Octavia III buying advice

[AlexOctavia]

Hello there

 

I'm new to the forum, I've never owned a Skoda before but am looking to buy an Octavia Estate shortly. I've found it really informative but had a couple of specific questions.

 

I first thought I'd do a 2 or 3 year PCH or PCP which worked out about £200 a month with a £1300 deposit (for a 1.0 SE DSG spec) but I think over that term spending £13-14k used would be cheaper, even if I needed to buy lets say front pads and 4 tyres, I think I'd lose less still over the term which also takes into account the risk of paying for any dents/scratches on finance.

 

I'm therefore looking at a petrol 15 or 16 year SE or Elegance (with higher miles), 1.4 most likely auto (which will be a first for me). Are these all chain driven engines? It looked that way but wanted to check as that's potentially another £500 cost for a belt change, and do the DSG boxes need any maintenance? Don't know a huge amount about these as never had one before.

 

Any advice on what to look out for on the petrol engines most appreciated so I can buy the cheapest to run in terms of any maintenance.

 

Many thanks

Alex

[SWBoy]

The 1.4 is belt driven, not sure about the 1.0

 

I have a 2015 1.4TSI Elegance manual

[SWBoy]

Just now, SWBoy said:

The 1.4 is belt driven, not sure about the 1.0

 

I have a 2015 1.4TSI Elegance manual bought one year old - only problems has been a front parking sensor failing and a once every 3 months check engine light for a problem with the O2 sensor, will get both of those fixed at the next service (and first MOT).

 

[AlexOctavia]

Brilliant that is really useful. Assume therefore there is no maintenance until you get into six figure mileage for these belts then? Apart from obviously checking they are not failing!

[uchuff]

From around 65 plate Elegance spec was renamed to "SE L", I'm not sure much else changed however SE L is likely to have an MIB 2 Amundsen (Higher res screen & Apple CarPlay, Android Auto can be enabled at a cost if not already paid for by previous owner - only the facelift got them enabled as standard)

 

In theory the dry clutch DSG doesn't need the regular (40k miles?) oil changes that the wet clutch you get in the VRS does.

 

Some discussion on timing belt here:

 

 

Edited 24 April, 2018 by uchuff

[SashaGrace]

The Octy 3 is a lovely car, I'm enjoying owning mine. I would try for an SE-L. Even if you have no desire to enable SmartLink for Android Auto/Apple CarPlay/MirrorLink, it is worth it for the bigger screen on the Amundsen Nav unit, better sound quality and faster processor. If you are a fan of CD's you will be disappointed as the MY16 cars lost that if you have a Bolero or Amundsen. In terms of the car itself, be aware that even the more powerful petrol Octavia's (except 4x4 and vRS) still got torsion bar rear suspension whereas a 150 ps A3/Golf will have had fully independent rear suspension which makes the car ride better and is smoother. Avoid the 18 inch wheels with this suspension system, the 17's are fine and 16's even better IMO. The interior quality is good, just as good as a Golf, but it misses some chrome highlights you might find in a Golf (who cares? You can retrofit most of it anyway if it bothers you). They are quite loud cars though, on the motorway and fast moving roads there is a lot of noise as they are quite sound deadening anaemic. A big heavy rubber boot mat and turning the radio up a notch helps. Otherwise, I can't say much about the petrol as mine is TDi power but I love the little 1.0 in my Citigo and and I thought the TSi version was awesome in the Rapid I drove as a courtesy car. Shame you cannot get the 1.0 as an SE-L in the UK, but you can get the SE Tech as a 1.0 and with some choice options you can get there. I love the leather/alcantara combo in the SE-L, far superior to the cloth in the SE. Try for a facelift car as well, then you get the LED lights on the SE-L and the bigger 8 inch glossy infotainment screen as well as front assist as standard. All helps  

[Hermit]

The Scout 4x4 offers another option, though won't suit everyone of course. 

Higher ride height, 17" wheels and independent rear suspension makes for very comfortable ride though won't hold so well when driven hard round the bend.

Only diesel TDIs - either 150 manual or 184hp with DSG box. The DSG is so much more than 'auto' of course.

You will pay a premium for all this but if used that differential reduces.

Not many about other than 1yr olds ex dealership.

[MorrisOx]

All depends on personal preferences, of course. I had three years with a 1.4 TSi  DSG SE hatch, chosen over an SE L because it had a taller profile tyre which takes the edge off a fairly noisy, crashy ride from the torsion beam rear suspension. Some people aren’t bothered by the ride. I was in the end and switched to a Superb (which has better cushioned independent rear suspension).

 

The petrol/auto combination is excellent - decent mid 40s economy, very smooth shifts, though you have to remember it’s a ‘hard’ change where the gearbox shifts between two clutches, not a slushbox torque converter - so you can’t let the ‘box hold the car on hills and pulling away from a stand still can seem a bit sharp sometimes.

