Considering an Octavia, advice please

[bob54321]

Hi All,

I'm new to Skoda's, never owned before and went to look at first one this eve - left it in a bit of a puzzle. Here are the details:

- 2004 - 54 Reg 1.9 TDI done 103,000 miles

- No documentation, other than V5 and 2 MOT certificates.

- In general poor condition, paintwork chipped and scratched

- Interior very scraty and grubby - showing wear that looks to my eyes belonging to a car thats done more like 150,000miles, for example the gear knob was shiny and you couldn't see the markings on it.

- Owner claims that timing belt, pulleys and water pump has been recently done, but now evidence to back this up - his mechanic mate did it.

- New starter motor

- Drivers side central locking not working.

- 4 new tyres

- 11 months MOT

- Drove OK, pulled fine, speedy enough, no obivious mechanical problems.

- I did notice that the clutch biting point was quite high - is this a sign of coming to end of life?

- also, brake pedal seem to have a fair bit of travel on it, not sure if this is normal.

He wanted £1600 - which seems ok. I have to say I'm not too worried about cosmetics - more concerned about mechanics and possible repair bills.

I'd really appreciate your opinions as I'm totally new to Skoda's (just had a Citroen Xantia TD (RIP), which was a great car).

Thanks,

Matt

Edited 2 January, 2011 by mattiker

[dstev2000]

Welcome to Briskoda :yes:

I would want to see more evidence of servicing - and more critically - cam belt changes. The PD engine has cam driven injectors so the cam belt takes quite a bit of stick in it's life and MUST be changed bang on schedule.

I would also want to see proof of brake fluid changes as well, could be why you have a spongy pedal - contaminated fluid.

My Octavia did over 150,000 miles and the only wear was on the driver's door card near the window, there was also a slight bit of wear on the steering wheel too but other than that, it looked like it had done about 40,000 miles. Sounds like the one you looked at has done more miles than Apollo 11 minicab anyone?

Personally I would avoid it, the price is low but it could be very risky given the apparent lack of service history.

There are loads of better examples on the market if you persevere, if you find a good one it should be reliable.

[skippy41]

I would not touch it with a barge pole, there are better examples out there for that price, try auto trader

[kevberlin]

Scruffy interior indicates to me that the car has not been "loved", and the mechanicals may have been treated similarly. There are many good ones out there. I would not go near this one, even from your description of it. Be patient. There is a corker out there waiting for you for similar money. Good luck!

[Voyager220v]

no receipts, no service history, spongy brakes and wear inconsistant with millage - too many unknowns imo, walk away

[Guest]

Not with a barge pole!

[havoc924]

Scruffy interior indicates to me that the car has not been "loved", and the mechanicals may have been treated similarly. There are many good ones out there. I would not go near this one, even from your description of it. Be patient. There is a corker out there waiting for you for similar money. Good luck!

Few tips on checking history without a service book.

* HPI it as a priority, £3 these days.

* Dont worry too much about the MOT's as its not needed that many but see if they where done by the same dealer.

* Have a look at the MOT (or on VOSA's website) to see if there where are advisories.

* How many previous owners and do the old MOT's tie in with the change of owner dates and location.

* Check the writing on the number plates front and rear, if they are different it can often indicate it has been in an accident

* If there are main dealer stickers on it anywhere you could always call the dealer and ask they if they have any record of service.

* Have a look on the V5 & current MOT for staple marks in the top corner. Auctions always staple them to the auction form. In adition if there is a barcode sticker on the bottom corner of the windscreen it has more than likely been through British Car Auctions

* Is the seller the same as on the log book and how long has he owned it for, If its only a few months it indicates there is a problem he cant/does not want to fix

* Check the car starts well both hot and cold, modern diesels engines hide there problems very well and you need to listen a lot harder for problem.

I hope all this helps, a lot of its common sense but easy to forget.

Peter

[PhilP1903]

Personally if i saw a car in that sort of condition internally and externally i would assume that it was not going to be very well maintained mechanically and avoid it like the plague. But that is just my personal opinion, but i am sure you would find a better condition octy for a comparable price.

[bob54321]

Thanks everyone. Some really useful pointers you've given - thanks Peter (aka Sherlock Holmes) I'll remember them tips. You've all convinced me to leave it alone! Been out today to look a couple of others on dealers forecourts, so I've got a better idea about what to look at now.

Cheers,

Matt

[eddie2]

This post will probably be deleted by mods, but my advice would be DO NOT buy a Skoda Octavia!

Mine (bought new in 2006) has given me all sorts of problems, culminating in total gearbox failure at 26k miles.

Skoda "Customer Services" are argumentative and unhelpful, so if you do buy one and have problems, don't expect any after-market help.

[mark kelsall]

im on to my third skoda and find them great, my past and present octavia's have had a hard life, im a traffic signal engineer and work all over the country and carry a lot of kit, i do around 50-60k a year and have had only very minor problems that where sorted quickly by our dealer (bickertons at sheffield). i say do buy one, and dont be put off, like any car manufactor there will be a small number of cars that may have issues, weather it be a skoda or ferrari.

[lfc958]

I totally disagree with eddie2 - I am on my 4th Skoda, 2 Mk1 Octavias, each covered 60k miles in 3 years, a Mk1 Fabia vRS, now have an Octy vRs Diesel.

He has my symapthies as it looks like he kopped for a bit of a Lemon, but you get these with ALL manufacturers, even Ferraris catch fire, & the bullet proof Toyotas have major recalls.

[thinkblueskies]

I've been impressed by a youthful-looking pool of three diesel Octavia estates at work with mileages between 170,000 and 200,000. None of those vehicles had the degree of wear you describe and they look years younger than the Renault and Peugeot estates that have half the mileage of the Skodas. I highly doubt the car you've seen has only 103,000 miles.

In fact, I was so impressed by the work Skodas when I was looking for something sporty that I started looking at a petrol vRS. The rest, as they say, is history. I'm a happy punter! Though not all examples are perfect - people like eddie2 correctly bring some balance back on a fan-dominated site- a lot of people who use their cars for a living swear by their Octavias. There's a good reason they're used as minicabs and police cars.

But don't limit yourself to Octavias. Even a good design can be a rubbish buy if it's been abused and poorly maintained. By contrast a great example of an unpopular model with poor reviews can be a peach to own.

I'd nudge you towards an Octavia. But if you find a different car that's well priced and fantastically kept then I wouldn't overlook it for an Octavia that's been battered.

Edited 5 January, 2011 by thinkblueskies

[m0bov]

Walk away, plenty of better examples unless he takes a grand for it and use it as a banger.