2000 Skoda Fabia Classic review from UK and Ireland

We had two Fabia's as company cars (one green & one blue for list of defects), and they were always going back to the dealership for warranty work - Skoda customer service was brilliant and could not be faulted, 100% customer service - which is EXACTLY the opposite of Peugeot UK.

We bought them as they were the first in the country and they fell into the cheap road tax price (£105 at the time), and they came with 3 years FREE servicing and 3 years warranty (both were for unlimited mileage in the three years).

The green car defects: Skoda boot lid badge fell off, radio knobs fell off, petrol cap release lever plastic broke off in car leaving sharp metal, gear lever selector jammed up and had to be freed up at the garage, wheel bearings failed - twice, dashboard lcd displays failed and had to be replaced.

The blue car defects: Wheel bearings went - twice (sounds familiar!), Radio knobs fell off (Hmmm!), dashboard lcd displays failed (another one!) and finally the head gasket went at 30000 miles.

Both cars if left out overnight the front brake discs would oxidise and rust would form by the morning - braking first thing in the morning could be quite scary until the brake pads cleared of the rust deposits - local garage informed me that all the range did that as they were cheap quality (but original Skoda parts).

As were kept both cars past the three year warranty period, we were able to pay for an expended warranty for another two years - During the extended two years the blue Fabia's head gasket went, damaging the top end of the engine - A wise move and no problems with the Skoda warranty as the car was repaired with no problems.