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Looking at a Superb

vRSbloke
in Skoda Superb Mk1 (2001-2008)

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I posted in the Octavia section, as I am considering buying an Octavia, however I drove a Superb yesterday and liked the car:

I have just returned from test driving the Superb, a 2004(54) 1.9TDi 130 Comfort in silver, with just over 40,000 miles on the clock. My impressions are very favourable with the car, it has lots of presence and looks good, better from the front in my view, the back end (light clusters) look a little dated. However, this particular car was let down by awful brakes, it didn't feel like a 40,000 mile car it felt a little 'baggy'. I am no engineer but I reckon the brakes and discs needed sorting, the tyres were pretty worn too and it looked like one of them needed some air. No way to present a car for sale and a VW main dealer to. The windscreen was cracked too.

On the positive side, the engine pulled really well, much better than I anticpated and the gearbox was lovely and smooth when shifting. The seats were lovely (would be better in hide!) and the car felt nicley luxurious. I could happily spend long motorway trips in there. I didnt take a really good look around the car but the Service history looked ok to me.

So overall, I really like the car, it is BIG. I would not buy this one, they had made no effort to prepare it for sale and comments like 'it hasn't been through the workshop yet' do not excuse all the faults, the brakes were truly dreadful - I hope this isn't typical of Superbs.

I have been warned off buying a car from Arnold Clark by three seperate people at work today, I now know why. Tye car has been off road (SORN) since Mar 08and they have reduced it by £1000 (apparently), it is up for £6995. So what next? Find an Octavia to drive (the red one) and maybe find another Superb that has had a little more tlc. I am semi hooked!

If I can find the right Superb, at the right spec and price, before the 'perfect' Octavia comes along then I will buy it! I have seen three that I quite like:

- 2005(05) Sahara beige 1.9TDi 130 Elegence, 63,000 with satnav/leather. FSH - colour not my favourite but spec is nice. Car is in the North East and is up at £6995.

- a car on Ebay, a 2003(03) 1.9TDi 130 Comfort with 31,000 and a FSH. It is on an open auction and is in Metaliic red, i like the colour! I have the reg number and where it was serviced (ae witham in surrey) and will check out the history today. What sort of money is this car worth? The car is in Rotherham.

- 2003(53) 1.9TDi 130 in Nightfire Blue. This is at a skoda dealer so is an approved used car and comes with a 12 month warranty. Colour is not my fave and I dont like the 16" wheels (8 spoke - prefer the 5 spoke). This car has 70,000 miles on it and is the cheapest approved used superb on the website. Car is in bristol (autohaus skoda)

any thoughts? does anyone live close to bristol, rotherham or sunderland?

All I can advise you is the cars feel baggy anyway as they are set up soft, overall Superb is a good car until you want to sell it so make sure you are in for the long haul on it, I had a dealer say to me yesterday I'll give you 4.5k for mine, this car was listed at the dealer I got it from for 11k 16 mths ago, I didn't pay that but I still face almost a 5k loss on it if I sell it now, seems with Skoda when you are buying depreciation doesn't come into it, yet when selling it's worth nothing, funny that isn't it, and be warned the dealer network is useless with the exception of a few, which I have yet to find as all the ones I've used are Ben Gazzi to say the least, on the plus side you do get a nice comfortable car, just don't expect to live if the RMS Skodatanic hits a berg.

The brakes on the Superb are not lacking in any way for normal use - if the '04 sample was not up to scratch in this and other ways, I wonder if it had been clocked.

Superb depreciation is really like falling off a cliff. Make sure you get what you want and then keep it until it falls apart. It's a fairly well made vehicle without a rust problem and with a good diesel engine (4 cyl only) and is cheap to fix using pattern Passat parts. Don't bend any Skoda-specific panels or trim as they won't be around for much longer.

Bear in mind that you only get folding rear seats from MY '05>. They don't fold properly which is a pain (I've just had to take the seat backs out of mine to get some big items in the boot and the anchorage for the centre inertia belt is a pain to unscrew) but for me, a Superb with fixed rear seats would be useless.

rotodiesel.

a Superb with fixed rear seats would be useless.

rotodiesel.

