Hi All,

I'm currently looking to replace my trusty old Merc 300TD and have narrowed the field down to a an Octavia I TDI. I've got a number of cars to lok at over the weekend before decided which to buy but have a quick question regarding reliabilty and the future.

Easy question. I'm looking to spend up to about £2000 but do people think it would be better to go for a newer example with high miles or and older one with lower miles???? (Assuming all else is equal and they both have a decent history). At the moment I'm moving towards higher mileage/newer as I assume wear on components such as air-con and suspension would be less; but am I barking up the wrong tree with that?? I don't think I'm too concerned about the engines as I assume the old TDI engines are very high mileages.

Just hoping the experience of you guys might be able to point me in the right direction.

Cheers

Service history is they key, lots of stamps and lots of receipts

Choose the one that feels/looks the best, mileage is irrelevant its more to do how well the last owner has looked after it

Difficult question!

If it's got higher miles then things like the suspension and clutch could be on their last knockings even if it's a newer car.

Conversely if it's old but has low miles then it's likely to have done lots of short trips and you risk problems with the turbo on the 110bhp and later 90bhp models (search for "sticking vanes").

I would think carefully about the 130pd engines as well as they use unit injectors and they are approx £500 to replace EACH if one of them breaks.

I think if I bought a Octy I TDI I would probably go for an old low mileage 90bhp one with the old wastegated turbo.

As said though, good service history is important and belt and waterpump needs to have been changed on schedule.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll always go for service history above anything else...but interesting regarding the turbo issue though. I do see that the ALH engine was available all through the life of the series 1, but did they actually change the way the turbo operated during the life of that engine? & if so, when did the wastegate actually get phased out?

Cheers

I believe the earlier 90bhp was the AGR engine, same engine to all intents and purposes as the ALH but with the Garrett wastegated turbo instead of the BorgWarner KKK variable vane turbo. ALH came in late 2000/early 2001 although the AGR was still available for a few years after that.

Buying a 110 is still an ok proposition as long as the turbo has been given a good workout every now and then to stop the sticky vanes, and you keep it that way.

If you go to look at any Mk1 TDI Octavias, the engine code is on a sticker on the top of the timing belt cover or on an options sticker on the boot floor or in the front pages of the service manual.

Owned 3 pd130's in vaious states of tune, 170/200/260 bhp and never had an injector fault

More likely is clutch/flywheel/ turbo trouble

I have a 90 bhp mk1 2004. No issues, decent service history (by irish standards...) and 130k on the clock, bought at 125k 4 months ago. Feels tight as a drum. The only thing im worrying about is when are the electrical gremlins going to move in and feck up either me central locking, window motors, or Both!!

Ive not been driving it hard, trying to keep me fuel costs down, but once a fortnight i drive home from work and run it hard, keep the turbo happy .

My take on it is that its 6 o one, 1/2 dozen the other. If its a young high miler thats not had work done mechanicals could get pricey. On the flip side though, an older low miler migh not have the same mechanical issues, but its had longer for the electrics to do their VAG corroding party piece, which could get pricey..

So.... Which would you prefer, potential mechnical or potential electrical faults... :think:

Im going to be unhelpful

And say ..... Mate if it wants to bite you in the bottom , then it will bite you in the bottom :(

If its got history and receipts then least you can see if its been looked after and stuff sorted.....

If its got a libary of faults and probs and endless fixes...... Maybe just leave lol its clearly evil :(

You could buy a high miler and something break, just the same as a spanker could break :(

Oh wait........ Mine broke and popped its light on before i even got a grand on the clock i can laugh now ........... I didnt !!!! But now i can

If you like what you find bud go for it aslong as your happy bud

I've bought two old Octys, one with 80k on the clock, one with 130k. Both are 1.9Tdi 110s and have been great overall. I picked mine based on a combination of service history (essential I think on these diesels), and then a balance of miles and price.

Both cars needed some minor repairs when bought, but nothing major. Rollbar bushes and cambelt on one (factored into the purchase price) and alternator and aux belt tensioner (which snapped a few thousand miles into ownership) on the other

I don't think you can go too far wrong with these cars so long as you get the service history and check the basics on a test drive (for me that would be cold start, turbo, clutch etc).

I bought a 2005 for a grand with 325k on and its been a real pain in the ass. Go for the newest you can with less than 150k on and loads of history. Go for the alh as it will run on wvo or bio without any modification at all. This will be invaluable in a few years time.

I got a 2003 130PD with 126k on the clock.

Issues were...

- dodgy ignition switch (£40, affects many VAG 1.9s)

- coolant temp sensor fubared (£8, affects loads of VAG cars)

And that's it engine-wise. First thing I did when I got it was sent it to my trusted local garage and had the dual mass flywheel replaced with a solid one, full service, spanking new clutch.

All other bits I did myself- changed glowplugs, replaced temp sensor, changed ignition switch, replaced battery.

It's not missed a beat, and is now on 133k. Always use fully synthetic oil, fresh filters every 7k, etc.

It's worth bearing in mind that I bought this car in fairly ratty condition. For 14,000 miles before I bought it, nothing had been done except the bare minimum. However, it was circa £1,000 less than a car of a similar spec and age.

I love the 130 engine and would highly recommend it.

bought my 2001 mk1 a few months ago with 163k on the clock. It had some service history, but a good test drive and poke around and it seemed ok. friend came and looked and vagcommed it and said it was v.good. had cambelt done and changed all filters, working thro advisory items from last MOT, (arb bushes and wishbones) reset gear linkages and that made a big difference.It has a towbar so i reckon its been looked after as caravaneers wnat reliability. All stone chips had been touched up and interior was spotless. i love it! took it to castle combe and had a blast used no oil either!

oh yeah the ONLY thing i could find that didnt work was the cup holder!

oh yeah the ONLY thing i could find that didnt work was the cup holder!

No big loss there lol worse designed cup holder ever!

No big loss there lol worse designed cup holder ever!

Only thing about the cup holder is that with my travel mug in it, its an ideal armrest, with having to mod the car ;-)

Only thing about the cup holder is that with my travel mug in it, its an ideal armrest, with having to mod the car ;-)

Tried that with an empty energy drink can but nearly crashed when the can collapsed lol

Got myself a proper armrest and a lupo cup holder for the dash so all good now lol

Tried that with an empty energy drink can but nearly crashed when the can collapsed lol

LOL Yeah, the compressive strength of the average drinks can is quite low....

May look into get a Lupo cup holder, but it was in that spot in me Cordy... more than once an unseen pothole caused seaid beverage to splash... onth the Fing radio HU......

I only use cans or bottles not open cups, and I can safely say that aslong as you take a lil sip first Nowt will spill on any bumpy twisty roads taken at speed tested over 4k now and not a drop spilt lol

i dunno... maybe the design is a little different, but ive definitly had cans spill!

Travel mug, with lid, only from now on....

Interesting hijack of the thread i must say.... go me! ;-)

Sorry to the OP