hi - am looking at getting a used 2013 or 2014 octavia as my current 12 year honda is on its last legs and may conk out at any time... As i do town driving mostly i am getting Petrol engine and am looking at 1.2 and 1.4 DSG. never had an octavia before...

 

please help with few questions:

 

1 . i heard that the 7 speed DSG box fitted to some of petrol engines had some problems. as i understand it is a dry type. any thoughts please! i never had automatic before but tempted due to a lot of town driving we do. are these problems with DSG worth me not getting it and instead getting manual. if there was a particular problem with these engines is there anyway i can look for these problems before buying.

2. a bit confused with trim levels. i see a lot of "elegance" trim models available but in skoda brouchure or on their website i cant find this trim. did skoda change trim levels after 2013?

3. is 1.2 engine good enough for day to day driving around town and occasional trips on motorway?

4. any other advise when buying a petrol engine skoda?

 

ta

Elegance has gone now and is a SE-L

I have the diesel with a 6 speed DSG and it is great.

 

John

Welcome!

 

Just check for full service history and all the usual used car caveats.  Have a trawl of Skoda's used cars section - quality of dealers can vary, but that's the same for any make. Early models of the latest version (mid 2013 onwards) will be slipping out of the dealer network on to other sites. There's an offer on Skoda's website, used cars up to three years old until 21st October - two years warranty, two free services, and two years roadside assistance.

 

Don't worry about the DSG. Problems relate to a good few years back. It's as reliable now as any other box - manual or auto. I've driven over 320,000 miles in autos since 1995 and the only fail was on a Mitsubishi Galant.

 

Most used Octavias will be SE spec, certainly when I look. It has a fair level of kit - rear parking sensors, bluetooth for your phone, DAB radio. They removed the CD player from around the end of 2014. Avoid the bottom range S spec.

 

The 1.2 will be fine, but the 1.4 will be better, and no great penalty in fuel consumption. I had one for 19 months and easily got 40 mpg around town, 50 on long trips. If you look at the performance figures its no slouch either. (Only changed for a vRS because I was missing the power of my tuned Saab.) They increased the power from the 1.4 from 140 bhp to 150 bhp in the middle of 2015.

 

Depending on wheel size, the 1.4 DSG can be £30 road tax, but the manual £130 - it's complicated.  Check any individual motor you look at, put the registration into the DVLA checker (free service, avoid the sites that charge) - that'll show its MOT record too.

 

Only you can decide if you'd be better with petrol or diesel - entirely personal circumstances and preference. Everyone has their own reasons, what's right for some is wrong for others.

Edited 15 October, 20169 yr by FlyingGecko

You are correct that the 7 speed DSG is the dry version and it had big problems particularly here in Australia that badly damaged VW reputation, mostly due to the way they treated complaints.

Apparently the problem was fixed by change of lubricant specification.

Most problems reported now are related to clutch pack wear but VW now change them without any quibble even outside warranty. Might be a local policy though.

Seems odd that the clutch pack can wear so badly considering TMWNA has done nearly 30k very hard miles with no problems, but he does not drive in much heavy traffic.

I read somewhere that they use second gear to pull away smoothly with light acceleration so if you do a lot of traffic then clutch wear would be high. Some also complain of low speed hesitation especially for a quick start (maybe flicking to first?).

7 speed is fitted to all engines with torque output of 250Nm or less. The wet 6 speed DSG is fitted to more powerful engines and does not have the same reliability issues.

The 1.2 engine will adequate for your purposes but the 1.4 is much better (I'm very biased) and still ver economic.

Last week I did a 250km run averaging 90kph and 5L/100 (55mpg ish)

In your position buying 2nd hand for a long term keeper then I would get manual and the 140/150 hp 1.4. That was my logic anyway and no regrets so far.

Go to a few yards and try out the different options for yourself. The DSG is a bit polarising, most love it, some don't. I do like them but prefer a manual box

Thank you for your replies. Had a test drive today. Will test drive again as I am a bit unsure about power delivery of dsg boxes. Having always driven with manual, I am used to getting instant power when pulling out of junctions but it didn't seem that way with the 1.4, petrol dsg I drove. There was no juddering but seems to be a second delay in pressing accelerator and getting power. I guess If I get it, we will get used to it after few weeks...

Make sure it is not the stop/start affecting things.

It was not fitted on the 2014 base car sold here in Australia (thank God).

As Gerrycan says. The stop/start is love, loathe, or somewhere inbetween.

 

For me, it's a pain when trying to get out at busy crossroads/roundabouts, but the switch falls readily to hand and I go straight for it without looking if I need to have it off under those conditions, so now I'm not bothered about it. Otherwise I find it OK. Others will agree and disagree. Don't let it be the decision maker.

 

First gear is ridiculously low on the 7 DSG. But I never found the power delivery wanting. It's a matter of learning how to play the throttle to achieve the fastest acceleration (if you want) or use the paddles, or the sequential action sidfe of the gear lever. There's just so much variety with the DSG.

Thank. I am not sure if stop start is a standard feature on all mk3 octavia. To be honest I didn't ask the dealer re this particular feature.

Thank. I am not sure if stop start is a standard feature on all mk3 octavia. To be honest I didn't ask the dealer re this particular feature.

