Thinking about buying a Octavia 2014 vRS TDi 86k miles?

[h4r7y]

Hi,

 

First post here, so please be gentle.

 

I am looking at a 2014 Octavia with 86k miles on the clock, recently been serviced and cambelt, waterpump and pulleys replaced as well.

Not quite sure on the service history but it sounds like it has been well looked after and possibly an ex fleet car. It does only have 2 months MOT left, so that is a bit of a question mark but having recently been serviced, hopefully anything major would have been spotted?

 

Arranging a viewing to go and see it and have read a lot of good things about these standing the test of time if well looked after, Are there any concerns for buying a car like this with this many miles on the clock, must admit, my recent cars that i've had were around the 40k to 50k mark. This one's price seems reasonable as it is a friend of a friend, its around the £9k mark.

 

Any advice or guidance would be great, I've not had anything with high mileage before and have some concerns, may be ignorant concerns but wanted to see if there was any hazards anyone thought of about this car.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Gaz]

Hello h4r7y 

 

Don't assume a service will pick up 'anything major' - it may well not.

 

The mileage in itself is not a concern.  These engines can easily do several times that, if looked after properly.

 

Get the registration number and check it's MOT history:

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

 

Perhaps an insurance/HPI check as well?

 

Are you confident in checking a car over - bodywork and mechanicals, tyres, brakes, exhaust and suspension?  If not take someone with you who is.  Ask the current owner for details of any repairs, and any known faults.

 

I personally wouldn't buy it with two months MOT, unless it's clearly a not-to-be-missed bargain.

 

There is reading aplenty on here that'll be of interest in the Octavia sub-forums 

 

Gaz

Edited 3 August, 2022 by Gaz

[Ootohere]

I would pay to have the car put in for the MOT and be prepared to lose that money if you walk away, or buy the car if there is nothing much.

 

A buyer that is sure about the car they are selling should be fine with that.  Maybe not so much if they know the MOT might show up issues and get a failure. 

[h4r7y]

Hiya,

 

Thanks a lot for the reply, really appreciate it.

I'm fairly confident checking the car over when i go, it was more the on paper details i had to think through just now. I am going to try and view it tonight/tomorrow night after work. I have been sent pictures of it and it looks in great condition. I have read these can do for more miles than is on it currently, if well maintained so the service history will be interesting to see. Its a friend of a friend, so the seller is known and not a hooligan etc.

 

I have checked the MOT history and its only had a couple of very minor things come up:

• Nearside Rear Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt ()
• Offside Rear Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt ()

 

[Ootohere]

^^^ Those are nothing. Not minor.

 

Is there a paper record of servicing and maintenance, invoices and receipts? 

 

Is this a manual gearbox car? 

?

How long has the current keeper had the car and are they a bit of a trader or just a private owner? 

[h4r7y]

3 minutes ago, roottoot said:

^^^ Those are nothing. Not minor.

 

Is there a paper record of servicing and maintenance, invoices and receipts? 

 

Is this a manual gearbox car? 

?

How long has the current keeper had the car and are they a bit of a trader or just a private owner? 

I will be asking to see the history of its services, but i am hoping it has FSH as it does sound like it has been looked after from my friends point of view, who has some knowledge of the current owner and the use of the car.

 

It is a manual, so no DSG to worry about.

He has owned it for just shy of 2 years and only selling due to getting a company car again and is a private seller, not involved in the motor trade at all.

 

Thanks for replying too

[Ootohere]

It is good if the FSH is a history of proper servicing and not just Minor & Major servicing (Oil & Filter changes.

 

So Pollen filter sometime in the past 2 years, a Air Filter, maybe the brake fluid changed.   Paper History might well be better than the Skoda Online just showing it was at a dealership, unless that comes with the paper print outs.

 

Just an idea of Skoda Recommendations, not guidelines or a schedule. 

[h4r7y]

27 minutes ago, roottoot said:

It is good if the FSH is a history of proper servicing and not just Minor & Major servicing (Oil & Filter changes.

 

So Pollen filter sometime in the past 2 years, a Air Filter, maybe the brake fluid changed.   Paper History might well be better than the Skoda Online just showing it was at a dealership, unless that comes with the paper print outs.

 

Just an idea of Skoda Recommendations, not guidelines or a schedule. 

 

Thanks for that, i can sort of use that as a guide to see what has been done and what hasn't then.  It looks like it has gone over the recommended timing belt change by 30k/3 years of ownership, unless its been changed previously which i will need to check with the seller.

But that table definitely helps to tie up the servicing should have received. Fingers crossed, anyway.

 

Thanks again for your help and info.

[EnterName]

It's 8 years old and it's been with people you know for 2 years, so that leaves 6 years "unknown".

I'd bung it through a car history check. https://www.carvertical.com/gb

(Note you can enter a code to get 10% off, if you're interested. I won't post it here as the code I know is associated with a YouTube channel.)

I'd also insist on a new MOT prior to purchase.

Buying privately is a minefield and I would take no reassurance in buying from a "friend of a friend".

(Been there, ended up buying a Cat C because I trusted someone I'd known for years.)

Personally, I quite like high-mileage cars because I hardly do any miles myself.

But make sure it's right for you.

I assume you're aware of the DPF, and the issues that they can have?

