New to Skoda in general and about to go and see the Octavia vRS I'm interested in, but there's just so much talk about tensioner failure, I'm kinda scared. 

Engine is CCZA - 2.0 147kw

2011 Octavia vRS, 153,000KM driven. 

 

First of all, is it true? Is it a case where people talk about their problems, but they don't talk as much if everything is working well? Or tensioners on that engine really do tend to break? 

 

There's a rattle if the tensioner is about to break or it happens out of the blue? From what I read there should be a concerning sound, how audible is that? Anyone got an example? 

 

The owner said that previous owner told him that it has been replaced, but there's no papers, since it was not done with the official dealer, current owner trusted previous owner and is implying that yes it has been changed according to what he was told and he trusted previous owner, but there's no paperwork. 

 

Should I lower the price? Should I trust the seller? Should I contact that previous seller to verify that claim? (found him on Facebook) 

 

Also if there's anything else I need to look out for, please let me know. I need a new car but I'm not really in a position to spend thousands on new engine. 

 

Other than that, pretty decent amount of work has been done on the car, has been maintained and DSG has been repaired/maintained, cost a little under 1k EUR. 

Literally hundreds of postings on these forums. There is a sticky thread on the front mk2 page, on engine failures EA888 1.8 and 2.0tsi.  Only you can make the call on trade off risk / vs cost.

 

The earlier revisions were very poorly designed indeed.  Do some searches and look at videos if you really want to see why.

 

The is an inspection plug on the lower timing chain cover, you can inspect how far the tensioner is extended. There are some measuring blocks in VCDS which report on parameters that give an indication of the timing phase.  There is a possibility an experienced person maybe able to recognise an old version of the tensioner through the inspection plug but the exact revision - pretty impossible.

 

Of course VW/Audi would have a pretty good idea of the in use failure rate that has been exhibited in real life and the design deficiency. Not that they'd ever tell you.

 

Your other questions are all about unknowns, vendor authenticity, reputation, morals.  No one can make that call for you. 

 

The general rule on purchasing is if there is not proof assume it has not been done.

My honest opinion.. if I had a chance to go back I would have waited and saved extra for the mk3 since the extra costs on this have already added up to over the cost of a mk3. 

26 minutes ago, bspman said:

My honest opinion.. if I had a chance to go back I would have waited and saved extra for the mk3 since the extra costs on this have already added up to over the cost of a mk3. 

Are those cars(2011 vRS) really known for bad reliability or you just were that unlucky one?

1 hour ago, TheClient said:

Literally hundreds of postings on these forums. There is a sticky thread on the front mk2 page, on engine failures EA888 1.8 and 2.0tsi.  Only you can make the call on trade off risk / vs cost.

 

The earlier revisions were very poorly designed indeed.  Do some searches and look at videos if you really want to see why.

 

The is an inspection plug on the lower timing chain cover, you can inspect how far the tensioner is extended. There are some measuring blocks in VCDS which report on parameters that give an indication of the timing phase.  There is a possibility an experienced person maybe able to recognise an old version of the tensioner through the inspection plug but the exact revision - pretty impossible.

 

Of course VW/Audi would have a pretty good idea of the in use failure rate that has been exhibited in real life and the design deficiency. Not that they'd ever tell you.

 

Your other questions are all about unknowns, vendor authenticity, reputation, morals.  No one can make that call for you. 

 

The general rule on purchasing is if there is not proof assume it has not been done.

Thanks for the reply! I'm by no means an expert, but I'll take a peek under the hood and listen for weird sounds, since there's no papers that indicate chain replacement, I'll probably simply offer 800 EUR less than the car is,better safe than sorry!

Not just me. I was just silly enough not to get my tensioner changed when symptoms started showing:
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/28-skoda-octavia-mk-ii-2004-2013/

 

Also I know people with golfs with the same/similar engine having issues too. 

 

EA888 mk3 engines aren't prone to intake manifolds coking up either. the Mk2 may need an intake carbon clean which require complete removal of the intake manifold.