Length of ownership, and why did you buy - quick survey for fun!

[russell wheeler]

how are you finding the lpg etc mines lpg too

Absolutely spot on, drives better than petrol, and with LPG at 49.9 a litre at the moment, 8ppm

[Girardi]

I discovered I had a baby on the way, and after a trip to test out prams I quickly realised that my little Alfa 147 was going to be too small for our needs.

 

After discussion with my wife (head?), I needed a four door car with a big boot. After discussion with my heart, I needed something fast.

 

With £5k to spend I did a lot of man maths in a spreadsheet as well as looking at and testing a number of different cars - BMW 330i, Impreza, Saab 93 HOT Aero, Mondeo ST220 to name but a few. I kept coming back to the vRS. It did everything I needed and the boot was huge. More to the point, that engine in stage 1 guise is a real party piece and I still loved the mental image of the Octy WRC caning it through rally stages. In the end it came down to a vRS or the ST220 - the ST handled better, had a nicer interior and a sweeter sounding engine... but ultimately I do a lot of miles and running costs of that big engine killed it for me. With the vRS I had at least 180bhp compared to my Alfa's 150 along with lower tax and insurance than I was paying for it. I tested the Mk2, hated it, then tried about 6 mk1's before getting mine for a shade over £3k with FSH and 60 something k on it.

 

I should point out that I can't standard 'modern' cars - too bloated, heavy and full of pointless tech - often with steering feel totally removed and everything set up to insulate the driver from the act of actually driving. I think there is a sweet spot somewhere around the late 90's and early 00's where cars had enough tech to be useful but not so much as to ruin them, and unless something comes along to totally change my mind I won't buy anything 'new' off a forecourt now - I'm hoping the new Alfa Guilia can be the car that changes my mind . As such if I was going to replace it I'd either look at that v6 Mondeo again, or an e39 M5 (or 335i!). Other than that I'd maybe look at a Racing Puma, Evo 5 or something of that ilk - or another Alfa 156 GTA. I'm one of those of those real car saddos. I have a list - by manufacturer - of cars I would buy. If it's not on the list, I won't consider it. Now usually I get the 'itch' about 18 months into owning any car, and I start looking at the list again. So far this is the first car I've ever owned where I've not even considered it...

[Liverpool-Lad]

Good kit as standard, decent pace (remap really improved this), decent looks, price.

 

Its a great all rounder!

[GAZ911]

Had it nearly 5 years.Got it when someone crashed into the back of my old Vauxhall Cavalier.By far the fastest car I've ever driven (which isn't saying alot).After fixing the central locking I've had very few problem with it.

[RobClubley]

As for why I bought - I'd read good reviews of the car, but what I really wanted to buy with my work car allowance was an Audi A4 Avant. Looked at some second hand Audis and decided I could afford one, went to the Leeds Audi dealer and waited 20 minutes for them to talk to me then the shiny suited sales boy treated my like crap and acted like it was a waste of his time. So I walked down the road to DM Keith Skoda and got the opposite response. Did a test drive and I was hooked. Added to that, you could fit three boxed HP servers in the boot. Sold!

[jublybug]

Bought for £370 for caravan and family duty ,spent 5 months ish on sorn fixing immobiliser fault ,electric window faults plus a bust winder mech , central locking fault ,engine fault (ended being tappit jack) broken front, spring cv boot, ball joint ,trackrod end boot, rear rattle ,sticking rear brakes, loose exhaust and front discs and pads a bloody good clean probably the same if not more than the buying price again spent lost hair and graying of the rest . Back back off the road with a fingers crossed just a nackard shift linkage bearing and not the box . .so owned for roughly 8 month on the road maby 3 months but what a car when its right, its rough round the edges but prity mechanically sound

The joys of motoring

Jim

Edited 10 August, 2015 by jublybug

[Sunray]

Was running a VW Passat Tdi SE estate, which was lowered, wheeled, remapped etc and w a mate when I got slammed in the driver's door by a Merc CLS who wasn't looking where he was going.

