2016 Skoda Fabia SE 1.2 TSI (s/s) - 2016 Skoda Fabia - Good buy? Common Problems?

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Wed 31 Jul 2019 16:46
2016 Skoda Fabia SE 1.2 TSI (s/s) - 2016 Skoda Fabia - Good buy? Common Problems? - Soniya

Hi All,

I'm going to see a 2016 Skoda Fabia SE 1.2 TSI (s/s) and would like your opinions. Is it a good, reliable. Any big known issues I should look out for?

Has done about 40000 miles and has had 2 or 3 services. It's a private seller for £5800.

Should I go for it?

Thanks :)

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Wed 31 Jul 2019 19:21
2016 Skoda Fabia SE 1.2 TSI (s/s) - 2016 Skoda Fabia - Good buy? Common Problems? - SLO76
A perfectly decent little car with good performance and great economy. It drives very well and to date the later belt driven TSi petrol motors are proving very robust. Belt change is due at 5yrs or 120k whichever comes first but it’s not exactly crippling at around £350.

I’d prefer one with a full main dealer history and it’s well worth paying more for an approved used car at a dealer with this and a years Skoda warranty which can be had for £6,200-£6,500 so the one you’re looking at isn’t really cheap enough to warrant the risk.

If it’s perfect and has a full dealer history I’d want it for closer to £5,000, pay no more than £5,500.

I just found a great car on Auto Trader:

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20190730059...0

Edited by SLO76 on 31/07/2019 at 19:23

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Wed 31 Jul 2019 21:38
2016 Skoda Fabia SE 1.2 TSI (s/s) - 2016 Skoda Fabia - Good buy? Common Problems? - skidpan

We have a Fabia. Its the 1.0 TSi 110 PS and its a great car. We also drove the 95 PS version and that was perfectly OK, just that the 110 was better.

In the past we considered the 1.2 TSi and drove a 90 PS Polo (same car under the skin) and it performed poorly. We did not expect a racing car but it was very, very sluggish.

Get a good long drive before you buy but better still try and get a bit more money together and buy the newer and IMHO far better 1.0 TSi.

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Wed 31 Jul 2019 23:27
2016 Skoda Fabia SE 1.2 TSI (s/s) - 2016 Skoda Fabia - Good buy? Common Problems? - SLO76
While I agree that the newer 1.0 TSi’s are an improvement I disagree that the 90PS Fabia is sluggish. It’s perfectly adequate with 113mph and 0-60 in 10.5 seconds plus decent midrange pull. I’ll admit I haven’t driven a Fabia with this engine but I have driven a larger Leon with the more powerful version (it weighs more) and found it again perfectly fine. I’ve a Polo with only 75PS and it manages fine too. It’s all down to personal expectation but I doubt many potential Fabia buyers would find it exactly lacking.
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Thu 1 Aug 2019 11:53
2016 Skoda Fabia SE 1.2 TSI (s/s) - 2016 Skoda Fabia - Good buy? Common Problems? - skidpan
While I agree that the newer 1.0 TSi’s are an improvement I disagree that the 90PS Fabia is sluggish.

It’s all down to personal expectation but I doubt many potential Fabia buyers would find it exactly lacking.

At the time we tried the 90 PS Polo in 2015 we had a 2007 Micra 1.2 with 80 PS and a Seat Leon 1.4 TSi with 140 PS. We did not expect the Polo to perform like the Leon but we did expect it to out perform the Micra, not because of the extra 10 PS but because of the extra torques which were produced much lower down.

Simple fact was it did not seem to pull at all. After the test drive (which was on familiar roads) we retraced the route in the Micra which felt far more lively and actually responded to the throttle. We went back to the garage to try another car but the salesman was not interested in a sale.

When we bought the 1.0 TSi I booked a test drive in a 110 PS car but as usual the sales staff cocked up. 2 days before the test drive they rang to ask which Karoq we wanted to drive and then we we arrived to drive the 110 PS Fabia they were proud to tell me that they had got a brand new 95 PS one form stock for us to try, total idiots. We expected nothing from that car after the 90 PS Polo but it was actually fine, we were genuinely surprised.

Still wanted the 110 PS version not only for the extra power but for the 6 speed box and better brakes.

Found a pre-reg at the next nearest dealer and the difference was noticeable. Ordered via our broker the next day. No regrets.

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Thu 1 Aug 2019 12:55
2016 Skoda Fabia SE 1.2 TSI (s/s) - 2016 Skoda Fabia - Good buy? Common Problems? - SLO76
“Found a pre-reg at the next nearest dealer and the difference was noticeable. Ordered via our broker the next day. No regrets.”

An excellent car, one I’d buy myself and well bought.
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Thu 1 Aug 2019 16:27
2016 Skoda Fabia SE 1.2 TSI (s/s) - 2016 Skoda Fabia - Good buy? Common Problems? - skidpan
“Found a pre-reg at the next nearest dealer and the difference was noticeable. Ordered via our broker the next day. No regrets.” An excellent car, one I’d buy myself and well bought.

Didn't buy the pre-reg, it was a rip off. A brand new car of a higher spec from Carfile was £500 less.

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