Used VRS estate - a steal or avoid?

[DoorMatt]

Hi All, 

 

I'm looking for an estate version and around 6 months early to the party, money wise. Im in no rush to get one as our dog is still a puppy, there are no kids on the cards either and my car just sailed through its MOT. 

 

However, I've been doing light searching/researching in prep. I came across this 118k millage ex-lease http://www.v12sportsandclassics.co.uk/used-cars/7523955-skoda-octavia-vrs-tdi-cr/ initially it was on sale for 10K but is now priced at 8.5k as they want rid of it now. The car has pretty much the majority of desirable extras, canton, satnav, auto parking, heated seats etc

 

More out of curiosity and being a short trip, me and a friend went to take a look. Neither one of us is a car mechanic but have bit of knowledge. The place selling it is like many of these car supermarkets, ex-lease, a few low millage but the majority high, all the cars are cheap and sell pretty quick. All of the cars purchased at auction rather then individually handpicked and inspected. They then have the AA 'inspect' each vehicle purchased to make sure it is worthy of selling... I don't trust the reports but at least it is something. 

 

I took the vehicle for a test cruise rather than a drive.  Went across a mixture of fast, smooth and rough roads and on a whole the car drove and felt good. On returning we got the opportunity to look over the vehicle and maintenance records without a sales man hanging over our shoulder. On a whole the vehicle has been serviced as and when it should be by Skoda. The only documented work carried out by Skoda outside of servicing was a front break replacement and it was advised the rears needed replacement but was ignored. I get the opinion that the vehicle has been used as a work horse to go up and down the motorway everyday, not necessarily a bad thing but the car is in that hot potato maintenance zone. The car is going to cost around £1000 to put into a peace of mind, new water pump, cambelt, rear break discs, two front tyres and a service. The garage agreed in principle to selling for £8k rather than my optimistic  £7.5k offer 

 

Bottom line it is going to cost £9k to purchase and carry out the work. Around £3 - 4 thousand cheaper than what was my target range 6 months on and will be getting a lot of features that I'd struggle to pickup in that price range. 

 

What is your opinions guys? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ahenners]

Looks like it has heated Windscreen too (possibly winter pack). Very well specced and looks good for its mileage both inside and out. You've said it drives fine, it's been serviced to schedule and it's well under your expected budget.

 

As long as you buy it with your eyes open, in that things may go wrong and may need replacing, and you're fine with this, then I'd say it's not a terrible buy. You never know, it may carry on needing nothing but servicing, but that's the gamble you take. DPF would only be the major concern for me but given its high mileage in 3 years or so, it's probably spent most it's life on motorways where it's less likely to become clogged up.

[ChrisHooligan]

Regarding DPF replacement I was informed  by a Skoda dealership that the lifespan is up to around 140,000 dependent on its life. I'd bear that in mind, but having said that you may be fortunate with it maybe spending a lot of its life on motorways 

[threadbear]

I'm no mechanic but that car certainly looks good. I have seen a lot worse at a lot lower miles. Before buying my Octavia I looked at loads of cars online and one judge of condition was the state of the boot! Some were really tatty! Yours looks good! If your happy with it with the correct price go for it and factor in future maintenance and a lousy future trade in. Black takes commitment to keep looking good. Motorway miles doesn't knacker a car like this. Being a city taxi would. 

Edited 8 September, 2017 by threadbear

[Auric Goldfinger]

FP is Nottingham registered, We have had 4 cars from Rainworth Skoda in Mansfield and all 4 regestration numbers started with " F * "

 

Ring Rainworths, give them the reg and they might tell you whats/where it's been.  Might have been a Hire/lease car , failing that Ring other dealers in the area and try and find out who sold it or ring Skoda customer services, Worth a punt and might put your mind at rest, 

[Mike97]

You could check the condition of the dpf if you could plug an obd2 blutooth dongle in and use the app vag dpf on android it will tell you how full it is they may not want you plugging stuff in though.

[davidwhite]

Don't see what your issues are, ok you are buying cheap because of what you are buying, high miles and where you are buying from, stack them high price them low sell them fast outlet

 but

you still have all your consumer rights, if push comes to shove get a full inspection done as soon as possible and possibly buy an independent warranty 

 

if if your total outlay is nearer £2k plus purchase price have you still got a bargain that's the $64000 question ?

