P-A

... an Octavia estate auto. I've got up to £4k ish to spend, but can't find a decent one anywhere! There's hardly anything on autotrader and I can't find any via skoda.co.uk. Any ideas where I can find one? Thanks.

Thanks guys. I'll be walking away from that one then! Even if they include the cambelt change, the car still appears to be expensive.

Forgot to say that it's also an estate.

What if I told you it was up for £4299 ?! From what you're saying there, it is somewhat overpriced! Although according to Parkers, the book price is around £3200.

How much would you pay for the following (from an independant dealer)... Octavia SLXi 2.0 Petrol Automatic 2000 Feb 'W' Reg 68,000 miles 1 owner from new Full Skoda service history at the same Skoda dealer (all stamps present in the book and oil has been changed every 5,000 miles from new!) Metallic silver Bodywork in very good condition apart from scratch on bumper (which dealer will fix) I've spoken to the previous owner, and the car has not been involved in any accidents, and he's had no problems with it at all. The car is due for a cam belt (and water pump) change which I'll get included in the price. I think the car is worth more than the book price due to automatics being rare, and this one has clearly been very well looked after, but I'm not sure what a fair price would be. What do you think?

Not so long ago I sold my Fabia VRS because now that I have a young family it was too small. I've been looking for an estate car and have come across this... 2000 W Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0 (petrol) AUTO The car has had one owner from new and has covered 68,000 miles. It's priced at £4k, which I think is a little over the book price. However being an auto, I guess they are in demand and do tend to hold their value better than the manual cars? I also don't mind paying a bit more if the car is in very good condition. I know a bit about diesel engines, but not a great deal about petrols. Therefore if anyone can help with the questions below (or offer any other advice) it'd be greatly appreciated... - What is the 2.0 petrol engine like? Is it reliable? - When should the cam belt be changed? Does the belt also drive the water pump, and if so, should that also have been changed? - What sort of motorway mpg and I likely to get? - Is there anything specific to the Octavia that I should look for when checking out the car (ie. any known faults/problems) - When are the major services? Is the car due for one? Sorry for all the questions! Thanks in advance.

I've recently sold my VRS for the same reason also! I'm now looking for a cheap estate car for ferrying a baby (and accessories!) around!

Looks rubbish if you ask me.

Does anyone else have a problem with paint swirls? When the sun is shining on my red VRS you can see swirls all over the place! I've tried a few products (including Megs ScratchX), but none seem all that good. Any recommendations appreciated!

I've noticed that with the back window on my VRS too. There are white wavy lines down both sides. Can't say that it really bothers me though as it doesn't appear to be causing a problem. I believe the original seat covers are removed and thrown away! I doubt if you'd be able to re-use them as the removal process is likely to damage them.

No reason to stick with Skoda dealers (even within warranty period). It would probably be worth while looking for a diesel specialist in your area.

I'd agree with the above - give the car a good thrash to clear out all the soot. Should help performance too!

I'm not sure why people think that ESP is so important? Yes it can help you get out of trouble, but you need to somehow get into trouble first! I've never had a car with ESP, and don't feel like I'm missing out. If money isn't an issue, get the SE.