Buying VRS -issues

[B&C]

Morning,

Went to check out a 2004 Octavia VRS at a Skoda dealership yesterday. Nice car - I don't currently own a Skoda but I was impressed. Couple of concerns, though.

There was a lot of water in the boot. The false floor was soaked and mouldy underneath and there was water running down the right hand side of the inner boot, near the speaker. The salesman said there was a common problem with the seal between the rear window and spoiler. But, I think it was coming in higher up. Has anyone else heard of this problem? He said the service department would water check it, test all then electrics for corrosion and fix the leak.

Is it a design flaw? Should I be put off by this? I'm not conviced they'll be able to tell if it's fixed and it won't be covered by warranty - I asked.

It also had condensation in the headlights which I was less concerned about, but still asked them to check. I might be being paranoid but I thought the glove box seemed a bit damp, too, maybe just because of moisture from the afore mentioned boot leak.

Are seals a common problem with this car? It was otherwise very well maintained with full dealer service history and 84k on the clock.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I do fancy bagging one of these cars but don't want a shed.

Thanks again.

[JonsVRS]

Personally I've never heard of the rear window seals or anything like that going but some others might have on here. Maybe it was an over excitable valeter who's jet washed all the door, bonnet and boot shuts. I've seen that happen before .

[chicken_eyebrow]

The only two issues they normally have with water in the boot is 1) if the washer fluid hose has popped off (water puddle is usually near the boot lock or cd changer) or 2) when you open the hatch lid the poor design means unless you do it slowly it sheds rainwater into the car.

Condensation in the light units is pretty normal mine was like that all the time. You might be able to get new rubber seals for the access plates at the back of the light units to keep the moisture out but it never seemed to be much of a problem for me.

Water in the passenger footwell or near the glovebox can be from a poorly fitted panel filter combined with blocked drain holes and water accumulating under the scuttle panel.

If the garage are willing to investigate and fix the leaks at their own cost then I'd let them do it.

[B&C]

Thanks very much for that, guys. I've just spoken to the dealer who says it's been through the workshop this morning.

They say it's a condensation build-up because the car has been sitting for a month.

It seems like a lot of water for condensation though - the false floor in the boot was pretty soggy and there was about half a cup-full of water in one of the holes in the polystyrene packing by the spare wheel. They say the electrics are unaffected.

I know it's hard to say without seeing, but any thoughts...?

Thanks again.

[chicken_eyebrow]

You will get condensation to a certain degree if the dash air vents are left wide open and it's left standing for a while. That much water though suggests one of the leaks mentioned above have happened in the past and the water hasn't been removed so has collected in the boot. Or previous owner spilt a load of water in the boot and didn't bother to dry it out. Does it have a sunroof? As I've seen a few posts recently where water has leaked in through the sunroof drain channels.

If you buy it and find the water keeps coming back then if it's a main dealer it should have a limited Skoda warranty so they would have to fix the leak - not going to cost you anything but might mean being without the car for a few days while they do their stuff.

[pauldazzle]

My thoughts are you're going to be paying top price for the car from a Skoda dealer. I'd look around as there are lots of VRS's for sale, & getting a good one for under £3K isn't hard. Don't get fooled by the low mileage thing as these cars are very well built, & mechanically very reliable. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 100,000+ miles car with a good verified service history.

Edited 16 January, 2012 by pauldazzle

[B&C]

Thanks again. To be fair to the dealer, they have offered to give me a written guarantee re. the moisture through their workshop (they say the warranty that comes with the car probably wouldn't cover it). You're right – I'm convinced it's more than just condensation too. The problem is I live 100 miles away and I need my car for work, so can't be to-ing and fro-ing to get it sorted.

On the issue of the price, i know it's top end - it's an 04 with 84k, full SkodaSH. It looks and drives like new but it's listed at £4k with a service and new cambelt before it goes out. I'd much prefer to buy through Skoda, but do you reckon that's way too high..?

Cheers

[IulianE]

Was the engine bay cleaned?That explains the condensation in the headlapms.

[B&C]

Was the engine bay cleaned?That explains the condensation in the headlapms.

That's a good point - it had been steamcleaned, which could well explain it.

[chicken_eyebrow]

I'd much prefer to buy through Skoda, but do you reckon that's way too high..?

