Thinking of a Vrs advice sought

[Grizzle]

Been a member a while when i first looked at a Fabia Vrs fast forward a few years and several stone and less hair i'm after an Octavia Vrs.

Going to see one on Saturday after a long search this one is at Border Skoda 1hr 30min drive away, 58 plate 2.0T with 30k on the clock, satnav, xenons, thankfully the dealer has put it on hold for me.

Is there anything i should look for i know its a dealer car so should be pretty much spot on but any help would be greatfully accepted.

This is my current car a Bmw 525d M Sport reason for change is we don't do the miles to justify a diesel i average around 8k a year

Cheers

Graham.

[essexblonde]

We bought the Octavia VRS mk 2 new in 2006. It's been great, wouldn't change it (haven't). Husband drives it mostly, describes it as a very comfortable sports saloon, rewarding drive. It certainly has the oomph when you need it.

He has averaged much higher mileage so likes his comfort. Seat adjusts well when we change over drivers - he's a lot taller and bigger than me. Loads of luggage room, great for weekends away - all the stuff is tucked out of sight. When we have the (big) kids home they fit in the back OK. They always want to drive it.

Ask dealer if aircon ever played up, they seem a bit better if left on all the time. We have had ABS control unit fail at 4 years old, this is common and we are asking Skoda to replace it. If yours has warranty you should be OK if it goes. It is only control unit - brakes won't fail.

Otherwise no probs. Ride is smoother than the Octavia mk1, means I tend to nod off if I'm a passenger.

Hope it turns out well.

[Grizzle]

We bought the Octavia VRS mk 2 new in 2006. It's been great, wouldn't change it (haven't). Husband drives it mostly, describes it as a very comfortable sports saloon, rewarding drive. It certainly has the oomph when you need it.

He has averaged much higher mileage so likes his comfort. Seat adjusts well when we change over drivers - he's a lot taller and bigger than me. Loads of luggage room, great for weekends away - all the stuff is tucked out of sight. When we have the (big) kids home they fit in the back OK. They always want to drive it.

Ask dealer if aircon ever played up, they seem a bit better if left on all the time. We have had ABS control unit fail at 4 years old, this is common and we are asking Skoda to replace it. If yours has warranty you should be OK if it goes. It is only control unit - brakes won't fail.

Otherwise no probs. Ride is smoother than the Octavia mk1, means I tend to nod off if I'm a passenger.

Hope it turns out well.

Thanks for the reply thats fantastic. its from a dealer so will have the 1yr warranty i'm assuming you have the option to extend?

[silver1011]

Nice spec, maxidot too.

Saying that I would take some persuading to give up the 525d!

[Hauptmann]

More important than Maxidot etc is the condition and history of the car. Don't assume that just because its from a dealer it will be 'spot on'. Dealers have been known to sell cars with a chequered past!

You should be able to find out if its had any warranty work done. Also take a look at the V5c and verify for yourself how many owners its had and who the last owner was (e.g. company or private).

You CAN extend the warranty with Skoda or buy a third-party warranty such as from Warranty Direct. This might be wise in view of the possibility of an ESP/ABS unit failure, or indeed an aircon failure (although I think by '58 reg the compressors were no longer the Zexel manufactuered units).

[Grizzle]

More important than Maxidot etc is the condition and history of the car. Don't assume that just because its from a dealer it will be 'spot on'. Dealers have been known to sell cars with a chequered past!

You should be able to find out if its had any warranty work done. Also take a look at the V5c and verify for yourself how many owners its had and who the last owner was (e.g. company or private).

You CAN extend the warranty with Skoda or buy a third-party warranty such as from Warranty Direct. This might be wise in view of the possibility of an ESP/ABS unit failure, or indeed an aircon failure (although I think by '58 reg the compressors were no longer the Zexel manufactuered units).

Thanks for the advice when i go on saturday i will spend a good few hrs looking over the car and see if i can sort out the warranty history, its been there demo car so they should have the info to hand easily.

The salesman said we could have it for a few hrs to make sure we like it i plan on taking it along the road away from the salesman pressure and having a right good nosey about it

[silver1011]

More important than Maxidot etc is the condition and history of the car.

Yes, of course, you are quite right.

Those tail pipes could do with a good polish!

[Grizzle]

Ah dont worry i own this www.customdetailers.co.uk lol

[RSmike]

I would recommend this dealer this is where mine came from (john armitage) was the salesman absolutely superb service

[thinkblueskies]

Love mine, but concur about checking the service history. Was surprised that my (main dealer purchased) Skoda had 3 owners in 3 years and servicing done by lots of random independents instead of the main dealers or a known independent specialist.... I thought I wouldn't need to check such things for an approved dealer car but I won't make that mistake again.

That said, the car turned out to be a peach so I'm happy anyway! And I'm not going to sell it in a hurry, so the resale concerns of multiple owners in a short space of time won't worry me much. In a year, I've needed a turbo air sensor replaced (for £119, covered by warranty anyway) and standard service items. Hardly a money pit, and it's put loads of smiles on my face.

Some people love the DSG gearboxes but they cost more to buy and to fix if they go wrong and the manual's really good anyway.

Only thing if I had my time again is that the Black Magic paint scheme is tough to keep looking good. Any time I park mine next to one of these blue ones, they always look a little better to my eyes. If that's the worst thing I can think of about my car, it's got to be a good choice.

[Grizzle]

I would recommend this dealer this is where mine came from (john armitage) was the salesman absolutely superb service

Its John i am dealing with and so far via email and telephone he's been exceptional.

