Just love Jim's honest appraisals. I worked at a VW dealership for a few years, and as these are basically a Polo GTi and can attest to how crap they are. After leaving VW, I worked at Honda, and the difference in reliability is chalk and cheese. Also, the difference is attitude between Honda head office and VW head office when there is a warranty issue was also chalk and cheese. We had no problems getting warranty work approved at Honda but had to battle VW head office to get anything approved. Basically, just stay away from anything European if you're planning to keep it out of warranty.
I don't know about Honda's. Dad had to get the carby cleaned on his '85 Accord, once. Admittedly, that was all he did in 350k and ten years of ownership. He sold his '95 Accord before he even gave it a chance to break down. 7 years and 150 k isn't enough testing, in my book. And I've just bought my Mum's 98 Civic from her. Full service history, only 25 years old, and I had to get the trailing arm bushes replaced for RWC! Should this be a warranty item! Thirty eight years of continuous ownership in our family, 600k and a pair of bushes and a dirty carburettor are the only two faults. Top that, VW!
The moment you mentioned twin-charged a shiver went down my spine, in rememberance of my Tiguan that spat a piston at 85k km's...Essentially wrote the car off. Never again VW group..
@@electronforce611 oh wow, I will rush out and buy one.,Cause like a garbage VW motor and electronics and build quality, but hey no major issues up til 290,000 kms, did you buy it yesterday?
@@electronforce611looks like you’ve got a unicorn. my friends Golf 7.5 1.8Tsi at 38k kilometers had way more issues than my friends Nissan sunny N16 that has 660k kilometers. except the sunny doesn’t have any issues luckily despite being abused to hell. His golf’s oil cover got destroyed over a freaking speedbump.
It’s interesting to see comments mentioning German cars namely VAG vehicles and BMWs have been performing reliably in Europe but not so much in Australia. First of all from my observation Europeans primarily drive manuals, most of VW group cars running there are stick shifts. This alone will render all the DSG horrors happening all over the world out of the picture. Secondly, from this Fabia to the A6, Diesel engines are the dominant choice in Europe, so issues with water pumps/chains/carbon buildup/oil burning etc from the TSIs won’t be as big of a reputation issue there. Lastly, there’s the climate, German cars are more engineered to combat and last in extreme cold, but not so much can be done against heat, especially petrol engines, with most of them being turbocharged and use of plastic to reduce weight and cost. Our TSI Tiguan and TDI CC both performs considerably better under 25 degrees C during Australian winter, above 30 C they drive like a completely different car, when it hits 40 the DSG feels like it’s gonna fall apart and that TSI got so hot after a trip I wonder how it didn’t already melt itself. The common thing to see here in Australia is a TSI with a DSG DQ200, sitting in traffic while riding that dry clutch with AC on at 3kph under 38+ C sun for 30mins, twice a day. Worn clutches, tired mechatronic cooked gaskets,boiling hot engine clogged with carbon. With this Twincharged + DQ200 setup I’m surprised these cars even lasted a year here. While it’s 15C on highway, manual TDI traveling at 140k/h for like 3 hrs in EU, a cool but well-ran, belt driven engine, no mechatronic and clean DPF, under these conditions a 500k km reading with original drivetrain is not a surprise, even this EA111 with DSG can comfortably cross 200k km mark. If you want to enjoy these cars in Australia, treat a damn Golf like how everyone treat an E60 M5, and treat an M5 like an McLaren F1😂.
Someone in the comments called it, adding a supercharger and a turbo charger to VW build quality, no thank you. Unless someone else is paying the repair costs.
Was so on board until we got the what goes wrong section and that's when you lost me on it. The engine problems are too risky for someone I know that may need to upgrade their car to justify them getting one when the SP25 is a more reliable option. Had to laugh at the Fabia asmr as it wasn't really asmr-ee but more like someone fooling around with their car in their front yard lol 😂. With the mechanical section of what goes wrong I though poor Hullsy was going to have a heart attack with the problems he was listing off at the begin lol 😂. Great video guys and as always have a safe week and look forward to next week's videos as per usual 👍.
