Anyone know Skodas?

[Guineafowl]

Thinking of jacking in the Disco 4 in favour of a more sensible estate car.

Mate has a Skoda Superb which is is pretty good, but it’s a diesel and I’m looking to make the move to petrol, given all the rubbish bolted on to modern diesel engines.

Something like a Superb or Octavia seems a good choice, somewhere around 50k miles (old enough to have ironed out manufacturing defects, young enough not to be wearing out). Petrol.

I know Land Rovers pretty well, and have driven diesels all my life, so this is new territory. Any advice appreciated. Ta.

 

[OJCar]

Avoid the 4x4 models as they have a Haldex system that needs all the tyres to be within a few mm of the same diameter.
Look for corrosion in the rear suspension arms, same as Golfs do.

 

[Fazerruss]

Avoid the 4x4 models as they have a Haldex system that needs all the tyres to be within a few mm of the same diameter.
Look for corrosion in the rear suspension arms, same as Golfs do.

No that's a load of .....

I've had 3 skodas all 4x4's and done a combined 400000 miles in them. They hardly ever had the same tread depth due to them being company cars.
The Haldex system doesn't drive all 4 wheels permanently. The octavia is mainly front wheel drive that engages rear wheels when the front looses traction.

They were the most reliable cars I've had.

 

[OJCar]

No that's a load of .....

I've had 3 skodas all 4x4's and done a combined 400000 miles in them. They hardly ever had the same tread depth due to them being company cars.
The Haldex system doesn't drive all 4 wheels permanently. The octavia is mainly front wheel drive that engages rear wheels when the front looses traction.

They were the most reliable cars I've had.

Fairy Nuff - I'm thinking of the Torsen system. So ignore that comment.

 

[Fazerruss]

Fairy Nuff - its just the warning in the Owners Manual.

Because the service was covered by the lease company they would run the tyres to minimum even if the front left was new and the rear right was .5mm off due for changing.
I got that fed up with having to go back to the ATS/ Crapfit that I used to purposely puncture the worn tyre so they replaced it!
Very good cars that never got stuck in snow. For fun I went up Sutton bank with 8 inch of snow and made it no problem

 

[Craig-SM]

I had a 2013 Skoda Octavia VRS Diesel. It was the DSG gearbox and it was nice to begin with but become annoying in slow traffic when it seemed to be in the wrong gear when you needed to pull out on a roundabout or junction. The DPF regen seemed to run quite often, it didn't affect the performance but was just seemed to be running a lot. The biggest issue was can bus wiring that was always showing bulbs out or door open when it wasn't. Skoda dealership didn't want to know on resolving the issues and there was never a problem to be found. It ended up being one of the shortest ownerships of car I've had.

My brother had the same car but manual and estate and had no problems other than servicing costs which were quite high. My mother now has that car and had a few problems with rust at the bottom of the boot lid and doors.

 

[Craig-SM]

if you're getting the DSG gearbox beware that it's 40k mile service interval on them so make sure it's been done

 

[Guineafowl]

DSG gearbox - is that the complicated ‘electrohydraulic’ object I saw dismantled on the DiagnoseDan channel? Might go for manual.

I’ll be servicing it. Parts for my mate’s Superb (which I service) aren’t too bad.

^^ Mention of DPFs and stuff is exactly why I no longer want diesels.

I’ve dealt with plenty of Freelander 1 VCUs, which evolved in the Haldex on the 2. All four tyres the same, keep the pressures right?

So, petrol, manual, estate, Skoda, 50k miles or so, +- 4x4. Don’t really want an electronic handbrake, but not the end of the world.

Octavia vs Superb? Any other suggestions?

 

[Craig-SM]

The DPF regen seemed to be noticeably regular compared to the BMW 3 series that replaced it which I've only noticed once.

I just remembered the condensation too and how long it would take to clear off the windscreen. Not sure if this was just an Octavia problem as I know a few people complained about it. Briskoda is good group for advice just avoid the politics on the group

 

[Matrixx]

I have had a few Skodas as hire cars, they all come from the same Seat/Audi/VW/Porsche/lamborghini stable . good build quality the the auto boxes are very good.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

My mate had the superb and he loved it...it was similar size to the v70 I had.

I'm also interested in a new petrol estate so watching what you pick.

I'm sure I saw a 4x4 Octavia about 6 months ago...might be wrong though.

 

[Puglet1]

I live in a rural area where driving conditions change dramatically.
I need a 4x4 on occasions but also an economical, comfortable, and roomy car with a bit of character.
You may laugh but I bought a 4x4 Yeti .Run a few YouTube vids to show you their off road capabilities-you might be surprised!

 

[OJCar]

I've had a DMF, clutch and 5 speed manual gearbox (diff bearings failed),
two rear suspension arms (corrosion),
an alarm box ,
two rear wiper motors,
drivers door winder mech,
two front road springs (one broke),
as well as wear and tear service items in 13 years of the current 10 plate Octavia 1.9tdi that lives outside in all weathers.

Before that the 55 plate 1.9TDi Octavia before only had service items before it was crashed into.

Before that was a 1.9Tdi Mark 1 Octavia on a Y plate that had to have all four sets of wheel bearings and an alternator as well as service items. (245,000 miles).

Before that the 2.0 petrol Mark 1 Octavia estate X plate that did 24,000 miles in 9 months was just service items.

23 years worth.
Always had another car or two (or more) but the Skoda Octavia has been the day to day car.

 

[GRW]

I bought a 1.6L petrol Octavia a few weeks ago. Deliberately bought petrol, for the same reasons.
Mines on 86K miles, but as its a 1999 (R) Estate - is not going to help you much

 

[Guineafowl]

Yeti under consideration… Looks a bit like the new Defender.

Definitely not buying a car from nearby. The road salt ruins cars round here.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Should be plenty of cheap pre 2015 diesels and pre 2002 petrols within the M25 the next few months in the London area I reckon.

 

[dobbslc]

I'm not gonna like that ^

 

[redlig]

Yeti under consideration… Looks a bit like the new Defender.

Definitely not buying a car from nearby. The road salt ruins cars round here.

We've got 2 Yeti's ( 1.2 2wd and 2.0 4x4) and can't fault either of them .They just do what is expected .

 

[Bobupndown]

DSG gearbox - is that the complicated ‘electrohydraulic’ object I saw dismantled on the DiagnoseDan channel? Might go for manual.

I’ll be servicing it. Parts for my mate’s Superb (which I service) aren’t too bad.

^^ Mention of DPFs and stuff is exactly why I no longer want diesels.

I’ve dealt with plenty of Freelander 1 VCUs, which evolved in the Haldex on the 2. All four tyres the same, keep the pressures right?

So, petrol, manual, estate, Skoda, 50k miles or so, +- 4x4. Don’t really want an electronic handbrake, but not the end of the world.

Octavia vs Superb? Any other suggestions?

Freelander 1 and 2 totally different 4x4 systems. 2 is much more reliable. Tyres less critical.

My mate had the superb and he loved it...it was similar size to the v70 I had.

I'm also interested in a new petrol estate so watching what you pick.

I'm sure I saw a 4x4 Octavia about 6 months ago...might be wrong though.

You're not wrong 4x4s and Scout 4x4 available.

Fancy a 4x4 DSG Superb estate myself.

 

[Ubique]

DSG transmissions are very oil change sensitive, make sure any prospective purchase has had the transmission oil changed on or before the due date/mileage.
Haldex are used by Ford, Volvo, LR & VWG and others, the most common failure is the pump, usually due to missed oil changes, again, check the service history.