Hi everyone,

 

I'm trying to join the club with a Mkii or Mkiii Octavia estate diesel with less than 50k miles on a budget of 14k. Live in Cornwall w/wife, baby, and dog; drive 16k per year (mostly short drives, but 4-5 upcountry trips per year) and could want to tow a small caravan in the future. Want the family car, but could move outside UK in 2years so resale is important.

 

Not many Octavia's to buy here, and I've been looking at ones sold by our local re-seller (NOT an authorized skoda dealership) who have good prices - they are Falmouth Garages/Mid Cornwall Cars.

 

Yesterday visited them to see a 2014 1.6 SE w/5k miles for 14000. Then, I noticed a piece of BROKEN GLASS inside the rear passenger window. The man was surprised, but couldn't tell me what, if anything, had happened and only that it was likely a dealership model, and it was replaced with skoda glass. Still, I felt paranoid about it all - what do you think? Crap valet job to start with followed by crap sales job - should I be worried about other hidden damage? He pulled the HPi and all good. 1.5 years of warranty, but no extended 'ensurance' bc their not an authorized dealer. 

 

My other gripe is the smallish engine for performance and resale. The 1.9 and 2.0 don't suffer much lower mpg, and the DPF is annoying. I also though the DMF was replaced with a single - but not the case - is this a likely failure cost in 2-3 years?

 

Anyway, the prices are good from this garage, and last week I missed opportunity to buy a nice 2010 elegance w/26k. Another in stock is a 2009 2.0 Elegance w/55k for 9,000 but the service book is missing from the previous polish owner and only been serviced by this garage. Better car, but the unknown history freaks me out. The reviews I'd found of the garage have said their service record is horrible, so buying a car with any history could be suspect. I do have the right to have my mechanic inspect it, or not?

 

So next on the radar is a

 

2011 1.6 CR 105 Elegance w/26k --> 11,000

 

We're really saving for a house purchase, and just need a larger family car, so I'm almost inclined to start looking for pre-DFP mkiis in the 4,000-9,000 range that should have depreciated - might be a better value??

Thanks for all the info on the website, and any advice...Dylan

 

 

I don know why people get so hung up with dmf and dpf's , they are rarely anything like as troublesome and most people think. 

 

If you are doing lots of short trips then a petrol would be just as good , diesels are thirsty when cold and take longer to warm up , the saving will be negligible

i should mention i live in cornwall - it doesn't get cold enough to worry much about diesel temperatures. I'm still inclined to the 2014 bc it's already been discounted massively so i won't face too much depreciation and it's essentially brand new. It doesn't plan to toe a caravan, but that's not my biggest worry. Will it be far less reliable as a 1.9 or 2.0 in the long haul??

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! I'm not buying the car after finding out it was a salvage!

 

Just got off the phone with Europecar who were the previous owners. Turns out the bits of glass I found were from a serious accident and write-off. Why didn't this come up in the HPI check I paid for!? 

 

As it happens, the car wasn't available as some tyre pressure monitoring sensors were acting up. Probably just the first of many future problems with this damaged car. Oh well - still on the look out. Maybe a 2009 PD 2.0 L&K, there's two available but they both have servicing gaps of between 10-20k miles...

 

What's the consensus on variable servicing?

 

I understand the logic and technology, but seems like a lazy rich owner's excuse to not pay up on maintenance, and then sell the vehicle after 3-5 years. Maybe just further paranoia on my part. I just want a well-serviced vehicle that's reliable.

 

Well Dylan, how did you fare out? I'm at the beginning of my search and have similar requirements.

Mike Ryan

Ireland