Having owned a Skoda Octavia for 10 years, and they are a great car to drive, the DSG is a great box to, but... at 100K i have just spent $8500 on an engine rebuild and then the cpu that controls the lights went and that was $800 2nd hand. The doorcards are failing and both keys are now manual only. I got this car new, and the service and support are rubbish. Personally, I was swayed by overseas reports that they were a great car, specifically in the UK they came in the top 5. I would never buy another one and I would avoid a 2nd hand one like it had the plague. My son had the equivalent in a VW and my friend has the Audi equivalent and they have the same problems just more expensive and similar service and support. Get a Mazda or a Lexus or even a Toyota..
We had one from new for 100k. Not a single thing failed, fell off, went daggy, looked bad etc. It was an absolutely brilliant car. BUT, VAG stuff is flaky and I would generally avoid.
Work caddy 1.4 tsi had coolant leak at 5yrs 70,000kms, transaxle at 3.5yrs 55000kms, suspect DSG isn't long for this world based on odds noises coming from it. Sons 20yr 220,000km corolla wagon still going strong and thats with previous owners probably missing a service or two based on how rough it was. If you want non performance reliable wagon of similar size. $12k should get tidy one with good service history and another 10yrs trouble free motoring.
I really enjoy every review it's real cars you get the good and the bad and that's what you want especially if it's a vehicle you maybe considering....Keep em coming.
When are people going to realise that just because their own car has been trouble free, it doesn't mean that model vehicle is generally reliable? Your sample size of ONE isn't enough!
I did buy one brand new just after these wagons came out, should you buy one? After numerous trips back to the dealer to fill the oil up every 1000kms (which VW claimed was within tolerances for this engine) the last straw for me was when the flimsy plastic fuel flap broke off in my hand when the car was less than 6 months old and VW decided that they were not going to cover it under warranty. I decided to get out while I still could and my silver wagon that I had bought new for $30k was worth $13k a year later. Dont get me wrong it was great fun to drive, it was let down by the people who made it...
Had one second hand and loved it for over 110K miles. Only repair was a radiator leak. I chip tuned it over 200HP and was very happy with the results. I did get the oil jets replaced as part of a service as I had to top up the oil every few months, that cost €500 extra when combined with a service and competely fixed the oil usage for me. I liked the response from the accelerator which felt very doirect compared to a turbo only car, I liked the sleeper look and for commuting it felt "sporty". The interior quality felt bland and it's not the last word in cornering when you really push on. The economy was pretty good if I drove gently and the ride was good when commuting. I liked the gear box but it wasn't as good as the later DSG boxes and I know that some people don't like the way it auto changes up even in manaul mode if you hit the red line. I'm not in Australia so perhaps there are differences there and I'm a sample size of one but I've had other cars where people on the Internet said this thing will go wrong or that thing will and it didn't for me. All I can say was that it was good for me and another
I had one of these for 4 years…. Engine started knocking at 114km, sold it for such a loss at 7.5k. It was such a fun car when it worked… but my god it never ends with this car with issues
Have 2 of these. 2013 one no issues at all, but completelly different under the hood and it's rubbish. Reliable, but so much electronics, neither me, not my wife like to drive it. The 2nd one 2010 (last of the pre-faceligt) is excellent. Old school, pleasant to drive, but harsh over any bumps. Reliability is excellent apart of rear wiper working, sometimes, tailgate button working, unless it's in cold climates in which case it either won't open, or close si then you'll end up driving around with trunk open, bouncing about until the car heats up. For window switches - works well until you'll get the car cleaned. Even the tiniest moisture and it will blow. Had to get it replaced already twice over the years. Luckily I keep my cars disgusting and only got this one cleaned twice as it cost 50ish to replace by Skoda dealership. Other than that, both are going on for ever. If you want one, go for pre-facelift (pre 2011) models. 2011 onwards aren't the same cars any longer and while more comfortable, meh at best to drive. And if you are tall, definitely avoid the VW Polo on which these are based, those are tiny. Fabias are much better, but best, go for Octavia or Superb.
