Newbie here - looking at a 55 plate Octavia 2.0TDI Elegance Estate.

What should I be looking out for - the car has done 139K so mentions of failed dual mass flywheels and worn turbos worry me.

Any advice welcome.

Andy

You can ask if the turbo or flywheel have been changed. Other than that just the usual checks to ensure it runs and sounds OK. If everything works and sounds like it should then you should be OK.

Thanks.

The biting point seemed a bit low on the clutch, but the pedal felt OK. There was a slight whine when driving, but the seller reckoned it was the low profile tyres on the 17" rims. This isn't indicative of a dodgy flywheel is it, or just a worn clutch? I am going back for another look tomorrow and will try the set off in 4th with the handbrake on to see if the clutch slips etc. Turbo dodn't seem to whine on spin down after a rev of the engine. Done 140K so I am not expecting it to be perfect but don't want an expensive bill in 2 months time! I am used to petrol engines, so TDI's are new territory for me.

Also, the head unit seemed to be a Stream?? Are these a good model? It is in a 55 plate (2006) Elegance. Can you get bluetooth handsfree, ipod or mp3 with this head unit?

The display in the dash had the doors open picture - is that the maxidot? Seller said it had xenons so I believe the maxidot is essential for European driving.

Whats the cambelt interval on these - 80k?

Are the blue lights in the wing mirrors when you unlock the car at night standard for this spec?

Thanks

Andy

Thanks for the info.

The only thing really worrying me is the lowish biting point on the clutch. They look liken an expensive job to replace!

Andy

Thanks for the info.

The only thing really worrying me is the lowish biting point on the clutch. They look liken an expensive job to replace!

Andy

Hi Andy,

If the car has been looked after and serviced properly you should be OK. I'm driving a 55 plate elegance with 155k on the clock - so far so good. Listen again for that whine from the engine. If you hear it under 1500 revs then it's probably not the turbo (doesn't kick in until 1500). I have to say there are a lot of questions on this and other VAG sites that ask about a slight engine/turbo whine and they are nearly all from folk with a 55 plate or thereabouts TDi. So maybe it is a characteristic of that particular revision engine/turbo/transmission or a batch issue.

I would be generally careful of a car with 140k on it. Ask about all the work that has been done. It's done around 35k a year so you can bet that's all been mostly motorway - as long as it's always had it's oil changes in good time and been regularly topped up it's all good. Lack of, or dirty oil is one main causes of dead turbos. Booting them cold can cause bearing wear. Running them hard and switching ignition off straight away can cause oil to burn onto them as they are still hot when the oil stops pumping.

One thing I nearly always do with a private seller is get him to drive me a few miles in the car then swap over and drive back. This allows me to have a listen to the car for rattles, whines, crunches etc with no distractions. More importantly it lets me see the driving habits of the seller and tells me if they've been hard on the car - especially the turbo.

You might want to do a very close check on those Xenons. Most cheaper after market HID kits are technically illegal in the UK. You nearly always have to use a kit that replaces the whole headlight unit to comply. The stock halogen reflectors scatter the light given off by most retrofit Xenons in such a way that is prohibited. A good kit replaces the reflectors with projectors with the correct spec.

See the link:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

Since your seller also has illegal blues in the puddle lights you can bet the Xenons are probably iffy as they have poor knowledge of UK legality.

BR,

Mark

My old 55 plate 2.0 TDi elegance whined slightly, and I think they all do to a certain extent. I owned mine for just short of 100K miles, and never had a problem with the turbo or DMF in the 3.5 years I owned the car.

Thanks for all the advice. Seller got a bit abrupt last night when I asked to view again today and started talking about first person to bring cash in hand etc...

Kind of put me off as I want to do a bank transfer so that I am protected with a AA Car data check. Looks like time to walk away from this one and find another.......

Anyone know of a 55 plate Elegance Estate 2.0TDI for sale in the £4500 region (max) anywhere within 100 miles of Manchester??

Andy

Thanks for all the advice. Seller got a bit abrupt last night when I asked to view again today and started talking about first person to bring cash in hand etc...

Kind of put me off as I want to do a bank transfer so that I am protected with a AA Car data check. Looks like time to walk away from this one and find another.......

Anyone know of a 55 plate Elegance Estate 2.0TDI for sale in the £4500 region (max) anywhere within 100 miles of Manchester??

Andy

His name wasn't Craig was it? I had someone like this who was selling one on Ebay about 3 yrs ago. He wanted me to bring cash , and I said I wouldn't so deal was off. It raised my suspicions that I was going to turn up and receive a knock over the back of the head and be mugged ! Best keep your witts about you.

No - his name was Petr (Eastern European) in Wilmslow.

Just having a few doubts after having slept on it so will resume the search today. You guys have been really helpful - looks like I will be around here quite a bit once I buy.

Seen a nice looking 54 plate Elegance hatch with 73k and history, leather and Satnav so might have a look at that as estates are very few and far between in good condition in my price range.

Andy

Well that one was a heap!

Smashed wing mirror cover, mirror glass replaced with a generic Halfords stick on, needed 2 tyres and front discs and pads and a strange knock from the engine. Electric mirror switch had disappeared inside the door somewhere! And described on autotrader as in excellent condition! And seperating the MoT advisory from the certificate is a bit dodgy to say the least! Described as FSH and had a replacement servicebook where first service was at 40K and no invoices to support any of the history.

