Hi all. I am picking up an octavia estate 2005 on Monday and have a couple of urgent questions. The one I have looked at has covered 67,000 miles and has a service history. The gear Kn0b and gater are showing a little wear (some chipping of the silver and some creases in the gater) is this consistant with the wear on other members cars at this sort of mileage. Also what colour should the antifreeze be. I looked in the expansion tank and its almost clear in colour but I tasted it (yuk) and it was 'sweet' like antifreeze. I thought it should be blue or pink/orange. Also at what mileage should the cambelt be changed, and how much does it cost to do? Thanks for any help before I part with the rest of the money. It drives fine just a bit worried!!

Hello mate, I think that wear on the gear lever can probably be expected after 67k. I bought mine (1.9 pd tdi) with 55k miles and it had similar marks, but, hey, it was 3 grand less than a low miler - that buys quite a lot of trim !

As for the anti freeze, you need to get it tested, any garage will do this free. If its strong enough I wouldn't worry about the colour.

Timing belt - my dealer told me they change diesel belts at 60k and I got it done in the deal before I bought it. I believe Skoda say 80k miles (but I stand to be corrected by anyone who knows better). If I was buying one with 67k miles, I'd want it doing or proof it has been done.

Hope this helps. Got mine a year ago, and all its needed has been to top up the screenwasher tank. After running a mondeo for 4 years before, it is strange not to have to keep fixing things !

Hi all. I am picking up an octavia estate 2005 on Monday and have a couple of urgent questions. The one I have looked at has covered 67,000 miles and has a service history. The gear Kn0b and gater are showing a little wear (some chipping of the silver and some creases in the gater) is this consistant with the wear on other members cars at this sort of mileage. Also what colour should the antifreeze be. I looked in the expansion tank and its almost clear in colour but I tasted it (yuk) and it was 'sweet' like antifreeze. I thought it should be blue or pink/orange. Also at what mileage should the cambelt be changed, and how much does it cost to do? Thanks for any help before I part with the rest of the money. It drives fine just a bit worried!!

Hi: I've recently bought an 05 Octavia TDI hatch with 76,000mls and the gearknob and gaiter are fine but as yours is an estate it might have been carrying stuff around and you have to use the gears more when the cars loaded. The VW gearboxes in these cars are virtually bulletproof anyway so there's nothing to worry about. As for the cambelt it should be changed around 60,000mls so have it changed to be safe.

You can buy a kit in any motor factors or motor outlet that tests the quality of anti-freeze for a few pounds!

Depending on your engine prefix(number) Skoda say 80,000 on later PD engines and only Haynes say 60,000 which i believe was on the very early models(upto 2004 certain engine numbers)

Thanks for all the replys. One thing that I still don't know, is it possible to have 'clear' coloured antifreeze? Never seen it before, or should I be worried about the state of the cooling system.

Thanks for all the replys. One thing that I still don't know, is it possible to have 'clear' coloured antifreeze? Never seen it before, or should I be worried about the state of the cooling system.

I think you should be a bit worried. At least have the antifreeze tested. If the previous owner occasionally has topped up with plain water, it should be very easy to detect. Also, that would be a sure sign of leakage.