choice of two cars

t33

Need a bit of help to finally choose a car. Anyone any experience or reasonings for choosing one above the other on these two? I can afford either of these and can get them for about the same price give or take nothing significant. Ive also weighed up the warranty and services costs.
I've done a lot of testdrives of different cars I can afford and it's come down to two. Honda Jazz 1.2 manual and the Skoda Fabia 1.2 turbo 86hp version. You'll say they are very different and I agree but I like them both on test drives and they both fit the bill for what I want. There are differences but one evens the other out on the plus and minus side.

Anyone got a vote one way or the other or can give advice which gives one the edge? Seems daft somehow to flip a coin for such an important decision.

cajef

Personally I would go for the Honda but then I have a Honda and have owned several and they have been the most reliable cars out of the many makes I have owned, however Skoda have a good reputation for reliability and build quality now and as you have had tests drives in both it is really down to your personal preference.

Weird_Nev

One way I've found to make such decisions is to flip a coin.

If you're happy with the result, then it's the right one. If you feel it's 'wrong' then you did have a preference all along and the coin just forced you to make it.

There is probably almost nothing in it - though I'd prefer the reliability of Honda and a 'simpler' engine, if the car is going to be under warranty than the 1.2 turbo of the Skoda might be a better choice for driveability.

We had a skoda for a number of years and loved it, but it's not really relevant to the newer models.

colin79666

Honda unless you get a vey good deal on the Fabia. There is a new Fabia due out and the 1.2 turbo has been known to eat oil.

Hoof_Hearted

The 1.2 Jazz is the base model. I have a 1.4 and it is mega reliable. 70.000 miles and still runs beautifully.

I personally don't like turbos on small cars and they can be troublesome and expensive.

t33

colin79666 wrote: »

Honda unless you get a vey good deal on the Fabia. There is a new Fabia due out and the 1.2 turbo has been known to eat oil.

I didn't find the big oil consumption on anything I researched, could you point me to evidence of this please as this could well influence my decision? Thanks.

Thanks to all other responses, yes the Honda reliability is important.

wba31

cajef wrote: »

Personally I would go for the Honda but then I have a Honda and have owned several and they have been the most reliable cars out of the many makes I have owned, however Skoda have a good reputation for reliability and build quality now and as you have had tests drives in both it is really down to your personal preference.

I would agree on these points for the same reasons.

Is it the new Jazz or old Jazz you are looking at? My missus has a 2003 Jazz, albeit the 1.4 "sport". although it's not the quickest car on the road (im used to a 2.2 diesel civic by comparison) it's a great car, with so much space inside.

I really like the new Jazz, and before we moved house to where i now drive to work, we were considering getting rid of my civic and her Jazz and buying a newer Jazz as the one car for the household...

That being said I have heard many great things about the Skoda. might be a case of flipping a coin if you cannot decide, however Honda regularly comes high in the top ten of reliability tables...

t33

wba31 its a new one on the 14 plate I'm looking at maybe a demo so that seems a vote in favour of the jazz from you. Still interested in the oil consumption issues with the Fabia that Colin above mentioned.

colin79666

t33 wrote: »

Still interested in the oil consumption issues with the Fabia that Colin above mentioned.

"Reports of very high early oil consumption of 1.2TSI 105."
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/skoda/fabia-2007/?section=good

"excessive oil consumption with the TSI engine"
http://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/used-car-review-skoda-fabia-2007-on/

Its not the end of the world and the Skoda Fabia is well ranked on the reliability charts. Just something worth considering when you make your decision

PlymouthMaid

I have a Jazz for 10 years now from new and it has been a wonderful car. Only let me down once and that was my fault really for not replacing the battery sooner. For a small car, it feels quite spacious inside.

gabitzul

I would go for the Jazz, as mentioned already due to the simplicity and the known reliability.

The TSI engines in the VAG group, while good engines when they work, are complicated beasts. I would not want to own one outside warranty, as I like to know how my cars work and to be able to do at least some of the maintenance.