About to join the club, anything I should bear in mind?

[GeorgeStorm]

Hi all,

As above, I'm about to buy a new car and ended up settling on an octavia, and more specifically this one:

https://www.motors.co.uk/car-54769321/?i=7&m=sr

Got some pictures of the inside (attached).

 

I'm coming from an 03 corsa with a tape player so this will certainly be an upgrade! Just wondering if there is anything specific I should double check before completing.

It's just passed it's MOT, and will have a service whilst it also has the cambelt done.

 

Cheers

 

[shyVRS245]

The 1.4TSi is a reliable, quiet and economical engine, better than the later 1.5TSi IMHO the mileage is not bad for a 6 year old car, this Elegance model is well equipped and a decent price but my only concern would be what it has been towing and not sure the Garage will be able to answer that truthfully as it could have worn the clutch as it has a manual gearbox.

[GeorgeStorm]

I'll try to ask and find out, that a costly replacement if it is needed down the line?

 

Yeah I'll be doing less than 10k miles I would think, and so diesel was out, and wanted to have some features like cruise control, and so for the octavia needed to go for the elegance trim it seemed. The mk3 seemed to be a step up over the mk2, at least looks like on the inside and I didn't want to get anything too old as I'm hoping to be able to keep it for a while (and I'm not a car guy)

[shyVRS245]

Depends where you go but a Skoda dealer would probably charge £800-900 for a new clutch.

[Tilt]

Not looked at the link but interior looks good.

From what I have read on here regarding petrol engines (as I want to swap my Octavia PD for petrol) the 1.4 seem very good with plenty enough pull (I was surprised by that) and good reliability, and came to the conclusion that if you find a good car with 1.4TSi then snap it up.

Good luck.

 

Edit to add.......Reduced by £400. I would want to know how long it has been for sale and as always it's history of owners. (2)

Edited 21 March, 2020 by Tilt

[GeorgeStorm]

1 hour ago, shyVRS245 said:

Depends where you go but a Skoda dealer would probably charge £800-900 for a new clutch.

Ouch, I'll try to find out some more details about it.

 

1 hour ago, Tilt said:

Not looked at the link but interior looks good.

From what I have read on here regarding petrol engines (as I want to swap my Octavia PD for petrol) the 1.4 seem very good with plenty enough pull (I was surprised by that) and good reliability, and came to the conclusion that if you find a good car with 1.4TSi then snap it up.

Good luck.

 

Edit to add.......Reduced by £400. I would want to know how long it has been for sale and as always it's history of owners. (2)

Yeah it seems to be a very well regarded car.

I actually then got it down to 6k if it had already had a cambelt recently or 6.2k if not, it hadn't so he's doing that this weekend as part of the service. You suggesting there's a (bad) reason why it's that price?

[Alex-W]

3 hours ago, shyVRS245 said:

Depends where you go but a Skoda dealer would probably charge £800-900 for a new clutch.

Don't know how much cheaper the 1.4 is than the vrs but I just paid just under 1400.

 

The issue certainly on mine was that the worn clutch also resulted in a new DMF being needed and that's an extra £600....

 

😟

[Tilt]

1 hour ago, GeorgeStorm said:

You suggesting there's a (bad) reason why it's that price?

 

No bud, just that it had been reduced in price, indicating that it may have been up for sale for a while, and if there was any underlying reason for this???

 

I wouldn't worry though, so long as it drove absolutely fine on the test drive, with no issues, and you have a bit of a warranty, should be fine, fingers crossed...

 

Fairly sure the 1.4 doesn't have a DMF..............it's a single.

 

A common fault on the MkII at least, the air con not working??? Worth checking.

[GeorgeStorm]

30 minutes ago, Tilt said:

 

No bud, just that it had been reduced in price, indicating that it may have been up for sale for a while, and if there was any underlying reason for this???

 

I wouldn't worry though, so long as it drove absolutely fine on the test drive, with no issues, and you have a bit of a warranty, should be fine, fingers crossed...

 

Fairly sure the 1.4 doesn't have a DMF..............it's a single.

 

A common fault on the MkII at least, the air con not working??? Worth checking.

DMF?

And I haven't test driven it yet, put down a deposit, with the aim being a test drive etc and if I'm happy with it to go ahead, if not get the deposit back and back on the hunt 

 

Got a response from the garage:

"Will look into it Monday, I’m pretty certain it’s a retro fit bar with a single socket which rules out caravan use. Also i will check for a date code on it which tells us how long it’s been fitted for. The clutch has no sign of excessive wear using the bite point and feel as a gauge."

