I have been looking for a cheap octavia mk2 vrs petrol but after joining this forum have been put off by the number of faults they seem to suffer,is this the case?Had a honda vti for the last 7 1/2 years and its been spot on with no nasty problems and before that had a golf gti which was the same.It reads like if you have a vrs its only a matter of time before you get problems and get stung with a big bill.I have been lokking at 06/07 plate cars with normal miles is this a wise move or not as it would have no warranty,or should I just stick to jap motors?Help?

I have been looking for a cheap octavia mk2 vrs petrol but after joining this forum have been put off by the number of faults they seem to suffer,is this the case?Had a honda vti for the last 7 1/2 years and its been spot on with no nasty problems and before that had a golf gti which was the same.It reads like if you have a vrs its only a matter of time before you get problems and get stung with a big bill.I have been lokking at 06/07 plate cars with normal miles is this a wise move or not as it would have no warranty,or should I just stick to jap motors?Help?

I've sent you a PM. Give me a shout back if it's any use to you.

What sort of problems do you think they suffer from? I wouldn't say they're unreliable particularly - but like anything, they have their problems. And really, a Golf of the same vintage could suffer from the same issues....

Or for extra piece of mind, look at adding a warranty - either with the dealer/independent or via someone like Warranty Direct.

But if you're happy with something Japanese, then buy something Japanese What's making you look away from them, out of interest?

had no issues with mine in 3 years of ownership 90% of which was remapped. It also got spanked on about 10+ UK track days and 55 laps of the nurburgring. was still going strong when i sold it off

On my third new vrs, first being on an 06, not had a real problem with any of them aside from the odd rattle.

Remember forums like this are where people bring their problems so you need to put it in context.

Nothing has gone wrong on mine , its the most reliable car i've owned bar none , if you think its lots of faults on here , try a trip to civinfo , i was stunned at the number of problems on there and i thought honda was reliable .

Had a mk 1 vrs for 8 years, not 1 problem, hence why i'm now in a mk 2!

But them mine have never been screaming round a track

Nothing has gone wrong on mine , its the most reliable car i've owned bar none , if you think its lots of faults on here , try a trip to civinfo , i was stunned at the number of problems on there and i thought honda was reliable .

+1. Mine from new, nearly 4yr old, 45k, never been back to the dealer except for servicing.

Ok a couple of rattles but nothing really bad, nothing I've felt the need to track down. Never even had to change a lightbulb yet.

I'm thinking of selling now but only because the price of super is getting sore.

What sort of problems do you think they suffer from? I wouldn't say they're unreliable particularly - but like anything, they have their problems. And really, a Golf of the same vintage could suffer from the same issues....

Or for extra piece of mind, look at adding a warranty - either with the dealer/independent or via someone like Warranty Direct.

But if you're happy with something Japanese, then buy something Japanese What's making you look away from them, out of interest?

well thing is I need a biggish car,work kids etc and the only japanese cars that would be any use to me are diesel which is no good as I only do 3k year or poor mpg if you want any sort of proformance.Looking at skoda because its vw running gear and good value for money but do seem to have fare few common faults but looks like right across the vw group abs unit,knocking,cencors failling etc

Edited 18 April, 201115 yr by 2WSR55PB

You have to remember that all forums for all car makes are where people come to find help with issues... The VRs needs to be serviced properly and Skoda have a generally good reputation for building reliable well made cars. Skoda use tried and tested VW mechanicals and if you are buying a used one just make sure it has been properly serviced and things like cambelts have been changed at appropriate mileage. It is a thoroughly enjoyable and comfortable car, ultimately only you can decide if you like it...

Skoda don't keep on winning driver power surveys by producing cars that break down all the time, they win the driver power surveys because the drivers (owners) like them, and are happy with them as they offer good value for money, the dealers give very good service and the cars are reliable......

my 2p worth.

FWIW I had an 05 Honda Accord. by 90k the clutch had disintegrated, and the cat had failed. Unlucky you might think, as did I, but the attendant level of service from the dealer workshop and customer services was breathtakingly disappointing. It will be a long time before I consider a Japanese car again over anything from Europe on the basis of reliability.

