Interesting story... advice needed!

[Sken_80]

Thanks to everyone for the precious advice.The general consensus is that I should return the car and get refunded, and that's most likely what I will do, unless the mechanic recommeds i keep it after checking it tomorrow. One thing I hadn't mentioned isbthat it is the estate model. A lot of people are saying there's plenty availability on the second hand market, but I have a feeling estate octavias are more rare. I Know the rear bench would have been removed when  converted to police car so I'm not too bothered by who's been in the car.... the car doesn't smell bad or anything, it looks and feels good. I'm just concerned of expensive problems that may show up in the future...Thanks again for all the advice and I'll keep you posted on what happensVasken

[silver1011]

The 1.9 TDi PD105 is a very tough engine.

 

There are lots and lots out there too so spare parts are readily available and not so expensive.

 

No DPF (diesel particulate filter) to worry about either.

 

Sure the DMF (dual mass flywheel) may be worn but at north of 100,000 miles even a car with full Skoda history has every chance of being in exactly the same condition. There is a good chance it'll need another clutch at some point in the not too distant future. If between now and then the DMF gets a little noisier convert it to a SMF when you swap out the clutch.

 

The A/C issue is also well documented. The compressor is a weak point on any MkII Octavia.

 

Try and do a little digging about the previous owner, is it not listed on the V5C? Give them a call (most likely a lease company), they'll know when and where the car was serviced.

 

You've already had an extended test drive (almost impossible prior to buying a £4K used motor) so will have a good feel for the car (rattles, shakes, noises etc.).

 

I get the impression you'd rather take the £1K and keep it assuming everything checks out with the local mechanic.

 

If he gives it a relatively clean bill of health I'd be tempted to keep it too. £3.5K is not a lot of money for any used car, especially one as good as an estate 1.9 Octy.

[M12MKD]

I actually bid on this car as I thought it was worth a gamble......but don't worry my bid ended way before yours (went upto £3500)! If I remember the advert it did state a few problems but also FSSH. I see it like this the garage has mis lead you with the FSSH, the issues the car has work out how much it will cost to put right and see if they will give a little more than the £1000.........cant hurt to ask.

 

At the end of the day £3500 is very cheap for a FL 2009 model, if it was me I'd get the work and have a car that's good for many miles to come. At £3500 you'll be hard push to find one as new and most will have similar mileage.

 

As someone that has been looking for a Octavia Estate over the last 3 months, they are not cheap.....hatchbacks are a lot cheaper.

 

Though I've since bought an older model and saved a bit of cash.

[4wheel]

I suspect a police car is a bit like a hire car.Has a hard life but serviced regularly.Problem will come when you want to sell it with no service history and have to explain the details.I would take the refund and start again.There are good ones out there with FSH.Best is to make an informed and considered decision - toss a coin !!

[Metblackrat]

If ex police would have been serviced by them would never had seen a Skoda dealership unless it had to go back for a recall or something.

Its probably an honest car but being ex police it'll have had quite a hard life. I wouldnt buy an ex police car but everyones different....probably fair to say the mechanical work its had done to it over the years wouldnt be substandard though; would have been maintained no expense spared.....until they decided to get shot of course

There is a big vat of what may as well be chip fat of non specific origin in the garage where I work that gets put into the engines of police cars. Servicing and the associated items that go with it are outsourced and as such, are done as cheaply as possible.

[Sken_80]

Guys, seriously impressed with all the wise advice. I keep going from one side to the other on whether to keep the car or not. So I took it for a proper test ride an hour ago, night tielme London with empty roads is a lot better :)The car accelerates, breaks and steers incredibly well. The clutch seems to be fine too, maybe slightly hesitant on biting point but i have a feeling it will go on for a while if used with care. No noises at all except a very slight hi pitched whistling squeak when the engine is revving freely after accelerating and then the gas is released. I can hear it when shifting to lower gears or when revving from idle. Maybe the belts need doing? The gearbox feels silky smooth. On lifting the engine cover, I can see "bxe recon" written on the engine with a marker, anyone knows what it means? Maybe it's been reconditioned at some stage?After reading the last couple of comments I am now inclined on keeping the car, provided the mechanic tomorrow gives me the go-ahead. My current view is that we can go on speculating forever but at the end of the day the car looks and drives spot on, and when driving it the impression is that you are driving a nice well kept modern car, not a rotten ex police one...Let's see what happens tomorrow... in the meanwhile thanks to everyone for the valuable advise!

[Aspman]

Recon might mean it's been fitted with a 'new' engine at some point. That's neither a good or bad thing in itself but would mean the mileage on the car might have no relationship to miles the engine has done. Again could be good or bad.

 

It's your car and you have to live with it so if you're happy then carry on.