[Tilt]

2 hours ago, GeorgeStorm said:

And I haven't test driven it yet, put down a deposit, with the aim being a test drive etc and if I'm happy with it to go ahead, if not get the deposit back and back on the hunt 

 

 

Hmmmm. Cannot see the point of a garage accepting / asking for a deposit, if they are willing to give it back.

 

The usual point of a deposit is so that you don't back out, in which case they might lose the money they spent on preparing it.......I guess they must be confident you won't back out

 

Hope it is all good for you. Sounds reasonable, low mileage, only two owners.........

[GeorgeStorm]

9 minutes ago, Tilt said:

 

Hmmmm. Cannot see the point of a garage accepting / asking for a deposit, if they are willing to give it back.

 

The usual point of a deposit is so that you don't back out, in which case they might lose the money they spent on preparing it.......I guess they must be confident you won't back out

 

Hope it is all good for you. Sounds reasonable, low mileage, only two owners.........

Yeah, think they've been using it as a courtesy car, and so will go back to being used for one if I decide against, he just seemed to be a pretty decent sounding bloke on the phone!

 

It's a 3-4 hour journey and I'm intending on meeting my brother there to give him my old car, so I'm fairly heavily leaning towards not backing out but I can always get the train back if needed so I won't accept it if there are issues.

 

Haha I hope the same, the past couple of weeks/month have been eye opening as to how many options there are when trying to buy a car, would really like this to tick all the boxes so I can move on for a while

[Tilt]

11 minutes ago, GeorgeStorm said:

he just seemed to be a pretty decent sounding bloke on the phone! A salesman, sounding good on the phone, no????????? You know scammers also sound good on the phone, Lol.

 

It's a 3-4 hour journey and I'm intending on meeting my brother there to give him my old car, so I'm fairly heavily leaning towards not backing out but I can always get the train back if needed so I won't accept it if there are issues. Can your brother not go test drive it, at least to see it drives without issues???

 

 

[GeorgeStorm]

It's a 3-4 hour journey for him as well

I'm coming up from Wolverhampton, he's coming down from Stirling.

 

Also I know haha, just seemed a bit more genuine than some others I've spoken to on the phone, I'm very aware I'm naive when it comes to this, hence why I've tried to make sure I looked around online to get an idea of things before starting to ask about specific ones for sale etc.

 

I test drove one locally (96k miles, touch more expensive, in blue, 13 plate) and I liked it, also means I have something close to compare to.

[Tilt]

Cool

The problem I would have with buying from afar is that it would be difficult logistics wise to get the car sorted using warranty, should anything go wrong.

I would try and buy locally if I could.

That said, I did travel to Manchester, from Nottingham, but it was the only suitable T4 Transporter that I could find for sale at the time

 

Good luck.

[GeorgeStorm]

Yeah I'd rather get something local as it's easier to pop and check a couple of times if needed etc.

Then again the intention is (was?) to move up to Scotland over the summer so anything local now wouldn't be soon!

 

Also sadly there weren't many options if I wanted the mk3 with cruise control for under 7k in the UK! (seemingly based on my searches, only 3-4 I think)

[silver1011]

No offence intended, but I strongly suspect the reason it might have been reduced is the colour, brown isn't to the majority of peoples taste. But, if you like it then it's to your advantage.

 

It's also a shame that whoever replaced the front tyres last chose the cheapest tyres on the shelf, Sumitomo BC100. Never even heard of them! Hopefully it was the dealer who needed to put tyres on to make the car legal prior to sale, as opposed to the previous owner who did all maintenance on the cheap.

 

Looks very clean though, and as others have said the 1.4 TSI engine is a peach, and pretty robust too.

[RickTT]

I was going to mention check the electric socket on the towbar to see if dual to single to rule out caravan, but see that's been mentioned, just note if it's a single 7 pin chances are it's just pulled a garden trailer or similar, but if it's the new 15 pin, it could of been either... However, due to the engine choice, chances are its never been a towcar. 

 

 

[RickTT]

In addition, checking the mot history on it, it covered 52k miles in 3 years, followed by approx 6k, 9k, 7k year on year to current date.. 

 

One thing If it was me I would like to know if there's any paper work on the front shocks.. 