Not entirely true, with the boot locked out the fact the seats don't fold makes a good security feature, but if you are an Ikea freak then I guess it's not such a good idea. :P

  • Author

Really useful stuff thanks. Bottom line is that I need to get one which is at the right price (ie low) if they are not a decent seller. Am not bothered about folding rear seats necessarily, so long as I can get my son's wheelchair in the boot which should not be a problem. My other cars are a Mercedes GL320CDI (extended ML), which is a huge load carrier for those IKEA trips :P , and a Mini Cooper which is my wife's daily car. Depreciation is not a huge issue, as I will buy at the 3-5 year old point. As an aside my GL has lost £25K in vlaue in 6 months!! (List £57K, highest bid last week £32K - £1.5K less than the guaranteed value at two years old (work that out!)) Needless to say I am not selling it!

I thought Skoda dealers were supposed to be good, the motoring magazine surveys and JD consumer surveys all rate the dealers and cars very highly.

Not sure I understand the comments " all the ones I've used are Ben Gazzi to say the least, on the plus side you do get a nice comfortable car, just don't expect to live if the RMS Skodatanic hits a berg."?

I hope you find a good one - the car is well made so I would rate condition more importantly than mileage. When I shopped around there were plenty of neglected dogs around (?taxi) and the main dealers are certainly not good. They are like any other car traders and will sell what they can get away with.

The one I eventually bought was the cheapest by a mile and I had to travel to get it. As it was only a 2 year old, dealer neglect hadn't taken full effect, but it still had a blocked air cleaner and worn out rear pads - amongst other things. The car has actually been fine.

By the way, the catches for the rear folding seats both have keylocks on them (VAG were too dim to put the release levers in the boot) so security is not an issue. Best of luck, haggle hard.

rotodiesel.

  • Author

OK, have seen this Superb Elegance at a dealer in Ayr. 2006(06) screen price £7995. It has nav etc

Skoda Superb 2.0 TDi PD 140 Elegance 4-Dr Saloon

I was going to test the water by making a cheeky offer of £6500 for cash. I don't think it qualifies for the years warranty because of the mileage, 63000 miles. It has the 2.0TDi manual engine, the combined economy isn't as good as the 1.9 TDi (44 Vs 49 mpg).

OK, have seen this Superb Elegance at a dealer in Ayr. 2006(06) screen price £7995. It has nav etc

Skoda Superb 2.0 TDi PD 140 Elegance 4-Dr Saloon

I was going to test the water by making a cheeky offer of £6500 for cash. I don't think it qualifies for the years warranty because of the mileage, 63000 miles. It has the 2.0TDi manual engine, the combined economy isn't as good as the 1.9 TDi (44 Vs 49 mpg).

That's one great looking motor, mate!:thumbup: Hope it turns in your favour...

That is a nice car - almost identical to my last one! Looks great in Black. That is a good deal, as my one went for around £12k on an 06 plate!

Yep - sure looks nice enough at that money :thumbup:

But note, unlike a 130 1.9TDi it will have a DPF - so potentially a problem if you do town-based commuting. And when does the cam belt get changed on these?

cheers

Edited by sidewaze samm
too late - missed my place in the thread!

  • Author

The car from CarGiant looks OK, shame I dont live a little closer to London so I could go and have a decent look.

I have been offered another car from a Skoda dealer, fully approved used with 12 months skoda warranty and 6 months RFL. It is a 2003(03) 1.9TDI Elegance in Mystery Blue with the black velour/leather trim, 31,000 miles and a full SH - the dealer is in Dumfries - It has a tow bar on it which makes me think CARAVAN! The spec on the website says it has navigation but the pictures the dealer has emailed to me show that the vehicle does not have a nav screen. It was up for £7495, and they have offered it to me for £6995. It looks good but it does seem to be pricey for a 5 year old car, if it was £1000- £1500 cheaper I would probably buy it.

I checked out the red one for sale on ebay, 2003(03) 1.9 TDI Comfort. The supplying dealer, A E Witham in Surrey, PDI'd the car in Mar 03 and did the first service in Mar 05 at 15,000 miles. I have emailed the seller to ask where and when the subsequent service was conducted and when/where the camblet was changed. He is claimed a FSH AND 31,000 miles.

Sorry this is turning into some sort of blog...hope you guys don't mind, but I would certainly welcome your thoughts and feedback.

I checked out the red one for sale on ebay, 2003(03) 1.9 TDI Comfort. The supplying dealer, A E Witham in Surrey, PDI'd the car in Mar 03 and did the first service in Mar 05 at 15,000 miles. I have emailed the seller to ask where and when the subsequent service was conducted and when/where the camblet was changed. He is claimed a FSH AND 31,000 miles.

