Hello there !

 

New to forum here. Wanted help from experts regarding an approved used karoq purchase which I am about to make.
 

model : 2018 karoq 1.5 TSI SE L DSG

mileage - 22.5k

 

i can see the car has had a cambelt service and break fluid change. No transmission or engine oil changes done recently mentioned as per service history. Shouldn’t I insist this be done too due to the 5 year age ? 

Any other must-do before the deal?

 

Service history attached.

 

I think the minor interim will have included an oil change. 

 

Have you checked other things like tyres and brakes? 

Thanks @skomaz

 

They come with Bridgestone Turanza T001 (seems okayish ) . Will check further for breakpads indeed. Anything specific to lookout for with breaks/tyres?

No DSG Service due with a FWD  with a DQ200 7 speed twin dry clutch.

1 minute ago, toot said:

No DSG Service due with a FWD  with a DQ200 7 speed twin dry clutch.

Thanks @toot 

 

Asking since I am curious?

Does that mean the unit doesn’t undergo any preventive maintenance ? ( been always warned about DSG repair costs)

Just check tread depth on the tyres and if they are getting close down to the wear indicators ask for replacements.  Same for discs and pads on the brakes.  Also check for any uneven wear on the tyres as that may indicate alignment issues. 

 

And finally does the condition of the interior and pedal rubbers seem to match the low mileage? 

Edited 7 October, 20232 yr by skomaz

5 minutes ago, skomaz said:

And finally does the condition of the interior and pedal rubbers seem to match the low mileage? 

Interiors looked well maintained and not too aged. To be honest haven’t  really focused on pedal rubbers , but will do it next . 

Will watchout for the condition of  break pads and tyres depth. How do I verify the condition of the discs ? Sorry not too familiar on this ☹️

 

thanks ever so much for your suggestions.

I assume you've driven the car? Drive and reverse the car at walking pace and make sure the revs don't jump for no reason - if it does it there could be issues with the clutch.

 

You say it's approved? i.e. 12 mth warranty?   Say you're concerned about is being a DQ200 so you'd be happier if the deal included an extra year extended warranty. ( they can only say no ).

 

Car looked to be on an annual service regime but there's no history for 2022 ?  Has the car had 2 previous owners?

 

Looks to me like the first owner had the car 3yr where it was serviced annually. But the 2nd owner - I'd be questioning that. Did they ever service the car?  Kinda odd that it'd have the cambelt replaced at the end of July and now it's up for sale so I guess it was the garage who  may have carried this out when they received it?

 

if I went to the expense of changing the cambelt it'd be because I was keeping the car.  ( It's only recently come to light the cambelt didn't need changing afterall ).  

Edited 7 October, 20232 yr by kodiaqsportline

Looks like ex demonstrator possibly. Or just low miles to first oil service.  No Multi point check then. Then sold a couple of times before now.   Best check if it had the Recall Action that was a DVLA proper Recall or if it did not require it, and any Warranty work carried out. 

2 minutes ago, toot said:

Looks like ex demonstrator possibly. Or just low miles to first oil service.  No Multi point check then. Then sold a couple of times before now.   Best check if it had the Recall Action that was a DVLA proper Recall or if it did not require it, and any Warranty work carried out. 

 

Thanks for the pointers . I checked DVLA with plate for recalls but none listed. 
 

Yes the car had 2 owners previously. 

 

38 minutes ago, kodiaqsportline said:

Car looked to be on an annual service regime but there's no history for 2022 ?  Has the car had 2 previous owners?

Car will be provided with skoda approved used 1year extended warranty. Regd Service , what I am told by dealer,  it was initially on fixed service intervals and changed to reduced interval since it dint clock enough( over serviced he said). Vehicle has always been on an active service plan from the records. Surprisingly current plan even lasts until Jun 2025 as per the details shared to me. I am not sure if i can request a transfer of the service plan since it’s linked to vehicle. Would you know ?

 

For the cambelt yes, I was a bit relieved  it got changed quite recently but will confirm if the dealer did that or if previous owner paid for it ( I highly doubt the rationale just like you). Any concerns around it ?

@UrbanMan10 is it not 3 former registered keepers, new car,  2 MPC,s then  another in July.      Concern over Cam belt is it was done correctly..  it is a 6 hour plus job with main dealers quoting from over £700 to over £1,100.   But there are members just this week that had it done for £550 and £600 which was the fixed price for TSI,s but not 1.5tsi ACT,s.   So maybe main dealer did it.   Since July VW/ Skoda changed the guideline for cam belt change and not 5 years / 50,000 in the UK.  It was only the UK that had that anyway.     

