Hi All, Im looking into buying a vRS, went to test drive it today and it was great! What I want to know is, am I getting a good deal:-

06 vRS in black, 33k, 2 owners from new, Full service history. 2 years parts and labour warranty (from main dealer) just serviced and MOTd = £7695

Is there anything in particular I should check on the car or ask the dealer about?

Any thoughts most welcome

its a bit expensive i think but then you are getting it from main dealer. its good it you can knock price down.

for that price you can get the SE vrs

You might be able to get it down a bit but it's around a typical dealer price. Good examples don't tend to stay on the forecourt long so you'll have to judge whether you can risk losing it to someone willing to pay the price.

There are a lot of threads on here about typical things to look out for. Rear doors leaking, so damp carpets (but maybe not in this weather), seem to be common. Also worth checking if suspension bushes have been changed, doubt that originals will have much life left if they are still on.

Good luck on getting a SE from a Skoda dealer for that money!

Well, if you consider that that car was roughly £11750 new 3 years ago, so the residuals are either super-strong (65%) or it's too expensive.

As an example, my August '06 vRS with £1000 worth of options you'd want (black paint, CD Changer, cruise control, airbag switch) and a FSSH was reckoned to be worth a guaranteed future value of £4105 at 3 years old/75,000 miles by VAG Finance.

OK, so the mileage is over double, but even so, that's a heck of a difference in values.

They are sought-after though, so you need to make your mind up - get a bit ripped-off for a good car, or wait patiently until one comes up at the right price.

There are a couple of well-known forum member's cars in the For Sale section at very decent prices.

http://briskoda.net/skodas-sale/fabia-vrs-se-no-483-a/140696/ is an SE for £7500. Yes, it's messed about from pillar to post, but you know who's done the messing about and it's probably better than when it left the factory.

Agree the price is slightly high - but about what you would expect as a dealer's starting price.

If you have no part-ex, I would expect to get it a lot closer to £7k.

Its worth doing a used car search on Škoda - you can do a national search and see what cars of a similar age/spec/mileage are up for. Bear in mind these will all be "screen" prices, and most dealers will have included some amount of negotiation margin in them.

Just to add its well worth keeping your eye on the For Sale section on here - quite a few cars have been popping up recently.

As an example - this one - is now sold, but was newer than the one you are looking at and went for over a grand less - plenty enough to have bought yourself a 2 year after-market warranty

Thanks for the advice guys. I noticed a while back Fabia vRSs were holding thier value well and have only started to drop in price dramatically over the last few months. That said they also have a following. I have looked on the skoda used car section and havent found any vRSs near to me. Nearest one is 50miles away which isnt any good if I need to do a warranty claim or take it for a service etc.

The reason I will only buy a main dealer car is that I have owned so many cars that have turned out to cost more than they are worth and im just p**d off with having to fork out on unforseen problems and failures so thats why Im going for a dealer car, and seeing as they offered 2 years parts and labour (from my local dealer which is only 1 mile away from home and work) I think it might be worth it to spend the extra and have 2 years piece of mind.

I bought an 06 plate Black Magic vRS for £7k from a Skoda dealer a month ago, it was £8k but got a good deal - they had two 56 plate vRS' for sale as well, but they were up for £8995 ish.

I think I got a good deal but they are holding money well...