[puchoo]

Wis i could help more but thankfully not faced a problem like that , other than hypothesizing a rock or some sharp object hitting it while driving i suppose i would also attribute it to wear and tear - and 94,000 kilometers she is not a spring chicken any more!

Just be careful with the bonnet opening experimentation , the last thing you want is to have scuffed paint or some reoccurring problem with the locking mechanism thanks to them and whatever creative idea they come up with to open it.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

Originally Posted by Rajeev1

Bumping up an old thread to see if I can get any answers / suggestions to some problems I am facing with my Skoda Fabia.

[motorworks]

Folks need some advice!

I'm on the look out for a used car for my wife, who would be using very sparingly, I think not more than 500-600 kms a month. So a petrol hatch back made sense and I have been looking at options like the Beat, I10 etc.

With the new rule of Aribags and ABS being mandatory, I figured that if I bought a used car without these, I may have a hard time selling it after 3-4 years by when this rule would become a factor during re-sale. Hence I started looking at premium hatchbacks that had these features and the only ones that are coming close to my budget are the likes of Fabia and Punto.

Found a 2010, 38k Ambiente Fabia which is being quoted 3Lakhs. I drove the car and it was fantastic! I can compare the ride to the new corolla Altis which I test drove recently for a friend. I mean its way better than even my Rapid! Anyway, my general perception is that Fabias are very high on mainteneance since a lot of parts are imported. is this true?
The Rapid has been very easy on me since it shares its parts with Polo / Vento, but the Fabia seems to be in another league.
Any feedback from Fabia owners would be really helpful.

[swami.n]

Originally Posted by motorworks

Folks need some advice!

...

Any feedback from Fabia owners would be really helpful.

Hi motorworks, Though I'm not a Fabia owner, based on feedback from one of my colleagues who owns a fabia, I could say that the service costs are a bit on the higher side when compared to other hatches available. When I get a bill of 4-5k for my figo for a regular service, he quotes almost double for the same(both mine & his are diesels).

Though considering your running, its not going to make a huge difference if you divide it on a monthly basis. On the other hand it costs hell a lot of money when you go for replacing something.

Recently he hit a dog which suddenly crossed the road(luckily nothing happened to the dog) the front bumper had to be replaced and more damage to other parts behind the bumper, the amount he quoted was like, you could fix a major accident hit Maruti. I know, I know, its a bit of exaggeration. But that is how I felt


For your requirement, why not look at the top petrol variants of Figo, Micra or Pulse in the used market. All these are good cars with poor resale

My choice would be the Micra. It fits your requirements perfectly.
Considering its going to be driven by your wife, its the easiest to maneuver, highly fuel efficient, has safety features & most importantly looks cute and girlish.

[allien936]

Originally Posted by Rajeev1

Bumping up an old thread to see if I can get any answers / suggestions to some problems I am facing with my Skoda Fabia.

My Skoda Fabia (1.4 TDI) has run 94000 kms as of now and it is a daily runner. The Fabia has always been serviced at the Skoda authorized service centres and I have never faced any major issues till date. About 10000 kms back - I got the timing belt/chain and water pump replaced at the ASC as part of the preventive maintenance schedule.

Suddenly over the last 15 days multiple issues cropped up (I would believe it is coincidental that all these things happened at the same time).

Issue 1) - About 2 weeks back - as I pulled the bonnet release lever to open the bonnet with a view to top up the windshield washer fluid, the lever became free. The connection to the release hook snapped and I was unable to open the bonnet. I made a mental note to go to a service centre and get this fixed as this was a minor issue and not important enough to merit immediate attention

Issue 2) - About 3 days back, as I walked towards my car in the morning to start my daily office routine, I noticed 3-4 drops of oil which had dropped from the engine sump onto the parking area. Upon further inspection, found the underside of the sump wet with oil and the slow seepage had taken place overnight. After ascertaining that the seepage was slow, drove the car to office and back and set an appointment with a Bosch mulitbrand service centre nearby for the next day (as the Skoda ASC is about 20 kms from my residence).

Issue 3) - Reached the Service centre and the Fabia was lifted up on the jack for inspection. Apart from the oil sump leak, noticed that the front right side drive shaft was also wet with oil seepage - this was not connected to the engine oil leak and was a separate issue.

The service centre guys later informed me that the engine oil leak was from the 'crank case gasket' area. And also that one drive shaft required replacement.

Since then - After I gave them the go ahead for the repairs, it has been two days and the service centre guys have been unable to open the bonnet till now!!(due to Issue 1 described above). The latest is that the service manager mentioned that he is going to get his tinkerer today and figure out how to open the bonnet.

This is self driven car and thus I cannot attribute any of the above issues to rough driving, underbody impact etc. To be it seems to be a case of normal wear and tear.

