Hello guys I am new in the forum and I am seriously thinking of buying a Octavia vRS! I read the buying guide on the top of the forum but still have some questions. A friend of mine has got a Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI and he is telling me the vRS is not worth buying as it is very expensive to maintain and run as fuel consumption is very high and basic things like changing the cambelt, spark plugs etc. cost a lot of money either. But the thing is that I really like the idea of having a, let say, kind of luxurious everyday car with a bit more of a power. I am a rally driver and I like the car to pull me, however the ridiculous thing is that I am not very technically literate so I am a bit afraid of what I have been told. I know in the adverts sellers always say it is very efficient on fuel but logically it is 180 bhp turbo engine so I would suppose that it will be very petrol hungry. Another friend of mine, who is also a rally driver and has got his own garage told me that a common issue with the Octavia vRS is the turbo and it tends to break often, is that true?

 

So I would be very glad if you guys who are current Octavia vRS owners share your opinion and advice about the car and if you don't mind could you tell me the exact prices for road tax, maintenance /cambelts etc./, fuel consumption and is it worth it bearing in mind that I am still a student and live on my own money because I am not British and my parents live far away from here. And as I can see it is not an expensive car to buy, but what is next from the moment I buy it, how much would I be looking to spend? 

 

And last thing, I know this might sound stupid but is it worth installing or buying an LPG converted model? I would use the car as a recce car as well when I am going on a rally in my country.

 

I would really appreciate it if you could share me your experience and open my eyes because I know nothing about Skoda, although we had a 100S hundreds of years ago haha.

Hello guys I am new in the forum and I am seriously thinking of buying a Octavia vRS! I read the buying guide on the top of the forum but still have some questions. A friend of mine has got a Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI and he is telling me the vRS is not worth buying as it is very expensive to maintain and run as fuel consumption is very high and basic things like changing the cambelt, spark plugs etc. cost a lot of money either*1. But the thing is that I really like the idea of having a, let say, kind of luxurious everyday car with a bit more of a power. I am a rally driver and I like the car to pull me*2, however the ridiculous thing is that I am not very technically literate so I am a bit afraid of what I have been told. I know in the adverts sellers always say it is very efficient on fuel but logically it is 180 bhp turbo engine so I would suppose that it will be very petrol hungry. *3 Another friend of mine, who is also a rally driver and has got his own garage told me that a common issue with the Octavia vRS is the turbo and it tends to break often, is that true?

 

So I would be very glad if you guys who are current Octavia vRS owners share your opinion and advice about the car and if you don't mind could you tell me the exact prices for road tax, maintenance /cambelts etc./, fuel consumption and is it worth it bearing in mind that I am still a student and live on my own money because I am not British and my parents live far away from here. And as I can see it is not an expensive car to buy, but what is next from the moment I buy it, how much would I be looking to spend? 

 

And last thing, I know this might sound stupid but is it worth installing or buying an LPG converted model?*4I would use the car as a recce car as well when I am going on a rally in my country.

 

I would really appreciate it if you could share me your experience and open my eyes because I know nothing about Skoda, although we had a 100S hundreds of years ago haha.

Welcome to Briskoda, Marvi

 

*1 Your friend is an idiot. (I've yet to encounter a 1.9 TDi with spark plugs)

*2 Get a horse, they pull well.

*3 1.9 Diesels aren't petrol hungry at all

*4  You want a quick car with the added weight and expense of an LPG conversion :think:

 

HTH

Really don't you'll find a vRS much use as a Rally recce car tbh

 

If you want to stick with FWD, find something alot shorter, lighter and prefereably without beam-type rear axle

 

Starlet GT Turbo

Parts are actually cheap. But if it's anything like mine, you'll need an awful lot of them. :(

To be very honest mate it is what you really want out of a car.  A VRS is a proven 140+mph car that can hit 0-60 in 7.5 seconds. These figures are very impressive and for a simple remap can be budged up a bit more. To be honest you are never going to get diesel MPG from a VRS but try getting a diesel to match the standard VRS performance figures!  Buy one, you will love it. Plus an easy right foot running on Shell V-power will see you 350 miles, not bad at all for a performance car.

I love mine it's as cheap as any other car to maintain I've had my vrs for about a year now serviced it twice had the cambelt done and brakes and it didn't rape my wallet

As for fuel economy I drive mostly a and B roads and town centres and average low 30's but I've just driven to holland and around Europe and back home a total of 1300 miles on 4 tanks of fuel

It never fails to put a smile on my face

If you want one buy one just make sure it's been looked after properly

Welcome to Briskoda, Marvi

 

*1 Your friend is an idiot. (I've yet to encounter a 1.9 TDi with spark plugs)

*2 Get a horse, they pull well.

