Having bought a VW up BMT for use in the UK its about as much use as a broken lawnmower its a terrible car cheaply made with a poor interior, cheaply painted and not as economical as you would hope plus the three cylinde engine is rubbish.I would look at other makes PSA,Toyota and Ford they have much much better small cars.

I have been looking at this "offer".

It appears that the Fabias on sale at a discount all have the 3 cyl petrol engine with a single chain camshaft drive. These have been found by some (check) to have poor durability and replacement is very expensive. The Cit-mi-up engine has a belt drive which is preferable in every way.

Check the Internet for Cit-mi-up steering problems. It has electric power steering - cheaper than a dedicated hydraulic system but seemingly prone to problems. There have been reports of dangerous random steering pulling when driving the vehicle after it has been left parked in full lock - brilliant.

My local "Skoda" agent was unable (unwilling?) to give me the Fabia engine code so that I could make a proper check on the camshaft drive. He's lost a sale - I'll use an online agent.

659.

Edited by 659FBE on 06/09/2013 at 18:37

The answer to this question depends on your wish or ability to become involved in a detailed analysis of what is on offer, your attitude to risk and your feelings about dealing with the seller when things go wrong.

If you are not able to make a detailed analysis of product weakness, play safe and buy the Toyota.

If you want to minimise risk, buy the Toyota.

If you want to deal with a seller who may be more likely to stand by his product in the event of a problem - buy the Toyota.

One might ask, why ever buy from VAG? For me, the deal breaker was the availability of the best 96kW diesel engine in a non aspirational brand - technically excellent and good value. For others, it might be the aspirational branding, technical sophistication (eg DSG transmission) or the user experience at the touch points. (Hence the existence of Audi).

There's certainly a good VAG range to choose from but for many, myself included, the product backup and the minefield major components which have been shown to be wanting in terms of durability or reliability may make dealing with this organisation a risky venture. A trawl through this Forum will provide evidence to support this view.

Caveat emptor.

659.

It's removable. Unwise owner.

659.

Many thanks for all your comments. Having thought about it I think the Skoda Fabia 1.4 is probably the best vehicle for me.

I would think heavily before I bought an obselete car from VAG,

I quite liked the looks of the Mi, UP and Citigo until I realised, just in time that none of them had centre air vents but only side ones and that would mean inadequate centre ventilation in the recent hot Summer months.