IMO, £9K for a car that's 14K shy off 100,000 miles is a lot of money for an old, well-used car.

Run it past WeBuyAnyCar and see what they'd offer for it, see how that compares with the £9K being asked.

 

[h4r7y]

Thanks for that.

 

I have done a car check on it and turns out it has 2 former keepers, changing hands in 2017 and 2020.

 

Passed every MOT with the x2 advisories with the child seats.

Its not a write off, on the check anyway.

The person selling wont be putting it through an MOT so thats just something i'd have to take on. The cars currently due to be sold at the weekend to one of the car buyers online (I think) 

Sounds like he just wants rid of it due to having a new company car, hence the selling at the weekend but has offered it for sale to anyone that wants it before then.

 

Have read about the DPF but quite mixed on it really, some say it depends on what type of miles the car has been used for then others stating it will start playing up at X mileage, so not quite sure what to take onboard and what not to. Is there anything to specifically look out for, i understand its an easy £1k ish job to get replaced.

The car wont be getting much use really, as I wont be using it for work so just a weekend car really so the mileage curve will drop off quite  bit if i do end up having it.

 

It is definitely a minefield buying a used car at the best of times, i usually get them from car supermarkets and have had ok experiences, never bought a car used from a private seller before.

 

[jordy_wd]

Hi. Mine is a 2014 with the same mileage. I bought at 32k miles and have had it for 5 years now. The only issues I've had have been:

 

- Front wishbone bushes creaking when going over bumps

- Rear shocks knocking (sounds like logs rolling about in the boot)

- Front main seal leak which showed as a pool of oil in the under tray

- Droplinks knocking at front of car. I've went through FOUR sets in about 50k miles!

- DPF pressure sensor burned out (literally!)

 

All the above are fairly minor and were easily sorted. If I were buying a second-hand one now, one thing I would be checking would be the condition of wheels as wheel refurbs are probably around £500 now for the diamond cut ones on the VRS. Also generally stone chips and marks around the car too. Could maybe factor this in for some money off?

[h4r7y]

Tried to see it tonight but having to wait until tomorrow.

Found out it doesn't have much service history, only the two that have been done recently. Also, it's had two timing belts recently as the first got changed but they left the water pump in place, and it failed weeks later. On that point alone, doesn't sound like it's been particularly well maintained if they're willing to cut the waterpump out of the timing belt change expense. 

 

Oh well, I may still go and look at it but it sounds like one to avoid

[h4r7y]

Have also just read the DPF's last around 80k miles before getting full of soot and they're £2k to buy, let alone get fitted 😧

 

[varooom]

Just now, h4r7y said:

Have also just read the DPF's last around 80k miles before getting full of soot and they're £2k to buy, let alone get fitted 😧

 

Incorrect, they get full of soot all the time.

Every single time you drive it, but the system will burn off the soot one of two ways.

 

Passive: So as you drive down the road, the heat from engine will burn off the soot.

 

Active: When you are not driving it hard enough, and the soot hits a level that needs attention (22g I think) then it will start to inject extra fuel post combustion to flamethrower the DPF to get it "cooking" to burn off the soot.  Usually you will have higher tick over of about 1,000rpm and cooling fans will be on, and when you end your journey they will still be spinning after you get out.

 

 

The oil ash is what is left over after burning of soot, this cannot be passed through the small holes in the DPF and after a fair few miles it will need cleaning/replacement.

 

VW documents state to check at 120k, and every 10k there after.  Typical life is 200k with maybe 240k at a stretch (everyone's mileage will vary)

[h4r7y]

Ahh ok, thanks for that varoom. 

So nothing to worry about too much at the moment then, that's a relief with it.

[varooom]

1 minute ago, h4r7y said:

Ahh ok, thanks for that varoom. 

So nothing to worry about too much at the moment then, that's a relief with it.

You just need to make sure it has the Italian tune up once in a while, keeps the DPF clean enough for most.

 

Definitely shouldn't be a worry at that mileage.

 

p.s. you don't even need to thrash it hard, just a long motorway/dual carriageway for roughly 20mins, 2,000 to 2,500rpm if you check your manual it states process in there in case your engine states slightly different.

[h4r7y]

Turns out there is some service history with it now, detailing oil changes from main dealers etc. So its back on the cards, going to see it tonight but got my hopes up somewhat higher after finding the history out on it.

 

Thanks for your info too!

[EnterName]

4 hours ago, h4r7y said:

Turns out there is some service history with it now, detailing oil changes from main dealers etc. So its back on the cards, going to see it tonight but got my hopes up somewhat higher after finding the history out on it.

 

Thanks for your info too!

Good luck! 🤞

[Dooge]

What do you want it for? The TDi has plenty of pep but are you going to do enough miles/cut the DPF out to justify the regenerations and get it hot enough? 

 

My other concern buying a manual would be the slave cylinder. Any modern VAG manual seems to have a slave made of a combination of cheese, chocolate and play-doh. They seem to go at any time - I had the same on a mk6 Golf GTi which went at 91k at a similar age - and its £950+ easily for parts and labour or almost double if you want an uprated one to cope with a map. Not a negative as DSG can be massively costly but something to consider.

 

Otherwise, as full a service history, check for rust around wheel arches and just behind the rear of the front wheel arches (there's a black piece of foam which holds the moisture and constantly drips onto the sill underneath)