I have an 07 1.9TD Octavia with 170k on the clock. I am fond of it and would probably hang on to it but we plan to do some trips down to southern France. The aircon's given up the ghost and I think a younger car would be wise for these trips. The dilema is that we may decide to upsticks and live in France, so we prefer to buy something we would take less of a hit on if we needed to sell in order to buy a lhd. I'm interested in an Octavia with 1.4 or 1.5 Tsi.

We planned to spend up to £12k but I'm wondering if we should spend more on something with a decent amount of warranty remaining.

I know that if we buy from a dealer and resell in a year or so we will lose ££. Should we look for a private sale (with manufacturer warranty). I don't know much about cars

but I could the RAC or AN other for a check. I'm thinking a private sale is a safer bet if the car still has manufacturer warranty assuming Hpi checks are done of course.

I wish it were possible to just swing the car controls across, rhd to lhd!

 

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

The Classifieds in BRISKODA are good for Buying and Selling cars.

18 hours ago, MichaelTL said:

I have an 07 1.9TD Octavia with 170k on the clock. I am fond of it and would probably hang on to it but we plan to do some trips down to southern France. The aircon's given up the ghost and I think a younger car would be wise for these trips. The dilema is that we may decide to upsticks and live in France, so we prefer to buy something we would take less of a hit on if we needed to sell in order to buy a lhd. I'm interested in an Octavia with 1.4 or 1.5 Tsi.

We planned to spend up to £12k but I'm wondering if we should spend more on something with a decent amount of warranty remaining.

I know that if we buy from a dealer and resell in a year or so we will lose ££. Should we look for a private sale (with manufacturer warranty). I don't know much about cars

but I could the RAC or AN other for a check. I'm thinking a private sale is a safer bet if the car still has manufacturer warranty assuming Hpi checks are done of course.

I wish it were possible to just swing the car controls across, rhd to lhd!

 

 

As with all these decisions: Try and boil the question down to "What is the problem you are trying to solve?". In your case, it seems to be faulty air-con, and the need to travel reliably for long distances. Assuming the faulty air-con is the only big problem with your car, I'd be tempted to fix the air-con and hang on to your car until you definitely swap it for an LHD car, or decide not to move to France. Your 1.9TD Octavia should be perfectly happy on long runs to France.

That said, if you feel your car is a bit iffy for long trips, maybe you're right to drop it.

 

If you sell your car now, money will be taken off on account of the air-con not working anyway, though probably not as much money as the cost of fixing it. (You might be able to get a value on just how much from WeBuyAnyCar).

 

As for car buying advice, the way things are now with car sales, I'd be very averse to buying a car privately from anyone I didn't already know. (And even then I'd HPI it.) 

Any hit you will take selling to buy a LHD car will be miniscule compared to the hit you will take buying an equivalent LHD car in France with the exception of a brand new vehicle & even then they are a lot more expensive and you have the malus taxes to pay.

 

My last vehicle was the same as yours but one year older, I bought it in the UK, French registration was only €130 although you would probably have to pay 20% TVA now on its UK value, I drove mine for 2 years, added 20K miles and then sold it for 3 times the price I paid in the UK, I was advised to put it up for 4 times the price and should have done because I had to switch my phone off, it sold for full asking price within the hour sight unseen and by the evening I had 4 others wanting first refusal at the full asking price, the buyer even paid for me to drive it down and my return journey by TGV.

 

I commend you for wanting a LHD car in France but dont strap yourself up with something newer to depreciate at this time, get your aircon repaired by a specialist and if you move to France then register it, drive it around till you are ready to find a LHD version and make a killing on your existing vehicle.

Thanks for the advice and particularly the information on buying and selling in France. I regularly follow an ex-pat forum so I knew that s/h vehicles are a lot more expensive in France. The mechanic who usually looks after my car had a go at fixing the a/c and changed a component but sadly it failed after a couple of weeks. He is a competent mechanic.

Can anyone tell me what the cost is likely to be to get the aircon working at a specialist repairer? I think the car is in good shape - it's become a bit spendy in the last couple of years with new brake calipers being needed. I thought the clutch was on it's way out as there was a bit of a squeak with the pedal depressed but it seems to have stopped. 

How long is a piece of string?

 

It depends what component failed and why but a specialist with a good reputation for being reasonably priced would be the person to seek if one exists in your area.

Edited 17 May, 20215 yr by J.R.

Ok thanks. So a question - Can anyone on here recommend an aircon specialist in Shropshire?

Quote

 

 

Regarding the prices in France, I knew that second hand values for LHD cars were high, the recieved wisdom (AKA people talking rubbish) was that a RHD car was virtually worthless in France which is very believable, no French person would want one at any price unless it was an exotic only made in RHD.

 

What I had not realised was just how many Brits lived in the enclave areas that cannot speak French, dont trust French sellers (probably through not understanding and misunderstanding) & who can't deal with the French administration of importing & registering a vehicle & who therefore start a bidding war on any French registered RHD vehicle in their area on their Facebook groups, I could never have sold it in my area let alone for the price that I did.

