Hi everyone,

Have been looking at superbs for some time now and after a couple of friends have bought them I am more impressed than ever.

In the next couple of months I am hopefully going to get one but would like your advice and opinions on a few things.

The car is to be used as a taxi and will cover approx 80-90,000 miles a year. when you spend that much time in a car it has to be comfortable!

1, I want leather in the car but am not a fan of the wood trim in the elegance. Should I just get a comfort and spec leather or just change the trim on the elegance. Are the other extras (bi-xenon lights, sat nav etc) on the elegance worth the extra cash?

2, I want to get the 140bhp tdi but notice it's not the same engine as used in other models (8v instead of 16v). Is this really a bad thing?

3, How do people find the boot space? I have an A6 saloon at the moment which looks a little bigger. Will they ever do an estate?!

4, Is there a new model coming out any time soon?

5, Finally, where will I find the best price? Best so far is through a trader on ebay,

I'd go for a Comfort with the Leather as an option. I have an Edition 100 with all the extras and IMHO the Sat Nav is poo.

I'd shy away from the 2.0TDI too - see this thread:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/superb/superb-2-0-140-bhp-dont-buy-one/63888/

Boot space is exactly the same as a Passat (old shape B5.5?) Think the A6's boot is bigger.

They've just done a facelift of the Superb, so I'd have thought a new model won't be out for a few more years yet. I believe an Estate would sell too well and take sales from the Passat - though I've not aware of anything official from Skoda on this.

Others to try for prices are

www.drivethedeal.com

Broadspeed New Car Discount UK, Buy Cheap New Cars For Sale, Compare Dealer New Car Prices Online

HTH

If you can, get the 130 TD instead of the 140 if you do lots of short trips.

If you look at the second hand Superbs in the Dealers, it's fairly obvious that these cars are extremely difficult to shift. When I was looking, there were many cars with either rusty brake disks or mileages well in excess of the originally advertised figure, indicating that the cars had either been sitting around unused or were being used (and in one dealer's case abused) by the salesman.

Like you, I wanted a Superb as a workhorse to do a job (towcar in my case). I'm not under any illusions at all about its resale value - when I dispose of it, it will have to be given away, such is the fickleness of branding. All that aside, it's a perfectly good car; galvanised body and relatively trouble free (in 130 PS guise) VW diesel engine. Just be aware of the Passat weaknesses, all of which it has inherited and deal with them. Two to be going on with are blocked plenum chamber drains and seized front suspension pinch bolts.

I bought the base model and managed the one useful extra (cruise control) as a bargaining point. In my view, any other higher spec details will simply compound the loss when you sell it - it's not a BMW. The Superb is a perfectly good car if you understand its position in the market (I'm not sure that VAG do) but I would definitely avoid the 140 PS PD diesel, especially for taxi work, until we know more about the performance and maintenance costs of the particulate filter after prolonged use at low engine outputs.

rotodiesel.

I have an 03 plate 130tdi passat as my personal car at the moment which has been great. The engine is strong but you always want more power:D .

I am aware the residual value are never going to be great making it all the more important to get a good deal. Sadly after a car has been a taxi for a couple of years they are never worth much, be it a skoda or bmw.

Most of my work is airports, so lotss of motorway miles. Doeas this make a difference as 1.9 or 2.0?

I am in a fortunate position in haveing a friend who is a dedcated audi technician (he likes the title!) and is always on hand with diagnostic computers etc.

Biggest selling point for me is the amount of rear leg room. Not sure why no other manufacturer can get near it.

Ben.

Hi everyone,

Have been looking at superbs for some time now and after a couple of friends have bought them I am more impressed than ever.

In the next couple of months I am hopefully going to get one but would like your advice and opinions on a few things.

The car is to be used as a taxi and will cover approx 80-90,000 miles a year. when you spend that much time in a car it has to be comfortable!

1, I want leather in the car but am not a fan of the wood trim in the elegance. Should I just get a comfort and spec leather or just change the trim on the elegance. Are the other extras (bi-xenon lights, sat nav etc) on the elegance worth the extra cash?

2, I want to get the 140bhp tdi but notice it's not the same engine as used in other models (8v instead of 16v). Is this really a bad thing?

3, How do people find the boot space? I have an A6 saloon at the moment which looks a little bigger. Will they ever do an estate?!

4, Is there a new model coming out any time soon?

5, Finally, where will I find the best price? Best so far is through a trader on ebay, £14250 for 140bhp comfort which seems pretty good but not with leather.

Thanks for your help

Ben.

1) I drive a Comfort spec and I fitted the OEM Sat Nav later on which works fine but please bear in mind this is a very old Sat Nav unit and I think that people on here forget then when they brand it as 'poo', I also fitted Bi-Xenon headlamps as well so the only thing I don't have that you want is leather but you can spec all these options on the Comfort Spec. As the for the wood I had this on mine and just replaced each piece, simple.