*3 1.9 Diesels aren't petrol hungry at all

*4  You want a quick car with the added weight and expense of an LPG conversion :think:

 

HTH

 

Mate, thanks for welcoming but did you not understand that I am talking about the Octavia vRS MK1, which is with a 1.8T 20V Petrol engine. My friend has got a 110bhp Octavia 1.9 TDI and he was telling me to buy one like that but not vRS because the vRS is expensive to maintain and is petrol hungry. It seems you misunderstood my words  

 

Thank you guys for the answers but I am specifically after the very first Octavia vRS, I didn't clarify so sorry about that. But if you can tell me some exact costs for the maintenance of the car and more importantly, if there is something wrong with the turbo, how much would it cost a replacement?

Welcome to Briskoda, Marvi

 

*1 Your friend is an idiot. (I've yet to encounter a 1.9 TDi with spark plugs)

*2 Get a horse, they pull well.

*3 1.9 Diesels aren't petrol hungry at all

*4  You want a quick car with the added weight and expense of an LPG conversion :think:

 

HTH

 

His friend is not a idiot,,,,,,,you are

 

read the post properly......

His friend is not a idiot,,,,,,,you are

 

read the post properly......

It was half one in the morning, I'd been up since half five, gone to the national and back and had a 'few' beers :( my bad :p

I was wondering where the bit about oil burners cames from, but points 3 - 4 are all still completely valid imho

I would use the car as a recce car as well when I am going on a rally in my country.

 

Off tarmac ?

How many miles do you do a year?  That will ultimately affect your decision.

 

The vRS isnt an expensive car to run as the parts are shared across the Golf / Audi / Seat platform.

'luxurious everyday car'...if thats the case, buy a bmw as luxurious and skoda are not synonymous!

Hello guys I am new in the forum and I am seriously thinking of buying a Octavia vRS! I read the buying guide on the top of the forum but still have some questions. A friend of mine has got a Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI and he is telling me the vRS is not worth buying as it is very expensive to maintain and run as fuel consumption is very high and basic things like changing the cambelt, spark plugs etc. cost a lot of money either. But the thing is that I really like the idea of having a, let say, kind of luxurious everyday car with a bit more of a power. I am a rally driver and I like the car to pull me, however the ridiculous thing is that I am not very technically literate so I am a bit afraid of what I have been told. I know in the adverts sellers always say it is very efficient on fuel but logically it is 180 bhp turbo engine so I would suppose that it will be very petrol hungry. Another friend of mine, who is also a rally driver and has got his own garage told me that a common issue with the Octavia vRS is the turbo and it tends to break often, is that true?

 

So I would be very glad if you guys who are current Octavia vRS owners share your opinion and advice about the car and if you don't mind could you tell me the exact prices for road tax, maintenance /cambelts etc./, fuel consumption and is it worth it bearing in mind that I am still a student and live on my own money because I am not British and my parents live far away from here. And as I can see it is not an expensive car to buy, but what is next from the moment I buy it, how much would I be looking to spend? 

 

And last thing, I know this might sound stupid but is it worth installing or buying an LPG converted model? I would use the car as a recce car as well when I am going on a rally in my country.

 

I would really appreciate it if you could share me your experience and open my eyes because I know nothing about Skoda, although we had a 100S hundreds of years ago haha.

 

I would think that a vrs isn't much more expensive parts wise than a 1.9 tdi.MPG wise a vrs in good nick will do 40 mpg on a motorway and between 30 - 35 mpg on other roads.As for the turbos,if the cars well maintained they shouldn't be a problem. 

Edited 29 July, 201312 yr by GAZ911

Hello guys I am new in the forum and I am seriously thinking of buying a Octavia vRS! I read the buying guide on the top of the forum but still have some questions. A friend of mine has got a Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI and he is telling me the vRS is not worth buying as it is very expensive to maintain and run as fuel consumption is very high and basic things like changing the cambelt, spark plugs etc. cost a lot of money either. But the thing is that I really like the idea of having a, let say, kind of luxurious everyday car with a bit more of a power. I am a rally driver and I like the car to pull me, however the ridiculous thing is that I am not very technically literate so I am a bit afraid of what I have been told. I know in the adverts sellers always say it is very efficient on fuel but logically it is 180 bhp turbo engine so I would suppose that it will be very petrol hungry. Another friend of mine, who is also a rally driver and has got his own garage told me that a common issue with the Octavia vRS is the turbo and it tends to break often, is that true?

