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Mk3 octavia or Citroen Cactus - family vehicle


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All,

 

I have been looking for the right used Octavia for a while now, no luck just yet and i am trying to be as patient as possible.

 

However my wife is keen on a Citroen Cactus, not my cup of tea but I'll hardly ever be driving it, only the odd holiday trip.

 

Now for 11k i can get a cactus that is a year old, they seriously cheap. 11k Octy would be around 3 years old. Cactus cheaper to run etc but will surely depreciate more?

 

Over 5 years do you think the Octy would prove best as a family vehicle? Will it actually work out cheaper in the long run as it should hold its value better? 

 

Again, thanks for your help

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Based on my experience with a Peugeot 206 I will never buy another French car...

 

I can only comment on my family experience with the Octavia & have to say I have no complaints.

Comfortably sits 5 adults, lots of rear space for a child seat & the boot of the Combi is cavernous.

The dealer service in Switzerland is exceptional & its eaten through 75k km without anything I can really fault.

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Apart from the fact it looks like it has the best part of Nana's duvet nailed to it, Its French. This means it will have been assembled by a powerful unionised workforce who dont give a **** and designed by a man who's default design policy is 'that will do, I need a 3 hour break now'. That type of atitude is how British Leyland produced  produced it own suicide note with a stream of crap cars.

 

I think I'd go Skoda. 

Edited by edwards
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How about a Skoda Yeti, they are cheaper than the Octavia, look a bit like a cactus also.

 

Seriously, the Pug 205 GTi was the only decent car the French have made.

My mechanic mate hates French cars, break easily and very complex to fix.

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I've owned Citroens and they've been great - 2 ZXs and a Xantia.

 

However anything newer from Citroen does seem to be overly complex, and electrics is PSA's achilles heel.

 

Though no brand is immune from issues (just go through some of the Skoda forums!), a lot of components these days come from the same suppliers anyway - and the 1.6 diesel engine I think is the same Ford DLD/HDi used in the Mini Cooper, Volvos, Mazdas etc.

 

To me they're chalk and cheese in terms of cars, a strange comparison - an Octavia is more like an old hatchback C5/Xantia, a DS5 or one of the last C5 estates might be the closest recent thing from Citroen.

From Skoda, a Yeti is probably close to a Cactus in terms of a small SUV.

 

Which is the better family car? Many people like small SUVs as they sit high, and easy to get child seats in and out of.

 

I picked the Octavia as my family car as the big fastback boot is huge and useful for getting prams, shopping etc. in and out of, as I didn't want an SUV.

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Thanks all,

 

The Cactus seems to be a good all rounder and does look easier to put child sits in and out of but the boot is just 358 litres, a VW golf has more! How long before i wish i'd had more space and gone for Octy?

 

My worry is how reliable the Cactus will be in 40k miles? I would expect the Octy to be more reliable in the long run.

 

The Citroen becomes attractive mainly because of its price, a car with a fair bit of space and plenty of gadgets all for 10k and just a year old!

 

Buying cars used to be fun! I think it will come down to the right car turning up at the right price.

 

I've also considered a MK2 Octy to save pennies but think the interior looks dated.

 

 

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If it is price and age that appeal, have a look at nearly new Rapids and Toledos, they're almost Octavia sized, 550 litre boot (for the 'hatchback' - the estate shape 'sportback' is slightly smaller), both are built in the same Skoda factory as the Octavia, and I've seen examples a year old come up for £9-£10k. Nearly bought one myself.

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Yes the Rapid and Toledo are great value used. I was offered a 6 month old one with 1k miles on it, all the spec, nav etc for £11k.

SWMBO pop pooed it as it had rusty discs as it had been sat for a bit.

So we ended up paying £6k more for a new Octavia....

TBH the Octavia was better to drive and more refined, but if you're on a tight budget, the Rapid/Toledo are great value.

 

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Had 3 Citroens and all where dogged with issues.

 

Would I buy one.........no unless very very very cheap!

 

Horses for courses some people say they have had equally bad experiences with Skoda.

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I have had my Octavia only 3 days and admittedly had only done 11 miles when I collected it. There is no denying it is a big car but the huge boot will be ideal for holidays and there is plenty of room in the back. And it feels like it will last forever.....

 

Incidentally I went in a C4 Picasso taxi recently on a 15plate with 28k on the clock and over a spot of bad road it rattled like hell. Wouldv'e driven me up the wall! 

 

Cactus or Octavia? No contest. Everyone knows the Octy is a great car! 

Edited by threadbear
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To be fair my Octavia, and plenty other Octavias and Rapids, bootlid vibrates like mad when going over bad roads, it isn't the last word in refinement. The old Xantia I had had a big bootlid but didn't vibrate like it.

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Holding their value better really does not come into it because that is not true of the Skoda.

A Fabia Estate is maybe more the size to compare with a Cactus, or a Rapid Spaceback that is neither Rapid or has space at the back,

The Cactus which actually is quite comfortable if you like that sort of thing. The body protection does the job in tight parking spaces.