2) I would suggest sticking with the older PD TDI 130 as the engine currently seems to have more history with it.

3) The A6 and the Superb are the same size so IMO the boot space should be the same, the Superb is not built on the Passat floorplan (unless someone can tell / show me otherwise).

4) Face-lift will be out soon but a new model will not be around for some years.

5) Look around at the dealers and on Autotrader.

Having just bought a 2.5 Elegance via Broker I'd check out AutoeBid UK New Car, Buy Cheap New Cars, New Car Discount, Car Sales, Cheap New Car, Compare Discount, Car Dealer - Online Having got quotes in from all brokers they came out cheapest. If you PM me can give you more re price etc.

3) The A6 and the Superb are the same size so IMO the boot space should be the same, the Superb is not built on the Passat floorplan (unless someone can tell / show me otherwise).

I was under the impression that the superb is based on the long wheel base passat that was available in other markets.

The Superb is built on a lengthened version of the Passat floorpan which was designed by VAG for the Chinese market where cars in this bracket are chauffeur driven (hence the leg room). It never appeared in Europe until the Superb came along. The Passat heretage of the Superb makes it a cheap car to run given the number of B5.5 Passats around - plenty of pattern spares and tools, not to mention a lot of Internet know-how concerning the problems.

The 140 PS engine represents a full output increase over the 130 of only 7.7% - obviously proportionately less at lower demands. As this has been achieved by boring the engine to increase its displacement to just under 2 litres, I would be rather concerned about the likelihood of head gasket failure on these engines - it's a bit marginal on the 1.9 and the gaskets always go between the bores. The real problem with the 140 PS engine is its need to comply with Euro cat IV - hence the particulate filter.

I think possibly the days of the decent diesel engine are now over, thanks to the Eurocrats. A cat IV engine from any manufacturer is likely to be an expensive liability at the kind of mileages you will quickly achieve.

A cat III Superb goes plenty well enough given its ponderous handling and is such a bargain second hand, it's hard to resist, as I found...

rotodiesel.

Have you considered the 2.5 Tdi? can normally had for the same money as a 2.0. was recently a passenger/co driver in an elegance version with a manual 'box in a "high" speed cross Europe trip to CZ (135-140 ) on the autobahn at an average of 44mpg. Got out after Miles in a day with no aches at all.

Lovely cars, would have one myself if I could fit it on the drive.

I bought the base model and managed the one useful extra (cruise control) as a bargaining point. In my view, any other higher spec details will simply compound the loss when you sell it - it's not a BMW. The Superb is a perfectly good car if you understand its position in the market (I'm not sure that VAG do) but I would definitely avoid the 140 PS PD diesel, especially for taxi work, until we know more about the performance and maintenance costs of the particulate filter after prolonged use at low engine outputs.

rotodiesel.

I have to commend rotodiesel on his common sense approach:thumbup:

The superb lives upto its name, I happen to consider it a better value buy than an eqiuvilent spec passat.

I understand that given the huge miles you will be covering, you need some comfort, but to be honest, I dont see Leather as being practical in a taxi- too likely to get ripped or damaged even with seat covers.

Also as stated, the 130 lump is the one to have- well tested, relatively reliable and a bit more "pliant" in the stop start, low speed environment.

With regards to cruise control/sat nav etc...

You cna buy perfectly good aftermarket satnav systems for a more reasonable price than skoda charge for an in dash one,and they also afford transportability (eg if superb is in for work and you are using another car-you can still have your satnav!)

Would the cost of cruise be worth it for you? what percentage of your journies would actually facilitate the use of cruise? ditto applies to the headlights-how often will you find yourself on unlit backroads.

This car is an investment in a tool for you, minimal input for maximum return is the game.

Also I'd consider getting a petrol model and fit LPG- may be more cost effective given the mileages involved.

And never rule out the Octavia Estate-most of the taxi boys round my way cant see past the octavia mk1 as a cab-they love it!

And never rule out the Octavia Estate-most of the taxi boys round my way cant see past the octavia mk1 as a cab-they love it!

You can still get mk1 estates in a Taxi trim from dealers think they are about

I completely understand what you are saying about the leather but most of my work these days is for companies to and from air ports and in to london etc. Only a very small part of it now is picking up drunks on a saturday night (thank god!!! ) This has become quite a competetive market in my area with people using smarter and more expensive cars all the time. One guy uses a mk5 golf R32!!

The LPG is great and we currently have a bmw325 on it, but it does commit you to keeping the car longer to make it pay.

Agree about sat nav. Have several systems in different cars and they all have there faults but still would be with out it.

It's great to be able to get all this advice from people who actually own these cars and not just salesman. Keep it coming.

Ben.

I completely understand what you are saying about the leather but most of my work these days is for companies to and from air ports and in to london etc. Only a very small part of it now is picking up drunks on a saturday night (thank god!!! ) This has become quite a competetive market in my area with people using smarter and more expensive cars all the time. One guy uses a mk5 golf R32!!

