Some of you will have read my previous posts regarding me wanting to change my Octy vrs mk2 petrol for a Fabia mk 1 Vrs. Unfortunately i'm now stuck and unable to make my mind up what i'd like to do! One part of me is thinking it's a good idea to trade my car for the Fabia, but then i change my mind. I'm also a bit worried about changing my 07 plate for a 55 plate and i'm only being offered 5k part exchange for my Octy which does sound like a bit of a low price to be honest. considering i've got to pay £795 on top for an older car.

My main reason for having the Fabia was to save annual costs which would be about 1k for me. I don't know which way to go on this? trade or keep?

I've already driven the Fabia but it wasn't really a good test drive, more of a test stuck in traffic for 10 mins! There is also no history on whether the cambelt has ever been changed either, Service & History looks good but has been serviced in various dealers such as Vauxhall, Ford, Aston Martin?! and Skoda. I made the mistake signing the form that i'd trade my car before really thinking about it first, but have not left any cash deposits for it. Can anyone give me some advice what i should do? Thanks, but i do feel like a bit of a lemon at the moment for getting me in this position!

If you're not sure about the deal, walk away.

There are plenty of decent Fabia vRS about to be picky!

If you're not sure about the deal, walk away.

There are plenty of decent Fabia vRS about to be picky!

I would actually like to walk and perhaps choose an 07 plate limited edition but i've signed a document to agree to do the deal. On top of that i also requested to have minor paint damage done and a 12 month road tax too! Is it now actually possible to walk away or am i going to be stuck?

The answer to your question above should be in the terms and conditions in the document you signed. It would be interesting to know what if anything that document says about how things stand if your car develops a major fault, or suffers significant accident damage, prior to the deal being completed. I would expect the dealer would want to walk away if either of those happened.

That's a very low offer on your car.

What are the specs mileage and condition of your Octy?

What are the specs mileage and condition of the Fabia?

That's a very low offer on your car.

What are the specs mileage and condition of your Octy?

What are the specs mileage and condition of the Fabia?

My Octavia is a Vrs with half leather seats multi cd changer the lot! It has about 64k on the clock and i look after it extremely well.

The Fabia Vrs had 61k miles on clock cloth seats single cd radio and needed a tax disc which was included in the price, however info about if the cambelt had been replaced on the 60k miles service was a mystery? On the end he offered to change it for me but i'd have to pay £320 on top of the £795! :( At that point i heard enough and told him i'm not interested as i felt he just wanted me to fork out more money for something that should have been done as part of the deal. I walked away and will search for another one.

Edited 15 April, 201313 yr by VRS-R

Is your Octavia petrol or a TDI? I presume its a petrol hence wanting to change it?

Actually did a bit of trawling the web there and 6-7K for a petrol VRS 07 is the going rate from a franchised dealer.

I'd hold onto your own car, if your procrastinating this much i'd suggest not buying it. Explain to the dealer that you've had a change in circumstances and cannot proceed with the sale and apologise.

Consider a remap on your car to help improve fuel efficency or have LPG installed for about £1000-1500 for Half price fuel.

Is your Octavia petrol or a TDI? I presume its a petrol hence wanting to change it?

It's petrol and you're right, i did want to change it for diesel as i pay 2k a year on fuel bills! :(

I fill my Fabia every two weeks at the cost of £70, main tank and reserve. I see over 500 miles to a tank and that stands me £1820.

If you're only using 1000 in a petrol, you don't need a derv.

Actually did a bit of trawling the web there and 6-7K for a petrol VRS 07 is the going rate from a franchised dealer.

I'd hold onto your own car, if your procrastinating this much i'd suggest not buying it. Explain to the dealer that you've had a change in circumstances and cannot proceed with the sale and apologise.

Consider a remap on your car to help improve fuel efficency or have LPG installed for about £1000-1500 for Half price fuel.

A remap sounds like a plan However, doesn't more hp mean more fuel consumption? LPG is very cheap indeed and there is a Shell station near me that sells it for 72p to the litre which is peanuts compared to petrol prices. However, an extra fuel tank would add more weight to the car which in theory means i'd be burning even more fuel than i already am now? In short, i'm keeping the car for now and do the usual basic mods including a flashy 2 DIN radio

I fill my Fabia every two weeks at the cost of £70, main tank and reserve. I see over 500 miles to a tank and that stands me £1820.

If you're only using 1000 in a petrol, you don't need a derv.

Sorry, what is a derv?

Sorry, what is a derv?

DERV = Diesel Engined Road Vehicle.

You can remap for improved economy.

Most maps will allow for improved efficiency when driven normally. The extra weight from the LPG kit would be negligible tbh. About the same as a child or other passenger.

I said in the other thread I'd skip the lecture on your theory of savings, since you started another thread to discuss it lets do some maths.

64k on an 07 works out roughly at 10k a year or an average of under 28 miles a day. That's quite low to make any significant saving on a diesel. The car you're buying has a 60k or 4 year timing belt service interval, in other words its designed for 15k a year, that belt change from a franchise dealer is £3-400 if you have the pump done. That's £100 each year on average, you're doing 10k so that's 1p a mile.

