Skoda Fabia 1.2 Comfort Review

Overall Rating

On Saturday 26th September I purchased a new Skoda Fabia 1.2. I had traded in a 10 year old Saab 2.0 lt turbo injection.
I got the car home and I started to give the car a proud inspection. I lifted the rear carpet up and noted a liquid glue and a compressor. There was no spare wheel, no jack, no wheel brace or spanner. It looked like the after sales had simply forgot to place the tools in I contacted the garage immediately and I was told that the Skoda Fabia does not come with spare wheels because they are not needed. This threw open an angry exchange of words because they had not told me and I said they had used an underhanded sales technique, especially when they had sold me alloy wheels and metallic paint as an optional extra. Up most good faith at the point of sale had been severly breached. At this point I was informed in the price guide that it does say the car comes without a spare wheel. I checked this and in very small writing. I started to argue the debate of the spare wheel and threw a lot of questions which could not be answered.

1. If it is designed for a green effect i.e less weight in the car less fuel, less emissions then why in the event of a blow out would the RAC have to come to the rescue and tow you to a garage, using more fuel, more down time with the car, lost wages etc etc If on the motorway you would also be blocking the hard shoulder for longer periods than neccessary thus obstructing the emergency services.

2. Another issue is the vulnerability you would leave an old person or a young girl or woman if the blowout occured in some rural part of the country where there may not be a mobile signal, this person would have to rely on a lift from a stranger.

3. Who is to determine whether the wheel is safe to continue your drive other than a tyre expert . Also could the police summons you if you have been driving on a defective wheel. If you have repaired it you obviously know about it. Some parts of the tyres is illegal to repair.If you have no jack to remove the wheel then how can you check the full condition of the tyre.

4. Why is the Fabia fitted with a wheel well if it is not necessary to have a spare wheel ?.

5. If the spare wheel, jack, wheel brace and spanners are accessories why are they not in the accessories hand book ?.

6. Why does it show you how to change a spare wheel in the hand manual supplied with the vehicle ?.

7. When I contacted Skoda parts I asked if they stocked spare wheels. When they informed me they did I then asked the question why would they stock spare wheels if Skoda said we did not need them anymore. He could not answer this.

8. I am informed by a policeman that the tyre you can repair should say Runflat in big letters on the tyre. Skoda supplies normal tyres on the vehicle

9. The biggest joke of all is when I looked at the new design/idea compressor they now give you to blow up your tyre, it illustrates the tyre being repaired with the wheel off . How on earth can you remove a wheel without a jack?.

In my opinion these car manufacturers are clawing back some of the money they have given the motorist via the government scrappage scheme. Skoda have put into place these changes since July 1st 2009 and have not had the time to change accessories books, hand manuals and the design of the cars. I write this because there must be a lot of people who have not pursued this, and maybe not even checked the spare wheel and are in a very vulnerable situation. In my opinion if you have a puncture and try to repair the wheel you could be putting your life at risk because you cannot examine the full extent of the wheel, and Skoda should pay dearly for engineering a potential hazard up for their customers in order to save money.