Anyone think this is a good first car?? I need a bigger car with many trips to the tip and I probably need to carry passagers. What do you bunch think???

It will certainly test your reverse parking skills as the rear visibility is pants , but other than that it shouldn't be too bad a choice.

The spec is pretty basic so it might be worth looking for an Ambiente instead of a Classic as it won't cost much more but should be a much nicer place to be.

A good first car?

Either the Focus or an Astra are pretty good and in the same class as the Octavia

But if you want something small, spacious and comfortable because it's your first car and want to keep costs down like insurance etc then why not try a small estate like the Fabia

Or even the Felicia/Favorit they will be cheap to buy and run and relatively cheap to insure too.

Was thinking of a 1.4 and it only comes in classic trim. :(

Insureance is cheaper too on the 1.4. Also was thinknig of buying parking sensors for it when I can get one. p.s was planning on the 2004- model)

promblem is Ive found an mk2 octavia 1.4 classic for 3,799 and some fabia's of the same age cost the same or more. The one I found was an 05 reg one with 45000 miles on the clock.

It might be a bit slooooow as it's a heavy old car for a 1.4

The 1.4 is pretty weak in the Octavia and not that frugal due to the weight.

Im not bothered about speed a the mo

TBH you'd be better off with a Focus 1.6

Spacious, plenty about, cheapish to buy and economical

Its the pick of the petrol engines as its sprightly and should cope with anything, not sure about the insurance group

The only downer with an Octy 1.4 is that it may feel lethargic with the weight of the car then imagine it coping when its loaded.

For your budget if you'r dead set on a 1.4 then go for a Fabia Estate 1.4 16v

I dont paricually want a 1.4 octy but for my budget its really the only one. I like the style and look of the mk2. Also I really want a name that I can trust. Skoda is one that I can because of it being vw. plus as i said before I have found cheaper mk2 octys than mk1 fabia's. Ive also been in the Ambiente, vRS and I liked it a lot. Im not particualy traveling far, to collage and back wich is about 10 miles there and back and most of that will be in the city. Classic trim suits me fine. Im not after luxery just solid reliable transport.

get the 1.9tdi if poss, cheap insurance, plenty of beans for the car.

Edited 19 August, 200817 yr by jamesmckelvie

It might be a bit slooooow as it's a heavy old car for a 1.4

Might be a tad thirsty too - engine working harder .Why not try a fabia 1.4tdi estate -nice poky engine , room for 4 and a bit of boot space . Possibly a bit dearer initially ,but with circa 50mpg (with a heavy foot ) and low insurance (and road tax) possibly make up for the difference in a short time .

Before buying get insurance quotes on different cars and different engines.

Skoda are a good badge to buy and because they use VWs bits they are built to last. BUT dont buy purely on badge assumption or thinking bargain VW.

Test drive, test everything and get vehicles HPI checked (or RAC do the same for only £5) and looked over by someone who knows what to look for.

As believe it or not some VW cars aren't as reliable as you'd expect.

Well if you really have your heart set on an Octy 2 1.4 then you need to : -

Read Reviews

And test drive the 1.4 engine as mag reviews want oomph whereas you may find it fits your needs like a glove

Dont forget to research a few costs like insurance, tax etc and get the car checked too just to make sure it doesnt have a hidden history.

Good Luck

1.4tdi in the newer polo's are suppose to pull like trains for there engine size. Even with 4 ppl in.

If you could stretch to the 1.6FSI i think that would be a wiser choice, but im not sure what the insurance is going to be like for that. 1.9TDI PD 105 is a group 7 insurance.

Does ok once your rolling, but best suited to cruising rather than stop starting IMHO.

Hi... just thought i'd put my two pence worth in...

I work for VW and have the oppertunity of driving a lot of cars... now i've never driven a 1.4FSI Octavia but i have driven many 1.4FSI Golf Mk5s. Now my imidiate gut reaction was to dismiss the car being 'heavy' with 'only a 1.4'. But i have to say its good. No beating around to bush its slow on acceloration, but it has to be said on motorway when rolling I had no problems chasing a collegue in a 2.0TDI touran! (obviously not saying i kept up, but it wasn't left far behind put it like that!).

So all i can say is go and test drive it its your decision.

But 1.4FSI is good in Golf, so should be fine in Octy. If it was absolutly terrible they wouldn't honestly sell it would they!