[DoorMatt]

Thank you all for your responses, I'm taking the other half over to take a look at it in the next few days and if she gives the thumbs up then I'll probably take the jump. 

[Rjg]

Probably not a lot of help to you, but I recently purchased a 117k mile 2012 plate VRS petrol estate that was similarly well priced and with full Skoda history (albeit with little in the way of extra receipts).  

 

The mileage is still playing on my mind a bit, but I guess all you can do is set some money aside for some key maintenance parts as you said, then keep on top of the servicing.

[glosrich]

I always advise that you consider how long you will keep it and how many miles you will do, so you can work out how much it will cost you.

Pop it into we buy any car, I would reckon it's value is closer to £6k at that mileage, so they want all the money for it, I'd want a years comprehensive warranty for that price.

As others have said budget for some of the bigger cost repairs, DPF maybe a clutch and flywheel soon.

 

[SkodaVRS1963]

On 08/09/2017 at 15:53, DoorMatt said:

Hi All, 

 

I'm looking for an estate version and around 6 months early to the party, money wise. Im in no rush to get one as our dog is still a puppy, there are no kids on the cards either and my car just sailed through its MOT. 

 

However, I've been doing light searching/researching in prep. I came across this 118k millage ex-lease http://www.v12sportsandclassics.co.uk/used-cars/7523955-skoda-octavia-vrs-tdi-cr/ initially it was on sale for 10K but is now priced at 8.5k as they want rid of it now. The car has pretty much the majority of desirable extras, canton, satnav, auto parking, heated seats etc

 

More out of curiosity and being a short trip, me and a friend went to take a look. Neither one of us is a car mechanic but have bit of knowledge. The place selling it is like many of these car supermarkets, ex-lease, a few low millage but the majority high, all the cars are cheap and sell pretty quick. All of the cars purchased at auction rather then individually handpicked and inspected. They then have the AA 'inspect' each vehicle purchased to make sure it is worthy of selling... I don't trust the reports but at least it is something. 

 

The only documented work carried out by Skoda outside of servicing was a front break replacement and it was advised the rears needed replacement but was ignored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front brake disc advisory at its last MOT

[DoorMatt]

I've taken a rain check on this car for now, I could be wrong but still do not believe the vehicle will sell at 8.5k and will drop further.  

 

Glosrich your spot on - webuyanycar price it at 7.2k in perfect condition, it wouldn't fetch that due to a chip that has rusted on one of the passenger door where it looks like it has been opened bounced off a wall. Only about half the size of a 1p piece, nothing major to fix but still a cost and a consumption of time none the less. On the whole most webuyany car quotes are £2k lower then garage sale price. 

 

from the paperwork present - the car has had long life services at 40k, 53k, 80k and is due another service in 2k. I have the feeling that had the vehicle had this prior to being returned I'd feel more comfortable knowing someone looked over it in a more mechanical/preventative way. On the whole I get the feeling the vehicle was returned due to the lease ending but just before money needed to be spent and just enough work was carried out to allow it to return back to a standard to allow it to be auctioned hence the paying of replacement front brakes but not the rear. Had the previous owner been keeping the vehicle past 120k miles then you'd see a Cambelt change. 

 

 

Edited 10 September, 2017 by DoorMatt

[jordy_wd]

I think £8k is an excellent price for the car. WeBuyAnyCar prices are notoriously low so to come with £800 of their price is great.

 

You're probably correct - the vehicle was returned due to the lease ending and so didn't get the 120k service. Why would someone bother servicing it if it's not due? I wouldn't let this bother you. It's been serviced according to the QI6 interval most likely. Service it at 120k and don't worry.

 

Timing belt will be due at 150k so budget for that.

 

The spec of the car is excellent and quite hard to come by. I've just bought a VRS III and it took me ages to get one with similar spec to this one.

 

EDIT: Just checked prices for rear brakes. £50 for both discs and £30 for both sets of pads. £80 job if you can do it yourself.

Edited 10 September, 2017 by jordy_wd
Mistake

[ahenners]

If those mileages are the only services it's seen, then even with Longlife/variable it hasn't been serviced according to schedule. 

[dunc69]

Ultimately, it depends on how badly you want the extras, how much you are prepared to spend and how quickly you need to buy. 

 

I managed to find Columbus & Pano roof second hand (would have loved Canton too), but was prepared to wait and look at the market every day until I found what I wanted. Then you have to move fast. 