 

Car very spacious, plain but decent quality inside. Only issue I had was two weeks before I handed mine back when the turbo wastegate actuator failed. This isn’t an isolated issue and I’d make sure that you are covered by a decent warranty.

 

But these are incredibly solid cars, far better than people expect.

Edited 24 April, 2018 by MorrisOx

[AlexOctavia]

12 hours ago, uchuff said:

From around 65 plate Elegance spec was renamed to "SE L", I'm not sure much else changed however SE L is likely to have an MIB 2 Amundsen (Higher res screen & Apple CarPlay, Android Auto can be enabled at a cost if not already paid for by previous owner - only the facelift got them enabled as standard)

 

In theory the dry clutch DSG doesn't need the regular (40k miles?) oil changes that the wet clutch you get in the VRS does.

 

Some discussion on timing belt here:

 

 

This confuses me even more- is a 1.4 petrol chain driven and if so it then needs to replacement for many years, not the 5 quoted quoted,  up until 130k?

 

Many thanks for the helpful replys.

 

I'll look for a 1.4 sel DSG but this may not fit my under 13k budget

 

Thanks

 

Alex

[uchuff]

To be honest I haven’t looked into it too much as ours is only at 10 months / 14,000 miles old. 

 

SE Sport is an interesting trim that often gets overlooked second hand. They were a bit of a runout special on the pre facelift and got Amundsen Nav, Xenon headlights, cloth versions of the VRS Seats, nice looking 5 spoke 17 inch alloys and I think Auto dimming mirror and black fogs above the standard SE spec. Maybe also a bit above budget though in DSG. 

[amwphotos]

If you're looking at minimising maintenance and repair costs then go for a manual! DSG will always be something else to service and if it does need fixing will be an expensive job compared to a normal clutch. When I got my Octavia last year I couldn't find any longevity reviews of dsg with 100,000+ miles.

 

I've got an elegance estate and it's lovely. Only thing I would like is MIB2 so I could use Google maps off my phone, and xenon headlights because the LED drl's look good!

[SWBoy]

10 hours ago, AlexOctavia said:

This confuses me even more- is a 1.4 petrol chain driven

It's belt driven NOT chain driven

[AlexOctavia]

Hi all

 

Thanks for the advice. I've found a 2016 Se Sport  Dsg with low mileage I'm going to look at, although at just shy of £15k is a little more than my budget. It's been a few years since I've bought used, do dealers still negotiate as much as they used to? Was thinking offering cash.

 

Thanks

 

Alex 

[Noz]

Depends on the dealer and how much they paid for the car themselves etc. Offering cash doesn't help as they make a good margin on selling credit but I wouldn't worry about that.

Independent used car places usually give much bigger discounts than main dealers but some have fixed price policies (but even then you should be able to get a bit off)

 

I assume that's a main dealer approved cat at that price?

 

I just bought an approved Octavia myself.  My buying "strategy":

 

1. Don't get married to one car - there are always others out there if you're not getting the deal you need. 

2. Know how much they should be - get the Parkers or Glasses guide price for the type sale (private, trader, main-dealer) and watch prices on Autotrader etc so you know what's a good price to start with.

3. Let them know you're looking at other cars especially another car later that day - gives them some motivation to close the deal there and then

4. Look carefully for anything wrong - scratches, older tyres, marks, missing mats or whatever and point them out

5. Let them try to sell to you and then when asked for a decision "well it is nice. Bit worried those tyres having got a lot left...as I said I do have that X to look at in couple of hours so it's hard to make my mind up.....what can you do on the price?" and go from there. 

6. Keep negotiating until they are prepared to let you walk out - then you know you got the best price they were prepared to offer. You can always walk back in 5 mins later

7. But don't get too silly about like £50 on a £15K car!

 

I'd also personally refuse to pay any "administration fee" nonsense that companies have started to add on. 

 

We got some off but not a huge amount but then they did claim to be a non-negotiating showroom. I've looked around the market since and not had any "oh god I could have paid less" moments. It was pretty much the exact Parker's main dealer price so I guess not a terrible deal.

 

My brother has a trick I've not had the guts to pull which is to negotiate like mad and get it on credit for great deal....and then simply cancel the credit later when the cooling-off period comes to an end!

