I have just sold my Ford Scorpio and have pretty much decided to buy a Superb Elegance I will have about 9-10k budget and really want an auto V6. I did initially think of the TDi but with the cam belt changes it might be worth be hunting out a rare petrol one. I only do about 3-4k a year so fuel costs are not really much of a problem as I also have a Fiesta diesel for running around. Is the petrol V6 more reliable than the TDi? Which one is recomended? Any problems to be aware of? Thanks for your help in advance.

I have just sold my Ford Scorpio and have pretty much decided to buy a Superb Elegance I will have about 9-10k budget and really want an auto V6. I did initially think of the TDi but with the cam belt changes it might be worth be hunting out a rare petrol one. I only do about 3-4k a year so fuel costs are not really much of a problem as I also have a Fiesta diesel for running around. Is the petrol V6 more reliable than the TDi? Which one is recomended? Any problems to be aware of? Thanks for your help in advance.

Regarding the cam belt, I guess it depends on what advice you take regarding the interval at which it needs to be changed at. I would think that your budget would get you a low mileage (20k miles?) 2.5 V6 diesel probably around two years old. If you're only doing 4k a year and you take Skoda's service manual advice that the belt only needs to be done at 75k, then you have around 14 years of use before you need to change it .... which I admit would probably be pushing it a bit. However, if you take the 4 year rule, then you'd be looking at doing it at, say 28k, which is only just over a third of the manufacturer's recommendation. Not sure how many years you can extend Skoda's warranty for, but presumably this would cover the cam belt failing, and as they detail only a mileage based change interval, you'd be covered?

Have no experience of the V6 petrol, but the V6 diesel is lovely .... in my humble opinion. Also check out the tax implications of the V6 petrol engine .... pretty sure I read somewhere that some versions fall into the punitive band as proposed by the government.

Have often wondered why the government are considering a bail out for Land Rover / Jaguar, when it was their proposed tax hikes that helped to contribute to their demise in the first place .....it's time they cleared up the confusion and scrapped the proposed tax rise now.

Agree with above. But I would recommend changing the belt every 4 yrs as this is written on every Invoice I receive from the Dealer. I have an extended warranty (Skoda) and I would not put that at risk.

I too have the V6 Diesel - luverly motor and so smooth. There are differing opinions on this car however - if you read the threads on the V6 Diesel.

Also check out the tax implications of the V6 petrol engine .... pretty sure I read somewhere that some versions fall into the punitive band as proposed by the government.

Have often wondered why the government are considering a bail out for Land Rover / Jaguar, when it was their proposed tax hikes that helped to contribute to their demise in the first place .....it's time they cleared up the confusion and scrapped the proposed tax rise now.

The new £400 band doesnt hit pre 2006 cars - yet.

They just stay in roughly the same bands.

One thing you must understand with cambelts and the intervals is the belt is made of a degrading material, like oil and tyres it's not just use that kills it in the end, from the day it's born it's intergrity is decreasing and this is why time intervals are crucial also, it's subjected to getting hot and cold all the time and this helps shorten it's useable life also, I don't know of any car that has a rubber belt that the time is longer than 4 years in reality, the VX 2.5 used to have an 80k 8 yr limit on it until so many broke and VX wound it back down to 40-60k and 4 yrs, hth.

One thing you must understand with cambelts and the intervals is the belt is made of a degrading material, like oil and tyres it's not just use that kills it in the end, from the day it's born it's intergrity is decreasing and this is why time intervals are crucial also, it's subjected to getting hot and cold all the time and this helps shorten it's useable life also, I don't know of any car that has a rubber belt that the time is longer than 4 years in reality, the VX 2.5 used to have an 80k 8 yr limit on it until so many broke and VX wound it back down to 40-60k and 4 yrs, hth.

The engineer within me is tempted to agree, but the bean counter within me wants to know why it is that you buy a car that the manufacturer's own specification states that the belt doesn't need to be changed until 75,000 miles, and then you find out that someone has changed it to a time based interval and a 40,000 limit, after you've bought it.

What would we all do if they found that they still had a few breaking (there are always early failures in all engineering situations), and decided to drop the interval to 2 years and 20,000 miles, and then 1 year and 10,000 miles? Hmmm......

And, if it's true that only VW UK has implemented this, and that all those VWs, Audis and Skodas flying around the AutoBahns are having their belts changed at 120,000 km only, then that raises another set of questions.