 

March 2017

Advisory notice item(s)

• Nearside Front Shock absorber has a light misting of oil (2.7.3)
• Offside Front Shock absorber has a light misting of oil (2.7.3)

 

March 2018.

No report.. 

 

March 2019

 

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

• Nearside Front Shock absorbers light misting of oil or has limited damping effect (5.3.2 (b))
• Offside Front Shock absorbers light misting of oil or has limited damping effect (5.3.2 (b))

 

March 2020

No report...... 

 

If service history details these have been addressed, fine, if not I would be having a think why the mot in the hands of the dealer didn't pick up on this. 

 

Not a major issue as such, but good to know facts of future servicing requirement ... 

 

Edited 21 March, 2020 by RickTT

[GeorgeStorm]

1 hour ago, silver1011 said:

No offence intended, but I strongly suspect the reason it might have been reduced is the colour, brown isn't to the majority of peoples taste. But, if you like it then it's to your advantage.

 

It's also a shame that whoever replaced the front tyres last chose the cheapest tyres on the shelf, Sumitomo BC100. Never even heard of them! Hopefully it was the dealer who needed to put tyres on to make the car legal prior to sale, as opposed to the previous owner who did all maintenance on the cheap.

 

Looks very clean though, and as others have said the 1.4 TSI engine is a peach, and pretty robust too.

I agree, brown is not for everyone, the fact it potentially makes it less desirable might reduce the chance of it being nicked or whatever so all good for me 😁

 

I'll ask about the tires.

 

57 minutes ago, RickTT said:

I was going to mention check the electric socket on the towbar to see if dual to single to rule out caravan, but see that's been mentioned, just note if it's a single 7 pin chances are it's just pulled a garden trailer or similar, but if it's the new 15 pin, it could of been either... However, due to the engine choice, chances are its never been a towcar. 

 

50 minutes ago, RickTT said:

In addition, checking the mot history on it, it covered 52k miles in 3 years, followed by approx 6k, 9k, 7k year on year to current date.. 

 

One thing If it was me I would like to know if there's any paper work on the front shocks.. 

 

March 2017

Advisory notice item(s)

• Nearside Front Shock absorber has a light misting of oil (2.7.3)
• Offside Front Shock absorber has a light misting of oil (2.7.3)

 

March 2018.

No report.. 

 

March 2019

 

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

• Nearside Front Shock absorbers light misting of oil or has limited damping effect (5.3.2 (b))
• Offside Front Shock absorbers light misting of oil or has limited damping effect (5.3.2 (b))

 

March 2020

No report...... 

 

If service history details these have been addressed, fine, if not I would be having a think why the mot in the hands of the dealer didn't pick up on this. 

 

Not a major issue as such, but good to know facts of future servicing requirement ... 

 

 

I forgot you could check that online, was going to ask about checking the service history online this week anyway so thanks for reminding me.

[silver1011]

1 hour ago, RickTT said:

However, due to the engine choice, chances are its never been a towcar. 

 

The 1.4 TSI makes for a pretty good tug...

 

[Tilt]

13 hours ago, GeorgeStorm said:

I agree, brown is not for everyone, the fact it is a Skoda makes it less desirable might reduce the chance of it being nicked or whatever so all good for me 😁

 

 

[GeorgeStorm]

Just had a call from the garage, apparently it's a single 7 pin plug.

Clutch feels fine.

 

And there is a slight misting on the front shock absorbers, but he said that's standard on VAG group stuff now, they (VAG) have said it's normal apparently? They used to send stuff back under warranty for it but have been told not to as it's considered normal.

[penguin17]

As above, the misting on the shocks from the MoT history check shouldn't be a concern.  It seems standard across VW group these days.  Many people on here have had their cars back at the dealers to investigate similar 'issues' only to be told it's completely normal. 

 

Whilst the brown may not be the most alluring colour, having seen a few in the bare metal, the pics don't do it justice and it actually looks nice when freshly cleaned.  Just watch it doesn't go white if you leave it in the sun for too long 😉😂

[GeorgeStorm]

Haha you're not the first person to make that kind of joke

 

Hoping to possibly pick it up this weekend if things are looking ok, since not sure what will happen going forwards

[wyx087]

The name looks familiar, do I know you from somewhere..... computer related?  

 

Good to see this forum has delivered once again on great advice. 

 

Brown colour is great, hides the dirt well and it's understated class like black, but more special. Also, for reference, it's "Topaz Brown" 4L4L F8Z colour code.