 

No-one hurt, but to cut a long story short: had agreed £1200 sale to mate, got lamped in the side, Admiral insurance agreed to pay me £2320 to write it off and leave me with the car, bought my 2003 Vrs for £2300 and sold the ****ant to a different mate for £500 as a cat-C write-off!

 

Immediately went and bought a Euro-millions ticket that very afternoon, but alas, whatever streak of luck I was on had expired...

 

No plans to replace it yet (only had it since March) and if I'm honest, I can't think of much else that even comes close to how much I enjoy this car, and I've owned turbo'd Fiats, porsche 944, old Audi quattro turbo (thirsty but hilarious)

[skinnyman]

I'll throw my two penneth in here if that's okay?

 

I bought ours back in 2006 with 7 miles on the clock.  We had it for six and a half years and it was a brilliant car.  It wanted for nothing but in all honesty it needed very little.  I remapped it, put a rear anti roll bar on and that was it.  In all the time we had the car it never let us down, always got us home and was a faithful work horse carrying everything from rubble sacks, washing machines to even a complete deck bed with mattress.  I loved the mix between sensible and sporty, the looks and the fact that it was a bit different to the norm.

 

I'm not tempted in any way by the latest version and to be honest the Mk2 left me cold.  I'm perfectly happy with my current car which is a bit like a big brother to the Octavia as they are both have the same kind spirit - i.e. they are sensible family cars that can worry much more focused sports cars.  On the plus side, the Vectra is way faster, handles much better than the Octavia ever did, even with the RARB on and carries us all with room to spare.  Trouble is, it's not got under my skin the same way that the Octavia did.  I was tempted to buy my old car back a while ago but I have put quite a lot of money into the VXR so it would have been a daft move.  I'm still planning on getting a MK1 Octavia again one day as they still represent the sweet spot of motoring.  Not too expensive, not so fast they'll kill you, not too desirable to thieves and to the people in the know, they are still cool.

[bspman]

October 2013 to replace my old primera.

 

Initially quite happy with the car though not happy about the reduction in space.

 

Figured out it didn't do quite as well on MPG as my primera did.

Problems with boost pipes popping off, safe mode, sticky vanes.. now I have break issues as well as gear selection issues.

 

Maybe I should've got the petrol!

Edited 13 August, 2015 by bspman

[Paul thornton]

Bought mine in 2004 from my local Skoda dealer as an ex demo. Wanted a safe reliable family car as our first son had just been born.

Also wanted something with a bit of grunt

Boot space and of course price, being an ex demo, swung it for us.

Sold it less than 2 years later to my mates sister as in a moment of madness I bought my dream car! Sierra sapphire cosworth 4x4

About 3 and a half years ago the girl I sold it to put it back up for sale.... so I bought it back

[skinnyman]

Where's the Sierra now?

[Paul thornton]

Where's the Sierra now?

Got bored of it so sold it on... used it as a daily driver for about 3.5 years then stopped using it when I got my BMW 530d msport.

Cossie sat on the drive unused for most of the time after that so decided to get rid, plus the Ford shows are an aquired taste these days, certainly not my scene anymore.

[Paul thornton]

Got bored of it so sold it on... used it as a daily driver for about 3.5 years then stopped using it when I got my BMW 530d msport.

Cossie sat on the drive unused for most of the time after that so decided to get rid, plus the Ford shows are an aquired taste these days, certainly not my scene anymore.

Back in the Day.... 

 

[skinnyman]

Nice.

[km666]

I bought my L&K in May 2014, a 1 owner car with a fully skoda stamped book that I won on ebay for 1300. I bought it purely because it was the most powerful and only petrol turbocharged vehicle I could insure for around £500 for the year (1 year NCB, 1 non fault claim against me).

 

Since then its racked up around 13k miles including a return trip to northern italy.

