Hey gang, hope you’re well. 
 

Looking to move from a Fabia Estate to a Superb Estate (mainly because the DQ200 DSG gearbox mechatronic is proving troublesome and leaky. Had it refurbished twice now in 2 years) plus had a baby so wanting a bigger car. 
 

what’s your take on the car below? Is the engine fairly reliable in that model year? Is the DSG on the 2 litre engines more reliable? Should I be looking at a new clutch pack with this kind of mileage? Basically anything to be aware of?
 

I work on my own cars for the most part and do/ will do a lot of research on the engine so that I will hopefully know what to look out for when I go see it, but I can’t buy the experience you all have here. 
 

thank you in advance! 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401105428195

Cant remember what the exact gearbox is in that but it will definitely be a wet clutch.  They are more reliable than the dry clutch dq200.  I wouldn't expect it to need work doing.  The garage I use has mentioned tuned cars going for 250k miles with no issues.  The engine is a good one but remember the need for longer runs to maintain the DPF. 156k in 9 years should mean it's ok but I would be wanting the DPF looked at before spending on it.  At the very least get a reading via VCDS or similar and use it as a negotiation tool.  That year is prime for water pump failure too so make sure its had that done when the belt was done 8k ago.

I'm not sure if adblue was introduce by then.  If it was then it's worth bearing in mind as it's another fluid to keep topped up.

Otherwise anything that comes with buying used.  Are the tyres all the same model and condition?  Are the plates original and the same branding front and back (could be a sign of crash repair).  Look at panel gaps and colours.  Might also be worth budgeting for some suspension goodies too.  This has DCC so the shocks are quite expensive to replace but they do tend to last longer than regular ones.

9 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

Cant remember what the exact gearbox is in that but it will definitely be a wet clutch.  They are more reliable than the dry clutch dq200.  I wouldn't expect it to need work doing.  The garage I use has mentioned tuned cars going for 250k miles with no issues.  The engine is a good one but remember the need for longer runs to maintain the DPF. 156k in 9 years should mean it's ok but I would be wanting the DPF looked at before spending on it.  At the very least get a reading via VCDS or similar and use it as a negotiation tool.  That year is prime for water pump failure too so make sure its had that done when the belt was done 8k ago.

I'm not sure if adblue was introduce by then.  If it was then it's worth bearing in mind as it's another fluid to keep topped up.

Otherwise anything that comes with buying used.  Are the tyres all the same model and condition?  Are the plates original and the same branding front and back (could be a sign of crash repair).  Look at panel gaps and colours.  Might also be worth budgeting for some suspension goodies too.  This has DCC so the shocks are quite expensive to replace but they do tend to last longer than regular ones.

Thank you for the thorough reply and pointers! Very much appreciated. Would you advise manually looking at the DPF or just through vcds?

VCDS minimum.  If you have the ability and knowledge to look at a DPF and know what a good one looks like compared to a clogged one...... I'm yet to be convinced of the success of a cleaning process so I would be budgeting for a replacement at some point.  Given the high mileage per year of the car it could well be ok. 

Do you know why the car is available?  What are your usage plans for the car?  Long runs every weekend or will it be the school run?  If the school run I'd be looking at petrol and not even entertaining the idea of a diesel.

I really wouldn’t be worried about DPF, I only use my car on weekends and is a 2016 and just over 41k miles with an average of 3k a year.

 

Sometimes the DPF does a regen and all I do is continue driving for longer than needed (nice one EU) until it stops

 

Regarding the car it looks good apart from the uncared for leather, it shouldn’t be shiney! And the drivers bulster looks grim, so if you buy get Gliptone leather cleaner and conditioner, plus it smells lovely

 

I’m surprised at the cost is so high for that mileage, makes me think my cars worth a lot more than I thought 😁

3 hours ago, Danoid said:

I really wouldn’t be worried about DPF, I only use my car on weekends and is a 2016 and just over 41k miles with an average of 3k a year.

 

Sometimes the DPF does a regen and all I do is continue driving for longer than needed (nice one EU) until it stops

 

Regarding the car it looks good apart from the uncared for leather, it shouldn’t be shiney! And the drivers bulster looks grim, so if you buy get Gliptone leather cleaner and conditioner, plus it smells lovely

 

I’m surprised at the cost is so high for that mileage, makes me think my cars worth a lot more than I thought 😁

Yeah the cost is quite high. Just because it’s local to me and it’s a high spec one and 4x4. It will mainly be for knocking around London, and going to up to Leeds and back once a month. 

Seems very very cheap considering its an L&K estate... even with that mileage considered.

 

Id be taking someone with you to look at the car in depth or pay for one of the AA assessments to be done. 

 

If all checks out at that price, then its a very good buy.

Nicely loaded car which seems to be in VGC. 

5 hours ago, Meridion said:

Yeah the cost is quite high. Just because it’s local to me and it’s a high spec one and 4x4. It will mainly be for knocking around London, and going to up to Leeds and back once a month. 

 

Personally I would be nervous with that use profile. Leeds once a week no probs. Once a month is a little risky unless you get the dpf properly looked at and know the condition.

That is me though as I went from a 2014 Octavia TDI to a Passat gte and wish I had gone for petrol sooner after 11 years of diesels.