Sadley I had to get rid of my 98 MK1 Octavia 1.6Glxi as it was leaking and had quite a few electrical probs. Now looking for another but stuck between...

2000 W Reg Astra club 1.6 with 111,000 miles full service history in green (up for sale at £1,100) or....

1998 MK S Reg Octavia 1.6 Glxi with 62,000 miles and again full history (up for sale at £ 1,200)(the same as what i had before) but this is silver.

The reason why I cant decide is i have had personal experiance of electrical faults with the MK1 Octy but the reliability was outstanding but have also heard some horror stories about the astra electrics.

I am sort of swinging to the octy (as i know how to remove the door panels etc ) but think people will be branding me with "fancy getting another one of those after all the trouble with the last one)

So guys & girls what do you reckon?

My mates thought I was mad for going for another Fabia after all the problems my last one caused me, but I proved them wrong and the current one has been a cracking car. Also your old Octavia sounds like it had a bad time and this silver Octavia might be in alot better

Well the octy has done nearly half the miles of the astra for the same price... not really a hard choice imo.

Edited 7 April, 201016 yr by Thirdtimeluck

I have just got the details to check out the octys mot history on line, although the car has low mileage there is something strange between july 2006 and april 2007 where the car only did 476 miles (is this cause for concern) also I would like your thoughts about the full history as you will see below it seems to have failed on some major things on certain years that should of been picked up with servicing, maybe its just me but here is the mot data as follows...

Full Test History, starting with first recorded vehicle and test results

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Date of test:17/07/2006Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:32,298 MilesTest number:272118496491Test station name:CENTRAL GARAGETest station number:35621Test station telephone number:01937842283Test class:IVTest expiry date:25/07/2007No Advisory Notice issued

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Date of test:26/04/2007Certificate issue refused (Fail)

Odometer reading:32,774 MilesTest number:574326117152Test station name:F R PULLEYN WIGGINTON GARAGE LTDTest station number:8691ATTest station telephone number:01904690742Test class:IVReason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Nearside Front Brake disc(s) excessively pitted (3.5.1h)

Offside Front Brake disc(s) excessively pitted (3.5.1h)

Nearside Front Front brake juddering severely (3.7.A.2b)

Offside Front Front brake juddering severely (3.7.A.2b)

Advisory Notice issued

Nearside Front Direction indicator slightly discoloured (1.5.A1d)

Offside Front Direction indicator slightly discoloured (1.5.A1d)

Nearside Rear Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.D.1)

Offside Rear Tyre worn close to the legal limit (4.1.D.1)

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Date of test:26/04/2007Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:32,780 MilesTest number:194916317166Test station name:F R PULLEYN WIGGINTON GARAGE LTDTest station number:8691ATTest station telephone number:01904690742Test class:IVTest expiry date:25/04/2008

Advisory Notice issued

Nearside Front rear Suspension arm rubber mounting deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3)

Offside Front rear Suspension arm rubber mounting deteriorated but not resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3)

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Date of test:23/04/2008Certificate issue refused (Fail)

Odometer reading:45,998 MilesTest number:371964118174Test station name:N S MOTOR SERVICES LTDTest station number:V100008Test station telephone number:01904479100Test class:IVReason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Nearside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3)

Offside Front Suspension arm rubber bush deteriorated resulting in excessive movement (2.4.G.3)

No Advisory Notice issued

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Change of details

Make/Model:SKODA / OCTAVIA GLXI recorded at time of test on 23/04/2008

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Date of test:24/04/2008Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:46,002 MilesTest number:894225918145Test station name:N S MOTOR SERVICES LTDTest station number:V100008Test station telephone number:01904479100Test class:IVTest expiry date:25/04/2009No Advisory Notice issued

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Date of test:22/04/2009Certificate issue refused (Fail)

Odometer reading:55,528 MilesTest number:111982319139Test station name:SN MOTOR SERVICES LTDTest station number:V100008Test station telephone number:01904479100Test class:IVReason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Nearside Front Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak (2.7.3)