 

Its been a mixed bag for me. I love the interior, the smoothness of the engine, all the toys it got and the anonymity. Alot of people say its an ugly car but I quite like its almost Vauxhall cavilier looks. I hate the handling, the ham fisted stability control, the stupid spreader socket strut design, the poor design of the roof drainage, the handling, and the general bad design/engineering in other areas (eg rear wiper mechanism). Did I mention I hate the handling? It makes my old Astra G seem like a sportscar by comparison. Oh and its 'turbo performance' only seems to make itself felt above 80mph, the old Astra will match it in terms of acceleration all the way upto 80/90mph. Although perhaps a remap will bring more go to the long gearing.

 

Currently runing eibach prolines and bilstein B4s, 312mm brake upgrade and all bushes bar wishbones have been replaced. I've got some TT cast wishbones on order so i'll see if they bring anything to the party when I fit them and get the alignment done. The engine has huge potential but i've always held back spending too much on it because i'm not convinced the inherant chassis flaws can be overcome without spending a small fortune.

 

Some days I love it, some days I cant wait to get rid of it. Its never let me down or left me stranded, the biggest problem it had was a dealership not fitting a pulley correctly after a cambelt change, they fixed it again but then it started throwing up 17748 alot afterwards, it didnt affect its running it was purely that the engine light would come on a few days after resetting it. In the end I got it diagnosed at an Italian garage who suggested the timing was perfect, so it would be either the inlet tensioner or the cam sensor. I replaced the cam sensor and its been perfect ever since. In some ways the reliabily compounds its dull character.
 

This is by Chiavari's most western beach.

Edited 15 August, 2015 by km666

[Haych123]

Bought mine in 2013 was a local car seen it around for a few years, then seen it parked up for a few months one day seen it for sale so went along and snapped it up, love it to bits! wouldn't sell or swap it for nothing! 

 

Got loads of mods planned for it, lots of fun to have in it yet :P

 

Will eventually replace it when i get bored of it, looking to replace it with the mk2 vrs also in yellow :P petrol or diesel then move on to the mk3 

[andy68]

Actually went to look at a BMW 740i Sport, came back with a bright yellow Octy VRS, that was over 8 years ago, ain't got a clue what I'm going to replace it with :think:

[Decender]

Had mine 3 years and 4 months. My previous car was an old Rover which I had originally bought just to get me through a winter or two after going without a car for a while. I was in the market for something reaonable again and a friend of mine had the Octy VRS for sale. He wasn't majorly keen on selling, but already had 4 other vehicles on his drive and something had to give. He'd owned it for 7 years with no expense spared. It had a few subtle mods, different front grill, stage one remap with supporting mods etc and had an extensive service history. He agreed to sell to me for £1700, which at the time was a pretty good price.

 

3 years, 4 months on, she's still in my ownership, with further mods etc. All in all its been a great car. Yes she's had a bit spent on her, some needed, some not but all the needed work has just been wear and tear items really. There will come a time when it will be time to move on, but at the moment he still puts a smile on my face when I get in and drive away which is all I ask. Couple that with the fact that she's pretty reliable and can return 40+ to the gallon and tbh I would be hard pushed to find another car that wold do the same.

[frampsmk1vrs]

Had mine for 18 months now!!!

Use to have the fabia vrs mk1, which was amazing but i needed something bigger so along came the Occy mk1 estate..

Bought it as spares repair for £800!!! needed a MAF, suspension work and had a split breather hose so when i bought it, it idle'd like a dog but drove fine, since then ive fettled it a little and had it re sprayed as the paint work was a little tired. Can’t imagine life without her to be honest, great size family car, drives amazing sticks to the road and when you press the go fast pedal it reacts really well. The noise it makes from the CAI also puts a little smile on my face.

For the price i paid and the money ive put in her i guess im owed £2000 and for that amount of money you cant go wrong, when you think about reliability, comfort, economy, fun factor..

I also like the feeling when you wipe the smile off the boy racers in their hatchbacks when you pull away at the lights and there left wondering what the hell happened...