I did my own cam belt on my old 95 petrol Passat because the tensioner bearing was whining after 120,000 miles, the belt having been changed 50k before, but the belt was as good as new, not a sign of cracking or crazing, teeth perfect, perfectly flexible. Did it need changing, probably not. When the car was sold, there was no mention of changing the belt anywhere in the manual, it was expected to last the life of the engine. Then they started to advise replacement at 60,000, then reduced it to 40,000, and maybe if car sales continue to be flat, this time next year it will be 30,000?

Of course all this is just bravado, of course I'll get it done after 4 years (and 36,000 miles) because I'm just as scared as the next bloke of the thing snapping and wiping out the engine, but if, as I firmly expect, the old belt looks as good as new and all the bearings are quiet and showing no detectable wear, then I'll curse quietly and wonder whatever happened to "forward with technology"

Preventative maintenance.

The idea being you change something before it breaks, you oil could probably do 20k, but you change it at 10k, keep the engine running sweet and in good health, the belt is no different, its just more expensive.

The 2.8 V6 is a fine motor (not to be confused with the 2.8 VR6 though). 60k/4 years on that cambelt and it is also a big job but not quite as bad as the TDi.

Thanks for all the replies, I didn't know the petrol V6 had to have a cam belt change as well! I thought, I don't know why, that it was chain driven, but thanks for clearing that up for me. Think it might be a TDi then seen as there seems to be alot more choice around. Any other opinions out there?

The Superb is a car with a very high depreciation rate - it was conceived wrongly (no estate), marketed wrongly (does not target those who could make use of its good features), is badly represented in the UK (VAG Milton Keynes may not have your financial interests in mind) and the dealers are largely incompetent.

On the credit side, it's well made, beautifully assembled in Cz, has excellent availability of pattern VAG group parts and diagnostic software and does not have a rust problem. The icing on the cake is that you can get it with a really efficient and reliable 4 cyl diesel engine. So, get it right and you have a car which is cheap to buy second hand, will last a very long time and can do 50 mpg - not bad for the size of the brute.

If you are going to buy a car with cliff-edge depreciation, the last thing you want is a huge bill for engine maintenance at 4 years - when the thing is worth only about half its original value. The V6 diesel is a killer in this respect.

I've not tried the V6 petrol (out of respect for the planet) but I'm sure a good one will run beautifully albeit at a price in terms of tax and fuel. Depreciation on a big petrol Superb must be free-fall - if you ever managed to shift it at all.

For what it's worth, my comment is that if a 4 cyl diesel will not do your job, don't buy a Superb. Badly conceived and marketed cars are not improved by throwing the parts bin at them. You would almost certainly find that either 6 cyl Superb is a financial disaster later on.

rotodiesel.

I would have bought a 130 bhp 1.9 TDi if I knew what I know now, but I didn't and I bought a 2.5 TDi V6. I'm not going to even try to sell it, I doubt I'd get £8k for it on a Sept 2005 55 plate. However, in Elegance trim it is an excellent motorway muncher and despite what others will tell you, I have returned up to 52 mpg on the motorway with 4 people and luggage in the vehicle with cruise control set a 75 mph. Not bad I reckon. I used to (weekly) commute from Manchester to Glasgow in it and it always returned 48 to 50 mpg week in week out with cruise control set at 80 mph. It is due for a cam belt change in September 2009 at ~50k miles and 4 years old which, with the service and MOT included that I expect will be close to a £1k. That is a lot of cash, but I can't really fault the car and it is a lot cheaper than trading it in for something newer but not necessarily any better. I'll be keeping it another 3 or 4 years until I no longer need a big car. I'll probably buy something like a C1 or similar then. HTH.

I couldn't agree more with Fred.

My opinions are generally in line with Roto's on this one, but...

I know not of the V6 petrol, but if Lummox says they're a good motor I'm happy with that, and they're certainly dirt cheap (147mph for sometimes less than £2k anyone?) - which almost makes the £400/yr VED worth it.

almost makes the £400/yr VED worth it.

Not if it's pre-2006 record>

Not if it's pre-2006 record>

Well, yes, fair enough - even the pre-06 ones are not exactly cheap to tax.

Re-record, not fade away...

Well, yes, fair enough - even the pre-06 ones are not exactly cheap to tax.

Re-record, not fade away...

They're almost identical to the old tax system with a car >1.5L - so it still seems like a bargain to me :P

The tax on my last car did make me laugh - 4.0 on £200/yr tax

Anything sub 200 quid a year to tax is cheap to me, not normal!