Before my current vRS, I owned 3 preludes (2.0, 2.3, 2.2 vtec), civic type r, and a Wrx. All were very reliable apart from the 2.0 prelude which was a complete dog, however, my vRS is in a different league build quality wise. It's also pushing out significantly more power than the Honda's and has had no issues in the last 18 months.

You have to keep in mind that a lot of people only turn to user forums like this when they have problems, so this in itself will tend to err towards an artificial balance towards cars with problems. There will be far more cars driving around without faults than perhaps here suggests.

tbh the VRS is a good second buy, especially for the car enthusiast. Depreciation is higher than most other cars in the VAG group but you're essentially buying a cut price more practical version of a MKV Golf GTI. Petrols don't seem to suffer from anywhere as near as many issues as diesels, as modern diesel engines are built to such fine tolerances it seems it doesn't need much to cause a problem.

A well looked after FSH car shouldn't give you any more issues than any other car, though in my experience and coming from a Honda background you can't quite beat Jap. Forced induction makes much quicker progress than naturally aspirated though, so even if you have driven fast Honda's you'll enjoy the VRS.

In summary, a good second hand buy and a very underrated car.

After a work colleague got a race blue hatch, I was more than impressed with the looks and performance. Within a few weeks I had got my first vRS. 2 years down the line and it has been virtually problem free motoring, and it still makes me smile when I get behind the wheel.

I am 90% certain I will get another one.

I want another one.

Ill very likely be orderering a 2.0TSI in the next 2 years when ive had it with the fabia

I have been looking for a cheap octavia mk2 vrs petrol but after joining this forum have been put off by the number of faults they seem to suffer,is this the case?Had a honda vti for the last 7 1/2 years and its been spot on with no nasty problems and before that had a golf gti which was the same.It reads like if you have a vrs its only a matter of time before you get problems and get stung with a big bill.I have been lokking at 06/07 plate cars with normal miles is this a wise move or not as it would have no warranty,or should I just stick to jap motors?Help?

I run Skodas for the day to day workhorses, why because of the value for money, pretty nimble, reliable, well priced & able to do very high mileage with few problems, the youngest I have sold was on around 80K & the highest on 160K, all bought from new.

My choice for a toy is a 350 Zed, loads of fun but it does break occasionally & you then realise the truly obsene prices Nissan charge for parts & then availability is another problem. Skoda have always supplied any parts within a coupkle of days even for obscure bits & the prices are somewhat refreshing.

As with most forums people only post horror stories.

Had mine 4 and half years, had the abs pressure sensor go( Teeves 60), same part on all vag cars of that age a new ecu, warranty, and just had the coil packs replaced, running like a dog but luckily recall on them was the day before so fitted all for for free at skoda. Would I replace with another, yes if it looked the same but do not like the facelift, that is why I am keeping it

Had mine 4 and half years, had the abs pressure sensor go( Teeves 60), same part on all vag cars of that age a new ecu, warranty, and just had the coil packs replaced, running like a dog but luckily recall on them was the day before so fitted all for for free at skoda. Would I replace with another, yes if it looked the same but do not like the facelift, that is why I am keeping it

Thanks for all the feedback and honest answers,think I should take a test drive and then and see if I like the way they drive then make a decide one way or the other

Sounds like a good idea to me

Good luck

Sounds like a good idea to me

Good luck

and me.

Thanks for all the feedback and honest answers,think I should take a test drive and then and see if I like the way they drive then make a decide one way or the other

I don't think you will be disappointed

as it's already been mentioned, most people come to forums to discuss problems/issues/fixes, or r enthusiasts. these represent a small minority of the number of actual cars out there with happy drivers who've had no issues at all.

on the other side of the bat, u'll also have unhappy drivers who r not tech savvy, n so won't hear about on forums such as these.

u'll b smiling after the test drive

I don't think you will be disappointed

been driving a honda vti for the best part of 7 years and you have got to rev it to death to make it shift,the vtec does not kick in till 5600rpm but gos well past 8000rpm.will defo be a big diffrence having better power low down