Hi,
I'm interested in buying a second hand Skoda Fabia. The car is low mileage, approx 10,000 miles, about 18 months old. However the dealer (approved skoda) has told me that the car was previously used as a replacement car for drivers whose own car was off the road. This makes me a little worried that it might have been treated badly, lots of people wouldn't show the same respect to a replacement car as they would to their own.
Any advice?
Thanks,
Dave
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is it well priced ?
is it on variable servicing ?
has it been serviced ?
--
Go on, get out of the car...
www.mikes-walks.co.uk
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is it well priced ?
Yes
is it on variable servicing ?
Not sure
has it been serviced ?
Yes
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I understand your concern to a point but there are those who would say that a car driven by lots of drivers has some advantages. The thinking is that varied driving styles are best at bedding ithe car in. Of course it may have been thrashed but (and this isnt knocking Skoda's, I like them) the typical Skoda driver is not a speed merchant and I assume it was mostly used by them if it was a Skoda dealer's courtesy car? Personally I'd not be influenced either way and just make the normal assessment of the car and the general attitude and vibe of the dealer. If you want it you can use its status as a bargaining chip to drive the price down - although I note you say its already well-priced. At the end of the day though, if in doubt there's always another 'un. Finally Fabia's are not rare and a new model is due so prices will slide anyway.
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As a courtesy car, I;d suspect that it has been used for a lot of town driving and short journeys(*). VAG actually advise that variable servicing is not suitable for this sort of driving pattern, but they do so in a very low whisper, and few dealers know or care.
If it's the right price, serviced, and on fixed servicing and you like it, then go for it
(*) I am baffled by someone at work who PAID for a 'courtesy' car so they can drive the mile from the dealers to work, leave it in the car park all day then drive back to the dealers - and there are two different people who have done this
--
Go on, get out of the car...
www.mikes-walks.co.uk
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What is variable servicing? I'm guessing it's something to do with the really long service itervals that some modern cars have?
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variable servicing - the service is required not every 'n' months or 'x'000 miles nut when the car tells you, by measuring 'stuff' - number or starts, oil temperature, mileage, etc, etc,
i.e. take a car, drive it 2 miles a day an the service indicator may come on after 8,000m. Drive the same car 100 miles a day and the service indicator may come on after 10, 20, 25+ 000m
Probably, most people consider this to be means of keeping costs dowm for fleet managers
--
Go on, get out of the car...
www.mikes-walks.co.uk
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By any other name it is a ex-hire car - base your decisions on that - price an ex-Avis/Hertz etc against it
Is it a good deal - only you can really say.
In my life I have bought 2 ex-hires - both were as good as a new car - one had 8,000 miles and 3 mths old - the other 2000 miles and 6 mth old. I still have the latter although it is now 8 yrs old.
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Thanks guys.
I think I may go for it but bargain hard on the fact that it is potentially "damaged goods". A Skoda is probably more likely than average to be able to take a bit of abuse.
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Check carefully that all the trim, seats, door panels, roof lining etc is in good nick - I've seen some amazingly damaged interiors in quite new courtesy cars and it can be expensive to fix.
It could have been thrashed, but can you tell if the tyres are all original? if they're all the same then they may well be, as it's unlikely to have new rear tyres. If the fronts have been replaced at something less than 10K miles then would indicate a hard life.
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I meant to mention seat belts too - sometimes people unfamiliar with the car jam them in the back seat etc (if it folds) so check for damage along the length of all the seat belts. You don't want it failing its first MOT.
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