Hi guys, first post and new to the Skoda community....so be gentle

 

After the arrival of our first born in January my current 3 door MK V Golf has proven slightly impractical to say the least. Throw in the fact that we have a dog and mostly go on holidays in the UK I've settled on a VRS TSi estate as a suitable replacement (with the Golf going to the missus to replace her old Clio). I only have a short 5 mile town commute to work so diesel was out due to the known issues with DPF and short journeys.

 

My question really relates to availability and pricing. I have £5k cash and the Clio to PX (valued at around £1000 trade in).

 

Having kept a check on the classifieds on here, Autotrader, Pistonheads, AA e.t.c, etc. for around the last month I'm still not seeing too many petrol estates on the market, and even when they do appear the prices seem to be very disparate.

 

I missed out on an '06 black estate today and I'm currently kicking myself as it was 39k on the clock and was up for £6.5k, slightly over my original budget but the condition was spotless and that mileage was a big draw. Other than that, there seem only to be 75k to 85k+ mile '06 examples available, and they seem to be going for anything from £5.5 to £6.9k, with quite basic early spec (no parking sensors, no rear electric windows, no parking sensors etc.)

 

Is £5.5 to £6k about the right value for a basic spec '06 plate with 75k + miles? There seem to be so few about that the practical needs to have bigger more accessible car are soon going to outstrip my ability to hold on for the perfect find, but I'm worried that by jumping in now on something I am not getting something truly of the right value.

 

As a curve ball I have seen a late '08 plate (still pre facelift) with pretty much all the factory extras chucked at it including full leather etc. for £8k on the nose, 64k miles....worth the extra cash or not? Dealer says they wont budge on cost but Parkers says non Skoda dealer price should be nearer £7k.

 

 

Confused and frustrated.....any thoughts?

I privately bought a 67k 2008/08 plate petrol VRS estate a few weeks ago for £5500, came with xenon headlights, auto wipers, parking sensors, rear electric windows, FSH, etc, but they were few and far between when I was looking, and I'd have loved full leather!

That's a lot of car for £5.5k...sounds like you got a great deal there. PX on the clio I have means private sale is awkward but it seems as though a far better deal could be had outside of a dealer...shame there seem to be no private sale cars around. Might go back again to the dealer with '08 plate again and suggest they have it a little too high!

I privately bought a 67k 2008/08 plate petrol VRS estate a few weeks ago for £5500, came with xenon headlights, auto wipers, parking sensors, rear electric windows, FSH, etc, but they were few and far between when I was looking, and I'd have loved full leather!

 

Broona, do you mind me asking what the advertised price of the car you bought was? I'm now speaking to the dealer with the '08 plate and need some back up to my suggestion that they have the car is overpriced.

Sorry for the constant qustions but does anyone know what premium approximately (if any) that the TFSi estate has over the hatchback?

Dealers normally use the CAP guide to defermine their prices, but if you don't have access to a copy online sites like what car or the which magazine if you're a member will help. The estates are about £1000 extra new so some of that would be transferable on a pro rata basis I guess. If you look on Skoda uks website you should be able to see what sort of increase you'd have to pay for the estate. HTH

Cheers for the advice. I'll have a check on Which website tonight. Was hoping that I would not have to subscribe to get the cost guides, but if Parkers is not an accurate resource these days then happy to do so to get a better idea.

Point taken on the price increase in regards to the estate carrying a premium from new, I suppose the relative scarcity in comparison to the hatchback also means an increase in cost. I'm starting to think that the deal that Broona got (post above) was very decent indeed.

If you know the reg number you could try this?

http://www.whatcar.com/valuations?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=enews%20bulletin&utm_content=article4_headline_2&utm_source=20141020

Broona, do you mind me asking what the advertised price of the car you bought was? I'm now speaking to the dealer with the '08 plate and need some back up to my suggestion that they have the car is overpriced.

 

It was up for £5895.

Well, I'm now part of the Octavia community, '06 plate VRS TFSi now sits on the driveway. Prob' not as good a deal as I may have liked but it's a very straight car and going to a dealer I was never going to get the lowest price car out there....extremely pleased none the less

 

Thanks to those who replied above, definitely helped me to take the plunge!

Congrats on the new car, got any pics?

Congrats on the new car, got any pics?

 

 

Not been able to take any yet myself, original ad has them though:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201410248464767/sort/default/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/radius/1500/postcode/nn169es/model/octavia/body-type/estate/usedcars/price-to/6000/maximum-age/up_to_8_years_old/price-from/5000/page/1/fuel-type/petrol/make/skoda?logcode=p

Needs a few cosmetic bits on the interior and a decent valet on the seats, but otherwise a pretty straight car

 

Maxidot and sat nav too, bonus!

Check the sills.

My 07 was starting to rust and bubble just above the stone chip paint, pretty common on that age of car.

 

On a positive note if looked after the TFSI seems pretty bulletproof, Mine had 83k on it and was still sweet. Don't skimp on fuel, feed it super and it'll love you for it.

Enjoy your motor, I do miss mine sometimes.