Highway Star

Thanks Skid, I'll check out Unit 18 and Autowerkstatt. I'm in North Oxfordshire, so Tingewick (and MK) isn't too far.

Try Auto Integrale between Reading and Newbury. Although their website concentrates on Integrales, they will do Fiats as well. I took my Fiat Coupes and Puntos there many a time and they were very good. PowerItalia as linked here are probably the leading Fiat Coupe specialist in the UK and are excellent, but over in Essex, so a bit of a trek from Reading.

I'm looking at this thread with interest as am after a good indy recommendation in Oxfordshire. I've used Grey Gables (main dealer) near Witney for servicing my two Skodas including my Octavia 4x4 and never had any trouble with them, but would like to know of a good indy as it gets older.

Thanks both for the replies. I'll have a word with the garage when I drop the car off next week. As for the fuel tank, after a big service, belt change and few other bits I'll be wanting to run the car on fresh air for a while...

Looking for some advice on my Octavia - simple enough question; is it chain or belt driven? Its a 2.0 FSI 4x4 on an 05 plate. The wonders of the Internet have returned results, some saying its belt-driven, some saying its chain-driven. Searched on here and couldn't find a definitive answer for my model. Booked it in for an 80,000 mile service, dealer reckons its chain-driven, but the dealer I bought it from said it was belt-driven but they only need changing every 120,000 miles. If it is belt-driven, I'd rather get the belts done now for peace of mind as I plan on keeping the car for the long haul and the fact they are 5 years old already. Looked in the engine bay, couldn't work out whether the belts I could see were aux or drive belts. Any help would be really appreciated!

I owned an FSI 4x4 for about a month and 1,500 miles now, mine is an 05 reg car with 74k on the clock. The previous owner used the car for towing and some off-roading. I've had it over some wet and muddy fields with no problem and also the light snow we've had recently. I'm getting about 32-34mpg with mixed driving, we had a long run up to Scotland and back and got about 34mpg. I don't do much town driving, but would probably get high 20s. Given that you don't do much mileage and diesel 4x4s seem to be at about a 1k premium over the petrols, it makes sense. I've read the FSI engine does benefit from 98 RON petrol to avoid deposits building up, it is also one of the noisier petrols I've come across, though I was coming from an almost silent Merc V6. I agree with the comment about it losing speed on inclines, but overall its not a bad engine. Apparently FSI engines only need cambelts changing at a long mileage interval, but I think I'm still going to get mine changed when it needs its next service for peace of mind as the car is just about to turn 5 years old and I plan on keeping it a long while. Other than that, can't really think of much to say on the petrol that wouldn't apply to the diesel, the interior is rattle free, seats are fine if a little hard, there's plenty of space inside, controls are nice and clear and the boot is cavernous and flexible.

Thanks to everyone who replied to the thread, I've now put a deposit on a car to pick up on Saturday - can't wait!

I'm really glad I read this thread before I went to look at an Octavia 4x4 at the weekend. It had a tiny amount of scum under the cap (nowhere near as bad as the pic here), but the coolant level was fine and it was clear. Normally, I would have been concerned, but just wiped it off and after an hour's test drive, it had cleared up. Obviously the car had been standing for a while in the winter weather. Anyway, I bought the car and am looking forward to picking it up this weekend.

Either, but I think the 1.9TDi will be the one I go for due to my budget. I'm happy with the 1.9, I had it in my Fabia and I was pleased with that.

Thanks both of you for this. Will check out the one in Mansfield, but its at the top of my budget. Skomaz, those are all a bit steep for me I'm afraid, I'm more around the £10k and under level. I did look on Ebay yesterday and have seen one that looks quite promising; its miles up north but I can combine it with a trip to the in-laws next weekend. I'm hopefully off to see another this weekend also, so fingers crossed. Thanks again.

Thanks for the reply John, I've seen that one, but unfortunately its a bit out of my price range.

Due to some upcoming circumstance changes, I need a car with better access, more practical boot space and better capabilities over the odd bit of mud/ice/snow than my current RWD auto 2 door Mercedes coupe, well it couldn't be much worse . I had a PD TDI Fabia for a couple of trouble-free years and always said I would come back to another Skoda. Hence I'm now on the lookout for an Octavia 4x4 TDI estate and have the budget for what should be a decent 05 or 06 car. They seem to be selling very quickly at the moment, I only started looking last week and a number on Autotrader in my price range have been and gone - must have been the recent bad weather I guess. I would really appreciate it if anyone knows of a good one for sale or are considering selling their own, then let me know. Travelling to view the right car is not a problem for me, though I'm near Oxford, I've travelled to Kent and North Yorkshire to buy my last two cars. In the meantime, I'll keep glued to the Autotrader, other sites and keep reading up on here! Thanks, Simon

Cheers Mike, will do.

Hello there, just thought I’d say ‘hi’ to you all and introduce myself (and ask for a little help). I registered on the site a couple of years ago, but really only lurked then. I had a Fabia TDi which was a great car, I put 30,000 miles on it in just over a year without any trouble whatsoever, in fact I still sometimes regret selling it and always said I would think about another Skoda. I’m currently running two Mercedes, a mid-90s E320 Coupe and my wife’s SLK, but due to a few changing circumstances and a recent move into the countryside, I now need to get rid of the Coupe for something more practical with larger boot, better access and 4wd to reliably get to the house in all weathers. For me, the natural choice is a diesel Octavia 4x4 estate, so I’m on the lookout for one. I’ve seen a couple around that look promising, I hope to go and view them this weekend. I was wondering whether anyone had any tips about what especially to look out for when buying this model? Any particular problems I should bear in mind when viewing. I’ll be looking at cars from 2005-2007 with average-ish mileage. Any help would be really appreciated and am looking forward to rejoining the Skoda fold. Many thanks, Simon

Hi there, First post and all that. I've heard good things about here from the Fiat Coupe Forum where I'm a regular poster, so thought I'd pop in and say 'hi' seeing as I've recently picked up myself a 53 reg Fabia TDi. I'm commuting a 200 mile round trip every day at the moment and will be until August, so my Italian crisp packet wouldn't really be up to that (the Coupe has gone now, probably will be replaced with a Barchetta after the summer). Apart from the shocking tyres the previous owner had fitted, I'm really rather enjoying my Skoda, I had initially thought of just keeping it for a few months until my commute becomes a more manageable distance, but I'll probably end up keeping the Fabia. In the time honoured tradition of newbies first posts, I'm also after a recommendation for a garage to get the Skoda serviced (comes around quite quickly when you are doing 1000 miles a week ). Home is near Bournemouth, work is in Oxford, so if anyone could give me a recommendation of a trusted specialist near either of those (Oxford preferably), that would be brilliant. I've read the reviews of Jewsons in Oxford, and not been too impressed, so hoping you guys can help me out . Look forward to reading through the site and logging on in the future. And if you see a red Fabia TDi with a crossed pistons sticker (I'm also on Pistonheads, the sticker was on my old Chevelle 454) in the rear window on the A34, give me a wave. Thanks, Simon