In a couple of months my car ('58 reg. 1.8 TSi Elegance hatch) comes to its 3 year mark - end of warranty, start of MOT's etc.

I really don't know whether to Px for a new one, which would be as near as possible the same model, or keep it going (no real problems so far, fingers crossed.)

They say you should keep a car from new till it is 5 or 6 years old (mind you, I don't know who "they" are!!)

What do you reckon?

I have been thinking the same as mine is coming up to 4 years old. Like you I have had no problems so far and although it is always nice to have a new car, the face lift model is fairly similar so I would be paying out quite a bit of money for what is almost the same car. So I decided to keep the car, I've just had it serviced and had the cambelt done, and perhaps I will change it for a MK 3 Octavia when it comes out. At least that will be a completely new car then.

I have been thinking the same as mine is coming up to 4 years old. Like you I have had no problems so far and although it is always nice to have a new car, the face lift model is fairly similar so I would be paying out quite a bit of money for what is almost the same car. So I decided to keep the car, I've just had it serviced and had the cambelt done, and perhaps I will change it for a MK 3 Octavia when it comes out. At least that will be a completely new car then.

On my last Octy, 2.0FSi, by now I'd needed new air con compressor and new catalytic converter, both under warranty but very pricey if had of been out of warranty.

This one won't need a cambelt as it is chain driven, so I'm adding up pros and cons.

Also I prefer looks of mine to the later face lift (a little) but maybe I'll get some Px prices when I go in for third year service soon - see what kind of deals are on offer. This one was very good - dealers were bang in the middle of the credit crunch. Maybe similar thoughts will be upon us by November!

It depends on the cost to change and if you can afford it. What's the depreciation on your current car? Can you afford the same depreciation again on a newer one? What will the advantages be? (depreciation levels off the longer you keep the car, whereas it is in free fall from new).

You could always take out a warranty to cover you against future problems - even buying a Skoda warranty you would be many thousands of pounds better off compared to buying a new car.

There again if you have the money and your finances are in order then why not

It depends on the cost to change and if you can afford it. What's the depreciation on your current car? Can you afford the same depreciation again on a newer one? What will the advantages be? (depreciation levels off the longer you keep the car, whereas it is in free fall from new).

You could always take out a warranty to cover you against future problems - even buying a Skoda warranty you would be many thousands of pounds better off compared to buying a new car.

There again if you have the money and your finances are in order then why not

I considered the extended warranty idea - haven't checked out prices yet, but many repair jobs I've heard about, out of warranty, do run nearly to, or even over, 4 figures so it might be worth it.

Hi, I considered the same thing, changing cars, I even test drove a 9 month old L&K, same as mine just the facelift version and CR engine. To be honest, yes the engine was quieter, but the car felt exactly the same as mine. I know mine has covered 93K and the other one only cover 4K but it would have cost me £13K to change. Yes the newer was nice, just not different enough to warrant the cost of change, well not for me. I'm now in the mind set to wait until the new model arrives, 2013 at the earliest I believe. I have been taking out extended warranties with Skoda, this will be my last as it will have covered over 100K when the renewal is due, so I'll probably swap to Warranty Direct next.

Hi, I considered the same thing, changing cars, I even test drove a 9 month old L&K, same as mine just the facelift version and CR engine. To be honest, yes the engine was quieter, but the car felt exactly the same as mine. I know mine has covered 93K and the other one only cover 4K but it would have cost me £13K to change. Yes the newer was nice, just not different enough to warrant the cost of change, well not for me. I'm now in the mind set to wait until the new model arrives, 2013 at the earliest I believe. I have been taking out extended warranties with Skoda, this will be my last as it will have covered over 100K when the renewal is due, so I'll probably swap to Warranty Direct next.

How much are the warranties? Does it go on mileage? Mine will only have done about 21000 at the 3 year mark.

Warranties are about £399 a year I think... I'll probably get one and then will my turbo to death to make it worth it lol!

Hi, I paid £250 for my 1st year cover, that includes skoda assistance too, the 2nd year (same package)was £342. The Skoda warranty, when taken, I beleive, is anything under 100K miles. After that you'd need to look at Warranty Direct for example.

