First time poster so please be gentle

I currently own an 06 Jaguar X-Type which I am very much in love with, however it simply does not offer the boot and cabin space that I require, now that I have a young family.

Having read so many reviews raving on about the new Superb and having a mate who is a mechanic at the local dealer, I decided to take a walk down there to have a look.

Whilst down there I had a look around an 07 2.0Tdi L+K 15,000miles for £12,995. This was the first Skoda I had ever looked at and I was very impressed. The cabin design and quality is fantastic and I was overwhelmed by the space.

Since then I have shopped around and found several 08 delivery mile Superbs, (2.0Tdi Elegance) for £12995. To me this seems good value for money and I have already made contact with a dealer.

I am really looking for advice regarding the Superb's reliability, running cost, servicing, parts etc

Is the spec on the Elegance the same as the L+K?

What stereo system is included, is it an MP3 or autochanger?

My budget is almost maxed out at £12995 due to value of my Jaguar dropping like a stone over the past year, so I can not possibly look towards the new model Superb.

Thanks for any advice.

Edited 27 February, 200917 yr by Newtoskoda

Welcome,

The Elegance is the next level down from the L&K, although you will struggle to find the Elegance wanting for anything.

Depending on the driving you do the DPF may be an issue - they don't like sitting in traffic all day or chugging around, this is easily overcome by a decent run at motorway speeds. (possibly in a lower gear to rev the engine a little more)

Water ingress is a big issue on the Superb / Passat, preventative measures are called for to make sure it doesn't happen, this is fairly straight forward to do, although it only really affects cars after a couple of years old, so non in your budget should of leaked yet. (do a search for "water ingress" and all will be revealed)

The long 100mm bolts in the top suspension arms (front) seize up quickly, simply remove, copper slip and replace, this can all be done with the wheel on and the car on the ground (its the bolt you can see just above the top of the front tyres) yet again these may not have seized up (yet).

Thanks for the advice, greatly appreciated.

All my driving is basically on the motorway, so hopefully the engine will eat up the miles.

As mentioned, a mate of mine works for the local main dealer getting his hands dirty, so hopefully he should be able to advise me a little. Just not had chance to speak with him yet.

Any problems with the clutch, or do they generally do well?

I've not driven the 2.0Tdi yet, but does it have to be worked to make such a big car move? My Jag has 150bhp and it moves along very nicely, but I'm guessing it is a fair bit lighter than the Superb.

How is the overall build quality of the vehicle?

Mine is a 1.9 (130) and it has plenty of power IMO, I'm on 77K on the original clutch and it's showing no signs of giving up yet either.

The build quality is pretty good - very few rattles or creaks on mine (pity my wifes Golf isn't as quiet!), Yes they have issues with the aforementioned items that really shouldn't be present, but they are easily avoided when you know about them.

I really like the L&K at my local dealer, but its hard to see past a delivery mile 08 one for the same money.

Hopefully a decent part-ex offer and a deal can be struck.

Are dealerships (in general) open to negotiations, especially with the new Superb just out and 09 plates on the way?

Thanks for all the advice.

Well I was offered a fair part-ex price on my Jaguar and got a discount on the new Superb's 12,995 asking price.Its in Nightfire blue with cream leather,I believe it has chrome trim rather than my preferred wood option. I have put down a deposit, but as I have not seen the car and not even driven one yet, it is refundable.

Looking forward to going to see the car, I'm sure it will be beautiful as it is still factory wrapped

Does the sound system recognise MP3 files?

Do recent Elegance or L&K models come with side air bags?

Taken from Parkers, relates to Elegance and also L&K.

Curtain airbags Standard Launch

Driver / Front Passenger airbags Standard Launch

Driver / front passenger side airbags Standard Launch

It has a 4* EuroNCAP rating.

Just as a side note, does the 2.0 Tdi 140 like to drink oil and if so, does it have a low oil quantity indicator?

