Hello all, 

 

I'm considering buying a second hand Octavia (III) Scout 184HP (80K) (cat s) (with fresh MOT PASS) and was wondering if there were any things in particular you would look out for? 

 

curently I have this list:

 

service History: cam belt replacement, water punp replacement, haldex (V) service (inc. filter)x 2, dsg service x 2 

test drive: does AWD work properly (on rear wheels), emergency stop - any vibrations in the frame/ steering, any pull left or right

hood: cheese under the oil filler cap (water ingress), check dipstick, 

interior: is reversible rubber mat there, is parcel shelf included, have air bags been replaced, head unit connection working

exterior: locking wheel nut included, pannel gaps

 

Thanks very much, 

 

Aidey

Ask how much oil it uses on average. If the seller claim he/she doesn't know, that is a red flag.

Ask if the DPF seems to be operating normally

What MPG does it do on average

Ask how old the bulbs are in the headlights, as well as any of the electrical components that are attached to it. Also ask if the front turn signal bulbs have ever been changed because you need to cut a hole in the plastic to get them out, and then order a service lid to block that hole again. Just for this alone you need to unmount the whole frontend, because the headlights cannot be pulled out without that gone. It's an MKIII thing that is just stupid, but good to know because if you need to change turn signal bulbs, it's a bit more to it than just pulling off a lid and swopping them out. Also changing Xenon headlight igniter needs the front end removed because there's one of three screws you just can't get to without that done. 

Rear lights are super easy access and very easy to work with, but front lights are just stupid on these cars and is good to know about in advance.

 

 

One thing that is hard to overlook is checking how well the aircon works, so just do a full whack on it and see if there's any "funny" noises or if it sounds good, and just a general check to see that it actually works or not.

 

Open all doors and inspect around the openings for corrosion. Also while you open the boot notice if the boot struts will sag or not after a little time. Also check spare tire + tools and see if you spot any rust while you look down there.

 

Check all four jacking points on the side of the car to see if it looks fine or not.

 

It's always good to just try a direct question and ask if the owner knows of anything in particular worth mentioning as well. It's not a complete list by any means. Just some things I thought of mentioning that are more car specific than Scout specific.

 

 

Great, thanks for the advice. One thing I forgot was that im also bringing a code reader (vd700). I'm going to look at it tomorrow so I will let you now how it goes!

Good posting.  Make sure that the HALDEX gearbox service has also been recently done too (its only £150 - not terrible if you need it doing).

Make sure you get yourself an ODBEleven dongle though - generic dongles not good for VAG cars!

Hey, thanks for the info on the OBD dongle.  (I will have to check that out as I have the Ancel cable connected VD700 at the moment).

 

So I checked out the car with it : and there were 12 fault codes:

0003 - brakes 1 (3)

0008 - Air con. (1)

0009 - central electronics (5)

0017 - Dash (1)

0052 - door electronics pas... (2)

(I think all were due to the accident (cat s))

 

Deleted and they stayed away except a couple related to the key battery and signal to boot electronics (related to key battery I think).

 

Everything else was good except...

1. No HALDEX service in the log book - so will be getting that done! 

2. Front wiper blades need replacing asap.

3. Slight vibration noise from front left dashboard at certain rpm....stopped while I pressed down on it.

4. Minor trim / pannel (from accident repair) / alloy cosmetic issues.

5. Boot and rear doors not unlocking (they did unlock at the start of the test drive though... so must be related to the key battery).

 

None of these were deal breakers for me so I drove it back (with top spec 18 month warranty).

 

Looking forward to driving it for at least the next 5 years.

 

 

 

I have the same car, and it's a good car. 

 

My car has 210.000km now and my goal is 300.000km and then just re-evaluate. If things are still good I'm just going to keep going because I just want to squeeze as much out the car as possible given there's no down payment on it. I also just like the design, because it's modern but not too modern. I could've bought a newer Superb design for the same price, but with less engine and equipment, and I just did not want to pay just for looks. For me AWD was the main priority, and automatic as well. However I'll be looking at petrol next time around because I did not know about the DPF thing when it comes to diesel at the time of purchase.

On 09/12/2024 at 13:44, varaderoguy said:

Make sure you get yourself an ODBEleven dongle though - generic dongles not good for VAG cars!

Found an image of the one I used : hope it's ok... seems good so far to me.

UPDATE: Took it in for a service (£230) + Haldex service (£150)

 

Seems that HALDEX had never been done, and the last page of the service history was fake! - something to look out for...among other things, timing belt was marked as done however the mechanic said that the timing belt looked original and was starting to crack. Headlight washer fluid pipe was broken (seemingly by last MOT garrage when changing the indicator bulb post MOT - seller said it took them an hour to do!) also the incorrect nut was used to replace the trackrod end (same MOT place!) - bottom ball joint also had play - not picked up on the  MOT a couple of weeks ago. 

 

Will get all thes issues fixed asap (warranty wont cover any of it BTW) then fingers crossed nothing else to wory about ...😅

 

P.S. I did also have intermittent ABS, Traction ncontrol, Auto stop start, parking distance lights issue - from the codes it seems like it was one of the speed sensors (nsr) playing up - I took it out and cleaned it (it was quite dirty) and put it back it hopefully that fixed it (I bought a spare one from FEBI just in case😉. (WHT003857D)

I've owned this car for about 7 years, been a brilliant car. Only things I had go wrong with it were a control box on the side of the haldex and a heater matrix. Both these problems were expensive to repair. Both also happened within a month of each other. Overall tho the car has been good, keep thinking about changing it then think why would I 🤷