Interesting enough, VW group products are well regarded in Europe and Škoda is in many parts of Europe considered a solid and reliable car! I’ve had B8 Passat and turned to be quite unreliable, oil leaks to turbo failure all under 100 thousand km When I spoke to friends in Eu about my VW experience, no one can believe that VWs are so unreliable in AUS
Interesting comment and yes I have seen some European reliability surveys that give VW a fairly good ranking. Maybe our climate or driving conditions do not suit these products?
Being an Englishman in Australia this is completely true, I’ve owned a number of Vw products in the Uk never had a problem. Misses has a mk6 golf 118 tsi twin charge never had an issue with it, 210k on it now
@@rsoul7282having owned VWs in Europe and elsewhere the main differences I see are: 1. Transmission choice - Europeans drive lots of manual and will often be totally unaware of the woeful transmission issues others face. Polo is a great example of that, almost everyone I know who owns one has a manual. 2. Spec. Euro cars often have simpler electrics and specs that aren’t available in US/AU/ROW. A good example is the bullet proof Merc e-class spec that’s used by majority of taxis in Germany.
@@ultimablackmage It's not like you'll be making much power after the mods anyways on these vanilla spec cars unless you spend a whole lot, which then means you could've just bought an unreliable Euro hatch, put more power into it and fix it's problems...
@@ultimablackmage Each to their own, though I do agree with crackle tunes sounding terrible, however you don't have to fit this onto your car... There are reliable hot hatches, such as the Honda Civic Type R... In addition, modifying anything for more power usually results in decreased reliability...
We have a 2012 1.2 manual wagon with over 215000 k’s now and it’s a little work horse. Not a power horse at all but it gets the job done eventually. It has been pretty reliable little car with only one minor issue that was cheap and easy to fix. It has always been maintained by Skoda until 1 year ago now by a local Vw expert.
@@bb-qk8mp You're a bit of an arse aren't you buddy? Ever actually owned a VAG product or are you merely a simple troll? Myself? 2015 VW Polo 1.2 TSI, purchased new and maintained faithfully. 127000km on the clock and aside from tyres and battery (water pump replaced alongside timing belt as per maintenance schedule) not as much as a burned out lightbulb. Just providing a little balance for ya. You can go back under your bridge now.
Had one of these, the normal hatchback though not wagon. there is a special place in hell for that engine. Was mostly faultless for the first few years but then had constant misfire problems that not even an engine rebuild under warranty could ever properly fix. gave me so much anxiety waiting for it to die, but kept on going somehow and pretty much made it to almost six figure ks somehow,but was so much happier once i got rid of it. its put me off ever owning something euro ever again
i must respond to this video because i own fabia rs mk2. only thing i have to change on it was leaking water radiator and that is it. about oil consuption is true, i must adding oil every 2 full gas tanks about half of a litre, it is also writen in a book that comes with the car by manufacturer. but it doesn't bother me because is so fun car to drive, riping through corners, squeeqing tires every time on ful trhrotle and engine just goes nuts, really fun to drive. that is why i more like skoda fabia than sugjested cars this dude provide and talks negative the entire video for this car.
Had a 1.6 litre euro 4 Fabia from 2010 in Colombia. This country wrecks cars. It was the best car I've ever owned over 116,000 km of hell. I still have a slightly newer Yeti which has been good but rattles. Can't help thinking that 2010 is the last year VAG knew how to build card.
While I am eternally sceptical of any VW product these days I do admire the fact that Skoda produce a budget and solid version of the previous generation VW’s. A bit more reliability in the whole VW range would be a great help in selecting what is a fun little car. Great review thanks Adam.
Had the Polo GTI version new and it was a total nightmare straight from the get go! Oil consumption used over a litre per 1000kms, and most of what Jim said.