I think in terms of 1/2 life.

a car loses 1/2 is value over each period of ownership give or take a bit and mileage

3 years is about right for many cars 3yo octavias seem to be about 1/2 new.

So a 20k car loses £10k in the first 3 and £5k in the second 3

Even after 6y it becomes worthless you are still in the same position as if you changed.

The £10k you would have to cough up to change goes £5k to depreciation and £5k for extra repairs.

or if you do OK and have nothing go wrong you have £20k(+interest) + residual value for the next one.

or you buy a 3y old one for £10k and now have a bigger pot for if it goes wrong.

3y old with 21k miles should be like new anyway.

Edited 9 September, 201114 yr by P&N

3y old with 21k miles should be like new anyway.

By modern standards, it is like new and I still like it very much - so almost certain to keep it now. Got my free (or rather already paid for by the famous deal of last year) service coming up at the 3 year mark, so only MOT cost to think about.

Also just got a very good insurance deal again - so unless it turns round and bites me before November, it stays here!!

I considered the extended warranty idea - haven't checked out prices yet, but many repair jobs I've heard about, out of warranty, do run nearly to, or even over, 4 figures so it might be worth it.

I took out Warranty Direct on my car, around £27 per month (£32 for Main Dealer) my Aircon Compressor went... around £600 to replace. My local Skoda dealer spoke to Warranty Direct and managed to let them do the job. Still waiting for the part to come into stock but definitely worth it.

I would keep the car if I was you, get some upgraded accessories new radio etc =)

I took out Warranty Direct on my car, around £27 per month (£32 for Main Dealer) my Aircon Compressor went... around £600 to replace. My local Skoda dealer spoke to Warranty Direct and managed to let them do the job. Still waiting for the part to come into stock but definitely worth it.

I would keep the car if I was you, get some upgraded accessories new radio etc =)

New radio??? Mine's got a wind-up gramaphone

I think in terms of 1/2 life.

a car loses 1/2 is value over each period of ownership give or take a bit and mileage

3 years is about right for many cars 3yo octavias seem to be about 1/2 new.

So a 20k car loses £10k in the first 3 and £5k in the second 3

Even after 6y it becomes worthless you are still in the same position as if you changed.

The £10k you would have to cough up to change goes £5k to depreciation and £5k for extra repairs.

or if you do OK and have nothing go wrong you have £20k(+interest) + residual value for the next one.

or you buy a 3y old one for £10k and now have a bigger pot for if it goes wrong.

3y old with 21k miles should be like new anyway.

Nice rule but I don't think it is quite as clear cut as that. I bought my VRS from a Skoda dealer at 4 years old.It was 1/3 of it's original price and came with a 12 month warranty. There is a big difference between what used cars are advertised for, and what they sell for - especially at dealers. Of late they do seem to be holding their value better but if it were me I couldn't afford to lose upto 15k on a new VRS over 4 years (against list price). You can get a year old petrol VRS for £13k from the dealers - a much better prospect if you are considering new.

Nice rule but I don't think it is quite as clear cut as that. I bought my VRS from a Skoda dealer at 4 years old.It was 1/3 of it's original price and came with a 12 month warranty. There is a big difference between what used cars are advertised for, and what they sell for - especially at dealers. Of late they do seem to be holding their value better but if it were me I couldn't afford to lose upto 15k on a new VRS over 4 years (against list price). You can get a year old petrol VRS for £13k from the dealers - a much better prospect if you are considering new.

Thats a 1/2 life of 2.5years. also there is the base line for the decay is not zero a car will have a scrap value or runner value

Agree there will be variations, also there is the 4 year cambelt which ups the servicing during the second cycle, so 4 years might be a better buying point.

Current waiting list for diesels and the true new prices being lower than list change the starting points and make it a little more difficult to estimate if you are not on top of the new prices for the last few years.

There will always be the odd outlyer where you can buy cheap and get a free year or two, we picked up a clio for just over the cost to clear finance about 25% below the going rate at the time.

