Fuzzarr

Are you based in Brid? Nice to see someone doing things vaguely near me (Howden).

No half measures! That's going to be a weapon

Hey, just wondering if you've got the remap or exhaust done yet, I have a pre-FL 230 manual and I'm curious about what impact it has on the standard clutch

Here we go, shadow chrome done today. Well chuffed! https://photos.app.goo.gl/pwtXf5GtAGQ4akGe6 https://photos.app.goo.gl/KQpNZJhSQmxWupBu7

Thanks for this photo, I've been wondering what gunmetal looks like on a lighter coloured car. I was torn between gunmetal and shadow chrome, have opted for the latter - it's in for powder coating tomorrow

I'm getting mine done in shadow chrome next week, will share some photos if you're interested.

That looks really nice. Well done cracking on with it. I nearly bought a green one but couldn't quite find one in a spec I was happy with.

I bought a 2016 230 manual a couple of years ago. Managed to get the service history after a call with a Skoda dealer, which did not indicate any servicing on the diff, so got it done by a VAG specialist for 90 quid (as part of a wider service). They changed the oil and gave everything a good clean, but said there wasn't much in the way of dirt in there. It was 5 years old/~35k miles at the time. I wouldn't worry too much about it not being done, if the car's not way over schedule, just get it sorted when it's yours. Same goes for plugs, they last ages these days. I'd be more concerned about a DSG 'box not being looked after properly, given the potential bills it could give you.

Oh I forgot you can also get the Octavia with the 1.8 in L&K trim, quite rare though!

2016 vRS 230 owner here, pre-facelift. The TSI engine fitted to 220/230 vRS models doesn't seem to suffer the same oil consumption and other issues of previous iterations in the mk2. Water pumps and wheel bearings seem to be the main areas to watch, so not too devastating on the wallet if they go. I looked at loads of Octavias pre- and post-facelift, even the 1.4 TSI goes well so worth considering if you want to save a few quid and get an older car. You might also want to consider the Leon FR, which can be had with the 1.8 TSI in 180bhp tune.

Hi there, good luck with your search. As others have said, prices are relatively firm at the moment. Not quite as bad as earlier in the year, but still pretty swollen compared to 2019/2020. I was after a manual TSI in either hatch or estate towards the end of 2020. Finally got a car Feb 2021. I found mine on the approved used Skoda website, checked stock daily, it was listed without an image and not much info at all really but turned out to be the best one I could possibly have bought for my 13k budget. Not sure what's going to happen with prices as the year goes on, I imagine they'll start coming down as people become more cost conscious. I wasn't too fussed about spec, heated seats were desirable as were all round parking sensors, there weren't many cars with the front sensors on. The pre-facelift 230 has them included along with some other goodies, but these cost a bit more than a similar age 220, unless the seller doesn't know what it is.

Question for those who switched to 235s - did you use the same tyre pressures as on the 225s, or more/less? Cheers

Well I'm over six months into ownership now and have grown very fond of this car. It's still not doing many miles thanks to my mostly home-working setup, but I have at least got a few longer trips in. Last week it became clear the traction/stability control intervene far too early for the diff to do its job, so I'm quite regularly holding down the button to free things up a bit. I have a question though. My 230 is set to variable servicing, and I understand it was last serviced in November 2020. Given the low mileage I'm doing, I'm thinking annual servicing might make more sense. What do you reckon? I want to keep the car in the best condition possible, especially when it comes to looking after the turbo. Any thoughts much appreciated. Any other thoughts after six months? Well, it feels like it has a very healthy 230 horses. I am aware 220 vRSs and other TSI-engined motors generally put out more power than claimed, but it feels like it could easily be putting out 250ish. I quite fancy putting the car on a dyno to find out. My brother, who drives a mk2 Swift Sport, had a go in it a few weeks back and was quite astounded by the grunt available. I had a go in the Swift and its close-ratio 'box was brilliant. It's been a fantastic all-round car so far and every drive is a delight. I'm really glad I got the 230 over a 220, too. Nothing against the 220, but the extra bits on the 230 are all stuff I appreciate, especially the diff and exhaust. Cheers

I was all set to fill up with BP Ultimate today, but both of the BPs I used to use are now Shells. So I'm starting off with V Power after all. Still loving the 230.

Wow, that's a fair old power gain for stage 1! Where did you get the map done? Did you stick to the original size for the PS4S tyres? Cheers

Also it's on Pirelli P Zeros all round, I've heard nothing but bad things about Pirellis in recent years (except for the Trofeo R) and it does seem fairly low on traction a lot of the time, it has been pretty cold/greasy on the roads lately though so I'll give them a bit longer to redeem themselves.