Im not thinking of getting rid of her or replacing her with a newer version. I like the MK1 it looks awesome...
 

[dubDEAN]

6 years in november and because the ex mrs made me sell the show winning golf anniversary for space so the kids could fit in it  :p  :( but love it and wouldnt change the old girl at all there great motors and looking back if i had driven one sooner i would have got one anyway

[AndyPants]

Had my '05 Mk1 VRS for (literally!) just over a year - now on 110k miles... my first non-Volvo in 9 years! (although I still own one ) Why did I buy it? Simply because my love of big 5 cylinder Volvo's began to hurt my wallet a little too much as the pay freezes and crap pay rises began to bite...

 

I've always quite liked the VRS, and having just sold my beloved Volvo T5, a VRS seemed like an obvious compromise between something sensible, cheap to run yet can still provide some entertainment when asked... Managed to get a good one for a decent price but the first time I truely gave it the beans the oil warning like came on prompting me to (mentally) crap my pants! What have I done!? I thought to myself!

 

So within my first week of ownership I had done my biggest engine job on a car ever by dropping the sump and replacing the pick up pipe. This was well worth doing and quite satisfying, if time consuming, and seems the likely reason why I got it for a decent price... Since then I've had most of our beloved Octavia VRS favourites to go with this:

 

1 failed window regulator

1 failing door lock

Sticking handbrake

Replaced thermostat (although old one seemingly wasn't faulty - they just take ages to warm up)

Ambient temperature sensor failed - effectively rendering the aircon useless...

Reset gear linkage to sharpen up the gear change

 

And a good old track rod arm for good measure, and various other minor fettling to bring it up to 'snuff.. Needless to say all the above are now fixed.

 

So have I enjoyed my ownership of it so far? Well not especially truth be told... - I've spent relatively little in parts but I've spent more time on it than I'd have liked! Its still a really good car and I do like driving it - especially on b roads, but I'm hoping my second year of ownership will prove less hassle! /crosses fingers

Edited 21 August, 2015 by AndyPants

[inthewoods]

Got mine Spring 2014 as our sensible car.

Had just sold a Volvo V50 as was fed up with maintaining a modern diesel, wanted to release money for a new mountain bike, no longer needed diesel mpg.

The Octavia was available, cheap, big enough to carry bikes (and hopefully the wifes harp), extra clearance as a 4x4 for works tracks and farm visits, turbo because they become addictive.

Full MoT, £750, registered as an ambulance.

 

So far, rear window mech, a snapped rear spring, rear calipers, most of the exhaust system and hopefully just solved coolant loss by replacing t-pipe junction thing, although cracked the screen whilst changing pollen filter (bit heavy handed, normally work with tractors and plant machinery).

 

Never expected it to be great to drive, having driven mk4 golfs and the added 4x4 height, but it is a fine tool and in the back of my mind is the potential for tweaking it, just got to hit a plateau of reliability first.

No real need or desire to change, plan was always to run it into the ground, each part that breaks gets replaced by a slightly better part.  Apart from a lack of interior lights, all pretty well together at 180k miles.

 

moose - if you're interested, our other play car is for sale, Porsche 944 S2

Edited 30 August, 2015 by inthewoods

[DazMann]

Only had mine a couple of months, as soon as I drove it i knew it was the car for me just made me smile, only on a stage one remap for now but do have some bigger plans for it. have a couple of little jobs to it on it to like door micro switch and passenger window reg needs changing other than that love it to bits and think the engines are great

 

[abudabi555]

had mine a couple of weeks was after a vrs but got a 1.8t 24v it is quite fast, great on the motorway but not keen on cornering i will keep it for a while and maybe go for the vrs in six months or so it's a serene green L&K spec very clean but not noticeable on the street paid 1200 for it

nothing gone wrong in the two weeks

[buddy]

ive owned my lovely octy for 8 years and got the car because of starting a family