Struggling to find a 1.9 L&K estate at the right price just not enough about(insurance on the 1.9 is 1/2 the 2.0 for me), seems to be plenty of VRS and other lower specs so keener pricing, on the other had scouts seem to be very pricy.

Might have to broaden the search.

I think in terms of 1/2 life.

a car loses 1/2 is value over each period of ownership give or take a bit and mileage

3 years is about right for many cars 3yo octavias seem to be about 1/2 new.

So a 20k car loses £10k in the first 3 and £5k in the second 3

Even after 6y it becomes worthless you are still in the same position as if you changed.

The £10k you would have to cough up to change goes £5k to depreciation and £5k for extra repairs.

or if you do OK and have nothing go wrong you have £20k(+interest) + residual value for the next one.

or you buy a 3y old one for £10k and now have a bigger pot for if it goes wrong.

3y old with 21k miles should be like new anyway.

Well actually, I just traded in my 2008 Octavia for a Yeti. I was digging out the paperwork to do the trade and realised the depreciation was really good. In 2008 I paid £17866 for a 2.0 L&K estate. Yesterday I was given £12,000 trade in against a Yeti. I reckon that £5866 depreciation over three years is fantastic!

If I'd not been downsizing to a 1.2 then I would probably have stuck with the Octavia though and taken out an extended warranty. It was a really fine car, the facelift wouldn't have added much different. As it was I now do far fewer miles than I used to so switching to a smaller petrol made sense. (That's what I'm telling myself anyway!)

I've often wondered why people change thier cars when they drop out of warranty - seems an alien concept to me due to the depreciation as I tend to keepmine for a long time. I've had the Fabia 10 years, Mazda 16 years, the Octy 4 years and the Mitsubishi prior to these was 11 years as well...

Well actually, I just traded in my 2008 Octavia for a Yeti. I was digging out the paperwork to do the trade and realised the depreciation was really good. In 2008 I paid £17866 for a 2.0 L&K estate. Yesterday I was given £12,000 trade in against a Yeti. I reckon that £5866 depreciation over three years is fantastic!

If I'd not been downsizing to a 1.2 then I would probably have stuck with the Octavia though and taken out an extended warranty. It was a really fine car, the facelift wouldn't have added much different. As it was I now do far fewer miles than I used to so switching to a smaller petrol made sense. (That's what I'm telling myself anyway!)

low mileage 3y L&K estate probably only a few in the network likely the only one in scotland, DSG and Sat don't think there are any, last one round us was Jan £12800 forget the age/mileage.

Round our way there is a Aug 08 L&k DSG for £9.1k probably high mileage might have a look next week if we go that way

No one seems to spec electric seats on other models.

Key is what you paid for the yeti

low mileage 3y L&K estate probably only a few in the network likely the only one in scotland, DSG and Sat don't think there are any, last one round us was Jan £12800 forget the age/mileage.

Round our way there is a Aug 08 L&k DSG for £9.1k probably high mileage might have a look next week if we go that way

No one seems to spec electric seats on other models.

Key is what you paid for the yeti

yeah you're right, very few L&Ks and mine was only 18000 miles. As for the yeti.....when people are selling ex demos for close to list it's not a great area for getting many good deals

Agree there will be variations, also there is the 4 year cambelt which ups the servicing during the second cycle, so 4 years might be a better buying point.

I think 4 years is a better buying point for these cars myself. Buying it from the dealer they were obliged to service it inc. cambelt change before they sold it to me. Why buy a 3 year old car for more money then have to potentially pay hundreds for this work a year later. Buy at 4 years with all work done and warranty for another 12 months as it's an approved car

I think 4 years is a better buying point for these cars myself. Buying it from the dealer they were obliged to service it inc. cambelt change before they sold it to me. Why buy a 3 year old car for more money then have to potentially pay hundreds for this work a year later. Buy at 4 years with all work done and warranty for another 12 months as it's an approved car

All the models don't have cambelts - as mentioned before I believe mine has a chain. But other things come out of the blue and are expensive - I never expected my cat to be going just before the warranty ran out on my last Octy. Just pot luck I guess.