Edited 7 October, 20232 yr by toot

Not quite sure why they did minor/interim service in 2023 when previous service was 2 years (and 13k miles) earlier, as previous one doesn't appear to be extended scope service, so effectively got 2 minor services in row

 

If you know the registration, go on Government MOT checker and check for advisories etc

51 minutes ago, toot said:

@UrbanMan10 is it not 3 former registered keepers, new car,  2 MPC,s then  another in July.      Concern over Cam belt is it was done correctly..  it is a 6 hour plus job with main dealers quoting from over £700 to over £1,100.   But there are members just this week that had it done for £550 and £600 which was the fixed price for TSI,s but not 1.5tsi ACT,s.   So maybe main dealer did it.   Since July VW/ Skoda changed the guideline for cam belt change and not 5 years / 50,000 in the UK.  It was only the UK that had that anyway.     

@toot Indeed I agree,  3 MPCs seem a bit confusing for two keepers. But a lookup of last v5c issue date shows Aug 2021 and the original registration as Jun 2018. These dates also align with the vwfs service plan history on the vehicle. They perhaps did an MPC twice in a span of 2 months in 2023. Will clarify the reason with the  dealer - Richmond Motor Group in Southampton

I did read about the recent change in guideline for cam belt. So not sure if i should consider myself lucky or not. I do hope the cam belt change was a proper one.

1 hour ago, SurreyJohn said:

Not quite sure why they did minor/interim service in 2023 when previous service was 2 years (and 13k miles) earlier, as previous one doesn't appear to be extended scope service, so effectively got 2 minor services in row

 

If you know the registration, go on Government MOT checker and check for advisories etc

what I understood from talking to sales is that the car was moved to a flexible service regime since the car wasn’t doing enough mileage after the first few services ( clocked only 9k after 2 years).

 

I used https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ to check for MOT history and any recalls.
 

Do share if you have any other recommendations !

DVLA Safety Critical RECALLS are not the same as Skoda Recall Actions / Service Campaigns / Workshop Actions.

They should have been done if needed so will not show on the vin checker if so.

 

http://skoda-auto.com/services/recall-actions

 

There was the Kangarooing & Software / Engine Management updates for some not just manuals, and some needed a DSG software update.

But if it drives fine then good.

 

Any record of the Spark Plugs replaced, and look at the Air Filter and see if clean / fresh.

Edited 7 October, 20232 yr by toot

7 minutes ago, toot said:

DVLA Safety Critical RECALLS are not the same as Skoda Recall Actions / Service Campaigns / Workshop Actions.

They should have been done if needed so will not show on the vin checker if so.

 

http://skoda-auto.com/services/recall-actions

 

There was the Kangarooing & Software / Engine Management updates for some not just manuals, and some needed a DSG software update.

But if it drives fine then good.

 

Any record of the Spark Plugs replaced, and look at the Air Filter and see if clean / fresh.

Thanks again @toot !

 

Checked the recall history on the website. Came up clean for the VIN.

Regarding DSG - DQ200 you mention it’s a dry one and hence no oil change needed. How to verify condition apart from do a slow start / reverse and looking out for sudden rpm changes . Any other preventive maintenance for this unit ? 

Nothing.  You have a warranty just now and when you need to extend make sure the DSG is covered if there is such available.     Ps.   Twin dry clutch.  But there are 2 oils, in the box and in the MCU.   Different from Wet twin clutch that there is only the one oil.    Leave well alone.  Do not take advice to have the oil changed.  

Edited 7 October, 20232 yr by toot

22 hours ago, UrbanMan10 said:

 

Thanks for the pointers . I checked DVLA with plate for recalls but none listed. 
 

Yes the car had 2 owners previously. 

 

Car will be provided with skoda approved used 1year extended warranty. Regd Service , what I am told by dealer,  it was initially on fixed service intervals and changed to reduced interval since it dint clock enough( over serviced he said). Vehicle has always been on an active service plan from the records. Surprisingly current plan even lasts until Jun 2025 as per the details shared to me. I am not sure if i can request a transfer of the service plan since it’s linked to vehicle. Would you know ?

 

For the cambelt yes, I was a bit relieved  it got changed quite recently but will confirm if the dealer did that or if previous owner paid for it ( I highly doubt the rationale just like you). Any concerns around it ?

 

 

Sorry for not replying sooner. Depends on the service plan. If it's a Skoda service plan then it's with the car. Double check this but that's a big bonus.

 

Fair enough with the service regime but the reasoning is 100% wrong. The extended service regime ( sometimes referred to as longlife or variable ) does not apply to low mileage cars, quite the opposite. The rule of thumb is a car that travels under 10k miles per year should be on an annual ( sometimes referred to as fixed  or 'time and mileage ) service program. Thats to say a car that does short distances suffers more wear and tear than a car that sits on a motorway all day.