I love the adiea of a tiny wagon like that with a lot of punch. Sad that vw petrol engines and electronics of that generation were utter crap, but the concept of this car is adorable and I much prefer it to something like a small crossover
Flat floor was possible by buying the Variofloor from a Skoda supplier in Europe. I did for my 2017 81TSI wagon and it was brilliant. Unfortunately no RS in 2017!!😊 Lloyd
Nup. These will largely be dead by 15-20yo imo. Repairs quickly exceed Skoda's sketchy value. So, given Skoda is ~as expensive to fix as any VW when it breaks, who'll want your 15yo Skoda? I'm not seeing these becoming 'project cars' for most, maybe the odd sleeper, more for P-platers. In summary: why buy an old Skoda? It's a non-prestige brand with VW costs. Get a Swift Sport! ;)
These will be dead in 15 to 20 years 🤣🤣😆. Of course it will, the lifespan of a car is generally 15 years at a push. I would be delighted to get 15 years 😆. They are designed to have a limited life cycle. Volvos and Mercedes used to last 20+ years, but this is bad business if your loyal customers only buy a vehicle on a 20 year cycle. Modern vehicles have been built with planned obsolence, it is so they can keep selling them and develop newer tech and safety with newer models. The Australian climate and conditions do not seem to suit many Euro cars though, the rubbers and plastics tend to degrade with the harsh UV. The fuel in Oz is also low grade, Europe does not even sell fuel as low grade as this, hence the damage to engines reducing life. However, you are right in the fact that Euro manufacturers need to adapt materials to the Ozzy climate and engines to run on Ozzy fuel otherwise they should not be selling them in Oz. No excuse from the Euros on this regard. The Japanese have a culture of reliability and reputation so they will research Ozzy conditions and adapt to suit, it appears the European manufacturers do not care in a small market like Oz. Also Euro manufacturers are using cheap materials for components due to investor return pressures to sell vehicles high volume at a high price with cheaper build costs, the Europeans are perfectly capable of building long lasting vehicles, they do not due to greed. This greed is destroying the hard won reputation of brands like Mercedes, Audi and Volvo with cheap materials. Euro cars are still the nicest designed vehicles you can buy in terms of style and driving experience, none of the others come close.
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Btw i chased a mk6 golf gti which...was not stock....over a country road which will remwin nameless in an undisclosed district on the other side of the blue mountains...he didnt get away until i scared myself on a long 4th gear corner when it decided to spit sideways. Briefly. I decided the souped up mk6 could go.
Here's a little first hand owners experience of the nightmare that the 132kw 1.4 twin charge engine is. The same failures are common to less powerful lower spec versions of this engine as well. Piston failures. Not certain of exact year VAG changed the oem piston manufacturer, but any VAG car between 2010-2013 with this engine and it's variants unless replaced or rebuilt with pistons from another oem should be avoided at all costs. It's not a matter of if they will fail, but when. The pistons themselves are prone to failure between the rings. Cracks occur and sometimes whole sections of the ring lands of pistons break away. So, pistons rings are not supported properly. This leads to compression loss and damage to the cylinder walls. Updated pistons from a different oem manufacturer had steel inserts cast into the pistons between the rings to offer more support and prevent the problem. They have similar design to pistons in a lot of diesel engines in that regard. If you buy a VAG car with this engine get it's full mechanical maintenance history, or run away. A full inspection of cylinders via a bore scope and compression test is highly recommended if you are crazy enough to consider purchasing anything with this engine. NEVER run anything less than 98 Premium fuel in the twin charge engines as pinging/early detonation contributes to the piston failure issues. Timing chains. They have issues with timing chain stretch and timing chain tensioner. The latter has been redesigned several times during the years. Big expensive job to change them. If the job has never been done, or has substantial Km's on car since last done, walk away.
Suzuki Swift Sport for the win. Especially if the budget can stretch to the turbo one. The turbo charger in the Swift might be the size of an apricot, but it's equally as sweet.
