Things to look out for?

I'm going to have a look at one today at a main dealer.

I have read quite a few reviews on the car and they seem to be pretty good.

It's a 14 plate with 23k miles but already had two owners?

Is this a bad sign?

Thanks

Take it for a drive on a rough road surface, to see if you can live with the noise.

Some 14 plates had really bad noise and pressure problems.

Noisy engine note when in sport mode, bumpy ride quality in every mode. Apart from that it's a great all round car. Just check the usual thing such as service history, finance clearance and signs of bodywork damage. Also if there are any optional extras listed on the advert check with the dealer to make sure the car in question does have them and it's not just a cut and paste job from a previous car they've had in...

There's a few "common" issues with the vRS

 

Hissing from the fuel pump

Issues with waterpump/cooling (loss of coolant, overheating etc)

Booming from the back of the car

Issues with manual gearbox (some people have reported issues selecting first/reverse)

Hesitation on acceleration

Headlight washers sticking

Dab signal dropout

Thin Paint

 

As Czechers says - the ride quality is harsh, it's fine for a car of it's type but still make sure you're happy it.  Take it for a decent drive, make sure it accelerates strongly all the way through the rev range once it's warm.

 

Also if it has the Gemini wheels, watch out for any damage.  I had to get my car recovered due to a waterpump failure and ended up having to get all four wheels replaced due to the damage the AA's recovery agent did - was just under £1400 for four from the dealer, apparently because they're diamond cut they should only be repaired once.

Things to look out for?

I'm going to have a look at one today at a main dealer.

I have read quite a few reviews on the car and they seem to be pretty good.

It's a 14 plate with 23k miles but already had two owners?

Is this a bad sign?

Thanks

if its a main dealer car it could well have been a pre-reg or ex demo car

Overall the O3 is a pretty well designed/built & threre aren't many common faults.

 

As TMWNA states, I suggest you read this thread concerning cabin boom before your test drive:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/294540-low-frequency-boom-in-cabin/

This issue is not really ackonwledged by Skoda & it will be very difficult unless you have a superstar dealer to get it resolved afterwards.

As of today there is still no 100% fix.

 

If you are sensitive for rattles, check during your drive as there can be a few appear after several thousand miles.

 

The other issues mentioned by Gully are general issues with all O3s.

They should all be covered by warrenty anyway (execpt the booming and thin paint which is the same for all).

 

 

As for 2 owners, you should ask the dealer for the owner & service/repair/warrenty history.

If it was pre-registered & then had 1 real owner for 2 years then its pretty normal.