Advice on buying a Superb Diesel

[AaronMountford1990]

Hi all,

 

I'm potentially going to be buying a Mk1 Superb in the future, i'm currently driving a MK1 Fabia Vrs but a possible second job may mean that i need something more refined.

 

Initially i'd set my sights on a Phaeton but that's unrealistic given what most on their forum say the repair bills are like (a grand a job!) so i thought i'd look at a superb instead.

 

Is there anything i should look out for? I'm thinking of the 1.9 PD 130 engine as it's the same as the one i'm using in the Fabia now, just the superb is heavier.

 

Box wise i'd be going for an auto (for job purposes), but i know they are usually kitted out to a decent spec.

 

My old fabia was an elegance, do they follow the same model tree with the superb of comfort, whatever the middle one was, then elegance? What optional extras were there also? 

 

I had tried to look for an old brochure to dig through what could potentially be on the cars but i cant find one anywhere :|

 

So to sum up, i'd be looking at an auto, 1.9 PD 130 with the highest spec i could and i'm wondering what to look out for and what goes wrong - i'm assuming the door seals are equally as naff on these also for letting water in?

[gfinneran]

First thing to do is read the water ingress thread at the top of the page from start to finish, a quick way to check if you are looking at a car is to remove the plastic vent under both font seats and get your hand in to check for damp. The door carriers leak if they have been off, usually to replace door locks or window regulators and not properly resealed. Any electrical issue to do with interior lights, locks, or transmission control module in the auto are usually related to water intrusion and the corrosion of the wiring under the carpet. The auto transmission is generally reliable but slipping in reverse is an issue with some may be related to solenoid seals in the valve body or failure of the reverse drum, its a ZF box lots on google about it. I have 305000km on mine as long as you address the issues they are a big comfortable car with reasonable economy. The best advice I can give is to read as much of this forum as you can some great contributors on here over the years have given some great advice on keeping these cars going. The edition 100 was top spec then elegance so you will have all the toys with these models, depending on type of driving, time of year etc 40-45mpg is possible from the auto, the manual would return in the 50s but has other issues with DMFs etc. There are oil pump issues with the 2.0 steer clear, the 1.9TDi AWX manual or AVF in the auto are probably the best combo in these cars, good luck with the search give them a thorough examination before you commit to buying.

 

Edited 28 June, 2017 by gfinneran

[Giles0308]

On 28/06/2017 at 11:48, gfinneran said:

First thing to do is read the water ingress thread at the top of the page from start to finish, a quick way to check if you are looking at a car is to remove the plastic vent under both font seats and get your hand in to check for damp. The door carriers leak if they have been off, usually to replace door locks or window regulators and not properly resealed. Any electrical issue to do with interior lights, locks, or transmission control module in the auto are usually related to water intrusion and the corrosion of the wiring under the carpet. The auto transmission is generally reliable but slipping in reverse is an issue with some may be related to solenoid seals in the valve body or failure of the reverse drum, its a ZF box lots on google about it. I have 305000km on mine as long as you address the issues they are a big comfortable car with reasonable economy. The best advice I can give is to read as much of this forum as you can some great contributors on here over the years have given some great advice on keeping these cars going. The edition 100 was top spec then elegance so you will have all the toys with these models, depending on type of driving, time of year etc 40-45mpg is possible from the auto, the manual would return in the 50s but has other issues with DMFs etc. There are oil pump issues with the 2.0 steer clear, the 1.9TDi AWX manual or AVF in the auto are probably the best combo in these cars, good luck with the search give them a thorough examination before you commit to buying.

 

What u think of the 07/08 1.9tdi 115bhp bpz are they as good as the awx model

[gfinneran]

No experience of that engine that must have been the last engine offered pre the MK2, does it have a DPF? If so I would avoid it those early dpf models were troublesome.

[jimbof]

I got bitten by the ZF autobox reverse drum breaking at around 90K miles (on the 1.9PD130).  Had it repaired (£1500 bill) and went on to do another 150K before I got rid of the car.  It is a common failure for that gearbox/

[kkbc]

On 23/09/2019 at 08:09, jimbof said:

I got bitten by the ZF autobox reverse drum breaking at around 90K miles (on the 1.9PD130).  Had it repaired (£1500 bill) and went on to do another 150K before I got rid of the car.  It is a common failure for that gearbox/

Did you ever have the oil changed on it after you'd had it repaired ? 

[jimbof]

11 hours ago, kkbc said:

Did you ever have the oil changed on it after you'd had it repaired ? 

Through laziness, no.    No one local seemed to want to do it for sensible money and the place that did the gearbox were too far away.  

From what I understood the big problem on these boxes wasn't the fluid ; there were a couple of design issues with the valve body and the reversing drum which were fixed aftermarket with revised parts.

I will say that after 150,000 miles on the refurb box it wasn't changing much different to after it had just been repaired.

[Giles0308]

On 21/09/2019 at 23:23, gfinneran said:

No experience of that engine that must have been the last engine offered pre the MK2, does it have a DPF? If so I would avoid it those early dpf models were troublesome.

Shes the last of them 07/08 1.9tdi 115bhp model before the new model came out in 08 

[kkbc]

On 25/09/2019 at 07:56, jimbof said:

Through laziness, no.    No one local seemed to want to do it for sensible money and the place that did the gearbox were too far away.  

From what I understood the big problem on these boxes wasn't the fluid ; there were a couple of design issues with the valve body and the reversing drum which were fixed aftermarket with revised parts.

I will say that after 150,000 miles on the refurb box it wasn't changing much different to after it had just been repaired.

Mines died again. Recon box, 2 years 18k miles. Time to cut my losses and move on. 

[jimbof]

18 minutes ago, kkbc said:

Mines died again. Recon box, 2 years 18k miles. Time to cut my losses and move on. 

Where did you get it done?

[kkbc]

Driver Transmissions in Birmingham. Cost me £1500. Had a 12 month warranty.  Not long put a new turbo on it as well.