6:47 that was pretty common back in this era of car. I think reviewers like Matt from Carwow pushed back and really influenced manufacturers. Because It seemed within a few years pull levers, adjustable load floors, and lie flat seats became the new standard. Think Golf Mk6 vs Golf Mk7 or Ford Mondeo Mk3 vs Mk4 - they all got these kinds of upgrades between generations.
Im the kind of guy that owns unreliable cars and gets away with it. This car though. This is some thing truly special. I owned one from new and i didn't thrash it but it ate through its clutches after 60k KM. luckily all under warranty. Bloody fantastic car but sorry if it doesn't have a manufactures warranty just dont buy it. There's way to many potential problems.
Didn’t know they done a vrs wagon in fabia. Went from Audi to VW early 2000’s but just left (still got my ED30 3 door tho). Electrical issues as my Touareg and Passat aged (2018 and 2019) was too much for me, and VW saying they’re old and time to update was last straw. If they don’t want to know their own cars over 4 years old then neither do I
Good to drive. Until the TSi problems. Fabias are well well liked in UK. 1.2 and 1.4 TSi too strained. The 1.6 TDi a little weak. Engines ruin a great car. Only the reliability the issue rust no worse other cars here. They’re great to drive
780,000km on my friends in Slovenia, hwy muncher. 130kph/h all day every day. Unfortunately even in Europe only DSG, still on its first box, second clutch pack. 2012 model. Poor fuel in Australia can result in the piston cracking, especially if owners use 91 or e10.
Highways are the ideal place for any ICE so its not a big deal if they aren't hooned 24/7. The vast majority of them would achieve the same mileage with proper maintenance especially diesels.
@@BB-wz6bx The only cars in their fleet that died before 250,000km was a Honda Jazz gen 1 and a Honda CR-V gen 1. Excessive oil consumption on both Jazz had head rebuild still burning so determined it was piston rings that were fried too both failed RWC maintained and serviced every 10k with full synthetic mannol and mahle filters. All their Euro cars went past 500k, A megane started having electrical gremlins at 500,000 ish. Fiat Qubo going at over 400,000 at the moment, pretty sure its a Peugeot engine.
As an owner of an Octavia RS from the same era as the Fabia RS, I would never buy one of these. Too many reliability concerns. DSG box in the Octavia is so much more reliable too.
I find ~pre 2010 Skodas quite unappealing. Unlike modern ones I don't think they have any real design flair to speak of, the interiors are crap grey plastic everywhere, and generic deisgn . Basically nothing to make putting up with the VAG related issues 'worth it' IMO. Can pretty much say the same for the other Euro's of that era too mind you. (And earlier.. right into the 90s)
Weird how in Europe, Škoda is known as a dependable, sensible, cost-effective car brand. And there are loads of them that have over 300000km without major problems.
@@bb-qk8mpNot bull, I am from Central Europe they are everywhere, you rarely see a Japanese car due to rust and poor value and quality, everyone buys Pugs, Renaults, Skodas, VW, Opel and then Fiat and Citroen, Dacia. Skodas are known for their dependability and are found in large numbers.
@@REPOMAN24722 nothing to do with Jap cars. I call BS on loads of skodas with no major problems at 300,000 kms. Garbage engines, garbage DSG, Garbage Timing chains and engine plastics, garbage water pumps, door actuators and it goes on and on. Dont even get me started on French garbage.
The twin charge engine is asking for trouble it is too complicated. As for the rest of the range they can be ok not brilliant but ok. The biggest issue I find in my workshop in Melbourne & I’m going to disagree with Jim on this one is. We do not maintain our vehicles well enough in Australia. Pure & simple. If you service it every 6mths regardless of mileage & if you service the DSG transmission every 40,000ks you will be surprised how well they last. I don’t care what anyone else says all vehicles should be serviced every 6mths regardless. Any European car needs at least $2000 per year spent on maintenance otherwise forget about.
