Used car advice 2007 Octavia 1.9 TDI Automatic

[mrmedix]

Hi guys,

I've been to have a look at a 2007 Diesel Octavia 1.9 TDI. It's currently done 135000km.
It seemed to drive fine, the steering was slightly loose with the steering wheel having a few millimetres of free movement before making the car turn, but nothing you would really notice in everyday driving.

What should I be looking out for maintenance wise? The car has had its service log book kept up to date, and the last 2 years the oil has been changed every 10000km.
It was previously written off due to being run with petrol, but that was fixed up more than a year ago, will this still have an effect on the car now?
What other maintenance should I be worried about? Someone has mentioned to me that the fuel injectors and fuel pump will need a clean and this would cost about $2000 to $3000 to do properly, could this be right?

I'll be driving about 25000 to 30000km per year.

Does anyone know a good Skoda mechanic in Brisbane I could take the car to for an inspection before buying it?

[brad]

The steering shouldn't have play in it. It's probably a worn "connector" at the bottom of the steering shaft. I think WFDTamar had a similar issue.

The Auto (it's a traditional auto box IIRC) is supposed to be sealed for life but in reality should be serviced every 60,000km, so it should have a couple of service stamps by now.

The engine should have had the timing belt done at least once depending on whether they chose time ( 4-6 years - opinions vary) or distance (105,000km) plus they should have done a few pulleys & maybe a water pump while they were in there.

Servicing is every 12m/15,000km but a lot of us do it at shorter intervals. The oil type is very important and it should be VW505.00 or 507.00 spec.

Fuel injector & fuel pump clean? I don't think so but others on this forum know more about diesels than me. Maybe post a thread in the diesel section directing them here?

What you probably have to budget for is an EGR clean and maybe a chemical clean of the turbo.

Alba European (Jmac on this forum) comes very highly regarded. There are a few others - have a look in the "recommended repairers" sub forum for other VW group specalists. Something Prestige in Cooparoo rings a bell.....

If it's a 2007 it better be as cheap as chips. I have a 2007 build Elegance spec 118tsi manual sedan with 150,000km. As a private sale it's worth $8k at the very most. A lot of the private sellers on car sales are dreaming.

Is this the car?
2007 Skoda Octavia Ambiente Direct-Shift Gearbox

If so why does the speedo say 105,000km but the ad 135,000?

The photos are poor - is the back seat leather?
As it's a base spec Ambiente & less desirable sedan and the rego is due in Feb & it's about to become an 8 year old car, I'd offer a lot less than he's asking.

If you aren't worried about the body or know a panel beater / paintless dent place then this one is worth a look.
2008 Skoda Octavia Elegance

[BluChris]

I had one of these before, ironically, selling it to buy a new Focus.

The steering may be OK; it is more vague and lower geared than a Focus. If you move it just a few mm it won't have any 'feel' but it should make the car deviate from the straight a little.

Check the AC works. It isn't brilliant but it should go. Compressor failure is common in VAG group cars of this era.

The gearbox is the 6 speed DSG. A bit of low speed jerkiness is not uncommon but it should otherwise shift cleanly and smoothly. It should also not slip or shudder on moving off or changes (can be a bit hard to tell as the 1.9 isn't the smoothest engine around).

Have heard of a few turbo failures on the diesel, but they are generally pretty rugged.

VAG cars can also have electrical gremlins. Mine had a radio that occasionally just shut down and a trip computer that randomly responded weirdly to the control stalk.

Definitely look for the timing belt changes. They are not cheap and if not done put the engine at risk.

As Brad suggests, look at the recommended repairers on the forum. Definitely avoid the Skoda/VW dealers. Very few have a good name and they aren't cheap. A good independent is a must.

As for the leather, Skoda was in the habit with the early cars of bringing them in with random options. The leather is a bonus, since the cloth is hard wearing but the absolute worst for staining that I have come across in 37 years of driving.

Again, like Brad says, bargain hard. It's a Skoda, the k's are getting up a bit, there are others out there, and unless the owner is patient it will be hard to move on.

That said, a cheap used diesel Skoda looked after by a good mechanic is a tempting buy. Mine was no fireball on the highway but returned 5.0 at 100/6.0 at 110 with a full load and was relaxing to drive on a long trip. Good luck with the hunt.

[BluChris]

Oh and agree with Brad on another thing - just looked at the Elegance he linked. If you don't mind manual I'd check it out. If the hail damage is minimal it's a better buy. Much, much quicker than the diesel and uses little more fuel, as well as better spec.

You could even live with it as is perhaps - at which the price is a bargain?

[brad]

The gearbox is the 6 speed DSG. A bit of low speed jerkiness is not uncommon but it should otherwise shift cleanly and smoothly. It should also not slip or shudder on moving off or changes (can be a bit hard to tell as the 1.9 isn't the smoothest engine around).

They must have come with random gearboxes too as the only person I know with a 1.9tdi auto had a conventional slushbox (which failed due to lack of service).

Either way, they need servicing and both aren't terrible.

