I have been offered the above car, a 2012 late mk2 dsg diesel. Its been an ambulance service get-there-first car. Presumably had lots of servicing over the years. It currently belongs to someone I know well, doesnt appear to be anything wrong with it, apart from a little scruffiness. Mileage 110,000, 

What goes wrong ? What should I be looking for ?

I get the impression that the clutches, gearbox, 4wd stuff is all very complicated and expensive to mend.

4 minutes ago, ignoramus said:

I have been offered the above car, a 2012 late mk2 dsg diesel. Its been an ambulance service get-there-first car. Presumably had lots of servicing over the years. It currently belongs to someone I know well, doesnt appear to be anything wrong with it, apart from a little scruffiness. Mileage 110,000, 

What goes wrong ? What should I be looking for ?

I get the impression that the clutches, gearbox, 4wd stuff is all very complicated and expensive to mend.

You need to budget £200 for haldex and DSG oil changes every 40,000 miles so it could need £400 spending soon on both at 120,000 which the current owner is trying to avoid by selling now. Bear that in mind if you decide to buy it.

Theres always something to do with an older car.

But I take your point, bills coming.  I generally do my own maintenance, a car like this should be "interesting".  

I cant find a clear guide to which filters and oils to buy and how-to-do.

Best see what record / invoices there are for the DSG oil changes.  & the Haldex.

The Octavia section here is ideal for finding out what oils you do need.  Best have the rear diff oil changed as well as doing the haldex.

Edited 26 January, 20206 yr by Roottootemblowinootsoot

how do I know which version of the 7 speed box I have ?

Im not getting many answers from the octavia section

You do not. 

Someone here will be able to tell you which 6 speed DSG it has.

I would expect any emergency vehicle to have worse than average wear on engine components due to cold starts->immediate high power demands.

I would also check who actually carried out the servicing and whether it was carried as per the manufacturers schedule.

 

Initially all our vehicles (marked, unmarked and General Pool) were serviced on the Base by the Motor Transport section, then it was contracted out by the bean counters to Arnold Clark....

Emergency service vehicles are indeed well maintained, however they are also driven very, very hard with little mechanical sympathy.

 

Turbo, DMF, EGR, DPF, Clutch, Haldex, rear diff, DSG gearbox, Mechatronics, all ticking time-bombs and all close to or in excess of £1,000 to be repaired to a high standard.

 

How long has he had it?

 

How much is he asking?

 

Why is he selling it?

who are you first and last, or where are you talking about ?

Im not worried about provenance of this car, I know the owner well, no reason to think theres anything wrong with it.

7 minutes ago, FirstAndLastSkoda said:

Initially all our vehicles (marked, unmarked and General Pool) were serviced on the Base by the Motor Transport section, then it was contracted out by the bean counters to Arnold Clark....

 

Holy ****!

 

First responder vehicles are being serviced by Arnold Clark? God help us!

3 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

Turbo, DMF, EGR, DPF, Clutch, Haldex, rear diff, DSG gearbox, Mechatronics, all ticking time-bombs and all close to or in excess of £1,000 to be repaired to a high standard.

indeed, cars are getting very complicated and expensive to keep going.

tempting to back to an old golf without all the potential for wallet draining

1 minute ago, ignoramus said:

Im not worried about provenance of this car, I know the owner well, no reason to think theres anything wrong with it.

 

It is a used car, a high mileage used car at that.

 

One that has hard a very hard life.

 

There might not be anything wrong with it today, but tomorrow is a different day.

 

Buy it by all means, but if it is to be your primary mode of transport, you might want to ensure that after buying it you're able to put aside a couple of grand for the inevitable work it'll need over the coming months and years.

 

These threads are relatively common, the emergency services like their Scout's...

 

 

3 minutes ago, ignoramus said:

indeed, cars are getting very complicated and expensive to keep going.

tempting to back to an old golf without all the potential for wallet draining

 

Does your mate have the service history?

 

At 110,000 miles then there is a chance it is already on it's second turbo (at least), and things like the DPF, DMF, EGR and Haldex might already have had some sort of remedial work done over the years.

 

If for example it's had a couple of these items in the last year or two / 50,000 miles it would make it a more attractive, and slightly less risky purchase.

15 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

 

Holy ****!

 

First responder vehicles are being serviced by Arnold Clark? God help us!

+1

Arnold Clark owns the Training & Examination Facilities in Scotland.

If everything in life was serviced by Arnold Clark and the various Dealerships what a world it would be.

http://gtg.co.uk/about/

http://arnoldclark.com/careers/life-at-arnold-clark

 

It's only a matter of time before someone thinks it'll be cost effective for them to service the reactors on our Bombers.....

 

Back on topic, I'd also check the electrics; did they take time and care when removing lights, sirens, communication equipment, or did they just skip it? Was there an alternative power supply fitted, and has it been removed or is it lying away hidden somewhere?

 

We had issues with the electrics on a marked transit due to whoever installed the lights not sealing the holes for the cabling properly, so we had water sloshing between the outer and inner metalwork everytime it rained.

I know theres some wires been cut off, no idea what they did but all in the boot, 2 are thick so maybe there is something hidden, who knows. Would be nice to have something expensive to sell, cant see it. Perhaps it has a bigger battery and alternator ? or a nice heater ?  what are these cars kitted out with ?

Its january, we'd know if it were leaking. 

1 hour ago, ignoramus said:

 what are these cars kitted out with ?

 

Usually a bunch of lights, power supplies or battery chargers for medical equipment such as defibrillator, and possibly a small fridge. A lot of the rapid response Scouts I have seen have an auto-ejecting AC inlet on the offside rear quarter too for powering this stuff while the car is parked at base.

 

There's usually always at least one of these on eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174108463728

 

I doubt they have a bigger battery, the standard battery already completely fills the tray, and they usually just use a runlock anyway

Edited 26 January, 20206 yr by slow_nick

?

Where was the car First Registered and is it going to be 2 former keepers only?

england, not london, (Ill never buy a london car they get so clapped out) and I think 2 previous only.

Just curious where First Registered, as in the first Letters of the Reg Number.

dont know, sorry.  why the interest ? does it somehow make a difference ?

2 minutes ago, ignoramus said:

dont know, sorry.  why the interest ? does it somehow make a difference ?

I think George wants to buy it so he doesn't collect anymore speeding tickets (blue flashing lights on roof to be fitted).