Apologies if this has been done before... we are going to view a 2011 Octavia Scout (2 litre, diesel, 140bhp) and was wondering if anyone has a checklist of items to check when looking at the car?

 

On the face of it the car looks good but want to be better informed when viewing it in case we have to factor in any futher costs for the immediate future.

 

Any help greatly appreciated...

Hi Branwell,

 

I brought a couple of Oct 2 Scouts and  I would:

 

Check for service History, dependent on mileage has it had a cambelt / does it need one (in the future), has the haldex oil been done (its ever 30k or 40k), any clucking from rear when accelerating hard (as in a 4wd issue).  The car has a massive solid undertray so its difficult to spot any leaks should you get the opportunity to get under it.  Also the boot can rust near where the number plate lights are along the seam so check that.

 

Other than that the usual - Drive it, brake hard and swerve side to side (if you get the chance to do so safely), check aircon, start from cold listening for any oddities etc

 

How many miles/owners?  any links?

 

 

Many thanks for this advice. The car is a 2011, 1 owner with 85,000 miles.

Ok - IIRC the cambelt  schedule changed around 2010 and it increased the life & mileage of the belt.  I think I'm right in saying the life went from 4 years up to 5 years but i'm not sure of mileage.  Based on the car being potentially nearly 8 years old it should have had a belt - is anything shown in the history or any proof of this, if so when

We are viewing the car next week and all being well we hope to be the owners of an Octavia Scout...

Cool 

 

As a guide when I brought mine it was 'full history' but hadn't ever had the haldex oil changed or a cambelt ( car was a little over 6 years old).

 

I also put 4 new matching tyres on mine as the front and rears were different.

 

Is the car coming from a trader / garage or private sale.  When is the MOT due?  MOT's are a lot stricter nowadays so if you can get a fresh ticket on it.

The history of oil change is very important. If this is the bmm pd engine as the wrong oil will result in preamature cam shaft failure. Mine went at 122000 mles. I purchased the car about 6 months ago. On the way home from the garage the dual mass flywheel failed. I attribute this failure to

1 the milage

2 pulling g boats up steep slips

3 showing off and accellerating hard from a wet juntion and feeling smug about all wheel drive. 

 

I say factors 1 & 3 where the main cluprates

 

Cost for timing belt  water pump and cam shaft replacement 950 euro

Estimated cost for clutch and flywheel repair circa 900 to 1000 euro

 

I have to say I love the car but I feel that a service history is more important in the scouts than most cars. If the car has a skoda history then engine oil should not be a problem. However a lot of them do not know how to service the haldex system fully. The fluid will be changed but no filter will be intalled. This can cause problems with binding of the rear diff. 

 

A service of these units is easy

 

Tsm

 

Thanks for all the advice. The car turned out to be not for us. Bodywork was good but it was fairly rusty underneath and the egr pump had to be replaced, (the light came on during the test drive).

 

Fortunately, we found another which turned out to be immaculate and with 75,000 miles and a Skoda FSH. So we are now owners of a Scout. Looking to get winter tyres for it now (probably on 16" steel wheels).