Hi,

I am looking at getting my first Skoda, after being tired of constant coolant issues with my bmw 320i 2018 (it’ll be a swap + a bit of cash my way)

I am considering this one - https://www.f3motors.co.uk/details/car-in-bedford/skoda/octavia/2.0-tdi-vrs-euro-6-ss-5dr/1695721/

I have a few questions

1. Is this model and year reliable? (It will be used for commuting and personal)

2. It seems to have a lot of miles on it (I’ve never had a car past 100k), what is the lifespan of the turbo with full service history ballpark wise? Is the mileage too high?

3. are there any other things I should make sure it has had done outside of the oil filter, engine filter, cabin filter? (It has had the cambelt and water pump done 6k miles ago)

4. Any known issues to look out for on this specific one?

5. Are there any better versions specifically for reliability? Of course I would love a vrs but if I can get a more reliable year/engine then I’d certainly consider it as it’ll be the family car too

Thank you for taking the time to read and any advice you can give

Not personally into mark3 some things in my opinion.

Annual or max 10k oil

changes whichever came first.

Manual gearbox some might say less risky than DSG auto. Check clutch okay on drive.

Turbo depends on life it’s had and servicing all have influence, listen out for police siren whistling

I am not sure if this car affected but the Golf GTD of similar era had what some class as high oil consumption.

No mention of fuel filter and brake fluid changes.

This car might have ad-blue they have been known to cause issues in general, plus inconvenience of refilling wherever they hid the filler cap

Mileage although a little high, buy on condition.

If you don’t really need a vRS get a 2lt 150bhp TDI they seem well respected.

MOT history is really good IMO

This car was up for sale somewhere with 118k for 7.5k April 2025. Held its value well.

We've just done what you're thinking of doing, bought a 2018 VRS tdi with 100k miles to replace the 270k miles VRS we'd used for 10 years(original turbo, injectors, DPF, clutch!, starter, alternator).....it was 6 years old with 118k on it when purchased.

They're great cars in my opinion although it seams(as suggested above) the newer ones do have a tendency to sip oil, maybe due to servicing or lack of ?

The heater matrix can become blocked due to the silica bag in the expansion tank bursting, so check the heater works and consider replacing the tank if you get the car.

I'd personally go with a manual gear box although many folks love the DSG which could be costly should it malfunction.

All the best whatever decision you make.

Year wise it should be fine it's from just before the refresh which happened around April 2017, the way to tell is the headlights are split in two, might be worth splashing a little extra for a 2018 or the newer style 2017 as it had a new infotainment system.

I got my 2.0tdi 150hp estate at 87,000 miles in March 2022 it's currently on 200,000 miles and it's still mostly on original components, only replaced the interior fan and controller and boot struts apart from usual wear and tear items like brake pads and tyres.

Best advice is service it regularly with quality parts, I use Mahle filters and Shell oil. Also make sure you justify a diesel a lot of people jump into diesels and only drive it around town, you should be doing A-road/motorway driving regularly otherwise you will be looking at DPF issues.

Things to check are the crankshaft seal tends to leak, you can inspect it visually it's behind the driver side wheel.

Check the coolant expansion tank, if it's brownish the silica bag has reptured and is blocking up the heating system, if it's ok check the tank doesn't have the silica bag present, it will say mitt silikat on the expansion tank, if it doesn't the tank has been replaced, if it does open the expansion tank and check the right hand side of the tank there should be a rectangular bag with fine mesh there, if not it has been removed.

Turbos can fail at any mileage especially if oil changes arent kept up but if its got a full history oil changes etc will have been done. Have had 3 octavia 1.9tdi/1.6tdi with good service history and so far no turbo problems. All reached around about the 150k mark without any major issues. As long as they get decent long runs to keep DPF clean then should be ok. It will depend on if the previous owner used it for long journeys or short trips. Turbo is around £300 for a replacement part where as DPF is a lot more £1000 plus if it fails and cant be cleaned.

Alasdair

3 hours ago, Alasdair1 said:

Turbo is around £300 for a replacement part where as DPF is a lot more £1000 plus if it fails and cant be cleaned.

Alasdair

Don't go for a refurb turbo, you don't know if the bearings and seals have been done properly - go for new from Garrett (manufacturer) on the south coast at around £700. DPF - £1200 ish delivered from Autodoc, £1800 +VAT from Skoda. Don't ask me why I know......

My 2016 diesel vRS had around 143,000 miles when I bought it. Needed some money spent but now it's done, I luvvit!

Turbo's keep going if you are assiduous with the oil changes; dirty grimy oil kills turbos.

On 11/02/2026 at 10:05, Maxedwards1995 said:

It seems to have a lot of miles on it

123K isn't alot of miles. My Mk3 (Petrol) has 317,000km. Seems fine.

My other car has 465,000km. Also fine.

Id be more concerned with overall condition than mileage.

On 10/02/2026 at 23:05, Maxedwards1995 said:

Hi,

I am looking at getting my first Skoda, after being tired of constant coolant issues with my bmw 320i 2018 (it’ll be a swap + a bit of cash my way)

I am considering this one - https://www.f3motors.co.uk/details/car-in-bedford/skoda/octavia/2.0-tdi-vrs-euro-6-ss-5dr/1695721/

I have a few questions

1. Is this model and year reliable? (It will be used for commuting and personal)

2. It seems to have a lot of miles on it (I’ve never had a car past 100k), what is the lifespan of the turbo with full service history ballpark wise? Is the mileage too high?

3. are there any other things I should make sure it has had done outside of the oil filter, engine filter, cabin filter? (It has had the cambelt and water pump done 6k miles ago)

4. Any known issues to look out for on this specific one?

5. Are there any better versions specifically for reliability? Of course I would love a vrs but if I can get a more reliable year/engine then I’d certainly consider it as it’ll be the family car too

Thank you for taking the time to read and any advice you can give

You might want to get those rear brakes looked at - only 50% of the braking surface looks to be being used.

The EA288 (CUNA/CUPA) engine is pretty well-regarded. Make sure the service history is in order - I would suggest any issues you have with the car will be due to servicing (or a lack of) rather than an inherent failure of any mechnical components.