Roomster Information Please

[tiyen]

Hello everyone. I am currently looking at purchasing a Roomster and was wondering if I can please bother you all with some information on any of my questions below? I have googled as much as I can and have tried speaking to dealers too but not much success.

* Is the Redbook 3-5 year resale values accurate (or close enough) to what I should expect to pay? For example, a 2008 Roomster 1.8 TDI is listed as $9500-$11200, is this about right?
* Have you had any issues with your 5 year old Roomster and how expensive was it to fix?
* Since the Roomster is no longer included in the Skoda Australian line up, will the parts and servicing be more expensive? Will the left over stock and second hand Roomsters be cheaper because of this?


I really want a Roomster but pretty much everyone (not an exaggeration) that I've mentioned this to have looked at me with disbelief. It's as if I just said I'm looking for a horse & buggy. My current car is a Proton GTi 2000 bought from new and I never had any problem with it, besides self inflicted ones, and I also received a lot of flak when I first got that. Maybe that was just a fluke but I'm really hoping the Roomster will pan out. The flexibility this little car offers is leaps&bounds beyond everything else that is within my price range.

Thank you very much in advance for sharing your knowledge with this newbie

[brad]

Roomster is back in the line-up AFAIK. 77TSI manual or DSG7

The runout stock Roomsters were being flogged off at $18k & they went like hot-cakes. You'd think Skoda would learn to price sensibly after that but for some reason they think RRPs around $27k are reasonable. You'll get a demo manual with minimal kms (<100) for about $21k if you really look around.

Ultimately, for a car in short supply, the price will be purely a combination of who is more desperate - the seller or the buyer. TDIs will be a premium price because the 1.6atmo engine was pretty lousy.

VW Caddy is near enough the same vehicle but less sophisticated rear suspension, not as versatile inside but better looking outside. Heaps more available so maybe thats an option?

Apart from that, can your puppy fit in the back of a Fabia or Octavia wagon. You'll get an Octavia in good condition for your $10k

[tiyen]

Thank you very much for the information Brad. We saw the Roomster today and after a couple of go, the owner accepted my $10k offer for the 2008 1.9 TDI Roomster subject to a pre-purchase inspection report coming back clean. I hope that is the right price, but without much to go by when it comes to used diesel versions, I just went right up to my max. I have no idea if I "bought well" price wise.

I looked at the wagons you suggested too (thank you), but my boofhead wouldn't have been comfortable. He's a 65-70kg Dogue de Bordeaux with a huge head My work has the VW Caddy for company cars and the Roomster price is better although there are a lot more choices. Although I do hope that the parts and service will be manageable.

[brad]

Given there aren't many around, if it proves reliable and it's what you want then you'll probably forget the price after a while. Any repairs that show up on the inspection, give Seb at Girraween (Euro-something - do a search) a ring for a price estimate & add 100% as contingency & ask for that off the price.

A lot of the parts are interchangeable with mk3 Golfs, Caddys & other VW group vehicles. That's how VW get economy of scale by using a common parts bin. It's worth your while to read Julian Edgars thread on his Roomster - I don't think anyone else has done much with them and there are some really cheap upgrades that can be done if you come across the right parts at bargain prices.

if you have a crash, expect to wait a fair while for some body parts. I'd recomend you take out the hire car option on insurance.

I have a Standard Poodle (the big one). He isn't a small dog by any means but when at peak fitness he weighs 20kg, sometimes he tops out at 22kg if he's been lazy (he self-regulates his food intake). A lot of people get scared of him and say what a big dog he is. The thought of a dog that weighs 65-70kg does my head in.

[onyertod]

Congrats Tien on your Roomster. They are a truly unique versatile and totally practical car. I bought one of the run out models Northshore sold off and I still miss it. I reluctantly had to sell it when my wife got a company car. I carried two boxers dogs around in it in the biggest cage which would fit in the car. (rear seats removed) I still have the cage!
Enjoy your Roomster.

[sambb]

check out these links on modifying the roomster if that's your thing - very informative.

AutoSpeed - Technology, Efficiency, Performance

[brad]

check out these links on modifying the roomster if that's your thing - very informative.

AutoSpeed - Technology, Efficiency, Performance

Julian Edgar posted a lot of that here and other stuff he was considering. He was an interesting member during the short period he was posting.

[Transporter]

Yes, he was a great contributor to this forum.

It is a pity that he was driven away by the keyboard warriors.

[brad]

Yes, he was a great contributor to this forum.

It is a pity that he was driven away by the keyboard warriors.

I don't remember him being attacked in any way. I think you'll find he did what he had to do & moved on.

[Transporter]

I do remember.

But hey, it's not the topic of this thread.