Cheers

I reckon you could get a similar mileage one for just over £3000 private sale but assuming the dealer is doing the waterpump and hydraulic tensioner along with the cambelt and a full service then thats about £500-600 worth of parts and labour you'd be saving.

[B&C]

I reckon you could get a similar mileage one for just over £3000 private sale but assuming the dealer is doing the waterpump and hydraulic tensioner along with the cambelt and a full service then thats about £500-600 worth of parts and labour you'd be saving.

Might not be too bad after all, then. Is it standard procedure to change the pump at the same time as the cambelt?

I was initially a bit put off by the fact it's clocked up 84k - I'd usually buy stuff under 60k - but it seemed nice and tight when I drove it and, as you say, the servicing package should give peace of mind. To be honest, the soaking wet boot carpet is the only thing that's putting me off - but maybe I'm over-reacting.

[pauldazzle]

Might not be too bad after all, then. Is it standard procedure to change the pump at the same time as the cambelt?

I was initially a bit put off by the fact it's clocked up 84k - I'd usually buy stuff under 60k - but it seemed nice and tight when I drove it and, as you say, the servicing package should give peace of mind. To be honest, the soaking wet boot carpet is the only thing that's putting me off - but maybe I'm over-reacting.

84k is nothing on these cars. The engines are bullet proof if serviced correctly, & are nicely run in by 100.000 miles. Yes replacing the water pump when doing the cambelt is standard practice.

[chicken_eyebrow]

Mine had 85k on it when I bought it from a main dealer in 2008 (cost 6 grand then) and looked and drove like a 20k car, all motorway mileage. There are at least half a dozen Mk1 VRS's on this site that have done 140k plus and still going strong.

The dealers are usually pretty good at sorting stuff out (like the boot carpet) when I test drove mine the gearbox bushings had gone and changing gear was like stirring glue, they sorted it all for me with no quibbles before I took delivery though.

[B&C]

84k is nothing on these cars. The engines are bullet proof if serviced correctly, & are nicely run in by 100.000 miles. Yes replacing the water pump when doing the cambelt is standard practice.

Just spoke to dealer. He said the car went into the workshop today for a cambelt change. The water pump was checked but not replaced.

Does this sound right? It's on 84k and its last service was at 66k, though the belt hasn't been done since 40k-ish.

cheers

[chicken_eyebrow]

Depends when the waterpump was last done. They usually do the waterpump at the same time as the belt because the same things have got to be removed etc. so if they then have to do the waterpump a few months down the line you're effectively paying the labour charges twice.

Any idea whether the last pump it had was a metal impellor one or a plastic one? If it was a metal one it might be ok until the next cambelt change at which point you can just get both things done at once.

[B&C]

Depends when the waterpump was last done. They usually do the waterpump at the same time as the belt because the same things have got to be removed etc. so if they then have to do the waterpump a few months down the line you're effectively paying the labour charges twice.

Any idea whether the last pump it had was a metal impellor one or a plastic one? If it was a metal one it might be ok until the next cambelt change at which point you can just get both things done at once.

Not sure - it only has stamps in the service history, no receipts. I'll try to find out, though. Thanks for the advice.

Regarding the soggy carpet, mouldy false floor and puddle by the spare wheel, the mechanics reckon it's condensation because the car's been standing for a month. There was about half a cup-full of water in the polystyrene tray by the spare wheel, which seems a lot of water in a very specific place to be general condensation. When I asked my local Skoda dealer this afternoon, they told me this sounds like too much water to be condensation and is likely to be a leak. Any further thoughts?

I know a lad with a Bora and another guy with a Seat Leon which have had consistent leaks that dealers haven't been able to diagnose. I know it's a different car, but I'm worried it might be an undiagnosable problem and they're trying to gloss over it.

Thanks again for the help.

[pauldazzle]

There's no way that ammount of water is condensation. My advice is walk away. There's enough good VRS's for sale out there without issues.

[vRStroy]

Definitely sounds like a leak,but where? That is the question?

Try to find out where it is leaking AND ask to knock some money off...maybe(at least)£2-300...remember the warranty,not covered?

Personally,if you're spending that much you should steer clear of cars with niggling problems.Could possibly give you a big headache in the future?

You should view a few more.