Hey guys,

This is my first proper post on this forum, can you please help me out?

I've been looking for a good Mk1 vRS Estate and went to see one this morning. It was black, 56k miles, "1 previous owner, full service history" and up for a shade under £6k.

I had a look around, it had lots of scratches and had obviously led a hard family life (indentations in the leather where I suspect a child seat was fitted and a fair few scuffs and scratches in the boot and around the doors) but drove pretty well. The "1 previous owner" turned out to be one owner for the last 3 years and (I think) a lease company for 3 years prior to that. The "full service history" was a dealer service at 17k miles (on variable servicing, with checklist and receipt to support) and then two boxes filled out for 43k and 50k miles with someone's name written where the stamp would normally be (I suspect a DIY service, but the name was different to the previous owner's name) and nothing to support. There was also no evidence that the timing belt and water pump had been replaced.

Am I right to give this car a wide berth, or am I being fussy? I didn't think it was worth the price they were asking based on the condition it was in.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post!

i would give it a wide berth the market is flooded with vrs and estates so you should find yourself one without the scratches and a full dealer stamp history

a name in a service book means nowt and without the signs of a water pump being done or belt walkaway

if it was up for say 4 k then good deal but for nearly 6k yu must be joking

agreewith leaving it, why dont you go for something like this?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201044372426202/sort/priceasc/usedcars/fuel-type/petrol/model/octavia/make/skoda/keywords/vrs/radius/1500/postcode/bt623up/page/5?logcode=p

Thanks for the replies guys, you've both confirmed my gut feelings on it - I had that sinking feeling when I realised that all 4 tyres were different, something that's always off-putting for me when it comes to cars as you don't know where corners have been cut elsewhere.

I'm not convinced the market is flooded with vrs estates, hatches maybe, but I can't find many mk1 estates at all on autotrader and ebay (not sure where else to look, apart from here of course!).

That silver hatch you posted looks excellent value wilsy7, however I'm definitely looking for an estate as I have a dog to accommodate.

Thanks for the replies guys, you've both confirmed my gut feelings on it - I had that sinking feeling when I realised that all 4 tyres were different, something that's always off-putting for me when it comes to cars as you don't know where corners have been cut elsewhere.

I'm not convinced the market is flooded with vrs estates, hatches maybe, but I can't find many mk1 estates at all on autotrader and ebay (not sure where else to look, apart from here of course!).

That silver hatch you posted looks excellent value wilsy7, however I'm definitely looking for an estate as I have a dog to accommodate.

Shame you didn't post a couple of weeks ago. A nice 53 plate silver VRS estate with FSSH and 64k went in the next street from me for £2200. Was on ebay but I walked the dog past it most days so noticed it for sale, only a scratched rear bumper to fault it. But that gives you an idea what can be had...

i know i am searching nationally but there about 4 on autotrader for around 3-5k admitidly two of them have over 100k miles but then again if fsh theres nothing too wrong with that!

you checked pistonheads?

a few on there from time to time

http://pistonheads.com/sales/2240076.htm

Stop the press - its here - and up for £3995 !!! Nice days work for someone - so someone go beat him down on the price and send me a beer token

(have the original item no to prove)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-Skoda-Octavia-Silver-VRS-ESTATE-VERY-LOW-MILEAGE-/330487783320?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4cf29b5f98

Edited 8 November, 201015 yr by modra_vrs

That silver one looks good, a bit of effort on the plastic trim and it'd be pretty nice. Bedfordshire is a bit of a trek for me though.

Have spotted a red one in West Yorkshire that's listed by two seller IDs (alarm bells?!) which looks reasonable.

you checked pistonheads?

a few on there from time to time

http://pistonheads.com/sales/2240076.htm

I have checked Pistonheads but there aren't many I'd be comfortable with. I understand an ex-police car would be well maintained but I'm wary of the kind of life it would have led.

I have a 140k mile Ex-Police Octy vRS Estate. Looks rough as old boots, but the day after I bought it it did 177bhp and a lovely shaped torque curve on the Rolling Road at AMD.

Buying a Police Car can be a bit of a lottery - you know it's had a hard life, but it will be immaculately maintained mechanically speaking. Most Police Forces have an in-house shop that does all the work, and they know if they don't do a proper job they just get the car back to do again.

The issues that mine had that needs (or needed) attention were general wear and tear:

Rear Wheel Bearing

Front steering Bush (or something)

Slight Coolant Leak

Aside from that, it drives beautifully and has been very efficient. It even survived 3 laps of the Nurburgring!

If you can find out the reg of the car, and which police force it came from, you can always email them and ask for the service record. I got an Excel sheet with everything that was done to the car from when it was delivered. It had a full service every 10k miles.