@@Squid_Life yes I would recommend 2016 + they are more reliable, provided you change the oil every 10,000ks or 6mths. If you purchased any of these euro brands be prepared to invest in maintenance. I have seen many examples where if they are maintained to a high standard get quite long service life over 180,000ks before needing big repairs.
@@anakinskywalker4113 Thanks mate, appreciate it. Found a 50k 2016 fingers crossed it's clean, of course I'll get a mechanic inspection before purchase.
funny isn't it.....we bought a 12month old 1.9pd fabia in 2003...kept it for 14 trouble free years.....economical,reliable,plenty of poke....one of the best car purchases we ever made
Mid 2000s was about the time VW started to go South, so you got one when they were still reasonably well made, VW just got too big too quickly, and too greedy, after that time and everything started going downhill quality wise.
I'm up to 256,000km on my 2012 Fabia Monte Carlo, but its a manual. It has been the most reliable car I have ever owned. And I still enjoy driving it every day.
@@derekporter66 Overstressed engine, leading to catastrophic failures... I also would be very cautious with small displacement forced induction engines in general, due to the extra stress placed on these engines...
Firstly, make friends with a VW-Audi Group specialist mechanic. You'll need them. Keep them until a year shy of their warranty period and then get rid of them, especially any VW, Audi or Skoda. They're just not built for our conditions. Heck, my Polo just chewed through a coolant pipe at 113k, had a loose handbrake lever, the selecting 2nd gear is problematic, one of the headlights decided to die, the TPM's go off at random times...all minor stuff but its well out of warranty now, so as soon as I can, i'm getting rid of it. Pity, because its been a good little car to drive otherwise.
I bought a new 2012 in 2014. The hatch not the wagon. It was a rocket ship. Loved it. However. It drank oil.1 litre per 1000 km. This is normal. Its in the handbook. Handled well rode well. I loved the big old school f u grill. It was improved by dumping the dungplop sportmax and adding hankook superwhateverlongnames . Muuuch better. Given its got the 7spd dsg you got to be careful. I gave it to mum when her mitsi 380 died. She loved it. Traded it on a new 1.4 turbo astra in 2018. Which mum also loves. I drive a kia cerato GT now. Performance about the same without the oil use and a lot more room.
Drop the oil every 6 months and neverfill up with anything less than '98 fuel and these engines can last 200k kms+ Having said this you'll still be replacing the waterpump (with kompressor clutch) every 5 years and regularly changing plugs and flushing coolant to keep these hot little engines happy. Not sure about the wisdom of selling them in a warm climate like Aus where our fuel quality is shithouse and your average car buyer has zero mechanical sympathy
Wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. Why would anyone do so when there is so much better to chose from? VW has gone downhill big time and so has most of its subsidiaries.
I was born and bred to be a European car driver. Our family has owned VW's, Audis, BMW's and Mercedes from the 60's forward. Great cars, until about 20 or so years ago. Now if you look up our driveways, Honda, Mazda, Toyota. Times change.
That’s really odd, we don’t delete any comments. Unless there’s certain keywords that trigger a comment mediation function in the comments. We noticed the original comment, but it was gone a minute later. In any case, we appreciate the correction!
Interesting enough, VW group products are well regarded in Europe and Škoda is in many parts of Europe considered a solid and reliable car! I’ve had B8 Passat and turned to be quite unreliable, oil leaks to turbo failure all under 100 thousand km When I spoke to friends in Eu about my VW experience, no one can believe that VWs are so unreliable in AUS
I'm under the impression that it takes a lot longer for your average European to do the same mileage as an Australian and they're more inclined to turnover their vehicles with low k's on them and low calendar time. They also don't pay "Australia tax" on parts and servicing, like we do (I did, past tense!). Reliability isn't so much of a concern when you don't have to take out a second mortgage for the most basic of repairs. I wonder how many Europeans have had the luxury of an alternator failure on an Audi A3 at 250k? If they knew that it took the best part of 40 hours at $165 per hour to change an alternator, they might reconsider what reliability and serviceability is.