Love mine, but concur about checking the service history. Was surprised that my (main dealer purchased) Skoda had 3 owners in 3 years and servicing done by lots of random independents instead of the main dealers or a known independent specialist.... I thought I wouldn't need to check such things for an approved dealer car but I won't make that mistake again.

That said, the car turned out to be a peach so I'm happy anyway! And I'm not going to sell it in a hurry, so the resale concerns of multiple owners in a short space of time won't worry me much. In a year, I've needed a turbo air sensor replaced (for £119, covered by warranty anyway) and standard service items. Hardly a money pit, and it's put loads of smiles on my face.

Some people love the DSG gearboxes but they cost more to buy and to fix if they go wrong and the manual's really good anyway.

Only thing if I had my time again is that the Black Magic paint scheme is tough to keep looking good. Any time I park mine next to one of these blue ones, they always look a little better to my eyes. If that's the worst thing I can think of about my car, it's got to be a good choice.

Thanks for taking time to give your thoughts and advice/tips its very much appreciated.

[mikey vrs]

I bought a 58 plate octy vrs 2.0t in sept last year,mine had 11k on it when i got mine from the local skoda dealer.they are great cars,mine has had a couple of issue's-the boot doesnt always open,its been back for this to be fixed but it has done it again once since & i have a slightly notchy gearchange when going from 1st to 2nd when the car is cold,still waiting for skoda,s decision on what to do,other than that im very impressed with it,its much better than my mk1 octy vrs. Not sure how it will compare to the beemer though!

[GoneToBeemer]

All I can say is I have had the same car as you, albeit a 530d M sport and I have to say I prefer the Skoda in every way! As long as people are not narrow minded and can see past the badge you will be stepping into a brilliant car!

One of my main reasons for parting with my BMW a couple of years ago was it kept going back with loads of niggly faults i.e. the I-drive kept freezing and the parking sensors needed to be replaced 4 times! But the biggest killer was the servicing costs! Sump capacity of the 525, 530 and 535d's is 8.4 litres!! I paid £231 just for an oil change at my dealer :'(

ButI'm with everyone else - as with every used car check the history and £3 spent on a text history checker is well worth the money IMO.

If everything chacks out ok I say go for it, I have never looked back buying my Octavia!

[Grizzle]

All I can say is I have had the same car as you, albeit a 530d M sport and I have to say I prefer the Skoda in every way! As long as people are not narrow minded and can see past the badge you will be stepping into a brilliant car!

One of my main reasons for parting with my BMW a couple of years ago was it kept going back with loads of niggly faults i.e. the I-drive kept freezing and the parking sensors needed to be replaced 4 times! But the biggest killer was the servicing costs! Sump capacity of the 525, 530 and 535d's is 8.4 litres!! I paid £231 just for an oil change at my dealer :'(

ButI'm with everyone else - as with every used car check the history and £3 spent on a text history checker is well worth the money IMO.

If everything chacks out ok I say go for it, I have never looked back buying my Octavia!

WOW just what i wanted to hear.

Yeh servicing costs were a bit iffy including any repairs oil service was £175 which wasnt bad as you said it is 8.5 litres of oil :wonder:

MPG on the motorway long journeys was great averaging around 47mpg, local it was silly 18-19mpg although last night was 25mpg

[Wardy]

BMW servicing costs are a bit sickening when you could order the oil service pack from Opie Oils for the 525d, which includes the correct spec and amount of oil (9L allowed for), plus the correct filter. Price ranges from £81-£102 depending on which oil brand you go for.

That leaves a fair amount of change from £231 to drain the old stuff and refill!

[Hauptmann]

That leaves a fair amount of change from £231 to drain the old stuff and refill!

The difference is the price of the BMW main dealer stamp in your service book...

[Wardy]

I know the main dealer labour rates are perhaps the steepest in the business, but seriously!

[Grizzle]

Indeed the first thing any dealer asks "is it full BMWSH" and indeed it is thakfully

Trade in price for a BMW is shocking at the moment.

[M12MKD]

Indeed the first thing any dealer asks "is it full BMWSH" and indeed it is thakfully

Trade in price for a BMW is shocking at the moment.

might be worth having a go at selling privately

[Grizzle]

might be worth having a go at selling privately

Sadly its on finance.

oh and labour rates at BMW are £90 per hour.

[Hauptmann]

Sadly its on finance.

oh and labour rates at BMW are £90 per hour.

That's not too bad for a BMW dealer. Many are now over £100.

Shifting one of those privately would not be easy anyway, not unless priced very keenly.

[GoneToBeemer]

WOW just what i wanted to hear.

Yeh servicing costs were a bit iffy including any repairs oil service was £175 which wasnt bad as you said it is 8.5 litres of oil :wonder:

MPG on the motorway long journeys was great averaging around 47mpg, local it was silly 18-19mpg although last night was 25mpg

I didn't get anywhere near that with my 530d my normal average MPG was 28.7 and that showed constantly on the display. On a motorway run the best I used to get was about 43 mpg and the octavia is a petrol and will just about do that!

Octavia is a safe bet

[vRSLen]

Was more than happy with my MKII vRS

[Wardy]

Sadly its on finance.

oh and labour rates at BMW are £90 per hour.

Depends entirely on where in the country you are. Williams BMW Manchester were at that level about 8yrs ago

My Dad's a pretty much lifelong BMW driver, but I'm trying to convert him....

[Wardy]

I didn't get anywhere near that with my 530d my normal average MPG was 28.7 and that showed constantly on the display. On a motorway run the best I used to get was about 43 mpg and the octavia is a petrol and will just about do that!

That's shocking! What year 530d was it? Whatever happened to EfficientDynamics??