A Octy Scout as a taxi?

[bidderman1969]

hopefully i've come to the best place?  

 

looking at getting a Scout as a taxi, in DSG guise, however, when i went to test drive an i40, the salesman stated that he used to work for Skoda and that box had to have mave service/rebuild at 60K miles, is this correct? so maybe best to avoid?

 

also he stated that the fuel consumption figures are way off what is claimed, now i know they aren't anything to go by, but maybe some real life figures would be good?

 

thanks in advance 

 

ORIGINALLY POSTED IN THE OCTAVIA III SECTION BY MISTAKE, AND HAVE HAD A COUPLE OF REPLIES THERE

[Huskoda]

The fuel consumption will be pretty bad, both the DSG and 4 wheel drive system will drag it down a not insignificant amount.

 

Unless you're a taxi in the sticks, I don't see the sense in getting a 4 wheel drive one.

[bidderman1969]

its not "out in the sticks" as such, but we do have some pretty awful places to go sometimes, and it we do sometimes get a hardish winter.

 

as long as its not worse than what im getting at present, then theres still some reason for one.

 

at present, combined im getting anything between 30 and 34mpg

[paddypaws]

1/ I have a Scout with DSG and the fuel ecomony isn't significantly less than the standard car for me 10% less probably on average 5 mpg less, but I'm not doing taxi mileage. Well worth the 4wd which is constant on the rear but at a much reduced torque until you need it.

2/ There is a guy on here who has claimed 400K kilometers on the same 6 speed DSG still with no problems. As far as I can see 6 speed DSG failures are far and few between, very few mentioned on here, btw DSG need an oil change service every 40k miles.

[Huskoda]

If your concern is winter weather, there are better, far cheaper alternatives - winter tyres.

[adfabia1]

What about Haldex oil changes? turbo changes I LOT more expensive.

dual mass flywheel changes also dearer.

A normal 2wd Diesel is good for most of the year with average mpg around 45 to 50.

[silver1011]

Hmmm, a bloke desperate to sell an i40 trys to disuade you from buying another model.

 

Come on! He's a salesman, do not believe a single word that comes out of his mouth.

[paddypaws]

If your concern is winter weather, there are better, far cheaper alternatives - winter tyres.

 

Winter tyres help a lot but Its not an alternative to 4WD in the summer in the dry & around the corners and pulling out of junctions etc 4WD is staggeringly good. Get winter tyres and 4WD and you can go anywhere do anything in the snow. 4WD vs 2WD its night and day, well worth a few pounds in fuel.  Once you've had 4WD there's no going back. I bought my first 4WD car about 10 years ago and won't get a 2WD again, everything is so planted and secure. You'll keep working in all conditions with a taxi with 4WD and winter tyres. (in fact you'll be very busy with all the other travel disruption! and secure in the knowledge that you are properly kitted up). Also if you are going to spend that much time in the car its nice to be in something a bit special for very little extra cash!!

Have a look at what the Scout can do in snow on Youtube, its quite an eye opener.

Edited 2 October, 2014 by paddypaws

[paddypaws]

What about Haldex oil changes? turbo changes I LOT more expensive.

dual mass flywheel changes also dearer.

A normal 2wd Diesel is good for most of the year with average mpg around 45 to 50.

Peanuts.

[Anddenton]

A normal 2wd Diesel is good for most of the year with average mpg around 45 to 50.

So is the scout, the fuely link in my sig says it all.

[Huskoda]

Winter tyres help a lot but Its not an alternative to 4WD in the summer in the dry & around the corners and pulling out of junctions etc 4WD is staggeringly good. Get winter tyres and 4WD and you can go anywhere do anything in the snow. 4WD vs 2WD its night and day, well worth a few pounds in fuel.  Once you've had 4WD there's no going back. I bought my first 4WD car about 10 years ago and won't get a 2WD again, everything is so planted and secure. You'll keep working in all conditions with a taxi with 4WD and winter tyres. (in fact you'll be very busy with all the other travel disruption! and secure in the knowledge that you are properly kitted up). Also if you are going to spend that much time in the car its nice to be in something a bit special for very little extra cash!!

