Hi Guys,

Ive posted a welcome post up in introductions, but im hoping this part of the forum will soon be my new favourite section..

Ive never been car mad, dont get me wrong i like driving them but never had the desire to drive something nice... Untill now!

After going from a fiesta zetec, to a kia rio auto.. i want something a "little" (used loosely) more poke, Petrol, under 9k, fun, not chavvy, but at the same time it states to my nagging partner that i have ever intention of starting a family soon by buying something with more than two seats.

After carefull consideration i norrowed it down to a few cars, BMW 320i (thown out as i would have to share with my partner sometimes (very little) and i wouldnt trust her in wet with a R/WD) Golf GTI (thrown out as im not paying extra £k for a badge) Honda Civics (not a fan) seat leon FR (nice on the outside, interior lets it down) and then finally... The Octy VRS.

It seems to tick all the boxes for me, Its cheapish to insure for us both around £800 a year. Its fast, It looks nice, Its big, Nice inside.. Winner.

Ok now time to come to picking the car, Just because i have 9k (which i know isnt alot but to me its a massive ammount of money) doesnt mean i want to spend it all, id rather save 8k of it and drive a nice VRS lol, but i know it wont happen. that being said, its there if needed... Im torn between new (2010) or old (2006-7-8) versions.. I prefer the look of the 2010 purely because of those headlights, they tilt upwards slightly giving it a bit of a meener look. The old version though i could get saving £2k for mods..

I have also noticed people talking about issues with the chain driven design (FSI i believe) slipping/jumping causing a engine wreck on the FSI version? so i would prefer a TFSI engine ( i think) .. Does that mean the 2006/7/8 models are excluded? i have no idea about what years do what.. And lastly... The interior radio, Is there any known problems with removig them? id like to put in a Video player so my little lad (age 4) whos not so little now (from a diffrent relationship) can watch some movies while i pick him up and drop him off places.

So down to you experts, Any advise? what would you do with the budget? Anything to look out for when buying? known issues etc?

Thanks

Martyn...

Edited 15 January, 201313 yr by Martyn26

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Edited 15 January, 201313 yr by Martyn26

The facelift version of the vehicle (2010 onwards) is the one that contains the chain-driven TSI engine. The older pre-facelift has the belt driven TFSI.

There doesn't appear to be any major issue with the TSI engine. Sure there has been the "odd" report of failure, however when taken in context with the sheer number of those engines "in the field" (across the whole VAG range) it makes the fail rate extremely low.

Nobody is going to pop onto a forum and post "My engine is still working well".

The chain doesn't require changing, however on the TFSI the belt does every now and again. It isn't a cheap replacement as there is a fair amount of time and labour involved.

I've certainly not had any issue of "slipping" on the vehicle I own.

Specification of the car can be quite varied. Be careful of dealers listing all of the "features" or extras on the car as many of them will have come as standard. Some of the more desirable factory options include Xenon headlights, auto-dimming mirrors and reversing sensors.

If you look at the oldest of your range (so the 2006 and 2007 models) make sure they have the jumbo pack on - that is rear electric windows, Jumbo Box/Armrest and 18" Zenith alloys. Many vehicles of that age didn't have this pack and they are less desirable.

A good service history is desirable, especially if it shows cam-belt changes. This isn't a necessity and anyone performing their own maintenance wont have put stamps in the book, however proof a main dealer or indi garage has service the vehicle is good.

Look at the tyres and check for un-even wear. Some older cars left the factory with incorrect geometry settings which resulted in tyres wearing at an alarming rate. If there is any uneven wear then you are almost certainly going to have to spring for a full geometry check (using some like the Hunter equipment) to put things right.

The pre-facelift cars all have the potential ABS sensor fault. Although no recall has ever been issued, there have been enough failures here to show it's very common. In fact it almost seems to be a "when" rather than an "if" situation here. Originally a £800 - £900 fix, this is now repairable for around £150 for the "fixing kit" and labour. There is a good chance that if the car has a full service history there would be some "goodwill" from Skoda here as well, but don't bank on that happening.

Check for overall condition of the vehicle. I've seen some shockers, although generally speaking they do seem to last well. Look for de-lamination of badges which is a very known issue. Not the end of the world and easy enough to fix with some new ones, but still a cost to you.

