I own a 2011 Skoda Fabia VRS. The car was registered in January 2011. I purchased the car in May 2011. The car had done just over 1000 miles and had been own solely by the Leicester Skoda dealership (Farmers Skoda) who had used the car as a demonstrator.

A few months into my ownership of the car I became aware that it was using a fair amount of oil. I presumed this was normal and continued to monitor the levels, making sure I topped up when required.

The issue persisted so I contacted the garage for some advice. They said the oil usage I was experiencing was common with this specific car. They suggested that this should improve as the cars mileage increases.

The car has now 19800 on the clock of which I have driven 18000 of those miles. Whilst I can’t be completely accurate with my oil usage, I am positive I have used over 20 litters. I use a high quality Castrol oil meeting the specifications in the service book. I drive the car sensibly and achieve an mpg of around 38 miles per gallon.

Having read fellow Skoda Fabia VRS owners comments online, it appears I am not the only one with this issue. However what is strange is how some peoples engines have not used hardly any oil, others have used similar amounts as mine. It appears that some people have even had a complete engine replacement.

I have today contacted the Skoda garage again with my issue. They insist that that this usage is close to the level expected of this engine. I find this hard to believe considering some owners have not experienced any oil loss. They fail to answer this question with any reasonable answer. They have stated that in order for them to decipher whether I have an issue a 1000 kilometer test will need to be performed. During this the oil will be weighed several times during the trip. If they deem there to be over usage they will investigate further and make the necessary repairs. However if they believe the usage is within a tolerance level, I will be charged for the oil and the man hours (roughly £800)

Can you please advise the best way of approaching this issue? Whilst Im sure there is a problem here, the threat of having to pay £800 is quite off-putting. I’m also concerned that if I went ahead with the test it would not be independent. The garage could therefore provide a result without me knowing whether it is genuine. The car is under warranty with the dealership until January 2014 so I am keen for this problem to be resolved before this expires.