Need your views on :
1) Any Bhpain faced a similar situation?
2) Views on whether the issues described above could be attributed to any other root cause?
3) Is there is simple way to pop the bonnet lid if the release lever mechanism fails?

Attaching a couple of pics of the underbody - to give you folks and idea.

Hi rajeev
Can you suggest me an honest service station to get my Fabia (1.4 TDI) Serviced? Coz JMD guys in Nerul, Navi Mumbai are not at all trust worthy.
1. And coming to your problems, I think the leak has nothing to do with the drive shaft, so it shouldn't need a replacement.
2. The bonnet release lever is a cable operated mechanism, so from the front grill, if the cable is accessible with a pair of tweezers, then pulling it will help open the bonnet (easy way)
Regards
Keep Revvin'

[allien936]

Originally Posted by 21Archer84

Hi guys,

It's my first post and wanted to share my views on the Fabia.

I bought a black 2008 made used 1.2Htp version of it a month ago. 30500kms was on the reading when it was handed to me and boy this car grips the road superbly(when compared to the Fiesta I have at home). Returned around 11kms in bumper-bumper Pune city drive and close to 16kmpl with 70% highway driving.

It was due for a service and after so much of research for a good service center in Pune and reviews from fellow bhpians, decided to hand it over to Tune Up Plus in Baner.

They are working on the SF(which I call it) at the moment as I post this. And guys do you think 3Lacs was a good deal for this little hatch?

A click from the recent drive to Shirdi
Attachment 942151



Attachment 942152

@TUP

Attachment 942153

HI 21ARCH84
Was going through these posts, and read that you got ur car services from some Non skoda service station. What was your experience?was it expensive?i come to pune for consultation often, hence i thought i can get it done from there, if your experience was a better one that i had in JMD, Nerul

[allien936]

Originally Posted by motorworks

Folks need some advice!

I'm on the look out for a used car for my wife, who would be using very sparingly, I think not more than 500-600 kms a month. So a petrol hatch back made sense and I have been looking at options like the Beat, I10 etc.

With the new rule of Aribags and ABS being mandatory, I figured that if I bought a used car without these, I may have a hard time selling it after 3-4 years by when this rule would become a factor during re-sale. Hence I started looking at premium hatchbacks that had these features and the only ones that are coming close to my budget are the likes of Fabia and Punto.

Found a 2010, 38k Ambiente Fabia which is being quoted 3Lakhs. I drove the car and it was fantastic! I can compare the ride to the new corolla Altis which I test drove recently for a friend. I mean its way better than even my Rapid! Anyway, my general perception is that Fabias are very high on mainteneance since a lot of parts are imported. is this true?
The Rapid has been very easy on me since it shares its parts with Polo / Vento, but the Fabia seems to be in another league.
Any feedback from Fabia owners would be really helpful.

Hi Motorworks
I am a proud owner of a November 2008, 1.4 PD Tdi Elegance Fabia, which i bought as used at 38,000 kms. The performance is still spot on. Grips on highways is amazing. Returns around 25kmpl on highways on steady speeds. Within the mumbai traffic (with AC on ofcourse) i get around 17kmpl.
I bought it around 5 months back. Just got it serviced then, and got the wiper water reservoir replaced as it was leaking. Apart from this no major work had to be done on the car. If you can find a reliable service station to get the car serviced other than ASC, i am pretty sure this is car to go for
The rate at which the price decreases, the value or quality doesnt decrease of these cars. Count on me for the personal experience.
I had bought it through carwale.com, from a thane based dealer.
Got the detailing done from 3M Car Care, seawoods. (these are guys are so amazing and professional)
And since then i am a very satisfied and happy owner of The Fabia.

[danlalan]

Originally Posted by motorworks

Folks need some advice!


Found a 2010, 38k Ambiente Fabia which is being quoted 3Lakhs. Anyway, my general perception is that Fabias are very high on mainteneance since a lot of parts are imported. is this true?
The Rapid has been very easy on me since it shares its parts with Polo / Vento, but the Fabia seems to be in another league.
Any feedback from Fabia owners would be really helpful.

I just replaced my civic with a Fabia. Although the fabia is temporary till i find what iam looking for. Iam pretty happy with its build quality and ride quality. Its a 1.4mpi elegance and for the features it has iam pretty suprised. Its in league with the upper mid segment cars. What with projectors and suroof etc.

As far as the servicing goes. Just got it back from service. The service intervals are once in a year.

Heres a breakup for the service. All in INR

Autobahn : Mumbai, Kandivali workshop
ENGINE OIL 4300.00
OIL FILTER 430
AIR FILTER 700
AC FILTER 470
FUEL FILTER 1125
CONSUMABLE 450
RUST OFF 450
BRAKE CLEANER 450
WINDSHIELD LIQUID 150
VAS SCANING 750
BRAKE CLEANING 850
RR WIPER BLADES 750120
RADIATOR & CONDENSSOR CLEANING 850
THROTTLE BODY CLEANING 900.

