Follow on thread to my previous post about my 1.9 tdi estate 

 

is it possible to buy new replacement Octavia estate tailgates ?

if so does anyone have a link for sources ?

 

sorry it’s a bit of a chicken and egg which came first but I’m evaluating as many options as I can whilst the lockdown restrictions hamper my visiting panel repair shops etc 

 

Octy 2 estates turn up quire regularly on fleabay.  What colour are you looking for?

Anthracite Grey 

was thinking of second hand but been warned to view first if at all possible or insist on the complete item including full wiring loom for ease of replacement 

( other issue of course is my tailgate showed no sign of rust less than 7 months ago so buying used, especially blind, I run the risk of buying a rusty one )

trying to source a or at least enquire about a new panel but obviously a decent second correct colour one would be a far better option 

For the limited amount of work and negligible cost of a DIY repair a new primed unpopulated panel is a complete no-no IMO.

 

Even a second hand one in the right colour would not tempt me given the price, the collection costs and time, the real hassle of removing the old one, extricating the wiring loom from within, feeding it into the new one and reconnecting to potentially find out that its going to rust in exactly the same manner.

 

At the very least you are going to need a helper on two occasions to remove your tailgate and fit the new one, both operations could damage either your existing paintwork or that of the second hand panel.

28 minutes ago, J.R. said:

For the limited amount of work and negligible cost of a DIY repair a new primed unpopulated panel is a complete no-no IMO.

 

Even a second hand one in the right colour would not tempt me given the price, the collection costs and time, the real hassle of removing the old one, extricating the wiring loom from within, feeding it into the new one and reconnecting to potentially find out that its going to rust in exactly the same manner.

 

At the very least you are going to need a helper on two occasions to remove your tailgate and fit the new one, both operations could damage either your existing paintwork or that of the second hand panel.

 

All valid points that I have been mulling over ( too much time on my hands for some reason ) just weighing up all the options as I said in another thread I’m going to 

have the car mot’d and have a good gander at it with a trusted mechanic 

if given a ‘ keep it ‘ clean sheet, then I’ll have a go at the repair 

replacement panel if the repair goes belly up 

 

sounds like a plan