 

So I would be very glad if you guys who are current Octavia vRS owners share your opinion and advice about the car and if you don't mind could you tell me the exact prices for road tax, maintenance /cambelts etc./, fuel consumption and is it worth it bearing in mind that I am still a student and live on my own money because I am not British and my parents live far away from here. And as I can see it is not an expensive car to buy, but what is next from the moment I buy it, how much would I be looking to spend? 

 

And last thing, I know this might sound stupid but is it worth installing or buying an LPG converted model? I would use the car as a recce car as well when I am going on a rally in my country.

 

I would really appreciate it if you could share me your experience and open my eyes because I know nothing about Skoda, although we had a 100S hundreds of years ago haha.

 

Hi Marvi....

 

Welcome to Briskoda buddy...

 

The VRS is a reasonably affordable to be honest. Having owned a large number of cars and the VRS for the last 7 years I find the car easy to work on, affordable to service, reliable with only few very common issues that is well documented on forums like this.

 

Being that the VRS shares the same platform as Audi A3/S3, Seat Leon and the VW Golf  with pretty similar and changeable engine and component parts you will never be stuck for servicing and parts.

Choosing a VRS over the over Octavia range is personal choice really and depends what really you require.

I am biased for the VRS as to me and my needs offers a reasonable performance(even better now it has been mapped several times) , economy and practicality. I told my mrs the VRS is not the tuner friendly and i would be leaving mine std. Oh how wrong I was on all sides.   

 

As these cars are also quite cheap to buy you get quite a lot of car for your cash . I would certainly not agree with your friend on stating the VRS and it's turbo breaking often. That is absolute rubbish. Anyone who has owned a VRS or any of the similar 1.8 turbo VAG cars  will say they are pretty bullet proof. I have past 150,000 miles still on std turbo and having 4 performance Maps over time. These cars do need regular servicing and good frequent oil changes as any other turbo car would. This is the key to keeping a healthy car and trouble free motoring.   

 

Also as there are a lot parts suppliers that stock all you need,  the price of servicing is very good

 

Fuel consumption in the VRS is pretty good and most folks get around 26 to 30 mpg around town and a lot better on motorway driving, around 36 to 45 mpg. I would not say that is fuel hungry by any means.

 

hope this helps buddy, good luck in you purchase.   

Hi Marvi....

 

Welcome to Briskoda buddy...

 

The VRS is a reasonably affordable to be honest. Having owned a large number of cars and the VRS for the last 7 years I find the car easy to work on, affordable to service, reliable with only few very common issues that is well documented on forum like this.

 

Being that the VRS shares the same platform as Audi A3/S3, Seat Leon and the VW Golf  with pretty similar and changeable engine and component parts you will never be stuck for servicing and parts.

Choosing a VRS over the over Octavia range is personal choice really and depends what really you require.

I am biased for the VRS as to me and my needs offers a reasonable performance(even better now it has been mapped several time) , economy and practicality. I told my mrs the VRS is not the tuner friendly and i would be leaving mine std. Oh how wrong I was on all sides.   

 

As these are also quite cheap to by you get quite a lot of car for your cash . I would certainly not agree with your friend on stating the VRS and it's turbo breaking often. That is absolute rubbish. Anyone who has owned a VRS or any of the similar 1.8 turbo VAG cars  will say they are pretty bullet proof. I have past 150,000 miles still on std turbo and having 4 performance Maps over time. These cars do need regular servicing and good frequent oil changes as any other turbo car would. This is the key to keeping a healthy car and trouble free motoring.   

 

Also as there are a lot part suppliers that stock all you need the price of serving is very good

 

fuel consumption in the VRS is pretty good and most folks get around 26 to 30 mpg around town and a lot better on motorway driving, around 36 to 45 mpg. I would not say that is fuel hungry by any means.

 

hope this helps buddy, good luck in you purchase.   

 

Thank you very much for your complete response mate, that's really helpful  

 

To answer snow_muncher, no it won't be used off tarmac, our rallies are only on tarmac but that's not the primary use of the car so I want it to be big enough to travel across Europe. 

 

 

'luxurious everyday car'...if thats the case, buy a bmw as luxurious and skoda are not synonymous!

 

And under luxurious I don't mean something like BMW or Mercedes, I mean comfortable enough to travel, and yes it will be a lot more "luxurious" than a Saxo or Corsa )) 

I'd say anything over 40mpg even driving like an angel is very optimistic, unless car is in absolute tip-top condition. I average around 30 and get an absolute cruising best of 40mpg, but that's just accordingly to the dash display, which itself is VERY optimistic.

