Its now a month since I bought my Octavia. Still not got to the bottom of list of things to do. See here if interested.

Skoda Octavia Costs Description Cost so far Costs to be done Purchase price 3410.00 Insurance transfer 52.00 Turbo pipe 10.00 Tyre 62.00 wipers 32.00 alloys refurb materials 11.00 Rear number plate 6.75 Rear washer pipe, fix 10.00 Touch in paint 10.00 New Battery 52.50 Air Con Recharge 49.00 corrosion repair 140.00 chip guard 13.20 Leak Aircon test 10.00 compressor 189.00 Labor to fit 30.00 Gas Recharge, free ? 0.00 Rear Parking Sensor 25.00 Labor to fit 50.00 Total Costs 4082.45 80.00 Total Costs 4162.45

Welcome to Skoda ownership

Hmmm, I guess some of them things you didn't really need to do or were down to wear. You should have got them off the asking price! I definitely wouldn't have bought a car will corrosion on it.

I would recommend Warranty Direct, I use them and they're really good.

Your insurance company charged you £52 to transfer insurance? Time to change insurance

sounds like you've brought a lemon :(

Welcome to Skoda ownership

But they are suppose to be dead reliable !

Yes the corrosion gave me a lot of soul searching , but it was only about two inches long and surface. Got it done for £140 plus new chip guard.

The compressor was a shock, and now the rear sensor, but i suppose all cars have their weaknesses and thats what you expect on a six year old car.

sounds like you've brought a lemon :(

yes if anything else goes, i think you are right.

Hmm, to be honest this is the sort of thing that usually happens with a used car - you spend the first few months sorting things out and then it settles down. Well, it should do. If it doesn't then that's when you start thinking.....

On my 6 month old one i had to go to the dealers almost weekly getting niggles dealt with under warranty. Then it settled (mostly) for the next 2 and a bit years until the AC failed, and the rack finally gave up the ghost. Oh and then the paint started falling off the wheels.

But they are suppose to be dead reliable !

Yes the corrosion gave me a lot of soul searching , but it was only about two inches long and surface. Got it done for £140 plus new chip guard.

The compressor was a shock, and now the rear sensor, but i suppose all cars have their weaknesses and thats what you expect on a six year old car.

If you look at the Which? reports VAG in general have been very poor for about the last 10 years or so. God know where everyone gets the impression they're solid cars from - must be a "German" thing. They all suffer from the same component failures due to the fact they share the same parts bin and then there's the design faults.

Wouldn't be so bad if the dealers were competent but me and Grizzle have not had a good experience thus far and everything is like pulling teeth.

I would buy a Jap car next time but they're dull as dishwater and the interiors are hideous. Well, unless you get a GT-R......

Yes the japs are the best generally, Toyota reins supreme but they are pricey and then come Honda. Although Honda have had a fair share of troubles with the twin cam diesel.

Mazda have had terrible trouble with DPF's - a group has formed to do a class action.

As a counter argument (and touching wood for luck in the future)

In 5yr of ownership excluding servicing, cleaning and wear and tear, I have paid extra for

£32 to change the standard locking wheel bolts

£5 for one can of contact cleaner to sort sticky cruise control.

£8 for stone chip touch up paint

And that's it.

Still on all the original bulbs and window wipers. Admittedly the wipers could probably do with a change now.

I'm definately getting an Octavia vrs again for my next car. I've had the niggly things go, AC compressor and a couple of other things but they were covered by warranty direct. I've got it on fixed servicing too, I pay Skoda some money each month, they do all major, minor servicing, MOTs and winter servicing.

I'm going to be more picky on the next one though, got to have maxidot, sat nav (although I have put in a MFD2 myself and it works really well), xenons etc.

I really like it, the best car I've ever had. Used to have Fords and they had their fair share of problems.

i had the aircon compressor replaced in first month or so of ownership sorted by dealer plus rear wheel alignment and 2 new tyres, but trust me what ever manufacturer you choose they all have issues, i once asked my mate who owns a garage what he'd recommend once and his reply was suit yourself they're all crap thats why i'm in the repair business because never be out of work, got to say my Hyundai coupe was very good but build quality bit poor, got 2 mates with Lexus and both been superb for about 4 years with no probs

Yes they all have problems, you just have to be lucky.

The best car I have owned for reliability, this last ten years or so - was a Peugeot 406 HDi Estate. I bought it at 106k miles, ran it three years to 140k and didn't have a single problem. The engine was the smoothest and quietest diesel (it was my first) but was a bit underpowered - it was the 90 bhp version.

I believe the later 407 are more problematic, plus weird styling.

I chose an Octavia for its reputation, its £100/year road tax, and I have to say I do like the room and all the small details - like the plastic clip at the side of the window. Huh whats this ? Then I realised its for your parking ticket. The seats are firm and comfortable. The 1.9 PD TDi engine is a bit agricultural but gives excellent economy.