Still looking ...............

Looks like I am going to try to get to Farmers in Leicester tomorrow to look at a 2005 2.0TDI L&K Estate 115K - screen price £5999

To me the car looks clean and has full history, but is that a grand too much???? - AA car data check comes back at £4753!!!

I am dealing with Nigel, who seems a top bloke, but I ain't paying £5500 plus for a car top booked at £4750!

Anyone dealt with Nigel before and can give me any tips to haggling the price down???

Andy

I sold my 2.0PD 140 with just short of 100K miles, put it in P/EX and got 5.5K for it just a few months ago. 4.5K for a good one will be a bargain if you can find one.

I agree - 4.5K seems like all it buys is rubbish.

So, if I stretch the budget to £5.5K I have some choice - but this particular car seems a bit overpriced.

Andy

I agree you'll be hard pushed to find a decent one in that price bracket. I paid £6k a year a go for my 2006 L&K 2.0 PD 140 hatchback with 83k miles, fully loaded with sat nav, xenons, upgraded 17" alloys etc, and that I think was a good price privately. I've noticed that prices generally for diesel vag cars have increased in the last year, very much in demand.

Good luck

They have already agreed £5.5k cash, just need to get a bit more like tax and a years warranty instead of 3mth, plus the L&K badge on the tailgate is missing, a couple of minor scratches, and the silver finish on the gearknob is flaking so replacing that would be nice as well. Need to give it a good drive - hopefully they will let me have a run for an hour on my own :-)

I will let you all know how I get on - I saw the car a couple of weeks ago and it has been the benchmark to which I am comparing everything else, unfortunately most of the stuff out there is poor or gets snapped up instantly.

How much are the latest map cds for the satnavs - I seem to remember the disc in this one was dated 2005 or 2006? Sat Navs are only as good as the accuracy of the maps so 2005 maps make the satnav kind of useless and I will still need the TomTom. Can you get Bluetooth handsfree and/or ipod connectivity on the satnav units fitted to 2005 models?

Thanks again everyone for all their advice and help - good to find a friendly forum where newbs don't get flamed or constantly told to use the search!!

Andy

Mike - I will probably take you up on that offer, thanks.

I will look for more info on the aux input. You aren't that far from me - when I get the car (hopefully) we could meet up???

Cheers

Andy

Well - bought the one from Farmers today - should hopefully collect on Saturday.

Didn't do much on the price etc. but I am happy with it as it was worth the extra to get a car that looks to have been well looked after.

Looks like I will be around quite a bit in the coming weeks as I start to get to know the car.

Andy

Glad to hear you got sorted in the end , hope the car serves you well.

Well, I've got the car and I am pretty happy with it general.

Just a few niggles to sort out - the aircon seems pants - it only gets cold on cold days! Regassed it and there was only 105g of refrigerant in there (should be 525g +/- 25g). Stuck 550g back in and it is still pants, plus the compressor keeps jumping on the drive belt. Looks like a faulty compressor and a leak - back to Farmers under warranty for that!

It might have a slow puncture or a leaking valve - picked the car up, drove 60 miles - O/S/F tyre only had 20psi in it when I got to the garage and checked the pressures!! I will keep an eye on this as I have already notified Farmers about this.

TMC doesn't work on the Nexus - the icon is permanently greyed out - is this normal?????? or is it like the mfd3 and needs two aerial connections at the rear - one for the radio and one for the TMC?

The OK button on the wiper stalk doesn't always seem to work - it sometimes takes 4 or 5 attempts to switch between trip 1 and trip 2???

The parking sensor proximity display doesn't show on the satnav when reversing - is this a VCDS coding issue?

Anti-hijack not enabled - looks like VCDS time!

Comments on the above welcome.

Andy

Ah well, some things to keep you busy then

Not sure on TMC for the MFD2, sorry.

For the stalk, that should button should either work or not really - so sounds like that'll need replacement. A VCDS scan might highlight something in that area.

For PDC - again, that could be an MFD2 issue. And that it may need a different PDC controller version to work correctly. Like for people who have upgraded from Stream headunits to say a Columbus/MFD3 - unless the controllers are updated too, you loose the visual functionality. As I've said to others before though, how often do you look at the screen when reversing? I find the audible beeps far more useful, while I'm looking round at the same time

Anti-hijack isn't a problem and is often not set by dealers, so not unusual. Can be enabled as you say, along with a few more useful tweaks while you're there :yes:

Cheers,

Steve

Thanks for the replies guys.

Shame TMC isn't in the UK mapping for the Nexus - there is no mention of this in the manual that I can see! AM reception seems fine so no worries on aerial adapters. Off to Farmers in the morning for them to take a look at the Climate Control /AC.

Mike - PM sent, thanks.

Andy

Glad you got sorted. Was going to say that I know the whereabouts of a Dension and Stream MP3 too if needs be....

Edited 16 September, 201015 yr by Paul007

Glad you got sorted. Was going to say that I know the whereabouts of a Dension and Stream MP3 too if needs be....

Might be interested - you never know!