my girlfriends parents have a felica 1.3, P reg, has proplems with stalling and the "timer"? basically you sit and a set of lights, engine revs up and down it self pull away well try to a kaput, there goes the hazard lights on again and sit for 30 secs then start, recently things started leaking like doors rubber seals, and the offside side light doesnt come on unless you hit the bonet above it, then when on dipped they flash for 10 secs then stay on, almost like a street light warming up, after 8 trips to the dealer that sold them the car i said look get a Vaux, ooooo no no no dad says we like the car, i laughed nicely, then the next day the exhust pipe rubbers? on back box work loss and now rattles.
Sam
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Not unusual to have problems in a six year old car, but the newer Felicias have been noted for their reliability.
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but compare that to our old A Reg Ford Escort we had got rid of about 5 year ago because the engine packed up or some techinal problem that would cost ££££ to fix, no major problems with that, i have a 7 year old corsa, about half the milage of the gf felicia but not even a noise apart from new exhust pipe needed due to the 9,400 when i got the car, yes 9,400 on a 7 year old corsa, i have just ticked 13,000 but i aint sure how as i got the car 2 months ago, i havent been part birmingham in it and i still manage 4000 miles, is this normal for a private non business use car, although work and back to home is 25 miles
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My Father's SWMBO (aka Mother)has a Fabia. Y plated it has been lavished with neglect. It has been driven to and from Spain a couple of times and has not had a warranty claim and is still a good car despite the lack of care (other than servicing by the book) in fact it would be a pretty sound second hand car for someone.
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This vehicle was NOT 6 years old, but just out of warranty. And it has VW stamped all over the engine!!
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This vehicle was NOT 6 years old, but just out of warranty. And it has VW stamped all over the engine!!
Before you have a seizure, it may help to note that my reply was to Urlife.
No Dosh
mailto:Alan_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk
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Is the Felicia a 'VAG Skoda' or not? Given the introduction date of the Felicia I'm not convinced that VAG would've had much input at the design stage. Agreed they've certainly been built under the VAG umbrella though.
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The Felicia was a halfway house between the old Skoda and its current VAG-owned self and not representative of the current lineup. The old jokes are definitely not appropriate for the Fabia/Octavia/Superb models.
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I think most people know they are just VWs underneath now don't they, but given the choice of the group I'd still have a SEAT. Don't know why, possibly because it has a younger "image"..?
I had a Fabia as a courtesy car once and I was amazed by the amount of kit on it for a basic model. Apart from it being a bit plasticky inside it was just as nice as driving a golf.
People made the usual Skoda jokes... until they had a ride in it.
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I think most people know they are just VWs underneath
I have been wondering lately how long VAG have got before Audi buyers realise they can get the same car for a few grand less by buying a VW, and VW buyers realise they can get the same car for a few grand less by buying a Seat or Skoda? At some point it has to all fall down, used prices will crash and VW/Audi showrooms will empty.
I wondered about buying a nice Audi but didn't because (a) I don't want to drive a Skoda* and (b) I don't want every Superb driver to look at me and laugh as the wave the wads of cash they saved despite getting essentially the same car.
My guess is 2-3 years. Any advance?
*plenty of good reasons for this which I will discuss if there is demand. None of them relate to the quality of the cars.
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Had a lift in a Fabia before Chrimbo and was staggered at the amount of room in the back seats, far better than our Bora.
A friend has an Octavia Tdi which he has raved about, and said to me that if he doesn't get 60mpg on his way to work "I want to know why!".
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My brother has had an Octavia TDI 110 estate (his choice of company car) for 18 months / 50k miles and is delighted with it. 55 mpg, reliable, reasonably quick, practical, quality excellent, good dealers.
He reccommends the Octavia TDI unreservedly to anyone who 'doubts the wisdom of paying £2000 for a badge'.
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I've had a not quite bottom-of-the-range Fabia for eight months and it's done a little over 4000 miles. I know it's early days but I haven't had cause to return to the dealer in that time.
As most people know, Octavia=Leon=old model Golf and A3, Superb=Passat, Fabia=Polo=Ibiza. I think the Felicia pre-dates all this platform sharing but it certainly appeared under the VW ownership and does have a lot of VW parts.
I went straight to a VW dealer after test driving the Fabia. I was struck by how similar the current Polo is.
Patently seems to have a point and there's another way of looking at the issue of which VAG car to buy. At one time, Skoda were grateful for people's business and sold through smallish, family-owned businesses which sold to loyal buyers. They were no doubt aided by the cheap prices and the fact that free servicing and one or two other nice goodies were offered with the cars. Now that the product has improved, there's anecdotal evidence that they are becoming more like the parent company (even the showrooms are similar now) and some of the advantages from the buyer's point of view are eroding. There's been some discussion of this in the Skoda forums at www.briskoda.net .
