I've seen an 03 Superb 2.5 V6 tdi automatic. for sale in a garage. It's £5800 with only 22000 miles on it. It appears to be in mint condition. Is this a reasonable price? Are there an faults I should watch out for or be prepared for in the future? Your help would be gratefully accepted.

I believe there are some known faults on that engine but can't quite remember off the top of my head. They are quite low-tech (they are the older non-CR diesels) but a pretty solid engine generally.

Phil

Ment to say it would be as a second car instead of my mondeo tdci.

Here. I found another thread:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/100942-2-5-v6-tdi-engine-issues/

As long as timing belt job is done properly and the engine is later one ( BCZ, BAU, BDG,BDH, 163bhp rather than 150bhp), it is a good buy.

But since it is automatic gearbox, I'd pay more attention to the gearbox itself as it is likely to require fluid change and generally will last shorter than that engine.

Here is my post explaining 2.5TDI chronology, the whole thread is worth reading as there is more info on other aspects:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/196211-ripped-off-yet-again/page__view__findpost__p__2332915

Later engines do not have camshaft wear problems of earlier ones, and generally are a lot more reliable.

Note that manual gearbox 2.5TDI can be driven at ~1200rpm around town without any decrease in comfort, not sure what autobox does but the engine is very smooth runner.

The V6 diesel is thirsty, tax -inefficient (compare CO2 figures with 1.9 PD) and expensive to maintain - belt changes are a pain and most people do it incorrectly. The auto V6 goes no better than a manual 1.9 and has a very high CO2 output due to its stone-age injection technology.

The real killer on the V6 is the VP44 fuel pump which has fragile electronics inside it with silly flexi-pc connectors which break. They are grotesquely unreliable and a failure will cost you a lot of money.

Unless you need an auto, don't buy one. The torque of the V6 minces them up regularly.

I'm obviously biased, but the only Superb remotely worth buying is a 1.9 PD 5 speed manual. All of the others are either unreliable or use too much fuel. The price you give for the V6 is a joke - Mk 1 Superbs are generally worth nothing now, 1.9s are worth a little bit.

rotodiesel.

The V6 diesel is thirsty, tax -inefficient (compare CO2 figures with 1.9 PD) and expensive to maintain - belt changes are a pain and most people do it incorrectly. The auto V6 goes no better than a manual 1.9 and has a very high CO2 output due to its stone-age injection technology.

The real killer on the V6 is the VP44 fuel pump which has fragile electronics inside it with silly flexi-pc connectors which break. They are grotesquely unreliable and a failure will cost you a lot of money.

Unless you need an auto, don't buy one. The torque of the V6 minces them up regularly.

I'm obviously biased, but the only Superb remotely worth buying is a 1.9 PD 5 speed manual. All of the others are either unreliable or use too much fuel. The price you give for the V6 is a joke - Mk 1 Superbs are generally worth nothing now, 1.9s are worth a little bit.

rotodiesel.

Not again...

Post-2004 VP44 really do not break more often than alternatives, so it is not a killer as long as you have a later engine and do not fill up with "cleaned" agro diesel full of sulphuric acid...which will kill any engine over time, especially a PD.

Fair points regarding auto-boxes and early (pre-2004) 2.5TDI engines but late manual 2.5TDIs are a good buy, especially now that prices are depressed. Not that I'd ever sell mine, too good a car to drive

Maintenance wise, workshop belt jobs are often messed up, my 1.9 Octavia was also messed up, blame lack of basic skills not the engine, DIY or go to known good mechanic.

Comparing 4-cyl with 6-cyl does not make sense unless you are a beancounter, V6 is for comfort and regular high speed driving.4-cyl is for running costs.

Plus lately I see a lot of Autotrader ads for cars of similar age with 1.9PD engines stating that a head gasket job is required....

My 2.5TDI has 104k on the clock and I hope for another trouble free 100k. Average fuel consumption on mixed 16m round trip commute in traffic is below 8l/100km (35mpg), by comparison 1.9TDI Octavia was 6.7l/100km (42mpg) at the same age (and much smaller and about 300kg lighter).

People who complain about 2.5TDI fuel consumption usually do not realize you can smoothly drive it 1000rpm - 1500rpm rev range in town, much lower than the 1800rpm-2500rpm for acceptable engine vibrations in a 1.9 engined car. Once you use V6 low end torque, it really does not burn that much more fuel.

The only real problem is too short gearbox, the 6th gear should have been 20% longer (it is 33mph/1000rpm, should have been 40mph/1000rpm), or rather the final drive ratio lower, but that is mostly problem for German autobahn and not the UK, in the UK the 6th is perfect for motorway.

The CO2 figures do not lie - check them out relative to the vehicle performance. What's the road tax on a V6 auto now?

In a country with a national 70 MPH limit, the V6 has no relevance - a PD will get you there within a whisker of the same time.

The gearing of the V6 is a complete nonsense and mostly negates the advantage of an engine with (a little bit) more torque - BMW would never do that.

rotodiesel.

Why do you quote the whole of my posting? People have scroll functions and it makes reading the thread tedious.

Edited 20 April, 201214 yr by rotodiesel

Thanks I'm guessing I've stirred up an old debate. Still can't decide. It's the extremely low 20k milage that is the attraction.

Personally i wouldn't do it. :-)

I would seriously question the low mileage and would want to know it's history to at least try and verify why the mileage is low. Have a look at the log book and see if you can contact the previous owner.

Perhaps that is the sceptic in me.

What Danny wrote...

I don't think it is that unusual on a Skoda, a lot (traditionally) seem to be bought from new by people who don't drive huge distances. (though obviously now a lot of Octavia taxis have intergalactic mileages on them!). Whereas if you look at Audi diesels they always seem to be high on the miles.