Some dealers have a nasty habit of "drilling anywhere" when it came to fitting number plates rather than using the supplied cut-outs - not easy to check before purchase but there is a potential issue for corrosion of body work here.

The "Limited Edition" vRS released as the end of the pre-facelift vehicles are desirable as they came with some nice extra equipment. However there is a known issue with the alloys supplied. They are "racing spec" and not great on our pothole filled roads. If you end up looking at an LE then inspect the wheels, look for anything not looking right as a new wheel isn't cheap.

The stereo "space" in the car is a standard double-DIN one. So you could remove the supplied stereo and replace with either an uprated Skoda unit (such as the Columbus which has integrated sat-nav) or something else so long as it is the "standard size".

Judging from what I've been offered for my TFSI as a trade in you could pick up a bargain. It's one of the best value used cars out there imho.

TFSI is the older engine (what I have) a bit worse on fuel and abit higher tax but it does seem to be reassuring free of horror stories. TFSI has a timing belt that needs changed every 4yr which is worth checking carefully on a used car since not everyone will have had it done.

Mine is all standard so I don't know about the radio but I could see it being difficult to match up a replacement with the silver trim the VRS has.

Mine is an 07 with 67k on the clock and (touch wood) from new the only thing that's gone wrong was that the cruise control switches on the stalk needed cleaned. Did it myself with a £3 tin of contact cleaner and some cotton buds.

Sills are showing a bit of stone chip damage but most pre-FL cars will have that.

Stoofa/Aspman thank you very much for taking your time to reply! So if you was in my shoes... what would you buy? Old with low-mid miles, or newer with mid-high miles?

Edited 15 January, 201313 yr by Martyn26

I have a tfsi & love it,had it just over 2 years now,if i was to replace it with a tsi which wasnt still covered by the original warranty i would take a aftermarket warranty out,i wouldnt own a tsi without a warranty,there is more & more stories about this timing chain tensioner & guides failing,not just on skoda,vw & audi too are failing.

I think u can scare yourself out of buying anything from forums

i have has a couple of tfsi vrs's one which donovan had off me and currently a Vrs tsi

I think personally tsi engine drives alot bettef than the tfsi

Yes u hear of some issues that a few people post then everyone thinks the worse..

There was a post in regards to the tfsi a few months back with a fair few issues

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/252241-tfsi-vrs-common-problems/

But hey every single car no matter what make or model u could find some one whom has had some issues then the majority none..

If you're planning on modding you'll invalidate any warranty anyway so it might be worth looking at older cheaper cars. There will be quite a lot of experience out there for modding the TFSI since it's been on the GTI for years too.

If you're not going to mod then I'd probably look to a newer car but warranty is important since there does seem to be a chance of a big failure on the TSI.

There is a bloke on this forum that has a 2009 octavia tsi vrs that has had the dreaded timing chain/tensioner issue & skoda are refusing to rectify it f.o.c,the quote is nearly £6000 to repair it,im happy to keep my tfsi & change the belt every 4 years for peace of mind,no tsi vrs for me.

I think in the end im going to get a 2007/8 version. Ill be looking at 60-70k mileage, with a water pump and cambelt change recently. I think a guide price would be about 5.5/6k?

The only reason for this is i dont fancy buying a newer car, and within three years it be worth 6k when i spend 12 for it.. Ill be getting the same enjoyment i would have thought, the car still looks nice and if it doesnt ill have 3k saved, in which i could think about some little mods.

That being said.. will i regret in a year that i didnt spalsh the cash and get top end of my budget..

why is everything so difficult.. I've even though about ordering a blackline.. putting a 9k deposit down on it, and trading in my car.. then paying finance for the rest.. But i think id be a little silly to do that as i have other commitments comming up soon.. a House.. :( what to do.. what to do...

Edited 16 January, 201313 yr by Martyn26

An 07 at about £5k has done the worst of it's depreciation anyway. Even losing 50% that's £2.5k Vs £8k on a £16k Blackline.

I think the sensible thing to do would be to buy an older octy, with reasonable mileage & decent spec.

You will have some change out of your 9k budget (for mods!!) & like you have said, with other commitments its wise not to overspend.

You will have as much fun with the TFSI as theTSI as both are good engines.

As already mentioned all cars have their issues, but you can never predict what will happen with the car you buy

Ant