[BluChris]

Really, that's odd because the 6 speed DSG was standard (or 5 speed manual). The conventional auto was fitted to the 2 litre FSI and the 7 speed DSG to the 1.8 TFSI (eventually).

You're right about the servicing Brad. Most autos never get serviced because VW said 'maintenance free' and they commonly fail somewhere between 100 and 160k as a result. Hence mrmedix if you see a 2 litre FSI auto make sure it is under 100k and get the auto serviced or ensure the owner knew the pitfalls and had it done.

The DSG may well be OK (see above comments and have it checked out). If it fails it is most likely clutches worn out, but can also be mechatronics unit. Ask whoever checks it to quote you on replacements.

Avoid the 7 speed DSG like the plague. Mechatronics and clutch problems are common and while there's been some improvement plenty of people on this forum are on their third set of clutches due to shuddering. You'll often see later cars with the 7 speed DSG at tempting prices. There's a reason...

[Antiplastix]

Come on BluChris we don't need any more hysteria about the 7 speed DSG. Sure we had our clutch pack replaced under warranty on the Yeti. But VAG couldn t bend over far enough to keep us quiet/happy. There are thousands out there who ve never had a problem, just a select very noisy few who have.

[mrmedix]

The steering shouldn't have play in it. It's probably a worn "connector" at the bottom of the steering shaft. I think WFDTamar had a similar issue.

The Auto (it's a traditional auto box IIRC) is supposed to be sealed for life but in reality should be serviced every 60,000km, so it should have a couple of service stamps by now.

The engine should have had the timing belt done at least once depending on whether they chose time ( 4-6 years - opinions vary) or distance (105,000km) plus they should have done a few pulleys & maybe a water pump while they were in there.

Servicing is every 12m/15,000km but a lot of us do it at shorter intervals. The oil type is very important and it should be VW505.00 or 507.00 spec.

Fuel injector & fuel pump clean? I don't think so but others on this forum know more about diesels than me. Maybe post a thread in the diesel section directing them here?

What you probably have to budget for is an EGR clean and maybe a chemical clean of the turbo.

Alba European (Jmac on this forum) comes very highly regarded. There are a few others - have a look in the "recommended repairers" sub forum for other VW group specalists. Something Prestige in Cooparoo rings a bell.....

If it's a 2007 it better be as cheap as chips. I have a 2007 build Elegance spec 118tsi manual sedan with 150,000km. As a private sale it's worth $8k at the very most. A lot of the private sellers on car sales are dreaming.

Is this the car?
2007 Skoda Octavia Ambiente Direct-Shift Gearbox

If so why does the speedo say 105,000km but the ad 135,000?

The photos are poor - is the back seat leather?
As it's a base spec Ambiente & less desirable sedan and the rego is due in Feb & it's about to become an 8 year old car, I'd offer a lot less than he's asking.

If you aren't worried about the body or know a panel beater / paintless dent place then this one is worth a look.
2008 Skoda Octavia Elegance

Yes, it's the 2007 Skoda you linked to on carsales!

The timing belt has been done at 100k. I didn't know to ask about the gearbox servicing, but will do that next time I speak to the owner. He is a mobile mechanic and has done a lot of the servicing on the car himself.
I did take the car out on the highway and couldn't feel anything off about the gearbox myself.

The seats are a combination of cloth and leather, the edges and headrests are leather while the middle pieces are cloth.

He didn't want to go past $7300, do you think this is a fair price? He did say he would do a service on it as well as the car is saying one is due now.

Manual transmissions are out of the question unfortunately, I'm not licensed to drive one and even though my wife is, she's taken a vow never to drive one again it would seem.

The AC was working, but felt like it needed to be re-gassed, on max it felt like a medium setting in any other car.

[mrmedix]

I posted a thread in the diesel subforum too: http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/...km-102271.html

[BluChris]

Given the owner was at $8,500, $7,300 doesn't seem too bad. It is below RedBook private sale value and in the middle of the trade in value. You always need to treat RedBook and other valuations with a grain of salt but as a rough guide they are fair enough.

As Brad and I both said, have an independent check it over for you. If all good, sounds like a fair deal.

I understand your position on the 7 speed DSG Antiplastix, but the reality is dry clutch DSG boxes are not as mature as wet clutch designs yet. The 7 speed DCT in the Focus has the same shudder problems. That's not hysteria, it's just how it is. The 6 speed wet clutch DSG had issues in the earlier years until the tech matured. People tend to forget this as more recent versions are generally reliable.

[mrmedix]

Thank you, I'm going to get an inspection done at Alba European in Slacks Creek, or Prestige and Performance in Coorparoo after they are back from Christmas holidays.

[mrmedix]

Bought the car!
Big thanks to vdubmotorworx for coming out and having a look at it with me.

The a/c is still not great even after it was regassed. My wife took it to Airrad in Woolloongabba who reckons the compressor is fine, but there's a filter that's blocked up and needs replacing and all the gas needs to be drained and replaced. I'm not sure of all the details, but it's going to cost $400 for the whole job, including gas and parts.
Which I think is a pretty good price?

I booked a service with Prestige and Performance in Coorparoo for Friday next week as it's due for an oil change and I want to find out if there are any other problems.