buying another skoda. any advice welcome.

[TomTom94]

hi guys, its been a while since i was last on here and i doubt anyone will remember me.
But basically i used to have a 1.9 pd100 superb up until october and i sadly sold it as it needed so many repairs and by this point it also required mot and tax. so i decided to part with it and buy a cheap run around for a few months.

Anyways i stupidly purchased my friends old peugeot 306 diesel for £200 with tax and mot. but im now sick of driving such a horrible and unreliable banger i want another superb. and i am now in a much better financial situation as i no longer study and work part time instead im a full time employee of thames valley police

So.. my situation i find myself in is this. i have been offered a fantastic deal from a friend of mine who runs a local used car garage. he has in stock a 2002 superb 2.5tdi. 85k miles, FSH, silver. it is immaculate inside and out and everything works  as it should. and its 2 previous owners. 1 was a local van dealership who baught it new as part of a fleet and then sold it on for a profit and then the second owner was the mechanic who works at the garage who looked after it fantastic.

I understand many will tell me that im stupid or not being practical by choosing a 2.5 over the 1.9 or by not getting the pd130 but i have to admit i had the 1.9 and it was good for its strengths were amazing but i cant help but admit there wont be a decent 130 for the same price i've been offered. The deal includes a fresh Mot, a full service, a full professional valet, any work that will need doing within 10k miles will be done before purchase for safety measure, a full 12 month warrenty.

Now i am on the verge of signing the dotted line and getting this car on my drive way. but i would like to know what to look out for or what to get replaced or upgraded. other than the obvious ones i have already been aware from the 1.9 such as the water ingress.

 

[jimbof]

You can get big expensive problems on 2.5 engine (VP44 pump failure) - look at the thread a few lines down.

But I hear it is smoother than 1.9.

 

Depends really on quite how cheap it is I guess. 

[rotodiesel]

Avoid at all costs. The mileage is well into VP44 death territory and a failure here will write off your entire "investment". The 1.9 PD manual is the only Superb worth having now that they are all bangers. The tax and fuel costs are also considerably lower for the 1.9 - and fuel is unlikely to get cheaper.

 

The 1.9 has the golden combination of the best diesel fuel system devised by far (all lubricated in oil rather than fuel, so it lasts for ever if properly treated) and a lack of DPFs, motor driven EGR valves and  throttle flaps + several other VAG idiocies found on the later engines. The 1.9/130 engine is the best, but if you don't tow, consider the lower powered version which is perfectly usable, as you have already found.

 

Take your time and buy the right car - not the one that's there. There are still some good 1.9s around but you will have to hunt them out. Model year '05> (10th digit in VIN) gets folding back seats and base level trim with added cruise is the best buy. Never buy an auto (the diesel's torque breaks them), never buy one which has been wet, even if "fixed" and finally, never, ever buy a 2.0 PD.

 

rotodiesel.

Edited 5 January, 2014 by rotodiesel

[Gaz]

I have to defer to the far more qualified comments than I can ever make on here.

 

But I've had 1.9's in Passats, and Golf's.  And now I have a 2.5......and it's an auto.....and I absolutely love it to bits.

 

And the first advice I got on Brisky was from RD to walk away coz the garage I was buying mine from stuffed up a cam belt change.  But the garage were true to their word, so I stuck with them, and haven't looked back.

 

Go in with your eyes open.  Understand you won't get the mpg of a 1.9.  Read up on the recent VP44 thread and the auto box failure one and go in knowing there are risks (as there are with any car, so it would seem).  And if you don't know what to look out for, have someone independent look at it who does.

 

I would be very happy to buy another V6 on the experience I've had with mine so far.

 

Gaz

[MilanM]

I dont know friend I also have 2.5 TDI v6, and Im thrilled.

If you looking things like that, all things in the world can brake, right?

IMHO, lazy V6 2.5 TDI is best motor for Superb and that is verdict for me. I didnt say rest of people claiming 1.9 is better are not wright, but I cant agree with that conclusion.

Again to choose 1.9 vs 2.5, I would buy 2.5.

So, do your math, and decide what option is best for you.

Cheers and sorry for my misarebly English

[littleade]

Personally I've never seen such a good deal offered on a 12 year old car. It has a proven service history and ownership too which for a car of that age is worth having, so I guess it depends on the price they want. Based on your budget it would be worthwhile seeing what else will you get for your money and what sort of history they have as that should help with your decision.

TBH all cars of that age are likely to have potential cripplers waiting for unsuspecting buyers but this seems to have a lot going for it.

If you accept there may be oil pump issues abd everything else seems top notch why not consider an independant warrenty once the 12 months is up.

hopefully some other superb owners with that engine will be able to offer some more advice

good luck

[Cown]

Personally i wouldn't take the risk. The 2.5 might be a smoother ride and sounding a lot better, but that's absolutely the only reason to get it really. The 1.9 is so much cheaper in any ways, service, tax, economy, tow capabilities etc. In the end it's up to you. 

[oh_superb]

If yoga re getting an early 2.5 make sure cams are in a good condition (look through oil filler cap, you will see a couple of lobes, make sure they are not chattered and worn down.. the rest is in the "darkness within", but these few lobes are usually indicative of overall state of affairs.