 

Obviously depends on how you use the car, but for the average person returning to an annual servce interval would be a wise move, especailly if it's already paid for 👍

 

If the cambelt was done by the dealer then there should be no concerns. If the advice at the time was to change the cambelt at 5yr then it's brilliant that advice was followed ( it bodes well for the rest of the car being well looked after )  but in hindsight the  " don't fix something that ain't broken' rule would apply. 

 

Just something else in your favour...  Like the car I owned, you'll have the older infotainment system in that karoq which is a bonus because you can easliy update maps and software yourself. The newer systems are supposed to do this over-the-air but it's a tad buggy and in some instances needs a software upgrade. I preferred the infotainment system in that car.

 

 

 

Edited 8 October, 20232 yr by kodiaqsportline

1 hour ago, kodiaqsportline said:

Sorry for not replying sooner. Depends on the service plan. If it's a Skoda service plan then it's with the car. Double check this but that's a big bonus.

@kodiaqsportline 

 

No worries . Thanks a lot for the revert.

 

So discussed this again with salesperson and although it is valid till 2025, seems to be almost claimed atleast  one as per the service history shared. He says only 2 counts of service included in standard skoda plan and perhaps i might just have one remaining if I can carry over. Not much idea what to expect to be honest on the service plan. Definitely a bonus if I get it. Do you use one apart from extended warranty ? 

 

1 hour ago, kodiaqsportline said:

If the cambelt was done by the dealer then there should be no concerns. If the advice at the time was to change the cambelt at 5yr then it's brilliant that advice was followed ( it bodes well for the rest of the car being well looked after )  but in hindsight the  " don't fix something that ain't broken' rule would apply. 

 

Just something else in your favour...  Like the car I owned, you'll have the older infotainment system in that karoq which is a bonus because you can easliy update maps and software yourself. The newer systems are supposed to do this over-the-air but it's a tad buggy and in some instances needs a software upgrade. I preferred the infotainment system in that car.

 

I have asked sales to share the outcome of the latest multipoint check to understand how well the maintenance has been done. Especially spark plugs , breakpads, break disc among others.. he told the cam belt replacement was because they followed the Skoda advisory in June which then was revised in July to be no more needed.

 

Glad to hear about the specifics of infotainment. Wasn’t it Amundsen for SE L variant always ? Anything specific I am missing out on the older one?

 

I was planning to ask if all software upgrades have been done on the car. If it can be done by myself then fair enough.
 

About the maps I have heard the skoda navigation is quite poor and wasn’t too keen . (thought there was a need of some OEM SD card purchase needed to get it done- I was wrong then) ...

Btw what are your thoughts on maps and navigation?

Service Plan - Sounds like I've done the same or very similar to that car. Had the service plan from new - covered first two services. I'm soon due the 3rd service and decided to take out another service plan.  There were two options - a 2yr plan or a 3yr plan. The two yr plan I have gives me two services - a normal service and the larger service. I've been given 4yr for those sevices to be completed by but it's up to me when I request them. Weirdly it's also up tome what order I request them ?  I'll going with what Skoda recommend. These extended plan do stat that the plan is transferable if I sell the car - that sounds like the deal you're being given, I assume it's what services are left on your plan.   The dealer looked up the plan on their system and I have to say they were far more informative than VWFS who runs the plan.

 

If they went to the expense of replacing the belt then personally that'd be enough to satisfy me that everything else was in order.

 

Navigation. If it's a Skoda dealer then ask them to update everything prior to delivery. If you buy the car make sure the navigation SD card is  there. Just turn on the navigation system and make sure it's working.  It's normal for dealers to keep the navigation disc / SD card locked away rather than leave it in the car as people pinch them. They should put it in when you arrive at the dealership to collect the car but sometimes they forget.

 

Again if the dealer has gone to the trouble an expense of changing the cambelt then I'd expect them  be the type of dealer who'd already have taken care of any updates / advisories. The only major one that springs to mind is if the car has a sunroof. If it has then I'm almost 100% certain that a 2018 model would need the upgrade applied that avoids the drains blocking.   ( You may have read elsewhere about water ingress attributed to the sunroof - these pre-modified drains were the main culprit ).

 

Skoda maps? No manufacturers maps are as good as Google or dedicated SatNav like Garmin but they work well enough - never use them much but never had a problem with Skoda. A 'free' year subscription to services like 'traffic updates' should be provided if it's an approved car. Worth asking.   I believe most owners chose not to continue with the subscribe

ion beyond that 'free' period.  I certainly didn't think it was worth the money.  At least they give you a year to make up your mind.

Edited 8 October, 20232 yr by kodiaqsportline

Have a good look at the tyres. My Turanza T001s started cracking very early. The sidewalls were fine, but there were quite large cracks in the tread itself.

I wasn't happy and swapped he tyres.