Hi, I have a 2011 Octavia 1.2 TSi estate with DSG gearbox. Over several months , on start up particularly, the engine is loud and rattling . It settles down after revving through it. But now its certainly not anywhere near as quiet as it was. Could say it sounds "tappety". Is this going to be expensive to repair? Time to trade it in, or get it sorted? Thanks in advance for any advice

Sounds like flywheel to me

Timing chain tensioner.  It's a fault with them.  Take it back to VW as it should be a "goodwill" fix.  Do it before the timing chain jumps a tooth

The rattle has been discussed in the thread below amongst others.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/344005-12tsi-cam-chain-problem/

Skoda released TPI (Technical Product Information) 2026513/5 on 01-Oct-2013 on the subject of rattling noises from the front/engine compartment when starting the engine. The rattling is caused by the length of the timing chain changing because of wear. An optimised (ie new design) timing chain was introduced from engine numbers CBZ*462774 (Mlada Boleslav) and CBZ* 714253 (Saltzgitter). A modified chain box with guard was also introduced and this stops the chain jumping off. The TPI is NOT a recall.

I recommend that you have the problem investigated by a Skoda dealer and, if it is the timing chain, contact Skoda UK to seek a goodwill contribution towards having the chain and guard replaced if they are not the new designs.

Post your full engine number here and we will let you know if it is affected by this mod. Mine is *CBZ J42 ...* M 09-01-15 17.05.03 where M = Mlada Boleslav and 09-01-15 the build date. The engine identification is on a sticker on the boost pressure pipe or on the intercooler.