I'm a little confused as to the specs on the Octavia I've just bought. It's great and I got a bargain for how well looked after it is but I'm a tad confused. 

 

It's a 2003 Octavia estate 1.8T elegance. It's ex police and has been owned for 5 years since then by another guy who used it occasionally. But I've no idea if it's tuned or not and wondered if anyone could tell me how I might find out? The previous owner didn't know much about cars and just said he thought it was tuned for police use, but that may have just been in reference to it being fairly nippy as standard!

 

The other thing is that when I google this model I see loads of references to a 4x4 model. Are they all 4x4 or are some front wheel drive? I was told it was front wheel drive.

 

I should also point out that I don't have the manual etc to hand just now and I put the car in the garage this evening to get some new brake pads as they were a bit worn. Anyone got any idea how I can check this stuff?!

 

(Forgive my ignorance!)

Edited 26 January, 20179 yr by dangoddard

You can check the 4x4 aspect easily. Simply lie under the rear of the car and see if it has drive shafts at the back wheels, if it does then it's a 4x4, if not then it's a FWD. 

 

I've got a similar problem finding out of my cars been mapped previously. So far all I've found is that a rolling road seems the easiest way, or getting a tuner to check the map to see if it's standard or not. Neither are exactly cheap from what I've been quoted though. 

The 4x4 is a pretty rare model but as above, the easiest way to tell is to physically look underneath the rear. There will be driveshafts to the rear wheels coming from a bare metal box with numerous fins on it. There's not really going to be any easy way to see if it was mapped.

The 4x4 is a pretty rare model but as above, the easiest way to tell is to physically look underneath the rear. There will be driveshafts to the rear wheels coming from a bare metal box with numerous fins on it. There's not really going to be any easy way to see if it was mapped.

Find a quoted 30-60 time or something and then test your car somewhere safe to compare the times. I say that instead of 0-60 as I expect your ability to launch the car is more important with that, and there may be concerns on the condition of clutch/driveshafts etc for such an aggressive launch. I believe the 150bhp 1.8t elegance was remapped to between 180bhp-210bhp which is a rather large increase and should be pretty noticable. 

Thanks very much, when I get the car back today I'll check if it's a 4x4. I don't think it will be, just saw lots of references online to that car! 

 

Might also check out the times. It feels quick to me but that's almost certainly because I've upgraded from a Civic ha. 

Is there no clue to be had from the VIN, perhaps?

Best check out what went on if you can in the first 9 years 2003-2012 when the keeper before you got it.

Any MOT history from 2006 on?

How many previous keepers show and who was it First Registered to?

 

The Spec from the factory and what has happened between 2003 and now could be anything, 

engine change, drivetrain, mods for upgrades or down grades or reverted to standard.

29 minutes ago, Ttaskmaster said:

Is there no clue to be had from the VIN, perhaps?

 

Not for a remap, as there's not a database anywhere of remapped cars. You'd either have to phone tuners in areas the cars been, or speak to old owners. 

I'll have a proper look through the papers I have for the car. The previous owner said he didn't get any service history in the log book from the police, just some kind of final document detailing key history. I'll see what I can find out of interest. 

 

Ill also check for old MOTs

Edited 27 January, 20179 yr by dangoddard