The LPG is great and we currently have a bmw325 on it, but it does commit you to keeping the car longer to make it pay.

Agree about sat nav. Have several systems in different cars and they all have there faults but still would be with out it.

It's great to be able to get all this advice from people who actually own these cars and not just salesman. Keep it coming.

Ben.

I dont own an octy or a superb, but I have driven loads of them:thumbup: (joys of the car auction!)

LPG would only take about 6 months to pay off given the mileages you're doing, and its less than 1/2 the cost of a litre of petrol, never mind diesel.

As for the leather issue, so you'll have folks chucking their heavy briefcases/laptop cases in the back- oh the joy of zips on leather:D

If you're looking for a proper exec barge-buy a jag xj8 (x300 model) on a V plate for

Because of its "lemon" status in the marketplace, the Superb is good value second hand and particularly so if you run it to near its end point of zero value.

Unless perceived (by customer) status is very important, the Jag BMW option is a no-brainer on cost, either initially or for service. Similarly, I'm not a fan of LPG conversions which are likely to be far more trouble than a well developed diesel engine. The Superb needs all the boot space (and its spare wheel) so no room for an LPG tank.

The rear legroom of the Superb is virtually unbeatable and is much valued by passengers - you might get a clear "marketing" advantage here.

rotodiesel.

Because of its "lemon" status in the marketplace, the Superb is good value second hand and particularly so if you run it to near its end point of zero value.

Unless perceived (by customer) status is very important, the Jag BMW option is a no-brainer on cost, either initially or for service. Similarly, I'm not a fan of LPG conversions which are likely to be far more trouble than a well developed diesel engine. The Superb needs all the boot space (and its spare wheel) so no room for an LPG tank.

The rear legroom of the Superb is virtually unbeatable and is much valued by passengers - you might get a clear "marketing" advantage here.

rotodiesel.

Good Points sir! however the BMW option is actually not too expensive-servicing is likely to be no more at a BMW specialist than you would pay for "Dealer" prices on the Superb.

One thing that the 7 series would do though is retain some value after its job is done. I've seen differences of only

I know what you are saying about older prestige cars but around here the council put a maximum age limit on taxis making this pretty much a non starter. Anything older than 3 years and I just wouldn't get enough use out of it. We've tried getting this rule changed but they won't have any of it.

Have looked at similar spec bmws and audis but with nearly 10k price difference in some cases, it just wouldn't pay.

It's alway a difficult choice when a car has to have so many different uses and will inevitably be a bit of a compromise in some cases.

Ben.

Well in that case then a new Superb is the plan, I wasnt aware that the council in your area had that draconian rule!

Like I said, bark blue metallic= the plan.

130tdi and none too heavy on the spec.

Yes, really strict. trying to push us all towards disabled access vehicles now but won't be law until 2010.

And blue is out. Only aloud white or silver. I hate rules:thumbdwn: :confused: :thumbdwn:

Ben.

Woodie; the Superb is similarly serviced by a VW specialist (shorter warranty for taxis) - item for item generally cheaper than BMW and a wider choice of pattern spares.

Ben; you could truthfully advertise your service as using "stretched limos" - the Superb is a stretched Passat and it says "Limo..." (whatever it is in Czech) on the ID label in the spare wheel well on my Superb, so it must be true!

rotodiesel.

Woodie; the Superb is similarly serviced by a VW specialist (shorter warranty for taxis) - item for item generally cheaper than BMW and a wider choice of pattern spares.

Ben; you could truthfully advertise your service as using "stretched limos" - the Superb is a stretched Passat and it says "Limo..." (whatever it is in Czech) on the ID label in the spare wheel well on my Superb, so it must be true!

rotodiesel.

I know what you mean dude, although Ihave to disagree- BMW's are well provided for by GSF and euro..

I digress.

Skoda Limo services is the plan

In that case I think I should put my prices up:D

Ben.

1) I drive a Comfort spec and I fitted the OEM Sat Nav later on which works fine but please bear in mind this is a very old Sat Nav unit and I think that people on here forget then when they brand it as 'poo', I also fitted Bi-Xenon headlamps as well so the only thing I don't have that you want is leather but you can spec all these options on the Comfort Spec. As the for the wood I had this on mine and just replaced each piece, simple.

My comment of the Sat Nav being poo was down to the cost as an option. It works ok (i.e. if you don't know where you're going it'll get you there, but if you do know where you're going it will not send you on the best route - maybe I expect too much of the Sat Nav). For

The boot on the Superb is good, the only problem I have is the opening aperture. Since 2004 (ish) the Superb's have split/folding rear seats, so storage is better.

I'm a little puzzled by that.:confused: Sister in law has a Passat. We had to look after her youngest for a few hours the other day. She said that the pushchair would not fit lengthways in the boot of our Superb, as it doesn't in her Passat. So she was very suprised when it did.

Again, not scientific, but I could be wrong.

If it was