Sorry this is turning into some sort of blog...hope you guys don't mind, but I would certainly welcome your thoughts and feedback.

If it has only got 31,000 miles the cambelt wont have been changed yet and it may not have reached its second service

the dealer network is useless with the exception of a few, which I have yet to find

Seconded

The car from CarGiant looks OK, shame I dont live a little closer to London so I could go and have a decent look.

I have been offered another car from a Skoda dealer, fully approved used with 12 months skoda warranty and 6 months RFL. It is a 2003(03) 1.9TDI Elegance in Mystery Blue with the black velour/leather trim, 31,000 miles and a full SH - the dealer is in Dumfries -

It has a tow bar on it which makes me think CARAVAN!
The spec on the website says it has navigation but the pictures the dealer has emailed to me show that the vehicle does not have a nav screen. It was up for £7495, and they have offered it to me for £6995. It looks good but it does seem to be pricey for a 5 year old car, if it was £1000- £1500 cheaper I would probably buy it.

I checked out the red one for sale on ebay, 2003(03) 1.9 TDI Comfort. The supplying dealer, A E Witham in Surrey, PDI'd the car in Mar 03 and did the first service in Mar 05 at 15,000 miles. I have emailed the seller to ask where and when the subsequent service was conducted and when/where the camblet was changed. He is claimed a FSH AND 31,000 miles.

Sorry this is turning into some sort of blog...hope you guys don't mind, but I would certainly welcome your thoughts and feedback.

No problem having a tow bar we tow a large 6 berth all over the place and it feels like there is nothing there

Belt change 80k or 4 years

  • Author

Tha car in Dumfries Skoda has had the belt change, according to the dealer, presumably on reaching the 4 year old point last year. Likewise the advert for the ebay car specifically says that the belt has been changed due to time. I emailed to ask when and where, as yet no answer.

The car from CarGiant looks OK, shame I dont live a little closer to London so I could go and have a decent look.

.

DON'T!!!!

They deal tat, the pics don't show the true wear, I've been 3 times now for a car and all have been dented,scratched and look like old cabs, do Autotrader and remember the Superb wasn't a seller so they are rareish and you will have to travel, on the up though ppl have to look twice to recognise it and iirc there are no more than about 8000 of us who own one.

  • Author

Yet another update.... sorry!

Am driving the Superb from Deans of Dumfries on friday morning. It is the 2003(03) low mileage, 36,000 miles, 1.9TDI 130 Elegance manual offered to me for £6995 with 12 months Skoda warranty and 6 months RFL. It looks a lovely car but it doesn't have the sat nav which is listed in the spec. I would just be a little nervous of paying that money for a 5 year old car.... however...

Skoda Superb 1.9 TDi PD 130 Elegance 4-Dr Saloon

I am also viewing and driving this one on Saturday in Colne. It is a 2003(53) 1.9TDI 130 Elegance with 68,000 miles on it. I spoke to the owner this afternoon, it has a full service history but it isnt with a skoda garage, he has had it since Dec 07 and had a service, water pump and cambelt change when he bought it. He has it for sale at £5995, but I suspect this will be negotiable!

Auto Trader UK - SKODA SUPERB 1.9 TDI PD 130 Elegance

  • Author

Is there a view on the 2.5 V6 diesel engine? I have seen a few for sale on autotrader. It has quite high emissions and the overall combined mpg is 39 ish (in manual form), not bad but nowhere near as good as the 1.9.

Complete dog of an engine.

rotodiesel.

I am considering changing my 04 MK1 Octy VRs at the moment as I have just changed jobs and this is going to require more miles to be done. I have been looking at some high mileage Superb's as I dont want to part with more than 4k (providing I get the right price for my Octy, Just need a workhorse for 12-18 months)

Do any of you folks here run a high milage Superb and if so whats the pitfalls of this ?

I am considering changing my 04 MK1 Octy VRs at the moment as I have just changed jobs and this is going to require more miles to be done. I have been looking at some high mileage Superb's as I dont want to part with more than 4k (providing I get the right price for my Octy, Just need a workhorse for 12-18 months)

Do any of you folks here run a high milage Superb and if so whats the pitfalls of this ?

Don't know if this will assist but I traded in my 03 Superb Elegance 2.8v6 auto (with sun roof but no sat nav), 87K and running v well for £4.8K against a Saab demonstrator in June. Might give you an idea of what to expect for your budget.

hth

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