Have a look at what the Scout can do in snow on Youtube, its quite an eye opener.

I know, Im an AWD convert too (I had an Octy 4x4 before I got my Subaru) I love it particularly in the wet, which we have plenty of here as at a junction, it just goes. I have no intention of going back to 2WD. I'm just trying to fight the myth perpetuated by the media that 4WD is the answer to snow.

[Woggle]

I was a Subaru Outback driver until I hit 106k on the clock and decided to trade in. It was my winter/fishing car and I really do need 4wd and winter tyres as I live on a farm up an unclassified road that leads half way up a "hill" in the Scottish highlands. I also commute 60 miles a day on roads that would be classed as B roads in England

I ended up with a 61 plate Scout as I could not find an Outback I liked with low mileage. (Not a fan of the newer shape, prefering the more rounded older shape that went out of production in 2009).

I also do not like diesels having run a couple of "eco" diesels that returned nothing but trouble and MPGs way off their claimed figures. This is why I ended up with a 1.8 TSI. Love it so far. Only had it a couple of days but have put 500 miles on it with an average of 40mpg. Very chuffed at that. The Outback (2.5l) was around 30-32 mpg.

Would I use it as a taxi? Not sure, but it would be more than capable of acting as one, with plenty of rear space as well as that extra height meaning its easy to get into.

[RainbowFire]

Winter tyres help a lot but Its not an alternative to 4WD in the summer in the dry & around the corners and pulling out of junctions etc 4WD is staggeringly good. Get winter tyres and 4WD and you can go anywhere do anything in the snow. 4WD vs 2WD its night and day, well worth a few pounds in fuel.  Once you've had 4WD there's no going back. I bought my first 4WD car about 10 years ago and won't get a 2WD again, everything is so planted and secure. You'll keep working in all conditions with a taxi with 4WD and winter tyres. (in fact you'll be very busy with all the other travel disruption! and secure in the knowledge that you are properly kitted up). Also if you are going to spend that much time in the car its nice to be in something a bit special for very little extra cash!!

Have a look at what the Scout can do in snow on Youtube, its quite an eye opener.

 

IIRC the Scout III is quicker than the current vRS III too, despite being heavier, it has double the wheels to deliver the power through. My Scout II is no sloutch either and holds the road like baby-sh!t on a nappy

[bidderman1969]

thanks for all the info guys, very much appreciated.

 

at the minute, im torn between the Scout, Kia Optima, and the Hyundai i40 tourer.

 

each one has something the other doesnt, so i think i have around 6 months to make my mind up

[bidderman1969]

does the suspension soak up bumps, speed humps and potholes better than standard car?

 

does the 4x4 system need maintenance? and problems withe 4x4 system to be aware of?

 

saw this on an owners review, and i know that its a negative, but is there anything in it? ..................

 

Have you had any problems with the car?
In the beginning it was reliable. I did ensure that the car was regularly and fully serviced, as my job requires good reliability. Since hitting 100,000 miles everything seems to have gone wrong. Here's the faults... Dual mass flywheel - just a week after servicing the car (cost £1000) the DMF disintegrated. Cost £1300. Newer models use a solid-mass flywheel. Diesel particulate filter - located too far away from the engine heat. Rural folk, look elsewhere (would be £1000 to replace). 2.0 TDI - people are buying based on reliability of 1.9 TDI... but loads of issues appearing now. Mine developed rapid oil starvation. New camshaft & camshaft toppers, then oil pump. (£1500). New crankshaft was required (£1900) so I sold it at loss.