 

Mk III vRS's with a good spec sell very quickly, although there are more diesels than petrols about if that's what you're after. 

 

Good luck with your decisions and the hunt for the right car! 

 

 

[DoorMatt]

1 hour ago, ahenners said:

If those mileages are the only services it's seen, then even with Longlife/variable it hasn't been serviced according to schedule. 

 

Having no service book makes things a right hassle. The paperwork with car documented the above services. Surely, skoda wouldn't set 40,000 miles for the next service? Long life is 19/20, unless the owner reset it themselves.

 

 All the paperwork might not have been kept due to having no need with it being leased and them keeping a record? My current car is ex-lease, it came with service book stamped etc but also a print out from lex auto lease with all of the work carried out on it. 

Anyhow, I'm going to call skoda services and make enquiries to see if they will tell me anything. Anyone had any joy doing so?

 

Extras are a bonus for me it just so happens to be the cheapest vrs on the market and has the lions share. Timing belt ar 150k? It was my understanding it was 120k or 4 years but then some threads I've seen and had replacements but the belts coming off we're still very good. 

 

I'm in no dire rush to get an estate it just so happens that an opportunity has presented itself now. 

[ahenners]

1 minute ago, DoorMatt said:

 

Having no service book makes things a right hassle. The paperwork with car documented the above services. Surely, skoda wouldn't set 40,000 miles for the next service? Long life is 19/20, unless the owner reset it themselves.

 

 All the paperwork might not have been kept due to having no need with it being leased and them keeping a record? My current car is ex-lease, it came with service book stamped etc but also a print out from lex auto lease with all of the work carried out on it. 

Anyhow, I'm going to call skoda services and make enquiries to see if they will tell me anything. Anyone had any joy doing so?

 

Extras are a bonus for me it just so happens to be the cheapest vrs on the market and has the lions share. Timing belt ar 150k? It was my understanding it was 120k or 4 years but then some threads I've seen and had replacements but the belts coming off we're still very good. 

 

I'm in no dire rush to get an estate it just so happens that an opportunity has presented itself now. 

 

Agreed, no service book makes life so much more difficult as a prospective buyer, or potentially when trying to sell as an owner. Were the documented services all Skoda main dealer? If not then it might be difficult to confirm some of the services if it's been outside the dealer network.

[Ootohere]

Service book or just Skoda System @ Full Main Dealer Servicing it means very little you just assume you need to do Full Servicing & Maintenance and factor that into your expenses, 

and fully check tyres, wipers, dampers etc etc including windscreen very closely just incase that needs replacing.

(cars with  DSG / Haldex you assume that that might needing doing as well, any fleet vehicles are buyer beware..)

[DoorMatt]

If I recall rightly the services were carried out a skoda frachise dealership in chippenham. If memory serves me right but even my mate cannot rememeber. I have never had a skoda so I wouldn't know what a service sheet looks like but had all skoda badging all over it, I have no reason to believe it wasn't genuine as such. Interestingly the first service record around 40k documented the low level noise from the rear of the vehicle. The fix/issue amounted to an issue with a rear tyre. I'm probably going to make myself sound absolutely stupid but I'm sure it was refered to as a shark or hammer scar in the tyre?

 

 

Edited 10 September, 2017 by DoorMatt

[Ootohere]

Sawtooth even.

Skoda Main Dealer servicing, lots of looking, reporting, vacuuming and washing, some oil and filters and then car punted off at 3 years old out of manufacturers warranty.

One registered keeper and you have no idea how many drivers.

Some cars cherished and some abused but clean, all just a lottery.

[DoorMatt]

Sawtooth sounds right. Like you said I guess it's just a lottery when buying used. 20k miles down the line my golf (ex-lease), has never missed a beat and had no issues in two MOTS. 

[Adam26]

I called about this car and asked about service history and condition and sounded like a honest car. I wasn't worried by disc and pads or cambelt I'd done that my self. But what was a pain I'd called up to come look at it Sunday and was told They'ed call me back to book in on Saturday .... no call back and then Sunday morning I got a call to say it had sold !! 

Such a nice car .

[DoorMatt]

 

It wasn't myself that purchased the vehicle, when I saw it had gone I was pinching myself a little but it never sat comfortable with me.

 

At least you got a call, I read countless reviews where people had turned up and the car had been sold...