Picked up a 2000 Octavia 1.6 a few weeks back, in a trade sale from a garage the other end of the country. Noticed when testing it that there's a tiny judder from the clutch when pulling from a stop and first gear is a bit sticky at times too, again nothing major to worry me - have had it on several cars before, no problems. Anyway, I was getting a good price.

What I didn't notice on the test, as the roads around the garage were pretty rubbish, was a noise that rises and falls with engine speed. When it did become apparent, it sounded first like a blowing exhaust - or maybe that's what I was hoping for. However, I was out messing around this evening and revved the engine in neutral with the door open - and the engine didn't sound particularly noisy. Does this sound to anyone like it could be an expensive problem? If we're talking gearbox, what does it usually take to sort something like that out? (I've participated in the GB of the Haynes manual but I'm guessing that this is a bit beyond DIY?):confused:

When I test drove my Octy, I had a slight judder when pulling away. I was doing the test drive in Bournemouth and did not really know the area and was therefore being careful..... in my case I found out after buying the car, the clutch was knackered :-(

However that should not account for your blowing exhaust type noise.