Faults:

Having not had the car for that long, nothing major has gone wrong with it. There are a few things however, which were wrong with it when I bought it.

The interior clock is completely scrambled (not uncommon) and there are a few minor cosmetic blemishes here and there, but nothing major. The manifold down-pipe blew a few weeks ago, but it was just after I bought the car so they fixed it for free.

General Comments:

The seats are so amazingly comfortable. You sit in them and sink! They don't hold you very well going round corners though. The engine for a 1.3 8v is incredibly punchy (I beat a 2.0 16v Golf GTI off the line yesterday!). The body work is immaculate. Mine is a late 1995 N and it has absolutely no rust at all! It looks really small from the outside, but it actually has a huge boot as well. With the seats folded down I can fit a bicycle in straight! The heater is very efficient and the windows never mist up. The ride is smooth and I don't think you could get many other N reg cars with 59000 miles on the clock for £900! An all round good buy. This car is also great for modifying as the engine has lots of scope and the electrics are relatively simple.

Faults:

The rotor arm needs cleaning every 6,000 and replacing every 12,000 miles.

After 70,000 miles the temperature started fluctuating (mid to very hot) and a block test has confirmed that the head gasket is starting to let go.

General Comments:

Adequately and thoughtfully appointed interior (for an 80's family car) - my spec included central locking, immobiliser and a Blaupunkt CD.

Reasonable comfort (have often exceeded 500 miles in a day)

Superb dry handling and reasonably predictable wet handling (for its class)

n.b. helped by HP lowered struts and VW Golf 6x14 steel wheels - leading Skoda dealers will sell the struts.

Performance is responsive throughout the range, though be prepared to use 4th gear on hilly motorways.

My Favorit returns 36mpg overall from fairly hard driving.

As highlighted by the few problems I've had in over 40,000 miles, this car is dependable.

A service history that includes coolant replacements is recommended.

I agree that the "jokes" are misplaced.

Faults:

Rear Wheel Bearing.

Engine Manifold came loose.

Brake Fluid leak.

Radiator blew.

Starter died.

General Comments:

Having next to no money and a baby on the way, this was about the cheapest 5 door car we could find. It has been a point A to B car well, though for the amount I drive it (not often), it has started to fall apart too quickly. Decent fuel economy is nice. Worst thing perhaps about the car is the loud engine. It sounds like a dump truck. However despite the problems I don't regret the purchase.