That should give u an idea of the service cost.

[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by allien936

HI 21ARCH84
Was going through these posts, and read that you got ur car services from some Non skoda service station. What was your experience?was it expensive?i come to pune for consultation often, hence i thought i can get it done from there, if your experience was a better one that i had in JMD, Nerul

Quite a long time since I posted it, anyways, coming to the point on the experience at nonskoda service, had an Okay service experience from TuneUp plus.
Rating it okay as the guy recommended grinding of the Disc rotors for better bite, which i got it done from him. However there was steering wobble on braking at speeds over 70-80kmph. Had to replace the rotors after few months though.
Never went back to any nonSkoda garages. Got the car serviced at the Wakad service centre during the Pashankar days and had a decent experience. The car now is sitting at Viraaj Skoda-Wagholi, waiting for the Power Window motor to arrive.Experience at Viraaj Skoda too has been a decent one, wont rate it as the best though I feel there is change in attitude of the Skoda guys. Just an FYI.
Let me know if you need any other information.

[Rajeev1]

Originally Posted by allien936

Hi rajeev

Can you suggest me an honest service station to get my Fabia (1.4 TDI) Serviced? Coz JMD guys in Nerul, Navi Mumbai are not at all trust worthy.

1. And coming to your problems, I think the leak has nothing to do with the drive shaft, so it shouldn't need a replacement.

2. The bonnet release lever is a cable operated mechanism, so from the front grill, if the cable is accessible with a pair of tweezers, then pulling it will help open the bonnet (easy way)

Regards

Keep Revvin'

Hi alien936

I used to get my Fabia serviced at the Senator Skoda workshop in Kandivali (Charkop) while I was in Mumbai. (Have since moved to Bangalore). The senator guys used to do a honest job and were not very expensive. You could try them if it works for you. They keep calling me for service reminders till date !

Regards
Rajeev



Sent from my iPhone using Team-BHP

[kbishwa]

Sorry to see no recent update on this thread! Even if the car is discontinued, it should still be owned by many like me.

A die-hard admirer of my Fabia 1.6. I'm still looking for a car in this segment or one segment above which can instill the kind of confidence this tank can do!

Would like to write if there is any audience/user left in this thread owning this car.

[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by kbishwa

Would like to write if there is any audience/user left in this thread owning this car.

Of course there'll be many such users. I still have the 2008 1.2HTP Ambiante I bought from its first owner 5yrs ago. Though there are few niggles, it drives like a charm. Was anxiously waiting for the new Fabia, but realized there's no replacement expected anytime soon.

[aayushnair]

I have my 2011 Fabia type 2 and intended on keeping it. She's done about 90k+ kms and I love each drive. Cheers

[rajcs]

My Fabia 1.6 2011 model is still my preferred choice for long drives. It's a bit embarrassing to again claim that the car still brings on a smile every time i am behind the wheel... But it still does 😁

[Dr.Vikas]

Here is one more proud & happy owner of the FABulous car..
Mine is 2010 model (1.2 TDI Ambient) bought on 20.10.2010 & by now has done 1.18L on odometer.

Completed 7 services, all at ASC- Shrine Auto, Kolhapur.
Have got the timing belt assembly changed at 80-85k running.. Besides that, no any major issue & I have decided to keep it for another 2-3 yrs at least.

But now the car needs Suspension work to be done soon. And I am thinking about getting it done from an outside workshop as the quotation at ASC may come around 40+ k..

Any suggestions?

[aayushnair]

Originally Posted by Dr.Vikas

Here is one more proud & happy owner of the FABulous car..
Mine is 2010 model (1.2 TDI Ambient) bought on 20.10.2010 & by now has done 1.18L on odometer.

Completed 7 services, all at ASC- Shrine Auto, Kolhapur.
Have got the timing belt assembly changed at 80-85k running.. Besides that, no any major issue & I have decided to keep it for another 2-3 yrs at least.

But now the car needs Suspension work to be done soon. And I am thinking about getting it done from an outside workshop as the quotation at ASC may come around 40+ k..

Any suggestions?

Hi Dr.

Since my car's warranty expired in 2015 I've been servicing it and keeping it in prime myself. I've had new suspensions installed from outside as well by a trusted mechanic, who sourced OEM parts (made in Germany) and it's been running great. The total cost with installation was around 12k (for all 4).

I still have to get the timing kit done at 120k (as per my manual) and there's something that needs to be addressed with the steering rack (skoda fooled me here while the car was in her first year by telling me it's normal only to find out it's a fault with the rack which although doesn't need replacement immediately but it's now getting there). But all this will also be done not through Skoda.

Cheers