Hi there guys im new the the site (First post) and im off to look at an 04 VRS, i was wondering if anyone had any buying advice, the car i am going to see has done 85k and has little to no history (its cheap enough for me not to worry) is there anything i should look out for?

Sorry if this has been covered before i had a search and didnt come up with much.

Avoid like the plague if it's been remapped and listen to the top end for any racket suggesting the wrong grade of oil may have been used.

Buying a mapped car isn't necessarily a bad thing, so long as you've got history with the car to show it's been looked after and serviced regularly.

Buying a mapped car isn't necessarily a bad thing, so long as you've got history with the car to show it's been looked after and serviced regularly.

Yes it is, and the OP clearly states there is "little to no history" with this car.

When someone stupid does something stupid they often think "Hey, if I can get everyone else to do the same stupid thing then I won't seem so stupid". This is called the herd mentality.

Whereas I'm trying to give sensible advice to people who ask a sensible question.

buying a mapped car is always a bad idea??

buying a mapped car is always a bad idea??

Oh noes, it's a TARP!!!!

Have I missed something? Where in his post does it say that the car he is looking at has had a remap? All he says is it has got no service history, that's all.

Avoid like the plague if it's been remapped

Rubbish, just check what map its running and how well its been looked after.

However, the fact this car has no history would make me walk away instantly. Unless you can factor in the cost of a new engine to be fitted. These motors are only bullet proof if they are looked after.

Matt

The only worry you have got is weather the correct spec of oil has been used and if the cambelt has been changed at least once. Fabia cambelts have to be done every 60k miles or 4 years, whichever comes first. I suppose other common things to Fabias are suspension bushes that wear out and rear doors that leak.

Oh, BTW Welcome to Briskoda.

Edited 6 August, 201114 yr by Jim H

Rubbish, just check what map its running and how well its been looked after.

How in the hell would you know what map it's running?

And why do you jocks keep rubbishing my advice and sh**ting up peoples threads with your personal attacks?

Why am I wrong to suggest these sensible precautions?

No the car is 100% stock.

Edited 6 August, 201114 yr by Lee Rich

Gentlemen,

At the risk of being attacked by both sides, I would suggest that general info on problems with the VRS would be more useful than a discussion about whether the car's been mapped when it is quite likely that the seller won't mention it and the buyer won't be able to tell whether it's been mapped or not.

have a look around here, lots of threads on buying advises, number 1 to me would be history,than listed and feel while you driving it, I always tend to buy cars from forum members (after a little research) as are normally well kept and loved

Good Luck

I get the picture, i will steer clear of remaps, im not realy into that sort of thing. Its the first one i am looking at, its in my budget wth the cash i have in my pocket (£3200) and if its not right enough im happy to walk away, on the other hand ive spent enough time in the motor trade in another life not to be put off a car becase its bookpack has been lost. I get the feelng i will be asking for advice again soon. gz2:)

Im in Richmond north yorks if you see any nice cars for sale give me a heads up.

Woops double post.

Edited 6 August, 201114 yr by Lee Rich

How in the hell would you know what map it's running?

And why do you jocks keep rubbishing my advice and sh**ting up peoples threads with your personal attacks?

Why am I wrong to suggest these sensible precautions?

Erm, you ask them?! Jesus it's not difficult. My mate just sold his car, with a map on. The bloke asked which it was (unit 18 custom). The bloke was happy it was a nice decent map and off he went.

Iv not used any personal insults towards you.

Matt

when it is quite likely that the seller won't mention it and the buyer won't be able to tell whether it's been mapped or not.

Iv seen lots of adverts stating that the car is mapped over the years. Not only that, you'll be able to tell from driving it. If it feels like it's remapped, ask some questions. If they don't tell you it's mapped, how are you suppose to avoid it? I'd rather know the car runs a map& if it's a good one, than be told it's standard when it's running a spiky map.

Back OT, if it's just the book lost then it'll be worth doing some digging for the info from dealers etc. Could be onto a bargain if it works out. Good luck!

Matt

Check the cambelt has been done (and ideally the water pump too). Check for leaky rear door by pressing down firmly on the carpets in the rear footwells. Listen for knocks from the front which could potentially be the common issue of worn console bushes (try and take it over a couple of speed bumps on the test drive if there are any). You could test the clutch for slippage by sitting at about 30mph in 4th and putting your foot down (don't try this when you own one, just a one off test!). Get the Reg and call skoda to see if they have any history on their system, I have a full print out of mine. Make sure if there's any smoke from the exhaust that it's only a small amount of black smoke when you boot it. Check the oil filler cap to make sure there's no creamy residue. And all the usuals like making sure everything works, tyres wearing evenly etc.

I'm sure other people will know a lot more than me but this is what I've learnt from being a member.

Marc

Edited 7 August, 201114 yr by Marc81

Not only that, you'll be able to tell from driving it.

Matt

You will only be able to tell if it's been mapped from driving it if you have experience of driving a standard one. I've had a stock PD100 so I would know a mapped one but never a VRS so I wouldn't know the level of performance to be expected from a mapped one.

Get a drive in one beforehand. Might as well do your homework. If the seller isn't going to tell you what map it was then he'll prob not tell you it's mapped at all. So you would have no way of telling anyway! Lol

Matt

You should always take a mate with you when you go to look at a car, he then follows you when you take it for a test drive, that way you can tell if the car smokes excessively and is badly remapped or faulty in some other way.

Remapped cars tend to be spanked by moronic boy racers and should therefore be avoided.

Badly remapped turbo diesel cars often blow turbos or damage heads which are expensive to repair.

Newsflash: People don't always tell the truth about the car they are selling, err on the side of caution and walk away if you have any doubts.

You look at 2 cars:

Car 1, old lady owner, no idea how to pull away without riding the clutch, doesn't know about warming up/cooling down turbo & engine, totally standard.

Car 2, young lad owns it, know how to look after the engine, has a decent custom map with lots of history.

Which you going to go for? The point I'm making is just because a car has a map doesn't mean it's been any worse looked after than one without. It's easy enough to take a map off, like you say, some people are not honest so you'd never know. Just but a car with as much history as possible from as genuine person you can find. Which is why byuing a car from here is a good idea.

Matt

You walk away from those two and buy Car 3: Totally standard, one company owner from new with full main dealer history, above average mileage but mostly harmless motorway miles.

This is the car which will give you the best value for money, especially if it's a diesel.

Lol, that was exactly the car I got 3 years ago. It's now done 155,000 miles and hasn't missed a beat so I can't argue with that tbh.

Matt

We went to look at the car, me and the brother in law in his PD seat, the car looked very honest not tarted up and never painted, it drove lovely sounded right so i paid my money and drove her home.

i'll be giving it new oil and filters asap. can anyone tell me that brand of cambelt they rolled off the line with?

As for mapping im 99.9% sure its stock and will probably stay that way, i'll probably have a chat with Alan fishburn about is next time im in Darlington.

Thanks so much for your input, and thanks in advance for the silly questions im going to ask in the future.

Edited 7 August, 201114 yr by Lee Rich