Ladies and Gents,

As you can see from my sig, I'm a happy 2010 vRS owner.

I now need a second car for taking the kids to school and as a runaround for my wife.

We both love the vRS and the practicality it provides. I'm keen to spend no more than 5k.

Thoughts on this one?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201219469994946/sort/default/usedcars/engine-size-cars/1-4l_to_1-6l/transmission/manual/price-from/3000/body-type/estate/price-to/5000/model/octavia/make/skoda/postcode/al15np/page/1/radius/1500?logcode=p

Hope the link works!

There are quite a few out there at about 5k. I'd prefer petrol. I appreciate this one has low mileage, but it's at a dealer near me so I'll have some comeback. Although low mileage, I'd probably insist the cambelt is changed if not already done. What else should I be looking out for or asking to be done?

As ever, your collective thoughts would be much appreciated!

Cheers, Dunc

Am now reading (Honest John car by car breakdown) that the 1.6 FSI is chain cam, so ignore my earlier comments re the belt.

Any other thoughts people??

Cheers.

How about this 2 years younger

http://www.cargiant.co.uk/Skoda/details-548745-Skoda.asp?viewtype=0

AFAIK the 1.6 FSi is a cambelt .......the 1.4 , 1.8 and 2.0 TSI are chain only

I had one of these as a courtesey car from my dealer whilst mine was being serviced.I found it seriously under powered for a 1.6.

Dunc,

My first post on here...

I have a 1.6FSI Octavia (engine code BLF) - it has a chain cam so no belt to change. It is a direct injection engine and as such can suffer from carbon deposits in/on the inlet manifold / valves / throttle body resulting in poor performance. I was suffering from poor running recently and cured it by removing the throttle body, cleaning it and performing a throttle body alignment with VCDS/VAGCOM when refitted - it made a huge difference to the drive-ability of my car. If the engine has an uneven idle or seems like it wants to stall/judders a bit when pulling away it would be worth getting the dealer to clean the throttle body - it isn't a big task for them.

I've found that my engine runs a lot better and has more power on Super-unleaded and it doesn't really cost any extra over standard unleaded as I get better MPG on Super (Shell V-Power/Tesco Momentum). Further to Stormchaser's comment above, compared to a standard 1.9TDI the 1.6FSI doesn't have anything like the same pulling power, but if you use the full rev range it is marginally faster (it'll hurt your wallet though...). That said, if you want a car offering plenty of performance the 1.6FSI Octavia isn't the car for you, as a run-about and something for getting you from A-B comfortably without drama it's fine.

0wl

How about this 2 years younger

http://www.cargiant.co.uk/Skoda/details-548745-Skoda.asp?viewtype=0

AFAIK the 1.6 FSi is a cambelt .......the 1.4 , 1.8 and 2.0 TSI are chain only

Thanks, definitely worth looking around.

I had one of these as a courtesey car from my dealer whilst mine was being serviced.I found it seriously under powered for a 1.6.

Thanks. This is one of my concerns! I'm used to my vRS and the pace is actually a great safety feature - helps you get into gaps in traffic easily. I'll need to test drive the 1.6. 0-60 is about 11.5 which is certainly pedestrian.

It'll be used mainly for running the kids to and from school, so doesn't need to be quick, but I don't want a car that is so slow that it is dangerous!

Owl, appreciate your thoughts. That's really helpful. Glad it's a chain cam!

A test drive should help establish if all is well with the throttle body.

I'm tempted by the price of this one!

Thanks. This is one of my concerns! I'm used to my vRS and the pace is actually a great safety feature - helps you get into gaps in traffic easily. I'll need to test drive the 1.6. 0-60 is about 11.5 which is certainly pedestrian.

It'll be used mainly for running the kids to and from school, so doesn't need to be quick, but I don't want a car that is so slow that it is dangerous!

dunc69 don,t let me put you off getting one.The car they gave to me to use was brand new at that time (2007) so obviously had no miles put on the engine so i found it lacking in power for the 25 miles i used it for.Obviously compared to my 1.9tdi and your vRS its underpowered but as stated its great for a no frills drive which maybe ideal for your purpose.

Good luck with your search.

Thanks Stormchaser. We're not in a rush. Test drove the 1.6. Quite liked it but it was very basic. You had to unlock the doors with a key! Old school!

We also have to decide if we need a second estate. It may be sufficient to get a Fabia-sized car.

If so, I'm very tempted by a Panda 100HP. Great car, cheaper, quicker & more fuel efficient than the equivalent Fabia.

http://www.poundavenuecarsales.co.uk/used-cars/fiat-panda-1-4-16v-100hp-5dr-stevenage-201218467939277

Mmmm.

Sometimes the choosing is as much fun as the getting!

I know modern cars are much safer than they used to be but given a choice I'd rather my wife and kid were driving around in an Octavia rather than a Panda.

No offence to the Panda / smaller cars but if the wife is already used to the size of the vRS I'd stick with something a little bigger and more solid.

The Classic really is basement bargain spec, the Ambiente offers a few more creature comforts.

Low mileage on an older car isn't such a good thing so I wouldn't get stuck on the 27,000 miles it's done. Looking at cars that are around six years old I'd prefer a car that's done 50,000 miles on fixed servicing (1 year or 10,000 miles) rather than one at 25,000 miles thats just had one service (variable).

I did a quick search and the car you linked crops up as being very well priced, however for another grand (just under budget) there is a nice 2.0 FSi with 47,000 miles and it's an Elegance so gets all the toys too. It's a hatch but it has the same size boot as the estate, you just lose the extra space above the parcel shelf / load cover which on a second car I assume isn't a deal breaker?

I know modern cars are much safer than they used to be but given a choice I'd rather my wife and kid were driving around in an Octavia rather than a Panda.

No offence to the Panda / smaller cars but if the wife is already used to the size of the vRS I'd stick with something a little bigger and more solid.

The Classic really is basement bargain spec, the Ambiente offers a few more creature comforts.

Low mileage on an older car isn't such a good thing so I wouldn't get stuck on the 27,000 miles it's done. Looking at cars that are around six years old I'd prefer a car that's done 50,000 miles on fixed servicing (1 year or 10,000 miles) rather than one at 25,000 miles thats just had one service (variable).

I did a quick search and the car you linked crops up as being very well priced, however for another grand (just under budget) there is a nice 2.0 FSi with 47,000 miles and it's an Elegance so gets all the toys too. It's a hatch but it has the same size boot as the estate, you just lose the extra space above the parcel shelf / load cover which on a second car I assume isn't a deal breaker?

Thanks. Appreciate your thoughts. Safety is very important, you're right!

Other considerations have to be road tax & mpg (but keen to stay with petrol).