't a hot hatch - but it is ALL of the following.

1. comfortable - on short hops or long motorway drives.

2. got grunt. Can easily hit a ton and stay there if you want it to.

3. nimble - great steering, solid as a rock - and my car is over 8 years old!

4. economical.

5. RELIABLE!!!!

5. Costs nothing to insure

My comfort is a 2001 model - it'd had done 47000 - one owner, serviced at the dealer with full history. It'd been looked after granted.. but at £3,000 an absolute bargain. will be buying another when this one gives-up the ghost - but don't imagine it'll be doing that for another ten years or so - not on my mileage.

You can pick em up on ebay for peanuts - and so long as you know what you're looking for - i reckon they represent a fantastic cheap option for reliable motoring. Ideal for anyone young and old who isn't bothered by prestige, owning a newer car etc.

besides which - they're simply a VW in a different dress - so there's quality there.

i bought this seconhand car for my wife with 65,000 on the clock. after driving it myself i was very suprised at what a great little car it is, i say little but it turned out to be very spacious inside and good boot space as well. we have owned 6 volkswagens over the years and so i knew the reliability would not be an issue with the skoda and that has proved to be right, when you close the doors "it sounds just like a golf", i honestly cant find a fault with this car, an alround cracker but, a word of warning, the later models do seem to have an electrical fault which skoda know about but refuse to aknowledge and costs around £800 to repair so beware. overall i give the early models 5 stars.

Ive had my little car for about six months now and although i do love it, there are many things which go repeatedly wrong with it. Within the first 3 months the engine management light came on three times. Luckily I still had cover from the garage so it didnt cost me anything to fix but now my cover has ran out and Ive been quoted £60 off many garages just to tell me what the problem is, without fixing it! After paying £2000 for this second hand car im now really guttered and cant afford to get it fixed! The car seems to stall alot and decides not to turn on sometimes. When I stop at lights it feels like its going to cut out which is rather scary. When everything is ok with the car its great to drive and practical. I named my car 'Fabulous' at first but im soon to change the name! lol

Yesterday (28/03/08) I bought a W-reg (00) Skoda Fabia 1.4 MPI clean inside out. I previously had a VW N-reg Golf but I was surprised to see the space inside. At first I thought I'm driving an estate.

I must say I'm impressed. Only concern is it feels like it skips a bit when I change gear and accelerate. I'm not sure about the cause, let me know if anyone is aware.

Apart from that, this is a fantastic car.

Seats comfortable, smooth to drive. This is a lovely car to drive but has developed a knocking. The Skoda 14 mpi is using a lot of water from the header tank.

I've got 138,000 on the clock of my Skoda Fabia so far from new, and this car has been driven hard from the start. It is still fun to drive, and has been the best reliable small hatch I have driven in a long time (having driven a great number of cars in the course of work). It has sweet cornering, positive precise steering, and excellent road holding and stability. Its fun to drive on twisting technical roads, and has enough power to comfortably cruise on motorways. Good balance of mpg versus engine power (1.4 16V) The free service for 3 years was also well worth it for us (we had very high mileage) and the local garage service was generally good with a courtesy car. I would recommend the Fabia without hesitation. However, the spec has changed from the elegance model in 2000 (for the worse) - the seats and some spec now seem cheaper quality. Its been used very day with remarkable reliability. A new clutch at 98 thousand, new front discs at 105 though, a nifty weld at 65 thousand has kept the original exhaust still going strong (you need a mortgage for a new one complete with cat!) New shockers after 100,000 and the starter motor has just failed on me. We've carried building materials, tip runs, packed in 3 dogs, mother in laws, family and camping gear, and 3 bikes on the roof. For a small car it's a TARDIS, and superb value for money.

I have recently picked up a Fabia RS (Sport Edition), and I have to say I love it. Please note that this model is only available in Greece as it is not the Turbo Diesel model. Actually what Skoda Hellas does is that they take a the 1.4 101hp model and perform the following upgrades:

-Upgrades the Air intake system to a performance one (cone intake, etc.)

-Upgrades the CPU with a 'sport edition' program raising the HP to 116

-Changes the Shocks and Springs to K2 system

-Includes Tinted windows

-Includes an RS package interior (pedals, steering wheel, instrument panel)

-Adds a Performance Exaust

-Adds 16inch mag wheels that are usually only on the RS models

-and finally sticks on the VRS badge front and back.

The car performs wonderfully, and sounds absolutely monstrous when pushed hard. The great thing about the exhaust is that if you don't put your foot down, it sounds like any other normal exhaust, the beast is released when the you get heavy on the gas.

Don't get me wrong though, this is not a dragster. Despite the modifications, it is very comfortable and elegant. It just has a sporty side to it too.

I have not yet had any problems with the car, but of course it is still too early to tell.

I will keep you informed.

The Skoda Fabia 1.4 is not as cheap as you think. When I bought it I was led to believe that I got 3 years free servicing, this was not the case OK maybe I did not ask the right questions to the salesman and pin them down. Very poor starter, has not started several times, warning lights keep comming on, you need to upgrade to the more powerful engine otherwise it is seriously underpowered. Very poor car for the money, would not touch one with a bargepole again!

This Skoda Fabia 1.4 is a solidly engineered car at a very reasonable price, and to all the badge snobs - I am laughing all the way to the bank!