Hi all, looking to pick some Octavia experts' brains. I've just been to look at a low mileage (51k) 2007 Octavia 1.9 TDi DSG Elegance, but there are a few things I'm not sure about and I'm second guessing myself a bit.

I think part of it is it's all the money at £3k for a 19 year old car, and while it presents very well, is mint inside, comfortable and drives very well, very dry and clean underneath with no oil leaks etc, it's a bit shy of mint outside; it's had paint on the nearside doors and picked up a new scrape on the rear arch since, there are two or three dings on the doors, the paint's bubbling on the offside rear arch, and it really needs a new set of tyres - the fronts are old, and the rears for some reason are winter tyres!

Part of it, though, is that there were a few things I wasn't comfortable with on the drive. At between about 38 and 52 there's an odd, low pitched and quite noticeable droning noise which seems to come from the front, and sounds like a harmonic or intake noise; it's enough to make the drive a bit unpleasant between 40 and 50.

I struggled with the gearbox a bit, and I'm not sure if it's the gearbox or me; I found it a bit clunky and not smooth to shift. When accelerating gently from a standstill it seemed to creep, then surge with a bit of a thump, and the gear changes weren't always as smooth as I'd expect from a conventional automatic. It also seemed to surge while I was trying to creep into a parking spot.

I also struggled with visibility. At a couple of junctions where I needed to see to the left the nearside A post seemed to almost completely block the view, and I had to dodge around to check the road was clear. It might be something you get used to, but it seemed to me it'd be very easy to miss a car coming from the left and get into trouble.

I think I'm going to leave it, which seems a shame for what should be a nice low mileage car, but before I do I wanted to get some thoughts from the Octavia experts! Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forum.

Your concerns about the DSG would tend to suggest it's a wise decision to leave it.

Sounds expensive too, if exterior condition is as you describe - also a little odd given the interior condition.