The other thing is be weary of an early 2.5 that has been Long Life serviced.  Look for evidence of annual oil changes at 9-11k miles, instead of 15-18k (long life).

If it's a really good deal (like my 2.5 was) then have it.  But don't be surprised by £280 road tax and 25 mpg around town 

But you could argue the car of that age only has another 3-5 years of useful life, so the extra £500 or whatever in road tax may be worth it if this is really such a good deal?

Also do a full error code scan. Make sure there is not error code for needle lift sensor injector, as these are £300-400 in parts alone.  You also don't want any error codes for the injection pump!  It cost me dearly.

[jimbof]

If you are after auto, the 1.9 auto is only £20 cheaper on road tax :( 

[TomTom94]

right thanks for the comments guys. i am sadly gonna confess i am buying it :P i went with my heart and for the better side of £2k i wasnt gonna turn down such a promising deal. the car is a manual just to silence the comments about the wear on an auto box. and i can 100% garuntee it will not be doing any towing. i only wish to keep the car for 2 years then will get something newer. (fl octavia II vrs)

I will be uploading pictures when i pick it up. its going for a fresh MoT tomorrow and will be getting a decent service too while it is there. i will then valet it when i pick it up and make my subtle aditions over time. dont expect it to remain standard :P

[oh_superb]

Welcome to the dark side mate :-) Hope she treats you nicely. Inspect your battery compartment for water. "Czech" your CV boots. And under the carpet for water. Do all that pretty soon. Then fingers crossed! Enjoy the drive.

[CRC]

You've got a bargain!!

 

Just purely thinking  through the economics of owning  a car like the 2.5 TDI manual.

 

The previous owner of my car lost about 15k in depreciation just under three years. I've had it for almost five years and have probably lost about £5k in depreciation. The next five years might cost me about £2k in depreciation.

 

The car now has 72k on the clock and is sweet as a nut (apart from my possible tyre noise). To replace it with a much newer model of anything similar would cost a lot and set me into big depreciation bucks territory again.

 

There's no dpf to worry about, no expensive additive top up, no known issues with the gearbox, the BDG engine is reckoned to be bullet proof, and the only real issue to worry about is the VP44.

 

Now, it may or may not go. If it does then I'm probably looking at around £700 to sort it, but they don't all go. Several which have been mentioned on the forum seem to have been the result of incorrect timing belt changes and in one case probably a needle lift sensor on an injector. A couple might just have been "one of those things".

 

My mechanic mate ( VAG independent garage) reckons he's only ever come across one VP44 problem and that was on a high mileage AUDI (190k), so, bearing in mind that people with the problem may well come on the forum, but those without may not, then it may well be that failure is not that common given the large number of VP44s out there.

 

However, even if it does go, the £700 in a year pales into insignificance compared with the £5k per year that the first owner was paying in depreciation.

 

Just enjoy it, and accept that with older cars, any maintenance costs will always be much less than the depreciation on a new car with no exceptional maintenace costs.

 

Mine averages 47 mpg in mostly A road motoring .... about the same as my wife's Honda Jazz in normal operation ... but the driving experience isn't quite the same

[oh_superb]

That's funny - my wife also drives a Honda Jazz 

[TomTom94]

Well its safe to say my better half doesnt drive a Honda Jazz just yet lol shes the lucky owner of a Fabia

But thats just me being a bad influence on her haha


Now in relation to the Superb, well... she is Superb!

Im so pleased with the performance, the smooth ride and just the overall condition of the car. im so happy with it and will be making another Project thread as i start to get the ball rolling to keep all my things in one place

Thanks for all the comments guys!

[Gaz]

Have we seen any photo's of it yet??  :think:

 

Gaz

[vprasanna]

Welcome to the 2.5 TDI world mate.

 

Mine is a 2.5 TDI auto though. But never faced any problem during my ownership.  

 

I have read most of the comments here in Briskoda, and understood that there are much more problems in owning an auto mobile in UK than in India. We pay one time life time tax when we buy the car and that's about it ( in some states it is 6% of the basic value of the car, and in some states it can be as steep like 14.5% where i live).... No more taxes during the ownership.

 

The skoda service center manager is a close friend of mine, and he told me that he has never ever faced more than one or two auto gear box failures or a VP 44 problem in hundreds of car that he service in a day. His view is 2.5 TDI is a solid car and never gives any problem. 

 

So enjoy you ride and post some photos. If you upgrading the car to Sat nav touch screen, then try out Blaupunkt New york model...

[Alan16ac]

I picked up my 2002 1.9 130 Elegance 18 months ago for £1875!

If you look around there are bargains to be had.

[TomTom94]

concerning pictures go see my new project thread as i will be posting all my pictures on there as things change

[Gaz]

concerning pictures go see my new project thread as i will be posting all my pictures on there as things change

 

Tch..... (taking a leaf out of my daughter's book)...... effort  :wonder:

 

Y'mean this'un here:

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/302167-tomtoms-25-superb-plenty-of-pictures/

 

Gaz

[TomTom94]

Tch..... (taking a leaf out of my daughter's book)...... effort  :wonder:

 

Y'mean this'un here:

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/302167-tomtoms-25-superb-plenty-of-pictures/

 

Gaz

That's the ticket