Hi,

Hi. I'm new here (hence the posting in this section, of course) and first of all I wanted to say what an interesting and worthwhile forum this is. I've been an observer for some time and have learnt a great deal about cars in general and, of course, about Skodas in particular. So, thanks.

As for me, I'm about to buy a car (I have one - a Citroen - but it happens to belong to a relative who has been out of the country for the past year but returns in a few weeks). I have - or had, perhaps (as you'll see) - settled on a Skoda. If I were a sensible fellow I would probably get hold of a used Octavia diesel estate (1.9 or 2.0 PD) with DSG (since my wife won't drive a manual, though she already has her own auto auto). On the other hand, as the fuel guage of life slips toward half-empty, I find myself becoming more impatient than mellow, so after a bit of thought and whittling away the options, I've decided that a Vrs might suit me better (maybe it's a mid-life crisis). Despite the short term economic benefits of the diesel Vrs, I have my doubts, perhaps ill-informed ones, about the long term reliability and convenience and suitability (DPF and what not). The petrol Vrs seems more tried and trusted (I like the drive in both petrol and diesel, mind you). Petrol DSG is a bit too recent an addition to be affordable. This leaves a manual petrol Vrs. I figured that something 3 or 4 years old would offer the best price and had pretty much made up my mind. There are a lot about, so I can pick and choose to some extent. I don't have the issue of selling an incumbent vehicle so can equally go trade or private. There's even one that fits the bill (perhaps a few questions to do with its history) at a Franchised dealer about 3 miles from where I live...

What could be simpler? And then, of course, I discover G201 and the Teves 60. I don't intend to rake over the same old ground (though I'll have to a bit) - it was largely through reading about it on the forum that I learnt about this issue, so I know you've been into it at length. I also realize, of course, that cars can and do have faults, but this one seems so pernicious for all the reasons that have already been aired, not least because Skoda appear to be shirking responsibility for it. At least, they haven't taken the most customer centric view of the matter. (Admittedly it's not dangerous and the car can still be driven, albeit without ESP. Better than Ferrari, then, unless you need something to warm your hands on.)

What I am trying to do is assess the risk and, if it's too great, to work out the alternatives.

Of course, if you read the threads devoted to this issue, it would seem that 90% of Octavia owners have suffered with it. On the other hand, people, including forum members, who presumably know all about it, are still buying used Octavias, suggesting that it can't be that bad or all that prevalent. Any idea how prevalent it really is?

I mentioned it to a salesman at the local garage, indicating that there were a lot of disgruntled drivers out there and that it was giving me second thoughts. Apparently, he was unaware of it. He told me he would look into it and called me back quite quickly, saying 'Well, I see what you mean.' He said it would be covered by the approved warranty. After that? I could extend the warranty. No doubt but do I want to do this indefinitely? And even if it is fixed under warranty, is it really a fix? Won't they simply replace it with another instance of the same faulty unit? If it's out of warranty I see that there's the rebuild alternative offered by ECUTesting - still not cheap and quite a bit of hassle and inconvenience, what with arranging for someone to get the part out and back in. I've seen it said that this fixes the issue once and for all but has this really been tested sufficiently for such a claim to be valid and doesn't the 2 year guarantee suggest otherwise?

So...I'm in a quandry. The local garage are offering me first refusal on the car since someone else is interested in it. Part of me says, the hell with it - buying a car is always risky to some extent. I could always just get by without ESP (though I would never want to sell it in that state) or just accept it as an almost inevitable expense in some form or other. The rest of me (and my other half who upon hearing the details pronounced all Octavias to be junk and suggested I get a Honda - harsh but I see her point) thinks, that was a lucky scrape, finding out about a major known and contentious defect in time to avoid it, and look elsewhere.

The reason I am after a Vrs in the first place is (surprise, surprise) that it is such a good combination of performance, space, AND reliability. Without the reliability, it doesn't look so desirable. But as far as I can tell, the problem may and probably will exist in other Skoda models. If I still want a Skoda perhaps I should can get a newer or older one, Or better still, one without ESP - to avoid the problem altogether. I'd still like a Vrs, though. But would a 2010 model defintely be free of it? 2009? 2004? Perhaps I should try a Vrs Mk1. What are they like?

I don't want to be indecisive and end up perpetually putting off buying something for fear of this or that, but I do want to make an informed decision.

Any suggestions or comments (other than keep it shorter next time)? Or, to put it another way, would you still buy one?

Cheers

Welcome to Briskoda

Welcome mate

I haven't read anything about the issues you mention, but I'm an Octy Mk1 owner.

Yeah there's a risk in buying any car, my thinking was the same as you - stuff it, life's too short, gonna chop my diesel in for something that's a bit quicker and more fun.

Don't listen to your wife. Do a search for latest model civic problems then tell me you should be buying a Honda...

Welcome along and congratulations on the longest intro I have seen for some time !

Hi and welcome aboard.

Thanks for the welcome messages.

Yes, that introduction was a bit long. I had intended to put something as simple as 'I'm buying an Octavia but I'm alarmed about the ABS fault. What do you think?' but then I went on a bit...

Perhaps I should have put my post straight into the octavia 2 forum. I have some other questions so I'll ask them there.