neil_f

Just the usual check service history and ensure the timing belt has been changed at 60k. Best to change the water pump at the same time as the plastic impellor is famous for breaking causing the car to overheat. Check passenger footwell for dampness as they can get water leaks if the pollen filter hasn't been replaced properly (its in the bulkhead at the passenger side). Coil packs are famous for going but probably been replaced on most cars by now. The 1.8t is a good, tough engine. Good sized boot whilst not as big as the octavia will still accommodate a pushchair. If you know anyone with vagcom get them to scan it for fault codes. From memory I think it does have isofix.

I activated it on my fl vrs but it has xenons with the rain/light sensor. Light switch has to be left on auto and only works if it deems it dark enough. I coded mine to have the foglights come on instead to save the life of the xenons. Can't remember what the coding was but found it on a thread on the forum.

Yeah I did enjoy using it! Did a lot of mountain biking at the time and went to Peebles 4-5times a week in the summer which was about 400miles a week on top of the 240miles commuting per week that I was doing. Drove to the nurburgring and back in a day and half. 1800miles including 12laps....car maxed out at just over 160mph on the autobahn and no issues. Never even used any oil between services. I do enjoy driving.....did 29k miles in 10months in an audi a4 avant that I used to have as well!

Presume it is a mk1 cupra r then? I had a 2004 model and loved it. Bought it a year old with 12k miles on it and sold it with 87kmiles two and half years later. Had stage 2 remap, milltek, forge intercooler, green dynatwist air filter and hr coilovers. Did various track days including 40 laps of the nurburgring and never let me down. Reckon it's the best car I've owned. Felt more involving than my current 2010 mk2 fl vrs tsi. There's an article on pisonheads this week saying how good they are and a great bargain just now. Possibly even a future classic. You'll find it so much more fun than your octavia. If you drive it really gently you might manage to get over 400miles from a tank. Realistically more like 330-350miles. Same size of tank as the octavia. Also drove one with jabbasport ihi conversion to 380bhp - that was interesting! Think they still look fantastic. I've actually been looking at them tempted to buy one again as a daily runabout to replace my vrs and buy a b7 rs4 as a toy as that's always been a dream car of mine but couldn't afford to run the rs4 daily!

you also need a full performance exhaust including downpipe and cat (which ain't cheap). Recommended to also fit a perfomance air filter and possibly an intercooler depending how hard you're intending driving it.

once it's started it runs fine. It's just the initial cranking of the engine to start that takes longer than usual. Bought it from a skoda dealer so it's still under warranty.

More when it's warm and has been run for a while. Seems to crank for ages before actually starting.

My wife has a 1.2tsi monte carlo and when starting it cranks for longer than any other car we have had previously. It does always start eventually. Is this just the way these engines are?

Seat are struggling to sell cars? Agree the exeo and previous toledo were a disaster but I see far more leons on the road than octavia 3 (yes I know they've been out longer). A lot of taxi drivers seem to have switched to toledo now instead of octavia as well.Also leon fr/cupra appears to get better reviews than octavia 3 in most press reviews. If they bring out a hotter version of the vrs then I would deffo go for it. Agree that octavia does offer fantastic space for the money but don't think the styling is really that radical over the previous model. In saying that the leon cupra is too subdued in comparison to the mk1 cupra r. Oh well not changing my mk2 just yet so will worry about it in a year or so. Hopefully by then they'll be a good selection of second hand vrs with the spec I want. Seems most folk on here have added quite a few options when ordering.

I've been thinking I might replace my current mk2 with a leon st. I've not looked at one in the flesh yet but on paper the boot space is not much less than the octavia. Factor in the tech pack that is free just now (led headlights, nav, dab) and I think it's better value than the octavia. Seat dealers also seem more likely to do a deal and delivery times are a lot quicker. Admittedly interior does look inferior. Im waiting to see if they bring out a cupra as I'd definitely go for that over the octavia.

I have the thule aero wing bars and pro ride cycle carriers on my mk2 fl vrs hatch. Attaches same way as the mk3. I tend to leave the roof bars on permanently (although it only takes 10mins to remove or refit) and only fit the bike carriers when I need them. Personally at legal motorway speeds there is little wind noise and fuel consumption is barely changed (1-2mpg). Above 80mph they tend to become slightly noiser but far less than a conventional square bar on. With bikes on the roof obviously noise/economy is affected quite a bit. Saying that I drove 100miles round trip a couple of days ago in strong winds, mostly country roads and shall we say making progress and still averaged 32mpg. My vrs is petrol tsi and remapped. Comments about them causing water leaks is untrue as well as I've had them fitted for two and half years and covered 40k miles with no issues.

If you do sell it I would go for the leon cupra from the shortlist that you suggested. Mk4 golf gti is poor to drive. I used to have a mk1 leon cupra r and would still say it's the best car I've had even over my current mk2 fl vrs.

seems very cheap. I'm sure other threads quoted nearer to £800 to have this done not including your oil service as well.

that seems a massive drop in fuel economy especially for a diesel. My petrol vrs still achieves over 30mpg easily at 70-80mph with two bikes, boot full, two adults and a child.

never had any issues like that with it being on the same stalk on my mk2. Personally think it looks neater than having a third stalk.

I've got these on my mk2 tsi vrs and leave them on permanently. Usually take the cycle carrier off if I'm not going to be using it for a while but leave the roof bars on. Can honestly say I've hardly noticed a difference in economy. I still seem to get better mpg figures than a lot of new others. Mostly motorway driving at 70-80mph will see 38-40mpg.

I once drove a mk5 golf gti that was on stretched tyres. Ruined the handling and had less grip than a standard car - was horrendous in the wet! If it was a show car then fair enough but from my experience I certainly wouldn't recommend it for a daily driver. Also prone to ruining the wheels on potholes etc as no tyre protection.

They rarely replace the fuel filter and I was told spark plugs are additional cost if required hence why I serviced mine myself after my 2 free services had expired.

That looks great with those wheels. They 19"? Got me tempted to start modifying again!

Mine has covered just over 60k. Over that time I've topped it up with about one and half litres. As others say it can 10k miles without using a drop and then suddenly will. I wouldn't worry about it. Most modern engines use oil and if you read the manual it states what the normal oil consumption can be.

That's interesting. I used to work in the tyre industry (admittedly haven't done so for over 4 years now) and at that time all the tyre manufacturer's stated they could not be repaired regardless of puncture location. Would question how do you know for sure that the tyre has been driven for less than 25 miles and at an appropriate speed as clearly everyone will say that to save a new tyre.

Run flats are what really put me off any bmw. Like you I have a spare wheel for my octavia and purchased a spare for my wife's fabia as well. Not only are run flats expensive but you can't repair them regardless of where the puncture is. Same applies if you use tyre sealant. ..tyre is scrap afterwards. Yes both options will get you home but also cost you compared to changing a spare wheel. Amazes me nowadays the amount of people that can't change a wheel!

There's someone on the fabia 2 section that's just had it done.

Best to read the thread at the top of the page titled "1.8tsi & 2.0tsi engine failures" which will give you all the info.

pretty much the same as the leon