I've been a bit of a Vauxhall man for a few years with a couple of V6 Vectra's, I then went mental and bought a V8 Audi which I loved to bits but the cost of running the thing was crippling me (shame!). I then went even madder and bought a Vectra diesel which I hated with a passion. I have just managed to sell that on and I'm looking for something to replace it.

Which brings me to the Octavia VRS.......these seem to have really come down in price recently and 2005/2006 cars seem to available for around £5k....the only drawback being they all pretty much have 100k on 'em.

What's the general opinion on the wisdom of buying a 5 year old VRS with 100k on it? Are the durable things or could I be facing some big bills do you think?

Thanks for any advice you guys (and girls) might be able to give me.

Condition and Service History are probably most crucial. Make sure servicing is up to date and the cam belt has been done. After those boxes are ticked buy the best condition on you can find. Throughly inspect /extended test drive or have it professionally inspected. My 07 TFSi is almost at 100k and it drives lovely. Be realistic with your maintenance budget and there is no reason why you can't double that mileage. Diesels seem to have more reoccurring expensive issues such as injectors DPF, DMF, but petrols have there issues too. (You don't say which you are after)

Condition and Service History are probably most crucial. Make sure servicing is up to date and the cam belt has been done. After those boxes are ticked buy the best condition on you can find. Throughly inspect /extended test drive or have it professionally inspected. My 07 TFSi is almost at 100k and it drives lovely. Be realistic with your maintenance budget and there is no reason why you can't double that mileage. Diesels seem to have more reoccurring expensive issues such as injectors DPF, DMF, but petrols have there issues too. (You don't say which you are after)

Thanks mate. It's the petrol I am interested in. The reason I just got rid of my derv Vectra was because of the catalogue of common problems that afflict them.....DMF, DPF, Inlet manifold, EGR valve to name but a few!

Shouldn't average mileage for a 2006 be 50k to 60k? Unless you looking at high milers due to budget constraints?

there was a post on here a while back by a VW tech who had worked 100k+ GTIs and said they seem to last pretty well. No reason the VRS should be any different.

100K for 05/06 is above average mileage, but even so it depends on service and maintenance history and the evidence of it, its all based on well known VW technology so as well as all the good news you may be advised to find out if the ABS unit has been repaired or replaced ( fault on all VW group cars using same unit ) and cambelt and water pump replaced (probably twice already on car at that mileage ). They are good sound cars and plenty on here are happy with higher mileage examples.

You will probably find 100K 4 year old cars will more than likely be rep cars owned by companies and dealer serviced, should be a good buy unless it been driven by some tw*t that doesn't care about cars an rags it to bits because it not his/her car. My VRS will be really high mileage by the time its 4 years old but it will be looked after and I hope it will last to 200K+.

Hi Swervin, I have a 56 plate petrol Octavia vRS which has just turned 122k miles. It was a ex police pursuit undercover estate, which was on 114k when i bought it; some say good/bad things about these but the service history was bang up to date, I had no evidence of the cam belt being recently changed so I had this done together with a new water pump, touch wood it's great and runs superb. The reason I trusted a high miler is that my last company car was a mk1 54 plate vRS, I had this from 6miles on the clock and kept it to 110kmiles with no issues.

I bought this time round what suited my budget and am pleased with my move. Check the service history! Good luck