Strut top mounting rotten!!! Plus other issues.

[DurhamRed]

Had our old Felicia in for MOT this week - 63K on the clock one previous owner etc etc 1997 R plate. Immaculate body and interior I thought!

So far this car has needed since October 2006 when we bought it for £350 (market value according to Parkers guide)
1. Crank sensor and fly lead.
2. New front tyres.
3. Oil and filter, air filter and front brake pads done at service.
4. Full diagnostics check on ecu.

Now for its MOT,
!. Rear wheel bearing.
2. Front r'h ball joint.

All wear and tear and perfectly understandable but....

1. Front drivers side Strut top mounting was absolutely rotten as though during its life all manner of **** was thrown at it, I've never seen one so bad. Oh and it leaks on the front windscreen - just to add insult to injury.
So my £350 back up vehicle now stands me at £800!!! in costs in 3 months. Skoda / VW must of had a laugh back in the late 90' me thinks. What an absolute heap of **** these cars are. On the plus side it now runs fine, steers properly and, as long as you don't mind wet feet, will get you from A to B.

[TeflonTom]

if you evr want to get rid let me know.... i'm looking for a good felicia body shell

[bobob]

You got it cheap
Parkers Guide is well known for undervaluing cars
i'm not defending Felicias, i've got one and also think they're a pile of cr@p
but you'll be hard pressed to find a small hatch offering the equivilent for the price.

[TeflonTom]

they are also excellent for racing projects

[ugluk]

Statistics might not help someone whos been stung in the pocket recently but still its worth knowing the following:-

The felicias are far cheaper to own if you have some degree of DIY skills, The felicias and favorits far more so than newer cars are easy to work on. I brought a mitsubishi space wagon a week ago for £895 and then had over heating problems - turns out to be a radiator leak - £300 bill if the same thing had happened on my favorit It wouldnt have cost me much over £30 to fix. Ive changed favorit \ felicia radiators at the side of the road no problem.

As far as rust goes the strut top mounting is NOT a common failure on these the windscreen leak is. It has to be said when VW took over skoda the standards of painting the vehicles went down hill Early favorits had a complete coat of paint VW era ones were left in primer if it didnt show when the vehicle was built up hence VW era cars rot out quicker than pure skoda ones. The felicia rots out more than the favorit did, and the favorit was for some reason far less prone to windscreen leaks.

When it comes to reliability questions take a look at this site where what car go for their reliability ratings. (lower rating is better)

Reliability Index :: how reliable is your car?

Skoda felicia 95-98 49.01
Skoda felicia Total 50.06
Skoda fabia 72.26
Skoda overall 50.59 (best of the 32 major manufacturers!)

Statistically the felicia is one of the most reliable and cheapest to repair cars on the road. Overall the Skoda is second lowest average repair costs for the 32 major manufacturers beaten by suzuki. The Felicia specifically has an average repair cost nearly half of skodas overall average repair costs.

It doesnt help much when you have spent out money on yours, but I wouldnt go as far as to say all felicias are bad news. Ive had loads of skodas (Ive got 4 at the moment) and have to say Ive found them the most reliable brand Ive had overall. If I didnt have to have a 7 seater due to family size now theres no way I would be moving away from the skodas. Cheap to buy and cheap to run and very easy to fix yourself.

As for the windscreen it can be fixed yourself with silicon sealant. for a cost of around £5. Of course that would probably be in excess of £50 if you take it to a garage to get it fixed.

[DurhamRed]

Thanks mate, a very balanced factual post. I guess I was annoyed as I actually bought the car for my mother in law as a get her to work vehicle and because it 'seemed' in such good nick both body and interior (the car not my m-i-law!) I thought it seemed a bargain. I'm actually a Quality Manager and was in the automotive supply chain until early last year (Aerospace now) and so I spent a lot of time on site at many car plants so I saw first hand the manufacturing process's used and to be honest I guess my expectations are some what clouded by the reliability I have had from my 2001 Volvo S40 and also until recently my wifes 2002 Clio although we just bought a Meriva to replace the clio. I expect problems with a 9 year old car but the windscreen issue to me is a big failure on Skodas part such that modern manufacturing techniques shouldn't allow this to happen. As for the strut mount - well you had to see it to believe it; it really was rotten.
I'll keep the skoda now as it is MOT'd untill Feb2008 - it may last a year after that who knows - but I don't think I'd buy a felicia again. Maybe an old 1.3 pushrod escort of the same age may of been a better option?

[pinkskud]

next time have a good look befor you part with cash.
you could bye a dud of any make/model. i turned down 3 felicias befor i got mine. thats why i had to go to swanse to get mine.