I would seriously question the low mileage and would want to know it's history to at least try and verify why the mileage is low. Have a look at the log book and see if you can contact the previous owner.

Perhaps that is the sceptic in me.

My 2.5 tdi auto from 2002 has no camshaft wear, and over the last 30000 miles has averaged 37.5 mpg.

A manual could easily do low 40's.

It's damn smooth, 1200 rpm with no vibrations, unlike the 1.9 which shakes a lot up to about 1800 rpm. It invites a relaxing driving style and rewards you for it.

Unfortunately, it is almost worthless now with 104k miles on it, and hence compels me to keep it for a while longer. My next car will also be a 6 cylinder, either an A6 2.7/3.0 tdi or maybe even another Superb, manual, later spec.

Edited 21 April, 201214 yr by oh_superb

I don't think it is that unusual on a Skoda, a lot (traditionally) seem to be bought from new by people who don't drive huge distances. (though obviously now a lot of Octavia taxis have intergalactic mileages on them!). Whereas if you look at Audi diesels they always seem to be high on the miles.

That is only 50 miles per week over 9 years.

I bought a 140 L&K (2007, 15.5k miles) that was 2 1/2 years old in Nov 2009 but my car had been sat there for over 6 months due to the owner passing away. He only drove it locally but still did 7k miles a year.

Be careful.

Edited 22 April, 201214 yr by Danny 57

Hi, I have recently bought 07 L&K 2.5 auto with 27k from local Skoda dealer with 12 months warranty. I have added over 2k and I am very pleased.

As it is diesel the auto is slower to warm up than my last car, 2.4 Accord but it is slightly better on fuel. On the open road the Superb (160 bhp) feels more powerful than the Honda (187 bhp).

I believe the car you have seen is probably over priced (to be expected at a dealer). If you are still interested see if you can get the price down or look for another one.

Gerry

My 2.5 V6 TDI manual has always averaged between 47 and 48 mpg, but mostly that is over a 30 mile commute on good fast A roads with a couple of short town sections. There's a big difference in mpg between a cold engine and a warm engine, and these things take about 10 miles before the temperature gauge comes up to the normal position during the winter.

It's a lovely relaxed engine to drive, loads of torque below 2,000 rpm ( max is at 1200 rpm) and an adrenaline rush as the needle climbs through the turbo range. I love it.

My mechanic mate who has worked at Skoda and VW / Audi independent for the last 7 years was telling me that he came across his first VP44 failure the other day, on an Audi 2.5 TDI with 190,000 miles on the clock, so failures aren't that common.

It still amazes me that I can drive a car with that much power and torque available and still get fuel consumption figures that are as good as my wife's 1.0 litre Yaris. No DPF to worry about, bullet proof engine ( so I'm told), smooth, lovely noise ..... hard to fault.

I had my 55 plate V6 TDi Elegance for ~90k miles with no issues at all. It is a very, very under rated car. I now have a Mk2 170 bhp 2.0 CR 4x4 but it isn't as nice a motor as the V6, with 4x4 transmission on the Mk2 the mpg is about the same too.

I've had my Tip a coupe of months now and am still chuffed to bits with it.  Luxury barge, mid 30's mpg (compared to early 20's for the HOT Aero it replaced). The grunt is addictive and it's lovely to drive.

Haven't come across anyone yet who doesn't like it (with the caveat of my daughter, who doesn't like anything I do out of principle).

As others had said though, and it's the same for every car, Caveat Emptor, but if you're happy with what you're buying.....

Gaz

Edited 23 April, 201214 yr by V6TDI

I've seen an 03 Superb 2.5 V6 tdi automatic. for sale in a garage. It's £5800 with only 22000 miles on it. It appears to be in mint condition. Is this a reasonable price? Are there an faults I should watch out for or be prepared for in the future? Your help would be gratefully accepted.

Using "Used Car Expert.co.uk" the price range for this car (Elegance trim) is: -

£3,889 £4,575

£4,712

The top price is for excellant condition (22500 miles) at a dealer. Hope this helps.

I got my 06/06 2.5TDI TIP in Oct 06 with 10k miles on the clock. It nearly has 108k on the the clock now and it still gives me as much pleasure as day 1. You don't buy one of these for economy motoring - my last road tax was £260. Oil has been changed every 10k, cam belt (yes, expensive) at 70k and gearbox oil/filter at 90k. I have yet to put any oil in between changes. Can get up to 45.1 indicated mpg on a 70mph run, 35mpg when towing car + trailer.

Wouldn't know what to change it for - nothing comparable, except maybe a Phaeton (and can't afford an Audi!)

A new buyer of a mk 1 should be aware of usual built in B5 faults and how to avoid problems.

be a man and get it

you will love it

we all know it

I had a VP44 failure on my work car (Nissan) late last year. The failure was the electronic control module and can be narrowed down to the transistor that powers that spill valve. Another guy I know with a completely different nissan had a similar failure and replaced the transistor himself (aluminium solder on a ceramic board, bit tricky).

By all accounts this is a common failure across all brands using VP44 pumps prior to 2003. It also stopped around 2003, possibly a revised design from Bosch. I fitted a second hand pump which I picked up for a silly price from a 2003 vehicle (bigger pump than stock, capable of a lot more torque and power). I had to retune but it's been working perfectly in the 10,000km since.

I found a repairer in the UK who had good prices for first repairing VP44 controllers and also replacing them with a new controller. That was my backup plan if the replacement pump didn't work. But it worked fine. The car had 170,000km on it at failure. I hope to get the same again from the next pump.

The cummins guys in the US muttering about lift pump failures are not related to the electrical failure. It appears the cummins pumps have their own unique problems.

Edited 21 May, 201214 yr by Kiwibacon