I actually do like how a Cactus drives and i like the front seating, and the dash, the automatics are terrible though.

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Urgh. I had one in the UK a while back as a rental and it was truly, truly bad. Pulling it out of fifth after an hour on the motorway meant I crunched reverse - the exact opposite of the the slickness of the Octavia 'box. OK, that was a RHD Cactus and they were LHD Octavias, but still. I learnt to drive in teh UK, it still feels more natural... but that was almost as bad a change as teh famed 1985 or so 1.6 Montegos!

Ride was quite comfy, seats acceptable and it moved forward when asked. As an ownership proposition, I'd take a Rapid every time, but I'd also take an Octy over the rapid for a couple of k more. Much more refinement, far nicer to drive over long distances and you can get stuff like Xenon which is actually worth having. 

 

Unimpressed with the Cactus' integration of heater controls into the main screen, too. 

 

 - Bret

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On 27/02/2017 at 17:33, Gabbo said:

Based on my experience with a Peugeot 206 I will never buy another French car...

 

The company I used to work for, courtesy of a corrupt Fleet Manager who we subsequently found out had taken a massive backhander, changed from buying Ford Transit vans to Citroen vans.

 

The official line was that for every six Transits we could buy seven Citroens.

 

The Citroens fell to bits within months, literally.  Doors falling off, fuse boxes catching fire, wheel nuts shearing off when attempting to repair a puncture.......and that's just me, one guy driving for us had his brakes fail completely whilst going down the M5 on Good Friday!

 

I'm sure French car and French van assembly lines are very different but I wouldn't touch a French car if you offered it to me gratis.

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Haven't they got one now called Cactus Surf / Rip Curl or something ? They are having to double load with gimmickery its so bad the cars can't sell themselves ???

Christ how long before they start attaching dildos to their car body work and call it the ****roen Dildo ?

 

Its up to you, car purchasing is very personal, I find them very crap concept personally and what is "funky" today will date like hell tomorrow and may further erode it's value because such marketing gimmicks are short lived in their appeal.

 

I would imagine the Octy retains a more sophisticated vibe longer term as a nofrills no BS car - so will retain better value. You say it yourself already 1 year old and already down to 11K. Do what you want, I'd wince even getting into it myself.

 

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On 27/02/2017 at 17:50, glosrich said:

How about a Skoda Yeti, they are cheaper than the Octavia, look a bit like a cactus also.

 

Seriously, the Pug 205 GTi was the only decent car the French have made.

My mechanic mate hates French cars, break easily and very complex to fix.

 

Pug 405, 306, 205

Citroen BX, Xsara

 

Actually I hear the new DS cars are pretty nice.

 

I'd look at the depreciation curve on a cactus and see when they seem to bottom out. I think they'll be very cheap at 2 years old.

Plus that 11k cactus is a "year" older now the new plates are out, so cheaper right?

 

Honestly if your misses wants the citroen and you can get it at the right price let her have it. It's her car.

Plus at 1/2 years old you have warranty.

 

At 3 years old, you may have warranty (1 year used car warranty if you buy from a dealer) or you may not if you don't buy from a dealer.

Skoda have destroyed their own residuals currently with the 0% offer (How very Citroen).

 

Plus honestly I think the BX and 306 were more reliable cars than the recent skoda.

Certainly as a family the VW group cars have had more problems than ford or the french cars we have owned.

 

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I actually like the look of the Cactus and the idea behind the plastic bits around the car to protect from idiots in car parks but my wife hated the look.

They were doing some really good PCH deals at the time which made it look even better :) 2.5k for 2 years 10k miles or something similar, really its a no brainer but my wife still said no. 

 

My last car was a C4 grand Picasso owned from 18k and yes it had its fair share of fault (rear air bags suspension fail, oil leak, electric gliches etc.) but it was really comfy to drive and got us all to st ives once a year without a hiccup. Would I buy one again, never. Would I hire one if the price was really good, yes (if the boss approves).

 

Octy or Cactus as a family car, the Octavia wins every time, the boots huge and theirs plenty of cabin room and its simple to fit child seat, I have 2 fitted. 

 

 

  

Edited by LHVRS
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Thanks all, some great feedback.

 

Well unfortunately I've had to lower my budget slightly. Now looking at spending 10k tops. A mk3 Octavia may prove even more difficult to find now.

 

I've always thought about getting a really good late mk2 Octy but to my knowledge they can suffer from catastrophic engine failures? I could get it a good example for 6k but obviously this scares me a little. Id be looking at 1.4 tsi.

 

If i bought one i would make sure they changed belt before i hand my money over. 

 

I honestly think it will come down to the right car turning up at the right time now. 

 

Have looked at Skoda Rapid but to me it just doesn't look right and sits horrible. Good price tho i must admit and would do the job.

 

Cheers

 

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