I have done a bit of research on it. Strangly for what I have seen the 1.6 FSI is more exspensive to run than the 1.9 TDI. The 1.6 is more expensive to buy, tax and the insureance is more exspensive too. What car rate it very highly too. they even say that the 1.4 is good round town. The cheapest to buy was the 1.4 but tax on the 1.4 is 165 quid, the 1.9 TDi is 115 and the 1.6 is 140. O would choose the 1.9 TDi but with diesel so expensive I think the 1.4 would be cheaper. Insureance at my age is stupid. the 1.4 is 3,161.35 pounds, the 1.9 TDi is 3,750.08 and the 1.6 FSi is 3,790.89. Just so you know Im 16 at the mo, but im just tryin to plan in advance so then I know what to expect when I do turn 17.

1.4 engines are fine, but you got to think about the weight of the octy 2. personally i would go for a 1.6 and the insurance shouldnt be much different. if you can go for a smaller car get a fabia 1.4 as its much lighter it will move better to a heavy octy 2.

As said before I need the bigger car to move bits and bobs around. I also said before ive found chepaer 05 octy 2 than 05 fabia's. thanks anyway .

Now we know you're just shopping I'd suggest looking at a supermini to be honest

At 17 your premiums are going to be high anyway plus your excess.

If you have a cheap and cheerful car at least if it gets car park pranged or you scrape a wall you're not going to be too gutted as if you just paid £4000 for a newish car and another £3000 for your insurance.

As a young driver can you afford to buy a relativly modern car, to insure and run it and fix things like air-con or even buy something as common as tyres (which can be quite expensive given 14"/15" sizs on average)

Compare here

Skoda Felicia good ones cost a grand, servicing on mine costs something like £50-60 a year, £185 for tax, next years insurance prob £500 (comp), tyres £40 per tyre and a tank of fuel £40 with no air-con or major electrics to go wrong.

A newer Fabia say the 1.4 16v, tax £145, fuels about the same per tank, tyres £60 per tyre, servicing £80-120. prob looking at £3000 for a good one.

And if something goes wrong you need a garage with a diagnostic computer more electrics to worry about.

right. swallow your pride. you'll be 17, and have better things to spend money on, drinking, having fun, sleeping with many anonymous partners.

buy a ford fiesta, spend about a grand. get a 1.1, cheap insurance, cheap petrol. have fun, at 17 you do not need a three year old octy. you can have that later in life.

TBH i think the Octavia would be an awful choice for a first car. It's fairly big for reverse parking, etc and as said above i reckon you'll be better off with something like a fiesta, 106, saxo, etc.

They might not fit four all that comfortably for long journeys but your mates can put up with it in the back for an hour or so. If you want to lug stuff you can put the back seats down and if you're spending less than £1,000 (instead of £4,000) then lets face it, that insurance can come down. I assume the £3,000 insurance was fully comp on the £4,000 car (say £7,000 first year outlay) and so a £1,000 supermini insured TPFT would be a much better idea. Once you've pranged that (hopefully not too badly) you can get rid of it in 18 months for £300 if the dings and scratches aren't too bad and then think about getting something bigger. If that's an Octavia then fine but if not you should be able to get something like a focus or 206 reasonably priced.

In my day (i'm only 28 but it's true) we all seemed to have a Metro as our fist car. I started borrowing my mum's and promptly reversed it into my dad's car so dont go thinking you wont be having SOME kind of knock or other early days - just hope it's cosmetic damage only.

People's "First Cars" have certainly changed a lot over the years.

As said above, in my day (15yrs ago) everyone either had a Fiesta or a Metro as their first car.

I decided I wanted neither and had a Mk1 1.1L Golf instead (1980 model).

Cost me £500 and about 10x that in time and parts over the years

I say stay small for your first car - get that first year under your belt in nothing particularly special and then get yourself something a little better.

Yep , I'd not be looking at spending that much on a first car , especially when the insurance will cost as much again.

There are quite simply better things to spend money on and you'll have almost as much fun in a dirt cheap runabout. My old Panda was a bit of a shed but great fun to own at the time

i have a 1.9tdi 2000 and the space inside is incredible.i travel long distances with boot full of tools &roofbox and even after 8 years i get about 580 miles on a full tank. will drive it till it dies

8go for the same again.hugh

ok then thanks anyway