Hi,

I'm considering buying a 2-3 yo vRS. Are there any good resources on what to look for, what to avoid etc ?

Any inherent problems ?

 

I have a 530d and a 2002 S3 at the mo.

 

It appears the DSG may be a source of trouble, does that apply to post 2010 cars?

Do the manuals have DMG issues ?

Do parking sensors and F&R electric windows come as standard ?

 

What size are the brakes discs ? 312mm ?

The pcd is 5 x 112 ? (I prefer 17" wheels)

Am I right they remap well ?

 

Any special editions to look out for ?

What sort of prices would you expect ?

 

Many Thanks

6pot

 

 

DSG is good but a bit dim witted in auto mode, also fuel economy and CO2 output suffers slightly as a consequence. Only way to get a standard fit multi function steering wheel and maxidot trip computer (high end) though, all MK2 facelift DSGs come with these, manual cars can be optioned with maxidot but MFSW is DIY source and fit only.

I think only diesels have a DMF, the problem isn't that common and tends to affect high mileage cars. Can affect manual and DSG diesel cars though as they share the same flywheel arrangement

Car comes standard with 6CD 8 speak touchscreen stereo, elec f&r wins, 2 zone climate, no standard parking sensors. Be aware that no vRS came with curtain airbags was an expensive (and rare) option. My 2013 car doesn't have them.

Brakes are vented 312 at front and solid 286 rear, v good same as a MK5/6 Golf GTI.

Not sure of the ET but sounds about right, be the same as a mK5/6 Golf.

Petrol TSi's can remap to 250+ hp and 300+ lb/ft and offer another league of performance over a standard car....that said a 170 CR diesel will map to 210hp and 320+ lb/ft and is probably there or thereabouts as fast as a standard TSi with 50mog potential and cheaper tax...another option worth considering unless you hate diesels.

Blackline model the notible special edition, a runout model available from late 2012 to early 2013, all CR diesels manual or DSG, estate or hatch, came with nav, DAB, full leather, rear sensors and black alloys representing nearly 2k of optional equipment as base price. Only made a few hundred of them though and pretty rare but a great bargain if you can find one for sensible money. Also possible on these cars due to the head unit installed in them to add OEM Bluetooth and audio streaming for less than £100.

Oh btw diesels outnumber petrols about 2 to 1 so much more common, petrols generally cheaper to buy as residuals are weaker as they aren't as popular despite having stronger performance.

The TSis are known to suffer cam chain tensioner failure, not that common but a few cases reported on here and does result in a new engine being needed.

CR's don't generally suffer DPF issues but the DPF pressure sensors can play up.

Rear wipers can fail, rear washer pipes can split and fill the boot with washer fluid. Also AC compressors can fail. The vinyl on the soft parts of the front door trims can blister and split if you rest your arms on them too much...rear ones aren't a problem as they are solid plastic.

Cant think of much else...my fingers are aching haha

That's a great overview that's been much needed on this site!

Thanks Pipsyp,

Great info. Many thanks !

The driving I do doesnt suit a diesel with dpf. Too much town traffic for 90% of the time. I'd say 5000 town and 3000 miles highway driving. Plus I prefer to rev out a car occasionally.

The blackline edition sounds perfect, just need to find one for sale ....

A yetti may also be a possibility.

Would it be realistic to expect 27mpg av town driving?

Edited 12 August, 201312 yr by 6pot

If yours not entirely averse to diesel id give it a try to see what you think, my only thought being that you'll likely find a nice spec CR much more easily than TSi, moat TSi's I looked at originally didn't seem yo have much spec on them.

Be aware Blacklines are diesel only and about the most expensive MK2 out there at the moment such is its popularity.

Low mileage driving wont kill a DPF on a CR engines car as they were designed to work with DPFs, the old PD's were not (VAG retrofitted them to make the engine EU4 compliant I believe) hence why there were so many problems with them. So long as you take a CR on a reasonable run now and again you'll not have a problem with it....though that said the DPF is a wear and tear item like a clutch and will die at some point....should last well into 100k though.

Late 20's early 30's about right for a TSi

It's surprising how much stopping starting knocks down mpg. We have a dsg tsi and are looking at mid 20s on bad days. Easy to get 30 on a smoother drive and on open roads it heads up to high 30s. We were in the same position with the petrol diesel conundrum. Went with petrol in the end as we don't cover more than 9k in a year and didn't want to be bound to drive in a particular way at weekends etc. They are there if you look. We got ours for just over £10k on a ultra low mile 10 plate (13.5k on the clock!). All the kit bar for BT and Nav.