Vastly better car than a corsa or saxo - particularly for hauling across europe

 

They are good on a motorway too imo, nice driving position & good visibility

 

The Octy is a nice size on the road too - not small so don't get bullied, but not large enough to feel like a barge

Vastly better car than a corsa or saxo - particularly for hauling across europe

 

They are good on a motorway too imo, nice driving position & good visibility

 

The Octy is a nice size on the road too - not small so don't get bullied, but not large enough to feel like a barge

 

I'm only small, just 170 cm, so for me it is big enough haha, my rally car is a Corsa B don't mind them but for a everyday car is not quite good. I stopped myself on the Octavia vRS because to be honest I was surprised that I can find a good one for £1,500, possibly may convert it to LHD afterwards when I've got the money but the first goal when I get the car is to make it a WRC EVO II Replica with the full WRC bodykit including bumpers, wider fenders and rear wing. That's just an idea for now but when I start realising it /hope soon/ I will post pictures here

What about a 4wd octavia 1.8t if you intend to turn it into a WRC rep,

 

They have slighty less power standard but get the right one, post 02 i think and they have the same k03s turbo as the vrs and can make the same power once mapped, plus it will probably be a better spec and wont have the awful white floor carpet in

Hi,

Before you decide to buy an Octavia vRS, you really need to find out how much your insurance will be.

As you said you're a student, I presume you're in your early twenties. You don't say how much NCB you've got so, the insurance premium could be a deciding factor.

Road tax is £245 a year.

I think the vRS is one of, if not the best value for money hot(big)hatchbacks.

Just make sure you buy a very well maintained one for lots of trouble-free motoring.

I'd say anything over 40mpg even driving like an angel is very optimistic, unless car is in absolute tip-top condition. I average around 30 and get an absolute cruising best of 40mpg, but that's just accordingly to the dash display, which itself is VERY optimistic.

 

This depends on driving buddy really 

 

That is why i stated 36 to 45. This averages 40 on the motorway which is achievable 

 

I don't get it with the style i drive but a lot do.

 

 

I'm only small, just 170 cm, so for me it is big enough haha, my rally car is a Corsa B don't mind them but for a everyday car is not quite good. I stopped myself on the Octavia vRS because to be honest I was surprised that I can find a good one for £1,500, possibly may convert it to LHD afterwards when I've got the money but the first goal when I get the car is to make it a WRC EVO II Replica with the full WRC bodykit including bumpers, wider fenders and rear wing. That's just an idea for now but when I start realising it /hope soon/ I will post pictures here

 

hmm I have a WRC work decal set(1999 livery I think) that I got to fit on mine as love the WRC look, but don't have the balls to fit it now...

What about a 4wd octavia 1.8t if you intend to turn it into a WRC rep,

 

They have slighty less power standard but get the right one, post 02 i think and they have the same k03s turbo as the vrs and can make the same power once mapped, plus it will probably be a better spec and wont have the awful white floor carpet in

 

Yeah mate, I was also considering the 4x4 model but actually they are quite rare, I had a look on autotrader, there are only 2 there and in pistonheads there are 0. And fuel consumption will be definitely higher because of the four-wheel-drive..

 

Hi,

Before you decide to buy an Octavia vRS, you really need to find out how much your insurance will be.

As you said you're a student, I presume you're in your early twenties. You don't say how much NCB you've got so, the insurance premium could be a deciding factor.

Road tax is £245 a year.

I think the vRS is one of, if not the best value for money hot(big)hatchbacks.

Just make sure you buy a very well maintained one for lots of trouble-free motoring.

 

Yes, my problem is that I will be 21 soon, I've got a driving license from 3 years now but as I said I am not British, my country of origin is Bulgaria and because I haven't driven a car in the UK yet, my driving license is Bulgarian so I had a ridiculous insurance quote of £3,500 the cheapest.. So the only option for me is to insure the car in my country and register it there, so I'll have to drive it with foreign plates, whatever car I buy, this will be the case. The only thing is that I will have to get it out of the UK every six months but that will be the time when I will go back home

 

hmm I have a WRC work decal set(1999 livery I think) that I got to fit on mine as love the WRC look, but don't have the balls to fit it now...

 

 I am not sure If I will want to put the stickers on because I don't know, may have problems from the Police I think, is that why you don't have the balls to fit it? But the bodykit will be for sure

That is why i stated 36 to 45. This averages 40 on the motorway which is achievable 

 

I don't get it with the style i drive but a lot do.

 

Or at least, think they do because the computer tells them.

 

And then there's speedo overread on top...

Yes, my problem is that I will be 21 soon, I've got a driving license from 3 years now 

 

 

Sorry to be a real kill joy here as maybe it is just my tender age of nearly 40!  With you being 20 years old and looking at buying a 140+ mph car with a standard 180bhp......Please be careful.   You will love one, just take it nice and easy till you get used to her if you buy one