 

Registration of imported vehicles & change of ownership has all become dématerialisé = done on line & no longer at the préfecture, it's better for me but a problem for those who in the past would have gone in with a smile & some documents hoping to find someone who spoke English to deal with them.

We lived in France with a 1.9 TDI from 2005, with 213k.

 

We drove to Poland in it twice (about a 2000 mile return trip) without issue.   

 

On one occasion during the 2019 heatwave, the highest temperature the car thermometer reached was 42 degrees... windows open this was fine!

 

So if the car is well serviced age doesn't really mean much.

 

Re-registering a UK car in France though will be much harder thanks to Brexit if you move, and has got to be done.   

 

Edited 19 May, 20215 yr by JamieH86

My 2001 1.9TDi I took up to 500000 kms, I would still be driving it now had I invested in VCDS sooner, trouble was it was so reliable I had no need of it before.

I have decided to sell my 1.9TD rather than risk throwing more money at it. I'm looking at another Octavia from a Skoda main agent but the better prices seem to be at showrooms more distant to me. 

If I were to buy a car from (say) a franchised dealer 90 miles away, could I get any faults rectified locally?

If you buy a Skoda covered by a Warranty from Skoda / VW Group then you should be able to get any warranty work done in the Franchised network,

but, 

check if a Skoda Approved Used Car with a Skoda Warranty, or a Used car not an 'Approved Used Skoda' with some other Warranty.

Check that the Warranty is not with the Dealership Group.

 

Ask the questions and get the answers in Writing from someone, not just from a Salesperson that might leave the company before you ever need to use the Warranty.

Thanks for your input e-Roottoot.

The salesman from Marshall told me all their cars qualify as Skoda Approved so issues could be handled by a local agent.

I considered a car which appeared looking at mileage to have been owned by a business before the dealership acquired it. Looks like many Octavias are. I am concerned about a car having been driven by a multitude of drivers, thinking one privately owned car would have been less likely to have been thrashed or had smokers using it (yes I'm an ex-smoker).

If they are selling as FMDSH or FSH you want to know what the history is as Full Main Dealer Service History does not automatically mean that the Servicing was to the Manufacturers Guidelines.  They do not use the term 'Schedule' because what a Private owner could be told is 'required' might not be done on Company / Fleet cars.

Things like the Brake Fluid changed at 3 years, Heldex not serviced when it should be or how it should be for a long life.

I'm going for a test drive in a two year old Octavia SE L tomorrow. It's done under 15k miles

Salesman writes - 

The car came to us from Skoda Finance and was previously owned by a business purchased on a Contract Hire basis

 

Any tips for spotting telltale signs of abuse by driver/s?   Is this likely to have had multiple drivers?

If your wear glasses take them with you and maybe a mate that knows about cars.

 

?

Are the Alloys kerbed or have they been touched up / refurbished.

Are all 4 tyres good and matching in make or at least a pair at the front & rear matching.

Is there an unused spare in the boot or even a used one?

?

Is the windscreen chipped, tiny chips.

Is the car body perfect, as in touched up / and panels painted, is it all original. 

 

Has the 2 year old car had 1 service already, or has it had 2 service, are they doing any servicing for the sale?

 

Did it get a new pollen filter at the last service?

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What is the Record on the VW / Skoda system for Servicing & Maintenance & any Warranty Work or Service Campaigns.

Q.Has the 2 year old car had 1 service already, or has it had 2 service, are they doing any servicing for the sale?

I believe it couldn't have had any service. I am concerned that the displayed indicated the car needed a service. I assume this means it is on fixed so expecting a service at 10k. It's done 12300 miles.

Q. What is the Record on the VW / Skoda system for Servicing & Maintenance & any Warranty Work or Service Campaigns.

Is it possible to access this system and input the registration to interrogate it?

 

I couldn't see any faults. They said it was on original tyres which didn't look particularly worn on the edges. They were all the same brand.

 

I couldn't see any chips in the glass or any damage to the wheels.

I have now had test drives in a Scala, an Octavia Mk3 SE L and an Octavia Mk4 SE Tech

I preferred the Mk3 over the Mk4. The seats in the Mk3 were the leather/alcantara which I found more comfortable so maybe an unfair comparison.

I found it hard to get on with the entertainment/sat nav console on the Mk4. I preferred more manually directly controlled functions ie climate control in the Mk3

Probably a factor was that the Mk3 felt more similar to my Mk2 though I was surprised it still had a manual handbrake and it seemed to be a little awkwardly positioned. 

The Scala was a decent enough car to drive though it did get upset on some curvy undulating road at speed.

The search is ongoing for a mk3 SE L man petrol with outstanding manufacturer warranty.

 

I had a test drive in a Mk3 Octavia and all was fine except there was some bad scuffing on the front n/s wheel and it had had a new tyre that side. Car is on sale at a Nissan main agent garage.

They said they can get the wheel sorted out but I am concerned that something may have been damaged if the tyre change and scuff to wheel were the same incident.

The car is very clean and was owned by a private individual.

 

Opened a new thread now we know what we want in

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• Skoda Octavia Mk III (2013 onward)