 

 

Edited 13 May, 2018 by Noz

[SashaGrace]

I too would take the credit as you’re likely to get a better price, then cancel it within the cooling off period. Dealers don’t really like cash as they make no more money with it. The most important thing not to fall for is overpriced GAP insurance. I argued the toss when I bought my Citigo new from a Skoda dealer over the extortionate GAP quote as I knew I could get it through ALA for sub £100. They kept coming back with prices still over £300. Told them I’d walk if they didn’t shut up. When I bought then Octy from a used car supermarket, all they asked is if I’d heard of GAP and did I know what it was. Once I answered yes, we moved on. When buying from a main dealer don’t fall into the trap my brother did with his Fabia, don’t let them happily boast that they are giving you a 12 month warranty on a car that has 12 months manufacturer warranty remaining on it. Push for an extra 12 months once that’s finished, or at least a discount for such cover. Generally dealers will like to sell you a new car, but stick to your guns and keep interest on the car you have chosen to see. Make sure every single thing works as there’s a lot to test. Maybe try and get SmartLink activation or a protection pack thrown in to sweeten the deal if you can’t get much of a discount to sweeten the deal. They sometimes go for that over money off. 

 

Most impotantly, good luck! Let us know how it goes

[AlexOctavia]

5 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

I too would take the credit as you’re likely to get a better price, then cancel it within the cooling off period. Dealers don’t really like cash as they make no more money with it. The most important thing not to fall for is overpriced GAP insurance. I argued the toss when I bought my Citigo new from a Skoda dealer over the extortionate GAP quote as I knew I could get it through ALA for sub £100. They kept coming back with prices still over £300. Told them I’d walk if they didn’t shut up. When I bought then Octy from a used car supermarket, all they asked is if I’d heard of GAP and did I know what it was. Once I answered yes, we moved on. When buying from a main dealer don’t fall into the trap my brother did with his Fabia, don’t let them happily boast that they are giving you a 12 month warranty on a car that has 12 months manufacturer warranty remaining on it. Push for an extra 12 months once that’s finished, or at least a discount for such cover. Generally dealers will like to sell you a new car, but stick to your guns and keep interest on the car you have chosen to see. Make sure every single thing works as there’s a lot to test. Maybe try and get SmartLink activation or a protection pack thrown in to sweeten the deal if you can’t get much of a discount to sweeten the deal. They sometimes go for that over money off. 

 

Most impotantly, good luck! Let us know how it goes

Thanks, that's really helpful. Smart link should be activated for post 15 cars I thought, or do I need to buy a sub?

 

Thanks

 

Alex 

[SashaGrace]

Post MY16 will be capable of running SmartLink but it was an option. It’s £122 for the part and 15-20 mins to fit it. The FL has it as standard. I’m pretty sure the SE Sport only became available from MY16 onward so the car will likely have the option ready for activation.

[uchuff]

Yeah should be Mib2 Amundsen in an SE Sport. 

[themanwithnoaim]

Whatever price it's offered you at DO NOT BUY a 14 plate DSG 1.4 TSI elegance  Reg. No. RK14CNE

 

I ragged the **** outta that car for it's first 36 months & 42k miles of it life & whilst, nothing ever went wrong for me, it's gotta sooner or later I mean, I drove it like I'd just stole it at every single opportunity the whole time I had it

[AlexOctavia]

Thanks for all the advice. I've tried to look at two but they both sold before I could get there but I'm hoping more pcp's will be coming to an end etc ongoing so still looking. Petrol seem to be selling fast as not a huge number.

 

Alex 

[uchuff]

I found the same when I was looking recently for a petrol estate, they aren't hanging around. Ended up taking a call in the middle of a soft play to put down a refundable deposit on one that hadn't been delivered to the dealer.

 

I had an Autotrader saved search set up with email alerts, I clicked the saved search whenever I had a minute. 

[just music]

I sold my Race Blue 1.4 SE Estate to Vindis Skoda - Bury St. Edmunds - via Tootle on 26 Apr. It needed just a minor bumper repair and an MOT. It never actually got its photo on their website though the listing was there for a week or so previously, basically once the sale agreement was signed. It appears that it was taxed and MOTd in the first few days of May, so the maximum it was on their forecourt before selling was a few days. 

Edited 15 May, 2018 by just music

[AlexOctavia]

HI all

 

I've not managed to see any as they go quickly, there are a few now sitting there with similar spec/price which are ex rental. I've got mixed views on this, obviously any car can be treated badly, and whenever I've rented (especially a family car) I've never thrashed it or bumped it but I'm weary it could have been driven badly from 0 miles which isn't ideal. They are slightly better value though.

 

Anyone here have any thoughts on ex rentals? The both are a year or so old with 12-14k miles on the clock, so they probably weren't even serviced until returning to Skoda.

 

Thanks

Alex

[Noz]

I think the idea that people thrash rentals to death is overplayed. I too have never done so, and yet I'm happy to thrash my own cars. I'm way too scared of accidents in rental cars, knowing how their dodgy insurance excesses and exceptions work. So I drive them very sedately. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Plus 12K miles is nothing on a modern engine even if revved up a bit.

 

However if these cars really are flying off the shelves like that, I'd be tempted to look at other makes too. I don't like being rushed into decisions and feeling like you have to buy the first thing available may lead to a bad decision.

 

My mate just bought a Toyota Avensis estate and that seems a like a great car.