I have a 2.0 TDi. It used a bit of oil, about 1L, before its first service at 19,000 miles and hasn't used any upto now. Just had its 3rd service at 57,000 miles. It has a warning light and message on Maxidot display when the oil is low

Sinclair thanks for that.

What I don't understand is this, I have agreed to pay just under £12,500 (good price?) for this delivery mile 08 car (a car that was worth 22,000 ish retail) yet other dealers are selling the same spec cars at £13,795 and some 2nd hand ones are even more!

What is the catch? Am I missing something?

The dealer has been very helpful / courteous and has given me a fair part-ex price.

It seems too good to be true.

It has the 17 inch alloys as part of the spec, am I alone in not really liking them? I have never ever considered purchasing new alloys for any car, however I have been looking around this evening for a different option.

Any advice at all?

Thanks guys and gals.

The thing is with other cars of that price, the dealer has possible paid for them as a px so need to get there cash back, I think the one one you are buying has possible been subsidised by Skoda uk to shift "old" stock.

Not buying from Maidstone are you?

That is the plan, why do you ask?

That is the plan, why do you ask?

Was just nosing around on the skoda approved used cars, and noticed Beadles had some for sale.

if you are local, we are having a meet on Friday at the White Rabbit in Maidstone,

http://briskoda.net/south-east-skoda-meets/maidstone-meet-mar09/137050/

You would be more than welcome to pop buy and ask questions

I'm afraid not, I'm up in Nottingham so its a bit of a trek down, but thanks for the invite :-)

I've spent so long nosing round different car reviews etc and it seems to me for what I want, the Superb pretty much hits the nail on the head.

1.Reliability

2.Comfort

3.Economy / performance

4.Value for money

Hopefully the DPF issue will not rear its ugly head as 90% of my driving is on the motorway and I will try and prevent any water ingress before it happens (have asked the dealer about this).

I'm going to miss the Jag though.

4.Value for money

Yep, but remember that works both ways as well - they deprecate really really fast, so you can forget about residuals.

Still, good luck and let us know if/when you buy one

Edited 3 March, 200917 yr by Bluefox
spelin, dur.

What engine do you have in the Jag? Diesel or 2.5 V6?

What engine do you have in the Jag? Diesel or 2.5 V6?

I would assume as it's 150bhp it's a derv, I think the 2.5 V6 petrol is something like 180-190bhp.

Thanks everyone for your input.

I have the 2.2 Diesel in my Jag, its a cracking engine really, powerful and economic.

Yep, but remember that works both ways as well - they deprecate really really fast, so you can forget about residuals.

To be honest, I think there are very few cars (of this type) that hold any sort of value right now.

I have lost in the past 12mths (on a 2nd hand car) over £8000 and that really smarts. That is on an economic compact exec with a prestige badge. :(

I would have lost even more if I'd have accepted previous part-ex values on my car.

This Superb is the last throw of the dice for me, I will keep it for the next 4-5 years, write off the value and start fresh.

Superb is a great car but suffers badly from depreciation, I think you are getting one at a very good price though & if its going to be kept you wont be disapointed. We just sold ours, new in April 06 for 5800 but it had covered 77000 miles so what you are paying seems excellent, we paid 18000 & that was cheap at the time.

We had a few DPF issues when the car was new but subsequently had no problems, As you say you do mainly motorway & for the rest of the time keep it spinning, I adopted a rule of not running constantly at much under 2000 rpm & had no more problems. Someone local to us lived in the new forest which has a blanket 40mph limit, he used to cruise in 6th & had problems as a result. Re Oil it might use a little at first, most diesels do but once run in ours was fine, usually needing about 1/2-3/4 litre between services, it was on variable servicing & managed around 19000 between services.