 

review here

 

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/owners-reviews/skoda/octavia/scout-2007/review/20120918123143/

Edited 4 October, 2014 by bidderman1969

[nick74]

Probably a fair point re the dual mass flywheel but the rest of it seems either very bad luck or exaggeration. He's wrong about later models having a single mass flywheel too - they don't.

Although the 2.0 PD Scout does have a DPF they don't appear to suffer DPF problems to the extent that the PD170 engine in the VRS can do. The DPF being too far back from the engine was reckoned to be a problem on the Superb mk1 but not the Octavia AFAIK.

Also although some VAG 2.0 TDI engines can suffer from oil pump issues this particular problem didn't affect those in the Octavia. I've never heard of an Octavia 2.0 diesel having oil pump failure or engine problems like he describes.

Bit of an odd review really. He seems to be quoting stuff he's heard about other VAG models and applying it to the Scout. Either that or he's been seriously ripped off by a garage who've told him a lot of unnecessary work needs doing.

[drmike]

The suspension does seem a little better than the standard car at potholes etc, which should probably be surprising as the main difference is spacers to raise what is otherwise fairly standard springs etc.

 

The Haldex does need maintenance. Oil change every 40k miles. Cost about 60 quid at the garage.

My Haldex pre-charge pump recently gave way at 78k miles. A new pump cost £169 plus the oil change. I fitted the pump myself.

 

Fabulous in the snow, especially with winters on. 

 

As far as I'm aware the pd unit in the Scout, being the 8v model, doesn't have the crap oil pump that fails in the 16v models. It has the oil pump out of the 1.9 IIRC.

 

Mine does 40-45mpg on the commute, 50-55 on a long run.

[nick74]

As far as I'm aware the pd unit in the Scout, being the 8v model, doesn't have the crap oil pump that fails in the 16v models. It has the oil pump out of the 1.9 IIRC.

It wasn't dependent on whether the engine was 8v or 16v, but rather on whether the oil pump was driven by a balance shaft. None of the Octavia diesels, either 8v or 16v, have a balance shaft driven oil pump so don't suffer with this issue.

The 2.0 8v PD engine in the mk1 Superb on the other hand does have a balance shaft driven oil pump and is plagued by oil pump drive failures.

[bidderman1969]

great info guys, as much info as possible is appreciated.

 

so really the haldex 4 wheel drive system may as well be serviced at the same time as the DSG oil and filter change then?

 

soon i reckon i should be fully equipped with knowledge enough to go and seek out a few scouts to test drive, i can only register one under 4 years old, so that should leave a fairly good selection available, with any "problems" ironed out by now

 

cheers

[Anddenton]

I reckon the oil issue mentioned in that link is the cam lobe ware issue due to incorrect oil being used.

[nick74]

soon i reckon i should be fully equipped with knowledge enough to go and seek out a few scouts to test drive, i can only register one under 4 years old, so that should leave a fairly good selection available, with any "problems" ironed out by now

cheers

The 2.0 TDi Scout switched from PD to common rail during mid 2010 anyway, so at 4 years old or less you're guaranteed a CR version now. DPF and other problems are even less likely on the CR engine than the PD.

[nick74]

I reckon the oil issue mentioned in that link is the cam lobe ware issue due to incorrect oil being used.

Could be yes.

[silver1011]

Hardly a common issue but there has been a member on here with cam issues on his Scout...

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/293366-20-pd-scout4x4-owners-worn-camshaft-whos-had-it/

 

One reason why regular fresh oil can help the longevity of the 8V PD engine. Another reason why my Scout gets fresh VW 507.00 every 12 months / 10,000 miles.

[nick74]

Lack of the correct oil can cause excessive cam wear on the 8v PDs, but that doesn't explain the oil pump replacement and worn crankshaft? Unless poor output from the pump was being blamed for the cam and crank wear perhaps?

Nevertheless none of that should apply to the CR version.

[bidderman1969]

so would the DSG box be a 7 speed variety at this age requirement?

 

how does it drive different from a normal auto, of which i have only had the pleasure of driving?