Sorry to have moved this previous post to here but I thought it might get more hits with this title

OK, not sure if i'm being blind here, but..

Can anyone point me in the direction of a Octavia (vRS) buyers guide, ie any common problems/faults/things to look out for when the time comes to go hunting for a vRS...

I am presuming by the fact that they have the 1.8T engines that they might suffer with the usual clangers like coil pack failures and MAF sensors etc?

Also, as they use the Climatronic setup, do they suffer from the cooling fan problem like the Golfs that some of you may be aware of? (Resistors/fuses burning out and the fans only pulse on high speed, meaning the compressor/engine doesnt get sufficient cooling in traffic?)

Any other VAG traits/clangers I need to look out for?

Any references to suitable threads or peoples feedback would be much appreciated, as to would owners feedback/experiences, even if they might be a little biased!

Cheers guys

Baz

1. Yes, older ones did. Like the rest of VAG, Skoda issued an advisory to dealers and they would all be replaced if one failed. Most cars have had this done by now. Not sure if the advisory is still in place, I think it is now at the dealers discretion as most are out of warranty....

2. Only problems I had with mine were; the mounts went, easy to replace. Ant the fan motor burnt out, other than that, no problems with mine even thougfh it was well abused

3. Never noticed any with mine apart from, lumbar support snapped and I lost synchro on 2nd and 5th - both jobs done under warranty. Had a MAF degrade, dealer didn't diagnose correctly so I put a rod through the block Gave it back to me with a new engine which I paid for, and the same fault still there - I fitted a new MAF which I had in the garage and hey presto, problem solved. I also had a small crack in my turbo (possibly due to excessive boost) along with slightly knackered vanes. As this was spotted at the time the engine was out, a slightly different turbo was fitted

Cheers for that.

Any problems with the window regulators to report?

Any problems with the speedo pods?

Any particular areas of the interior that tend to rattle?

Any trim issues?

Any other hints or feedback would be appreciated, as I can't seem to find many road reports and most of the ones in the links section dont seem to work.

What do you want to know? I did a little post on my experiences of running one:

Had mine for 32 months, did 138k miles in it.

Fuel economy; motorways cuising at 80-85 indicated, I'd get about 38mpg, A roads about 35, brisk driving on A roads about 30-32, trackdays about 12 and the Ring about 8-10 mpg.

Servicing costs: You can either go variable servicing or fixed 10k servicing. I went 10k due to my mileage and needing to know when it would need a service. Costs were:

10k = £58

20k = £148

30k = £58

40k = £200

50k = £347 - I had a new clutch fitted as a precaution

60k = £372 - Had cambelt done, again a precaution as I reckon the recomended 120k interval for it is way too long

70k = £65

80k = £220

90k = £78

100k = £189

110k = £68

120k = £550 - had cambelt and clutch changed again

130k = £93

My car had a very hard life! Of the 138k on the clock when I sold it at 32 month old, nearly 12k were track miles

So, other than services listed above, what did I break?

2 x NSF wheel bearings

1 x NSF wishbone bush

1 x main cooling fan (led to overheating problems at the Ring as it had packed up)

1 x OSF wheel bearing

1 x engine @ 135k miles. The MAF had degraded, much like Scoob ones have been known to do

Tyres, even with track use lasted about 15 - 20k for a set. Insurance was about £500 per year, all mods declared, fully comp.

Did I like mine and would I recommend it? Yep So much so, I bought another Octavia (diesel this time due to my silly mileage ).

Oh, almost forgot, depreciation. Bought new for £14,100. Sold at 32 months with 138k on the clock and paintwork that looked like it had been blasted by a shotgun, for £6,500.

Cheers again to TaviaRS for the info that I have pasted to here.