Hello again. Well I've had nearly a week with the 230 now. Luckily, the Colt sold pretty quickly and for a good price, so it wasn't long before I could switch the insurance over and get going. The dealer sent me a link for some free insurance I could use for a few days, but I didn't need it in the end. What can I say about the 230? I'm still quite blown away by it really, so 'WOW' is usually the first thing that springs to mind. The first time I gave it some real welly I was quite astounded by how quickly it was gathering pace. Awesome! I never drove a 220 in the end, so have little to compare it to. In performance terms a 208 GTI with 200 brake is the closest I've been to this performance, but the 230 feels a lot more muscular and relentless in its power delivery. The wheels are perfect. The condition of the car overall is fantastic actually, though the paint needs a thorough going over, it needs some clay, polish and Dodo Juice to bring some glossiness back. No dents and minimal stone chips. It's spot on inside, too. I'm really happy with the car. I've nearly burnt through the full tank it arrived with, so will be topping up with some full-fat fuel soon. Do these have a particular preference out of BP Ultimate/Shell V Power? I think it's on standard 95 at the moment and still feels extremely healthy. I'll share some photos soon, I've only taken some quick pics here and there so far. Thanks again for all the comments and input.

Btw, if anyone wants to buy a nice Mitsubishi Colt, hit me up!

Thanks, I'll be sure to share some photos etc after initial poking around. I've requested a history printout and they said that'll be with all the other paperwork coming with the car. My son (3 1/2) is particularly excited for delivery day so he can see the 'scary wheels'!

True. They mentioned doing a proper job, but I think that was in relation to addressing the kerbing by re-cutting them, rather than tarting up with paint. They also mentioned it'd cost them £500, though, which sounds like plenty for a full bells-and-whistles going over. I'll check them out on Tuesday!

This is great info to have, thanks. It was last serviced in November so will have been past 3 years by then, I'll have a good look at the paperwork to check it out. Some thorough testing and checking for the first couple of weeks then. I'm ok with this, it's pretty much what I do anyway for the first few drives. Tempted to drop the sales exec a line to make sure these areas are checked in their prep process. It's coming to me on Tuesday but I don't mind waiting a bit longer if it means the car is bob on. The 19s have been refurbed this week so you'd hope they'd check for buckles before getting that done. Cheers

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I'll definitely raid that checklist, thanks @ords . From that list the one I miss the most is indeed the Sunny! It didn't have a lot of go and was only a 4-speed, but it was such a sweet car. Made a nice sound and was really comfy, proper used bargain that I managed to keep going using some parts from another I found that had gone through the scrappage scheme. The 205 was great too but had a lot of work done while I had it, brill to drive though. My 230 will join the Mondeo for daily duties, though home-working means neither will be doing many miles for a while. I'll definitely get out for some drives to ensure the 230 is behaving itself. Cheers

Hello I am very excited. I am in the process of buying a manual 230 vRS hatchback of 2016 vintage in Moon White. It seems to be a well looked after car on low mileage. I have no opportunity to view the car so I am putting all my faith in the dealer, but so far they've been good and confidence-inspiring. I've had a good poke around various mk3 threads on here and it seems the TSI of this era is mostly reliable, so that's good to know. However, if anyone knows of any particular areas to check out, I'd be really chuffed if you could let me know so I can get the dealer to have a rummage. I nearly bought a 2017 facelift car in Candy White over Christmas but someone beat me to it. Then I nearly bought a Race Blue 220 but it turned out to be modified and I'd like to start off with a clean sheet. This 230 was a bit of a hidden gem, when the dealer sent me a walkaround video I was pretty much jumping up and down with excitement. I'm a newbie here so here's a quick run through my car history so you can appreciate how much of a jump the 230 is compared to what I'm used to! I'll be easing myself in gently with the extra power. See if you can guess which of these I loved the most... 1994 Fiat Panda 1.0 1988 Nissan Sunny 1.3 1992 Proton GL 1.3 1988 Toyota MR2 mk1 1.6 1994 Peugeot 205 1.8 TD 2004 Daewoo Matiz 1.0 1999 Seat Toledo TDI 1.9 (110) 2007 Fiat Panda 1.3 Multijet 2012 Mitsubishi Colt Juro 1.3 Cleartec 2012 Ford Mondeo estate 1.6 Ecoboost 2016 Skoda Octavia vRS 230 (awaiting delivery) Cheers!