Offside Front Shock absorber has a serious fluid leak (2.7.3)

No Advisory Notice issued

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Date of test:23/04/2009Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:55,532 MilesTest number:544633119156Test station name:SN MOTOR SERVICES LTDTest station number:V100008Test station telephone number:01904479100Test class:IVTest expiry date:25/04/2010No Advisory Notice issued

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Date of test:01/04/2010Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:62,326 MilesTest number:581181390042Test station name:ELLISON MOTORSTest station number:44981Test station telephone number:01512282911Test class:IVTest expiry date:25/04/2011No Advisory Notice issued

july 2006 - april 2007?

i went to afghan and didn't drive my car between july 2008 and april 2009, so that could explain it - a winter Afghanistan tour

it seems to have failed on some major things on certain years that should of been picked up with servicing

Depends when it was serviced - might have been a month after each MOT?

Either way, it reads like the car hasn't been "cherished" - items which are advisories one year then being critical the following year, rather than being fixed at the advisory stage. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with this (and is the way most people probably run cars), but it might be possible to find one which has been treated better.

That said, for a grand you're always taking a risk on buying a shed no matter how meticulous your research...and even if a car has been cherished and faultless for 10 years for the previous owner it doesn't mean the ECU hasn't been slowly suffering water ingress and will fail within a week of you taking ownership.

A full history of mine would show similar; no mystery - it was a lease car that went off lease at 3 years old, and it took 7 months to get sold on.

I'd have the Octy, but then I'm a known V@*xh@11 hater!

The failure for the state of the front discs and brake judder would suggest that the car had been sitting around and not been driven much.

Isn't the 1.6 engine problematic?

Not considering the astra it had faults with the locking and engine light came on during test drive and it kept stalling and juddering. The mrs has seen a green polo 1.4 (100 horse) it looks good only done 58,000 miles with the same owner for 8 years and thats only £800 but would prefer the octy but then petrol keeps going up and up.

The mrs has seen a green polo 1.4 (100 horse)

hmm would that be the 1.4 16v? Heard that they are not very reliable :(

hmm would that be the 1.4 16v? Heard that they are not very reliable :(

Yeah thats the one mate - whats up with this engine, anything to look out for.

Cheers

Yeah thats the one mate - whats up with this engine, anything to look out for.

Cheers

Dont really know the details just remember seeing it mentioned on this site.

My personal experience with the lump has been good tbh - had one as a curtesy car for a day and it was a little rocket! really loved being revved and sounded luvly

Edited 8 April, 201016 yr by Thirdtimeluck

They have terrible piston rings on them, burn oil a lot usually. That said, if you can find one where it's not too far gone it should be fine, mine never got worse in about 10,000 of use. If you rev the engine it's meant to remove build up, and being a Polo chances are it was driven by a younger driver, so this may well be the case. Or if it's the other Polo buying demographic, and had an older driver, they're more likely to be an issue.

No low down power either, need revving a lot to get them to move (quite good fun to drive though). I had the same engine in my Fabia, and while I liked it, a top-up (~1L) of oil lasted for about 1,000-2,000 miles depending upon use (town/runs). That's assuming it's a 6n2 (2000- 2002 model) anyway, not sure on the prevoius models.

Also, if petrol prices are an issue, look for around 30 -35mpg in towns, and around 42ish on a run (based on a heaiver Fabia mind you).

Overall though I'm really pleased with my Polo (GTi though), but those engines can be a bit dodgy if you're unlucky. And the gearboxs on some models are poor too. Also check the windows work, central locking works, and all the boot eletrics as the washer pipes in the boot can burst/leak.

Edited 8 April, 201016 yr by TriggerFish

I'd swing towards the Astra personally

I had an Astra (1995 shape) kept it serviced well and it got written off in a shunt at about 100k. Shame, as she was running really well and delivering 40+ mpg

I did drive the shape you are looking at with the 1.6 16v engine in comfort spec. Was a decent drive too.

Polo for a runaround as sounds like a good buy for the mileage or the Octy. The Astra nice but a bit leggy compared to the others.