Hello folks,

                 Looking for your opinions here. I've a 2005 1.9tdi PD Estate with almost 95k on the clock, been serviced every year and over the last 3 years had suspension arms, pads n discs, nothing too onerous. Now the car is an old workhorse and not showroom by any manner of means as it's mostly used to collect firewood, pallets, transport bikes etc. Rust patch in front of the rear wheel arch, bubbling along the tailgate edge, rear wiper motor done in etc. AC and heated seats no longer function and if I ever plugged it into someones VCDS I'm sure it'd light up like the starship Enterprise. Think rear shockers may be due soon too. You get the picture I'm sure.

 

Now MOT time coming up soonish after summer hols and if it's not too bad I'm considering changing the timing belt, gearbox and brake fluids, oil and filters etc to see if i can get another good few years out of it. I'm fighting the temptation to buy a pickup as the Octavia is fast enough for me, comfy and cheap to run (only doing about 5k a year). I know pickups are not the most economical, dearer HD parts etc.

 

Do I spend a few hundred on it and keep her going or will I be throwing good money after bad at this age/mileage?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The things you list are just a full service plus timing belt, so if it were me I'd spend the money and keep it running. If it's been serviced regularly and there are no mechanical faults, you should easily double it's current mileage (my car is on 190k, also an 05 1.9TDI). Perhaps it's worth looking into doing some of the things yourself? Changing the oil and filters is easy enough, as are the rear shock absorbers when they're due.

 

Keep an eye on the rust and there's no reason it shouldn't keep going for longer than a few more years.