Haggle hard. Trade in is crap on petrol vrs so dealer probably got it pretty cheap.

Well I've had all sorts of dpf related issues which lead to it needing a new turbo with my current car - thats why I'm considering going back to petrol, since my mileage is relatively low.

If I go for the diesel, are there any gotchas for the 170ps version ?  Does the DSG cope ok with the torque ?

6pot, if you are anywhere near Lancashire you are welcome to come and look at mine now and without any sales talk/pressure (you will get a brew and an honest assessment of the car, however!). Not on the market yet, but I took the plunge and have a GT86 on order for early September so it will be getting sold then. One owner (me!), FSH (main dealer throughout), 33k miles, ALL invoices/receipts, best custom leather (2009 LE model) on any Skoda, and better than latest options, new tyres/filters, spare set of (new Dunlop 4D) winter tyres and alloys, taxed/MOT'd until March 2014 and best of all a fully comprehensive Warranty Direct extended warranty until the end of March 2015 that can be transfered to the new owner.

 

pm me if interested.

Edited 14 August, 201312 yr by Delacroix

Well I've had all sorts of dpf related issues which lead to it needing a new turbo with my current car - thats why I'm considering going back to petrol, since my mileage is relatively low.If I go for the diesel, are there any gotchas for the 170ps version ?  Does the DSG cope ok with the torque ?

Honestly VAG DPF technology particularly since the adoption of the CR injection engines is generally v reliable.

Ive had an original MK5 Golf Bluemotion with DPF and PD injection, expected issues but nothing in 27k miles, a MK6 Golf 2.0 140 CR for 50k miles and now nearly at 7k on my vRS. All three have been as good as gold. Honestly at as much risk IMO of a DPF failure on a CR car as you would be a cam chain tensioner failure on a TSi, both rare issues but one is obviously much cheaper to repair than the other.

TBH both variants have their merits, quite different in the way they produce their performance, the diesel is considerably more frugal but the downside being its not overall as exciting to punt along as a TSi. You really must drive both and make your own choice. Think its fair yo say for most that the CR is a head led choice, the TSi more by the heart. Everyone is different, I love my CR as a vehicle but I know deep down I'd have liked the TSi even more but alot to be said for a car that's still quick and cheap to run.

Oh and DSG is a good match for the CR and suits the character of the car and its power delivery.....if anything the gearbox is capable of handling way more torque than the car produces as standard.

6 speed DQ250 wet clutch box in these cars has been around for years and is probably the most proven DSG box available, smooth shifts as its capable of automated "slip" to smooth changes...does as a consequence sometimes feel a bit soft between changes like some minor amount of go is being lost. 7 speed dry box is generally better at full chat but the lack of clutch slip IMO at lower speeds.akes it a real pain to use in traffic, parking and manouvering on slopes etc

Oh no, another permutation ! So there is a 6 and 7 gear DSG ? So they are 6/7 gear ratios and not a simulated CVT gears I hope. I've heard bad things about the VAG multitronic.

How can I identify a 6 gear DSG?

Did they change over on a specific year model ?

Cheers

6pot

As I understand it from the research I did before getting ours the dry 7 speed is an older version and reliability wise not on par with the wet 6 speed that you get in the FLs (2009 on). The 6 speeds seems to get consistently good support and you can add me to that. 2 weeks in and it's just a joy to drive!

7-speed dry clutch DSG is not fitted to ANY Octavia vRS as it won't take the torque.  The 7-speeder is only used coupled to lower torque engines.

 

I have owned a March 2012 vRS TDi DSG for 6 weeks/1500 miles.  So far very impressed and would recommend the vRS diesel with DSG.  Assuming the tank was completely full (as the dealer stated) when I collected then the overall mpg up to the 3rd fill up was just under 47mpg.  A far bit of the driving has been on motorways and dual-carriageways but I haven't been hanging around.  I bought the car to have reasonable performance and a decent sized boot without spending too much on fuel.  If the overall fuel consumption stays above 45mpg I will be more than satisfied. 

 

During September I will be in France for 10 days or so and will probably cover around 1600 miles from leaving home to returning.  Driving will be on a mixture of road types so will be a good evaluation of the car. 

As above, sorry if I confused matters. The dry 7 speed box is used on lower torque vehicles, the most powerful (Skoda) of which being the Fabia vRS. This box is the DQ200 and can be found on 1.6 TDi and 1.4 TSi versions of the Octavia.

All vRS's would have the wet 6 speed DQ250 box, its v good apart from being a bit dim witted and having a negtive impact on economy and emissions over a manual as i mentioned above.

And for clarity it is a dual clutch box with 6 proper gears none of this multitronic rubbish