The Superb Elegance is a really under rated car, its real luxuary on a budget, we have done several drives the length of France in one go & got out totally fresh, it also can take 24 cases of Wine + 2 peoples holday luggage :D

Enjoy the car

The Superb it also can take 24 cases of Wine + 2 peoples holday luggage :D

Enjoy the car

I've told you a million times before.....to stop exaggerating :P

Looking forward to going and seeing it, just arranged a decent enough finance deal with the dealer. APR are terrible when you want to borrow only smallish amounts, Skoda were more than competitive however

My Jag was reasonably well spec'd, but the Superb blows it away in comparison. I can't believe I didn't notice my Jag did not have split/fold seats.

But as I say, those alloy wheels are going to take some time getting used to me thinks. Just not my cup of tea.

Going back to the sound system, did Skoda ever fit an updated system in during the 6 years (ish) of production? I have read in adverts for L&K 08/07 cars cd/mp3/autochanger, can this be right?

Did a quick search on the forum regarding installing Bluetooth, are Parrot a decent make? I'll probably end up getting an Iphone this summer (I have no internet where I rent and the phone includes unlimited time) so need one that is compatible. Parott seem to do one that is, that's why I ask

Cheers

Going back to the sound system, did Skoda ever fit an updated system in during the 6 years (ish) of production? I have read in adverts for L&K 08/07 cars cd/mp3/autochanger, can this be right?

Did a quick search on the forum regarding installing Bluetooth, are Parrot a decent make? I'll probably end up getting an Iphone this summer (I have no internet where I rent and the phone includes unlimited time) so need one that is compatible. Parott seem to do one that is, that's why I ask

Cheers

The alloys are indeed not everyone's cup of tea - in terms of OE wheels I think the Solid's suit the car very very well; I'm not so keen on other OE Skoda rims either.

Anyway, stereo. To my knowledge, VAG didn't use an "upgraded" system in Skoda cars - they did however in Audi (BOSE). As a result I think the only "upgrade" is/was the DX sat nav which was an £1800 option as new.

In honesty I wouldn't reject a car just becuase of it's stereo - the amount of aftermarket stuff avaialble now for cheap, and the huge amount of companies who can install compently, it seems that there's little point searching for a stereo "upgrade".

Also, yes, Parrot make good kits - with the possible exception of the MKi9200 which I personally think is too gimmicky and more trouble than it's worth - plus it doesn't work with (very well) with the iPhone. IMHO stick to the basic CK3000 evo or if you must have a screen go fo the LS3200 Color.

HTH

But as I say, those alloy wheels are going to take some time getting used to me thinks. Just not my cup of tea.

The wheels I agree arent going to win any design awards & are very easy to kerb as the tyres give little protection on high kerbs. On the plus side they are an absolute doddle to keep clean.

A little extra on the superb you might not have spotted is the neartside mirror if you have the mirror switch on the door in the correct position will turn down when you select reverse to show thw kerb as you reverse , mirrors also electronically fold in when parked if required to save oiks hitting them.

Also look in the boot, tucked up in the top are 2 little plastic handles, when you pull these down you can hook bags of shopping onto them to stop them sliding around, then theres the Umbrella inside one of the rear doors which can be put away wet as it drains outside the car, puddle lights on the mirrors which light the ground around the car before you open the door, electrically haeted rear seats & rear air con, aircon in the glove box & centre pocket, the list is endless

Back to wheekls, if you go for aftermarket wheels remember that many wheels on other Volkswagen Audi cars share the same bolt pattern & offsets so a breakers yard is a good place to look.

The wheels on Baker 21's car are I belive off of a Volkswagen but be warned being a lower profile the rubber will cost more , have a look here & scroll down to the main picture http://briskoda.net/members/baker21/

Bluefox, how easy is it with an integrated unit like this, to fit an aftermarket sound system? I fitted one to my Ford Cougar and it was a doddle, but I didn't have factory fitted sat nav etc in that. The autochanger is a big step up from what I have in the Jag (had it on the Ford) so I'm happy, but having MP3 / WMA compatability would be a bonus long term.

Regarding the alloys, I know nothing about them, so find it hard to follow the most recent thread with all the specs etc but basically, if I go on a website and plug in the make and model etc I should be safe?