Your car will return a book figure of 38mpg on petrol, the VRS is 53mpg on diesel, now lets take those figures and get some cost per mile. Petrolprices.com suggests the daily average is 137.38 for petrol and 141.92 for diesel, doing 10k is £1217.32 using book figures for diesel and £1643.53 in petrol, you'll save £426.21. Deduct the £100 you put to one side and your left with £326.21. Out of that you have a heavy diesel block up front so tyre wear and brake wear are going to be higher and it's unlikely you'll see book figures in cold weather and that combined with your short drive/low mileage. so now ask yourself if it's seriously worth saving £27 a month? If the answer is yes then buy the Fabia, if the answer is no then stick with the Octy.

Personally I'd not be switching from an Octy for that, it's a nicer car with more space, better equipment and more comfortable for longer runs but it's up to you. Other factors such as insurance and maintenance costs/RFL come into it as well but it's totally your call

I sold my mk2 Octavia vrs petrol just for the savings in insurance,the mpg is quite nice aswell

An 07 Octavia TFSI will also need a regular cambelt change, so that's not really a difference between the two cars. I'd also say the diesel Fabia vRS is no harder on tyres than a petrol Octy vRS (we have both) but the Fabia tyres will probably be a bit cheaper (205/45/16 v 225/45/17 or 225/40/18). Road tax for the Fabia will be cheaper too.

BUT, if you are going to part ex your car at a dealer for minimal outlay you have to accept that you will end up with a lower value car. For example, even if you PX'd your 07 Octy vRS for an identical 07 Octy vRS you would probably have to pay somewhere in the region of £1000-£1500 for the privilege - that's the difference between trade and retail prices. Seeing cars similar to yours on autotrader or on a dealers forecourt with a £6-7K asking price doesn't mean that you'll get offered anywhere near that for a trade in.

An 07 Octavia TFSI will also need a regular cambelt change, so that's not really a difference between the two cars. I'd also say the diesel Fabia vRS is no harder on tyres than a petrol Octy vRS (we have both) but the Fabia tyres will probably be a bit cheaper (205/45/16 v 225/45/17 or 225/40/18). Road tax for the Fabia will be cheaper too.

BUT, if you are going to part ex your car at a dealer for minimal outlay you have to accept that you will end up with a lower value car. For example, even if you PX'd your 07 Octy vRS for an identical 07 Octy vRS you would probably have to pay somewhere in the region of £1000-£1500 for the privilege - that's the difference between trade and retail prices. Seeing cars similar to yours on autotrader or on a dealers forecourt with a £6-7K asking price doesn't mean that you'll get offered anywhere near that for a trade in.

I keep forgetting it's been revised down from 120k and inspections to '4 years'. Either way ignoring the belt then £35 a month still isn't the kind of money that would see me personally make that switch especially as the Octavia will have seen a belt change in '11 and isn't due till '15 vs a Fabia that's passed due.

As I said it's not a straight forward comparison. taking the tyre cost it's the weight and the torque that increase heat and heat is the enemy when it comes to increased wear rates (along with the type of road surface), my fabia has barely run in it's latest set of boots (over 20k) as unsurprising it's light (alloy block) and low on power with 68 from the factory ... 13 years ago. The Leon (PD140) had new boots 10k ago and has eaten it's way through most of it's front PS3's at roughly twice the price of 14's on the Fabia, that adds over 2p a mile to the running costs of the Leon. I've never run a Petrol VRS but my mapped PD100 Octy shouldn't be that different in tyre wear terms (more weight, less power) and I'd get at least 20k from memory and from the tyre threads for the Fabia it seems about right for a PD130 VRS so the only difference would be the initial cost.

Then you have fuel, my dad reminds me diesel was once a lot cheaper than petrol, you only had certain pumps offering diesel on a forecourt and it was the misers fuel. A recent news article put the figure at a 15%? drop in petrol sales iirc. Now diesel production isn't in surplus it's priced at a premium so the gap between it and petrol has gone the other way and that demand is growing so unless something changes expect the gap to get bigger. Yes RFL comes into it as well as does insurance, DMF/Clutch/Turbo failure and countless other things.

The overall point I hope I got across was to look very carefully at the costs, I don't think that the savings will be huge and you're trading a newer nicer car for an older lower spec one and paying to do so, it'll be quite a way down the line (2+ years) before you save anything based on the extra you're paying initially and the cam belt change that's due. Is it really worth it?

Only he can really answer that

The Fabia may be a better buy for economy and some running costs, but you are trading in a nice looked after car for an unknown quantity.

If the Octavia is costing you £20 per week more that could easily be blown away by repairs or a failure of components thrashed by the previous owner.

Trading in a well looked after newer car for a slightly cheaper to run older one you don't know seems a bit odd to me.

Unless your financial position means you must do it.

Exactly the above.<br /><br />Unknown quality*<br />