I just hope I can get it sorted. Its only done 77,000 miles which is nothing for a modern car and I hope its going to be reliable.

That's why I buy new cars. It's not like I'm uber rich or anything, but sometimes it's a complete false economy buying a cheaper, older car to then throw loads more money at it that you have no chance of seeing back. And then something else goes, and then another noise appears etc etc. At least with a new car all you worry about is it losing value......

I can't wait to get into my shiny VRS hopefully this month!

How come £50 to fit the rear parking sensor - it is a 10 minute job - see my reply to your PM

You don't need to remove the bumper if you are creative!

That's why I buy new cars. It's not like I'm uber rich or anything, but sometimes it's a complete false economy buying a cheaper, older car to then throw loads more money at it that you have no chance of seeing back. And then something else goes, and then another noise appears etc etc. At least with a new car all you worry about is it losing value.....

I don't think the maths supports your argument.....Taking the Octavia VRS petrol as an example...Brand new they are around the £20,000 mark.....a quick look on autotrader reveals 2 year old Octavia VRS's for sale privately for about £11,500.........£8,500 depreciation in 2 years.

If flyerphil's car gets struck by lightning (so insurance won't pay up) and burnt to the ground and he buys another £3,500 Octavia, I'd wager that he still won't be down £8,500 in 2 years!

It's nice to buy brand new, But it's never false economy to buy used compared to brand new.....you always spend less.

I've paid WAY less than £20k for my new Blackline.

And I said its sometimes a false economy. A few bad unseen repair bills is all it takes to turn a 2nd hand high miler car into a money pit. The peace of mind having no repair worries for 3 years, plus the guarantee of what a car will be worth after 3 years of cost free ownership, and also knowing the car has only been driven by yourself with no unknown history? I know what path I'd rather take if able.

But that's my opinion.

Anyway - Hope the op enjoys his car and the repair bills stop soon.

Edited 28 August, 201213 yr by Thehulkster

Got my vRS for about £18k and 0% finance, many people will buy their s/h car with a loan.

There is a big difference between 15K+ on a car (financed or not) and a purchase of a car for 3-5K.

I always budget on having to spend a fair bit on any used car I buy - service, cambelt, tyres and brakes are probably nearly always essential. Trick is to think why do people sell a car - not because they have got bored, usually because they know a hefty bill is just around the corner.

Even after getting cars checked out by indie mechanics, AA etc. there is always something else to bite you in the coming months.

I must admit though, flyerphil seems to have been unlucky, and some of these things were avoidable, but others probably couldn't have been spotted and have failed since he got the car.

Flyerphil, I will be round at Ian's place on Thursday morning - probably until early afternoon - if your parking sensor has turned up by then pop round and I'll have a look for you. I'll also have VCDS with me so can check for fault codes for you, or if you want anything enabling like both rear fogs or auto locking on the doors.

To be fair, the following are all down to normal wear and tear and would be expected on any car of that age...

Tyre - £62

Wipers - £32

Alloy refurb - £11

Number plate - £6.75

Touch-up paint - £10

Battery - £52.50

I've paid WAY less than £20k for my new Blackline.

And I said its sometimes a false economy. A few bad unseen repair bills is all it takes to turn a 2nd hand high miler car into a money pit. The peace of mind having no repair worries for 3 years, plus the guarantee of what a car will be worth after 3 years of cost free ownership, and also knowing the car has only been driven by yourself with no unknown history? I know what path I'd rather take if able.

But that's my opinion.

Anyway - Hope the op enjoys his car and the repair bills stop soon.

Oh yes I too would love a new car, but I simply cannot afford one. I am unemployed and have been for several years - its tough after 50. I have had three new cars in my life, two Opels and one Pontiac but that when I was in my 30's and earning big bucks. Those days have gone, unfortunately.

2008 Octavia Vrs PD estate here, 35000 miles. Purchased at 1 year old @ £12,500 (got a good deal from Skoda dealer)

1 Aerial replaced under warranty (only warranty visit due to fault)

2 Services (Around £400)

Injectors changed under recall

Since then:-

1 EGR (£280 fitted)

1 Rear wiper blade (£15)

4 tyres (£280)

Probably worth around 10k on a good day (immaculate)

So has cost around 3.5K for 3 years motoring, including depreciation. + fuel costs!

Very cheap motoring in my book..

I have owned more expensive cars in the past. My theory is that my expectations are lower with the Skoda as cheaper. So I do not whinge about every minor niggle. = Happy customer.

1 EGR (£280 fitted)

That was an expensive EGR!

I thought they were about £80 to buy?

That was an expensive EGR!

I thought they were about £80 to buy?

£180ish for the genuine Skoda part. Fitted by independent for £100 - Skoda wanted to charge £60 to plug the computer in to diagnose the fault first!

Just checked on Darkside and they are quite a bit more expensive for the CR170 (about £175) - I would have gone down the delete route at that kind of price for a new one.