If you want grateful dealers, and a good package to make you look at a car you'd otherwise ignore, you now have to be buying Korean.
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The thing is, I don't think it's to do with the quality of the product, as I've no doubt that it is largely the same throughout VAG's range, and indeed other car makers.
It's about brand image, and whilst Audi isn't quite up there with Merc in terms of badge appeal, it is definately higher than a VW, which many people will pay more for. Likewise VW has more status than Skoda.
That's why taxi drivers prefer their Skodas, cheaper to buy, same quality as a VW, and they don't give a hoot about the brand image. :-)
Blue
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"same quality as a VW"
There was a thread on this last December triggered by Jeremy Clarkson's article in the Sunday Times. Some of his comments were as follows:-
"He assessed the(Skoda) build quality as on a par with a Fiat and the quality of the materials as a "notch or two down on VW or Audi"
He summed up "But no matter how many times we're told differently. Skoda is still the crappiest badge that money can buy. Telling people you have one marks you out as someone with no style at all"
HJ was also critical of the Fabia.
I can't help thinking that if the cars produced by Skoda(or Seat for that matter) were of the "same quality as a VW" that VAG would simply stick on VW badges and market them as the real thing. After all many manufacturers do exactly that - Vauxhall & Opel for example.
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I think certain people would like to think that Skodas are on par with their old, pre-VAG, counterpart.
They're not, and are far removed from the old rubbish from the eastern block, whose engines fell out going round corners.
My in law (who's as canny as busload of Aberdonians) owns an Octavia TDi that is 1 year old - he knows and you know that it is a VW built under licence.
Lots of Taxi drivers can't be wrong :-}
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VW put their badge on Skoda pickups, not that you see many about.
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...maybe because you wouldn't pick up much with a Skoda....hehe
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Cardew,
The fact that you have referred back to the thread that you started on this subject last December indicates that you still have a problem with the name 'Skoda', and I cannot understand why.
You rely on a journalist (Clarkson) who sensation-seeks to impress the gullible. That is not the way to judge the real-life merits and snags of a car. I don't own a Skoda but have relatives and friends with Fabias and Octavias and have yet to come across any complaint from them whatsoever. Without exception, they are delighted with their purchases.
Mind you, their cars haven't been subjected to the ultimate test, i.e. sliding sideways at high speed on a racetrack with tyres smoking and a grinning idiot at the wheel. They leave that to Clarkson.
When I drive my son's 2003 Fabia SDi, which cost less that half the price of my 2003 Rover 75 CDT, I never fail to be impressed with its ride and the way it drives. It has covered 15,000 miles so far and has been back to the dealer just once -- for scheduled servicing. The joke is on those who dismiss the Skoda badge.
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well said - far too much badge snobbery among UK drivers and, as a result, manufacturers like BMW enjoy fat profits. I like what Aprilia says in another thread, about the quality of most cars these.
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Dizzy,
"indicates that you still have a problem with the name 'Skoda', and I cannot understand why."
Its not the name. However I believe there are valid reasons for challenging the constant assertions(of vested interests?) in the Backroom that Skoda are equal to, or better, than the equivalent VW model.
Of course JC is provocative but his standing is such that he can say exactly what he thinks about cars and IMHO is rarely wrong. He simply believes that the build quality and materials are not as good as VW. Also you will see in the thread that HJ was under whelmed with the Fabia and stated it is not as good as the Polo on which it is based. They are entitled to their opinions and I suggest that they have far more experience than you or I.
By all accounts pre VAG Skodas were ghastly, as the examples owned by 2 acquaintances seemed to confirm. I readily concede that they have improved greatly in recent years. However I looked at a new Fabia for my daughter and was unimpressed. I also wonder if these cars are such good value when depreciation is taken into account. Whether that depreciation is as a result of 'Badge Snobbery' or lower quality(or both) is immaterial. It is an undeniable fact that many would not want to own a Skoda.
C
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Skoda Felicia, the other affs got one, I bought a Passat, it showed that up, for reliability at least, had to turn up in it to a company function as the Passat door handle mech had broke. then onto a Saab, Had to Skoda it again, makes you feel I may as well had the Skoda in the first place, oooh nooo the badge, sorry but the snobbery came in, got to arrive in a VW or Saab, took it to my mates the other day, they laughed like **** something else, then their Merc wouldn't start, had to take the Skoda again.
Skoda are the VW of 10 years ago, reliable, economical, trustworthy. Don't tell the wife.
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>>Skoda are the VW of ten years ago...
If this were true then Skoda would be a good car to have, trouble is the accountants have more influance than the engineers nowadays.
PS sorry, No Dosh I skiped through that one lightly!
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PS sorry, No Dosh I skiped through that one lightly!
Aah, these things happen :o)
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