 Standard on all from S trim level upwards from at least mid 2014, (I have the brochure) and I can't see them not fitting it from the start. Certainly on my SE (Oct 13).

Make sure you get a warranty on the DSG, just in case, its not unknown for the clutch pack or mechatronic unit to fail, circa £2k bill.

 

In that respect the manual is a lot less risky and cheaper to fix.

 

The DSG does have a slight delay when powering off from a trailing throttle, e.g. at a roundabout. Check you can live with that.

The Skoda warranty is 6 months only for clutch parts, which led me to assume that the auto box would be a safer bet, having a 3 year warranty. However, as the DSG boxes contain clutches, are these included in the (in my view disgraceful and immoral)  6 month exclusion clause?. If so, my conclusion would be that the manual box would actually  be a safer bet, as being cheaper to fix if there is a problem. Unlike many people who seem to be interested only in keeping the car until they are clawed back to the dealership to be locked into a new PCP contract, when I buy a car, it is with the possibility of changing after two or three years, or alternatively keeping it a long time. 

The DSG outta the junctions and roundabouts needs practise but, flick it into sport mode and you're away. The clutch is strong in both manual and DSG yes there will always be horror stories but, I don't see an alarming failure rate.

The 1.4 goes really well and most record good MPG although, I don't drive for economy. The 1.2 will do the job but, I don't hear many raving about them.

All 2013 and most 2014 1.4 DSG'S ate £30 road tax but, that's all changing in the near future so don't sweat the small stuff

1.4TSI + DSG = Sweet. Avoiding the DSG slight hesitation from trailing throttle takes a little bit of practice but it's no big deal. The DSG won't hold 1st gear for long so a quick flick to sport mode soon sort it's out and you go (rapidly) 

I find the DSG clutches drag when sitting still so I usually select neutral when sitting for more than a few seconds.

It really pulls against the handbrake and I don't like blinding the vehicle behind with brake lights for very long (or dragging the clutch plates - it is Not a slush box)

As above, it can be slow to pick up at times. Normally perfectly OK when moving from P/N to drive.

And I've had a handful of false neutrals at junctions after being in manual mode. Now, that is disconcerting.

But all in all I love my DSG boxes with paddles.

I find the DSG clutches drag when sitting still so I usually select neutral when sitting for more than a few seconds.

It really pulls against the handbrake and I don't like blinding the vehicle behind with brake lights for very long (or dragging the clutch plates - it is Not a slush box)

 

Danger Will Robinson! The DSG needs the brake pedal to be pressed firmly to disengage the clutches. If you sit with the box in D and only the handbrake on, you will burn out the clutches in short order.

 

This of course means you end up with a 'not so clever' design if you also use start/stop feature. So you pull up at a red light, start/stop kicks in. So you sit with your foot on the brake, blinding the driver behind you. So you apply the handbrake, put the car in neutral and release the brakes, engine now starts so start stop becomes useless. As far as I can tell, there is no 'link' between the DSG and handbrake!

 

I find start/stop is a pain in the bum, so I turn it off when I start the car, and only enable it, if it looks like I will be stationary for some time.

Well that Lost In Space quote got me chuckling this morning. Thanks a lot.

What a great series that was in the 60s. Apologies to all the kids around here who have no idea what I'm talking about.

Anyway - Dragging DSG boxes.

Our current Octavia handbook makes no reference to the DSG clutch disengaging completely when the brake pedal is pressed firmly.

A couple of handbook quotes:

"Even when the engine is idling, the power transmission is never completely interrupted - the vehicle creeps." (p115)

"The selector lever position N does not have to be selected when stopping for a short time. However, the brake pedal should be depressed, in order to prevent the vehicle from rolling." (p117)

Having had 4 vehicles with DSG / Powershift (Volvo) transmissions, my thinking is that the brakes simply overpower the dragging clutch quite easily, while risking excessive clutch wear if held longer than a few seconds. See quote 2 above.

I will continue to select neutral if stopping for more than a few seconds in the hope that my clutch will outlast my ownership period.

Well that Lost In Space quote got me chuckling this morning. Thanks a lot.

What a great series that was in the 60s. Apologies to all the kids around here who have no idea what I'm talking about.

Anyway - Dragging DSG boxes.

Our current Octavia handbook makes no reference to the DSG clutch disengaging completely when the brake pedal is pressed firmly.

A couple of handbook quotes:

"Even when the engine is idling, the power transmission is never completely interrupted - the vehicle creeps." (p115)

"The selector lever position N does not have to be selected when stopping for a short time. However, the brake pedal should be depressed, in order to prevent the vehicle from rolling." (p117)

Having had 4 vehicles with DSG / Powershift (Volvo) transmissions, my thinking is that the brakes simply overpower the dragging clutch quite easily, while risking excessive clutch wear if held longer than a few seconds. See quote 2 above.

 

I will continue to select neutral if stopping for more than a few seconds in the hope that my clutch will outlast my ownership period.

The handbook is confusing, and at a certain footbrake pressure the clutches disengage completely. Try this to test it. Footbrake down with reasonable pressure, car in drive, apply handbrake, slowly release footbrake, you will feel the clutches engaging. Let me see if I can find a video about this.

 

Edited 4 December, 20169 yr by MoggyTech