2000 Skoda Fabia Comfort from UK and Ireland - Comments

Faulty Lambda Sensor, replaced whilst on holiday following a large detour.

Head Gasket Blew @ 7000 miles.

Both Rear Doors Leaked, probably from new, but not discovered till 8000 miles.

Rear Wheels squeal like a rusty wheelbarrow between 15 and 30 miles per hour. The garage has attempted to fix twice. Still happening though.

Rear hatch release failed.

Heater control has failed.

Dealer broke windscreen during one of the repairs.

Please do not believe what the motoring press has said about this car. They only drive it for a couple of days. Try living with it. It is easily the worst built car I have every owned.

On the plus side :

It's interior is good bar a couple of rattles.

It handles and rides reasonable well.

3 Years free servicing and warranty has meant despite the problems I have not paid out a penny. Except petrol costs for the 50 mile round trip to the dealer over and over again.

I get about 47 Miles Per Gallon fuel consumption.

This particular one sounds like a lemon.

This happens rarely with Skodas, the huge majority have absolutely no niggles or gripes whatsoever, after all its completely Volkswagen built.

This really is very RARE, so others, please do not be put off! As an owner for the last 27 years, skoda's are very reliable and excellent value - better than most of your fords vauxhalls etc.

This does sound very strange. I have owned a Fabia Comfort since June 2000 and have done 48,000 miles.

The power steering relay has had to be changed and that's that!!

Apart from that it has been a star car!

Sorry, you must just have bad luck!

Hi, I'm from Singapore and I'm a VERY proud owner of a Fabia 1.4 16V Comfort. The review sounds extremely odd. I have owned the car over a year, run it very hard...I'm in sales! And have yet to encounter any problems! It's a beautiful car both externally and mechanically... the next car I own will definitely be a Skoda!

I had a Skoda Fabia 1.4 Comfort, 2001 model and experienced the following faults; blown c/h gasket; faulty radio; sump leak x 2 & subsequent replacement; 2 new water pumps (leaking) ; faulty temp gauge, and broken blower vent -all within 12000 miles (12 months)

Liking the car's drive, we traded this one in and bought a 2002 Estate version. 7000 miles later we had another blown c/h gasket and faulty radio. We also had a very negative experience with SkodaAuto UK Customer Services.

29/11/2003 Very mixed feelings about my car. Feels well built and sturdy and is just the right size for me. However since I purchased it in July 2002 a"W" reg I have had a new steering rack, 2 lambda probes, alarms about power steering and a new electric mechanism for front window. Petrol consumption is poor in town. Thank goodness I extended the warranty--however car has spent considerable time in and out of the dealers being repaired!

I have just last month purchased a 2000 fabia comfort (dec 05). After reading some of the reviews I am starting to have my doubts. The temp gauge is faulty, the rear windsceen wiper has failed and I think the timing belt is about to go as when I first start the car, the revs are all over the place. I thought the build quality was second to none until the bonnet started rattling on the drivers side, I suppose it is 5 years old, but its only been out of the dealers two weeks and its then you start noticing things. But, it has'nt let me down yet and the ride is fun. it looks nice and I am quite young I would like to know if there are any body kits for the baby.

I bought my 2001 Skoda Fabia 1.9 TDI from a dealership 20 months ago. It had 30K on the clock and now has 60K.

Since I've had the car:

A) The roll-bar bushes went. The dealership replaced the old roll bar with a new one said to be designed to eliminate future bushes breaking. Three months on, and it's knocking again.

Cost = £140.

B) The power steering sensor went. Within a year it went again. The dealership tells me that the there has been a spate of 2001 Fabias with the same problem. So much so that the the part (sensor) is on back order and is not expected in stock for another three weeks.

Cost: would be £120 but luckily fitted under warranty and replacement part broke within the 1 year guarantee.

C) Dealership tells me that advice from Skoda is to replace timing belt every 4 years regardless of mileage.

Cost: £370.

D) Lots of trim rattle.

E) Speakers fade in and out.

I feel your pain. Never again would I own this car. Mine also leaked and I was told by the dealer that this was a common problem.

Unluckily for me, I was not covered under warranty (as bought 2nd hand) so had to spend over £2000 in the first year of ownership.

I would strongly recommend the Favorit. My old 94 reg got me to Italy and back with no problems.

I own a Fabia Skoda 2003 and have driven it for these last 5 years.

The only thing that went was the front passenger electric window and this only just a while ago. This was wear and tear and not a defect. Otherwise this car has proved to be true to its promo advertising and has as yet presented no problems.

I would not hesitate in recommending Skoda Fabia as it has compared very well to the other cars (Fiat, Datsun, Subaru and Tata) I have owned these past 30 years.