[pipsyp]

At the end of the day, 3.5k is v cheap for a FL estate 1.9 TDi; 30k/year isnt really that heavy mileage particularly for a diesel and its not like it was a traffic car thats seen alsorts of abuse.

i stand by my point that you'd find a nice tidy pre FL car for that money with potentially much lower mileage and FSH but 3.5k doesnt normally buy a FL car. The FL cars are generally a bit better so worth going for...if it has elec rear wins must be an SE or Elegance spec id have thought too.

Strange with the rear windows though, there is a lock button on the drivers front door to deactivate the rear window switches so suprised theyve gone to the trouble of mechanically disabling them; sure its probably something easily resolved though....also with AC (when its working) how often do people open the rear windows?....i have mine locked permanentlu as does my head in people opening them.

Edited 2 July, 2013 by pipsyp

[Eddie-NL]

had a look on autotrader

 

there are no other Facelift Estates for less

 

some others had a lot more miles

 

Yes, you can buy better but you will have to pay more

[mikey vrs]

Sounds like its had a 2nd hand engine fitted,another reason why id walk away,when your mechanic checks it with vag-com get him to check the total km recorded in the ecu & work out if that is the same as the speedo is showing.

[nick74]

Guys, seriously impressed with all the wise advice. I keep going from one side to the other on whether to keep the car or not. So I took it for a proper test ride an hour ago, night tielme London with empty roads is a lot better :)The car accelerates, breaks and steers incredibly well. The clutch seems to be fine too, maybe slightly hesitant on biting point but i have a feeling it will go on for a while if used with care. No noises at all except a very slight hi pitched whistling squeak when the engine is revving freely after accelerating and then the gas is released. I can hear it when shifting to lower gears or when revving from idle. Maybe the belts need doing? The gearbox feels silky smooth. On lifting the engine cover, I can see "bxe recon" written on the engine with a marker, anyone knows what it means? Maybe it's been reconditioned at some stage?After reading the last couple of comments I am now inclined on keeping the car, provided the mechanic tomorrow gives me the go-ahead. My current view is that we can go on speculating forever but at the end of the day the car looks and drives spot on, and when driving it the impression is that you are driving a nice well kept modern car, not a rotten ex police one...Let's see what happens tomorrow... in the meanwhile thanks to everyone for the valuable advise!

I've driven so many VAG TDi cars that have a slightly odd feel to the clutch (including a Fabia courtesy car with less than 100 miles on the clock!) that I've come to the conclusion its normal where a dual mass flywheel is fitted. My own car has had a slight vibration through the pedal for at least 40k to my knowledge and it shows no sign of getting worse.

[Sken_80]

Hi Everyone!!!

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE FEEDBACK AND HELP OVER THE LAST 24 HRS!!!

 

I am really grateful, every single post helped me making a more informed decision.

 

I brought the car to the lovely mechanics at West6 Auto Centre in Hammersmith.

 

They charged me £144 to do a proper check up on the car. They ran it through the standard MOT checks, then went into detail trying to find any possible fault. They then connected an electronic machine (apparently it costs 40K and is much better than the VAG test, giving full info and diagnosis on every aspect on the car)

 

Then they put it through a test drive.

 

The inspection mechanic said the car is very clean, mechanically in superb condition. No oil spillages, very solid engine, no problem whatsoever.

The electronic test only reported the Aircon Compressor not switching on, everything else ok

On test driving it, the mechanic said it drives and handles really well, the only thing being a slightly bumpy clutch, probably the clutch plate, not necessarily the Flywheel.

 

So, based on the above, and based on the fact that in the UK the days when we really need aircon are limited, I decided to accept the £1k back from the dealer and keep the car.

 

The said the first and most important thing to do is to change the timing belt as we don't know when it was last changed... Then they quoted me £610 for a full service with all filters, plus timing belt. They said unless worn the other belts do not necessarily need changing...

 

If I want to fix the aircon it will be in the region of £600 (most likely compressor fault)... frankly I prefer to spend that money on a service and be a little hot during the summer... 

 

`once again, thank you so much for all your help, I'll let you know how it goes with this car!

 

All the best, 

 

Vasken

[DGW]

Thank you for updating us. I hope you enjoy the car and that it lives up to your expectations.

[Chappers.]

I'm coming to the thread a little late in the day admittedly, but this is my take on ex-police vehicles.

 

If it has not been used for general response work, then it should not have been trashed for most of it's fairly short life. It will have lead a hard life and had to work for it's keep, but there is a big difference between a vehicle that has been used on response duties and one that has not. Most police vehicles (depending on which force it has originated from) will have been serviced every 6-10,000 miles. The parts used will (usually) be genuine parts as well. I can't think of a police force that actually stamps the service books but if you can find out the relevant original police force that owned/serviced it they may well still have a full list of any and all work that has been completed on it since the day it was delivered to them (they have to keep records for costings and also in the case of alleged vehicle faults leading to collisions etc).

 

At the end of the day, if you are now happy with the deal that you have managed to get from the seller then that is the main thing.