Knowing next to nothing about Skodas, but need to find one for son.

2003 SKODA OCTAVIA 1896 cc 1.9 TDi Elegance 5 door 53 reg 59000 miles £3995 from a car dealer.

I know that the cambelt will need to be done virtually immediately so that's a bargaining point but does the price seem OK ?

Any known faults to look for , known weak areas at all ?

Thanks

Brian:)

Seems quite expensive for a 2003 1.9 TDI 110 and I'd be thinking closer to the £3k, especially with the cambelt needing to be done.

When the cambelt is done you need to do the whole kit, including tensioners and also it is advisable to get the water pump changed at the same time as it's drive by the cambelt and they are plastic and can break up.

59k miles also means it's due a service.

Weak areas for the TDI110 are sticky turbo chargers. Give the car full boost a few times and see if a stutter or engine light comes on.

Also watch out for a squeaky drivers chair base, overly soft suspension and oil leaking from the EGR/intercooler areas.

If the car has not had a new battery, it might be looking at one in the not too distant future, so it's worth checking the condition of that too.

It may of already had its cambelt changed last year as its 4 years or 60k so it was due replacement last year(service history should tell you)as for price it does sound a bit expensive,however i dont mind paying a bit more for a better car.

Price seems about right to me. I paid £3790 for mine with 66k on the clock at the end of February. Haven't seen any cheaper ones that didn't have over 100k on the clock since then.

Knowing next to nothing about Skodas, but need to find one for son.

2003 SKODA OCTAVIA 1896 cc 1.9 TDi Elegance 5 door 53 reg 59000 miles £3995 from a car dealer.

I know that the cambelt will need to be done virtually immediately so that's a bargaining point but does the price seem OK ?

Any known faults to look for , known weak areas at all ?

Thanks

Brian:)

That looks like quite a nice example to me - you won't find many with that low a mileage.

Assuming that there is documentary evidence that the mileage is genuine I'd say that's well worth a look. Most of the others on sale have done twice the distance and are only a few hundred quid cheaper.

Try and get them to do a service and cam belt change included in any deal.

My price was based on the fact that it needs a service and a cambelt kit/waterpump done.

If they were included in the deal then I think another £100 off and you'd have a very good deal

Thank you all for the helpful information, all taken onboard and noted, much appreciated.

Any service record/receipts will be very carefully examined, believe me, and I will see what develops. This car is first choice if all seems OK.

Thanks again

Brian:thumbup: